Aetherous

I didn't know about this previously, or overlooked it...but the Obama administration illegally spied on this journalist who was covering Fast and Furious: https://www.gofundme.com/sharyl-attkisson-4th-am-litigation

It's actually sad how unconscious these students and/or protesters are.

I think the 3 months would wipe out her fund...and it's never a good idea to wipe it out! Not sure she knew about the time gap without a paycheck until recently. Don't get me wrong, I think she's horrible...she is truly a socialist, evidenced by her recent complaints about Amazon. I just view the DC apartment situation differently than most. I also think it's possible that she could simply commute until paychecks came in - problem solved. After that point, well, she can stop complaining, because she'll be earning more than 3 normal people combined.

That might be her emergency fund (which is supposed to enable one to live without working for 6 months).

So I've refined this a little bit, and today used the recipe to make carbonara, which was really enjoyable. Refinements on cacio e pepe: - using much less water to cook the pasta than normal. This increases the starchiness of the water, which is the key to making the sauce do what it's supposed to...bind together, and also stick to the noodles. - using the finest grater to make the cheese into a powder for making the sauce, rather than slicing very thin pieces like I did previously. It's much easier to work with this way, and you can prepare the cheese sauce better by creating it to your liking in a separate bowl, which then gets added right into the frying pasta. Careful not to add a lot at once, or make it too much of a paste, and end up with cheese clumps that aren't separating into the pasta water. - I used a bigger pan, rather than a separate pot, to cook the pasta at first...then I took out excess pasta water and added it back in as necessary (to cook the noodles appropriately). Just as a style preference, I always enjoy cooking with one pot or pan, rather than multiple. Check out this video... The guy makes a sauce solely with pasta water right away...I haven't yet gotten to that skill level, but I aim for being able to do that. I think if you make the pasta water + pepper sauce first, then add the separate cheese + pasta water sauce to it, it would come out perfect. For carbonara, people can make it all sorts of different ways...but I went with the idea that it's simply an addition onto the cacio e pepe recipe, so I added some chopped up bacon-ish type of deli meat and let it cook for a while with the cacio e pepe, then when it looked all ready, turned off the stove and cracked an egg into it then stirred it around. The egg made the cheese pepper sauce much more creamy. It's important to not cook the egg with the heat on, which would make it clumpy and obviously eggy (think - like the eggs in pad thai) rather than like a sauce, but to allow the residual heat from the pasta and pan to heat up the egg...and then have the egg vanish entirely into the sauce. I also threw in some spinach leaves, just to be a little more healthy. It was good. Despite not being an Italian food fan in the least, I really enjoy the sophistication of the sauce here - how the cheese pepper sauce requires pasta water to work right, how the pepper cuts through the rich cheese for a more balanced energetic profile to the flavors, and how an egg added in the right way can thicken up the sauce even more and make it into more of a filling dish. Be careful with bacon and similar meats, which already contain a lot of salt. You will want to figure out the right amount to salt your pasta water. Some say to make it taste like sea water, but that can ruin the dish (I experienced that the other week), especially in carbonara where the bacon is added. I haven't tried any of this with fresh pasta yet. My chef friend said "fresh pasta is the best", but he didn't seem to understand the importance of the pasta water in these recipes, or know whether fresh pasta ends up with a less starchy pasta water or not. ... In the next week or so I'll probably go into depth on how I make my yearly "apple chestnut pork stuffing" for Thanksgiving. It's one of the greatest dishes on earth.

Really good advice for how to leave a job (not ruin your financial situation): ... Another idea about jobs/careers: when doing research on different careers, go to Quora and do a search for those different careers you think of. You will probably find that other people have already asked, for instance, "What is it like to be a lawyer?" Experts or people in those lines of work respond and give personal answers, which can really give you a better idea than most other sources. It's usually a good idea to get first hand advice and opinions from experienced people...one of the best ways to learn about things. So, Quora can help with that.

It's a sign that our elected officials have become disproportionately wealthy and privileged compared to the average American; instead of public servants, they've become a ruling class. Definitely not something to laugh about.

I suspect this is happening on a daily basis across the US. There is something wrong with these people, where they're not able to see their own hypocrisy.

