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5188 points, 358 comments.
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Category: Humor
Humor | ReportWire publishes the latest breaking U.S. and world news, trending topics and developing stories from around globe.
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Aging Like a Fine Wine: What’s It’s Really Like
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What does it mean if someone claims that they’re aging like a fine wine? Does it mean that they only get better with age. Not really… They are probably alone in the basement, untouched by a single soul for years and years.
The post Aging Like a Fine Wine: What’s It’s Really Like first appeared on Crazy Funny Pictures.
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liver
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50 People That Got Such Unhinged Notes From Their Neighbors, They Just Had To Make Them Public
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The first step to overcoming any issue with your neighbors is talking to them about the issue itself. You can leave them a friendly little note, send them a message (if you have their number or you’re connected on social media!), or chat with them the next time you see them outside. However, if it’s a more pressing problem that’s literally impacting your day-to-day life, consider walking up to their front door and asking them if you can talk for a couple of minutes.
We all enjoy seeing justice being done. Naturally, when we confront someone who’s done us wrong, we imagine all sorts of scenarios where we come out on top and our neighbors are remorseful for their God-awful behavior. But reality is often very different from our power fantasies. The fact is that if you start off the conversation angry, judgmental, and confrontational, you’re only making things worse.
It’s usually best to be as cool and collected as possible. Start your conversation with your neighbor in a friendly or neutral manner. Explain the situation to them. Tell them how their behavior impacts you and how it makes you feel. You should try to avoid outright blaming them for things, even if they are 100% in the wrong. Remember, your goal is to get them to stop their current behavior and become more neighborly. If they start resenting you, they might make your life hell just because they can get a rise out of you.
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Donata Ruzgaitė
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Heath And Heather: Which One Is More Heatherish?
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Which of these lovely people is more Heatherish – Heath or Heather? Please let us know in the comments, because it actually is a competition. Heath is saying that it is not, because he’s just afraid to lose.
The post Heath And Heather: Which One Is More Heatherish? first appeared on Crazy Funny Pictures.
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liver
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50 Non-American Actors Who Mastered The Accent So Well, People Had No Doubts They’re American
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For language geeks like me, accent reduction is a term used to describe losing a foreign or regional accent to adopt a more popular one (e.g., American). It’s an important part of a person’s identity, but sometimes pronunciation that’s hard to understand can lead to miscommunication in professional settings such as business and academia.
In fact, many well-known actors use accent reduction to cast more movie roles. And sometimes even the most attentive film-watchers take them as born and bred United States citizens.
So when redditor Jma7400 asked fellow users who were some actors they couldn’t believe weren’t from the US, over 4000 people shared their eye-opening discoveries. Some of them channel their inner American so well, they deserve all the spotlight.
Without further ado, we invite you to scroll down and see these brilliant shapeshifters for yourself. While you’re at it, make sure to check out the conversations we had with voice and accent coaches Ashley Howard, Holly Renaut, and Sarah Valentine, who kindly agreed to let us in on the secret of how accent masking works.
Gary Oldman
In fact, he had to relearn his natural accent with a voice coach.
I’d award him extra points for being such a great chameleon overall. There have been times that I had no idea it was him in a particular role.
I’m always surprised. Idris Elba and Tom Holland come to mind. Hearing Christian Bale in Ford vs Ferrari and me wondering what the f**k is this man doing with a cartoon Brit accent. Then looking it up and many people insisting that’s close to his real accent.
Bored Panda reached out to voice coach Ashley Howard to learn more about what accent reduction is.
Howard defined it as the process through which a person changes their accent towards another accent. It is also known as accent softening, accent modification, and accent neutralization.
“In reality, accent reduction is more so a process of accent acquisition: you never lose the ability to speak the way you speak but instead learn another way of speaking, substituting the sounds and intonation patterns you use for other sounds and intonation patterns.”
“If you only wanted to use the new sounds and intonation patterns, then after some time, the old neural pathways may become less familiar and easier to use, so the new sounds and intonation patterns would become the more dominant instinct. At this point, perhaps you could then say that you have reduced or even gotten rid of your old accent.”
I grew up with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. I’d never heard him be anything else.Imagine my reaction when I first heard his native Australian accent lol
We also got in contact with a professional actor and dialect coach, Holly Renaut, who prefers not to use this term at all, as it implies that it’s possible to get to a point where one has no accent, and this is simply not attainable.
“We all, regardless of language, have an accent. An accent is simply a particular way of pronouncing a language. You can have an accent that is, for example, more Spanish in its pronunciation, and you’d like to shift it towards sounding more American. This notion that some people have an accent while others do not is simply false.”
