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Like @Pete1111 I have come to enjoy curling. For whatever reason I always thought it was a middle-aged man's sport. So it is a joy to see that most of the teams are made up of young men and women in their 20s. The young women all look so extraordinarily beautiful, especially the Asian ones, as though they are taking part in a beauty pageant than an Olympic sport! But my favourite is still Marc Muskatewitz the leader of the German team.

You constantly spout about your doing good with your research. I hope many members do the same. I donate to one charity which has given funds following massive earthquakes in Nepal and in Sichuan Province, the horrendous tsunami in December 2004 and so on, but these were deliberate actions and to one of the world's recognised charities. Whenever I pass away a recognised charity for the education of desperately poor hill tribe children will be one of the beneficlaries. Would I give to a GoFundMe page? Unlikely, unless it was specifically for someone I knew. I have two close relatives in the UK who are desperately iill - one with a severe heart ailment that will result soon in her death and the other with one of the rarer forms of leukaemia. Both are from well-off families and both are additionally cared for by the National Health Service. Unlike the monstrously expensive health system in the USA, they do not need cash from anyone. But a huge number with similar conditions in Asia are not nearly so lucky. Why should they not set up GoFundMe pages? How do you check their financial records and their earning capacity as @unicorn wants us to do? You can't! So, some people will indeed give out of the goodness of their hearts as @Suckrates implies. What is wrong with that? Besides, depite your alleged research, you still have no specific clue of the financial situation of the actor you are discussing. You are guessing. And you have little clue about a widow with six young children who now have to survive perhaps for the rest of their lives without a bredwinner. So, you suggest he may have erred in not having sufficient life insurance and goodness knows what else. If you feel that way, don't contribute. But people do contribute on impulse for a man for whom they clearly had great regard. Could they have donated to cancer research instead? Of course! But I understand there are some protections already built in to GoFundMe organisation if someone makes a Report about a possible scam. How effectve that is, I have no clue. But I am sure protection against scams will be increased in future. l'll end with a true story. About 15 years ago there was a newspaper article in Phuket about one man's fund raising operation to assist his young son aged ten. For years he was constantly tired, unable to play with his schoolmates etc. A succession of local doctors were never able to come up with a diagnosis. His father set up his own fund raising scheme through local papers but unsurprsingly it resulted in peanuts. Exasperated the father decided to spend some of his meagre savings by bringing the boy to be seen by a specialist at the Bangkok Heart Hospital. It was only by pure luck that the doctor he saw there had been trained at the famed Mayo Clinic. He detected a congenital heart condition named Ebstein's Anomaly which had never before been diagnosed in Thailand. He said the boy needed an operation within six months or he would die. But there were no surgeons in the country who had undertaken such surgery before. Through someone who had happened to see the original Phuket article, it was brought to the attention of a relatively rich man. He asked his friend to meet with both the family and the hospital doctor to make sure this was a genuine case of need. The report back was the boy was bright and intelligent, even funny, but looked younger than his ten years. And the doctor confirmed both the diagnosis and prognosis. End result. The hospital not only cut its fees in half, it sent a team to the Mayo Clinic to see the operation carried out. The rich man donated the remainder of the fees and a five-star hotel gave the father and son rooms for two weeks so they could stay in Bangkok for the constant check-ups. One of the most heart-warming stories that resulted was a report that the boy was thrilled than he could finally ride his bicycle to see his grandmother every day. This certainly bears out @unicorn's sugestion of the need for research. But the above tale depended totally on a succession of sheer luck. Had a GoFundMe operation been in effect, maybe it would all have happened out of the goodness of the average Thai person's heart. We can never know. The real blessing is that this disease has become known in Thailand and already several other children have benefitted from the new skills of the surgeons.

I LOVE when Bucky takes a few days off, and then comes back REFUELED, and seems "DUMBER THAN BEFORE"..... The more he is trying to "own the Libs" with his silly cherry picked posts, the DUMBER he looks ....And just when you thought he couldnt look any dumber !

Oh come on now, you KNOW the Tik Tok subject just wanted to showcase her BONNET.......she really dont BELIEVE that shit. Its her shot at being an "internet STAR ! Bucky, thanks for giving her that chance. 👍

Pam BUNDY ? Didnt SHE star on "married with children" ? Oh, my bad, that was PEG BUNDY...... Who the fuck is Pam BUNDY ? Come on Bucky with your FAKE NEWS ! 😢 DO BETTER !

WHY stop there ?

