US Politics Mega-thread - Page 567

On August 01 2018 21:58 Sermokala wrote:
France wasn't really a superpower in an age of so many other powers that surpassed them. Nothing about france was really exceptional and it was still recovering from a large section of its nation being reduced to wasteland.

I can see people surprised but another nation falling shouldn't have shocked anyone.

FDR stayed in office beacuse of ww2 not some quasi socialist policy that republicans can now take credit for beacuse they switched sides.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Days after wildfires left a deadly swath of destruction in Northern California rural counties, new blazes exploded into life and threatened more homes in what has become an endless summer of flame in the Golden State.

North of San Francisco, a fire threatened homes in an old ranching and farming area near Covelo. About 60 homes were ordered evacuated as the blaze erupted late Tuesday and winds whipped flames through brush, grass, oak, pine and fir near Mendocino National Forest, Mendocino County Undersheriff Matthew Kendall said.

“We’re advised that the fire was threatening structures,” he said.

The area was only about 40 miles north of where twin fires in Mendocino and Lake counties have burned an area nearly three times the size of San Francisco, destroyed seven homes and threatened 12,000 more.

The Lake County seat of Lakeport remained under evacuation orders and was a virtual ghost town, although people were allowed back home in several smaller communities as firefighters shored up containment lines. Despite progress, the fires were only 12 percent contained.

Jessyca Lytle fled a fast-moving wildfire in 2015 that spared her property but destroyed her mother’s memorabilia-filled Lake County home.

Lytle found herself listening to scanner traffic Tuesday and fire-proofing her mother’s new home as another wildfire advanced.

“Honestly, what I’m thinking right now is I just want this to end,” Lytle said, adding that she was “exhausted in every way possible — physically, emotionally, all of that.”

Paul Lew and his two boys, ages 13 and 16, evacuated Saturday from their Lakeport home.

“I told them to throw everything they care about in the back of the car,” said Lew, 45. “I grabbed computers, cellphones, papers. I just started bagging all my paperwork up, clothes, my guitars.”

Lew, who is divorced from Lytle, is camped out at the house in the nearby community of Cobb that she fled in 2015. He is watching over her chickens, sheep and other animals. With a laugh, he said repeated fire alerts have made him an emergency preparation expert.

“It’s like three a year,” he said. “It’s kind of crazy.”

To the east, another blaze Tuesday night raged through grassy cattle lands near Yuba City, covering more than 1 1/2 square miles in a few hours.

The area is mainly a ranching area of barns and other buildings and no evacuations were ordered, said Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The new fires erupted without warning and spread with shocking speed through forest and brush that have literally become tinder.

“It just goes on and on,” McLean said.

“We had this rain at the beginning of the year and all that did was promote the growing of grass and brush,” McLean said. “It’s a Catch 22. It’s growing more product to catch on fire.

“We’ve never really been out of the drought,” McLean added. “We need several years of significant rainfall ... to bring California back.”

He also had a warning for people visiting rural and wilderness areas.

“Pay attention,” he said. “Don’t park the car on dry grass ... no campfires, no flame. It doesn’t take anything to start a fire right now.”

Elsewhere, the Carr Fire had burned 965 homes and killed six people in and around Redding. Another 413 outbuildings were also destroyed, and the blaze is now the seventh most destructive wildfire in California history, fire officials said.

The fire had burned more than 176 square miles (457 square kilometers) and was 30 percent contained.

A relative identified one of the victims as Daniel Bush, 62.

Bush had returned to his mobile home in the community of Keswick last Tuesday after undergoing quadruple heart bypass surgery but he was unable to drive and would have needed help to evacuate when the fire came through the neighborhood on Thursday, his sister, Kathi Gaston, told the Redding Record Searchlight.

Gaston said her brother had wanted to stay in his own home but he had spotty cell service and with the power out, he might not have gotten word of the fire.

Gaston said she couldn’t get to her brother’s house because, with the fire approaching, sheriff’s deputies had blocked the roads and then she herself had to evacuate.

“If we’d been able to go in when we wanted to, he’d be alive right now,” she said. “I’m very upset about it.”

National Park officials said Tuesday the scenic Yosemite Valley and other areas will be closed at least through Sunday due to heavy smoke from the so-called Ferguson Fire. The closure began July 25.

It was the longest closure at Yosemite since 1997 when floods closed the park for over two months.

