Author: Mark Alexander

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What a Surprise! 🫤

Coca-Cola (and Dixie Cup) pioneered the recycling movement in the 40's to get people to return valuable glass bottles by charging almost half of the cost of the drink in a returnable fee. Nearly everyone returned their bottles; it was a huge success. When they switched to plastic in the 50's it became more profitable to just toss bottles away so they used shell organizations to secretly lobby congress and senates to kill recycling bills while simultaneously creating massive ad campaigns to convince the public that recycling was all the consumer's responsibility. This isn't a conspiracy theory, it's public knowledge that gets drowned out in the noise made by their PR firms.

Last year Coca-Cola was still up to the same environmental villainry. More recycling advertising campaigns and killed bottle-fee bills which have been long proven to massively boost recycling rates but also push the cost of recycling from the consumer onto the manufacturer. That's also detailed in the previous link.

Don't ever make the mistake of thinking that large corporations care about this world or anything in it other than profit. They'll engage in charity as an investment if the campaign offers good return for their brand value and public image, but don't think for a second we can get capitalists to behave ethically through any other means through any other means than forcing them to do it.

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Will This Be The Last Time? Probably.

Yeah, I know. I got a new MacBook Pro after just getting a new one about fifteen months ago. Why? It was just too goddamned heavy. Yes, I appreciated the additional screen real estate, but since I use it connected to a wide-screen monitor when I'm home, the weight/benefit ratio just wasn't adding up.

I thought about getting the 15-inch Air (like Ben did, the same night), but I needed the one extra port on that came on the Pro.

I also knew that if I was going to replace the 16, with the upcoming threatened tariffs and the soon-to-be accompanying roll-back in my income, it was either now or never. I checked what Apple was offering for the trade-in and pulled the trigger. I'm glad I did. The weight difference is only a couple pounds, but it's amazing what a difference those few pounds make. It also allowed me to go back to the smaller messenger bag, an added benefit.

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Quote of the Day

I am not a liberal snowflake. My feelings aren't fragile, my heart isn't bleeding. I am a badass believer in human rights. My toughness is tenderness. My strength is in the service of others. There is nothing more fierce than formidable, unconditional love. There is not a thing more courageous than compassion. But if my belief in equity, empathy, goodness, and love indeed makes me or people like me snowflakes, then you should know—WINTER IS COMING." ~ Eminem

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Cruelty is the Point. It is Always the Point

From MockPaperScissors:

Never let it be said that Mean Girl Nancy Mace let an opportunity to be mean pass her by:

Nancy Mace Co-Sponsored a Transgender Rights Bill in 2021Nancy Mace's flip-flop on transgender rights is a betrayal of equality

— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes.bsky.social) 2024-11-20T22:05:14.485Z

The Hill:

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced Wednesday that transgender women are not permitted to use bathrooms in the Capitol that match their gender identity, taking a stance on the hot-button issue that has overtaken the Capitol in recent days.
The policy — which Johnson announced in a public statement, a draft of which was first reported by The Hill — will also apply to bathrooms in House office buildings, changing rooms and locker rooms. It is unclear when he plans to publish the comments.

Under House rules, the Speaker has "general control" of facilities in the chamber, giving Johnson the authority to issue the policy surrounding bathrooms.

"All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex," Johnson said. "It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol."

"Women deserve women's only spaces," he added.

Johnson's statement — which was made on Transgender Day of Remembrance, recognized annually to memorialize trans people who died due to anti-trans violence — comes days after Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) introduced a bill to bar transgender women from facilities on Capitol Hill that match their gender identity, a response to the election earlier this month of Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.).

It's pretty cold to ban transpeople from bathroom across the entire Capitol complex on TransRememberance Day. I wonder if Trump's Little Johnson handed them a mason jar? Southern charm remains.

But on the flip side, these dudes are now forced to use Nancy Mace's bathroom, so there is some divine justice:

You really want these (trans) dudes in the ladies room?

Heh.

UPDATE 1: Nancy Mace thought of a new way of being a dick: Rep. Mace files bill to ban transgender women from all federal facility bathrooms in U.S.

Cruelty is the point. It always is the point.