I'm really not sure what sense there is in having a political related thread in this section, where people don't want this discussion. I'll report the original post simply to get the moderator's attention, and hope that it's quickly moved to the appropriate area, so that this type of discussion doesn't damage the Spirit of the Daobums (which is basically what Sebastian said it is).

I'm not offended, but I'm really not sure why people are laughing? You guys want to bring political discussions into this area?

It seems to me personally that a thread like this is in the wrong section of the forum...being here in General Discussion, it's like bringing the political atmosphere into the spiritual areas, which in my view is the opposite of the purpose of this thread. Political stuff should be kept in its own section, where it won't dominate the forum. Edited to add: Also, here's a thought. If enough forum members really can't stand the idea of political discussions existing on this site at all, perhaps a subforum could be made similar to the "men's haven" or "women's sanctuary" subforums, where the discussions aren't accessible by those who have zero interest in politics or who are bothered by it.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-left-is-consumed-with-hate-1537723198?fbclid=IwAR0TbpHldUMjMkP4kP4zXV2aXE3EYO8yEOT-Rp_nJaAyayxxUgXQowYFWpE ... Why is this apparent insanity so common among leftists these days? What happened to intellectualism?

I have to do this again. What I said before was how things are supposed to be. How things really are is described by this former President: This is a direct result of the Supreme Court's worst decision ever. So, I would say the US is no longer a "republic", because with an oligarchy (or a plutocracy), you have a wealthy ruling class vs the citizens. It's still probably true that someone without money could raise it through their party's campaign, and get into office...but it's very unlikely that someone who isn't doing well would be accepted. Despite not being a republic, or the republic being subverted - it's still a representative democracy, to some extent. We still vote on which plutocrat we want. The deep state is another thing to consider in whether the US is truly a representative democracy. It consists of people who attain very influential positions, often with less oversight and less checks and balances, but the public doesn't vote them in. So...how things are supposed to be sounded pretty smart. How things are sounds like the opposite of what the founders intended.

#MeToo

I'll correct myself...apparently there's a subtle difference between republicanism and populism. In republicanism, it's more about rule of law governing the people as opposed to a ruling class. In populism, it's more about the people governing the people as opposed to a ruling class.

Here's my basic knowledge on this. Please anyone correct if wrong about something... The US is a "federal republic" and a "representative democracy". "Federal" means it's a union of different states with their own governments, rather than just one big government over all the territory. We have the "federal government" which is kind of above all the states and concerns the nation as a whole, and "state governments" which concern just their individual state and have some protection against an overbearing federal government, due to the Constitution. "Republic" means: government is considered a public matter (of, by, and for the people) and not the property of rulers or a private matter, positions of power aren't inherited, and the head of state isn't a monarch/king/queen. "Republic" can be translated directly as "public matter", and has always implied a kind of populism as opposed to monarchism. Basically, there's not supposed to be a ruling class vs the citizens situation in a Republic; we don't like royalty being over us! In a "Federal Republic" this applies to both the federal government and the state governments. The US has also been called a "Constitutional Republic" because it means that the government is guided or limited by the Constitution. "Democracy" means that the citizens are able to vote on matters. There are different types of democracies... "Representative democracy" means that the citizens vote for representatives to vote on individual matters (like bills that pass through the House and Senate), rather than citizens voting on issues directly (which would be called a "direct democracy"). Imagine having to go cast a vote on every bill that Congress is working on...most of us can barely be informed enough to vote sensibly as it is. Here's the history of how the Democratic party was named: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)#History

