Pictured is the goddess Ēostre, where the name Easter probably comes from.

When you take the salary of an average (not wealthy or poor, but middle class) New Yorker living in the heart of the city into account, is it even enough to not only pay rent (on top of a deposit in advance for first time renters) including bills utilities, internet, maintainence fees or muncipality fees & not forgetting food on the table. I've heard that NYC has the reputation of being the most expensive in the globe. Is that true?

I mean, have you recieved a summons (letter) either from your municpality or another in which you're selected to be a juror. You show up to the courts and assigned a number along with being asked about occupation, status, etc. but is the probability even that high on becoming part of the 12 jurors? Is it a criminal offense for failing to appear?

I've heard that the quality of KFC has diminished in the US (despite that being where it started) but doing well in other regions (like in Asia or Middle East) as the menu is adapted to their palate (food exclusives that don't exist in the USA), even the marketing campaigns do differ based on region.

Japan has their own portrayal of Colonel Sanders, they even have a buffet in some locations than being just a fast food joint. Have you been to a KFC overseas? If so, how different is their menu (regarding the food they sell) or regional pricing (are prices cheaper than in the US)?

I've been to a KFC in Thailand, and the quality is much better than having it in the United States (I wonder why?). They have a spicy chicken bowl for example, even for what you're getting: it's cheaper for more items (while ripped off in the USA for barely any food on the tray).

I myself am from the USA but I really can't think of anything. I do know of some right-wingers from my old high school who liked leftist stuff but I can't think of what they are off the top of my head. Maybe Star Trek, does that count?

Putting it into perspective: the Swiss Franc is backed by mutual trust which is something money can't buy (investors have confidence on economic stability during times of crisis) since it's not pegged to another currency or gold despite them having gold reserves. They even have a 1000 CHF bill ($1,269) so it's a strong currency in that sense, they barely circulate it outside.

Do YOU consider the US Dollar a safe haven currency? If it were: it would've received the same status as the Swiss Franc. The reason why CHF is strong is due their trust & confidence alongside a stable economical & political system, put it in comparison: how many Americans have confidence in their own currency? Does the USA have a "truly" stable political system?

The thing is: Switzerland is neutral, meaning they have no incentive whatsoever on becoming belligerents in foreign wars (something the USA can't stay away from since they spend a LOT of money on the military). Their national debt is lower than it is in USA (140m CHF / ~$179m) while in comparison: America's debt has ballooned to around $38,200,000,000,000 if I recall.

It's also tied to their monetary policy (which is highly trusted) hence why they managed to keep inflation relatively low but inflation in America is a joke (no need to say how bad it is). Their interest rate is 0% (can't be said for US Federal Reserve: 3.75%) as Switzerland's goal is to ensure price stability long term while the USA is more on promoting maximum employment.

I've encountered this sort of point before, you'll likely find many examples right on Lemmy. Does the US "not have culture"? Does it have lots of different cultures? Has it just been so good at spreading culture that everything feels American?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr8ljRgcJNM

Post picture is something that feels uniquely US, for better or worse

I’m torn between Citizen’s United and the one that rolled back Roe v. Wade.

I'm watching Veep and everyone pronounces it "Ne-vaugh-da" (which is how I pronounce it) but Kent insists on correcting everyone with "Ne-VA-duh".

Who's correct? Is the show trying to correct a common mis-pronounciation or is Kent just full of shit?

Hey from Philly

Outside center city, in a I guess "suburb"...

Like my neighborhood is like 20% white, 20% black, 20% Asian, 30% hispanic, rest is mixed or "other". Seems kinda diverse

How about your area?

hello I’m new here, I’m exploring Lemmy for a class project on online communities. Is this a good place to ask beginner questions?

So I'm assuming most people in the affected areas have free time now due work getting shut down...

So, how's life?

But since the how is asked, why is life? what is life? when is life? who is life? ... okay enough existential crisis...

Really, how is life?

Known as the Standard American Diet (though Wikipedia calls it the Western pattern diet), it is "generally characterized by high intakes of pre-packaged foods, refined grains, red and processed meat, high-sugar drinks, candy and sweets, fried foods, high-fat dairy products (such as butter), eggs, potato products, and corn products (including high-fructose corn syrup). Conversely, there are generally low intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, nuts, and seeds."

