no, i’ve just done enough, both with and without power tools, to know how to pick the right tool for the job.

if you need to blow some dirt off a road just to make it look nicer at the end of a roadworks project, or get the bulk of the small branches out of the way after a tree trimming, and don’t care about being thorough, then sure, i guess a leaf blower will get the job done (and you’ve been running much louder and heavier equipment all day, so who gives a fuck about the noise pollution).

but if you just want to clear some wet fallen leaves off a driveway so it looks nicer, i’d pick the pushbroom every single time. it’ll get the job done quicker, cleaner, and with far less making my neighbors hate me. having a leaf blower for personal use seems completely insane to me.

i think you’re overestimating how long it’d take to sweep.

most recently, i left the apartment to take the trash down to the dumpster this afternoon.

a broom would work better, be quicker, and not cause as much stress to your human and animal neighbors.

If you don’t know less than 50% of Americans have a passport. The ones who don’t, I really see the limitation in their thinking.

why do you think it’s a thinking problem? applying for a passport costs money. travelling to another country costs even more money. not everyone has had access to the same opportunities.

anyways. i haven’t gotten to travel out of the US, but it certainly ain’t because i wouldn’t like to. it just isn’t financially feasible for a lot of people here.

a legal monopoly on violence is the cornerstone of the states power. while there are definitely valid reasons to want to restrict access to the tools of violence, the state will always have that access, and if it restricts the general populations access to same, it becomes far easier to oppress them.

also, if we’re gonna ban weapons, i’d like to start with SUVs.