I'm not sure what's being spoken of in the OP is truly Confucian teaching. Not that I really know, having barely read any Confucian works...but with the little that I do know, it seems like they wouldn't advocate a kind of blind obedience which destroys family and society, leading to corruption and empty gestures of respect for those who you think are undeserving of it. ... BTW, here are a few texts that look very informative to me, and seem to really elucidate the meanings of things like "filail piety": https://www.amazon.com/Analects-Selections-Traditional-Commentaries-Translated-ebook/dp/B003GEKKXO/ https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Analects-Confucius-Translation-Annotations-ebook/dp/B01N6ZQEJN/ https://www.amazon.com/Original-Analects-Brooks/dp/0231104316/ I haven't read these books, but they're next on my wishlist. Also, to read the Analects for free: http://tls.uni-hd.de/projectDescription/texts/texts_TLS.lasso and go to Lunyu. ... Something that I've learned when growing up...parents have a lot more life experience than us, and they see our life from two perspectives simultaneously: 1) caring more about our wellbeing and future than their own, 2) seeing our situations from an outsider's vantage point. In the moment when things are happening in our lives, we might think their advice is really poor since they obviously don't know what's going on for us...but they see our situations from a broader perspective, like an eagle flying above, whereas we see them from the first person immediate perspective. Listening to no one but ourselves, we only see what's right in front of us, and don't see dangers or opportunities even a few feet away. We basically live our lives like nearly blind people...so, listening to those who have our backs more so than anyone else in the world, who can give us an outsider's perspective, is good. (I find this thought pretty funny and true: parents are the only people in the world who will talk shit to your face yet speak highly of you behind your back. Everyone else you will meet in life is the exact opposite.) Think about the idea of strict parents who make their kids work hard at homework every day, rather than having fun with friends...versus parents who let their kid go play with friends right after school. The former kid will end up being much more intelligent, won't be morally corrupted, will have better opportunities open up for the future, will be used to hard work and doing what it takes. The latter kid might end up doing drugs, getting STDs, getting fired from a job, having doors closed on them due to their past. In the moment, it seems like the strict parents are horrible...in the broader perspective, they were helping their kid. In the moment it seems like the parents who let their kid play were very nice and loving...in the broader perspective, they might have contributed to the kid's failures later in life. Parents aren't always right about everything...but watch the dynamic of your relationship with them change once you start considering their advice...they are no longer horrible and strict, but are your helpers. Watch how you change...for the better, in all ways.

I don't even like my steak cooked below medium well.

I think I'll try to make that my last post of opposing those trying to stifle political discussion here. It's enough that we spend some of our time discussing politics...I'd rather not continue discussing the discussion of politics. All relevant points in regard to spiritual cultivation in the midst of politics have really already been stated by me...no need to repeat myself either with that, or with my disagreement. Moving on!

If you're worried about losing spiritual focus, then focus on spirituality. Contribute within the many spiritual parts of the forum. OG is a place for other discussion. This is like pretty much any forum in existence, where the forum exists for a certain purpose...let's say there's a gardening forum. Pretty much every subforum is about different aspects of gardening. And you'll also find a place there for off topic discussion (very common in most places like this). It might be the case that "off topic" becomes more active than the gardening posts... ...this doesn't change the fact that it's all a bunch of people interested in gardening, who discuss that. Some might even be expert gardeners, yet they primarily discuss with other gardening enthusiasts about other things. OG subforum here doesn't draw new members in, so there's no chance of the forum becoming a political place rather than spiritual. Its discussions don't show up in google searches...but many of the other parts of the forum do, and draw people in. Now the Staff has come up with ways for current members to not see OG posts in "Activity". Take advantage of that if OG bothers you. Really...it's a good personal policy, and good spiritual cultivation, to focus on yourself (a rude way of saying it is - "mind your own business"). If you don't like the idea of discussing politics, and think there should be more participation in spiritual subjects on the forum...then do that. Go contribute to spiritual etc threads. I do it often. Make the world a better place.

Marblehead the OG.

...there's the OG board, where it's the time and place.

I love simplicity and elegance in recipes. I just made this for lunch, and it was really fun. I simply eyeballed the ingredients and didn't measure anything, and it turned out great. Cooked al dente (so that they aren't loose and soggy but still have good form and are slightly chewy), white pasta has a low glycemic load and low insulin index score...it's considered fairly healthy as far as carbs go! I've asked my chef friend about whether this recipe is possible with fresh noodles, as opposed to dry. I'm interested in fresh pasta, because it contains a lot more eggs and yolks...it's more nutritious. If that's possible, maybe this cacio e pepe could be a dish on its own, without the need of any kind of additional protein.

Forgot to get back...I did try this recipe, and it worked (got air pockets like normal bread). The bread was quite damp to the touch, though. I suspect that if the person refined their method, it could be an okay bread to use for those who are gluten free. The best part about it was the edges which touched the buttered pan...the salted butter and the maillard reaction (browning) of the rice on the edge created something crispy, chewy, and super tasty.