It's generally agreed-upon to be unhealthy, but how to move away from it is a much harder question. Capitalism, food deserts, willpower, etc etc all get talked about. But regardless of whether or not it's a good thing, how SAD is your diet?

Photo taken from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Walmart_Wenatchee.jpg

First, yes, I realize "European" covers a wide array of peoples and cultures. However, the same applies to Americans, and the folks across the pond don't seem wiling to extend us the courtesy of acknowledging that.

So that's my response to the post question: They treat us like a mono-culture / Planet of Hats and judge and jury us all based on the loudest and most boorish of us. Newsflash: we're not a mono-culture and are just as diverse as you.

And since there's lots of potshot posts going around just to shit on Americans for the crime of existing, I feel turnabout's fair play.

I was reading Michael Caine autobiography, "The elephant to Hollywood". At a certain point he's in living in LA, and his wife becomes suddenly ill. She had a burst appendix, one of these "you have surgery on a couple hours or you die" situations. The thing is once they get to the hospital and she's properly diagnosed, Caine is asked $5000 beforehand for her operation, and he's literally told; "No money, no operation". Eventually he realizes that he belongs to the actors Gild, so the operation is covered, and everything was alright. But I wondered, does (did) the US health system really work like this? Will a perfectly curable person be left to die just because a forward payment can't be done? For context, this happened in LA probably in the 60s or 70s.

Looking at this Mastodon post (in French) where Europeans explore what would happen if Trump blocked all American services in Europe, I thought it would be a great question to ask the people of Lemmy. So: what do you think would happen if POTUS Donald Trump decided to block all U.S. services to Europeans?

We read a lot of noisy for profit media so it's hard to tell from the outside of your box looking in. I don't consider CNN trustworthy but what about the polling company SSRS?

A lot of "undecided" (about what?) is also interesting. Or are they just scared to say one way or the other?

Who's your provider? I've got fiber to the home from centurylink or q or whatever it is now and it's great downloading stuff faster than my wifi can handle. I have to use a wired connection to the router to see the fastest speeds.

I had comcast before this and had speeds "up to" 1Gbps, but in practice it was garbage. I really wanted to pay "up to" my bill based on how good the service actually was.

Also, what's the slowest internet you've ever used? Have you used dial-up or 2g?

Listen, I know wars are horribly bad. I'm really sorry even asking such a question.

I'm Canadian. It seems that the fascists are set on military action against Greenland. I'm highly afraid that we're next. So I'm hoping the following happens in order:

1. No wars. Somehow, legally the fascist executive is stopped. This unfortunately seems unlikely...
2. They get bogged down in a war elsewhere. This prevents them from coming after Canada. I know this is me being extremely selfish, but whatever.
3. A civil war begins. No one has to worry about being invaded.

So my question is related to the third possibility. What could start a civil war? Could an invasion of Greenland and the following economic collapse (hopefully caused by the EU dropping US treasuries) be the spark?

Coming from this article (HN comments):

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/12/ozempic-changing-foods-americans-buy

Ozempic is changing the foods Americans buy

Within six months of starting a GLP-1 medication, households reduce grocery spending by an average of 5.3%. Among higher-income households, the drop is even steeper, at more than 8%. Spending at fast-food restaurants, coffee shops and other limited-service eateries falls by about 8%.

That seems huge to me. There's lots of memes about bad food practices in the US and there's a lot of truth to it. In 10 years, will there be a stereotype of Americans as skinny people that don't eat much?

I don't have a link but I've seen that companies are pushing back on this, like researching how to make drinks that counteract GLP-1 drugs. Will Big Pharma or Big Sugar win out?

Image source, semaglutide molecule

I don't wanna deal with re-entry under this admin so going abroad is a no-no for me personally.

So... domestic travel is the only option...

Where can I go that is fun and that I wouldn't have to encounter ICE?

I'm just bored and depressed and want somewhere to go... I don't wanna just stay at home for 3 more years

I have citizenship btw... but y'all know how crazy this admin is...

Looking for An Official/Expert Website(s)-Discussion of Steven King’s Story ‘It’ & HBO’s Series ‘It: Welcome to Derry’. Does anyone know such website(s)-discussion(s)?

I tried The Steven King’s official Website, but discussions are closed. Then I tried here/PieFed & nothing.
I hate all social media, horrorable people there, tried Reddit!