Free baptism speeches

God created you because He wants a human family to love !!! He wanted us to bear His image/be His representatives, to be in His family forever, living in love and harmony with God who loves us deeply, and enjoying His perfect creation.
In order to allow us the free will for that choice to love Him back and be part of His family, sin entered and put all the plans on hold.
The world may be a mess, but God never gave up on His human family, and is planning on restoring His original plan for His created children to be in His family forever, living in love and harmony, and enjoying His perfect creation, in the new heavens/earth.
Sin separated humanity from God, we were doomed to its penalty, which is death and separation from God.
In a mission of unsearchable love and amazing grace, Jesus Christ, who was God, became man, lived a sinless life, was killed and buried, and was physically resurrected by the power of God.
This is God's gracious provision of love to redeem humanity into His family forever in heaven, a perfect world as this one was originally intended.
Due to human rebellion in the earlier times of creation, God decided to work through one man Abraham and his seed. Israel would have been a kingdom of priests by through which all other nations (“all other nations” are called gentiles) could be blessed and reconciled to God. Israel rejected Jesus (this is recorded in Matthew Mark Luke and John up until the final rejection in Acts 7). God knew this would happen and had a plan to save gentiles (non-Jewish people) and the world in spite of Israel’s rejection of Jesus. He converted the Apostle Paul as the Apostle to the gentiles in Acts 9 and revealed to him that now anyone could be saved (Jew or gentile) directly by trusting in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. No longer would gentiles have to go through Israel and follow the law to be blessed/saved by God.
God is currently not judging the sin and evil in the world, instead He is pouring out His grace through the finished work of Jesus Christ, wanting all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. That is why there is evil in the world now. After the rapture, or removing of the church/the body of Christ from the earth, which can happen at any time without notice, God will THEN judge sin and evil in the world during the 7 year tribulation of judgment on the earth. At this time God will turn His attention back to Israel to save them through a remnant that believes. Gentiles in the tribulation, will need to once again be saved by going through Israel’s program which includes faith and works, endure to the end even if it means death for your faith, and not take the mark of the beast. It is much EASIER to be saved now up until the rapture, which can happen anytime without notice.
Jesus paid the difficult price so you may have forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. It is easy to be reconciled back to God for all eternity.
This offer is to all that recognize their sin has separated them from God, and trust in God’s solution to reconcile you back to God forever. Jesus paid the price of your sins to reconcile you back to God.
To be saved what you need to do is simply believe and trust ONLY in the death burial and resurrection of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, to receive Jesus’ righteousness imputed to your account, and eternal life with God.
It is important to not add any works from Israel's program in the Old Testament, Matthew Mark Luke John, or Acts 1-7 to the gospel of salvation. The Apostle Paul called adding works to the gospel an accursed gospel that does NOT save. Galatians 1:8-9 KJV (King James Version)
Salvation comes from believing and trusting in the death, burial , and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is God's provision for you.
No amount of good works (you think you are saved because you are good enough on your own), no water baptism, no cleaning up your sins (wrong definition of repent), special prayers or things to accept are necessary to be saved by Jesus Christ.
Once you are saved you are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and have full assurance of salvation and sin can no longer separate you from God. You cannot lose by moral imperfection what you did not attain by moral perfection.
Once you are saved by believing and trusting the gospel that saves 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV the next steps to learn and grow in God’s grace and learn your new identity and blessings as a member of Jesus’s church (not a denomination of building) , the body of Christ, renew your mind daily by reading and applying the doctrine Jesus gave to the body of Christ through the Apostle Paul in Romans-Philemon KJV. We earn rewards in heaven now by applying and building sound doctrine to the inner man.
We all can definitely sense the increase in evil and the decrease of love in the world. This world is temporal and the new heavens/earth will be beautiful and perfect version of this life for all eternity.
God wants you there in His family for all eternity to show you the riches of His grace and love for you !!!
Acknowledge the your sin has separated you from God and trust and believe the simple gospel that saves today !!!
1 Corinthians 15:1-4. KJV
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
For more info my blog is
GraceNotWorks dot com