On August 02 2018 00:34 Plansix wrote:
The more I read about the 3D printed gun non-sense out the Trump administration, the dumber it gets. It is already illegal to own a plastic fire arm. And the dude’s company sells a milling machine that comes pre-loaded with the software necessary to make an illegal fire arm.

On August 02 2018 02:23 ticklishmusic wrote:


Trump says he spoke to the NRA, which apparently doesn't like the idea of 3D guns. Sounds like the gun industry doesn't like the idea of people being able to make their own guns instead of buying them.

On August 02 2018 02:58 Plansix wrote:
It think it is both. They are separate issues, but all connected through similar actors.

Defense Distributed and some other folks have been trying to make it easy to make guns using CNC milling and 3D printing. They claim that they are only providing the software for educational purposes and can't control what the end user does with it. But their intent is pretty clear, avoid regulations and the laws governing gun manufacturing. It says a lot that their CNC mills come with the software to create the parts for the guns pre-installed.

Also there is the public safety concern that they are mass producing zip guns that are not tested. Even if they are not used for crime, they could still hurt the user or people around them. Its all really dumb.

On August 02 2018 03:41 basedFinn wrote:
Pew research center has an estimate of 2.4 million illegal immigrants in California. That makes up 6.3 percent of the state's total population.

Total foreign born residents in California is around 10 million and non citizen around 5 million, according to a lawsuit filed by California attorney general. The lawsuit states you cannot ask citizenship on a census. If this question is asked, California could lose up to 10 electoral college votes.

Just curious what you all think about foreign born (stated as green card holders) and non citizens (illegally immigrated), accounting for 10 electoral college votes in California.

I personally do not think green card holders and illegal immigrants should count towards the electoral college, but should still be counted in a census, so it makes sense that this question would be asked.

On August 02 2018 03:41 basedFinn wrote:
Pew research center has an estimate of 2.4 million illegal immigrants in California. That makes up 6.3 percent of the state's total population.

Total foreign born residents in California is around 10 million and non citizen around 5 million, according to a lawsuit filed by California attorney general. The lawsuit states you cannot ask citizenship on a census. If this question is asked, California could lose up to 10 electoral college votes.

Just curious what you all think about foreign born (stated as green card holders) and non citizens (illegally immigrated), accounting for 10 electoral college votes in California.

I personally do not think green card holders and illegal immigrants should count towards the electoral college, but should still be counted in a census, so it makes sense that this question would be asked.

On August 02 2018 03:49 Sermokala wrote:
Yeah but the issue isnt electoral college votes its money. If they ask for citizenship then illegals won't respond and cali will get less federal money. Same for texas but what can ya do.

On August 02 2018 03:54 zlefin wrote:

If people wanna change the electoral college to only count citizens, I wouldn't have a great deal of objection. really we should just scrap the entire electoral college though, just have a national popular vote for the presidency. the electoral college doesn't serve much of a purpose atm, and not a good one at any rate.
but I'd say the census should still avoid asking questions that would cause people to not respond. it's really helpful to know how many people actually live in an area.

On August 02 2018 04:10 Plansix wrote:
California has the largest state economy in the country. It is larger than most nations. They have no problem covering their bills and are likely in the black when it comes to paying out to the federal government vs federal aid. Now rural, Middle America, that is a place that is taking more than it is contributing.

On August 02 2018 04:18 basedFinn wrote:


interesting fact, the electoral college has had 700 attempts to change it. None have worked.

In order to change it, I feel the nation would have to change it's approach from being a republic, to being a democracy, that stretches the entire country. This would more reflect what you are talking about. I like the approach of the electoral college, it allows for state's to have entirely different views on a national election, and still have an influence. I'm not so concerned with population, but with the opinions held within each state. We have extremely liberal states, and extremely conservative states, and everything in between. I believe it is our strength as a nation, and the reason why we have been the world super power for so long.

On August 02 2018 04:41 basedFinn wrote:


https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3531/2

California does receives below average federal money. something like They also receive below average federal money in comparison to taxes paid. You are correct, they are "in the black"

What do you mean by Middle America?

Here are the States that receive the most federal money, in order.
Virginia, Maryland, Alaska, Hawaii, Connecticut, Alabama, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maine, Rhode Island.


Here are the States the receive the least federal money, in order.
Utah, Wisconsin, Nevada, Texas, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, Minnesota

California is number 11.