heterodox-woman

This woman is an absolute queen.

@the_fem_tm I'm so sorry for your loss. He sounds like he was a special, rare kind of man.

My uncle died today, unexpectedly. He was very special person to me, took me in when I was a troubled young adult. He taught me to drive in his vintage ford mustang (I’m not sure why he thought that was a good idea, but he never let me drive it without him). His wife had just died a few years earlier and in a way I think he needed the project of me as much as I needed him. He was an orphan. My grandfather brought him home as a baby after serving in WW2. My grandmother, on her second marriage, didn’t really want any more kids, though my grandfather, who had none, very much did. She wasn’t thrilled at first but came around and then had two of their own, the second being my mother. She was 42. I probably exist because of him. He took me in just as my grandfather took him in. In a way it’s hard to grieve because the only person who shares my specific memories of him is, well, him. I suppose that’s why I’m putting it out here, which is unlike me. I just wanted to say out loud that I love him and I hope he’s in a better place and I miss him very much in a way that feels weirdly lonely. Rest in peace uncle Mike.

@PolitiBunny Thanks for understanding my intent. Happy Easter to you and yours!

@HeterodoxWoman Not taking that the wrong way at all … it’s actually really amazing perspective. Thank you. I mean that. 💜

First Easter without our daughter home. She’s staying at school… and just shared that she’s likely not coming back for the summer either. And oh yeah, our youngest leaves for his new college in August. My heart’s doing that proud-but-aching thing no one warns you about when you raise your kids to be confident and independent. Anyone else in the soon-to-be-empty-nest-club? How do you fill the silence without turning into a crazy person over text? Could also use pics of your pets, bad dad jokes … dirty limericks, whatever you’ve got. 🐰💔➡️😌 #MomLife #RaisingAdults *she was five, he was three*

@PolitiBunny Believe me, I feel the ache when they fly! It's a very different ache when they can't. Hugs to you!

@PolitiBunny Please don't take this the wrong way, I offer it only as a different perspective. Two of mine have left the nest, a third will be soon. The fourth (age 22) has disabilities and will live with us forever. I love her but for both our sakes, I wish a true empty nest was possible.

@anonymousGrb @NYGeshikta @BillAckman @X You read the first few words, stopped, and then started scrolling through the comments to find someone else complaining about the length. Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds? Or was my compound sentence too much for you to read?

