Sisyphus. I’ve spent my life pushing this huge boulder up the hill but never quite achieving anything. It’s getting really old. Next time it rolls to the bottom I’m tempted to leave it there

Going back three decades when everyone thought a “war on drugs” would be a good idea is also lazy to bring into this conversation. As President, Biden freed more victims of that war than all other presidents

They’re already trying to finalize rules, complete process do previously passed initiatives can be nailed down. The government can be very slow, and that’s a good thing for stability and fairness. It’s especially good to reduce the promised dumpster fire of the next four years.

Is there really anything he can start at this point that would have lasting effects? Going hog wild with shenanigans may be satisfying but not likely to do anything more than create headlines

As a grandmom, my Mom has decided on boxes for really lame gifts that might make you wonder if she has dementia, for gift cards.

If you don’t give her sufficient ideas for her to buy you something you enjoy, you’re a Scrooge and deserve this box of instant jello …… containing a gift card so you can get it yourself

Too old to understand why you’re asking about American Sign Language

I believe Shiva is the guy who spent years insisting he invented email as a high schooler and that pretty much the entire online world owes him patent fees. I’m one of many old enough to have used email before this patent troll “invented” it

Stand in awe at a replica of Michaelangelo’s David.

Admittedly staring at a statue of a naked guy, but come on

I took up smoking. No, not the lung cancer one. Cooking is one of the best things to keep me positive since I got divorced several years ago: treating it as a hobby I can be enthusiastic about, rather than something to do when I’m hungry. This spring I bought a smoker and had great fun learning new cooking techniques, new meal combinations, and enjoyed some excellent food. Previously I tried to do a meal from a different cuisine every week, before that I learned to use cast iron

I don’t know what to get you and prefer something better targeted than cash. Tell me what you want, what you really really want, and you might get that instead

— if you complain again, I’m writing you a check: tell me how inconvenient that is

No, sorry,I was being us-centric - it seemed like that’s where the thread was.

As one very specific example, when COViD funding for school lunches ended, some us states decided to no longer provide free school lunches. Massachusetts passed a “millionaire tax” and funded free school lunches out of that

As a slightly older example, Massachusetts passed effectively universal healthcare coverage, signed into law by governor Mitt Romney, and later served as the model for the Affordable Care Act

Looking at school system ratings by us state, I see what looks like a strong correlation between excellent schools and a stronger economy.

Well said!

When I was a teen, I was definitely fiscally conservative. Paying better attention to how you use money is easy to understand and a central pillar of politics. But it was a sheltered life in a town with all well-paying jobs, no diversity, and an excellent education system.

Now I keep floating left the more I realize how many people missed out of that picture.

But it was my kids that really did it. Fighting for better opportunities for them easily turns into wanting a better world for them to live in. I’m more worried than ever about my government’s poor money habits and when it will eventually come due, but we’re in the middle of a rolling disaster of short term and misplaced spending, our politicians more concerned with scapegoats and spite than actually benefitting their constituents

I became much more progressive after living in a “blue state” for much of my adult life. It’s hard to miss that the most successful economies in the us are also the ones who pay most attention to quality of life. We can look at the contrast in our neighboring states, and see the advantages brought by near universal healthcare, investments in an excellent education system, care about the environment, higher minimum wage, support for unions, and so much more

Where are those youth in the US? While they seem loud online, why hasn’t that translated into votes?

What if you start to become better off, but realize so many other parents are unable to provide for their kids like you can, and you can’t hope to provide for your kids like the wealthy can? What if paying exorbitant amounts of money for your kids education drives home the point that we need to make that investment for all kids futures? What if you are more often on the hiring side and realize your well being depends on the next generation having opportunities and the means to successfully achieve them?

What if my goals include family values, such as opportunity for my kids to earn a good living, live a long and healthy life, enjoy the environment, in a world better than the one I had?

Ebooks for the win. I “go to” my library all the time by finding an ebook on Libby and downloading to a reader

Boneless chicken with bones

Excellent news.

It really needs to mention the US, though. I know this is about Europe, and trying to celebrate good news, and you’re probably tired of us making everything about the US, but we’ve “earned” our place in any article about climate change or carbon emissions.

My country deserves to be named and shamed for lagging in something so critical. It needs to be nagged continuously to catch up. It needs to be reminded of the impact it has made and continues to make. There are still so many people who don’t believe it’s real or don’t think it will impact them and don’t care who it does impact, so many both politicians and constituents who can’t look beyond their immediate desires.

I feel like Chinas carbon emissions will just disappear suddenly. Yeah, they’re using way too much coal, and still growing with fossil fuels, but consider their growth in renewables. The good thing about dictatorships is that it’s possible to build out renewables faster than the rest of the world combined, but among the many bad parts is you’re not balancing supply with demand. There’s no way they don’t suddenly have a huge glut of power and have to decide what to shut down permanently