“So, let’s tweak slightly and talk about accent shifting. Moving along the line from one accent to another. You could land anywhere on that line, with some features of one accent, some of another. We all have our own particular, unique, and beautiful way of speaking.”
“Accent shifting is a complex but achievable process involving training your articulation muscles, reprogramming your brain to activate them in a different way than you may do habitually, working on your listening skills to distinguish between similar sounds, perhaps unfamiliar to you, noticing the rhythm, melody (intonation), and word stress patterns, and turning that all into something that, in an ideal world, happens without you thinking about it.”
Charlize Theron – a South African girl who deliberately developed an American accent and now can’t even pronounce her own surname properly anymore. We were fortunate enough to receive another opinion from actors’ accent coach Sarah Valentine, who has worked with all kinds of people and thinks people shouldn’t hide this part of their identity in the first place.
“I work with people from all over the world who want to sound more ‘American’ or more ‘British’ or just be understood, so they can be doctors, lawyers, dentists, telephone operators, anyone in business, professionals from all walks of life, basically anyone at all who just wants to ‘sound more professional’. But I do need to reiterate that because I have such a passion for accents and I love listening to them, I don’t feel the need for accent reduction. But I understand the need to teach people how to do it, and so that’s what I do. It’s simply a service I provide, although I personally don’t see it as necessary.”
Melanie Lynskey. I seriously couldn’t believe she was from New Zealand and went straight to YouTube to hear her original accent. She embodies her American characters so well, especially in I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore 
Karen GillanShe’s does a really good American accent. Even more impressive since she is Scottish
The challenges these experts face vary from person to person. Howard finds that the most common ones are learning new sounds and intonations that a person has never made before. Or knowing when to apply the newly learned characteristics to the desired accent.
What he also finds challenging is consciously applying the learning to spontaneous speech. “The way we approach this is to think about introducing the new features into low-stress and low-stakes conversations first. The other way we approach this is to consider their most common phrases in both personal and professional contexts, as well as names and technical terminology used at work that they can practice, so that when these come up, they are more likely to use the new pronunciation.”
I knew she wasn’t American, but Kate Winslet’s Bucks county accent in the Mare of Eastttown was on point. Renaut finds difficulties with mindsets that some individuals have adopted. “Some people feel that accents are a skill you either have or don’t. But they’re more like music. Some people have a different level of talent naturally than others, but anyone can learn with some time and effort.”
“Other people hugely underestimate how much effort and practice can go into learning to shift to another accent. They tend to think it’s a matter of ‘listen and repeat’, but there’s much more to it. I work according to how the client responds best. Some are visual learners; some respond to audio and are great at imitating; and some need physical instructions and work with images… It’s about getting to know the individual and catering the training to them.”
She also notices that “there are a lot of people who teach ‘accent reduction’ who charge a fortune and only approach things using phonetics. But learning the symbols for the sounds doesn’t always translate into your mouth being able to correctly make them. This leads to a lot of frustration, and people enter training with me already feeling like their goals are achievable.”
The character Carla Jean Moss in No Country For Old Men is played by Scottish actress Kelly MacDonald. Valentine shares that the challenging part of her job is that everyone hears differently, and being able to get sounds right is difficult. But, fortunately, she has found a way to work around it.
“I make the learning fun, and whether you want to sound American or British, I am able to connect to my client and imagine how the interior of their mouth currently works, and I get them to switch it to their desired accent.”
Her method of teaching isn’t really conventional, as she has created her own “Valentine method,” which still works on the basis of phonetics but is adjusted to the person she’s working with. “I am more visceral in the respect that I work with the person and understand them so that we together can create the exact perfect sound and accent that the person wants.”
Renaut was also kind enough to provide some advice for people who would like to reduce their accent. “Firstly, observe your own speech. Talk to yourself in the mirror and notice what moves, what shapes your lips make, how open your mouth is, and how tense or relaxed your muscles are, etc. Record yourself and listen (I know we all hate the sound of our own voice, but this is crucial!). Notice the ups and downs, how fast you are, and whether you pronounce things clearly or rush through them.”
“Watch others speak without the sound on. When babies learn to talk, they look at people’s mouths; that’s why the first sounds they make are ones we can see (M, B, D). Start to imitate the movements you see rather than simply trying to make the sounds.
“Listen to speakers that have this accent. BUT don’t listen to the words. The first thing to listen for are the sounds they make when they are thinking (called the hesitance sound). These “ums and ahs” will show you what the “home position” of the mouth is. If you learn to relax your mouth into that position, it’ll help a lot. Listen to the intonation. Do they go up at the end of the line? Do you hear a large or small range in the voice and its ups and downs?”