God created you because He wants a human family to love !!! He wanted us to bear His image/be His representatives, to be in His family forever, living in love and harmony with God who loves us deeply, and enjoying His perfect creation.
In order to allow us the free will for that choice to love Him back and be part of His family, sin entered and put all the plans on hold.
The world may be a mess, but God never gave up on His human family, and is planning on restoring His original plan for His created children to be in His family forever, living in love and harmony, and enjoying His perfect creation, in the new heavens/earth.
Sin separated humanity from God, we were doomed to its penalty, which is death and separation from God.
In a mission of unsearchable love and amazing grace, Jesus Christ, who was God, became man, lived a sinless life, was killed and buried, and was physically resurrected by the power of God.
This is God's gracious provision of love to redeem humanity into His family forever in heaven, a perfect world as this one was originally intended.
Due to human rebellion in the earlier times of creation, God decided to work through one man Abraham and his seed. Israel would have been a kingdom of priests by through which all other nations (“all other nations” are called gentiles) could be blessed and reconciled to God. Israel rejected Jesus (this is recorded in Matthew Mark Luke and John up until the final rejection in Acts 7). God knew this would happen and had a plan to save gentiles (non-Jewish people) and the world in spite of Israel’s rejection of Jesus. He converted the Apostle Paul as the Apostle to the gentiles in Acts 9 and revealed to him that now anyone could be saved (Jew or gentile) directly by trusting in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. No longer would gentiles have to go through Israel and follow the law to be blessed/saved by God.
God is currently not judging the sin and evil in the world, instead He is pouring out His grace through the finished work of Jesus Christ, wanting all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. That is why there is evil in the world now. After the rapture, or removing of the church/the body of Christ from the earth, which can happen at any time without notice, God will THEN judge sin and evil in the world during the 7 year tribulation of judgment on the earth. At this time God will turn His attention back to Israel to save them through a remnant that believes. Gentiles in the tribulation, will need to once again be saved by going through Israel’s program which includes faith and works, endure to the end even if it means death for your faith, and not take the mark of the beast. It is much EASIER to be saved now up until the rapture, which can happen anytime without notice.
Jesus paid the difficult price so you may have forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. It is easy to be reconciled back to God for all eternity.
This offer is to all that recognize their sin has separated them from God, and trust in God’s solution to reconcile you back to God forever. Jesus paid the price of your sins to reconcile you back to God.
To be saved what you need to do is simply believe and trust ONLY in the death burial and resurrection of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, to receive Jesus’ righteousness imputed to your account, and eternal life with God.
It is important to not add any works from Israel's program in the Old Testament, Matthew Mark Luke John, or Acts 1-7 to the gospel of salvation. The Apostle Paul called adding works to the gospel an accursed gospel that does NOT save. Galatians 1:8-9 KJV (King James Version)
Salvation comes from believing and trusting in the death, burial , and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is God's provision for you.
No amount of good works (you think you are saved because you are good enough on your own), no water baptism, no cleaning up your sins (wrong definition of repent), special prayers or things to accept are necessary to be saved by Jesus Christ.
Once you are saved you are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and have full assurance of salvation and sin can no longer separate you from God. You cannot lose by moral imperfection what you did not attain by moral perfection.
Once you are saved by believing and trusting the gospel that saves 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV the next steps to learn and grow in God’s grace and learn your new identity and blessings as a member of Jesus’s church (not a denomination of building) , the body of Christ, renew your mind daily by reading and applying the doctrine Jesus gave to the body of Christ through the Apostle Paul in Romans-Philemon KJV. We earn rewards in heaven now by applying and building sound doctrine to the inner man.
We all can definitely sense the increase in evil and the decrease of love in the world. This world is temporal and the new heavens/earth will be beautiful and perfect version of this life for all eternity.
God wants you there in His family for all eternity to show you the riches of His grace and love for you !!!
Acknowledge the your sin has separated you from God and trust and believe the simple gospel that saves today !!!
1 Corinthians 15:1-4. KJV
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
For more info my blog is
GraceNotWorks dot com

(Pardon for any grammar mistakes) Examples from my personal life:
We'll be watching an old comedy movie that has some outdated offensive jokes. And my Dad will always use this and many other similar situations to say,"See! you can't do that anymore because people today are too sensitive!". And he'll say stuff like that a lot with so much contempt.
And this one time I had a conversation with someone online who lives in a European country, saying something along the lines of,"You Americans advocate for free speech yet you don't follow the first amendment by telling people they can't say certain things because you are all too sensitive!"

It’s crazy to me that it’s been said there are not enough moments of indication that Colin’s personality when he returns is a facade. I think the writers did a great job sprinkling in moments throughout the episodes. I don’t really know how they could’ve been anymore clearer. Episode 1 probably has the least amount of moments, but you do get the one lord telling Colin that’s he’s more fun than he was before (playing into his insecurities), but Colin still immediately ditches him to check on Penelope. And there are comments from Anthony and Benedict asking where their brother went as well. I also think bringing back presents for every family member is quite indicative of his inherent kind-hearted nature.
In episode 2, you of course have the infamous brothel scene, and on the surface Colin appears to have enjoyed himself. But I think it’s crucial that a few scenes later you hear in Colin’s own words that he feels disconnected during sex. And he doesn’t understand why because he can acknowledge how beautiful the women are. You get the sweet and playful scene with Penelope where he recounts how they met as children and laments the fact that they didn’t care what society thought about them then and now they must as adults.
Episode 3 is really where everything starts falling apart. That Casanova persona is coming crashing down, and it’s all because of one kiss. Colin is so awkward with his family after the sexy dream. The words he’s saying don’t make much sense. He’s following Penelope around like a lost puppy. There’s the willow tree scene where he can’t express how he feels (a lot of word salad there) and just follows Penelope’s lead about ending the lessons despite so badly wanting her to acknowledge their kiss. The Colin who had a smooth line for every debutant is now at a complete lost for words when staring into Penelope’s eyes (man was about to kiss her if Debling didn’t interrupt). The roles are even reversed, and he becomes the wallflower in the corner watching Penelope dance with Debling.
Episode 4 really drives all of this home. Colin loves Penelope, but does not want to ruin what he thinks is her happiness with Debling. So he tries one last time to resume the facade because that’s all that’s left for him if he is to have a life without Pen, but he just can’t do it. I know some people say they wish he had just left in the second brothel scene, but I think it’s much more satisfying from a storytelling perspective to have him straight up dissociating in that scene. That man was not present in his body. The scene with the other lords is one of my favorites. You get confirmation that Colin never has given them details about his sexual exploits despite being pressured to do so, again showing that he’s not cut out for the life of a rake. You see him lash out at his peers (and himself for associating with such men) for their cavalier behavior which I don’t believe we’ve ever seen any of the other male leads do. Of course he gets laughed at for this, and the only thing left to numb his pain is alcohol. The Colin who stumbles into his bedroom late at night is a very broken and lost man. We get Violet’s speech about how he’s always been one of her most sensitive children and how he’s put on an armor to please others. He remembers the hand cutting scene when he’s contemplating what to do, and I think this is a lovely choice because that was a moment of Penelope providing him the care and tenderness he doesn’t get anywhere else. And then if the audience still somehow didn’t get the point, you have Colin telling Penelope that he was trying to feel less because that is what society expected of him, but she made that impossible. And in that carriage, the true Colin has reemerged. He’s unsure and sweet and attentive to Penelope’s wants and needs. He’s making jokes again. He’s finally free to be himself because Penelope allows him to be without any judgment. I really don’t know how much more the writers could’ve done.

