Roommates arrested after decapitating third roommate and scattering his body parts along a highway

Our take: We have all had bad roommates before. I personally lived with a guy in the 1990s who was growing marijuana in his closet using grow lights and never took showers. Our phone got turned off because he didn’t pay the bill, and I had to go down to 7-11 and make collect phone calls to my family once a week to stay in touch with them. It turns out I had it pretty good compared to the guy who lived with these two.

Rainor Joiner (23) and David Degroat (22), both originally from Georgia, have been arrested in New Mexico and accused of killing their roommate Matthew McLaughlin (25), originally from West Virginia. The 3 met while serving in the Army at Ft. Benning, GA. 

Joiner confessed to police that he and Degroat shot McLaughlin twice, then dismembered his body and left pieces along the highway. Police recovered some of the remains and positively identified them as McLaughlin’s. Joiner said, “I fucking killed him, and I don’t regret it.” 

Yikes. The next time your roommate says they are tired of you eating their food from the fridge or not doing the dishes when it’s your turn, I would pay attention.

Younger Americans, Republicans are less patriotic than other Americans, according to a Gallup poll

Our take: In a shock to anyone who has been living in a cave the past 15 years, Gallup polls show that the country has become less patriotic, driven largely by Democrats and young people. This could explain the rise in popularity of figures like Bernie Sanders, AOC, and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. This may be OK in local Democratic strongholds but does not bode well for Democrats in nationwide elections. 

We work off evidence, so we remain firmly patriotic. The USA is the only nation in the world we know of that millions of people try to get into every year. People of all genders, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds literally break the law for a chance to live in the USA.

Perhaps the unpatriotic democratic socialists should do a little world traveling to see how most of the rest of the world lives before they burn their flags and swear allegiance to “the greater good.” It doesn’t look all that good to us.

5 charged, pleaded guilty in the ketamine death of Friends star Matthew Perry

Our take: It is a shame that Matthew Perry died of a ketamine overdose. We wish nothing but the best for his friends and loved ones. With that said, it seems like the law enforcement reaction to his death is a bit overboard. 5 people have been charged with crimes related to his death. All 5 have pled guilty to avoid a trial.

While we applaud the efforts to clean up the streets, we wonder where this same level of follow-through and intensity is when the hundreds of thousands of not-famous Americans die from drug overdoses every year. It sure seems like a case of the law enforcement system placing a higher value on the life of a TV star and not giving a shit when a plumber, teacher, housewife, or prostitute suffers the same fate. 

Tip of the day

Recent and ongoing research into mental toughness in sports, work, education, and beyond highlights the benefits of mental fortitude. While many are seen in the goal-directed behavior of individuals displaying perseverance, others are less obvious yet equally vital.

The benefits of mental fortitude and associated psychological concepts include (Ruparel & Topa, 2020; Shaw et al., 2022; Clough et al., 2021):

• Enhanced performance
  Performing better under pressure and displaying a more consistent focus, confidence, and level of control

• Increased resilience
  Being more able to cope with demands in sports, work, education, and beyond

• Positive attitude
  Experiencing a more positive attitude more of the time, including emotions such as joy, energy, excitement, etc.

• Reduced stress
  Limiting the impact of stressful events, enabling us to cope better with job demands and better manage sporting pressure

• Higher productivity
  Showing higher levels of efficiency, increased output, and greater productivity

• Better coping mechanisms
  Displaying a greater ability to handle adversity while maintaining higher levels of functioning

• Improved wellbeing
  Reporting better mental and physical health, including lower levels of depression and anxiety and improved sleep

• Heightened creativity
  Possibly due to the improved capacity to handle stress, showing greater creativity

• Better leadership
  Managing and leading teams more effectively

Quote of the Day

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein

Roommates arrested after decapitating third roommate and scattering his body parts along a highway https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/i-don-t-regret-it-duo-arrested-after-decapitating-roommate-and-confessing-to-their-alleged-crime/ar-AA1KO68k?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=fafd19920cfd4ac0ef0f76c76062c93b&ei=98

Younger Americans, Republicans are less patriotic than other Americans, according to a Gallup poll https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/major-shift-in-national-pride-among-democrats/ar-AA1KLRVY?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=fafd19920cfd4ac0ef0f76c76062c93b&ei=106

5 charged, pleaded guilty in the ketamine death of Friends star Matthew Perry https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/learn-about-the-5-people-charged-in-connection-with-matthew-perry-s-death/ar-AA1KL3xR?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=fafd19920cfd4ac0ef0f76c76062c93b&ei=118