One of my former girlfriends had family friend whose sister was devastatingly sick with a kidney ailment that required a transplant, I don't recall the disease. She spent years, over a decade, in treatment with her parents monitoring for the slightest problem because it could cascade to death. They didn't want to do dialysis for some reason, not a doctor, and honestly it's been so long I've forgotten much that I was told. I don't even know if she ever received a kidney.

However the most ghoulish form of "transplant tourism" would be the kind where the state is using prisoners for "stock" to transplant, killing them in the process. I have little doubt the sociopaths at the top would pay for what they see as "parts" to replace so they can extend their life.

Just because you can take a test doesn't mean you are remotely ready for college. I've seen plenty of people who were trained to take a test that are so unprepared for college it isn't even a joke. One of the most devastating things we've done to high schoolers is teaching to the test instead of teaching them critical thinking. Of course teaching critical thinking is more difficult, and a classical education can be ruinously destructive to the status quo. As George Carlin noted in his "I used to be Irish Catholic" skit:

It was nice, like I say a lot of classroom freedom. In fact, there was so much freedom that by eighth grade many of us had lost the faith... cause they made questioners out of us and they really didn't have any answers, you know. They'd fall back on "Well, it's a mystery..." "Oh, thank you, Father... Mystery, I don't, what's he talking about? Mystery"

In fact your statement is the perfect example of how ruinously destructive the Republican educational ideal is for the next generation.

The Trump administration and Chamber of Commerce achieve their first goal: Scaring the workers who dared think they had a right to get paid for their labor.

Those peons got the idea during Covid that they could dare ask for raises. Worse yet they even demanded better working conditions. The most horrifying was that they started demanding a work and life balance improvement. To put them back in their place has been the goal of the Chamber for years, and now maybe Jamie Dimon will get his wish that more companies will force workers back into the office to prop up the banks commercial real estate holdings.

I would say we probably should consider that some of the more ghoulish, in terms of philosophy, Western billionaires probably aren't any better - likely even traveling to other countries with lax laws for that purpose.

We're talking about people who openly deride others for being poor and consider empathy a weakness. Tell me you really believe it's a stretch that they would just consider healthy poor people as nothing more than resources to be harvested to improve their own life, or extend their life. Their less than polite predecessors weren't much better considering workers organic machines to be used and discarded when they died or were injured.

Woot! WIN (for employers) which was the point.

This is also about the poor state of testing in general. I've run into plenty of people who can take tests that are ill-prepared for college life. That's only gotten worse with the declining quality of legacy admissions and the lack of independence afforded most children today.

Yeah, we canceled ours because other places caught up and ship to store (or from store) is convenient enough and free.

Why pay for Prime when I don't need to worry about stuff next day anyway.

That applies to you, but not to a fair number of people. I married my Canadian girlfriend, and let me say that more than a few people in her family, or friends from school, are severely insulted (that's the polite way of talking about it) by the 51st state rhetoric. The tariffs were an even bigger problem, but then the insult of Canada not paying for defense... pure red hot anger.

More than a few wanted Trudeau (later Carney) to flat out cut off the US from electricity and oil in response.

Also designed to prevent customs and ports from getting backed up due to small orders.

Joe or Jane Public ordering a couple cases of Chianti from the EU that costs about $500 shipped probably don't need a tariff. After all if they went to the EU, bought it, and put it in checked baggage, they wouldn't pay a penny in tariff / customs fees. Similar for balsamic vinegar, because most times it will be less than $800.

The people this hurts are regular people, as not everyone can necessarily fly to the EU (or similar) to pick up certain items.

What's worse is the company could've used AI to replace the most useless person in the company: The CEO.

MAGA won't turn against their God Emperor, no matter what he does, but people who voted for him / Republicans that are not MAGA will turn on him.

We're currently closer to peak with the policies we have in place right now.

The problem we have is one of multiple factors regarding education, policy, and the future. The more educated, and comfortable, people get the more they try to protect their own status.

Unfortunately the (for want of a better term) ruling class are constantly trying to scrape more from the working class. Living in luxury that would make Croesus blush with envy isn't good enough, because that other member of the ruling class not only has vast real estate holdings and a megayacht like they have... but they have a fleet of superyachts traveling around to support the megayacht. That means they need to get that as well or they lose. They can't lose, they have to get more status.

All of that while the wealthiest declare empathy as a weakness and don't care if children starve. Some of the other members of the class just below know better.

When it comes to the future people want their children to be at least as well off as they are when they have kids. Nobody wants to raise children to starve to death in front of them, indeed starving kids is one way to get the masses to engage in violent insurrection. However that's an absolute last resort thing for people who have kids. What will also happen is many people will just choose to not have kids, eliminating the fear. That's also why more than a few of the highest wealth holding individuals bankroll groups that fight against the legality of birth control and abortion.

You want birth rates to go up, society will need long-term proof that pro-family policies are in place... to have the faith their children will have a future that is bright hope filled.

how long it takes people to get mad they are paying more for groceries, in some cases dramatically more than last year.

Or maybe when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, or maybe Christmas shopping. I've hear people unhappy for the latest back to school already.

BYD, and other Chinese manufacturers, make a decent product. They are also barred by law from even suggesting their cars can drive themselves, which happened after a few bad accidents.

However there isn't much of a difference if we start shredding the executive class / 1% and try build the dang things halfway decently. Tesla is a horrible company at actually building the things, with worse fit/finish than many early model US Kia's. The cost difference, per hour, of a US employee isn't that far off from Chinese assembly line employee, other than the fact US companies have to pay for health care and contribute to retirement (et al.) whereas in China that's the state.

EV's were already supposed to be dead if you listen to the right-wing echo chamber. They were declaring that REAL 'MURICANS had resoundingly decided to stick with ICE vehicles.