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Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

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Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#201

Post by phantasmish »

saulpw wrote: post #193
phantasmish wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If things aren't close they don't need to be counted. It's a fact of voting that most folks can vote in every election they can for their entire lives and never make any difference whatsoever, as in, change zero outcomes. We have social pressure and propaganda otherwise to get people to do it, because if too many people rationally stay home then the system works poorly (in aggregate, that does change outcomes). It'd…

I do understand that, in principle. But having a mathematical reason to let some 'difficult' votes go uncounted gives ammunition to those who would put political pressure on vote counting for their advantage, while also making people in general feel disenfranchised. (We have a huge problem with turnout in the US in general, and the message you're presenting only adds fuel to that!) This is why I wrote "sometimes not…

That's a good point—counting them may not matter, but might meta-matter.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#202

Post by karmakurtisaani »

dcminter wrote: post #39
Almondsetat wrote: post #28

Reëlection?

The New Yorker house style. https://www.arrantpedantry.com/2020/03/24/umlauts-diaereses-... Seems weird to me, I'd just use a hyphen, but that's how they roll.

I bet they have a dedicated room without ventilation so they can smell their own farts uninterrupted. Seriously, I find it highly pretentious.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#203

Post by nix-zarathustra »

kuerbel wrote: post #85
xp84 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps, but the places where it’s arguably nicer (than US) to be bottom 50% are that way because of side-effects of America being how America has always been. Without things like US NATO membership, someone in, let’s say Europe, might eventually find themselves made forcibly familiar with what actual fascism is, by being “welcomed” into Soviet Union 2.0, now without the communist trappings. If you think Soviet bread…

I live in Germany and I'm not afraid of Russia. If they had more manpower they would have overrun Ukraine by now. They do not. I'm not saying it would be an easy fight, but Russia stands no chance. Not even with Belarus on their side or some other satellite states.

That's foolish. If Russia wins in Ukraine, they would have the two strongest armies in Europe. European states simply don't have enough ordinances and gear to survive a long war.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#204

Post by soco »

beAbU wrote: post #137
mvkel wrote: post #48

As an immigrant to the US, I've often viewed the fervent wish to depart (among natural born citizens) to be the ultimate form of self-entitlement. That you'd give up so easily when your voice, presence, and vote, matters most. It's being tested right now, and leaving is the only way to fail. Also, why do you think any other country would -love- to have you?

I don't quite understand, are you chastising US emigrants because they are being entitled? Are you not guilty of exactly the same thing from the perspective of your own country?

As with such arguments, they never apply to the one presenting them. Immigrants are bad, but not me. Taxes are good, but not mine. Nazis are bad, but not my grandpa.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#205

Post by xp84 »

47282847 wrote: post #106
xp84 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> 'We will quickly try and hang men after three violent crimes. And yes, we will do it in public to deter others.' https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/palantir-boss-...

So, “people who committed three violent crimes” are the protected class you’re worried might come to harm? You’re right, this government risks seriously harming the triple felon community.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#206

Post by jerhewet »

danaris wrote: post #125
mothballed wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems paradoxical. If I'm not allowed to have guns, then I am physically unsafe, because someone from government will use violence against me if they both discover it and have the ability to do something about it. I wouldn't feel safe anywhere violence is used for malum prohibitum 'crimes.' In fact I don't feel safe basically anywhere a government exists because they all do this; this is part the reason why I live in…

> someone from government will use violence against me if they both discover it and have the ability to do something about it This is a statement so far removed from reality that it makes anything else you say immediately suspect. You appear to view "government" as an entity whose primary purpose is to bring violence against anyone who cannot resist that violence with lethal force. There is no possible justification…

See: I.C.E.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#207

Post by xp84 »

the_gastropod wrote: post #97
xp84 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

For whatever it's worth, Mike Godwin, of Godwin's Law, has called the comparison of Trump to Hitler "apt". https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/19/godwins-la... Editing to add: > On the other hand, a liberal did kill Charlie Kirk in cold blood because the killer had a trans girlfriend and was mad about Kirk‘a opinions. So, maybe some people should be afraid of violence. My friend, this is a clownshoes-ass t…

