Chewbacca Defense

Of all the folks on here to troll, Snowmizer is NOT one of them, he's a good guy and is one of the few who stay out of the drama BS that is a part of this forum

Definitely agree with you on this, and I too wish in hindsight that I went into a trade. There is a small percentage of students that max out their student loans and enjoy a very cushy lifestyle while going through college. They are part of the problem as they generate the most extreme student loan stories. College is supposed to be about scraping by. My wife and I chuckle at my son's transformation. Before college, he was all about the organic, fresh, basically really expensive top quality foods. He was eating very healthy (something my wife and I are not necessarily very good about) so we didn't really push him or put our foot down. That said, we told him he was getting $200 a month for food from us in college, and beyond that he was on his own. When he came home his preferences had definitely changed. He is still eating very healthy, but he for the most part dropped the requirement for the "organic" and "all-natural" foods, and he learned how to cook quite complex elaborate meals with basic ingredients.

Yeah sure, it was still possible then, or if you ended up with debt, is was relatively small. Average student debt was $14k in 1990. Average Student debt now is almost 40, or more than 2.5 times higher. By your logic that it's all relative, I guess minimum wage should be north of $18/hr and the median household income should be $117k (that's taking the 395% increase from the average tuition increase). My son went to Montana State but got in state tuition through a program they have out here on the west coast. He was in the band all 4 years and got scholarship money (about $2.5k/year), he worked part time through the school year, full time in the summer, and got about $5-7k from grandparents. He got a few hundred bucks from us every month to cover food expenses. Even with all of that, he still ended up with almost $30k in student loans, and he is lucky considering many of his peers have north of $50k in loans. Of course there are kids out there who were stupid and racked up $100k in debt living well beyond the means of a typical college student, and yeah, those kids need to own that. My son lived with 3-5 other people once he moved out of the dorms, drove a 20+ year old car that he bought for $700 and bought most of his clothes at a thrift store. While I admit I don't know exact details of all of these smaller forgiveness programs Biden is doing, I do know that the original plan was to forgive $20k in debt. Yes, my son would have benefited greatly from that since he only has $30k. But considering that the average student loan debt is almost $40k, that $20k forgiveness still leaves them about $20k (on average) to pay off. If nothing else, it would be easy enough to determine what portion of the student loans was tuition, fees and books, and what portion went to living expenses. Forgive the tuition/fees and make the kids pay back the living expenses. And maybe cap it at 5 years, to prevent "professional students." My son would be laughing in that scenario since all of his loan debt is for tuition. We give BILLIONS of dollars to corporations in the form of tax breaks, seems only fair we cut these kids some slack for a problem they did not create and did nothing to cause in the short time they have been adults in this country. I guess they could also just NOT go to college and be welfare leeches. There's an idea.

Listened to a story this morning about OB/GYNs leaving states with strict abortion bans in place in droves. I think it said there were only 4 full time OB/GYN's left in the state of Idaho. Kinda creates a problem for women needing prenatal care, especially high risk pregnancies. But it's ok, nothing to see here, move along.

Completely different world from when you (and I) went to college. I don't know exactly how old you are but I have gathered from previous posts you are at least around my age.... My freshman year of college was fall 1990. Unfortunately, my grades did not get me in where I wanted to go (University of Georgia) but had I gotten in, tuition, room and board would have been $6,600 per YEAR. For '23-24, it is $22,426 per year, or an increase of 240% And right around the time I left the state they passed a lottery bill with all proceeds going to education. I have no idea what they are doing now, 30 years later, but that would have at least slowed the growth for a period of time... Another school my family has strong ties to is Montana State University. in 1991, it was $7,765. For '23-24, it is $26,670, or a 247% increase. I could not find old tuition data for the closest major University to me, University of Washington, but the current tuition, room & board, is $34,948 per YEAR in 1990, the federal minimum wage was $3.80/hr. It is currently $7.25, which is a 91% increase in 1990, the median household income was $23,709. It is currently $67, 521, or a 185% increase. Certainly a hell of a lot better than the minimum wage, but pales in comparison to the tuition increases. I agree, kids these day *should* be paying their way the way we did, but is that a realistic ask? One more data point....the average tuition & fees cost across all 4 year public universities was $1,888 in 1990, and as of 2020, it was $9,349, which is a 395% increase. Compare that to a 185% increase in median household income?

