LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
Well unfortunately we have such a deadlock in the senate that “friends” are necessary. Less about compromise, more about making a deal to get your legislation backed when Joe Manchin has to be a Republican
US Politics XXXII: Cancel my subscription to the insurrection
- Thread starter Hewson
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
- Status
Well unfortunately we have such a deadlock in the senate that “friends” are necessary. Less about compromise, more about making a deal to get your legislation backed when Joe Manchin has to be a Republican
Jerry Dunk
Refugee
I do disagree, but I at least get what you are saying and frankly don't think it matters that much to get into it. Normally, I would think it's extremely exploitable for the opposition as a sort of "bait-and-switch" criticism, but the GOP seems more interested in fighting different battles these days, so I don't think the $2000 vs. $1400 thing is going to end up being that memorable of a battle.
I'm much more concerned about the changing framework of who is eligible. It's already extremely flawed in how it's been based on 2019 taxes, which does not at all account for people being hit hard on their 2020 income. Now, they seem to be lowering the threshold to the point where many badly hurting families are going to see less relief, if not outright miss out on it.
We know it's not enough, and now it's going to be even less.
Jerry Dunk
Refugee
Omar made a tactical mistake by apologizing for remarks she made that were not offensive. The Trump era has revealed that the biggest sin in politics is admitting you were wrong. If you admit you were wrong, you're inviting punishment.
Greene refusing to apologize means that the framing by the media is always "controversy" and "accusations." They're afraid of taking a stance on something, even if it's obvious, for fear of being accused of "bias" or whatever. But because Omar admitted to something (and something she didn't even do), she confirmed them, and it's now essentially public record that she "did something anti-Semitic."
My hope is that Omar has learned not play that game. There's no hope in appeasement. She never did anything anti-Semitic and shouldn't have engaged with people who were obviously acting in bad faith.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
Agreed wholeheartedly. And I’ve said it time and time again regarding 2016 - Clinton should’ve just stuck with her deplorables comment after she made it.
one thing i've learned from dealing with difficult coworkers is that you at least have to give the impression that you're trying to work with them before blowing them off, if only to show it to the powers that be to show that "you tried"
i hope this is what that is. they're talking, but also saying that they'll go it alone if they don't like the deal and won't make the same mistakes of the first obama term again. time will tell if the lesson has been learned, but as we know, democrats are really bad at this.
related/unrelated in regards to your "friends" comment - i have found that it's much much harder to separate yourself completely from the other party when you're in this city. you're in the same circles, your kids are in the same schools .... it gets really awkward at times even for someone who is not in a job related to politics whatsoever like me.
so i have to imagine it's really hard for politicians to be able to separate the person from the politician. that's not an excuse as they need to - but it is a reality that is really hard to understand when you don't live here (and i know that sounds obnoxious but i couldn't think of another way to phrase it). i think the democrats tend to have a harder time making that separation - especially the ones who have been in this town for a long time vs. the newer members.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
Even when there are other people like you who don’t work in politics, you post on the same web forum and it’s just weird
i have no idea what you just said
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
Idk either but I don’t work in politics thankfully
Oh hai invitation for Trump to testify in person
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
it's interesting ... where i've lived in this area (generally 4 different places over the past 15 years) its always been super-duper liberal. like, my neighborhood right now is basically a sea of BLM and "science is real" signs. granted, other than my stint in NoVA, i've been living in historically black neighborhoods which, not to stereotype too much (but at this point the GOP is a white fear party), conservatives simply wouldn't live here. if they live in DC, it tends to be upper NW and the SW waterfront. or so i'm told. but, yeah, i basically i can't think of anyone who would vote republican living within a 3 mile radius. i don't tend to know a lot of people who work on the hill, but i know a ton of people who work for the federal government -- everyone from worker bees to policy wonks to lawyers -- and they do tend to be liberal, but moreso institutionalist. they believe that government can and does work, and that the way to implement change is to make government better at what it does. they're also very aware of the limits of what government can and can't do.
