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USA. A Mexican restaurant. We had not yet ordered anything, and the food was already arriving.
Chips. Salsa. Unrequested. Free.
I stopped the waiter. "We have not earned these."
"They just come with the table, man."
They come with the TABLE. In my land, hospitality is a debt. Every gift creates an obligation, weighed carefully, returned in the proper season with interest of feeling. Here, the gift arrives before you have even proven you can pay for dinner.
This is not an appetizer. This is a declaration: we trust you. Eat.
I ate with the gravity the moment deserved. And then — I must report this calmly — the basket emptied, and a new one appeared.
"Did we…?"
"Refill," the waiter said. "It's bottomless."
Bottomless. They have wells of salsa. The supply lines of this nation are beyond anything my ancestors imagined.
My friend warned me. "Don't fill up on chips, dude."
Too late. I had accepted three baskets. Honor demanded each one be finished — an unfinished gift is an insult. By the time my actual food arrived, I was a ruined man.
I was not hungry. I was not comfortable. I had been defeated by a courtesy.
Generosity that arrives before the request cannot be repaid. It can only be survived.
I know the rule now. I have made my peace with the basket. One basket. Two at the most.
Who am I deceiving. There is no number of baskets I would refuse. The trust of a nation is in that salsa, and I intend to honor all of it.
Jay Tedder retweeted
"There's no evidence of Capitol Police escorting protesters into the Capitol on J6" - @kwelkernbc to President @realDonaldTrump on @MeetThePress
Jay Tedder retweeted
37 years ago today, the Chinese government brutally crushed peaceful protesters in and around Tiananmen Square who were demanding an end to corruption, freedom of speech, and democratic reform. The massacre revealed a truth the world should never forget: the Chinese Communist Party will do whatever it takes to preserve its grip on power. If it did not value the lives of its own citizens, why would it value the lives of others?
That's my governor! Thank you @GovBillLee
🚨Breaking: Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee has officially proclaimed June as "Nuclear Family Month," making a clear stand by prioritizing traditional family structures over Pride Month observances.
This resolution highlights the importance of strong, stable households with moms, dads, and children at the heart of society. In a time when many push alternative agendas, Lee's decision reinforces core American values and puts families first.
Well done, Tennessee — leading by example.
You don't say.
Jay Tedder retweeted
”In 1786, when the United States was barely a country, it was having its sailors taken as slaves by the Barbary states, the states of the Ottoman Empire and North Africa. Tripoli. Shores of Tripoli. Ships stopped, its crews carried off into slavery. We estimate 1.5 million European and American slaves taken between 1750 and 1815.
Jefferson and Adams went to their ambassador in London and said, why do you do this to us? The United States has never had a quarrel with the Muslim world of any kind. We weren't in the crusades. We weren't at war with Spain. Why do you do this to our people and our ships? Why do you plunder and enslave our people? The ambassador said very plainly, Mr. Abdul Rahman said, because the Quran gives us permission to do so, because you are infidels, and that's our answer. Jefferson said, well, in that case, I will send a navy which will crush your state, which he did.
Islamic fundamentalism is not created by American democracy. It's a lie to say so. It's a masochistic lie, and it excuses those who are the real criminals, and blames us for the attacks made upon us.”
Jay Tedder retweeted
This appears to be the ICE officer’s video feed from Minneapolis. She drove right at him.
Jay Tedder retweeted
This angle clearly shows the ICE agent being hit and dragged on by the car. Could have easily killed him.
Jay Tedder retweeted
The entire world did.
The US has almost the entire world on salary. In just 30 years, they have given 1.3 trillion dollars in aid to the world.
That is the GDP of the whole of Ghana 16x, Kenya 12x, Nigeria 3x. They are the top donors to the United Nations, 28%.
They are the top donors to the WHO, around 15%. They are the ones with the largest financial commitment to the IMF, around 17%
They give money through bilateral relations, country-to-country, and multilateral solutions, such as the UN, WHO, IMF, etc.
80% of the money goes to things like education, healthcare, social development, etc.
They pay the largest of NATO's defence budget, aroud 70%, so Europe can be safe, project power, and keep the balance of geopolitical scale.
I could go on and on about how the entire world simply stands in line for US paychecks.
And that is why America feels it is the leader of the free world. They are paying for it, at the cost of their national treasury.
They are in debt, but they keep paying.
If the world wants America's interventionism to stop, let it bring as much financial stake to the international table.
In international politics, the one paying you is controlling you. You can't have one without the other.
This is why the US feels it can police the world. It is like guarding the enterprise they are paying for.
Racist Virginians elect privileged white woman over black immigrant woman.
BREAKING: Former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger defeated Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R-VA) Tuesday night to become Virginia‘s first female governor in the commonwealth’s history. trib.al/i08Otrr
The people telling you Trump is a dictator are the same people who said this guy was competent. If we were a proper country, they would all be shunned from political involvement. Good grief.
Jay Tedder retweeted
Brian Callahan’s tenure ends with a 4-19 record. He becomes the first NFL head coach fired this season.
Jay Tedder retweeted
Dear Democrats,
This is how you respond when one of your political opponents dies.
This is grace. This is class.
RBG was an outspoken critic of Trump. He didn’t celebrate her death.
This really isn’t hard.