@NYGeshikta @BillAckman @X Same! I read the fist few words then stopped

I am reaching out to the @X community for advice with the likely risk of sharing TMI. I have been sufficiently upset about the whole matter that I have lost sleep thinking about it and I am hoping that this post will enable me to get this matter off my chest. By way of background, I started a family office called TABLE about 15 years ago and hired a friend who had previously managed a family office, and years earlier, had been my personal accountant. She is someone that I trusted implicitly and consider to be a good person. The office started small, but over the last decade, the number of personnel and the cost of the office grew massively. The growth was entirely on the operational side as the investment team has remained tiny. While my investment portfolio grew substantially, the investments I had made were almost entirely passive and TABLE simply needed to account for them and meet capital calls as they came in. While TABLE purchased additional software and other systems that were supposed to improve productivity, the team kept increasing in size at a rapid rate, and the expenses continued to grow even faster. While I would periodically question the growing expenses and high staff turnover, I stayed uninvolved with the office other than a once-a-year meeting when I briefly reviewed the operations and the financials and determined bonus compensation for the President and the CFO. I spent no time with any of the other employees or the operations. The whole idea behind TABLE was that it would handle everything other than my day job so that I would have more time for my job and my family. Over the last six years, expenses ballooned even further, employee turnover accelerated, and I became concerned that all was not well at TABLE. It was time for me to take a look at what was going on. Nearly four years ago, I recruited my nephew who had recently graduated from Harvard and put him to work at Bremont, a British watchmaker, one of my only active personal investments to figure out the issues at the company and ultimately assist in executing a turnaround. He did a superb job. When he returned from the UK late last year after a few years at Bremont, I asked him to help me figure out what was going on with TABLE. When I explained to TABLE’s president what he would be doing, she became incredibly defensive, which naturally made me more concerned. My nephew went to work by first meeting with each employee to understand their roles at the company and to learn from them what ideas they had on how things could be improved. He got an earful. Our first step in helping to turn around TABLE was a reduction in force including the president and about a third of the team, retaining excellent talent that had been desperate for new leadership. Now here is where I need your advice. All but one of the employees who were terminated acted professionally and were gracious on the way out (excluding the president who had a notice period in her contract, is currently still being paid, and with whom I have not yet had a discussion). The highest compensated terminated employee other than the president, an in-house lawyer (let’s call her Ronda), told us that three months of severance was not enough and demanded two years’ severance despite having worked at the company for only two and one half years. When I learned of Ronda's request for severance, I offered to speak with her to understand what she was thinking, but she refused to do so. A few days ago, we received a threatening letter from a Silicon Valley law firm. In the letter, Ronda’s counsel suggests that her termination is part of longstanding issues of ‘harassment and gender discrimination’ – an interesting claim in light of the fact that Ronda was in charge of workplace compliance – and that her termination was due to: “unlawful, retaliatory, and harmful conduct directed towards her. Both [Ronda] and I [Ronda’s lawyer] have spoken with you about [Ronda’s] view of what a reasonable resolution would include given the circumstances. Thus far, TABLE has refused to provide any substantive response. This letter provides the last opportunity to reach a satisfactory agreement. If we cannot do so, [Ronda] will seek all appropriate relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.” The letter goes on to explain the basis for the “unsafe work environment” claim at TABLE: “In early 2026, Pershing Square’s founder Bill Ackman installed his nephew in an unidentified role at TABLE, Ackman’s family office. [His nephew]—whose only work experience had been for TABLE where he was seconded abroad for the last four years to a UK watch company held by Ackman—began appearing at TABLE’s offices and conducting interviews of employees without a clear explanation of his role or the purposes of these interviews. During this period, he made a series of inappropriate and genderbased [sic] comments to multiple employees that created an unsafe work environment. Among other things, [his nephew] made remarks about female employees’ ages (“Tell me you are nowhere near 40”), physical appearance (“Your body does not look like you have kids”), as well as intrusive questions about family planning and sexual orientation (“Who carried your son? Who will carry your next child?”). These incidents were reported to senior leadership at TABLE and Pershing Square. Rather than being addressed appropriately, the response from senior management reflected, at best, willful blindness to the inappropriateness of [his nephew]’s remarks and, at worst, tacit endorsement.” The above allegations about my nephew had previously been brought to my attention by TABLE’s president when they occurred. When I learned of them, I told the president that I would speak to him directly and encouraged her to arrange for him to get workplace sensitivity training. The president assured me that she would do so. When I spoke to my nephew, he explained what he actually had said and how his actual remarks had been received, not at all as alleged in the legal letter from Ronda’s counsel. I have also spoken to others at the lunch table who confirmed his description of the facts. In any case, he meant no harm, was simply trying to build rapport with other employees, and no one, as far as I understand, was offended. Ironically, Ronda claims in her legal letter that TABLE didn’t take HR compliance seriously, yet Ronda was in charge of HR compliance at TABLE and the person who gave my nephew his workplace sensitivity training after the alleged incidents. In any case, Ronda, as head of compliance, should have kept a record or raised an alarm if indeed there was pervasive harassment or other such problems at the company, and there is no evidence whatsoever that this is true. So why does Ronda believe she can get me to pay her nearly $2 million, i.e., two years of severance, nearly one year of severance for each of her years at the company? Well, here is where some more background would be helpful. Over the last two months, I