when i visit in-laws, it's the same story but flipped. out there, basically everyone is all "god and guns and our way of life" ... although they've been totally cool with the gay thing, at least on a micro level, and no one has ever been anything but kind to me directly.
long story short -- America is polarized. we don't even live next to each other anymore. except i guess in SW.
agreed. super weird. i still don't know why i'm in this city. but COVID has made working in other cities from other cities possible, so now i may be trapped forever?
it's a good place though. except for August. August sucks.
i guess it's different 'cause we've only lived around the hill - and especially with kids. we've shared preschool classes with everyone from political reporters, liberal lobbyists and senior staffers of very republican congresspersons.
the birthday parties are awkward AF... especially after the fact.
"oh, johnny's parents were so much fun... let's look them up on LinkedInnnnoooooh for fuck's sake"
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
I tend to run mostly into repubes in some circles in NOVA when I lived out there, DoD aligned folk. Not the Trumpster people though.
I’ve heard a lot of them in DC are situated on the waterfront, like Irvine said. Which is no surprise, because the waterfront is basically like Mizner in Boca Raton, or Royal Palm.
Even on the hill I feel like I never run into repubes, short of the congresspeople themselves. My sister used to live in cap hill, we knew which house was which Senator/congressperson.
I’ve heard a lot of them in DC are situated on the waterfront, like Irvine said. Which is no surprise, because the waterfront is basically like Mizner in Boca Raton, or Royal Palm.
Even on the hill I feel like I never run into repubes, short of the congresspeople themselves. My sister used to live in cap hill, we knew which house was which Senator/congressperson.
Navy Yard, The Wharf for the younger set. The Hill for those with families.
But that's not just Republicans. AOC lives over the Whole Foods. Gillibrand lives a few blocks from me. I've seen her walking the dog a few times.
Darth Turtle is up by Stanton Park.
But that's not just Republicans. AOC lives over the Whole Foods. Gillibrand lives a few blocks from me. I've seen her walking the dog a few times.
Darth Turtle is up by Stanton Park.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
I don’t see navy yard as particularly repube. I was referring to the wharf specifically.
MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
https://www.usatoday.com/story/ente...ces-expulsion-screen-actors-guild/4226708001/
Sorry it's blurry, but you can Google the letter. Good for a laugh
Sorry it's blurry, but you can Google the letter. Good for a laugh
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
Lol get em before they get you, Don
What a letter.
We looked at DC housing at one point (and went down in person to get a sense of the neighborhoods to narrow it down) when my husband was entertaining some job offers. It was to me surprisingly affordable compared to what we were used to but I guess generally government towns have decent real estate options. It's a nice, walkable place. I always imagined the Congresscritters were highly concentrated in terms of where they lived.
We looked at DC housing at one point (and went down in person to get a sense of the neighborhoods to narrow it down) when my husband was entertaining some job offers. It was to me surprisingly affordable compared to what we were used to but I guess generally government towns have decent real estate options. It's a nice, walkable place. I always imagined the Congresscritters were highly concentrated in terms of where they lived.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
Surprisingly affordable? ? typically slides in just behind your California and New York hoohaw. Unlike some places, you get little reprieve here the further out you go. In fact, I’d imagine places like Bethesda or Arlington are no cheaper than DC itself.
As someone with a good paying job, it is a pipe dream for me to own my own home in DC unless I get married to someone who has an equally good paying job or share the mortgage with multiple people.
Which I suppose is an argument of why student debt cancellation is important. If I didn’t have my student loans to pay, the status of “pipe dream” lowers to maybe “if dont have any fun and live on ramen I can refinance in about a decade”
As someone with a good paying job, it is a pipe dream for me to own my own home in DC unless I get married to someone who has an equally good paying job or share the mortgage with multiple people.
Which I suppose is an argument of why student debt cancellation is important. If I didn’t have my student loans to pay, the status of “pipe dream” lowers to maybe “if dont have any fun and live on ramen I can refinance in about a decade”
Sadly it's still cheaper than Toronto for SFH and across some swaths, significantly so. Our cost is driven here by exceptionally high rates of money laundering (our federal government knows but doesn't care), immigrants and foreigners dumping massive amounts of money into a real estate market in a stable country, a huge influx of extremely wealthy foreign students which only increased during the Trump era, mortgage rates so low it's almost free money and a few others.
