impulse

That's a sweeping assumption. I was with Progressive, too. Got quotes from several others. It's largely a function of where you live. Some states require the insurance companies to "subsidize" uninsured motorists. Texas, being close to the border, has a lot of uninsured drivers. In addition, I didn't have a current US credit rating since I haven't borrowed any money in over 20 years and my US bank accounts were closed out because I didn't have a US address. And I paid off and tore up my US credit cards in 1999 when I couldn't receive the bills where I lived in China. So technically, I'm sure I have a US credit rating and it's not the kind that insurance companies like to see, with no activity in over 20 years. Edit: I'd add that my car insurance rates went way down when I moved from Texas to Wyoming in the '90s, then went way up when I moved to California a couple of years later. Same cars. Same coverage limits. Same credit history. The only thing that changed was the location. Made a huge difference.

And I forgot that some can dish it out, but can't take it.

What's this "we" crap? You got a mouse in your pocket? Yanks don't even need Thai nominees. We can own 100%. That's gotta sting.

To renew my BOI work permit each year, my company had to show evidence that I paid income tax on at least 80,000 baht a month. Normally, I think it's a minimum of 50,000 baht a month, but my WP was in oil and gas. That's an expensive ask for anyone holding a WP and not making any money. Unless, of course, the agent was paying off gub'ment employees to forget about the income tax requirement. My heart goes out to any participants who legitimately thought they had a legal company. And anyone who gets caught out in the future. I suspect a lot of guys posting here could get caught up, even though they think they're doing everything legally.

I always get oily skin when in Thailand. I always chalked it up to the oily food and sweating like a pig in the heat. That's unscientific, but the temporal correlation is that it gets less noticeable when I'm not in Thailand eating fried foods and soaked in sweat. I'm all for finding a good doctor and doing the tests, but the first thing I'd try is to avoid fried and oily foods for a few days and see if that makes a difference.

Who was it that, thousands of years ago, predicted that a democracy will fail when people can vote themselves money from the treasury? Politicians are giving away money in return for votes and campaign donations, bankrupting the treasury. In return, voters who want their benefits to continue and their student loans to go away are voting for them, and corporations who want favorable policies are donating to them. And millions more are illegally crossing borders for the freebies, who will eventually become voters. Probably sooner than the law currently allows.

I still haven't recovered from my last mRNA shot over 2 years ago. Based on discussion with my doctors, I expect to live with the debilitating effects until they throw dirt in my face.

Back home, they call it the septic tank overflowing, because of all the rain. I guess the rain is a natural phenomenon. But not the poorly designed septic tank that overflows when it rains.

Seems reasonable to register street vendors, if only to know who has permission to hawk their wares in that location. I doubt the tax implications are too onerous, especially if they self report. Are they local? Are they Thai? Are they wanted in another province? The taxing Rubicon will come when every transaction has to be accompanied by a sales tax invoice (like a 7/11 receipt). That would allow the Revenue Department to track revenue and start enforcing taxes. But I don't see that coming for awhile.

If word got out that you could overstay without a fine, they'd have millions of overstayers. And I'm always open to the possibility he had open warrants they wanted to look into. I'm assuming, of course, that he was detained because he couldn't cough up the 20,000 baht on the spot. I'd agree with your sentiment if he had the dosh and they still took him to the cop shop just to add to his misery. (and to make him miss his flight, $$$...)

As long as you're not planning to return to Thailand for a year or so...

We know more than you... He's legally allowed to be on the ballot. But the RNC convention is 3 days after sentencing. He's not on the ballot, so he can't "stay on the ballot". He's just the presumptive candidate at this point. You figure he'll still be the candidate if the judge sends him to jail pending appeal? Or puts him under house arrest with an ankle monitor and a gag order so he can't travel the country to campaign? He may not even be allowed to go to the RNC Convention. On a related note, do you also figure the first move by Dems after he's inaugurated wouldn't be to impeach him, again and again and again?

The appeal won't be settled before the November election. But their real intent isn't to put Trump in prison. It's to keep him off the ballot.

True. He limited the testimony to stuff that would help the prosecution and wouldn't allow lines of questioning that would help the defense. That being the case, the defense would have been stoopid to call them. And they're not stoopid. He gave both of the prostitutes wide range, that far exceeded facts pertinent to the case.

Small correction here. It was the judge who disallowed their testimony. Like he should have disallowed the hooker's testimony, but didn't.

Trump campaign donations are through the roof. He even got a $300K donation from a former Clinton donor and Biden voter. (Who's now a Never Bidener) His donation line was so swamped, it went down. https://dailycaller.com/2024/05/30/shaun-maguire-silicon-valley-donation-trump-campaign-2024-presidential-election/ Never Trumpers are moving over in droves. Every time Biden speaks babbles or Trump gets bad news in kangaroo court...

When do the kids learn to share, resolve conflict (which will serve them later at work), and to wait their turn, and learn social skills, and how to navigate social hierarchy? 30 kids in a class is a mixed blessing/curse. Great preparation for thriving in the office, that's going to look much the same.

My suggestion doesn't involve being in the same abode at the same time. You'd never even have to see your partners. Schedule a rotation and hire a cleaning crew to come in between "shifts". One guy (or gal) leaves, the cleaners come in, then the next guy (or gal) comes in. I do agree that it would take some coordination and a real mature group of participants. It has its challenges, but would be more economical and a better living situation (IMO) than hotels. If there's 3 partners, that would be 3 lockable armoires to keep your stuff when it's not your turn.

Most of us work for a living, and very few have the training to teach, even in subjects where we're experts. Knowing something inside and out isn't the same as teaching it. It's an admirable endeavor. But not practical for most families.

Seems like a few of you guys should get together and rent or buy 3 or 4 places in SE Asia, then rotate occupancy so you're never a tax resident (in Thailand, anyway). Unless you can find a 3-6 month lease...

$14-15K USD seems a reasonable amount for a reserve to insure Thailand isn't stuck with a hospital bill should anything go wrong. At the end of the term, the 500K would still belong to me. That's a lot more palatable to me than requiring health insurance, which is money that's gone. And for a lot of us with pre-existing conditions, it's money that's wasted since coverage would be denied on that basis for the issues most likely to send us to hospital. My guess is that anyone who isn't able and willing to stash 500K in a Thai bank isn't in their target demographic anyway. That's not a judgment of personal virtue. Just pragmatism. Edit: To anyone who thinks their big nestegg in a back home bank should suffice, here's a thought experiment... Imagine how you'd access that money laying unconscious (or worse) in a hospital bed.

1.5x as many infections, 3.8x as many hospitalizations and 4.1x as many deaths. So, for every additional infection, there would have been 3.8/1.5 = 2.5 more hospitalizations and 4.1/1.5 = 2.7 more deaths. That's a neat trick. Each infection causing 2.5 hospitalizations and 2.7 deaths. Unless, of course, that's the narrative your study is designed to support.

To bring forward a case that the DOJ declined to prosecute, as well as Bragg's predecessor.

Sure. Just like I'd trust a jury in Laurel Mississippi in the trial of a Black man accused of raping a white girl. They selected the venue based on a guy who ran on "get Trump", in an area that voted overwhelmingly against Trump, and they hand selected a judge that supports his political opponent and whose daughter is making a fortune working for the opponent. What could possibly be unfair?

And Hillary was free to call half the US voters deplorable. Look what that genius statement got her. Holding a political rally in front of the courthouse while claiming the trial isn't political. Not a good look. Even Karl Rove says it was stoopid. https://www.foxnews.com/media/robert-de-niros-over-top-tirade-stupid-mistake-biden-campaign-karl-rove