have been consumed with a major family medical issue – one of my older daughters had a massive brain hemorrhage on February 5th and has since been making progress on her recovery – and I am in the midst of a major transaction for my company which I am executing from a hospital room office next to her . While the latter business matter is publicly known, the details of my daughter’s situation are only known to Ronda because of her role at our family office. Now, let’s get back to the subject at hand. Unfortunately, while New York and many other states have employment-at-will, there has emerged an industry of lawyers who make a living from bringing fake gender, race, LGBTQ and other discrimination employment claims in order to extract larger severance payments for terminated employees, and it needs to stop. The fake claim system succeeds because it costs little to have a lawyer send a threatening letter and nearly all of the lawyers in this field work on contingency so there is no or minimal cash cost to bring a claim. And inevitably, nearly 100% of these claims are settled because the public relations and legal costs of defending them exceed the dollar cost of the settlement. The claims are nearly always settled with a confidentiality agreement where the employee who asserts the fake claims remains anonymous and as a result, there is no reputational cost to bringing false claims. The consequences of this sleazy system (let’s call it ‘the System’) are the increased costs of doing business which is a tax on the economy and society. There are other more serious problems due to the System. Unfortunately, the existence of an industry of plaintiff firms and terminated employees willing to make these claims makes it riskier for companies to hire employees from a protected class, i.e., LGBTQ, seniors, women, people of color etc. because it is that much more reputationally damaging and expensive to be accused of racism, sexism, and/or intolerance for sexual diversity than for firing a white male as juries generally have less sympathy for white males. The System therefore increases the risk of discrimination rather than reducing it, and the people bringing these fake claims are thereby causing enormous harm to the other members of these protected classes. So what happened here? Ronda was vastly overpaid and overqualified for the job that she did at TABLE. She was paid $1.05 million plus benefits last year for her work which was largely comprised of filling out subscription agreements and overseeing an outside law firm on closing passive investments in funds and in private and venture stage companies, some compliance work, and managing the office move from one office to another. She had a very good gig as she was highly paid, only had to go into the office three days a week, and could work from anywhere during the summer. Once my nephew showed up and started to investigate what was going on, she likely concluded that there was a reasonable possibility she would be terminated, as her job was in the too-easy-and-to-good-to-be-true category. The problem was that she was not in a protected class due to her race, age or sexual identity so she had to construct the basis for a claim. While she is female and could in theory bring a gender-based discrimination claim, she reported to the president who is female and to whom she is very close, which makes it difficult for her to bring a harassment claim against her former boss. When my nephew complimented a TABLE employee at lunch about how young she looked – in response to saying she was going to her 40-year-old sister’s birthday party, he said ‘she must be your older sister’ – Ronda immediately reported it to our external HR lawyer. She thereby began building her case. The other problem for Ronda bringing a claim is that she was terminated alongside 30% of other TABLE employees as part of a restructuring so it is very difficult for her to say that she was targeted in her termination or was retaliated against. TABLE is now hiring an external fractional general counsel as that is all the company needs to process the relatively limited amount of legal work we do internally. In short, Ronda was eminently qualified and capable and did her job. She was just too much horsepower for what is largely an administrative legal role so she had to come up with something else to bring a claim. Now Ronda knew I was a good target and it was a good time to bring a claim against me. She also knew that I was under a lot of pressure because on March 4th when Ronda was terminated, my daughter had not yet emerged from consciousness, she was not yet breathing on her own, and my daughter and we were fighting for her life. I was and remain deeply engaged in her recovery while at the same time I was working on finishing the closing for the private placement round for my upcoming IPO. Ronda also knew that publicity about supposed gender discrimination and a “hostile and unsafe work environment” are not things that a CEO of a company about to go public wants to have released into the media. And she may have thought that the nearly $2 million she was asking for would be considered small in the context of the reputational damage a lawsuit could cause, regardless of the fact that two years of severance was an absurd amount for an employee who had only worked at TABLE for 30 months. She also likely considered that I wouldn’t want to embarrass my nephew by dragging him into the klieg lights when her claims emerged publicly. So, in summary, game theory would say that I would certainly settle this case, for why would I risk negative publicity at a time when I was preparing our company to go public and also risk embarrassing my nephew. Notably, she hired a Silicon Valley law firm, rather than a typical NY employment firm. This struck me as interesting as her husband works for one of the most prominent Silicon Valley venture firms whose CEO, I am sure, has no tolerance for these kinds of fake claims that sadly many venture-backed companies also have to deal with. I mention this as I suspect her husband likely has been working with her on the strategy for squeezing me as, in addition to being a computer scientist, he is a game theorist. My only advice for him is to understand more about your opponent before you launch your first move. All of the above said, gender, race, LGBTQ and other such discrimination is a real thing. Many people have been harmed and deserve compensation for this discrimination, and these companies and individuals should be punished for engaging in such behavior. Which brings me to the advice I am seeking from the X community. I am not planning to follow the typical path and settle this ‘claim.’ Rather, I am going to fight this nonsense to the end of the earth in the hope that it inspires other CEOs to do the same so we shut down this despicable behavior that is a large tax on society, employment, and the economy and contributes to workplace discrimination rather than reducing it. Do you agree or disagree that this is the right approach?

