BatMN

“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man cold, when he is only sad.”

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

[The Undercurrent @NotTheirScript]

One of the reasons I don’t like socialism is public bathrooms.

A public bathroom is about as basic a shared resource as you can get. Everyone gets to use it, and everyone is expected to show a little consideration for the next person. The rules aren’t particularly complicated.

And yet, a shocking number of adults can’t even manage to throw their paper towels in the trash. Some will pee all over a toilet seat and leave it for the next person. And the next person, who didn’t make the mess, certainly isn’t going to clean it up either.

Now imagine trusting these same people to collectively manage an entire economy.

We can’t even get everyone to agree that cleaning up their own pee is a personal responsibility, but somehow we’re supposed to believe everyone will become hardworking, responsible, and considerate when we’re sharing the fruits of each other’s labor.

Now, compare your average public restroom to a Buc-ee’s bathroom.

Buc-ee’s figured something out. Clean bathrooms attract customers. Customers spend money. So the company has a financial incentive to keep those bathrooms spotless. They hire people to maintain them, hold employees accountable, and compete for your business.

And people will literally plan their road trips around stopping there.

That’s capitalism. Someone recognized a problem, found a way to solve it, and made money because people valued the result.

Of course, not everyone contributes equally to society. Some people work harder, make better decisions, and take more responsibility. Others seem perfectly content making life more difficult for everyone around them.

I believe people should have the freedom to live however they choose. I also believe in helping people who genuinely need it.

But I have a hard time accepting an economic philosophy that expects me to trust everyone to act in the collective interest when some people can’t be bothered to clean up after themselves.

Buc-ee’s figured out how to get people to willingly pay for a better experience.

Socialism wants me to believe the people leaving paper towels on the floor will suddenly become responsible stewards of everyone else’s resources.

I’m going with the beaver.

[Habitual Linecrosser @HLC_actual]

Did you know you can get a bag of foam clown noses in Amazon for like 20$. It’s also not illegal to tape them to the door of a house for sale with a note that says “I saw your listing price and figured you lost this”

Do with this what you please.

[BatMN @_BatMN_]

@JonnyMicro

[BatMN @_BatMN_]

Yes, it is. Nobody will ever forget how terrible he was.

[The Minnesota Star Tribune @StarTribune]

Olson: As Walz leaves office, his legacy is secure https://t.co/o3GRTX67sg

[Samurai Shiba @SamuraiShibaJP]

At 8 a.m. every Wednesday, my team in Tokyo has a Zoom call with our team in Salt Lake City, Utah. For them, it's Tuesday at 4 p.m.

After three years, our side started a shared file. The title: "Things the Utah team does that we still don't understand."

They said I could share some of it.

"The first five minutes are about nothing. Weather. Somebody's dog. Somebody's kid's soccer game. Our manager timed it once. Five minutes and forty seconds, every week. He used to call it waste. Now he logs on early so he won't miss it."

"A three-year-old walked into the frame and announced he had used the potty by himself. Fourteen adults in Utah cheered. Our manager said 'Congratulations' in English. Best moment of the quarter."

"When someone shares an idea, three people unmute just to say 'Love it.' In three years, our side had never unmuted for anything but a problem. Mr. Hoshino now says 'Love it' at home. His wife is suspicious."

"Kenzie ends every call with 'You guys are crushing it.' We were not crushing it. We were six weeks behind. She said it anyway. Every week. We caught up in five."

"They sang Happy Birthday to our oldest engineer at 4:57 p.m. their time. Three minutes before they could go home. Fourteen people. Wildly off-key. He is 61. He said nobody had sung it to him since he was a boy."

The last entry is about Mizuki.

Mizuki is our youngest engineer. He's so quiet that Utah once asked if his camera was a photo.

In March, as a call was ending, after everyone had said bye, he typed one small line in the chat: "My son was born yesterday." Then he left the meeting.

The next Wednesday, Mizuki logged on, and fourteen cameras in Utah turned on at once.

Every single person was holding a sheet of paper. On each one, in marker, copied off the internet: おめでとう. Congratulations.

One of them was upside down. Nobody fixed it.

Fourteen days later, our office got a package. Inside was a tiny onesie with the shape of Utah on it. Fourteen signatures on the box.

His son is eight months old. He has never been outside Japan. He has fourteen aunts and uncles in Utah who have never held him.

Every week, they ask how he's doing.

First five minutes.

[AwakenedOutlaw⚒️ @AwakenedOutlaw]

Read this headline twice.
It's sickening.

All the progressive District Attorneys across the country who have been doing this deserve to go to prison for this particular transgression.

It's unconscionable that they've done this purposefully.

[BatMN @_BatMN_]

@JonnyMicro His soon to be ex-wife is going to be wiping her ass with his $100 bills for the rest of her life.

[BatMN @_BatMN_]

Very funny dude and that show is underappreciated. That's way too young. RIP and thanks for the laughs.

[Deadline @DEADLINE]

Anthony Clark Dies: Comedian And ‘Yes, Dear’ Star Was 62

Read more here: https://t.co/zOXeizlRqA

[BatMN @_BatMN_]

Please, Lord, protect Fernando Mendoza, for his offensive line certainly can't.

[Las Vegas Raiders @Raiders]

QB1

@Gatorade | #SEAvsLV

[BatMN @_BatMN_]

@JonnyMicro I quit booze and drugs, but I will never be able to resist the debbiled eggs.

[AG @AGHamilton29]

China planting a spy to have an affair with the Nvidia CEO and China-tied groups using far-left activists to scare communities into blocking data-center development are not unrelated.

It’s the same story: China is fighting for the future, and it doesn’t plan to fight fairly.

[Mitch "The Wałęsa Project" Berg 🇺🇸🇳🇴🇪🇪🇦🇷 @mitchpberg]

@ATLCWorker Socialism has murdered 100 million people in the last 110 years.

Most of them were dirt poor.

[Matt Dawson @SaintRPh]

I got the prints from JB Studios! I will have 3-5 limited edition Studio exclusive archival prints signed and numbered of each piece in the show, in addition to a few of the pieces in my studio. They will be priced special for attendees. See you tomorrow night at River Oaks Square Arts Center 5-7pm.

[BatMN @_BatMN_]

@BigWyo626 Or WOOOOfffffff!

[BatMN @_BatMN_]

"Doggedly"

[2001 Live @25YearsAgoLive]

Vick played in college at Virginia Tech; now he’s doggedly pursuing his NFL career:

[BatMN @_BatMN_]

@FoundersGirl Everybody drives a BMW these days.

[BatMN @_BatMN_]

@CyborgPeds It really bothers me that we treat government buildings as sacred in this country. I get honoring history, but these aren't places of honor.

[Cyborg Pediatrician @CyborgPeds]

I don’t care about the White House. In fact, I’ve been saying for decades that the executive functions of the White House should be moved to a building in Crystal City and the structure converted for condos.

[Noam Blum @neontaster]

It was actually explained to me by the son of the person who owns 4 houses and 3 yachts. He's the president of the local DSA chapter.