The difference honestly is that mainstream liberals — otherwise normal people from all walks of life were, publicly and unabashedly giddy with delight about the Kirk shooting, whereas I haven’t seen any normal people glorify the right-wing psychopaths who committed the heinous acts you spoke of, besides probably some cowardly anon 4chan trolls.

https://youtu.be/sf_2Eh8Io-0

What worries me is how much the political “team” you seem to identify with considers it justifiable to kill. Be honest, how many people in your personal bubble expressed annoyance that the Trump shooter missed?

The party system has devolved from theory and ideas into absolute tribal barbarism, but I can’t believe it’s the Democrats, who I used to count myself among, and saw as the peaceful and mature ones, leading that charge. There’s a rot in the Democratic Party, and it’s in the morality department.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#208

Post by array_key_first »

Yizahi wrote: post #116
wing-_-nuts wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you say 'everything is better' are you just talking about higher compensation > *? Cause I can think a number of 'quality of life' things that europe does better.

Money can buy quality of life, and people earning 100-150k in USA per person in household do confirm this. And this purchasing ability is not linear, because of the fixed costs for many good and services. Previously many countries with low salaries had corresponding low cost of life (and cost of quality of life), but today the costs are rising faster than salaries everywhere across the globe, so the biggest winners a…

> Money can buy quality of life

It actually can't, not generally at least for US labor.

One of the most important measures of quality is work-life balance. Basically, your life kinda sucks if you work all the time, and then you also get fat and sick and die young(er).

People in the US work a lot, and often the more wealthy, but not most wealthy, work A TON. In programming, it's not atypical to have "superstar" staff engineers putting in easily 60-70 hours a week. Of course, not including the commute.

But then there's the time off. Oh, where to begin. We're at a point where 10 days of PTO accrued a year is considered decent. It's work work work, and you can put in 20 years of service... and get, like, an extra couple days. Maybe.

None of this scales down. For example, I'm supposed to be working 40 hours a week. I'm not of course, the baseline is 45 because 9-5 is actually 9-6. And I haven't left at 6 in at least a year, so even that is underestimating it. But suppose I do work 40 hours a week.

Would I take a 50% pay cut to work 20 hours? Fuck. Yes. Yes. In a heart beat. But I can't, I'd actually be taking an 80% pay cut if I do that, so I couldn't live. And it's like this for literally ALL jobs. I can't just "move up", because the work-life balance doesn't get better, it actually just gets worse! And at no point can I take a "step down" and work less, because then I'm flipping burgers.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#209

Post by array_key_first »

mothballed wrote: post #114
neilv wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you moved to a place that was physically safe, would gun ownership still be a top priority?

Seems paradoxical. If I'm not allowed to have guns, then I am physically unsafe, because someone from government will use violence against me if they both discover it and have the ability to do something about it. I wouldn't feel safe anywhere violence is used for malum prohibitum 'crimes.' In fact I don't feel safe basically anywhere a government exists because they all do this; this is part the reason why I live in…

The actual paradox is that, in the US, simply having a firearm in your home increases your risk of death to gun violence.

Re: Leaving the U.S. for the Netherlands

#210

Post by mothballed »

array_key_first wrote: post #209
mothballed wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems paradoxical. If I'm not allowed to have guns, then I am physically unsafe, because someone from government will use violence against me if they both discover it and have the ability to do something about it. I wouldn't feel safe anywhere violence is used for malum prohibitum 'crimes.' In fact I don't feel safe basically anywhere a government exists because they all do this; this is part the reason why I live in…

The actual paradox is that, in the US, simply having a firearm in your home increases your risk of death to gun violence.

Simply owning or encountering a seat belt also 'increases' your risk of dying in a car crash. This is the kind of nonsense causation-correlation mix-up statistics you are operating on.
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