My dearest Alice:

I can empathize with your observation. If I may cite some words of wisdom from the good book, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces” Matthew 7:6. It is possible we have met our obligations to othets. If they do not reciprocate, then we must not extend grace further.

You’re welcome!

A big part of the alliance is credibility. Far right political parties have called into question weather NATO is worth it. Even if we are a strong alliance the mere appearance of questioning can cause an opponent to misread and attack.

We can. Its just considered exercise so we choose not to.

Are business not funded that way now? May explain why the boss asks me more stuff about the company vehicle than any other driver. I thought I was just a top earner.

Most of what I see in that sub are libertarian types pretending we don’t live in the conclusion of a free market and more tax breaks and deregulations will solve our issues.

Why would that not contribute to a deductible?

I will definitely be doing that.

This right here is the answer. To elaborate a bit; they are taking the Bible as an Axiom, A self-evident principle or one that is accepted as true without proof as the basis for argument; a postulate. The problem is that research around devolution, the formation of the universe, or Earth’s age point to those Axioms not being as solid as once thought. In science this is not an issue; we have moved from Newton’s view on gravity to Einstein’s view with General Relativity, see this for more. In Christianity this is not as simple; remember God is all powerful and all knowing, and by extension so is his word in the Bible. If you conclude something that does not agree then you are challenging that aspect of God. That is the core of fundamentalism. You can already see how this framework leads to a young Earth or dinosaurs living with humans.

I’ll give them a try.

There is also a meta discussion here on liquidity (how easy it is to exchange something). People want currency because it is easy to exchange. Your landlord might be okay with getting paid in a mix of gallons of milk and some cuts of beef, but most will not. Trading for “non currency value” is not uncommon. You might get paid with stocks depending on your work. If you buy a car you might trade in your old one.

I didn’t say they were a good one.

They were our only ally in the Levant during the cold war. The other Arab states were USSR aligned. Not that they were a great ally, but political motivations at the time said we needed one.

You’re in big trouble.