@RunchieC @JocastaMoney Appreciate the clarification! I did notice the woman specific book and noted that some commenters appreciate the recognition that women's upper bodies aren't as strong. Have you found you needed much equipment?

@HeterodoxWoman @JocastaMoney ‘Body by you’ is a woman specific book - apologies- this has the simple routines (I use both now & mixed up titles 😬

Ozempic just seems like a Fairy Tale curse to me. Like a wish from a jinn. You can lose weight but also, destory your ability to build muscle tone. You may be thin and attractive but, just as your desire to eat has been nullified, so have all other desires. Is it just me?

@Joe_in_NJ @brad_polumbo So you took out parent plus loans? I thought there was some kind of income driven repayment available for those, but I could be wrong because the available plans are always changing. I'm on income based repayment for my grad school loans - my payments are way more than $60!

I borrowed a significant amount to get all my kids through school - but I somehow don't qualify for any of these programs, I don't get income based payments or debt forgiveness or anything else and the best part is as a net tax payer I get to pay for Ms. Tully's also. One thing about the dem mafia, they do take care of their own.

lol imagine fleeing the country over $60 per month and you still think you’re not the problem

@RunchieC @JocastaMoney Thank you! I'd never heard of this book but I'm ordering it now.

@JocastaMoney Muscle tone loss only happens if people don’t change their exercise regime - ‘you are your own gym’ by mark lauren is easy/effective way to build muscle (even post menopause)

@MissingBoss @DanFriedman81 I think it's great. I'm an SLP with loans that far outweigh my salary potential in this field. I'm paying my loans, but it was the availability of the funds in the first place that allowed my school to charge what it did for a master's degree.

@DanFriedman81 Trump got rid of the grad plus loan for a lot of programs for that reason.

A lot of people are dunking on this, and it’s true, she should have paid the $60 per month for 20 years and let the forgiveness kick in. But what they’re missing is that she was loaned $65k for a terminal master’s in historic preservation. That should never have happened. Tuition has skyrocketed because the ability of students to pay it has completely decoupled from how much money they or their families can afford. Colleges charge infinity dollars because students have access to infinity student loans. In many cases students hoping a credential will lead to a better life get duped into indenturing themselves permanently to get worthless terminal master’s degrees. If the loans didn’t exist, then the master’s programs wouldn’t exist, and if the master’s programs didn’t exist then employers wouldn’t be looking for job applicants with master’s degrees which don’t even connote any real skills. Burn this whole rotten system down.

@KellyHeaps47732 @itslinklauren If you haven't watched The Good Place, it is an absolute joy. It manages to treat a pretty heavy subject with lightness and humor. Probably not for young kids, but tweens and up would love it.

Hi Link, yes! Dark, depressing, hopeless, or nasty storylines. As grandma of 6, I noticed this shift a few years ago. Where are the happy, light-hearted shows? Feel-good movies, or ones that don’t leave you feeling like, ick!! I’m constantly reaching back in time for shows to watch with the kiddos and family.

Is it just me or are movies and shows way darker today? And I mean color wise… way less vibrant. Every movie is flat and dull. I almost wanna turn the brightness up. Hollywood, get it together!!

@Prolife_Sam @HPluckrose It's not as bad for ages 3 and up. But the littlest ones really shouldn't be in institutional care settings unless there is literally no other option.

