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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 1h

Maybe people shouldn't pay attention to what people who literally never use it think?

Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 1h

Perceptions of safety increase with use.

According to a YouGov poll of over 6,000 US residents asked how safe they feel public transit is, based on ridership frequency, % saying very/somewhat safe:

Never 29%
Less than 2-3x a year 47%
A few times a year 60%
Monthly 63%
Weekly 76%
Daily 87%

Weird!

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 2h

Some dismiss concerns about subway crime as baseless, the result of insufficiently hardened attitudes toward life in the “big city," Charles Fain Lehman writes. But if policy makers ignore people’s fears, they'll miss a chance to make transit better:

The Other Reason Americans Don’t Use Mass Transit

People will take buses and trains only if they feel safe while riding them.

bit.ly

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 1h

It's hard to look past reality. Unfortunately.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 1h

Also of the 15 starts shown here by pitchers BEFORE age 42, 11 of them have a game score over 50 (i.e. they were solid starts).

Scherzer is 41 and 81 days old.

Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 1h

12 of these 34 games are Roger Clemens.

He was still making playoff starts past age 45.

Moyer's 4 starts are also at an exceedingly old age (44+).

Blake Murphy @blakemurphy.bsky.social · 2h

Every playoff start from a pitcher age 41 or older

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 1h

While all of this is entirely accurate in the moment, I would be cautious predicting it.

Stalin never came across as the most charismatic leader, and he regularly made poor decisions, bordering on incompetent. He still rose to the leadership of the Soviet Union and held it for 30 years.

Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 2h

This stuff is giving me flashbacks to the mid 90's when I was in HS and the Heritage Front would send skinheads to distribute flyers at local schools - a bunch of the kids that "joined" were guys I played hockey with growing up.

Hadn't had to spend much energy worrying about it since then.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 3h

Cheaper condos in Toronto are like $500K.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 3h

Oh they wouldn't. That is entirely valid as a point.

I'm just saying that price point isn't remotely unreasonable to me.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 4h

Also - White laces on Doc Martens is a pretty well known indicator of a white supremacist.

Red laces = Neo-Nazis.

Blue laces = Sharpies (anti-cop/protest police violence)

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 4h

I'm just saying $170K is probably worth it for a ~500 square foot apartment given today's rental costs and interest rates.

Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 4h

And $170,000 to purchase really isn't much of anything in Toronto today.

If you were to pay that off over 15 years at the current 4.59% fixed interest rates banks are offering, you would be paying $1300 a month.

If you extended it out to 20 years it's only $1083 a month.

25 years it's $953 /mo.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 4h

I mean, $700 a month in today's $ would have been under $400 a month when I was in University (which is considerably less than I paid in rent back then).

So this seems off.

I was paying $675 a month for half of a 1 bedroom + den apartment like 15 years ago. That is ~$950 today.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 5h

They should tax them for sitting vacant until they are sold... Prices would come down further and faster.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 5h

Our government's can't figure out housing policy because they aren't willing to sacrifice people's "investment" in financializing property.

You can't reduce prices without increasing supply or decreasing demand... They slowed demand... They aren't increasing supply because it's "too hard".

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 14h

Feels like that could cut either way. Also have Bassitt and/or Lauer available as necessary.

Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 14h

Jays have the 5th most runs scored through a playoff team's first 7 gp in MLB history with 51.

They are scoring a LOT of runs.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 14h

Jays have fairly indisputably had the best offense in the post season.

They have the most HRs, most runs, highest Avg, top wRC+, lowest K%, Highest ISO, Highest SLG

but 4th BABIP

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 14h

Since Aug 1st the Jays have hit 88 HRs. Mariners have hit 97.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 14h

TOR ranked 4th in MLB in runs scored.

SEA ranked 9th, with 32 fewer runs.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 15h

Two 13 run games in the same Jays post season is kinda wild.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 15h

The pink clouds were purrrrrrty.

So we're all the HRs.

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Reposted by Steve Burtch

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 15h

Again, it is a full-blown federal felony crime for anyone in the White House or Executive Office of the President to order tax investigations into anyone.

And it's not just a crime to DO it, it's even a federal crime for an employee not to REPORT such an order to the Treasury Inspector General.

26 U.S. Code § 7217 - Prohibition on executive branch influence over taxpayer audits and other investigations
U.S. Code
Notes
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(a)Prohibition
It shall be unlawful for any applicable person to request, directly or indirectly, any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service to conduct or terminate an audit or other investigation of any particular taxpayer with respect to the tax liability of such taxpayer.

(b)Reporting requirement
Any officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service receiving any request prohibited by subsection (a) shall report the receipt of such request to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

(c)Exceptions
Subsection (a) shall not apply to any written request made—
(1)to an applicable person by or on behalf of the taxpayer and forwarded by such applicable person to the Internal Revenue Service;
(2)by an applicable person for disclosure of return or return information under section 6103 if such request is made in accordance with the requirements of such section; or
(3)by the Secretary of the Treasury as a consequence of the implementation of a change in tax policy.
(d)Penalty
Any person who willfully violates subsection (a) or fails to report under subsection (b) shall be punished upon conviction by a fine in any amount not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both, together with the costs of prosecution.

(e)Applicable person
For purposes of this section, the term “applicable person” means—
(1)the President, the Vice President, any employee of the executive office of the President, and any employee of the executive office of the Vice President; and
(2)any individual (other than the Attorney General of the United States) serving in a position specified in section 5312 of title 5, United States Code.

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 15h

Mariners hit more HRs than the Jays this season, BUT the Jays had higher SLG in the regular season (.427 to .420)

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Steve Burtch @stephenburtch.bsky.social · 15h

Makes sense. They are hardly alone.

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