barneypiccolo

Iran-Contra was an actual conspiracy, and it truly happened. I once explained it to someone younger who had never heard of it, and when I was finished explaining they asked "Did that really happen?"

The government's justification for passing useless laws that allow them to collect fines, doesn't change the fact that I have no problem hearing things like horns and sirens, because I use my earbuds in a safe and responsible manner, like a safe and responsible adult. I don't require the government, and especially not YOU, to insist that I be ruled over like a child. I have lived a long life, I have made my living as a small business owner for almost 30 years, and I don't allow ignorant strangers to impose their idiotic demands on my life.

Go take a flying fuck at a rolling donut, Karen.

And yet, I can hear car horns and sirens without a problem. It's almost like you don't have a fucking clue about what you are talking about.

By your logic, we should ban car stereos, passengers, and now windows and insulation.

And motorcycles should definitely be prohibited.

Biden was a couple of rows behind him, and I was really hoping he'd reach forward and flick HitlerPig's ear and then sit up straight and look innocent.

Yeah, I agree. Employers generally don't like their employees feeling too good about themselves. Can't have the slaves getting all uppity, they might demand more.

How do you know what I can hear? I've made much of my living in the classical music business, and I have what are known in the business as "golden ears." I can hear car horns just fine.

Just for you, I'll be leaving my house in an hour or so to run some errands, and I will make sure to wear my earbuds the entire time. I'll edit this comment when I get home, and report on all the accidents I caused.

Ive been stockpiling canned proteins like tuna, chicken, clams, oysters, etc. even Spam. They may not be trustworthy in the future, but they are right now, so stack them up.

I can make a cheap but killer soup with a can of chicken, some ramen, and herbs, and i can even grow the herbs myself.

They'll say it, but they won't truly believe it. They'll know the truth, or at least those that still possess some human awareness. There will always be those that are irredeemable, you can't worry about them, they're just lost.

Cargo container bookings are down 60%. 60%! Thats an incredible drop, and it really hasn't even started yet.

I'm ready for a "Hot Tariff Summer."

I've been on a no-purchase kick for a while now, even before HitlerPig was elected. We have become such a culture of consumerism that it had started to disgust me. I've embraced the "re-use, repair, re-sell, recycle" philosophy. If i need something, i try to buy it used.

I'm a guitarist, so I buy used guitars when i get a good deal, clean them up, fix them, and re-sell them at a small profit. It puts a beautiful instrument back into service, allows a poor or new musician an opportunity to have an inexpensive but quality instrument, and its music makes the world a slightly more beautiful place.

I even went on a much-needed diet (down 80 pounds so far, and still going), and decreasing my consumption, and spending less money with evil corporations, is a primary motivation.

So let the shelves be empty of cheap Chinese-made consumer goods, i don't need them, despite how much advertising and marketing tells me i do.

The silver lining is that if tariffs become a longterm thing, people will be forced to come around to my way of thinking, and when the tariffs finally end, corporations may be surprised to find that nobody needs their shiny crap any more.

That's a very valid perspective, i agree.

But it seems like if someone is going to be inspired by a diamond-encrusted swatika to commit hate crimes, they were already pretty far down that path anyway. I don't think the jeweler who is trying feed his family is at fault.

But why are they so dangerous? The only reason i can think of is because of sirens. I keep my volume levels at a reasonable levels, primarily because i don't want to damage my ears. I have never been suprised by an emergency vehicle, i ALWAYS hear them coming.

On the other hand, people who are just walking down the street need to be much more aware of their surroundings, like vehicles, dogs, machinery, yelled warnings, other potentially dangerous people, etc., yet nobody is suggesting that headphones be prohibited from use on the sidewalk, bus, airplane, subway, or anywhere else that safety is a priority, only cars.

Besides, i can always blast my car stereo speakers loud enough to drown out emergency vehicles, and speaking with a passenger is just as distracting as speaking on the phone, so why aren't car stereos or speaking to passengers prohibited?

The simple fact is that "safety" is the go-to excuse for the government to allow them to be more predatory towards car drivers. They have identified drivers as a cash cow for additional tax revenue, and they are always looking for new "crimes" to issue more fines.

Insurance companies are another factor. They want any excuse to fraudulently deny you the coverage you have paid for, so if they can claim you had headphones, they can deny your claim, even if the headphones had nothing to do with it.

The government and insurance company are only watching out for your safety and well-being, right? Money has nothing to do with it, right? Why would ANYBODY believe that?

Im not the one being intellectually dishonest, you are. Nobody has identified a single valid reason why wearing headphones is inherently dangerous. Its not the headphones that are the problem, its how they are used, and i consciously use them in a safe manner. But the "authorities" need judgemental citizens like you to help them demand acceptance by those of us who resist increased suppression of our freedoms. I'm not hurting anyone with my ear buds, so leave me the fuck alone.

I agree, I'd refuse it, but I can't judge someone who is self-employed, and needs to keep the money rolling in. Traditionally, artists have had to work for wealthy patrons they havent cared for, but that's the flip side of being an artist, and why the dream is always artistic independence.