“While you’re at it, write down a few words you connect with the accent or find particularly fun to say. For example, if you want to sound British, maybe ‘darling’ is one of your words.”
Heath Ledger in Lords of Dogtown had such an authentic Southern California surfer accent, like so specific and niche, that to this day I’m still surprised he was Australian. Rip.
In addition, Valentine recommends watching television shows you want to learn the accent from, getting a VPN, listening to local radio, going online, and searching for specific things on YouTube that allow you to listen to people from the local area.
“Something that I do when I’m researching roles is that if a character comes from a specific place in the world, I will call the local library and tune in to their local radio. I also created a website called Accent Bank, which allows people from around the world to send me their real accents, which I then upload onto it.”
If you’re interested in accents, it’s an excellent opportunity to listen to some of them and perhaps contribute one of your own! All you need to do is download a little three-minute script and read it.
I would have said Gary Oldman, but then nothing about Gary Oldman surprises me anymore.
Idris Elba in the Wire had an extremely good accent
Renaut concludes by saying, “I believe all accents are beautiful. The goal for me, particularly for people looking for “accent reduction,” is to first re-frame the goal. Most people are happy to retain some of their “original” accents. It’s part of who they are. Their identity.”
“Shifting 100% into another accent can feel like a loss or a rejection of part of what makes us who we are. If we can be easily understood and feel confident, that is good enough. I don’t want to live in a world in which everyone wants to sound the same. We all love listening to accents. We should approach them playfully. Won’t it be a shame to lose them?”
She also has a very successful program online called The Accent Challenge. An affordable, extremely effective program for actors of all language backgrounds. It’s a lot of fun!
Andrew Lincoln (TWD)/ Lauren Cohan (TWD)/Hugh Laurie (House)/Rose McIver (Ghosts US)/Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets) Jason Clarke has played so many Americans in film that I didn’t know he’s an Aussie
I’m sure many will disagree but I think Nicole Kidman has a very good American accent.
Juno Temple from the new season of Fargo (who I believe is English with a cockney/estuary accent). Insanely good Midwestern accent without overdoing it.
Linus Roache from Law & Order, although I feel like I should have known he was English just from his name.
Andrew Lincoln. Except it was the other way. Knew him from Love Actually. So seeing him in The Walking Dead was shocking.
Same with having grown up with Boondock Saints. My dumb self still somehow believed Darryl actor was actually Irish …. sigh
I will give you two.
Rose McIver from US Ghosts.
Jacob Anderson – Louis de Pointe du Lac in Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. Formerly Grey Worm in Game of Thrones.
I lost my s**t the first time I heard them in an interview. Shocked. No clue.
The guy that played Apollo in the Battlestar Galactica reboot – Jamie something I think – I don’t feel like googling his last name but the first time I watched an interview with him I didn’t hear a single word he said I was so flabbergasted at his accent and how well he hid it in the show. I’m surprised I’m haven’t seen him in more stuff, he was pretty good. Maybe he just doesn’t do the type of stuff I watch.
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Colorado Pastor Claims The Lord Told Him To Defraud Investors In Crypto Scheme
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Eligio Regalado, a pastor from Denver, CO and his wife, Kaitlyn Regalado, were charged with a civil complaint that the pair created and sold a valueless cryptocurrency called “INDXcoin,” raising nearly $3.2 million that they used to fund a lavish lifestyle in a scheme that Mr. Regaldo claimed he was called to do by God, telling his investors that “God is going to work a miracle in the financial sector.” What do you think?
“And he just took God’s word for it? Idiot.”
Art Abadi, Disclaimer Proofreader
“God better find a good lawyer.”
Christina Zwegat, Bowling Journalist
“I mean, God does have a track record of asking for some weird stuff.”
Joseph Taupin, Systems Analyst
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Working at UPS: The Perfect Job Opportunity For You
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What is it like working at UPS as a package handler? It’s actually a lot of fun. You can knock on people’s doors and run away before they could answer. Just like you did when you were a kid.
The post Working at UPS: The Perfect Job Opportunity For You first appeared on Crazy Funny Pictures.
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liver
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Americans Explain Why The U.S. Has Never Been A Racist Country
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Harold Lucas, Retired
“If we’re so racist, you’d think someone would’ve committed a racist act by now.”
Ashley Moreno, Chef
“Thomas Jefferson wrote that ‘all men are created equal’ and never did anything else as far as I know.”
Bridget Tate, Homemaker
“Show me one book that says otherwise. Or several. In list form, please. No particular reason.”