In today's climate of extremism, paranoia, and victimization, I think there may be value in a frank discussion on the topic of free speech.
Free speech is often used in the context of things like 'being cancelled', 'being silenced', or 'being shut down' by companies, the general public, or other private actors.
This is a misunderstanding of the freedom of speech.
In America the freedom of speech comes from the first amendment. The text of which is succinct and quoted below.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The freedom of speech is specifically aimed to limit the powers of the government from dictating what is and is not appropriate speech in the public square.
Being canceled because large segments of the population disagree so strongly with your opinions that they try to 'deplatform' your content is not a violation of free speech.
A content creator banning commentators who negatively impact their channel likewise does not constitute a violation of the first amendment.
Even social media companies having and enforcing a code of conduct for their users does not infringe on the freedom of speech.
We could discuss the lack of a digital public square, the governments role in such an endeavor, and the algorithms and other obstacles such a proposal would have, but that is a different argument to the one I most often see online, even here.
Being bound to NDAs by The Satanic Temple does not violate free speech (unless you really believe the government is controlled by a secret society of Satanists).
I'm not here to pick sides on any of the ongoing issues and fractures within TST, but we must try to ensure we follow Tenet 5, and not warp truth to suit a narrative.
People can express their displeasure with TST leadership, or personality conflicts, etc. without claiming hypocrisy on the topic of freedom of speech.
TST is under no obligation to retain memberships for those who strongly disagree with the organization on certain matters.
We can still discuss the proper role of dissent, how to best handle complaints, how to resolve conflict within the organization (I'm almost certain no one would argue that there isn't room for improvement on those fronts within this fledgling religion).
All that said, I am just a baby goat, a friend of Satan, a pledge without full membership rights who has no idea regarding what goes on behind the scenes or anything. I am merely looking at the way discourse is unfolding online in a vitriolic and inaccurate framing that seems meant to inflame passions rather than constructively debate and discuss these real and perceived issues.
Let me know what you think!

Thesis: The Inevitability of Short Seller Losses and Squeezes in SoundHound Inc. Stock
Abstract
This thesis explores the factors that could lead to significant losses and potential squeezes for short sellers of SoundHound Inc. stock. By examining the company's competitive advantages, market position, technological innovations, and financial metrics, the study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of why short sellers might face unfavorable outcomes over time. The analysis will include case studies, historical precedents, and theoretical frameworks relevant to short-selling dynamics and stock market behavior.

Introduction

SoundHound Inc., a prominent player in the voice recognition and artificial intelligence industry, has garnered substantial attention from investors and analysts alike. While some market participants are bullish on the company's prospects, short sellers have targeted the stock, betting on its decline. This thesis posits that short sellers of SoundHound Inc. will likely incur losses or be forced to cover their positions due to several key factors including the company's technological leadership, strategic partnerships, growing market demand, and positive financial trajectory.

Technological Leadership and Innovation

SoundHound's cutting-edge technology in speech recognition and natural language processing sets it apart from competitors. The company's continuous investment in research and development has resulted in robust and sophisticated voice AI solutions. Innovations such as advanced voice query processing, intelligent voice assistants, and comprehensive voice-enabled platforms provide a strong foundation for future growth. These technological advancements not only enhance the company's product offerings but also create high barriers to entry for new competitors, solidifying SoundHound's market position.

Strategic Partnerships and Market Position

SoundHound has established strategic partnerships with major industry players, integrating its technology into a wide array of applications and devices. Collaborations with automotive manufacturers, smart device producers, and software companies extend the reach of SoundHound's solutions and foster widespread adoption. These partnerships are crucial for driving revenue growth and expanding market presence. As the adoption of voice-enabled technologies increases, SoundHound is well-positioned to capture a significant share of the market, thereby boosting investor confidence and stock value.

