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I recently watched a movie called "Bonhoeffer", who was a Lutheran pastor who tried to rally the church to stand up to Hitler. It's a good movie but when you watch it you are reminded of the absolute evil the Nazi's imposed on Germany. There was only one way, the Nazi way and dissenters were arrested and many killed. People from minorities and particularly Jews were rounded up and sent to camps for slave labor and worse.

Reading this attached article on Iran sounds just like Nazi Germany in pretty much every way. And Biden relaxed sanctions and gave them billions of dollars. We need Trump.

 
I don’t think we have a shortage of intelligence here in America. I do think we have a shortage of motivation, and we focus on things that don’t matter, while disregarding things that matter a lot. We need to refocus in this country.

Having 2 ex Army personnel attacking our country is a pretty clear signal that we have problems.

I cannot convey how stupid it is to take isolated incidents in a nation of 340M and draw vast conclusions about the nation.

I take broad collective data about the entirety of the country and the rebuttals often come in the form of one-off type matters or the problems of a single city or some other take that lacks any generality. This is insane argumentation and is a giant tell that you shouldn't be discussing public policy.

America does not have a shortage of "motivation." America's economy has grown much more rapidly than peer nations for 15-20 years now. Americans work more hours and are more productive than basically every similar country. These are actual facts, and every economic expert worth a shit knows them. They are not hard to find. I cited to them a few days ago. They are not made up either. There's incredible concern among much of the developed world about how badly it is falling behind the USA.

There are things wrong with America, of course. I don't deny that. But what they typically relate to is that Americans have an abundance of freedom, which has both upsides - great economic performance and a magnet for talent from other parts of the world - and real downsides. The fact that we have a higher rate of drug addiction here is because an extremely free, extremely individualistic country is more reticent to exert the social pressures on drug users to stop doing this bad thing to themselves. The higher crime rate than peer countries is also likely a product of similar social pressures. The immigration issues are in part (but not exclusively) of being the most in demand country in the world to live in.

I think there's an extraordinary lack of perspective among several people in this chain (part of why I left and will remain scarce). Was Biden a suck ass President? Yep, he was. How much did that really matter to America's long-term trajectory? Probably not much. I hope Trump does better than Biden by focusing on his better policies and not his personal drama ... we'll see. But quite frankly, I think America is likely to be in a better spot come 2030 than it was in 2020, something that's been true literally every decade since we got out of the 1930s.
 
I cannot convey how stupid it is to take isolated incidents in a nation of 340M and draw vast conclusions about the nation.

I take broad collective data about the entirety of the country and the rebuttals often come in the form of one-off type matters or the problems of a single city or some other take that lacks any generality. This is insane argumentation and is a giant tell that you shouldn't be discussing public policy.

America does not have a shortage of "motivation." America's economy has grown much more rapidly than peer nations for 15-20 years now. Americans work more hours and are more productive than basically every similar country. These are actual facts, and every economic expert worth a shit knows them. They are not hard to find. I cited to them a few days ago. They are not made up either. There's incredible concern among much of the developed world about how badly it is falling behind the USA.

There are things wrong with America, of course. I don't deny that. But what they typically relate to is that Americans have an abundance of freedom, which has both upsides - great economic performance and a magnet for talent from other parts of the world - and real downsides. The fact that we have a higher rate of drug addiction here is because an extremely free, extremely individualistic country is more reticent to exert the social pressures on drug users to stop doing this bad thing to themselves. The higher crime rate than peer countries is also likely a product of similar social pressures. The immigration issues are in part (but not exclusively) of being the most in demand country in the world to live in.

I think there's an extraordinary lack of perspective among several people in this chain (part of why I left and will remain scarce). Was Biden a suck ass President? Yep, he was. How much did that really matter to America's long-term trajectory? Probably not much. I hope Trump does better than Biden by focusing on his better policies and not his personal drama ... we'll see. But quite frankly, I think America is likely to be in a better spot come 2030 than it was in 2020, something that's been true literally every decade since we got out of the 1930s.
Excellent!
 
I cannot convey how stupid it is to take isolated incidents in a nation of 340M and draw vast conclusions about the nation.

I take broad collective data about the entirety of the country and the rebuttals often come in the form of one-off type matters or the problems of a single city or some other take that lacks any generality. This is insane argumentation and is a giant tell that you shouldn't be discussing public policy.

America does not have a shortage of "motivation." America's economy has grown much more rapidly than peer nations for 15-20 years now. Americans work more hours and are more productive than basically every similar country. These are actual facts, and every economic expert worth a shit knows them. They are not hard to find. I cited to them a few days ago. They are not made up either. There's incredible concern among much of the developed world about how badly it is falling behind the USA.