Paul Gruber, Warehouse Manager
“America is not a racist country, but a federation of racist states.”
Bianca Mir, Truck Driver
“Have you ever met a slave? Didn’t think so.”
Teddy Bryant, Lifeguard
“I’ve never faced any discrimination for being 3% Cherokee.”
Marty Gilman, Sales Associate
“This so-called racist nation is the same one that gave Black Americans their own exclusive water fountains.”
Patricia Wayne, Personal Chef
“Why else would Martin Luther King so eloquently say that racism was a fiction and we should get on with our lives?”
Lily Rhodes, Bank Teller
“I think this 90-second PragerU cartoon can explain the concept better than me or anyone else.”
Susan Combs, Teacher
“How many times do I have to cite very selective lines from the Constitution before people understand this?”
Charles Hampton, Park Ranger
“America has always been a land of opportunity for all different types of land-owning white men.”
Angelo Townsend, Barista
“Does the United States discriminate against non-white people? Sure. But is it racist? Nah, probably not.”
Rory Bond, Optician
“It’s not racism when it’s accidental, which is what slavery, Jim Crow, and every modern hate crime are.”
Rachel O’Hara, Bartender
“All egalitarian societies begin with mass genocide.”
Rod Richards, Pilot
“My great-grandfather loved his slaves.”
Bianca Underwood, Meteorologist
“Most of our mass shooters target very diverse crowds of innocent people.”
Sarah Fowler, Travel Agent
“We gave them jobs, didn’t we?”
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Inappropriate AI-Generated Pics Of Taylor Swift Spread Online As Singer Deals With Stalker Problem
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Taylor Swift has been sexualized against her wishes as a result of AI-generated explicit images, sparking backlash and debates about the ethics of artificial intelligence.
The songstress’ fake nudes have made rounds on social media since Thursday (January 25). The perverted AI-generated pictures put Taylor in comprising poses, mostly naked, attending a Kansas City Chiefs American football game.
X (formerly known as Twitter) has seemingly suspended at least one account associated with the offensive images, Fox News reported. Bored Panda has seen the doctored photos but is not sharing them.
Taylor Swift was sexualized against her wishes as a result of AI-generated explicit images, sparking backlash and debates about the ethics of artificial intelligence
Image credits: Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images
As a result, Swifties and empathizing people have shared their outrage online, with a person writing on X: “‘Taylor Swift is a billionaire she’ll be fine’ THAT DOESN’T MEAN U CAN GO AROUND POSTING SEXUAL AI PICS OF HER LIKE A FREAK SHE’S STILL HUMAN BEING WITH FEELINGS.”
Another X user commented: “Those Taylor AI pics are straight-up sexual harassment, and it’s disgusting that man can do those things without repercussions.”
An additional commenter penned: “They see women as objects made for their sick fantasies, and I’m so sick of it. It makes me want to throw up. PROTECT TAYLOR SWIFT.”
A separate individual chimed in: “If you think sexualized, non-consensual AI generated photos of Taylor Swift being spread online isn’t an issue, I want you to think what that means for countless women and children who aren’t Taylor Swift who’ve also been subjected to digital rape and AI porn.”
The perverted AI-generated pictures put Taylor in comprising poses, mostly naked, attending a Kansas City Chiefs American football game
Image credits: Taylor Swift
“Protect Taylor Swift” has since been trending on X, with people continuously denouncing the flood of disgraceful AI photos and pointing out that the 34-year-old music star has been victimized. According to TMZ, Taylor herself hasn’t addressed this yet.
The effort among the Cruel Summer hitmaker’s fans ultimately paid off, resulting in the suspension of the main problematic account.
However, the removal only came after the debauched user’s post racked up more than 22 million views. The post had also been bookmarked by users on X more than 71,000 times, Daily Dot reported.
Despite the initial removal, X has seemingly done little to delete other posts containing the imagery. According to the Daily Dot, the explicit deep fake has remained visible on some accounts for upwards of six hours and continued to garner tens of thousands of views.
A source close to the singer told The Daily Mail that “these fake AI-generated images are abusive, offensive, exploitative, and done without Taylor’s consent and/or knowledge.”
They reportedly added that whether or not the American singer-songwriter will take legal action is still being decided. The source further stated: “It is shocking that the social media platform even let [the images] be up to begin with.
“These images must be removed from everywhere they exist and should not be promoted by anyone.
“Taylor’s circle of family and friends are furious, as are her fans, obviously. They have the right to be, and every woman should be.
“The door needs to be shut on this. Legislation needs to be passed to prevent this, and laws must be enacted.”
