It's because we have chins. They think we're weird.

I don't know the justification, but I imagine the why is that some wealthy construction company owner asked for it because providing shade/water/whatever would reduce profits, and the bribe costed marginally less than the protecting their employees.

You know what has to be accessible? Public schools. You know what is right across the street from the two churches that have been my designated voting location? Public schools.

May or may not be relevant. Statistically, people with illnesses like schizophrenia are no more likely to commit violent crimes than the general population (but are more likely to be victims of violent crimes). There are documented cases of people with schizophrenia killing or commiting other violent acts in response to delusions, but it's usually in an act that they perceive as self-defense rather than being driven by malice or desire to harm. I.e., it's generally more like "I killed my dad because he was going to kill me" rather than "I went out and murdered some random women because no women like me."

It's a toss up between

1. R telling me she was on birth control, I guess thinking it'd keep me around if we had a kid, then when our kid was age 4 she said she had cancer and disappeared for several months. Turns out she never had cancer and just said that so I wouldn't think poorly of her for abandoning her child to run off with a guy in another state. ...Her child that she was barely present for anyway.
2. D getting me to empty my 401k to buy a house as an investment property for "our" retirement, only for her to keep it in the divorce. I could have pushed for it to be sold and gotten at least some of my money back, but she would have put up such a fight that I'd have spent in attorney's fees as much as I would have won from the sale, so it wasn't worth the fight to me, and she knew that.

What'd I learn from these? Not a whole lot, it turned out: my next relationship wasn't much better. But at least I figured out to end that one before it got TOO too deep.

As an Arch-using vegan, ...I have no retort.

(I use arch, btw (also I'm vegan btw))

Trader Joe's is one of those other companies that is party to this. Trader Joe's doesn't believe in the rights of its workers either. I have stopped shopping at Trader Joe's and I encourage others to do the same.

Yeah, they'd take the plane straight back to a gate and pass you off to EMS. And then leave without you.

Eh, not all of them. I have 7 brothers and sisters, all of us raised Southern Baptist and thus obviously Republican, and I think only 2 are really likely to vote regressively. A 3rd could go either way. The rest of us have seen through the BS. I know it's only one anecdotal data point, and I suspect we're the exception rather than the norm, but I think it illustrates that Republican policy and hypocrisy are massively unappealing to people who have a capacity for empathy and critical thinking, and thus that we're not necessarily doomed.

People kept asking why it was taking so long to bring charges at all - this is why. Yes, the crimes are obvious and some were even committed in public view, but if you're going after high level government officials - if you're going after a former president of the United States - you better make sure you have every last detail in order. For crimes of such magnitude, you can't risk the case getting dismissed or overturned based on a frivolous detail or a minor oversight or a technicality. It has to be iron-clad and air-tight, with every 'i' dotted and every 't' crossed.

Trump isn't some common thief or vandal. He's not just a crime boss or a corrupt politician. He's a history-altering, would-be dictator who tried to stage a coup to overthrow our government. There is no room for error.

Most of the followers can't see past "we're going to save America from the evil Democrats". It's not as if Fox News or OAN put the fascist behaviors on display. They genuinely believe Trump when he says the Democrats are persecuting him, rather than that the justice system is prosecuting him for crimes - his only "crime" was trying to save America from those evil commie Democrats, after all. They take all the BS at face value because ... tribalism and fear or something?

The only people in the Republican party who actually understand what's happening are the rich and the powerful. Everyone else, the voters especially, are just useful idiots.

Most of them are never going to be able to afford a house.