There are things wrong with America, of course. I don't deny that. But what they typically relate to is that Americans have an abundance of freedom, which has both upsides - great economic performance and a magnet for talent from other parts of the world - and real downsides. The fact that we have a higher rate of drug addiction here is because an extremely free, extremely individualistic country is more reticent to exert the social pressures on drug users to stop doing this bad thing to themselves. The higher crime rate than peer countries is also likely a product of similar social pressures. The immigration issues are in part (but not exclusively) of being the most in demand country in the world to live in.

I think there's an extraordinary lack of perspective among several people in this chain (part of why I left and will remain scarce). Was Biden a suck ass President? Yep, he was. How much did that really matter to America's long-term trajectory? Probably not much. I hope Trump does better than Biden by focusing on his better policies and not his personal drama ... we'll see. But quite frankly, I think America is likely to be in a better spot come 2030 than it was in 2020, something that's been true literally every decade since we got out of the 1930s.





Head in the sand. The suburbs are nice, I don’t deny that. Bloomberg and NPR have reported on it, among many others.

“Majority of workers not highly engaged”

Doesn’t sound like a super motivated, productive culture.
 
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Head in the sand. The suburbs are nice, I don’t deny that. Bloomberg and NPR have reported on it, among many others.

“Majority of workers not highly engaged”

Doesn’t sound like a super motivated, productive culture.
All one has to do is follow Marc Andreesen to understand everything wasn’t OK even if the Dems had won this election. Extremely serious issues.
 
These dogs are truly incredible. The vast majority of people should never own one though. Working dogs, even more wired than Shepherds. Lots of energy to burn off. Very smart and very athletic.

 
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Head in the sand. The suburbs are nice, I don’t deny that. Bloomberg and NPR have reported on it, among many others.

“Majority of workers not highly engaged”

Doesn’t sound like a super motivated, productive culture.

This appears to be from 2022 btw. And it’s wrong again. Your narrative is wrong … and it makes you look dumb. Also congrats to the 55% of Americans who live in those awesome suburbs (I am not amongst them but my neighborhood is nice).

 
Also for family home protection and security.

Use reputable breeder, NO puppy mills.
Yep. They are, but again these dogs have a lot of energy and need a lot of attention. GS are bad enough in that regard. I like them, Shepherds and rotties/pits provided they are mixed breed.
 


American culture seems pretty mediocre for the straphangers these days
Another killing not to be recorded:

A USPS worker on lunch break in the Bronx, NYC was stabbed to death at a deli.
His crime ?
A maybe dispute of who's turn it was to order their sandwich.
These type of crimes happen EVERY day in NYC.
 
Yep. They are, but again these dogs have a lot of energy and need a lot of attention. GS are bad enough in that regard. I like them, Shepherds and rotties/pits provided they are mixed breed.
Amanda & Matt had a German Short Haired Pointer. Very hyper dog type that also need attention. They were on opposite tours, so the dog was alone often. Bored he would tear up the house. I found a reputable trainer ( 1 K), but it didn't take for long. I found a rescue group for these dogs. Gave him to a family on a farm that hunted ! Marriage made in heaven.
 
This appears to be from 2022 btw. And it’s wrong again. Your narrative is wrong … and it makes you look dumb. Also congrats to the 55% of Americans who live in those awesome suburbs (I am not amongst them but my neighborhood is nice).


Was this supposed to address American workers’ motivation levels? I didn’t see that anywhere in the article. There sure are a lot articles talking about it and ways to improve it. Odd if it’s not a problem.

You didn’t prove me wrong and felt the need to call me dumb. I’ll prove you wrong again, but won’t insult you. You’re just uninformed.


 
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I’m not posting this to make light of this Trump Tower bomber issue. This post highlights what is wrong with liberals and in particular the radical leftists forcing electric vehicles instead of letting market forces dictate vehicles we drive. Can you imagine stopping for a few hours at a time just to get the juice to get back on the road? I thought about getting an F150 Lightning, but, rangewise, there wasn’t a way to get back home without the additional stop off to get the batteries charged up.

 
I get a news feed from Google each day. I do it because they include most of the mainstream media so I can see what they are saying. Usually not impressive.

Anyway, yesterday the police/FBI held a news conference in Las Vegas and said they had recovered a "journal" and a "manifesto" from the guy who blew up the cyber truck. After the news conference they were going to release them to the media.

