I'd rather they'd just exited the business entirely rather than just let some Chinese shop slap their name on products. "Sony" on gear use to mean something.

Because there is no "death of democracy". I've heard this hysterical horseshit all my long life. Everytime a Republican wins the White House, it means democracy died. Funny that I heard it for Reagan, both Bushes, and now Trump, and yet we keep having elections and Democrats win the White House sometimes too. "Democracy Died" just means that you threw a tantrum because your candidate didn't win.

It's always same stupid fucking thing: if we don't stop them this time, it's over! Democracy will die! This is the most important election Evarrrr!!!.

The world keeps spinning. Elections keep happening. You win sometimes and you lose sometimes. You people have become the boy that cried wolf, and no one gives a shit anymore. No one outside of your hysterical sewing circles buys it.

If you make it a pain in the ass to use busses and trains, then people will just go back to cars. Either buying their own, or renting per ride via Uber or something. If you're going to use a bus, then you're just going to have to accept that it's slow mode of transport. But it still beats walking in the snow.

FFS, this happened less than seven months ago: US strikes on Iran.

Yes, because it's completely a conspiracy and not at all a reaction to decades of iron-fisted rule. Iran was a happy land of lollipops and rainbows until now. The people love the Ayatollahs.

Yeah, the president that just bombed the fucking country in question doesn't care about Iran, it's all just a conspiracy to misdirect something else.

What would count as proper concern to you? A boots on the ground invasion to take out the Ayatollahs? We've sanctioned Iran, bombed them, attacked and killed their proxies at every turn. Just what are you wanting us to do to prevent those executions?

This is Slashdot, sir. Everything we don't like is a conspiracy, thank you very much.

That's just for delivery. And all the big chains have apps with deep discounts. A one-topping large pie at Domino's is $7.99 if you use the app or web to get the discount. And most of the big chains now have car-side pickup, which means they bring it out to you in the parking lot. So pizza is actually the cheapest option to feed a family if you just use your head. Because 8 bucks won't even get you a single combo meal at most places now.

Pizza chains are simply having to face more competition now. There's more variety available to consumers than ever before. There's a drive-thru or Fast Casual joint for every taste now. It's not just Burgers vs. Chicken vs. Pizza anymore.

Because the US Eastern Seaboard and Gulf region had one of the milder hurricane seasons this year than usual:

"There were two tropical storms in the southern Gulf’s Bay of Campeche in 2025, but this was the first year since 2014 that there was not a tropical threat to the northern Gulf Coast, according to NOAA data. It was also the first time in a decade that a hurricane did not make landfall in the United States at all, according to NOAA."

The linked article notes of the major hurricanes that formed this season, 2 of 3 stayed in the deep ocean.

Lots of us have trucks, and all of us haul things in it: wood, purchased goods, trash, lawn stuff, you name it. Many of us also tow things with our trucks. The larger SUV's are overwhelmingly owned by families that haul kids around (and all that entails), or older folks with grandkids. Smaller SUV's are car-platform based, and are actually owned more by younger females, who find them more useful than sedans.

"Need" on transportation is like "voting your best interests". That's for us to decide, thanks. Not outside groups.

He's 71. With no Tom Cruise-ish plastic surgery or Botox. Put him in a lineup of other 71 year old faces and tell me he's worse than average.

It doesn't help that medical researchers can't seem to agree on alcohol outside of "too much is bad". Kind of hard to issue any guidance when one group of doctors say that research indicates a glass of wine may have benefits while another group of equally distinguished doctors says nope, there are no good amounts, period, and you should completely abstain.

Yeah, alcohol consumption has been in a generation long decline regardless of who is in office because drinking habits have changed for the population at large. Trade wars don't help, but the biggest issue is that the young just don't see the point in drinking. Bars and clubs have been steadily closing for years now. All dating is done online via the Internet and none of the kids are meeting in clubs anymore. Women used to go to clubs to get noticed. Now they have Instagram for that, and it's killing the club scene. As the club scene goes, drinking goes.

Maybe frying stuff in beef tallow and endless pushups are the answer then, 'cause the guy looks better at 71 than just about everyone else.