Link doesn’t work for me, but I’ll look it up

https://usafacts.org/topics/education/

I was surprised to find out how much the U.S. actually does spend on education, given how shitty it is. Idk where the money is going, but it’s definitely funded

Also assuming the van doesn’t suddenly, greatly, accelerate

An old friend, back when I was 17/18 or so, told me about the last time she had a kitten.

The kitten somehow got into the WASHER and her busy and absent-minded mother didn’t realize it until the kitten had already drowned. Her mother drove herself (and the kitten) to the police department because she felt so bad.

After that I have always checked for cats. Even now, at almost 40 (I even check the oven)! My husband thinks it’s over-kill, but I’m never gonna get that horror story out of my head

I don’t have any updated data, but reading this from the article you posted:

“Indeed, vaccinated people now make up the majority of the population – 79% of adults have completed at least the primary series – and the latest CDC data show that vaccinated people also now represent the majority of COVID-19 deaths. There are many more vaccinated people than there are unvaccinated people, and vaccinated and boosted people are, on average, older and more likely to have underlying health conditions that put them at risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes”

Seems to make sense. My guess is that most of the unvaxxed people that were gonna die from Covid have already died. Some people have become immuno-compromised after 2020, and so they are still dying, but most of them might already have an immunity built up through having caught it and survived. So it’s likely those older, already vaxxed (but immuno-compromised) folks that are now being taken out by the newer mutations of the virus

(Again, i’m guessing, but it seems to make sense)

Sure, but before things can become commonplace we need voices advocating for the direction of that change. That’s my goal. To be a voice.

Also, irrelevant to you, but: I might need a new Lemmy account. Connect isn’t working for me and I can’t find which e-mail I used to sign up for Lemmy. Super annoying, because I keep needing to search for the posts that I commented on, and then find the comments themselves in order to reply. My inbox just gives me errors about not finding the posts… but they’re obviously still here

Yeah, that’s gotta suck and I’m 100% not against people talking about who they are if they WANT to. What irritates me is the labels people are forced carry.

Like “wow a woman was finally able to achieve what men can achieve” or “wow this gay man was finally able to acheive what straight men can achieve” and that’s the part that annoys me

Eta: I think it’s meant well, but it implies that there’s something “special” about these people that allows them to climb the ranks previously reserved for a select group of people

So to truly be inclusive, things like “race” and gender and sexuality should be looked at as variations of normal, the same way hair color or height is looked at

2nd edit: Ok, sorry, but just to clarify I’m not harping on straight, white, males here. Swinging the pendulum the exact opposite way doesn’t help, either. I’m seeing this more as a societal thing that I’d liked to see changed

My guess is that it’s to avoid something like finding records of a past leader who is gay, and them then being the first

My issue with this is: why does their sexuality even matter? It’s their GD business

Eta: I also hate this with race and gender. “First woman to…” why? Why are we so focused on the color of people’s skin, their religion, what’s between their legs, or who they love?

I want to live in a world where a mixed-heritage lesbian woman is elected and no-one bats an eye, or mentions anything about it unless it comes up organically by the person elected. Otherwise the only legit question should be: is this person the best candidate for the job?

Ok Ill get off my soap box now

Um. In the U.S. I could still go for a walk outside, or out to the grocery store, or grab some fast-food at the drive-through. In China people were being boarded up in their homes… as in, literally boarded up with hammer and nails.

That’s because he needs an answer to the eternal question of: do I want inside the room, our outside the room? He can’t figure it out, so the door staying open is the most convenient

These bastard insurance companies will tell your dentist how much they are willing to pay for a treatment.

So say the dentist would normally charge $300 for a cleaning, with full x-rays, flouride varnish, and comprehensive exam

The insurance company can dictate that they will only pay $250 with flouride. Another plan with the same company might pay $175, but won’t cover flouride. A seperate insurance company will pay for flouride up to age 14. Another will… you get the point.

Further, with the exceptions of exams and cleanings (which I think they HAVE to cover by law) they can dictate a fee of $500 for a crown, but then only a porcelain fused to metal crown, and then only pay like 60% of that with you needing to pay the rest. The dentist may normally charge $800 for a crown, but prefer using something like zirconium.

The receptionist has to go through each and every patient’s insurance schedule fee, and can only give you an estimate because even though they call the insurance company, the rep on the phone can make mistakes.

It’s a horrible, horrible, system that serves no-one except the insurance companies and I hate it

(Worked in dental, tried doing up front stuff but I have ADHD and the insurance garbage breaks my mind)

Show: Love, Death and Robots. It’s fantastic but some of the episodes just hit too hard. I’ll eventually get back to it, I just need some time

Game: Cyberpunk. I was looking something up and found out what happens to Evelyn. I kinda look like her a bit, and have also dealt with (much milder) issues in the same category. Too brutal

Movie: I actually watched it all the way, but the first time I watched American Beauty is just fucked me up for like, a week

I’ve already watched it, but my husband and I are going through it again because he hasn’t seen it. We binge watch most shows, but Mr. Robot is HEAVY and it gets heavier and weirder until the end.

My advice while watching it is to detach from the characters. Accept that anyone can die at any moment, often horribly, but know that the ending is bitter-sweet and that the show is absolutely worth the watch

My husband (one of the most trustworthy and responsible people I know- flaws and all) has been talking about getting a concealed-carry permit.

My argument against it, is that if there is an active shooter and he also pulls out his gun to take them out, the cops or other permit-owners might not realize that he’s the “good guy” and he (or I, if I’m nearby) could get shot instead.

He went silent, and seemed to spend a lot of time thinking about it after I’d shared my thoughts. Thus far he hasn’t tried to obtain one

Lemmy’s being difficult for me (or it could be Connect for Lemmy) so I keep having to find the post in order to reply to you! (Meaning I might have to stop replying, but if I do that’s why)

And yes, I would say a dog growling and a honey bee releasing pheromones are also examples of language! I’m sure many would disagree (and rightfully) but my general perspective on the matter is that any type of communication is language (but I can see how it can be argued that no, it’s not language which is different- they’re just so closely related in my mind that to me they’re practically synonyms)

I agree that it has to do with definition. My definition of language might be of a wider range than yours (and linguists)

My cat, for example, might not use grammer but I can certainly communicate with her (and she with me!) In this sense she and I have a language between us that’s a mix of signs, sounds, and body language. It’s not possible for me to seperate our talks from language, even though our understanding of each other doesn’t cover specifics.

So if someone communicates with me via emoji, and I understund accurately, I would count it as language (even if it goes against classical definitions)

I wish Lemmy had a way to high-five people.

I haven’t read this, but yeah… War is brutal by nature, so to call it anything else is a flat out lie

Idk. I think they can all fall under language, because they’re all a form of communication. Like sign language, or body language

Last I heard, the speculation was that it’s from what’s known as food fraud: adding cheap fillers to foods in order to maximize profit. Hard to say where on the chain this happened- the company could have innocently purchased what they thought was legit cinnamon, or they could have been in on it.

Another possibility is that the cinnamon was grown in an area with naturally occuring lead (and I guess now chromium), or it could have been unknowinglyirrigated with water contaminated by lead and chromium.

Either way, this shit scares the life out of me. I hate that the FDA doesn’t do more to protect us (and frickin’ kids!) from this sort of injustice