We didn't look at anything but SFH (kids, large dog, used to having some space) and I didn't look closely at property taxes so I'm not sure how it compares there.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
thinking about it, that's pretty true in NoVA. they're pretty sane and usually too busy running along the Potomac to storm the Capitol or anything. or cruising the DSW in Pentagon City. so i've heard. i remember being at a party years and years ago where there was a Log Cabin Republican who really wanted people to know it, and it started kind of a thing and he wound up leaving early. but he was kind of a dick as well, so ...
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
i knew this was true about Vancouver but didn't realize it was also true for Toronto. my assumption would have been that the urban core would be as expensive as any global city but that there's plenty of space to go out so geography isn't as much an issue as it is in like SF or i guess Vancouver or wherever.
i went to Toronto once as a teenager with a best friend who's mother was from there -- struck me as a very nice place to live.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
this is the way to go. i would never consider owning a SFH if i were single -- way too much work and the potential for too many unexpected costs that could crush a single income, at least for me. the apartment/condo life is just fine.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
It’s redefining the norm though. I’ve seriously considered buying with friends etc. just as a means of not having to rent and never build any form of equity.
I don’t like the idea of having to wed someone of a certain wealth in order to afford a home.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
Don’t marry for money, but it’s a perk of having two incomes and sharing space — it makes so much economic sense. Love and commitment and all that stuff aside.
Buying with friends is an interesting thought ... but could raise issues when people move on.
iron yuppie
ONE love, blood, life
The single family home market is ridiculous in Chicago. You can get a townhome with more square footage for half to 3/4 the price of a SFH and on top of that not have to worry about the inevitable problems that come with roofs etc.
About the idea of buying with friends, I wonder how many banks would even write a mortgage for 3 or more unrelated people. There are so many situations that could complicate that arrangement.
About the idea of buying with friends, I wonder how many banks would even write a mortgage for 3 or more unrelated people. There are so many situations that could complicate that arrangement.
LuckyNumber7
Blue Crack Addict
From when I asked, they had no problem splitting ownership whatsoever. But it was a flat no for “two different mortgages” for obvious reasons, meaning the onus is on you to do your business privately.
Definitely have to be compatible friends to avoid disaster lol.
Definitely have to be compatible friends to avoid disaster lol.
Vancouver had/has a very specific target audience - mostly mainland Chinese looking to park $. But for the most part, these people actually lived in Vancouver at least part time. They drove up the real estate prices very high but it's a slightly different problem than Toronto. The other thing about Vancouver is that Vancouver proper is quite small in terms of land area and the outlying suburbs can actually be quite affordable. Toronto is large by land area and the suburbs are also now unaffordable so you're looking at exurbs for many middle class people.
Toronto is so full of vacant units (while our rent property availability rate is extremely low), to the point where the Mayor is considering a vacancy tax. It's a lot of $ being parked offshore not for the purpose of living, even on a part time basis, but literally to money launder. Lots and lots has been written about this, the feds don't care and tacitly approve.
https://financialpost.com/diane-fra...ly-destroying-housing-affordability-in-canada
The thing I noticed about DC is that the lower entry point SFH (let's say the 800-1.5M range) is fairly comparable to here. But the higher you go, the more you could live like a king in DC compared to here. For example, you could live alongside the Obamas for probably 2-3x LESS $ than the equivalent area here.
MrsSpringsteen
Blue Crack Addict
So many spineless Republicans couldn't care less that she made such a post
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2021/02/04/steny-hoyer-house-floor-marjorie-taylor-greene-tweet-photo-sot-tsr-vpx.cnn
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2021/02/04/steny-hoyer-house-floor-marjorie-taylor-greene-tweet-photo-sot-tsr-vpx.cnn
- Status
Similar threads