Most of the mainstream media is reporting on his mental state, failed relationships, regrets in life, and angst about our country/govt. So far not much on the manifesto except this from the NY Post:

"The feds also found “strong evidence” that links Livelsberger to a conspiracy-laden manifesto he allegedly penned and emailed to a US Army Intelligence officer ahead of the fatal explosion.

In the email, read on “The Shawn Ryan Podcast” on Friday, the dad of one claimed federal officials were working with China to develop and deploy the mysterious drones that caused hysteria across the New York metro region last month.

Livelsberger referred to the drones as “the most dangerous threat to national security,” alleging the flying objects used gravity manipulation technology and had the ability to evade detection, the retired US Navy SEAL revealed on his show."

I assume the reporting will sort out in a few more days. It is kinda sad that this guy who served his country ends up like this.

ps. in my reading, he was a big Tesla fan and that is probably why he rented what he rented.


 
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Was this supposed to address American workers’ motivation levels? I didn’t see that anywhere in the article. There sure are a lot articles talking about it and ways to improve it. Odd if it’s not a problem.

You didn’t prove me wrong and felt the need to call me dumb. I’ll prove you wrong again, but won’t insult you. You’re just uninformed.



Productivity is the only way to capture whether workers are getting it done. We literally have the most productive workforce in the world.

What exactly is “motivation level” and why does it matter?

Even if you don’t like productivity, go with hours worked. Again, America is at or near the top.

You’ve convinced yourself of a narrative that is dead wrong. That somehow the country is getting worse/falling apart. There’s literally nothing true about this. I am wondering if there’s something in your own life that is driving this view, but I actually don’t think so which is why the point you are fixated on is especially crazy.

And you keep making points about “the suburbs” are still nice. Welp, 11 of 20 Americans live there, a number that just keeps growing over time.
 
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Look at this piece of sauer kraut complaining about Musk posting instead of standing up for girls getting raped. Pathetic. I particularly appreciate the post in the thread that says “we must believe all women” to “why are you speaking out against rape?”

 

People are mad about the Allstate video? Man I don’t think MAGA should be calling anyone “snowflakes” any longer. That was a generic and bland “let’s get along” speech, and Outkick getting worked up suggests it’s searching for content (not good for the long-term biz model if this is what drives outrage now).
 
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And you keep making points about “the suburbs” are still nice. Welp, 11 of 20 Americans live there, a number that just keeps growing over time.
I am curious when the suburbs will become just as burnt out and poorly managed as the big Dem cities they surround. Naperville is going to get ruined. It went blue. Some great suburbs (40 years ago) just south of Chicagoland are now very gang infested.
 
Productivity is the only way to capture whether workers are getting it done. We literally have the most productive workforce in the world.

What exactly is “motivation level” and why does it matter?

Even if you don’t like productivity, go with hours worked. Again, America is at or near the top.

You’ve convinced yourself of a narrative that is dead wrong. That somehow the country is getting worse/falling apart. There’s literally nothing true about this. I am wondering if there’s something in your own life that is driving this view, but I actually don’t think so which is why the point you are fixated on is especially crazy.

And you keep making points about “the suburbs” are still nice. Welp, 11 of 20 Americans live there, a number that just keeps growing over time.

I’m just sharing articles from Bloomberg and NPR that support my position.

A few months ago I told you that the availability of Narcan was a huge reason why we are having less overdose deaths. You told me I was wrong and that you believed behavior had changed. Then a month later you sent me something that highlighted how the availability of Narcan had significantly reduced deaths.

I’m telling you what I see, hear, and read. I work with HR directors on a daily basis. They constantly talk about how they need to get their employees engaged, and ask how we can support them. Many, many people have written articles about how it’s a problem. Every survey out there says it’s a problem.

I don’t think people like you, probably making high 6 or 7 figures, have a motivation issue. I think a high % of workers do have that issue, and it could impact our production going forward.
 
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People are mad about the Allstate video? Man I don’t think MAGA should be calling anyone “snowflakes” any longer. That was a generic and bland “let’s get along” speech, and Outkick getting worked up suggests it’s searching for content (not good for the long-term biz model if this is what drives outrage now).
The video was tone deaf to the moment.
 
I’m just sharing articles from Bloomberg and NPR that support my position.

A few months ago I told you that the availability of Narcan was a huge reason why we are having less overdose deaths. You told me I was wrong and that you believed behavior had changed. Then a month later you sent me something that highlighted how the availability of Narcan had significantly reduced deaths.

