BSR

In your post right before this one, you criticize cherrypicking data, but then you point out that Arkansas has the highest violent crime rate. Hmm, since that just didn't sound right, I did a bit of digging. As it turns out, the methods of collecting crime statistics vary widely, which means the accuracy or at least the comprehensiveness of crime statistics varies widely from state to state. It sounds like Arkansas tops the list not because it's a crime-ridden hellhole, but because its crime data collection is simply more accurate. Of the 5 states with the lowest crime rates, the first thing that jumps out is that the first 4 states lack a major urban center, magnets for narcotrafficking. New York is obviously a big exception, but NYC also has an exemplary police department. When crime dropped precipitously in the 1990s and stayed low in the aughts, NYC real estate values (and therefore NYC property taxes, which make up ~60% of the city's revenue) skyrocketed because the world's ultrarich felt safe enough to buy. Excellent policing costs, yet NYC leaders are happy to pay the price because they know the city's financial survival depends on it. In other words, NYC is more the exception, not the rule, for big cities. Just look at nearby Philly's violent crime stats -- eek! In contrast, Tennessee has Memphis and all its problems, Louisiana has New Orleans. I'll skip Alabama because to be honest, I didn't feel like researching it. Anchorage is a relatively small city, but it has a big percentage of the state's population and also has a very serious drug trafficking problem. In conclusion, you criticize cherrypicked data and narratives, and then you present 2 lists of cherrypicked data and narratives.

My first memory was the nightly ritual of our nanny tucking my brother & me in to bed. Well, not a bed really, like all Filipino tiny tykes, our "bed" was just a mat on the floor. I also remember a few conversations at 3-4yo word for word in English, but that's impossible because I didn't know a word of English until I started kindergarten. I must have subconsciously translated them because I forgot how to speak Tagalog.

FedEx also reported a decline in year-over-year package volume, down 2% in its fiscal Q2, the biggest decline being last June with 9%. Given that Americans shop online more & more, these declines are a bad sign.

Shh! Don't say that!! You'll spoil @SouthOfTheBorder's virtue-signaling and inflated sense of moral superiority.

You can respond to an aggressor without stooping to nasty disrespect. All your years at the finest Swiss finishing schools apparently wasted ... pity.

I'll try to avoid saying it on this forum.

That's lovely. You should consider treating your fellow forum members with the same respect. I will never forget when you told me that I should weigh in only if the subject is the Philippines or Filipinos but otherwise STFU. That was the most disrespectful thing anyone on this forum has ever said to me. Beyond just providers, it would be nice if you showed such grace and dignity to everyone, for example, even people who disagree with you or whose politics you dislike. But hey, if you choose to extend such grace and dignity only to those who can help you get an orgasm, I guess the rest of us will just have to accept your decision. For what it's worth, I never haggle with providers either. But if a provider quotes me $250, I'm not going to tell him that most providers in the area charge $300. Nor do I care if he's a recent migrant, what taxes he's paying (or not), or what government assistance he's receiving (or not). I figured the lower rate in Denver was a response to an influx of providers. If more supply but the same demand means I pay a bit less, great! Enjoy it while it lasts.

Also, we're talking about $250 vs. the going rate of $300. If you offer a starving man a tin of cat food to fist him, then yes, that's dehumanizing. But let's not get too dramatic about a $50 difference. I bought really cute Santa gift wrap for 75% off once at an after-Christmas sale. Call Amnesty International!

If the provider is happy with $250, then that's all that matters. If he's happy with that amount, then how the heck is it "dehumanizing"?

Maybe it's not used in Argentina or even this side of the Atlantic, but I hear "aplícate el cuento" occasionally on Spanish TV, basically means "practice what you preach." Here's an entry in a Spanish-English dictionary: aplicarse el cuento loc verb coloquial (actuar en consecuencia) take your own advice, follow your own advice v expr Tú que tanto hablas de ser responsable, aplícate el cuento y pórtate como un adulto. You, who talks so much about being responsible: Take your own advice and act like an adult. By the way, I never translate from English to Spanish. My brain just doesn't work that way. That's why I always warn people that I'm the worst translator on the planet.

