Too incompetent to stand trial but competent enough to have a gun.
Taylor, the suspect arrested in the case, had been arrested twice before for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. But according to court papers, he was found incompetent to stand trial-yet insufficiently disabled to be involuntarily committed
Here;s something very American, but that doesn't involve guns or bullets.
Tipping.
For those of you not familiar with the US, if you happen to be travelling to the US, please be advised that you are expected to leave a bigger tip in restaurants here than pretty much anywhere else in the world, as far as I know. Here is America, you are expected to leave.....well, that's the subject of an article that prompted this thought. I'm not going to link to it becuase it's a click-throught that gets to a New York post article, but by way of msn, which probably means even more than the usual tracking....so I'll just describe it. The title, which could prbably be used to search for the article if you really wanted to, is
Tipping culture is out of control — and now people are giving less than ever before
So....when I was very young, I remember being told to leave a 10% tip. However, by the time I was in college, I think the norm was 15%. The mathematically challenged could get little credit card sized cheat sheets to keep in their wallet that had a lookup table for 15%. Once calculators became dirt cheap, I saw one that even had a .15 key on it.
However, according to the article,
"Americans are far from generous when it comes to tipping service workers at restaurants, new research has revealed, with most diners leaving less than the standard 18-20% gratuity following a sit-down meal."
and
"While an 18 to 20% tip is now considered the standard at eateries across America, most of those polled proclaimed that they do not fork out that amount."
Now wait just a dog gone minute. If most Americans don't pay 18%, it's not standard, is it? "Standard", by definition, is whatever most people pay.
And that's still 15%, according to the article, although the article called it a "whopping 57%" who left that much.
What has actually happened is that chains have come to dominate Amrican dining, and those chains usually have electronic payement of some sort, even if it's just a credit card reader at the cashier. That card reader can be programmed to prompt for a tip, and the smallest prompt is usually 18%. The most common I think is three choices - 18, 20, and 25. There is also "custom amount" and, usually, "skip", for true skinflints. (At carry out restaurants, I'm one of those skinflints. I tip waitresses, not cooks or cashiers.) The point of the whole scam is to let corporate bosses pay their workers less.
There's so much that bugs me about the article. The title says "People are giving less than ever before", but the body of the text says, basically, people are giving the same amount they've given for the last fifty years, except some people give more. I also hate their assertion that 18% is now "standard". Says who? I have read it elsewhere as well. Who are these clowns writing these articles? Why do they get to define "standard"? Well, most Americans aren't buying it.
The article also, correctly, notes that people are being asked to tip more and more places, and people resent it.
So, more and more corporations are trying to hide their costs and pass costs to consumers in more sneaky ways that cut the corporate tax bills.
By the way, the article left out the most important point of tipping in America.
If the service is bad, you are allowed to pull out your concealed carried weapon and shoot them.
Meadmaker wrote: ↑Sun Nov 12, 2023 5:48 am
If the service is bad, you are allowed to pull out your concealed carried weapon and shoot them.
Haha! Nice.
The American habit was always admired here. Back in the '70s, Americans were the dominant tourists when we lived in Rotorua and the tips were unbelievable. I did some bar work at the nighclub from time to time and used to get $5, 10 and even $20 tips for pouring a beer.
It guaranteed them first-class service, but you're right, the culture in America is obscene and an excuse not to pay fair wages.
Thank god it's one American trait that never caught on.
There's so much doubt in the air regarding the lies we've digested over the years...as though we couldn't quite metabolize them...and now, are coming back to haunt the U.S.
One example is a new documentary that gathers the Dr.s that worked on JFK after he was shot. All agree on the entry wound in his throat. They were censored. Their testimony counters the single shooter narrative. Bummer. Conspiracy. Distrust grows.
Reports of horrible experiments done on U.S. citizens without their knowledge sound fictional, but have become factual with time, including black prisoners and syphilis...more doubts creep in. Common knowledge in the U.S. is that the war in Vietnam was corrupt a mistake; a criminal enterprise even...and now even more recent wars have come under scrutiny...Iraq? Afghanistan? Americans are gradually learning that their leaders are liars; media, liars; energy companies, liars and cheats...that's common knowledge. Our food and the system that produces it are fucked and the 'collective we' are starting to notice.
Americans are officially aware that they are full of shit. They'd like a way out. Or at least a rational attempt. An enema of sorts.
Btw, the corruption surrounding the covid vaccines is being exposed by the msm now. TA, even you must have noticed by now? Censorship of criticism was rampant, and is being exposed. Probably has something to do with the poor turnout for the latest booster shot.
Being critical of the corruption is by no means an anti-vax or anti-science view. I'd say, quite the opposite.
btw, i'm no anti-semite, but Netanyahoo can fuck off.
stanky wrote: ↑Mon Nov 13, 2023 7:13 pm
Americans are officially aware that they are full of shit. They'd like a way out.
I see no signs of it. There's no attempt to grow an alternative political organisation. Occupy started out with promise but became nothing more than a conspiracy-filled bunch of morons.
Trump is as popular as ever, and I see no wind for change. I suspect you're seeing that that don't actually exist, like when you thought Jill Stein had a chance at the presidency. What did she get 0.5% of the vote? I'm confident the vast majority of Americans are happy with the system they have.
stanky wrote: ↑Mon Nov 13, 2023 7:13 pm
Btw, the corruption surrounding the covid vaccines is being exposed by the msm now. TA, even you must have noticed by now?
Nothing I've seen matches what you're saying, and I'll lay $100 to an ounce of dogshit you have no evidence to back up your claim.