Clearly you don't watch much stand up comedy...If he said, "every 28 to 32 days, but sometimes every other month, or sometimes at completely random times... there will be intense negotiations" you kinda kill the joke The whole point of stand up comedy is grabbing stereotypes, funny traits and personality quirks and having fun with it with quick and to the point stories/punchlines. If you really want to over analyze it, ***Typically*** by the time a potential candidate gains enough experience and has worked their way to being a "viable" presidential candidate, they are in their late 40's to early/mid 50's, which translates to menopause for ***most*** (but not all) women. The punchlines write themselves. Imagine a menopausal woman trying to tackle the topic of "climate change" I can visualize Robin Williams doing a stint on that as I type this on hot flashes & perception/reactions to global warming. Congratulations on having a rational and sensible life. I have dated women and had female friends who were perfectly rational sensible women until a certain point in their cycle when they went absolutely batshit crazy. I also have had female friends/dated women who didn't feel anything or maybe felt a little "yucky" Had one girlfriend where I tracked her cycle more closely than she did, and there were 1-2 days a month I made myself scarce. That one didn't last too long. As for the "trip to testosterone corner," Robin Williams spent more time picking on guys in his routines than he did women. He was an equal opportunity offender who would not be able to do stand up in today's snowflake world. Actually a good chunk of his material was a self depreciating look at himself as he battled drug and alcohol addiction. It is really sad because he was such a kind and generous person who unfortunately had a lot of demons to contend with. Cue a completely inappropriate comment from Andrew about him committing suicide in ....3....2...1

Reminds me of a comedy routine Robin Williams did on the idea of a woman President. He talked about how the man's mindset vs a woman's. For a man if he can't f*ck it he wants to kill it. For a woman, they are much more rational and levelheaded, but acknowledged that every 28 days there would be some "intense negotiations"

The thing is, the dude has been dodging legal troubles going back to the 70's. Prosecutions build a solid case, then it just disappears. Tends to happen when you have lots of money in a corrupt system, which is very much the case with New York. Let's not forget that for all of the bad stuff Al Capone was tied to, the only way they got him was on tax evasion.

Grazing on federal lands is something that has been a thing for generations of ranchers, so it's not like it is some recent boondoggle for ranchers. Like I said, a vast majority of ranchers are not rolling in the cash. So yes, they have access to them but its so bloody expensive to get the cattle there, there's a lot of calculus involved to figure out if its even worth it. And besides, what else would be done with the land if it wasn't being grazed? Government can't make any money off it just sitting there, so why not set up the leases? Pennies on the dollars is better than nothing, especially if it doesn't require much if any cost to make it happen. Back to using the land....to move the herd on "hoof" is a 6 day drive (which they did every year back when they actually had hands on the ranch), or its loading them on semis and driving them up there. And with that its constant trips up there to check the herd. There is a lot of risk with the heard being 40-50 miles away. They almost lost the herd to a forest fire one year. They inevitably lose some cattle to cattle rustlers (yes that is a thing). My wife's cousin has really dialed in their irrigation system and has been producing record hay crops in recent years, but that is dependent on having the rain/snow to feed the irrigation system, which is a system of canals with gates to control water flow, they basically selectively flood the pastures.

Any chance they had a mine near by that they were super paranoid/protective over? I've had a couple of friends who had mines up in the cascades, and they got pretty weird if the topic was ever broached with them.