Growing Market Demand

The global market for voice recognition and AI-driven solutions is experiencing rapid growth. With the increasing popularity of smart devices, virtual assistants, and hands-free interfaces, the demand for advanced voice recognition technology is set to rise. SoundHound, with its innovative solutions and established market presence, is poised to benefit from this trend. The company's ability to meet and exceed market expectations will likely lead to sustained revenue growth, positively impacting its stock price and making it a less attractive target for short sellers.

Financial Trajectory and Performance

SoundHound's financial performance, characterized by consistent revenue growth, improving margins, and prudent cost management, further supports the thesis that short sellers will face challenges. Strong financial health, demonstrated by positive earnings reports and forward-looking guidance, will attract long-term investors and discourage short selling. Additionally, any positive earnings surprise or favorable financial forecast could trigger a short squeeze, forcing short sellers to cover their positions at a loss.

Historical Precedents and Theoretical Frameworks

Historical precedents indicate that innovative companies with strong market positions and growing demand often experience stock price appreciation, contrary to short sellers' expectations. The theoretical framework of short squeezes, where short sellers rush to cover their positions due to rising stock prices, further reinforces the potential for losses. Market psychology, investor sentiment, and momentum trading can amplify these dynamics, exacerbating the impact on short sellers.

Case Studies

Several case studies of companies in similar positions to SoundHound will be examined to illustrate the potential outcomes for short sellers. Notable examples include Tesla, Netflix, and Amazon, where short sellers faced significant losses due to the companies' strong fundamentals, market dominance, and investor optimism. These case studies provide valuable insights into the mechanisms and outcomes of short squeezes and long-term stock appreciation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the combination of SoundHound's technological innovation, strategic partnerships, growing market demand, and strong financial performance creates a challenging environment for short sellers. The likelihood of sustained stock price appreciation and the potential for short squeezes suggest that short sellers will face significant risks and potential losses over time. This thesis underscores the importance of understanding market dynamics and company fundamentals when engaging in short selling and highlights the potential pitfalls of betting against innovative, high-growth companies like SoundHound Inc.

References

• Brunnermeier, M. K., & Nagel, S. (2004). Hedge funds and the technology bubble. The Journal of Finance, 59(5), 2013-2040.
• Fama, E. F. (1970). Efficient capital markets: A review of theory and empirical work. The Journal of Finance, 25(2), 383-417.
• Jones, C. M., & Lamont, O. A. (2002). Short-sale constraints and stock returns. Journal of Financial Economics, 66(2-3), 207-239.
• Tesla, Inc. (2023). Annual Report. Retrieved from Tesla Investor Relations
• SoundHound Inc. (2023). Quarterly Financial Statements. Retrieved from SoundHound Investor Relations

(Note: The references listed are examples. For an actual thesis, proper academic sources and up-to-date company reports should be cited.)

First, an unnecessarily premature and under-suppored prediction (running with scissors): One state of what we call "depression" is an "over-empathy" condition caused by cerebellar map contributions overwhelming the "central" map. I'm still working on a better description for "empathy", so for the time being lets tentatively call it a "social prediction map".
Generally, "depression" isn't a mechanical issue at all, it's working exactly as it should to modify systemic level behavior in response to socio-environmental inputs. The correct "treatment" for it is to change the inputs (it's really weird how much cleaner behavior becomes without "free will").
For individuals with intractable depression which is unresponsive to environment, there will always be a specific functional group that is "stuck" in dorsal/ventral bias that's mucking this up, and we are getting close to the point where we can image this more consistently. For example, full blown impaired salience flavors of "depression" are likely habenular weighting issues, which are crushing out the map "calcs" along the Hab->Interpeduncular->Tegemental nuclei circuits, resulting either a "blow-out" or "full suppression" condition of the ventral side. The results of this seem consistent with a lot of "mental health" symptomology, a "blow out" results in psychosis like symptoms, a "full suppression" runs the other way all the way down to types of catatonia. It also might be a little to convenient/confirmation biasish that the ponto-cerebellar pathway is so important to physical behavior extensions of salient pulses.
There are other flavors of depression (for example, any functional module with a "interal/external", "dorsal/ventral", "medial/lateral" histological differentiation can probably create it's own "type" or contribution) but the type we are most "conscious" of, the one we "feel" the most is usually that social map overexpression since those are almost pure prediction and need to be constantly compared and updated.
Okay, second part of the post - I can't help seeing our "behavioral" systems (across all nervous system types) as this core "midbrain/red nuclei" processing type initially which is relatively "simple" but still amazingly flexible. For example, most speech in humans is probably an artifact of brainstem circuits exclusively, and I'm pretty confident human children use these same circuits up until about two years old to produce speech.
Just got a jolt of self-awareness that I'm attempting to overexplain the context before getting to the point, because if you had the context the point would present itself in the data right? Slap my wrist on this one.
The point of the innies vs. outies is that nervous system behavior has been, for nearly all vertebrates been dominated by processing circuits connected directly to the central brainstem (if we are weird and consider the brainstem to be everything up to the thalamus as the cap). Some vertebrate nervous systems have developed more complex "off brainstem" processing capability. For humans specifically, this "off brainstem" development has been a crucial part of our differentiation, both among homo as a group compared to other hominids, but among homo itself. For humans, we are still "evolving" the capacity and flexibility of this "off brainstem" capability.
Tying back to the first point, most "mental health" issues might actually be better described as the teething pain of this integration between our archaic "inner" brainstem primary systems and our much higher resolution "off-brainstem" systems.
Using our "autism" model, if we imagine nearly all the symptomology as a mating issue between brainstem centric circuits and the off-brainstem circuits, IMO we get a pretty clean set of symptomatic outputs when things go "wrong". I think it might even be appropriate to genericize "autism" itself into a "inner v. outer" integration issue (either systemically, or between specific functional groupings).
It's my prediction that the "homo-technius" flavor of humans is "evolving" toward an increasingly higher integration state, one which will essentially result in most brainstem control circuits becoming almost as vestigal as the red nucleus is in humans.
Does this make sense? Please ask questions.

