America - The Official Thread

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Oh ha ha ha, it's 1954 and Joe McCarthy is rolling around an armchair spilling whiskey everywhere with drool oozing from his mouth screaming "Communists! Communists!" how hilarious.

Oh.

Hang on.

It's 2024 and you're just showing everyone what a low intelligence asshole you are with your xenophobia and baseless accusations.
 
sturk0167
I went to the grocery store today, and the cashier had a rainbow button on her vest that said "He/They".
Regardless of her personal inclinations, why express that to people who don't even know you?
What's the point? I don't understand the motivation to thrust that out there to strangers. :confused:
I'm pretty sure it was a chick.
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Why are you that bothered by it?
 
Is it just me or has squatting become one of the most pressing issues of our time? The governors of Texas and Florida seem to think so. And the right wing media seems pretty keen to make squatting into the next panic for their dread-kink readers. I'm curious to see how they spin it as some kind of woke invention, considering it predates our foundation by a over a century.
 
Don't we already have trespassing laws? Seems like a weird thing to hone in on since it's already illegal. But I guess if you can't do anything beneficial to your state, you might as well make something up.
 
Eunos_Cosmo
Is it just me or has squatting become one of the most pressing issues of our time? The governors of Texas and Florida seem to think so. And the right wing media seems pretty keen to make squatting into the next panic for their dread-kink readers. I'm curious to see how they spin it as some kind of woke invention, considering it predates our foundation by a over a century.
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This week right-wing loons in the UK managed to create a woke-scare out of the recipe for baked goods (scones to be exact), now despite the recipe having been the same for years they are suddenly woke.

I quote:

“There’s far too much wokery going on at the National Trust, this is just the latest example.” - Bill Cash - loony Tory MP

As such they will not little details like how long squatting existed get in the way of a good woke moral panic.
 
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I think Republicans in Texas want to show Biden up because he won't make murdering squatters legal across the United States. Trump and Abbott will of course promise their MAGA hordes that he'll declare open season on them with a double point bonus if they're illegal aliens by enabling an interpretation of the castle doctrine which appears loose at best.
www.newsweek.com

Texas homeowners warned about using force against squatters

Legal experts warn that Texas homeowners cannot justify using force against squatters under the state's castle doctrine unless certain conditions are met.
www.newsweek.com www.newsweek.com

In reality Joe's position seems to be that this is a job for LEOs acting on behalf of the state. After all, the GOP seems to support states' autonomy when it comes to things they believe in, like reproductive rights.

From what I can tell MAGAs feel they're entitled to federal assistance in shooting brown people coming across the border because they feel they're acting on behalf of the nation rather than their own homicidal xenophobia.
 
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Just to add: there's no evidence that this is an epidemic despite right wing media's insistence on presenting it as one.
popular.info

Inside the squatting hysteria

On March 17, a provocateur named Leonel Moreno posted a video on TikTok where he purports to give instructions on how people can successfully "squat" in other people's houses. It was one of many videos he made about how to exploit American law. Moreno, an undocumented immigrant who describes...
popular.info popular.info
 
Even if squatting is becoming an epidemic you've got to ask the question why.

Maybe if they did something about the fact that 'normal' young families are strugging to be able to afford their own houses - whether that's renting or owning - there wouldn't be a problem with a) a bunch of empty houses sat ripe for squatting, and b) people unable to afford housing because wages on the whole are low and the cost of living is high and too many companies and/or landlords have been scooping up houses to rent because they're the only ones who can afford them.
 
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TheCracker
Even if squatting is becoming an epidemic you've got to ask the question why.

Maybe if they did something about the fact that 'normal' young families are strugging to be able to afford their own houses - whether that's renting or owning - there wouldn't be a problem with a) a bunch of empty houses sat ripe for squatting, and b) people unable to afford housing because wages on the whole are low and the cost of living is high and too many companies and/or landlords have been scooping up houses to rent because they're the only ones who can afford them.
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This. It would be nice if a right wing pundit points out the relationship between the housing affordability crisis and an increase in squatting.