@Prolife_Sam @HPluckrose I spend much time in daycares, in the older infant, toddler, and 2s rooms. Even the best ones are not good. The child to staff ratios are too high and the record keeping requirements are nuts. If parents could be a fly on the wall, they would find a way to keep their kids at home

Kids have not historically spent all their time in a house with parents. They’ve lived in communities where some adults watched over a bunch of them while others gathered resources. But now we’re to believe daycare will scar them for life. No need to make parenting this difficult

@BlingWillow64 @susanamendoza10 Honestly, abolish all teacher's unions. Better, all public sector unions. Why should people paid by tax dollars be allowed (or required) to unionize so they can withhold services while they extort us for more of our tax dollars?

@susanamendoza10 It should be illegal to use students as propagandists. Abolish the Chicago Teachers Unions. By all measures they have failed the children they were supposed to educate. Even worse they are now using the children as props in their political demonstrations.

Why is there a push to close Chicago Public Schools on May 1? According to the Illinois State Board of Education, only 1 in 3 CPS elementary students are proficient in reading and only 1 in 5 are proficient in math. Our kids need more time in the classroom, not less, yet Chicago parents are being asked for their kids to lose another day of school on May 1st for a political Day of Action. Parents and kids rely on schools for learning and consistency. Closing schools will send parents scrambling for babysitters or losing wages to stay home to care for their kids. For some kids, schools are where they get their meals and are the safest place they’ll be that day.  As a CPS mom, I have skin in the game and expect my son to be in school where he belongs on May 1st. Keep Chicago’s students in the classroom, parents at work, and focus on the city’s test scores, not its politics. #chicago

@MotherOfAKing12 @MonkEmma @helenstaniland She seems to think people can only identify the sex of other people by seeing them naked. Either that, or she just really enjoys thinking and talking about genitals.

@MonkEmma @helenstaniland No one mentioned genitals. Surely you're not suggesting boys and girls are defined by their genitals?

'The move has sparked fears that trans girl guides could be outed to their peers because of the September deadline, according to one parent'. They should be. Girls shouldn't be lied to about the sex of someone they are close to and confide in. What are these parents thinking?

@Blackneto @MichaelARothman Same.

@MichaelARothman As an Illinois hostage I thank you for this.

𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐒 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐙𝐊𝐄𝐑: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐒 I’m generally annoyed by people in the public eye who I find to be hypocritical about who they are, what they believe, and their documented past and behaviors — so like the Newsom post I made yesterday, I decided to pick a couple new targets. Let’s start with good ole J.B. Pritzker. He likes to see himself in the spotlight, so let’s up the wattage on that and take a look at what’s there. Pritzker is a $𝟑.𝟗 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 Hyatt hotel heir who wants you to believe he turned Illinois around. Before he launches his next political vanity project, every American deserves to see what he actually did to the fifth-largest state in the union. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 Before he was governor, Pritzker bought a $𝟑.𝟕 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 next door to his Gold Coast home in Chicago. In 2015, he had 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 so the Cook County assessor would classify it as “uninhabitable” — dropping the assessed value from $𝟔.𝟑 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 $𝟏.𝟏 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 (Cook County Inspector General). The inspector general called it a “𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘥” taxpayers. Total savings from the scheme: $𝟑𝟑𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎 in property tax refunds and reductions (Fox 32 Chicago). He repaid it. Federal investigators later opened a criminal probe into the tax appeals (Illinois Policy Institute). No charges were filed — but the man who would go on to lecture Illinoisans about paying their “fair share” literally removed toilets from a mansion to dodge his own property taxes. 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬 Since 2000, Illinois has lost a net 𝟏.𝟔 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 to domestic outmigration (IRS). Under Pritzker alone, the bleeding accelerated. IRS data for 2022 shows 𝟖𝟕,𝟑𝟏𝟏 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 in a single year, taking $𝟗.𝟗 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 with them (IRS Migration Data). The income gap between those leaving and those arriving grew from $5,519 per person in 2010 to $𝟑𝟕,𝟗𝟐𝟐 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 in 2022 — meaning Illinois is hemorrhaging its highest earners. In 2024, 𝟗𝟓% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 fled to states with lower tax burdens (Wirepoints). Illinois already lost one congressional seat after the 2020 Census — it is on track to lose another in 2030 (Illinois Policy Institute). 𝐓𝐡𝐞 $𝟏𝟒𝟓 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 Illinois has $𝟏𝟒𝟓.𝟓 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 in unfunded pension liabilities — 𝟔𝟐% 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 than California, the second-worst state (Equable Institute). Its pension systems are funded at just 𝟓𝟎.𝟖% — the lowest funding ratio in America. Unfunded liabilities as a share of GDP stand at 𝟐𝟏% — by far the worst figure in the nation (Americans for Prosperity). The median Illinois household already pays $𝟏𝟑,𝟎𝟗𝟗 in state and local taxes per year — $𝟒,𝟒𝟕𝟐 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 than the national average (Tax Foundation). And Pritzker’s pension “reform”? He’s sticking to a plan that won’t fully fund the systems until 𝟐𝟎𝟒𝟓 (Capitol News Illinois). That’s not a fix. That’s a 20-year prayer. $𝟐.𝟓 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 — 𝟑𝐱 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬 An estimated 𝟓𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 arrived in Chicago from the southern border. By the end of 2025, Illinois will have spent over $𝟐.𝟓 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 on their care — roughly $𝟒𝟗,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 (Illinois Policy Institute, Fox 32 Chicago). Over $1.6 billion went to migrant healthcare alone through July 2024 — “𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥” (Illinois Comptroller). For context, that $2.5 billion is roughly 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 what Illinois spends on veterans’ services (IL House Republicans). The state is spending three dollars on someone who crossed the border illegally for every one dollar it spends on someone who served the country. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐫𝐝 Boeing. Caterpillar. Citadel. Tyson. Guggenheim Partners. TTX. All gone. Boeing moved to Virginia. Caterpillar — headquartered in Illinois for nearly 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 — moved 230 jobs to Texas. Citadel CEO Ken Griffin took his $36 billion hedge fund to Miami, citing crime and a hostile business environment. Since 1994, Illinois has lost 𝟐,𝟔𝟏𝟔 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 to other states, with the rate 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 (Illinois Policy Institute). The Tax Foundation found Illinois’ business climate dropped 𝟏𝟎 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬 in five years — the only Midwestern state to decline — after Pritzker imposed $𝟔𝟓𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐬 during a pandemic recovery. When asked about Ken Griffin leaving, Pritzker’s response was essentially “𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸” to Florida (Free Beacon). That’s the governor of the fifth-largest state celebrating the departure of his wealthiest taxpayer. 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 From 2013 to 2024, Illinois increased K-12 education spending by $𝟏𝟎 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 — 𝐚 𝟒𝟒% 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 — while enrollment 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟎% (Illinois Policy Institute). Chicago Public Schools saw instructional spending per student jump 𝟒𝟖% in four years — from $10,314 to $15,274 (CPS Data). The result? Roughly 𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 of Illinois fourth and eighth graders score at or above proficiency in reading and math on the NAEP — a rate that “𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 20 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴” (NPR Illinois). Both reading and math scores were 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃. They spent billions more. They got the same results. In some cases, worse. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 $𝟓𝟖 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐱 In 2020, Pritzker spent $𝟓𝟖 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 pushing a graduated income tax amendment he called the “Fair Tax” (NPR Illinois). Illinois voters rejected it — it got just 𝟒𝟓% of the vote, far short of the 60% supermajority needed to amend the constitution (WTTW). A $3.9 billion man spent $58 million trying to raise taxes on everyone else. The voters said no. His response? He warned of “𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘴” — as if the state’s fiscal ruin was the voters’ fault for rejecting his plan. 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐇𝐲𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐲 While Pritzker imposed a statewide stay-at-home order on 12.7 million Illinoisans, his wife and daughter were in 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚. When they returned, they went to the family’s 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧 (Pantagraph, NBC Chicago). His defense? Taking care of horses is “𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯” (CBS Chicago). Meanwhile, small business owners were being fined for opening their doors. Restaurants were shuttered. Churches were locked. But the billionaire governor’s family was in Florida, then tending to their horses across state lines. Rules for thee. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄-𝐓 𝐀𝐜𝐭: 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 Pritzker signed the SAFE-T Act, making Illinois the 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 to abolish cash bail entirely (ABC7 Chicago). In November 2023, a suspect with 𝟕𝟐 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 who was out on electronic monitoring was caught on video 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 on a CTA train (ABC7 Chicago). Law enforcement across the state warned the law would put dangerous criminals back on the street. Pritzker dismissed the criticism. 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 Despite 10 credit upgrades under Pritzker, Illinois 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 of any state in the nation (Yahoo Finance). Its Moody’s rating of A2 sits 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬. Over the prior 15 years, the state received 𝟐𝟒 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 (Illinois Policy Institute). During the Rauner-era budget impasse, both Moody’s and S&P dropped Illinois to one notch above junk — the 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞. Pritzker inherited a dumpster fire and brought it up to a controlled burn. It’s still on fire. This is J.B. Pritzker’s Illinois. The toilets were removed. The businesses left. The taxpayers fled and took $9.9 billion in one year. The pension debt is $145 billion and climbing. The migrants cost $2.5 billion — three times what they spend on veterans. The schools spent $10 billion more and got the same failing scores. He blew $58 million of his own money on a tax hike voters rejected, then blamed the voters. His family went to Florida while yours couldn’t go to work. And through it all — every dollar lost, every business gone, every resident who packed up — he still has the lowest credit rating in America. 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐱 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬. 𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬’ 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝟗 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

