Coupons often say “Cannot be used with any other offer. One coupon per customer per visit.” There’s usually still an overall profit on the entire order because people don’t buy just the one item covered by the coupon. The business can also deduct the value of the coupon as a charitable donation.

Don’t know what’s up with lemmy.world not showing all the comments, so I hope it’s not a big deal that I’m not replying to each comment.

The federal government has a tax credit for 30% of the cost of a heat pump water heater or heat pump A/C. These mostly run on 120v, because 1200W of power consumption yields about the equivalent of a 4000W resistive element heater. The drawback is that in a lot of homes, the 120v powering the gas heater is not a separate circuit. In my mom’s house it comes off a wall outlet that also power the kitchen. So if she makes coffee when the water heater is operating it pops the circuit breaker.

Most homes with gas appliances would require new wiring to use electric equivalents. Hiring an electrician for that job can easily top $2000. People on fixed incomes will have a rough time making this change. Those in rural areas are particularly impacted because they typically rely on propane or they’re off-grid.

Let folks replace what they already have. Updates should only be required when the property changes hands. Otherwise it creates a lot of resentment and often financial hardship. And the legislation is easy to defeat if you live next to the border. Buy your replacement gas appliance in Nevada or Arizona. This kind of legislation is exactly why people are willing to set aside all the negatives of Trump and vote for him.

Same in NCAA and FIBA. The moment the ball enters the cylinder from below, it’s the same as going out of bounds. Play stops and the ball is awarded to the team that did not touch the ball last.

There are plenty of companies that will sell your name, email addresses, phone numbers, street addresses, marital status, and relative’s names. They obtain the information from publicly sold databases. I had access to one that had all that, plus the registration info for the car I drive, my estimated income, my military record, my driving record, my political party preference, and pictures of my home that had been on the realtor’s website.

The scary one was when a phone center employee in the Philippines stole my wife’s debit card number and then did two big Western Union MoneyGram transfers to a couple of Filipino men. That means bad actors have access to the credit companies’ databases from which Western Union draws their proof of identity questions, like who holds your mortgage, where you lived when you were 10, and the make/model of your first vehicle.

If you’re well-off enough to be a financial fraud target, paying a company for identity theft protection is probably well worth it. Put fraud alerts in with all the major credit bureaus too. That usually stops identity thieves from accessing your credit. If you use 2FA with your phone, make sure your telecom provider will not transfer your number to a new device without in-person authorization and authentication.

Don’t know why it took them this long. Seems like such a simple thing to mount a gun to a drone. In most of these drone videos, the soldiers are standing, laying on the ground, or running in a straight line. Easy targets for a rifle.

Absentee ballot. Always worked for me in the Navy.

When you shop for a place to live, do you buy/rent nothing because nothing is “perfect”? Or do you weigh the benefits and detriments of each available option and choose the best one?

There’s a clear choice, and if you need to see what voter apathy gets you, look at Venezuela. We got a second chance because the Jan 6 attempt failed. If you don’t vote, the usurper might win.

Totally agree. Iran can see incoming aircraft and missiles on their radar. There would have been widespread social media reports of the missile flying over the city. These things did not happen. Where’s the missile debris? That would have been the lead story on local TV news. Iranian leadership would love to tie the attack back to a missile provided by the US. That would have been their first claim if it really was due to a missile. This story sounds more like Iran belatedly trying to change the narrative.

I thought Belarus was allowing Russia to overfly its territory?

Wait…isn’t Belarus a Russian ally? And Shaheds are used by the Russians. Why would Belarus want to intercept Shaheds?

You preach to the choir. Did you read my disclaimer? This is what I confront every day. It’s what the Trump supporters say. I posted a few of your comments to the local social media. Wow. What a shitstorm. These are some of the replies:

Free Needles: “Let the f***** die then. Good riddance.” (Yep, sounds like what Trump allegedly said)

Shoplifting: “Did you see the video of the Nordstrom robbery? Poor people don’t drive nice cars.” “…bring back the poorhouse” [this is a 19th century workhouse or farm where indigents were required to work] “I work at Sephora. It’s entitled teenagers who steal and they are not poor.” “I work the door at Walmart. People are stealing necessities. They’re stealing things they can trade for drugs.”

Catalytic Converter Theft: “Dude, I run [the local salvage yard]. Guy showed up last month trying to sell me a trunk load of catalytic converters. Called the cops, and they arrested him. He lives on ****** in a big house. Yeah, it’s his.” (I checked this against local arrest records. A man was arrested at the location of the yard for felony theft. Looking up his name in the county property records which indicate he does indeed own a house at the address given.)

