My ex-girlfriend and I were together from June 2019 until November 2024. In December 2024, I randomly met my current girlfriend at an ice rink - we started dating in February of this year. So, like, about a month of grieving…

This kind of AI use is a plague. I’m a fourth-year student at one of Romania’s top medical universities, and it’s insane how many of my peers can no longer write proper essays, conduct research, or carry out studies independently. Critical thinking, attention span, and management skills have all taken a huge hit. My girlfriend attends a highly ranked private high school (where annual tuition is in the five figures, €) - the same issues are present there as well. Depressing times.

All thanks to declining vaccination rates - particularly among kindergartners, where coverage has dropped below the 95% threshold necessary for herd immunity. Ignorance breeds… well, in this instance, measles becoming endemic in the US once again.

You’re right, but in common public discourse, there’s no real difference between the two. Debating is about persuasion - a view can be objectively wrong but still be considered stronger than a factually true one if it’s delivered in an attractive and relatively believable way. This is why right-wing views are popular.

Debates are almost never about changing the other person’s mind; they’re about reinforcing your own beliefs. The participants rarely change their minds, but the witnesses - readers, viewers, listeners, etc. - can be influenced. To admit that you’re wrong would be to admit that your view is the weaker one. This is why “debates” about issues such as human rights are pointless and only serve to platform and promote oppressors and abusers.

Interesting. I’m not an expert on the matter by any means, as I’m not even American, but from what I’ve read, ICE agents often dress in plain civilian clothes - sometimes with no identification markers at all - and can now enter your home without a warrant based merely on “suspicion”. Taking all of this into account, it seems like you would have reasonable belief that you’re in danger and should defend yourself.

Doesn’t the US incorporate castle doctrine principles - an affirmative defense to criminal homicide occurring within a home? Combine that with lax to nonexistent gun control and a high gun ownership rate, and you’re just asking for trouble.

Fuck French toast, marry pancakes (the European crêpe-like kind), kill waffles.

I have family members who were born in the 1920s and 1930s and are still alive today, which probably has a significant influence on my perspective on time.

I’m determined to make it to the year 2100 / 22nd century. I’d be 97-98 in 2100-2101.