Oops, sorry, I'm the typo king ... "el" not "al." Thanks for pointing it out. PS: while I do use Google Translate for languages I don't know, occasionally because I don't really trust it, I never use it for Spanish.

The workhorses do, especially in the year before up for tenure. One of Gay's predecessors Larry Summers published more articles (12) in 1987 than Gay has her whole career. Behavior geneticist Nick Martin has published more than 1,500. Granted, he's an outlier, but it puts into context the scrawniness of Gay's CV. Note that Gay has never published a single academic book. Previous Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust had published 5 books before becoming president; Lawrence Bacow had published 2. Gay is seen as a diversity hire not because of racism, but because she was a diversity hire.

Congratulations Team Carota!! Wow, coming back from a 2 sets to love deficit is a helluva feat. So happy for Jannik, such a deserving first-time Slam champion. At the same time, you gotta feel sorry for Daniil, who lost his 5th Slam final and his 2nd after leading 2 sets to love. This is Sinner's first Slam victory, but it won't be his last. He has the game to win many many more in his career. We'll be seeing a lot more goofy carrot costumes in the stands.

Gay published only 11 peer-reviewed journal papers in her entire academic career (got her PhD in 1998). Most professors publish 11 (or more) in a single year. 11 papers is about what you'd need before being hired as a 1st-year tenure-track assistant professor at a state school, yet Gay somehow became a full professor at Harvard publishing far less. If a person is hired for a position despite being far less qualified, of course others will see that person as a diversity hire.

You're in Rod Laver? I am green with envy. Unfortunately, my favorite is trailing 2 sets to love right now. Nothing against Medvedev, I'm just a bigger fan of Sinner.

Who in America has no access to healthcare?

At least one of your posts was recently deleted by a moderator for being too political. Aplícate el cuento.

Despite poor reviews on Imdb, for some reason (code for: I thought the lead was hot) I decided to watch Jaguar, a limited series about a group of Holocaust survivors in 1960s Spain who seek to capture a sadistic Nazi doctor to bring him to trial. As I was watching, I was baffled by the poor reviews because I was really enjoying Jaguar: well-developed characters, intriguing plot, edge-of-your-seat suspense. I realized only at the end that the series was scripted for a 2nd season. Unfortunately, Netflix in its infinite wisdom pulled the plug. But even without its 2nd season, Jaguar is well worth watching.

People who were predicting a really bad recession pre-2008 were also dismissed as Chicken Littles. The rose-colored glasses set insisted that no recession was coming or that worst case it would be a mild one. I'm not predicting a recession as bad as 2008, but it won't be mild either.

For those who don't get the reference, Team Carota is a group of guys who support Jannik Sinner by wearing goofy carrot costumes in the stands. I, like most I think, assumed the carrots were a nod to Sinner's red hair, but it's actually because Sinner has the odd habit of eating carrots during changeovers. The Djoker-Shelton drama resurfaced in this Australian Open, with Novak saying that Shelton showed disrespectful behavior in their USO match. Unfortunately, no rematch on court. Although they were slotted to meet in the 4th round, unconventional veteran Mannarino upset Ben in the 3R. Ben's dad & coach Bryan admitted that the drama was a distraction for Ben, who when asked about it said he just wanted to put it behind him. Here's a video about Sinner's carrot-garbed supporters:

In particular, was the room any brighter?

He lost me at "in the dance of life."

Drive out Palestinians?? Just googled it, 1.6 million Palestinians are living in Israel as Israeli citizens. Palestinians (10 currently) even hold seats in Knesset, Israel's parliament. If Netanyahu is trying to drive Palestinians out of Israel, he's failing spectacularly.

The difference, of course, is that when Netanyahu says "from the river to the sea," he is affirming Israel's right to exist whereas when Palestinians say it, they are calling for the mass-murder of Jews.

Whatever the chant meant back in the 1960s is irrelevant. All that matters is what it means today. As you point out, the phrase was coined by Hamas, who very clearly states both in word and deed that it calls for the extermination of the Jews. This chant, this call for genocide, is what Gay allowed to be openly and freely expressed at Harvard. Harvard did the right thing when it forced/pressured Gay to resign, although it is a disgrace that it took so long. It's also a disgrace that this nonscholar will be collecting $900,000 as a "professor," but that's another debate.