Guns (this was the biggest response): “Bet this guy never lived in the country.” “…he probably thinks it only takes one shot to put down a bear. LOL” “You’ve read about my neighbor. Got in a gunfight with two guys trying to steal his cattle. Good thing he packs an AR.” “Who the heck is this guy? I can tell you one thing. He’s never served on active duty in a warzone. In Afghanistan it took over 300 rounds to put down two bad guys.”

There are a lot more, but my fingers are getting tired. You can see what I’m up against. Can’t say that I’m against the gun comments. I’ve had to track a deer almost 2 miles after I shot it. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug. Go watch some of those Brazilian shooting videos. Guy getting plowed by pistol shots, his severed carotid artery is decorating the walls, and he still manages to kill the security guard and run out of the bank before dropping dead in the street. There’s a reason the cops shoot until the suspect stops moving. Armed people are dangerous until you hit something vital, like the brain or heart. Also, you can be a great target shooter until the target starts shooting back. Learned that’s true from playing paintball with only eye protection. When pain avoidance kicks in, aim goes out the window.

But I’m sure you’ve heard all the justifications for gun ownership. Personally, I think we have a long way to go before any bans. How about mandatory psychiatric testing, particularly anger management? Release of all prior medical history, including psychiatric episodes? Making owners responsible for crimes committed by their unsecured guns? But the biggest one to prevent mass shootings - gotta prove you have at least 3 others who call you “friend”. Almost every mass shooter was a loner. Don’t hit us gun owners with another “one-size-fits-all”. Because if Trump is assassinated, I need my gun for the civil unrest (maybe war) that will shortly follow. Laws mean nothing under those conditions, and I’m a marked man.

One person I talked to put it this way: “Trump pisses off the Democrats, and that makes me happy!” There’s a lot of Democrat hate here. I warn them about cutting off their nose to spite their face, and weighing the lesser of two evils. The only thing that seems to be getting some traction is that Trump says he’s for gun rights - now. But if a few more people take pot shots at him, he may change his mind. Reagan did. He ended up backing the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban. It didn’t happen until well after his presidency, but then he only got shot once.

What do you propose that would solve poverty? Don’t say, “entitlement programs”, because that’s a non-starter here. I’ve argued the benefits of universal income - crime reduction, reduced homelessness, tiding over normally productive people through hard times - but most people here believe entitlements breed laziness and will cause higher taxes.

This probably will not be a popular post, but it needs to be said if you want to understand why people want to vote for Trump. You may not agree with it, but this is reality. Just to be clear, THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I’M VOTING FOR THAT NARCISIST, NEPOTISTIC, DECEITFUL USURPER. I can make a few sacrifices for the good of the country - and the world.

I live in the midst of Trump supporters and I often talk to them about why they support him. It comes down to being adversely affected by Democrat policies. They see Trump as being a champion against these policies. Some of what follows are their arguments. Some are my own experience.

Almost every neighbor around me has at least one gun. We are expected to defend ourselves for at least 20 minutes, because that’s how long it can take law enforcement to show up when we call 911. We see the state telling us that, “10 rounds is enough for a magazine.” “You need a special tool to swap magazines.” “You can’t buy the kind of gun that is designed to fend off an assault.” We don’t have any problems with mass shootings. We have very low levels of gun-related crime. Most people here are comfortable seeing someone open carry. We have bears and mountain lions roaming our properties. People use guns to defend their livestock against bears, coyotes, and feral dogs. And nearby, a guy was killed by a mountain lion. In the past year I’ve sighted mountain lions on my cameras 6 times. That’s more than the previous 15 years I’ve had cameras installed. State wildlife people are doing nothing to address the issue. That’s another policy attributed to Democrats. People are worried that kids will turn up missing, victims of mountain lion attacks.

We all see homelessness and the associated drug addiction when we go into town. Addiction that is supported by the Democrat’s free needle program. Homeless camps that, until this week, were supported by Democrats. We see the effect it’s had on nearby businesses (shuttered). We see the illegal pot grows that pop up on undefended land, then the crazy cost of cleaning them up when the owner gets the bill (one guy two miles up the road from me got billed $14,000). We see increasing levels of government intervention. Want to build a house? That will be $65,000 in fees. Put in solar? $1500 for the permit. A chicken coop? Thank you for your $300 contribution. Need a chainsaw to maintain your forested land? Sure, as long as it’s battery-powered (underpowered, taking 50% more time, and you need multiple batteries to limb a tree). The latest is water restrictions - we have lots of water, but “they” want us to cut back to give it to those city people.

