I think sentiment is changing. Recently I’m noticing more US mainstream media using language like
Since Israel launched its devastating retaliation for the Hamas-led attack just over a year ago
It’s a small thing, it’s better than the softer language they would normally use. But, damn, it’s not enough.
This isn’t exactly what the previous comment was talking about, but it’s similar. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/14/alabama-immigration-law-workers and there’s something similar going on Florida too https://www.npr.org/2024/04/26/1242236604/florida-economy-immigration-businesses-workers-undocumented
These are my go-to articles anytime the subject of undocumented workers comes up. Personally, I think we would go back to the old model. If I remember correctly, the 1930s was when immigration started to be severely restricted; but, before that, temporary workers would come up for a season of employment and then go back home. All of it was done legally. It wasn’t until immigration restrictions were enacted that there was an incentive to stay and move their families into the US.
This is exactly what I’ve been thinking lately. And on top of already existing laws, make new ones that criminalize currently normal things. Hell, the South enacted new laws after slavery ended and only applied them against Black Americans. Why stop there, why not increase penalties for certain crimes from misdemeanors to felonies and make 3 felony convictions mean a life sentence?
The only part I disagree with is the for profit prisons part. 8% of prisoners are in private prisons which is 8% too many, but 92% are in publicly funded and operated prisons. And those publicly operated prisons sell the services of their trapped slave labor for so many more things than stamping license plates or road work. Not only do they fight fires and clean up after natural disasters, they also make kit (armor, helmets) for the armed forces, they pick crops, they manufacture white goods (washing machines, refrigerators)(I can’t find a link specifically mentioning appliances and I’ll update this it I find one), and so much more. Shoot, some cities’ budgets would be blown up if not for the availability of publicly held prison slaves.
I really miss the Voter Handbook with all the information I could need about laws or propositions, the candidates in the ballot, where and how to register, and I think where to vote.
The full text of laws and props are present along with calculated 10 year cost, and a statement from proponents and a rebuttal to that statement from opponents, and a statement from opponents accompanied by proponents’ rebuttal. For candidates, they submit statements which are usually a brief biography and things they say they support and oppose, why they’re running, and whatever else they think is important. There’s a sample ballot showing exactly what you’ll see on election day. It tells you how to register and where to go, about provisional ballots, mail-in ballots. It was such a fantastic resource.
Here in Texas, it isn’t easy finding information about the candidates besides their names and party. For any laws, good luck finding anything except for the name the dang thing. The plain text will be buried in a messy state website with nothing else presented. It’s like they don’t want us to know a damn thing about who or what we’re voting for.
That was- I cannot convey just how insane that was using spoken language. I think I’d need to smash a watermelon, aim a sandblaster filled with crushed seashells and desiccated termites at it, start blasting and let my intuition do its thing until something resembling art was produced. Possibly while doing interpretive dance and making primal guttural grunting noises. That would get me pretty darn close to properly communicate my thoughts on what I saw. Thank you.
I do wonder, though, what they’d do when
crops are left rotting in fields and houses and buildings aren’t rebuilt after disasters because all undocumented immigrants have been reported;
after LGBT+ folks hide themselves and “fit in” for safety like it’s the 1950s;
when there are masses of unemployed young people born after abortion and contraception are outlawed living in a nation unequipped to handle them;
after the education and environmental protection systems cease to exist and the country falls behind in every metric of a developed nation from an absence of knowledge pools and poison in everything.
What will they do after creating an environment that fosters stability, innovation, and a thriving society like we saw in the mid-2010’s Middle East. It sure sounds like a great and prosperous future, doesn’t it. Right?..
Here’s a list of states that have effectively banned adult films websites by requiring sites to verify a user’s age:
The states are:
While the specifics vary between states, in general the new laws mean users are required to provide a pornographic website with a copy of their ID to obtain access or by sending it to a third party.
Project 2025 and “adult conent”
“Pornography, manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology … is as addictive as any illicit drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime. Pornography should be outlawed. The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders. And telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shuttered.”
What does this mean? Well it seems to mean that the far right want to define a book that features a same-sex couple as illegal pornography and throw the author of the book and any distributors of the book in prison. It seems to mean that a book talking about sexual violence could be classified as porn and banned. It seems to mean that talking about the existence of trans people would be “porn” and criminalized. In short: anything that goes against normative gender roles and hierarchies, or interrogates those hierarchies, could be considered obscene and criminalized.
These are the kinds of laws they have in theocracies. These were the kinds of laws they had in the Soviet Union. This is where they want to take us. And that is where we will go if we let them.
There’s a neat post I came across some time ago showing how few votes can still win the electoral college.
Turns out, though unlikely, it is possible to win the election with less than 25% of votes through the magic of the electoral college and disproportionate representation.
Especially since it’s legal in California. Like, c’mon guys, what the hell are y’all doin’?! What’s Michael Jordan saying “Just stop it” when you need him.