My Nomad has seriously revolutionized my ability to be organized in my life despite my ADHD and unrelated severe memory issues. I'm on meds and have decent coping skills, so I already had that down, but everything I've tried to make myself more organized or remember better have failed anyway.
I've tried a lot of things:

• Typing up notes is great, but I'm not always somewhere I can comfortably type and I often need more free-form notes that have math, diagrams, drawings, and so on. I love compiling my handwritten notes into one well-formatted page on Notion or Obsidian or similar, but quick notes never work well for me through text. Linking notes makes it all worth it in the end.
• Dictating notes requires me to listen back to them or suffer with how much speech-to-text struggles with my voice.
• Paper notebooks always got lost if I had more than one, got crazily out of hand if I only had one, and couldn't do a lot of things I came to rely on after trying digital notetaking (image/PDF insertion, re-arranging + adding + removing pages with such ease, selecting text to move it, easily having ruled + grid + dot grid + blank pages in one notebook).
• Goodnotes 5 on my iPad was great for a while, but I never loved the feeling of notetaking on an iPad and didn't want to sacrifice visual quality and nib strength for Paperlike. Still, it was the closest to what I needed. Goodnotes 6 being a subscription service, despite the company insisting that they'd never go subscription-based, caused me to explore more.

Eventually, I got my Nomad, and holy shit. Not only does it have everything else I want, but the battery life is crazy, the feel of notetaking is perfect, and most importantly: links.
As far as I know, Supernote is one of the only handwritten notetaking options with the ability to turn your own handwriting into links, which has enabled me to make a "second brain" like in Notion or Obsidian, but with handwritten notes. I journal daily and link to what I work on each day, so I never worry about forgetting. I make my own pseudo-wikis with headers that lead to tables of contents with links to specific topics, both for work and for my personal projects like worldbuilding or analyzing my favorite media. If a PDF is relevant to what I'm writing down, I can just link to it.
I almost feel spoiled with how much it helps me day-to-day be more organized and stress about my memory loss less. My largest issue is, honestly, just waiting for the A5X2.
Has anyone else had this experience? Does anyone else with ADHD have any tips I might have missed? I've not even had this thing for a month, so I'm still learning, but I want to utilize it to its absolute best. Any other experiences would also be great to hear, too!

Sorry in advance for the really long post.
This all began at the start of 2022. I had a seizure in January but didn't know it at the time. March 2022, I have a seizure at a job site and get fired because of it (the company pulled some shady stuff to avoid me suing them for discrimination. Nice.) but was sent to a neuro who gave me Keppra. Bad idea. One of the worst drugs I have ever taken, you couldn't get me to touch that drug again if you paid me. So we switched to Vimpat. It worked well enough for a while (until it didn't) but it still gave me side effects. I didn't want to kill myself or fight strangers, but I didn't feel right. I still felt so heavy, and almost like a brick was inside my brain; I wasn't foggy, I was just downright incapable of understanding somethings. So then we switched to Lamictal. Then zonisamide with the Lamictal. And that didn't work, so we keep trying. Now I'm on Briviact and Lamictal, I've been seizure free for over three months now (the longest time since the start of January 2023! But it's taken us so long to get there, and I hated being a guinea pig and having to take six different medicines before we found a cocktail that seems to work.
Now, the stupidity. Much of my identity is based in my language skills (both in my native tongue, English, as well as my second languages) as well as my writing. Obviously there's much more to my life than just those things, much more than that, but that plays a big part in just who LinguisticHappiness is (name makes sense, huh?). But I can hardly think anymore. Lucky me that my TLE hits my language centers the hardest and I'm more or less globally aphasic when I'm in my post-ictal state. I trip over my words all the time. I make speech errors I never made before, like metathesis is my new chum the way it comes with me everywhere. I can't translate my feelings or thoughts into words. People who know me know how I am and understand this and feel for me, but when I meet new people now they assume I'm just a dumbass. I had a coworker talk down to me and try to explain how to speak English better and how to sound smarter. That was very much a confirmation of my fears. I forget what's happening all the time now. I'm a regular cannabis consumer, but I've cut down on it a whole lot since it gives me awful brain fog in tandem with the anticonvulsants, understandably. That hasn't helped a whole lot. Even removing the cannabis a lot, my short term memory is awful. I could be stone cold sober, put something down on the table, and five seconds later have absolutely no idea where it went. If I get slightly distracted in a conversation, the topic leaves my head just as fast as (or even faster than) it popped up in my head in the first place. I'm forgetting words more and more. I'm forgetting conversations I had even an hour prior. I'm forgetting basic information about people I met months ago. I started taking jiu jitsu classes recently and before all this I never had a problem seeing something and translating it to movement of my own body, and now I have difficulty sometimes following simple directions from the instructor.
I feel like a fucking moron. My brain feels more and more useless by the day. Someone else posted a day or two ago about how epilepsy has taken a lot from their life and how their "ideal" lifestyle (from the doctor's POV) would be dull and uninteresting, and ultimately unachievable. No stress, 8+ hours of sleep every night, never missing a dose, never touching alcohol, never staying up late, never going on hikes by yourself again... What's the point of taking these medicines if they're just going to make me miserable? Why try to improve my quality of life in one area just to worsen it in another? Why do I have to put all these chemicals into my brain when other people don't? Why can other people just get up and go traveling to whatever country they want whenever they want while I need to check with foreign governments to make sure I can bring my medicine and how to do that and I can't?
For someone who has difficulty translating her thoughts into words, I sure did say a lot. Sorry again for the essay. I just haven't been able to talk about this with anybody who understands it. Even though things are marginally better with the pharmaceutical cocktail I'm on now, but it's far from perfect and I still end up crying a night or two each week from this. This life I live now is much better than living in constant fear of seizures, scared that "uh oh, I feel a little woozy, do I need to warn someone and get down on the floor and take my Ativan right now?" but it's far from perfect and still not at all like life was before. I hate living in fear. I hate feeling like a complete idiot. I hate feeling trapped and limited. Even here I feel like there's so much I'm forgetting to say. Fuck epilepsy and fuck anticonvulsants.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, guys. I really appreciate all of you.