Not sure what ranchers you know, but having married into a ranching family, I have yet to see a "corporate welfare recipient" rancher. I do see the meat packing companies consolidating and using their near monopoly status to drive down the price they have to pay ranchers for their cattle, meanwhile the cost of everything the rancher needs goes up. Not every ranch is like what you see on the show Yellowstone, in fact it's quite the opposite. My wife's family ranch has 1 full time employee, and he will probably be retiring soon. They do have 1 nice truck, but its an hour drive to get anywhere to get anything. They have a "grocery store" that is smaller than most convenience stores out here. To do any real shopping, home supplies, farm supplies etc, its an hour drive to Missoula. The other trucks and tractors are quite old. The cousin that has taken over the ranch from my wife's uncle is married to a gal that works remotely as a HR executive for a high end resort company, so they don't have to depend on the ranch to put food on their table. Pretty much all the other ranches in the valley have the same story (except for the wife with a fat salary part). When it comes time to brand or move cattle, all the ranchers in the valley help each other out. I have even helped out on cattle drives. We have often talked about whether or not the ranch will survive to the next generation. They have already had to fend off attempts to develop the area and someone even tried to build an airport (ok so that part is like the show Yellowstone). It wasn't tied to any sort of resort or ski resort, so it was pretty easy to shut down. That said, the bench across from the ranch house that was completely bare except for grass and scrub brush when my wife's grandfather gazed on it when he took his last breath now has houses on it. They butt right up against the property line of the ranch. Not sure where the corporate welfare fits in all that...

We had one in Northridge park a couple of months ago, which as you can see is completely surrounded by neighborhoods. It is the green patch near the center of the picture. Lots of folks caught pictures on trail cams and security cameras. I'm pretty sure it (or one of its friends) was in the woods behind my house last winter. Went through a period where I could not get the dog to go out in the back yard. She would absolutely panic and try and wiggle out of her collar and drag me back to the house. About 2 weeks later, someone caught it on a trail camera about a mile from my house (down in the valley I live above).

You say that like its a bad thing. How about we shoot for all of Florida being under water. Arizona has water issues...has had water issues for a really long time, yet people keep building there like there is no tomorrow. Sounds like a self-inflicted wound

Baker had to cancel the banked slalom competition this year, and the Memorial Ski to Sea Race just announced they are already planning a no-snow contingency for the cross country and downhill portions of the race. They are hoping to get enough late season snow to make it so they don't have to go to plan B

The emissions crap they put on my VW TDI ruined it, part of the reason I sold it. A lot of folks that live in states that don't have emissions testing are "hitting potholes" that make all that emissions crap "fall off." I was tempted to do it with mine, but in the end I wasn't driving it enough to justify the expense of the new exhaust system and tune. Those cars also took pretty big hits to MPG with all the emissions crap. Folks were able to see 50-60mpg if they drove it right. Folks are lucky to see 50 mpg driving downhill with a strong tailwind. I got 38mpg on a couple of trips to Montana, but for most of my driving I only got 25-28mpg. Not sure the tradeoff was worth it with those emissions rules. Flip side to that, the morons in Olympia put up a bill to restrict tire sales to fuel efficient, low rolling resistance tires. From what I have researched, those types of tires are less durable and have less tread depth. Cool, so we can have more road alligators littering the freeways, and more wrecked cars since more people will end up hydroplaning. Thankfully the bill died before making it to the floor.

oh wow...that's crazy. We used to go to Paul's Place a lot when we went there, especially when my mother in law came to town. My wife grew up in Corvallis, and they went there all the time, especially on trips to/from the coast. I know that place is gone now...Not sure if we would even recognize anything any more if we were to come back down there (its only been 21 years LOL)

A little tidbit....as most of folks on this page know, Philomath Oregon is pronounced fah-loh-muth (something to that effect.) There is also a Philomath in Georgia, a little bit south of Athens, and it is actually pronounced fi-low-math. It's actually referenced in the first and 3rd verse of the REM song "Can’t Get There from Here" When we moved out here, we landed in Albany, but spent most of our time in Corvallis since our goal was to go to OSU. It took us a little while to connect that fah-loh-muth = fi-low-math. There's your useless fact for the day. Carry on.

You want to throw your money away, knock yourself out. I'll even help you with the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-trump-raise-the-settlement They have raised $33k so far. Almost there, 0.01% of the goal, should have the $335M by tomorrow morning.