Right?! And we can’t be sure he even smelled the weed he claimed to smell. The other things could be verified by being photographed or requesting documents. But the marijuana smell, the thing that probably made the warrant approvable at all, can never be verified. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made it up; hell, they do it during traffic stops so why not for a search warrant.
Another article said it was the office’s high power consumption and the SMELL of marijuana… in a state where marijuana is legal. And the ‘AC was too loud.’ And two people dressed similarly because I guess scrubs, uniforms, or a dress code are suspicious as hell. And security cameras. Like, holy goddamn shit guys. The officers, especially the team’s leader who requested the warrant and the judge who signed it, should be reprimanded for sheer incompetence.
If this is all it takes for a raid, my favorite cheap Chinese food spot should be raided, too. Hell, they get a ton of customers coming and going so they’re probably dealing, too!
According to the lawsuit, the raid of Noho Diagnostic Center stemmed from an LAPD officer’s application for a search warrant.
The officer said there had been a noise complaint about the medical center’s air conditioning units, and cannabis was possibly being cultivated inside, the complaint says.
He repeatedly surveilled the property in 2023 and reported the “distinct odor of live cannabis plant and not the odor of dried cannabis being smoked” — as well as tinted windows, security cameras and two people dressed similarly, according to the complaint.
The officer believed these were signs of a hidden marijuana growing operation, and efforts to expand it, the complaint says.
He also found that the medical center wasn’t licensed to grow cannabis and, because of this discovery, determined the facility was violating California’s health and safety code, according to the complaint.
The officer considered his observations as “probable cause for cannabis cultivation,” and a search warrant was issued, the complaint says.
I don’t have Facebook but I did come across this
Which is so messed up.
Also, related to that deputy
She also alleged that a male relative of Fields, who he introduced to her, also coerced her to have sex with him because he “had pull with the court.” She said that she talked to Fields on Facebook Messenger, but the other man never sent her any messages. He wasn’t charged because she had no proof.
Adkins said she believes that man is still doing to same thing to other women because she went to court for a hearing on a charge of driving under the influence and saw him sitting in the gallery whispering to another female defendant with his arm around her.
I don’t know what the hell is going on out there, but holy crap they have a lot of problems they need to address.
They can request and may be assigned an individual tax ID number (ITIN). Having an ITIN may allow them to open a bank account. It also makes it so they pay taxes which a surprising number want to do. Since they want to stay in the country, having a long history of paying taxes is a way to show you don’t want to cause trouble and you just want to work. Hell, a lot of them probably know they got Al Capone on tax evasion and don’t want to end up like him. Here’s a report I just Googled, and possibly the source of the number which is an estimate.
On the other side is how much tax funding is used on them. Here’s a report from the House of Representatives which states they use more in services (Medicare, WIC, sending kids to school, etc) than they pay. I can’t speak to how accurate the report is considering the makeup and views publicly expressed by members of the committee. I’m personally leaning towards ‘they don’t, and can’t, use as more than they contribute’ because they’re not eligible for many benefits.
That’s a great question! We didn’t really need sunscreen in prehistoric time because we adapted to the environments that we lived in and we didn’t migrate to new environments as quickly as we could in later times. Those adaptations are getting more tan more easily and growing thicker skin. We can still see this now in people who don’t use sunscreen and their skin looks tougher and more leathery. Also, there were some ancient sunscreens ranging from simple mud to pastes made from ground plants.
I’ve noticed a small change in how news media has recently been reporting information provided by Palestine: they’re not using ‘according to Hamas run (agency)’ as often. It’s a small but significant change that, I think, indicates more people are no longer buying that Israel has the “most moral army.”
I haven’t seen any reporting confirming that she’s got XY chromosomes. But if you have an article, please correct me if I’m wrong. What I’ve been able to find is this:
Banned governing body that’s fueling outcry on Olympic boxers has Russian ties and troubled history
Summary-
The disqualification was done in a tournament run by an organization banned by the Olympics.
She participated in tournaments run by this organization with no issues for the last several years.
The organization hasn’t said why she was disqualified.
The man spouting the ‘trans woman’ claims is the leader of the organization. He’s a friend of Putin and described as a drug trafficker.
Her disqualification happened after she beat the previously undefeated Russian boxer Amineva 3 days post fight.
There’s more in the article, but these are the quick bullet points I came up with.
This is the latest in a 14 part investigation that started in May 2024 and just wow. The story gets more insane and unhinged with each part that’s released.
Right! It took me all of 10s of seconds searching and a few minutes of reading to find that this was all BS coming out of Putin’s friend who runs the boxing organization which was banned by the IOC for shady dealings; and the disqualification for one boxer happened days after she beat a Russian boxer who was undefeated until that fight; and no one has come out to say exactly why both were disqualified.
This is their plan. They’re doing it right now. I can’t imagine how folks will deny this, I guess they’ll move onto justify.