impulse

I did that in New Jersey 45+ years ago. I even timed the yellow light to show that it was too short and there was an instant when a car doing the speed limit could enter on a green and still be in the intersection when the light turned red. (I was a poor college student (engineering) and couldn't afford the ticket) I even had the DOT specs, showing that the short yellow didn't pass muster. The judge commiserated and cut me a smaller fine because I was a student, but explained that the law was, "you can't be in the intersection when the light turns red". Every time I passed that intersection there was a cop car there, trolling for revenue. That was my only moving violation in 50 years of driving. To the OP, pay the fine, take your leaning lumps, and move on. Life's too short.

I'm the same with Sowell. I can't dispute the fact after fact and statistic after statistic that he quotes. I assume his university research team vets them thoroughly for his books. That's what fascinates me. He explains the differences in American enclaves settle by Germanic migrants and the enclaves settled by, for example, the Scottish migrants. But I do disagree with some of his conclusions. Though I'd say he absolutely nails some of my experiences as a Yankee transplant when I moved to Houston, Texas around 1980 as a college student. Especially west Texans... He's got them pegged (as a whole, obviously they're not all the same since a lot of them are oilfield transfers)

I've recently been listening to some Thomas Sowell audio books. He presents a lot of fascinating history of the culture coming out of various parts of Europe, where the cultures were transplanted, and how that still affects the world, hundreds of years later. Spoiler alert... Some may not like what he says about the cultures from Northern England and Scotland of yesteryear. While he says that area has outgrown the historical redneck culture, the places around the world where it landed haven't outgrown it to this day. He's not kind to the southern USA, or the internal diaspora that moved all over the USA during the WW2 manufacturing boom. I dozed off for a few hours and woke up when he was talking about Germanic culture. I need to go back and replay that chapter. It seemed very interesting. I play the audio books in the background while I'm doing other things. Like napping.

I have no doubt that the guy's evil and he needs to rot in jail. But I, too, wonder how many of the plaintiffs were willing participants who either changed their minds, are angry that they didn't become stars, or just smell a payday.

How many Blackhawks have the Somalis built? Destroying stuff is easy, in relative terms.

Maybe she's had an Irish root or 2 on her climb up the ladder. But that's usually an East Coast thing.

Don't you think it's a little arrogant to believe that you have the singular correct answer and probably 60+ million people are wrong? Hell, I'm open to the possibility that both all sides cheated and one side just did it better. But don't try to tell me there was no cheating, no smurfing, and no balloting irregularities. And that there won't be any in 2024.

Judge Joe Brown knew she'd go that low. He knew her back in the day...

Zero for 3.

70% of Repubs, 53% of Independents and millions of Dems still doubted the results as late as 2023. Lot of us still do. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/03/politics/cnn-poll-republicans-think-2020-election-illegitimate/index.html But then, HRC is still claiming 2016 was stolen.

Let's be honest... Who do you think the Childless Cat Ladies listened more attentively to? Edit: Yeah. I know. It's not fair. I look more like gramps than blue eyes, too. I just learned to live with the reality. Piercing blue eyes are gonna get the chicks.

I got it...

He's playing to the base... CNN Poll: Percentage of Republicans who think Biden’s 2020 win was illegitimate ticks back up near 70% Also: There has been an uptick in the share of political independents who feel that it’s at least somewhat likely, though, from 42% who felt that way last summer to 53% now. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/03/politics/cnn-poll-republicans-think-2020-election-illegitimate/index.html It's okay if you have 70% who disagree with policy. But you have a real problem if 70% don't trust the election results. Not to mention millions and millions of Dems that don't trust the results, and over half (53%) of the independents. His refusal is a neutral. Won't cost him anything with voters who don't have the syndrome.

I was responding to a claim that "Every problem in Thailand always comes down to laziness and greed." Injecting a little dose of economic realty that low wages and lack of funds make even the most genuine of efforts difficult at best. It's not all laziness and greed. That claim is the derogatory one. Coming from nanny state refugees... Who want "back home" safety at Thai competitive prices. You can have one, or you can have the other. Not both.

A great first step would be to re-open the dis-used airport in Songkhla town so tourists don't have to take the white knuckle van ride from Hat Yai to the beach. Edit: Even a limited flight schedule once or twice a day to keep the nuisance noise down...

Is there not a database in Thailand to check a doctor's credentials before paying them to inject goop into you? If there's not, there should be.

The 2 "debates" may change the landscape for future debates, with the "moderators" proving once again that they're biased and can't be counted on to adhere to agreements, nor decency.

Interesting that most photos are blurred. This one isn't. On the outside chance that some of them are advocates, and not actual sex workers.

All kidding aside, I'd suggest keeping the battery where it won't start the whole house on fire if it goes off. And though I don't know if it would be adequate, buy a steel safe (with a fire rating) big enough to hold it, if you do have to keep it indoors. At the very least, it'll give you and your loved ones some time to escape. That's one of those low probability but catastrophic if it happens scenarios.

I wonder how many other passports he had and has. And how many countries would have let him (and his plane) in, even if he didn't have one.

I'm pretty sure that pardon thingy is "all she wrote" on the topic.

I have perused factories that rebuild buses from the chassis up in Thailand. Between Bangkok and Kanchanaburi, if I recall. They look nothing like the original when they're done. But I was appalled at the plywood frames and the thin aluminum skins. They looked like they'd either burst into flames or turn into matchsticks in a collision. Or both.

When my female co-worker wanted to visit the USA (pre-Covid), we hired an agency to help her get her tourist visa. I consider it money well spent. Nothing dodgy, They just made sure her paperwork was complete and there were no red flags. They did suggest she not mention my name at any time during the process. She had a good job in BKK and some Australia travel history, but no real $$ assets in Thailand. She got a 10 year tourist visa, first try. Stayed with me in Texas for a week to get over jet lag, then headed off on her own for another 2-3 weeks to visit Las Vegas, and relatives in California. A few months later, I got photos from her next trip, on the East Coast. From Florida to Niagara Falls.

What agency (if any) gets called in from Europe, given that it's an Airbus?

Good info. Thanks for the reply.