@spygate47 @Ravious101 (This did not stop me from buying and eating an entire bag of Beaver Nuggets without sharing)

@spygate47 @Ravious101 I've only been once. It was so crowded and overstimulating, I kind of wanted to throw myself on the floor and cry like a toddler 😂

Is this even true I live in a place where you have to go 40 min just to have any real food don't even know what this is. From a post We stopped at Buc-ee’s just to “use the bathroom real quick.” Rookie mistake. Twenty minutes later… I’m pushing a cart (WHY do they even have carts at a gas station??), my toddler is licking a 3-pound bag of gummy worms, My husband is talking to a complete stranger about beef jerky like it’s a fine wine tasting, and I’m somehow Standing there with a cart full of fudge, a brisket sandwich the size of my face., matching family Buc-ee’s shirts, and a cast iron skillet I absolutely did NOT need The baby has a whole new wardrobe and is now chewing on a Buc-ee’s spatula like a teether The 5-year-old has a beaver plushie the size of a Golden Retriever. And I’m $300 poorer wondering how the heck we just left a GAS STATION with more stuff than I got at Target last week. Buc-ee’s isn’t a gas station. It’s a full-blown amusement park disguised as a bathroom break. And we fall for it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Send help. And wet wipes. And maybe another brisket taco.

@chefmarkintulsa @redheadranting @RobertKennedyJr Yep. If I must buy tomatoes at the grocery store, I only buy grape tomatoes. Which means I pretty much only eat regular tomatoes during the local tomato season, when I grow my own. Not a long season in Illinois, but that makes the BLTs taste even better!

@redheadranting @RobertKennedyJr They really have no flavor at all, just mealy. I’ve better luck with grape tomatoes.

I just made a garden salad with a 'tomato' from the grocery store and home made ranch dressing. The 'tomato' ruined the whole salad. I really thought @RobertKennedyJr was going to take care of this sort of thing. Dude, I am trying to eat healthier, but we've ruined the produce too.

@statomattic @suzy_redd The author of Predictably Irrational discussed this. Fascinating stuff!

@suzy_redd People just don't think through the math, but the psychology of getting something free is strong. One example is how people go crazy at sporting events when they launch T-shirts into the crowd. A crappy XXL T-shirt that will instantly become a rag. But we can't resist a prize.

I’m always amazed at what people will do for something free. Years ago I marveled at the few hundred people willing to stand in the sun on blacktop on a 95 degree day for a free ice cream cone. This morning I passed people in a car line for a free cup of coffee at some new place. The car at the end has a 40 minute wait with gasoline at nearly four bucks a gallon. Can someone explain this phenomenon?

@HeadWarriorTWM Undocumented Unhoused

Words we need to stop using. Identity Neurodiversity Keep it going.