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Reflect on this - if we eradicated poverty by constructing a #basicincome floor, think of the ripple effects. We would reduce crime rates, improve health outcomes, and even boost our economy as people gain the ability to spend more.

UBI isn't charity; it's a high ROI investment.

When a government attempts to discredit The Hague, it's a sign something has gone terribly wrong in that country. My latest:

#cartoon #comic #politics #war #humanrights #gaza

The brains behind Trump's stolen #SupremeCourt have detailed plans: they didn't just scheme to pack the court with judges who weren't qualified for - or entitled to - a SCOTUS life-tenure, they also set up a series of cases for that radical court to hear.

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/02/upward-redistribution/#bedoya

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Pluralistic: Worker misclassification is a competition issue (02 Feb 2024) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

Who did it better?
100 years ago, J Harlen Bretz figured out Eastern Washington’s geological backstory

On a map, the Channeled Scablands look like a couple of melting gray jellyfish draped across Eastern Washington. The tentacles are geological scars.

The Seattle Times

I was photographing the front of a recently restored historic hotel when from behind me this guy said, you can take my photo if you want.

I said, I don't usually photograph random people, but since you asked I'll give it a go.

I took a few shots and asked, would you like to see?

He said, I don't care what you do with it.

I showed him the photo.

I said, I think you look nice. Thank you for letting me photograph you.

He looked at it & said, It looks nice.

#Photography #StreetPhotography

I was on a flight today and I had to switch seats with someone so I could sit next to my wife and daughter.

The person I switched with was totally fine with it. (I mean who would want to sit next to some random 2-year-old on a flight anyway. (Well, I would. (She's adorable.)))

So one of the flight attendants hears this and I'm convinced she must just be the enemy of cheeriness because she swooped down on us with a furious determination to end our 2 player game of musical chairs.

It sounded something like this:
> If you guys are going to change seats you need to notify a flight attendant.
> you cant just switch seats that puts the balance of the plane in jeopardy.
> They balance out the plane according to the weight of the passengers using the luggage in the undercarriage if people switch seats it throws that whole thing off.
> I will need to speak to the captain about this.

And she does.

While she is up there talking to the captain two dudes in front of us had the following conversation.

> Did they take your weight when you ordered your ticket?
> No. Did they take yours?
> No. But, she's totally right. You know they got a guy down there with the luggage during the flight right?
> What?
> Yeah hes down there. Every time someone goes to the bathroom he has to run to the other end of the plane to keep it balanced or we crash.
> …
> Yep. And if it's a really big guy he has to like pick up weights and carry them.
> Me: Yeah. They call them Weight Runners. Super important people.
> (We sounded very convincing)

The third guy totally bought this. It was hilarious.

So anyway, the flight attendant comes back and just like totally ignores us. Doesnt even report back what the captain says.

I don't even care though. We just convinced a guy that Weight Runners are real and they know when you go to the bathroom.
Six Things You Are Not Allowed To Say To Me About 'Godzilla Minus One' | Defector

Yesterday, I took my youngest son to see Godzilla Minus One. This is the 37th Godzilla movie and the 33rd made by Japanese movie studio Toho, which birthed the franchise in 1954 and made Shin Godzilla in 2016. Shin Godzilla kicked a whole lot of ass, and I expected this latest Godzilla effort to do […]

Here's A Cool Picture Of Uranus | Defector

Not all science has to, you know, advance science. Sure, Webb is constantly discovering all sorts of neat things about our universe. But sometimes NASA decides to point its $10,000,000,000 space telescope at shiny things just because they know it’d make a good photo. And they’re right! Here’s Uranus, our oddball seventh planet, aglow in […]