About 80% of the people here have propane service. They worry about whether they’ll be able to buy a new propane appliance in the future, or be forced into an expensive conversion to an electric appliance (it costs over $1000 to have an electrician put in a new 240V outlet). They see Democrat-led efforts to ban natural gas appliances. They see EVs being pushed, but there are maybe 20 public charging station within 20 miles. Many of those are out of service due to vandalism (copper theft is rampant).

Then we get to the shoplifting and the apparent lack of enforcement. We all see stores locking up whole aisles of stock to stave off the shoplifters. Talking with the owners of the stores, there’s not a lot else they can do. The sheriff won’t detain the criminals, so they’re back in the store the next day. People are upset with package theft from their doorstep. They’re screaming about the rash of vehicle break-ins and gasoline theft. Someone drilled a hole in my neighbor’s gas tank to steal $30 worth of gas. It cost him $500 (his insurance deductible) to fix it. Another neighbor had his catalytic converter stolen. Talking to the sheriff, the lack of enforcement is a jail capacity issue. Our jail is always full because what used to be a felony is now only a misdemeanor. Misdemeanors are served in county jails, not state penitentiaries. How do I make an argument that this is not due to the policies of Democrats, when the Democrat Governor is against the repeal of the measure that created this situation?

That’s why -my- rural area is red. It will continue to be red until the Democrats figure out that “one-size-fits-all” legislation alienates the rural population. What makes sense for urban areas is a real burden in rural areas. Meanwhile, Trump tells people that he will reverse a lot of these onerous laws. You and I know he’s lying, because the Federal Government can’t interfere with State’s Rights. But that does little good when trying to tell folks in my area that they should vote for the Democrat who represents the things that are adversely affecting their daily lives. People here want guns, gas-powered chainsaws, ICE vehicles, propane appliances, zero-drug tolerance, less government, and effective law enforcement. That’s why they support Trump. Unlike me, they can’t see any farther than what is impacting their personal lives. They can care less about what a Trump presidency means to the global community. They don’t care that he’s a convicted felon. They don’t mind his infidelity, and they overlook his deceit. How do I convince people like that to vote against the candidate who promises them what they want?

They’re still surrendering. But it’s not the kind of video that generates donations. Ukraine has been operating the “I want to live” surrender hotline since 2022. Soldiers are given instructions via phone, text, Telegram, or the website on how to signal a drone with their intention to surrender.

Notializing around the dinner table with our electronic devices. They might think we have implants that allow telepathic communication. And after 70 years, no, we don’t have flying cars, nor manned interplanetary rockets, nor world peace - although we haven’t blown everyone up with the bomb yet. And yes, Ronald Reagan was the president.

Drones can’t take prisoners when they’re way behind enemy lines. Normal face-to-face combat allows for surrender, but how can a drone take control of an enemy combatant who surrenders 5 miles behind the lines? That’s why you see drones killing the wounded and unarmed. Until they are dead they are an enemy asset that is irretrievable. It’s the same reason abandoned enemy equipment is destroyed. If it can’t be captured, you don’t want the enemy to fix it up and continue using it.

Most Russian soldiers know they can surrender, but they risk being shot by their own troops. Many have families back in Russia who would suffer if they surrender. Some have no idea where the Ukrainian lines are, and walking around way behind the lines is an invitation to the drones. Others have bought into the Russian propoganda about life as a prisoner of war in Ukraine. And some just have too much machismo to surrender. They’d rather die. Surrenders typically happen when there’s close combat.

Canned fruit. As a kid in the 70’s I went on field trips to the Dole plant and the Del Monte plant. Seeing rotten, wormy fruit going to the juicer, then that juice being put in the can with the fruit still makes it something I won’t buy 50 years later.

How do earth-sheltered homes comply? I’ve seen a few, and they have no windows in most of the rooms, including bedrooms. And there’s a few who’ve taken to living in caves, old mines, and decommissioned missile silos. There must be an exception to this code.

Cut them up and use them for rags, or deface the logo with permanent marker before donation. Clothes that are not fashionable don’t sell. They end up in huge bales. A few are sold to clothing recyclers (cut up for industrial rags or shredded for felt), but most end up in countries where they disrupt the local garment economy, become landfill, or are burned, contributing to air pollution (do search for “clothing in Atacama desert” or “donated clothing in Africa”).

I only donate quality items in good condition that I would buy. Cheap clothing refills my rag bin. If you’re really feeling guilty about not donating used clothing, the best way to assuage your guilt is to become a resale store customer.