I guess you missed the part of MY post about "doing your due diligence ? " (that means "thinking & research") But that is what you do when you just want to take a "swipe" at me and promote your POV ? It's a CHOICE, have at it dear !...... Just because Van Der Beek lived on a compound, as you assess, DOESNT mean he and his family of 7 others were financially sound and viable. But if thats the rational you want to adopt to deny HIM a donation.....BE MY GUEST

Thanks!!

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Thanks for the laughs, you moronic but lovable dog. Even if you can't understand writing. I assume @Barknaway's stupid dog brain can not comprehend the irony of a Black woman saying that Democrats have taken away her right to trash Democrats on the internet, as she trashes Democrats on the internet. That said, I do empathize with her. People get all kinds of shit for the perfectly nice things they post on the internet. Blame it on Michelle Obama! Now here, Barknaway. Here is your treat. I am so glad you are a dog. I don't like apes much.

Safe travels, @jimmie50. ✌️🫶

Perhaps introduced by ICE?

I think Tony Gray made up the all international back row.

Good point!

Godspeed! Please continue to share your trip stories, I really enjoyed reading them.

Well, it feels good to send money to a shyster instead of the needy, please be my guest. After all, why stop to think before doing? As for me, I feel good when I'm actually doing some good on this planet--not by stuffing the pockets of a rich widow. AI Overview James Van Der Beek's Texas ranch, located in Spicewood near Austin, features a 5,149-square-foot main house. Purchased shortly before his death in 2026, the 36-acre property includes five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a commercial kitchen, a pool, and additional cabins. Main House Size: 5,149 square feet. Property Size: 36 acres. Location: Spicewood, Texas (outside Austin). Features: 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, commercial kitchen, pool, and cabins. The property is a "compound" that the family initially rented in 2020 before buying. (Nb. They also own another 7-figure home in Beverly Hills)

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Jeremy Carl, Trumps nominee for LEADER of the State Dept, grilled by Senate for defending WHITE NATIONALISM........ Just another extreme MAGA racist that Trump cheerleads for. Jeremy Carl enters a Senate confirmation hearing defending “white identity” and Great Replacement rhetoric, only to face Chris Murphy, Cory Booker, and Tim Kaine as the questions sharpen, the contradictions mount, and arguments aligned with Donald Trump fracture under brutal scrutiny.

While due diligence is always WISE, I maintain, that like anything else a person should follow this advice: "if it makes you FEEL good, and it isnt illegal and doesnt harm anyone else, then just do it". Sometimes overthinking spoils an experience, and while none of us wants to be taken for fools, I live by the hope that people are generally good and trustworthy, and for those that arent, you Live & Learn !

You haven't read this thread carefully. No one is criticizing JvdB. This GoFundMe campaign was started after his death (and, as I said previously, I doubt he would have approved of it). Ever since the Affordable Care Act came into effect, all US citizens and permanent residents are protected from catastrophic medical expenses. The only expense which it doesn't cover is nursing home/long-term care, which JvdB clearly didn't need (and one can buy separate insurance for that, which I've done in order to protect my husband). It's hard for me to imagine how his uncovered medical expenses could even reach the $250,000 which she originally claimed, much less the millions of dollars she's collected instead. She's simply capitalizing on his good name (and shows no signs of stopping, no matter how many millions people donate). Well, I agree. The question, of course, is who is really needy. I donate thousands of dollars annually to various charities which help the POOR--the truly needy. I use the financial research done by charitynavigator.org, which studies the documents of the charities, and ensures that the money is spent efficiently to those who really need help. I almost always give to 4-star rated charities. Donating money to a multi-millionaire widow just because you liked her late husband constitutes giving $$ to a scamster to the detriment of the truly indigent. If you want to donate money to the needy, here are some suggestions: https://www.charitynavigator.org/search?causes=Food+aid&page=1&pageSize=10&sort=rating https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/363673599 https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/135660870

A most welcome greeting, @Suckrates. Thank you.

Beginning the first leg of my journey in approximately 3 hours. Flying from Denver to San Francisco where I will spend several days visiting friends and former colleagues. Haven't really been back to California since I retired and moved to Denver, so looking forward to reconnecting with folks in person. Much better than texting, FaceTime or Zoom. Hope to visit some of my favorite restaurants as well. Leave Wednesday evening for the second leg to Bangkok, to arrive mid-day on Friday, 2/20. Looking forward to new adventures.

Doesn't sound nice...