They won’t, because helping the poor is far too woke. They’ll say it’s Biden’s fault and push for laws that allow you to shoot a squatter with no repercussions… while living in a house they bought for 20 quid 50 years ago.
 
Hayden
This. It would be nice if a right wing pundit points out the relationship between the housing affordability crisis and an increase in squatting.

They won’t, because helping the poor is far too woke. They’ll say it’s Biden’s fault and push for laws that allow you to shoot a squatter with no repercussions… while living in a house they bought for 20 quid 50 years ago.
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I somehow think I am doing decently (6 figure salary) but I am massively uneasy about being able to afford a house in the NYC area.
 
GBO Possum
The government of Arkansas has decided to full-on panic over, wait for it, the solar eclipse 🤦

news.yahoo.com

Gov. Sanders declares state of emergency ahead of eclipse

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency on Friday ahead of the solar eclipse, according to a news release.
news.yahoo.com news.yahoo.com
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This is not due to moral panic from the temporary wrath of darkness in our skies, but mere crowd and traffic control. It's under the banner of commercial carriers (trucks) and there's a good deal of traffic corridors from Memphis (FedEx's massive cargo hub, for one) and quite a bit of everything headed west has to go through Arkansas. Even if it did take detours north or south, it's going to wind up the path of totality somehow.

Due to a significant amount of the state getting swamped with traffic and visitors - or at least those coming from elsewhere in the state - there's the potential for accidents and breakdowns. So there's a real need for public safety due to traffic jams, after noticing what occurred in the hours after the 2017 eclipse. The narrow bands of roads in the path of totality get clogged pretty quickly in the hours right after the eclipse. There are going to be a few accidents and vehicle mishaps and those are going to swamp a bunch of two-lane roads.
 
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Pupik
This is not due to moral panic from the temporary wrath of darkness in our skies, but mere crowd and traffic control. It's under the banner of commercial carriers (trucks) and there's a good deal of traffic corridors from Memphis (FedEx's massive cargo hub, for one) and quite a bit of everything headed west has to go through Arkansas. Even if it did take detours north or south, it's going to wind up the path of totality somehow.

Due to a significant amount of the state getting swamped with traffic and visitors - or at least those coming from elsewhere in the state - there's the potential for accidents and breakdowns. So there's a real need for public safety due to traffic jams, after noticing what occurred in the hours after the 2017 eclipse. The narrow bands of roads in the path of totality get clogged pretty quickly in the hours right after the eclipse. There are going to be a few accidents and vehicle mishaps and those are going to swamp a bunch of two-lane roads.
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I agree. It's due to people being idiotic and disrespectful. At the same time, it is humorous.
 
Pupik
This is not due to moral panic from the temporary wrath of darkness in our skies, but mere crowd and traffic control. It's under the banner of commercial carriers (trucks) and there's a good deal of traffic corridors from Memphis (FedEx's massive cargo hub, for one) and quite a bit of everything headed west has to go through Arkansas. Even if it did take detours north or south, it's going to wind up the path of totality somehow.

Due to a significant amount of the state getting swamped with traffic and visitors - or at least those coming from elsewhere in the state - there's the potential for accidents and breakdowns. So there's a real need for public safety due to traffic jams, after noticing what occurred in the hours after the 2017 eclipse. The narrow bands of roads in the path of totality get clogged pretty quickly in the hours right after the eclipse. There are going to be a few accidents and vehicle mishaps and those are going to swamp a bunch of two-lane roads.
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Also to keep in mind is that solar eclipses can affect radio, GPS and satellite signals, but many people aren't really aware of that and it can cause quite a bit of havoc if the wrong types misunderstand what's happening when their cellphone starts suddenly acting a bit screwy or their Google Maps quits working for a few minutes. Knowing how permanently tethered much of the population are to their phones these days, it's a very real concern that needs to be addressed ahead of time.
 
