I’m not opposed to those ideas, but I think UBI need not wait on them and is a lot easier to implement. We could do UBI now, and let state/collectively provided services be a provider-of-last-resort type thing, start with pilot programs and scale based on demand.

I agree that UBI can be less when there are more universal services, but I think there are a lot of “basics” that aren’t universal or at least aren’t uniform. Some people consider meat a basic foodstuff. Housing is rarely truly one-size-fits-all, primarily due to sleeping preferences. Healthcare has genetic components all over, so those vary from person to person. (Broadly you might think of menstruation supplies, or sickle-cell treatment, but there are much subtler genetic aspects.) Etc. UBI has a flexibility to incorporate capitalist providers into universal coverage as needed.

But, yeah, we absolutely need more controls on Capitol to deal with abuses like gouging. We need to enforce the ones we have on the books, but we also need more.

I guess the answer to at least one of those is no. Last time I tried a battery replacement, I broke the screen either during assembly or disassembly. I build my own desktop PCs, and have fixed laptop monitors and drives, but every time I attempt hardware repair on something phone-ish, I make it worse (even going back to when I owned an OpenMoko).

Existing studies show little or no affect on inflation.

https://ubiadvocates.org/universal-basic-income-faq-all-about-ubi/ (#11)

So, “just handing out money” is a way to implement UBI without hyperinflation.

11. Does UBI increase inflation?

The impact of UBI on inflation depends on various factors, including the funding mechanism, the level of the UBI payment, and broader macroeconomic conditions. Some studies suggest that modest UBI programs are unlikely to significantly impact inflation.

– https://ubiadvocates.org/universal-basic-income-faq-all-about-ubi/

Maybe he’s got a finer point, but it actually just looks like an argument against categorization. It’s like saying I don’t trust math about “triangles” or “scalene triangles” or “rhombuses” when you find out about the special properties of the equilateral triangle or the square.

The fact that there are differences between elements of a category does not eliminate the utility of the commonalities shared by elements of a category. It does limit that utility, yes.

For example, just because you are getting plenty of protein, if you somehow completely avoid one of the amino acids that the human body uses but can’t synthesize, then eventually you will have some fairly specific health problems. That’s not strong evidence that it’s worth micromanaging your macronutrients by tracking your intake of all amino acids individually. (It might be; I haven’t seen it studies either way.)

Maybe I’m missing some context, but I also get the “anti-science” vibe from the image.

Justice can be achieved without racism.

Actually, it can’t. Since racism caused the injustice, identifying the victims and restoring their losses is impossible without using it.

The pendulum swing (post-dampening) is the only practical way to get to justice.

This is especially true since we can’t know we’ve achieved societal justice without some measurement delay.

Popular and profitable things do way more damage no matter how “uncool” they are. Boomers making minion images will only worsen the problem.

There’s no option for me to choose a copyright-free world. But, I can choose to not use (or promote or propagate) works made by “AI” owned my MASSIVE corporations in violation of the copyrights of millions of independent, often non-profit-driven content creators (including myself).

Employment is a necessity under Capitalism. Performance is not.

I agree. I don’t really see any problem with her performing the play.

BUT, I’m not sure the library should be forced to let her use the space (or be assessed civil penalties). So, I don’t think she should sue or that the suit should go her way.

I could be convinced if the library is supposed to be providing performing space to the public and the library is controlled/funded by the government. Then, I think she might have free speech protections, especially after they had done some scheduling. Asking her to change the characters definitely seems like content policing, not mere “time and manner” control.

A talented artist should combine Zohran Mamdani’s campaign photo and the movie posters for “Conan the Destroyer” and “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” to produce a “Zohran the Destroyer” meme image.

Living in the sauna that is Arkansas, I don’t usually think about dry air, but I think you are correct. If you’ve dehydrated yourself through breathing, plain water is fine for hydration.

If you can have food that is an electrolyte source with your water, that’s fine.

If you consumed the food prior to the dehydrating events, it won’t assist in restoring electrolytic balance.

Tap water has too few electrolytes to restore your electrolytic balance after losing water (via sweating or urination). But yeah, it does technically contain electrolytes.

Yes, all the ways in which human lose water they also lose electrolytes (“salts”). More with sweat, but still some with urine. So, re-hydrating should include at least some of those. This has been known for decades, tho ravers often forget it and have died from hyponatremia.

Anyone working-class that’s unhappy with the DNC should look into the Working Families Party. They are non-existent where I am, but I believe they are fairly active in NYC in particular, and on the other coast as well.

Hopefully, the DNC won’t do something stupid (e.g. support someone other than Mamdani).

Is the NYC Mayor General also ranked choice? Vote splitting is less impactful with ranked choice.

Still, it would be nice to see what a democratic socialist executive can do with NYC.

Nah, it’s just new and improved: with Wings! (to stay in the right place all night long)

Clarke’s Maxim: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

Corollary / Contrapositive: Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.