• Shopping hours are limited, with most shops and pharmacies closing by 5 or 6 pm. 24/7 pharmacies are rare.
• Public schools mandate LGBTQ+ education, leading some Dutch parents to opt for homeschooling or religious schools instead.
• LGBTQ+ rights are legally protected and supported by taxpayer funds.
• Prostitution is legal, with taxpayer funds supporting related services. Adult stores and explicit product shops are commonly found in public areas.
• Marijuana is legal and taxpayer funds support this as well.
• Public urination is common, causing many streets, parking lots, elevators, corners, and stations to smell.
• Public toilets are paid, often dirty and smelly, and lack water jet sprays (Muslim showers).
• Pet dogs frequently defecate on streets, sidewalks, and grass, and sometimes sit on public benches and transport seats.
• Finding accommodation and general practitioners is challenging.
• Medical care is criticized for not being taken seriously unless in severe cases, with reports of negligence. It is not free despite high taxes.
• Public stations are often not clean, with some being particularly smelly, especially elevators, corners, and staircases.
• Taxpayer money funds the salaries and expenses of the Dutch royal family, with their budget exceeding €600,000.
• Not all public streets, sidewalks, stations, or parking areas are as clean as expected.
• The weather is often unfavorable, with frequent changes between cloudy, rainy, windy, and sunny conditions within the same day.
• The crime rate is higher than expected, including incidents of murder, rape, sexual harassment, robbery, bombing of shops, and fraud. For evidence, read news in English on nltimes.nl or other legitimate sources.
• The judicial system is slow and legal fees are high, with lenient punishments.
• Taxpayer money supports Israel.
• There is limited freedom of speech or peaceful protesting regarding Palestine. Dutch police have been reported to use violence against protesters, including women.
• For annual gross salaries above €75,518, the income tax rate is 49.50%.
• The 30% ruling for newcomers has changed to a plan where taxes increase gradually over five years.
• Mortgages and pensions involve interest.
• Dual citizenship is not allowed.
• The language exam requirement is increasing from A2 to B1.
• The standard term for naturalization is being extended from 5 to 10 years.
• The cost of living is very high, including garments, cars, parking, groceries, utilities, rent, public transport, and dining out.
• Bicycle and electric scooter theft is common.
• Theft of valuables from parked cars is increasing.
• Sales tax will increase from 9% to 21% on some items.
• The Russia-Ukraine war has significantly impacted the Netherlands, leading to a higher cost of living.
• There is a noticeable smell of marijuana and beer in public streets.
• Vandalism and public nuisance increase during football matches, affecting public transport, stations, and some streets.
• Many neighborhoods become very noisy on Friday and Saturday nights.
• Traffic jams are becoming more frequent.
• Taxes are often perceived as wasted on unnecessary projects and international funding.
• The Dutch military supports countries like the USA and Israel, which are accused of causing civilian casualties in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, funded by taxpayers.
• While many people speak English, not everyone does, and official correspondence is not always in English. Customer support via phone is often only available in Dutch.
• Owning a car is very expensive.
• The Netherlands has no mountains, only flat land.
• There are very few public holidays.
• Dutch cuisine is considered bland, and dining out is generally expensive and not highly regarded in terms of taste.
• There is a constant financial stress with lower purchasing power, forcing most families to live minimally unless both spouses have high incomes or benefit from the 30% ruling.
• Dutch bureaucracy is often criticized for being inefficient and sometimes unfair.
• Permanent residence for parents is not allowed, and they can only visit for up to 3 months in a 6-month period.
• Xenophobia and rude directness are sometimes issues.
• Not everything is digitized; many processes are still done traditionally.

