Link doesn’t work for me, but I’ll look it up

https://usafacts.org/topics/education/

I was surprised to find out how much the U.S. actually does spend on education, given how shitty it is. Idk where the money is going, but it’s definitely funded

Also assuming the van doesn’t suddenly, greatly, accelerate

An old friend, back when I was 17/18 or so, told me about the last time she had a kitten.

The kitten somehow got into the WASHER and her busy and absent-minded mother didn’t realize it until the kitten had already drowned. Her mother drove herself (and the kitten) to the police department because she felt so bad.

After that I have always checked for cats. Even now, at almost 40 (I even check the oven)! My husband thinks it’s over-kill, but I’m never gonna get that horror story out of my head

I’ll try it!

I don’t have any updated data, but reading this from the article you posted:

“Indeed, vaccinated people now make up the majority of the population – 79% of adults have completed at least the primary series – and the latest CDC data show that vaccinated people also now represent the majority of COVID-19 deaths. There are many more vaccinated people than there are unvaccinated people, and vaccinated and boosted people are, on average, older and more likely to have underlying health conditions that put them at risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes”

Seems to make sense. My guess is that most of the unvaxxed people that were gonna die from Covid have already died. Some people have become immuno-compromised after 2020, and so they are still dying, but most of them might already have an immunity built up through having caught it and survived. So it’s likely those older, already vaxxed (but immuno-compromised) folks that are now being taken out by the newer mutations of the virus

(Again, i’m guessing, but it seems to make sense)

I’m about to be 40 and I’m a married, hetro-cis woman; I still do this. Though lately I’ve been leaning more heavily toward city builders

Update: 163 works! Thanks :)

It seems to be for all of them, but I’m wondering now since I spend most of my time on the all feed. The way I’ve been responding to comments is by finding the post and then scrolling down to find my comment. I’ll try 163 and let you know

I’m on 160 and it’s still not working for me.

Sure, but before things can become commonplace we need voices advocating for the direction of that change. That’s my goal. To be a voice.

Also, irrelevant to you, but: I might need a new Lemmy account. Connect isn’t working for me and I can’t find which e-mail I used to sign up for Lemmy. Super annoying, because I keep needing to search for the posts that I commented on, and then find the comments themselves in order to reply. My inbox just gives me errors about not finding the posts… but they’re obviously still here

Yeah, that’s gotta suck and I’m 100% not against people talking about who they are if they WANT to. What irritates me is the labels people are forced carry.

Like “wow a woman was finally able to achieve what men can achieve” or “wow this gay man was finally able to acheive what straight men can achieve” and that’s the part that annoys me

Eta: I think it’s meant well, but it implies that there’s something “special” about these people that allows them to climb the ranks previously reserved for a select group of people

So to truly be inclusive, things like “race” and gender and sexuality should be looked at as variations of normal, the same way hair color or height is looked at

2nd edit: Ok, sorry, but just to clarify I’m not harping on straight, white, males here. Swinging the pendulum the exact opposite way doesn’t help, either. I’m seeing this more as a societal thing that I’d liked to see changed

My guess is that it’s to avoid something like finding records of a past leader who is gay, and them then being the first

My issue with this is: why does their sexuality even matter? It’s their GD business

Eta: I also hate this with race and gender. “First woman to…” why? Why are we so focused on the color of people’s skin, their religion, what’s between their legs, or who they love?

I want to live in a world where a mixed-heritage lesbian woman is elected and no-one bats an eye, or mentions anything about it unless it comes up organically by the person elected. Otherwise the only legit question should be: is this person the best candidate for the job?

Ok Ill get off my soap box now

Um. In the U.S. I could still go for a walk outside, or out to the grocery store, or grab some fast-food at the drive-through. In China people were being boarded up in their homes… as in, literally boarded up with hammer and nails.

That’s because he needs an answer to the eternal question of: do I want inside the room, our outside the room? He can’t figure it out, so the door staying open is the most convenient

These bastard insurance companies will tell your dentist how much they are willing to pay for a treatment.

So say the dentist would normally charge $300 for a cleaning, with full x-rays, flouride varnish, and comprehensive exam

The insurance company can dictate that they will only pay $250 with flouride. Another plan with the same company might pay $175, but won’t cover flouride. A seperate insurance company will pay for flouride up to age 14. Another will… you get the point.

Further, with the exceptions of exams and cleanings (which I think they HAVE to cover by law) they can dictate a fee of $500 for a crown, but then only a porcelain fused to metal crown, and then only pay like 60% of that with you needing to pay the rest. The dentist may normally charge $800 for a crown, but prefer using something like zirconium.

The receptionist has to go through each and every patient’s insurance schedule fee, and can only give you an estimate because even though they call the insurance company, the rep on the phone can make mistakes.

It’s a horrible, horrible, system that serves no-one except the insurance companies and I hate it

(Worked in dental, tried doing up front stuff but I have ADHD and the insurance garbage breaks my mind)

Yeaaah probably fake, but given that it could be easier to just get it back by asking rather than rescheduling patients, dealing with the police, and waiting for insurance to cover the expensive equipment it’s… possible that this is legit (probably not, but possible)

Nah, I’ve worked in dental. Those machines are insanely expensive. This is one hand-held unit for sale just under 3k, down from just under 7k . That doesn’t count the sensors, which are also crazy expensive.

https://universadent.com/product/nomad-pro-2/

Most offices have machines attached to the wall, which would be extremely difficult to steal. But a nomad is portable.

https://dentimax.com/x-ray-sensor-comparison/

Above is ONE sensor (most offices have at least 2) that costs around 7k. There are other neccessities as well, but I think you get the point

The only way this works is if each candidate has 1 minute to answer and is then MUTED at the 1 minute cut off, AND for the duration of the next person’s turn. Further, each should be seated in a sound-proof box, with a light that is turned off so that no-one can hear them or read their lips unless the microphone and light are on

Show: Love, Death and Robots. It’s fantastic but some of the episodes just hit too hard. I’ll eventually get back to it, I just need some time

Game: Cyberpunk. I was looking something up and found out what happens to Evelyn. I kinda look like her a bit, and have also dealt with (much milder) issues in the same category. Too brutal

Movie: I actually watched it all the way, but the first time I watched American Beauty is just fucked me up for like, a week