15 Comments

I think a better abbreviation for "annual" where there isn't enough room for all the letters, maybe not even the standard abbreviation, for that sign, would be "ANNL". I think most people would understand it.

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Thanks for the Etsy story. For some years I tried to sell some of my beaded leather shoulder pouches on Etsy. The cost was affordable - small, really. But all it did was make it easier for others to view these products online. I never got a sale via Etsy. Finally, years ago, they made their payment system much tighter. It wasn't something I could deal with, so I left.

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Prove it, Etsy.

Let’s call it what it is: you just raised your prices.

Please show how you are using the increased revenue. Before and after line items are best. Not gonna offer any spoilers on how WHICH line item changes will affect opinion of Etsy as a merchant or neighbor; may The Golden Rule be a guide for each of us.

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As always, I very much enjoyed your inclusion of the "visual tweets.

I enjoyed your use of "Teutonic conventions." Would "Frate Elevator" be an example of that?

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Eric, with all due respect you continue to surprise me, and I have to very respectfully confess, sometimes in disappointing ways. (But I'm freely willing to admit that probably runs both ways with us! 😉)

First, you make a big deal about the fact that Alderman Lopez appeared on the Tucker Carlson show as if that will somehow forever taint him with bad association. (In full disclosure, even as a conservative I am very upset with Carlson's comments about Ukraine and his seeming unwillingness to explicitly condemn Putin as the murderous thug that he is and the invasion and slaughter of thousands of Ukrainians.)

But Alderman Lopez is publicly stating the need to acknowledge and tackle the increasing problems of violent crime and gangs in Chicago, and this is something that Carlson agrees with him, as do a large majority of people in Chicagoland. How is that any different than Sean Penn recently appearing on the Sean Hannity program to talk about the time he spent in Ukraine and the huge need for the US and our allies to do more for these brave and suffering people?

Does appearing with someone for a discussion on one particular subject mean that any negative attributes of the other person automatically attach to the other? I am surprised that you are not registering a much higher tolerance for people of differing views to have discussion on any subject. I know that Carlson evokes visceral feelings in you, but I just don't see that Alderman Lopez taking advantage of an opportunity to talk about one of his issues on a leading National cable news show is somehow a bad thing. If Nikki Haley was invited onto a CNN program to have a discussion with the host, I would not think anything the less of her for doing it and would be delighted for the opportunity for her to broaden her message. (Yes, I am praying that Trump does not run in 2024 as I desperately want to win, and Haley is my preferred candidate.)

Secondly, you state that you are questioning another reader's correlation between black population and crime rates. Obviously, crime and anything to do with blacks these days is a very charged subject, but I believe we can at least all stick with hard facts, correct? That being the case, I would ask that you and others Google the FBI Uniform Crime Reports for the past couple years. You will see in the reports, where the ethnicity of the perpetrator is known, blacks who represent 13% of the population, represent over half of murder and homicide perpetrators, and over half of armed robbery perpetrators. So there is indeed a correlation between black population and crime, and it's simply is not racist to state that fact. (Many people will immediately rush to explain this by citing inner-city poverty, but there is also extensive rural poverty that is not accompanied by the level of violent crime in the inner city. But, that is discussion for another time.)

To end on a positive note, I commend your willingness to engage and allow all of us to engage in debate on anything and everything in the PS - I find that very intellectually gratifying and thank you for it! Also a quick shout out to Jerry B - always love your comments my brother - keep them coming! I wish everyone a good week and early Easter greetings!

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Whoops - with apologies, I need to make a self-correction on my earlier post. In the Uniform Crime reports, the category is simply Robbery (which is the taking from another by force or threat of force). I had mistakenly used the term armed robbery, which is not a category in the FBI report. My bad, and again, my apologies for the inaccurate reference.

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Regarding "Money (That's What I Want)," to use its complete title, it was the first ever recording done in the Motown studio, a piece of trivial for those who savor such items.

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How should we think about lawyers who routinely choose to represent the blatantly guilty? I think people are lucky if they can make a living at work they like and are good at, and so I set a high bar for broadly disfavoring any legal means of doing that. Those who make a living through legal but indefensible trickery probably clear it. In The Good Place, the model job for the model horrible person was telemarketer of bogus drugs to the sick and elderly. They're horrible! How would I feel, though, about the lawyer who represents the telemarketing company in court?

I know people who decided they would never represent certain industries, but I also know people who didn't decide that, and I don't think I can fault them. Once again, they don't make the laws or decide the cases. But they are necessary participants in a process that ultimately upholds the rule of law. One reason lawyers feel this way is that they are inculcated with the ethics of the profession which is, similar to a doctor's, I have a job to do, a role to play, and I have to be faithful above all to that job, that role. Our system relies on lawyers feeling that way. Even if all they do is assure a plea bargain is in line with what others similarly situated have gotten, they are doing the Lord's work as far as I'm concerned.

Any professional criminal defense attorney will be defending people who are guilty most of the time. Those are just the odds. There are organizations and lawyers who specialize in innocence cases, of course, but those won't pay everyone's bills. So, in that sense, most criminal defense attorneys are routinely choosing to represent the blatantly guilty. I suppose that I would look askance at a lawyer who took a case only for the fame or money, but only because those are not good reasons for doing anything.

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Regarding ranked choice voting, I’ve been opposed for a long time, but might be coming around. I always think back to the election of Harold Washington over Byrne and Daley. You can bet that with tanked choice that would never have happened (at that time). Ranked choice not only makes it harder for fringe candidates to win, but harder for any ‘minority’.

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Regarding the tweet about someone writing in a yearbook “stay cool”

I’ve got a few entries in my yearbook where kids would write vile things, and then (in case parents read it) would end with ‘just kidding’

Fun memories.

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