1 con bò đỏ trong post bóc phốt vin phét nghĩ rằng nêu ra mấy cái lỗi tào lao bị công khai ở Mẽo thì sẽ bác bỏ sự thật mấy cái lỗi nghiêm trọng hơn xảy ra và bị bưng bít ở xứ thiên đường

The Selective Responder is someone who only responds to the most idiotic and obviously illogical arguments that are opposite their own positions, so as to easily look correct and to ignore the legitimate arguments on the opposing side.
As an example, I will use the very video that inspired this suggestion in the first place. YouTuber Big Joel made this video about the pro-Palestine Colombia protests (on his Little Joel account): https://youtu.be/CmY8NsWxf38?si=AN444TBLs7eKbwUT. The video responds to this article by Colombia Professor John McWhorter, that is critical of the protests: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/opinion/columbia-protests-israel.html.
In his video, Big Joel makes the following legitimate criticisms of the article:

• McWhorter complains that the protests are too loud. In fact, he says they are so loud to the point of being "abuse." Big Joel rightly points out how ridiculous a take this is. Protests are supposed to be loud, as the entire point is to grab people's attention. In addition, the validity of the cause being protested for is not dependent on how loud and annoying the protestors are. Even if the protestors were being abusively loud (whatever that means), that does not inherently make their cause unjust.
• McWhorter equates opposing not just the war but Israel's very right to exist to being anti-Black. Big Joel rightfully points out that he just assumes the two positions to be equal levels of racist and terrible. Big Joel rightfully notes that if you are going to make such a statement, you should explain why this is the case instead of just assuming it to be so. Big Joel then goes on to say that in assuming this position as fact, McWhorter does not have to attend to the merits of the pro-Palestine arguments
• McWhorter points out the following things indicating that the Colombia protests have turned violent ("It’s an odd kind of peace when a local rabbi urges Jewish students to go home as soon as possible, when an Israeli Arab activist is roughed up on Broadway, when the angry chanting becomes so constant that you almost start not to hear it and it starts to feel normal to see posters and clothing portraying members of Hamas as heroes"). Big Joel then goes on to rightfully dismantle each argument (except one). He says just because the rabbi says there might be violence, does not mean violence is already occurring. He says that one instance of violence (the Arab Israeli getting roughed up) does not indicate a systemic culture of violence amongst the protestors, especially since this assault occurred off-campus. Repeating his earlier point, he says that constant loudness does not equate to violence. Curiously, he never addresses the comment about pro-Hamas posters and clothing at the protests. I will address this more later on.
• McWhorter praises the anti-apartheid protests against South Africa in the 1980s, while condemning the anti-Israel protestors of today. Despite both protest groups similarly disrupting campus life, McWhorter only calls the latter abusive, obviously because he disagrees with the latter while agreeing with the former. Big Joel rightfully points out that, for someone who has previously claimed to be so pro-free speech, McWhorter is a hypocrite. You cannot judge the violence or lack thereof of a protest based solely on whether or not you disagree with the cause

So it seems all fine and good, right? Big Joel is making logical criticisms of McWhorter's mostly dumb arguments. However, the problem is this: there are legitimate criticisms of the protests, Big Joel just does not address any of them. In fact, he does not address a logical criticism of the protests that is within the very article to which he is responding. Let's take this point by point.

• Big Joel clearly rejects the idea that the protestors denying Israel's right to exist is a racist endeavour. In this video and in other videos, he has accused Israel of genocide, colonialism, apartheid, etc. In order to critique someone who believes the protestors denying Israel's right to exist is a racist endeavour, he does not find someone who lays out logical arguments for why this is the case (for example, someone who might say stuff like "dismantling Israel could lead to huge amounts of violence against the Israeli Jews" or "Jews, as a persecuted minority, should have the right to self-determination"). Instead, he finds someone who merely assumes this to be the case, so as to not have to address any of the actual more logical arguments for why denying Israel's right to exist is racist. I am not saying that these pro-Israel arguments are flawless, nor am I saying that denying Israel's right to exist is inherently racist. I am simply pointing out that there are more logical reasons to come to that conclusion than "denying Israel's right to exist is racist because I said so," reasons which Big Joel ignores.
• Most people criticizing the protestors are not doing so on the basis of their loudness. Rather they are doing so on the basis of the antisemitic and pro-Hamas rhetoric being espoused at the protests (I am sure you have all seen the videos). They are also doing so on the basis of their inaccurate understanding of the conflict (examples include them using extreme words like "genocide" or blaming Israel for literally everything that has gone wrong since the conflict began). Rather than focus on an article that contains these perfectly legitimate criticisms of the protests, Big Joel instead focuses on one that incessantly and stupidly tries to degrade the protests on the basis of their loudness. He has picked the worst possible criticisms of the protests so as to not address the best criticisms of the protests. And when the article does contain one legitimate criticism of the protests ("it starts to feel normal to see posters and clothing portraying members of Hamas as heroes"), Big Joel reads out the line but does not address it any further.
• Big Joel rightfully points out McWhorter's hypocrisy when it comes to the South Africa and I/P protests. However, what would he say to someone like Destiny, who supports the rights of both groups to protest yet still politically disagrees with the pro-Palestine protests? What would he say to someone who is legitimately pro-free speech, but nonetheless takes issue with the political values of the pro-Palestine protests? I guess we will never know, because rather than address someone who is ideologically consistent, he instead chose to address a hypocrite. Rather than address the most logical and consistent people who disagree with the protestors, he has chosen to address the most braindead disagreers, so as to not have to confront any legitimate and non-hypocritical arguments.

