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Well, I have two jobs. But, if I lost the primary one, I would have enough in savings to pay myself my primary after-tax salary for 18 months. Combined with really restraining my spending, picking up more time with my secondary job, and doing side things like Uber or finishing my real estate license, I could make it last significantly longer. But if I did blow through all of that and still not have a replacement job, I wouldn’t be here calling myself a slave and demanding others cover me.

I have to pay for those things for myself and I'm free as a bird. But you want to restrict my freedom because you can't cover your costs. I'm not trying to restrict your freedom but you are trying to restrict mine. Not gonna happen.

You cannot be guaranteed anything that involves the labor of other people. You only have “freedom froms”, not “rights to”. Anyways, I’m gonna pass on having the government further intrude upon my life to help people like you. Thanks, though!

Sorry you're in that situation, but freedom is about negative rights, not positive ones.

The strange thing with contagious diseases like this is that high, rapid lethality often helps stop the outbreak. Why is Ebola, for the most part, limited to isolated areas in Africa? Because it kills 25-90% of its victims and does so in a couple of days. No time to spread. But I read an Atlantic article earlier today about how we will all likely get COVID. Not joking- the piece is titled "You're Likely to Get the Coronavirus." Somebody in the article posits that 40-70% of humanity will get the disease at some point. Now, for some of us, it will be mild; maybe even asymptomatic. Of course, combining that suggestion with the fatality rates in my previous post, it means somewhere between 30-150 million people will die.* Yeah, so, uh...get ready? *I would caveat this by saying that most of these people will probably be in Asia, and that this number is probably high because I would assume that mortality would decrease over time. But what do I know. Probably won't book my desired vacay to Hong Kong anytime soon, anyhow.

Flu kills about 0.1% of all people it infects. COVID19 is killing 1-3% of its victims. So it's about ten to thirty times deadlier. Apples to oranges, man.

Why is Grandal batting fourth? Why is he batting ahead of Eloy and even Edwin? Eloy hit 3 more homeruns than Yasmani in 31 less games, as a rookie. I've seen analysts say he will hit 50 homeruns this year. That might be nuts but 40 is well within his ability. Hit him 4th, hit Edwin behind him, then Grandal with his .794 career OPS. This isn't to bash our new C, but there's no reason for him to cleanup on this team. The hell with handedness.

Anyone have experience in luxury watches and/or handbags? I’ve got a bit of unexpected cash coming in shortly, and I think I’d like to get myself a TAG Heuer and the wife a Louis Vuitton or Prada bag. Keep it around $4-5K total. For mine, I really like the Formula 1 Series and I much prefer an automatic at that dollar amount. I have also considered an Aquaracer. Any other brands or models I should consider? Frederique Constantin has some interesting ones in my range but I don’t know much about them.

Also, a very brief search suggests that mopeds cost even less than that. Could be a possibility, and I don’t think it requires any special license. Don’t turn down a good opportunity just because of this.

Knowing nothing about your financial situation or geographic area...can you really not buy a car? Do you have anything in savings (or an emergency fund)? There are 385 cars on cars.com for $2,000 or less and less than 100,000 miles. If this is a great opportunity, then you can get by on a clunker for a bit and upgrade when the time is right. Right? Not trying to be condescending, but I think this can be overcome relatively simply.

Albert Belle hit a grand slam on my birthday once. May 11th, 1997. Not actually my birthday, but I was there in celebration of it. I once saw Frank hit two bombs. My parents had gotten spots in a box suite for that night. Pretty cool. No idea of the date. I did watch a Ubaldo Jimenez no-no in Atlanta from the front row in 2010. Great Dexter Fowler catch to preserve it late. I also saw the Yankees play at Fenway, and while it wasn’t an official game, I was present the first time New Yankee Stadium ever opened its doors, which was an exhibition game against the Cubs.