Whether or not the American singer-songwriter will take legal action is still being decided
Image credits: Taylor Swift
X users have also directed their vitriol toward those who re-shared the images on social media after they first appeared on adult websites earlier this month, Page Six reported.
A user who seemingly shared the altered images wrote: “My Taylor post went viral, and now everyone is posting it.” He later added, “Bro, what have I done… They might pass new laws because of my Taylor Swift post.
“If Netflix did a documentary about AI pics, they’d put me in it as a villain. It’s never been so over.” As per Page Six, the troll’s account has since been made private.
Synthetic media expert Sam Gregory explained that the issue, whether AI-generated images or deep-fake videos, highlights the ever-growing problem related to AI-generated, non-consensual images of a sexual nature.
He told the Daily Dot: “Taylor Swift is being targeted now, but many prominent women celebrities and many private citizens, including multiple [recent] cases with teenage girls from New Jersey to Brazil to Spain, have been targeted with deepfakes.
“It is not only extremely easy with advances in generative AI to generate nude images or ‘nudify’ an individual using available tools or open-source options.
“But it’s also a huge problem that it’s very easy to find these images.”
The AI scandal comes just days after Taylor’s stalker, David Crowe, was arrested three times in the last week outside the singer’s Tribeca neighborhood home in New York, USA.
As per Fox News, David was charged with stalking in the fourth degree, along with harassment in the first and second degree. An assistant district attorney for Manhattan said in court that the man had been “asked to leave [Swift’s home] over 10 times.”
The AI scandal comes just days after Taylor’s stalker, David Crowe, was arrested three times in the last week
Image credits: Gotham/Getty Images
According to a criminal complaint, David was seen at Taylor’s home “approximately 30 times” between November 25, 2023, and January 22, 2024, despite her having a restraining order against him. He was subsequently given supervised release after his arraignment on January 24, as requested by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Nevertheless, David reportedly appeared outside the musician’s home shortly after leaving court. The NYPD told Fox News: “Officers responded to a 911 call for a disorderly male in the vicinity of Franklin Street and Hudson Street, which is in the First precinct.
“On arrival, a male left the location and walked into the First Precinct, where he was subsequently taken into custody without further incident. He was charged with four counts of criminal contempt.” David currently remains in custody.
Taylor’s recent series of unfortunate events have highlighted not only worries for the popstar’s security but also system vulnerabilities for abuse victims. Jenna Chapman-AU, a worker at the Harlem-based anti-domestic violence group WARM, told CBS News: “It makes it so much scarier for the rest of us.
“I don’t have Taylor Swift’s bodyguards, neither do the countless women and survivors who come to our centers.”
Jenna further stated: “ Those restraining orders are useful, and they are helpful in protecting the people who [get] them.
“But [we] see that in so many other instances, they fail to protect people as deeply as they should.”
Many people agreed that sharing these AI-generated images was “sick” and “disgusting”
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Ride Ride Ride
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File under "Old Business": Swissrail just can't catch a break.
Diligent
Richard B.
dug into the news and reports
"After following the link from this week's Error'd, I came
across this interesting description in Swissrail's Member list.
The filename means 'Company description En(glish)'.
They have the same thing in French; the German description is normal."Allie C.
didn't order this.
"Sorting by views descending works perfectly with no issues
at all!" I don't think we found a catchy name for this
category yet. I'm leaning towards assortment.
Persistent
Peter G.
grumbles
"This building company claims to have been in the business for a long time.
By their testimonials I'd say at least two thousand years."
Faithful
Adam R.
comments
"Comcast is having an outage in my area, and this time they're not even
giving me a bad guess for the Estimated Time of Recovery."
Finally, conscientious
Carly G.
discovered a very disappointing windfall.
"Cashfoward Bonus® would be more accurate. I wonder what happens if I spend it." Don't give it to me!
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Continuously monitor your servers for configuration changes, and report when there's configuration drift. Get started with Otter today![ad_2]
Lyle Seaman
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Most toxic and insufferable fanbases in existence (20 GIFs)
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Before we jump in here, these aren’t just tiny groups of people. These are entire fanbases who have a cult-like, mob mentality about something as trivial as Pokemon relationships. These are the stans that need to take a step back, go outside, and touch some grass.
Enjoy the worst of the worst!
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Zach Nading
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glorious runtime paced
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Jesus Christ Meme: Nice Try, But Not Nice Enough
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Even Jesus is sick of freeloaders. Want to get better and improve your health? Healthcare is about consumer choice. Get a job and enroll in a market-based plan.
The post Jesus Christ Meme: Nice Try, But Not Nice Enough first appeared on Crazy Funny Pictures.
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liver
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