My father decided to purchase eclipse glasses (5 for $15) and for some reason Amazon was giving an option for delivery on Tuesday (vs. on Sunday, which would cost the same). I will be spending the time of the eclipse in the office and facing the wrong direction as the window next to my desk looks south. I probably will be too focused on an assignment to look up at the sky.
 
Pupik
This is not due to moral panic from the temporary wrath of darkness in our skies, but mere crowd and traffic control. It's under the banner of commercial carriers (trucks) and there's a good deal of traffic corridors from Memphis (FedEx's massive cargo hub, for one) and quite a bit of everything headed west has to go through Arkansas. Even if it did take detours north or south, it's going to wind up the path of totality somehow.

Due to a significant amount of the state getting swamped with traffic and visitors - or at least those coming from elsewhere in the state - there's the potential for accidents and breakdowns. So there's a real need for public safety due to traffic jams, after noticing what occurred in the hours after the 2017 eclipse. The narrow bands of roads in the path of totality get clogged pretty quickly in the hours right after the eclipse. There are going to be a few accidents and vehicle mishaps and those are going to swamp a bunch of two-lane roads.
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Isn't a SoE for... like... emergencies? Like disasters and mass casualty events (or potential mass casualty events), in order to keep public order and allow emergency services the ability to access the site/s by force if necessary...

... rather than there being a few cars out on the road to see the thing so there might be more crashes? She's basically called an SoE for the Superbowl.
 
Famine
Isn't a SoE for... like... emergencies? Like disasters and mass casualty events (or potential mass casualty events), in order to keep public order and allow emergency services the ability to access the site/s by force if necessary...

... rather than there being a few cars out on the road to see the thing so there might be more crashes? She's basically called an SoE for the Superbowl.
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State officials tend to have a pretty broad leeway when declaring such things. This is basically a move to authorize the release of reserved funds to pay overtime for state troopers to keep the roadways clear.

And given how everyone is rattled about supply chain disruptions given that we just had one in the form of a bridge collapse, I can get why they're pulling the trigger on this so quickly. It'd be a bad look to have trucks lined up on the freeway not moving all day.
 
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Blitz24
My father decided to purchase eclipse glasses (5 for $15) and for some reason Amazon was giving an option for delivery on Tuesday (vs. on Sunday, which would cost the same). I will be spending the time of the eclipse in the office and facing the wrong direction as the window next to my desk looks south. I probably will be too focused on an assignment to look up at the sky.
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I think you'll notice the light getting weird wherever you are from what I remember. It's not like a sunset but more like someone turning a dimmer down as everything goes darker at once.
 
UKMikey
I think you'll notice the light getting weird wherever you are from what I remember. It's not like a sunset but more like someone turning a dimmer down as everything goes darker at once.
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This also assumes I will pay attention. I THINK I have a meeting at that time.
 
Blitz24
This also assumes I will pay attention. I THINK I have a meeting at that time.
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Unless you're in a windowless room you'd have to have your eyes closed the whole time to miss it. I bet someone else mentions it during the meeting.
GBO Possum
I thought that tomorrow's Rapture was going to do this for them? 🤔
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If it happens for real, we will be the ones in rapture.
 
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UKMikey
I think you'll notice the light getting weird wherever you are from what I remember. It's not like a sunset but more like someone turning a dimmer down as everything goes darker at once.
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From what I remember it's like you're looking at everything through lightly tinted sunglasses. I don't remember any kind of disruptions around here during the last ones. Certainly nothing worthy of a state of emergency declaration.
 
Jezza819
From what I remember it's like you're looking at everything through lightly tinted sunglasses. I don't remember any kind of disruptions around here during the last ones. Certainly nothing worthy of a state of emergency declaration.
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Last year it wouldn't have been. But with this being an election year and everyone out for blood, no one wants to take chances on letting even the potential for a big issue come up. If nothing happens, they can spin it as their superior crisis management skills that kept it from happening even if that's not the case. And really, $100k out of a use-it-or-lose-it fund is couch change to your average politician.
 

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