I think the medical system should be a lot easier to understand and plan around. I got a bill the other day for a doctor's visit for my wife from October 2018. I called and asked why I'm only now getting this for the first time, and they told me their system was backlogged. I said, "Well, it took you guys 16 months, so I'll pay in September of 2021." Seriously, how is this acceptable? Maybe I'm living in fantasyland, but I should be able to go on a hospital's website and see prices. For EVERYTHING. I should be able to enter my insurance policy and see how each of these things will be covered and what my end cost will be. If I show up and need some treatment that I didn't expect, the hospital should have a responsibility to give me each of those figures (total cost, and cost after insurance) right then and there. After I leave, I should be able to log into a central website using my social security number and see everything that all members of my family have completed, what we have pending, what we have ready to pay, etc. I should be able to see how close I am to fulfilling my deductible. And so on. NONE of this should EVER be a surprise. As usual, I am against socialized things and I can afford this, but it's a real nuisance when a $250 bill shows up for something that happened almost two years ago. At that point, the hospital should have to eat it. How am I supposed to budget accurately when that crap happens?

I can agree with that, and I can appreciate those types of movies, but not for that particular story. Just be conventional with that topic (and with truth-based war movies in general).

Dunkirk was HORRIBLE. I generally like Chris Nolan movies- his Batman trilogy is easily my favorite of the superhero genre. And years ago, my friend and I drove home from the theatre trying to piece together every individual element of Inception. So I can totally enjoy some unconventional story telling. But don’t do that for Dunkirk. Introduce us to a few soldiers who are at risk of annihilation, show the reaction/panic of the people back in Britain, show a hodgepodge fleet being assembled, play some glorious music with many panoramic shots while they get picked up, fade to black with a single subtitle about how so many of these dudes returned at Normandy four years later. And cut. Boom. Mrs. Miniver does a way better job at this story with only twenty or so minutes of its run time devoted to it.

1917 was probably the best movie I’ve ever seen.

There's one guy I support who I genuinely believe to care about people like me, but I'll leave it at that. ? As for the second part, I don't think it's as fleeting as it seems. You hear about cases like the guy who drove his van into a GOP tent, and Antifa, and the guys and gals who smacked off MAGA hats, and people on Twitter and Reddit are mean because it's the Internet, and on and on and on. But usually, people are kind, especially in real life. I read a post on Medium from a liberal woman who went to a Trump rally in NH and told people openly that she was a Democrat, and she reported that they all welcomed her. I work with a ton of liberals and they all know where I stand and they're all OK with that. They're perfectly nice to me and I am friends with many of them. We joke each other about it and that's it. I've never met anyone in my entire life who turned into a raging dick just because we disagree politically. It gets a lot of attention in the media when it happens, but most people are not like that. PS: Rereading your last line sounds like you probably agree with me on this, since you refer to a "narrative" that it is fleeting. Either way. PSS: Interested in what you mean by historical conservatism that no longer exists. Message me if you care to share.

A sincere thank you, Ray, and I'm glad it meant so much to you. Our overall end goals might not change, but it's great to talk to people who disagree with our perspectives. I am still and probably always will be ardently conservative, but that does not mean I am not willing to listen to others and hash these things out and even rethink things (in some circumstances, anyway). If you can't discuss your beliefs in a rational manner, they're not beliefs worth having. Have a great weekend, and happy Valentine's Day to you and your wife!

The military is a legitimate function of federal government. Taking care of the Jacks of the world is not. Absolute last thing I’m posting on this topic.

I was going to give you a genuine response, but then you started foaming at the mouth about the military droning brown people in the ME. So I’ll pass. Try not to hurt yourself when Trump wins.

Less of a right to live? That's hyperbolic as hell. I just don't think they have a right to my money which comes from my labor. I go to work every day for my family, not yours.

How is that true? 1/6 of what I paid in taxes on my last check went to Medicare alone.

That's awesome- congrats!

Uh, hello? He researches better applications of capitalism, whines about on the Internet, and insults everyone who disagrees with him. Takes a lot of effort, ya know.

You have an attitude problem, no matter what you think. And you’re demanding that someone else go out of the way to find your purpose in life but I’m the selfish and entitled one? Ha. You have no idea where I’ve been or what I’ve done.

I’m 100% satisfied with my contribution to my country, which I love dearly. Thanks.