I’m telling you what I see, hear, and read. I work with HR directors on a daily basis. They constantly talk about how they need to get their employees engaged, and ask how we can support them. Many, many people have written articles about how it’s a problem. Every survey out there says it’s a problem.

I don’t think people like you, probably making high 6 or 7 figures, have a motivation issue. I think a high % of workers do have that issue, and it could impact our production going forward.
Covid policy caused some of that, IME. Staying at home to work remotely. Need to get back to the 80’s when corporations were building and partying when the office closed. Doing lines of coke and having sex in the supply rooms. Crazy stuff. Very productive!
 
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Covid policy caused some of that, IME. Staying at home to work remotely. Need to get back to the 80’s when corporations were building and partying when the office closed. Doing lines of coke and having sex in the supply rooms. Crazy stuff. Very productive!

More office sex, less mouse jiggling. Solves the baby making problem too, haha
 
I’m not posting this to make light of this Trump Tower bomber issue. This post highlights what is wrong with liberals and in particular the radical leftists forcing electric vehicles instead of letting market forces dictate vehicles we drive. Can you imagine stopping for a few hours at a time just to get the juice to get back on the road? I thought about getting an F150 Lightning, but, rangewise, there wasn’t a way to get back home without the additional stop off to get the batteries charged up.

That’s not how EVs work in practice. Especially now that ranges have increased, few charges are ever being done outside of your own garage. Sure, most everyone drives a long distance once in a while and that’s what DC charging stations are for. BTW, you stop for maybe 20 minutes or so, not a few hours, plus it’s actually faster to stop frequently than to stretch out to the max range.
 
That’s not how EVs work in practice. Especially now that ranges have increased, few charges are ever being done outside of your own garage. Sure, most everyone drives a long distance once in a while and that’s what DC charging stations are for. BTW, you stop for maybe 20 minutes or so, not a few hours, plus it’s actually faster to stop frequently than to stretch out to the max range.
IOW they aren’t practical outside of local driving, which is why they suck. 20 minute stops do not equate to a full charge. I know this, because I have a PHEV. It takes 2 hours to go from 1% to fully charged at 220v (Level 2 charge) Most people want to get where they are going and not stopping frequently for fuel. Here is the Ford CEO going on Route 66 with Tesla Level 3 charge (80% charge in 36 minutes). I don’t know about you, but when I gas up my F150, it doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to get off the road, to the gas station, get a full tank, and get back on the road.


I have no chargers at my office, and I’m not about to install any. Call me a scrooge. Electric vehicles are for locals at this juncture or people who like to waste their time. I thought you told Rillaman there was no issue with productivity? You know what the difference is between a 10 minute fill up and a 36 minute charge to 80% capacity is? Whatever the difference is, it’s extremely unproductive comparatively.
 
I’m just sharing articles from Bloomberg and NPR that support my position.

A few months ago I told you that the availability of Narcan was a huge reason why we are having less overdose deaths. You told me I was wrong and that you believed behavior had changed. Then a month later you sent me something that highlighted how the availability of Narcan had significantly reduced deaths.

I’m telling you what I see, hear, and read. I work with HR directors on a daily basis. They constantly talk about how they need to get their employees engaged, and ask how we can support them. Many, many people have written articles about how it’s a problem. Every survey out there says it’s a problem.

I don’t think people like you, probably making high 6 or 7 figures, have a motivation issue. I think a high % of workers do have that issue, and it could impact our production going forward.

The only people who attribute the primary reason for the decline of OD deaths to “Narcan availability” appear to be the junkies they interview. I can’t remember ever saying it’s not a contributing factor … but I will say again it’s not the primary factor. If anything, the articles I sent you suggest the primary factor is a decline in the lethality of the fentanyl being mixed into the drugs. I’d also suggest that there’s probably some decline in extreme abuse as we get further than Covid, exacerbated by the fact that a higher level of junkies croaked over the last decade (a point we agree on). But it’s very hard to measure whether there is a decline of 10-20% in people becoming junkies … because only a small percentage of the population becomes junkies.

Let me suggest an alternate commentary on what HR professionals have been fretting about in recent years, another thing which is abating some. We had unprecedented turnover in 2021-2023, as worker shortages meant many lower level employees could find a better job quite quickly. I’m sure it sucked hard for many HR departments and they spent time looking for explanations that didn’t involve the hard convos of “we need to pay a lot more.”

I did look up worker motivation, and the one article I found comparing the entire workforce of countries listed the US as having 33% of its workers be “motivated” while Europe was only at 10% lololol. This is why I cite to something like productivity as it’s a real objective measure of worker performance. The US has killed it on productivity for a long time.
 
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