The word you’re looking for is etcetera. And unless you plan to return to community banks where you have to get to know the local banker to get a mortgage, you need this system.

I’m not sure how tying this to capitalism makes sense…lending is a risk, they are betting that you’ll remain employed and will continue to pay them - there is a chance you won’t and you pay a premium to get money now. Communist countries also have this system, but it is more centrally controlled by the State.

Good luck, looks like the priced it by the pound

The Biden administration is actively working on brokering a cease fire. Did you know the US is not one of the combatants in this war?

Also your alternative is Trump. Kindly fall in line unless you think that Trump would provide a balanced approach. Spoiler alert,he 100% would not

No, you’re a fool if you truly believe this. Every generation has had some form of this feeling. Imagine considering having children during WW1, or WW2, or during Vietnam or Korea? Then after that we had McCarthyism and the Cold War - all seemingly hopeless days. Yet there is still so much beauty in the world, and there is so much that makes life worth living.

My son will turn 2 in a few months. It’s tough being a parent, but it is entirely worth it. You cannot give into myopia - every time I hear him laugh, I am reminded that there is good in the world and it is worth fighting for. He will have his own challenges to face in life, but it is our job as a society to equip him, and all of the next generation, with the tools they need to succeed.

I’m troubled about the future, but you cannot make that stop you from striving for better days. As Marcus Aurelius said, never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.

I’ve been re-reading the Lord of the Rings lately, and there is a lot there on this topic, but I always think back to Sam. We all should be so lucky to have a friend like that, but what he says when all hope seems to be lost is truly striking:

“It’s like the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it’ll shine out the clearer. I know now folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going because they were holding on to something. That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”

Tolkien wrote this after his experiences fighting in The Somme. If he could find hope and found the courage to keep striving for better days, then so should we.

Enjoy living under Trump, then

There is an excellent book called “Alaric the Goth” by Douglas Boin that goes into a great amount of detail into the cultural shift. A big shift was when Honorius stripped freedom of religion away, this served to move Roman society towards Christianity and reinforced the view of the tribes as barbarians.

And correct, actually incorporating non-Romans into the military was a great way for those tribes to attain a stable life after since they enjoyed the same benefits as Roman soldiers for their service. When that was stripped away, they also would be subjected to terrible treatment and often had poor provisions.

This was not the Vandals, it was the Visigoths led by Alaric I. The sacking of Rome followed years of rights being stripped away from tribal peoples as a new Cesar transitioned from a period of equality where the tribes enjoyed Roman status, to Emporer Honorius who stripped all that away. This also led to a period of famine and terrible treatment where they were viewed as barbarians, when in fact many left their Pagan ways behind to become Christians.

Alaric I himself was denied a generalship in the regular Roman army, an accomplishment that would have been granted before Horonius.

So, no, comparing this sniveling group of Trump Terds to the Visigoths is wholly inaccurate. It would be more correct to compare it to Native A.erican wars that followed the Trail of Tears, or any of the many atrocities we committed against native peoples.

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1449/sack-of-rome-410-ce/#:~:text=In August of 410 CE,Rome and sacked the city.

Based on what specific actions? Just curious

Tug the foreskin? Lol

This looks like a Portlandia sketch lol

Star Wars Clone Wars, but CoD mobile style.

Oh, I’m so glad that the TSA kept us safe from the sealed olive oil purchased on a trip that I accidentally put in my carry on, but let this slip through.

Is he typing with a slim jim?? Lol

The Bay of Biscay? Lol

DMX died 2 years ago