And I have no doubt that you would feel the exact same way if it was Biden on the hook for everything that Trump has been accused of doing. /sarcasm

Russia was a boogeyman for both parties until very recently. Now, with the Trump brand of Republican party, Putin's apparently a great guy. Let's not forget that Trump said he believed Putin over our own intelligence services back in 2018. Back when it was the USSR, I think both parties held similar positions against them. Both countries sought and achieved treaties to slow the growth of nuclear weapons and development. And both parties sought to defeat communism. And even in more recent times, it's not just Democrats calling out Putin and Russia. John McCain didn't really beat around the bush: “Vladimir Putin is a thug and a murderer and a killer and a KGB agent,” McCain said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Dec. 11, 2016. Although, I realize he's not the right kind of Republican, and had the audacity to get captured and become a POW, so his word probably means nothing to you. Mike Pence had this to say in 2022: "There can be no room in the conservative movement for apologists to [Vladimir] Putin. There is only room in this movement for champions of freedom," he said. "Appeasement has never worked, ever, in history." Oh wait, he's also the wrong kind of republican. He couldn't "do his job" on January 6th. Paul Ryan seemed to think they were the boogeyman back in 2018: “There is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world,” said Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, in a statement. “That is not just the finding of the American intelligence community but also the House Committee on Intelligence.” Ryan continued, “The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally. There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals. The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy.”

He still has to pony up the money BEFORE he can ask for an appeal and put it in a bond (I believe the judge dictates the terms). Either way, he has to come up with the money, and soon. I believe there is an option that someone can pony up the money on his behalf, but given Trump's propensity for f*cking people over and not paying his debts, anyone willing to cover him.....well lets just say a fool and his money would soon be parted.

Probably a good idea. If nothing else, its good insurance. I'm sure you have good insurance on your car collection and shop, I guess I would not treat this any different. Something else just popped in my mind.... I assume they will maintain it...but what does that mean/include. You don't want it to get so bad you are having to crawl in 4 low just to get to your cabin. You'd think they wouldn't let it get that bad but you never know... Also, liability...if some log truck driver goes flying off the road, need to be sure they can't sue you, or the government can't try to come back on you as the property owner for hundreds of gallons of spilled diesel (for example) that gets into a stream....stupid crap like that. Maybe you should be asking for them to carry some sort of huge insurance policy or bond....a lawyer would be able to help you with that. Maybe some discussions/consideration for timing, how long will this project last. If it goes past a certain point, what then? Probably nothing, but if they tell you 2 years and 5 years later you still have a bunch of log truck tearing through your property. And what about if you wanted to do something with the property near where they are going to cut the road. Would you be limited? Maybe you wanted to carve off a parcel of land near that road for a good friend or family member? My extended family (held by the estates of my grandmother and her sisters) had a chunk of property in Georgia that was extremely valuable except for the fact that it did not have a right of way. I think it took 10-20 years to get a right of way deal worked out to be able to realize the full value of the land. Within the family we had some very smart, very high dollar real estate, developer and business investment folks working the issue. We had it "almost there" more times than I can count Your situation is the opposite of what my family was up against) and I doubt it will get as contentious, but still shows it can get big in a hurry.

When you say you have them by the balls, is there any sort of imminent domain claim there? It doesn't sound like it, but worth throwing it out there....

Wish they had full immunity? maybe... Try to hide any activities that might be illegal or at least violate the spirit of the law......sure. Outright give the rule of law and constitution the middle finger? Nah....I think Trump stands alone there, especially to the extent at which he is trying to take this. While I of course have absolutely no idea what that man is really thinking, I am sure he would really like the immunity thing, but recognizes its not going to happen. But what will happen with this nonsense is he is and will continue to trigger delays, which he hopes will push all of this to after the election. That's his endgame as I think he thinks he can find a way to win...probably not through votes, but through manipulation of the system by way of the courts and other means. If Trump got what he wanted with the immunity thing....Biden could literally walk up to Trump on national TV and slit his throat Game of Thrones style and not face any repercussions whatsoever. I would like to think that someone....anyone...has pointed that out to him. I personally do not want ANY president to have that kind of freedom from prosecution.