Put simply, the article is trash and a lot of Big Joel's criticisms of its logic are very valid. However, just because the article's criticisms of the protests are stupid, does not mean that all criticisms of the protests are stupid. In choosing to only address the stupid criticisms while ignoring the legitimate ones, Big Joel never has to question his political views. In this example, Big Joel selectively chose the worst possible representation of the pro-Israel (or at the very least, not as anti-Israel as the Colombia protestors) side, so as to easily look correct and to ignore the legitimate positions on said side. He can simply talk about how assuming controversial statements to be true without providing evidence is a bad debate tactic, how loudness does not equal violence, how hypocrisy is bad, and ignore the higher-quality criticisms of the protests.

Ideological Foundation

• Individual Freedom & Natural Rights
  • Emphasis on individual liberties and natural rights.
  • Minimal government interference in personal lives and domestic issues
  • Domestically, the role of government ought to be to protect citizens' rights to life, liberty, and private property
• National Sovereignty & Populism
  • Strong focus on national security, national interests, and American exceptionalism; national sovereignty and self-sufficiency
• Fiscal Conservatism
  • Commitment to balanced budgets and reducing national debt
  • Low taxes and minimal government spending, fostering a free-market economy
  • Spending should be focused solely on essential functions that protect citizens' rights and national security/sovereignty, namely national defense, border security, law and justice system, infrastructure, and childhood education.
• Rugged Individualism and Loyalty
  • Embrace self-reliance, toughness, and personal responsibility
  • Loyalty to family and close allies, valuing trust and loyalty above all

​
Policy Viewpoints

• Economic Policy
  • Free Market Principles: Promote a free-market economy with minimal regulation, reducing bureaucratic red tape to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation
  • Taxation: Implement low tax rates to spur economic growth and investment. Simplify the tax code to make it fairer and more efficient
  • Government Spending: Limit government spending, focusing on essential services. Reduce waste and ensure fiscal responsibility to lower the national debt
• Foreign Policy
  • Non-Interventionism: Avoid unnecessary foreign entanglements and military interventions. Focus on diplomacy and trade relations that benefit national interests.
  • Defense: Maintain a strong national defense to protect sovereignty but avoid being the world’s policeman. Prioritize defense spending efficiently.
  • Trade: prioritize domestic industries and local jobs, utilize protectionist policies when advantageous to protect them.
• Domestic Policy
  • Individual Liberties: Protect individual rights, including freedom of speech, religion, and privacy. Oppose government surveillance and overreach.
  • Justice System: Ensure a fair and swift justice system. Advocate for criminal justice reform to reduce over-incarceration and emphasize rehabilitation.
  • Property Rights: Strong protection of property rights, ensuring individuals can own and use their property without undue government interference.
• Immigration & Border Policy
  • Secured Borders: Implement strong border security measures to prevent illegal immigration and protect national sovereignty. Deport any and all illegal immigrants. Hold the countries these illegals are coming from accountable for the costs and burdens illegal immigration causes, if feasible.
  • Legal Immigration: Allow legal immigration but make it far more merit-based and prioritize the well-being of the nation and its current citizens. Immigrants must be able to be self-sufficient and support themselves, raise their families, and assimilate not so much to our culture but to our national values and principles.
• Healthcare
  • Market-Based Solutions: Encourage competition in the healthcare market to lower costs and improve quality. Oppose a single-payer system or excessive government control. Remove useless, harmful regulations.
  • Transparency: all providers must charge transparent, non-discriminatory, publicly available prices for all services. Also, consumer choice.
• Education
  • School Choice: Support school choice initiatives, including charter schools and voucher programs, to provide parents with options and improve educational outcomes.
  • Local Control: Advocate for local control of education, reducing federal government involvement and allowing communities to tailor education to their needs.
• Environmental Policy
  • Conservation: Promote conservation efforts that protect natural resources while allowing for responsible use and development. Balance environmental protection with economic growth.
  • Innovation: Encourage technological innovation to address environmental challenges, rather than heavy-handed regulation.
• Trade Policy
  • Fair Trade: Implement trade policies that ensure fair competition and protect American jobs. Use tariffs selectively to counteract unfair trade practices.
  • Economic Nationalism: Prioritize trade deals that benefit the American economy and workers, fostering self-sufficiency and reducing reliance on foreign production.