patrick.net

richwicks says

The US didn't benefit from the war in Iraq

Yeah, that war (and Afghanistan war) account for at least $3 trillion to the +$30 trillion debt

.

ad says

richwicks says

The US didn't benefit from the war in Iraq

Yeah, that war (and Afghanistan war) account for at least $3 trillion to the +$30 trillion debt

I have no idea what it actually cost. I know my government constantly lies.

I also don't believe either war served the interest of the United States. I don't think any war since AT LEAST 1945 has served the national interest and I seriously have reservations about that. War is wasteful and non-productive. It's something for primitives to engage in, not the United States.

We have primitives running our foreign policy. Primitives or a 5th column, or outright traitors. Doesn't mater, results are the same.

Patrick says

If I move to Texas ever, and I'm asked where I'm from I will first apologize that I'm a Damn Yankee, explain I understand that the civil war was about taxation, and then correct myself saying "it wasn't a civil war, it was the war of Northern aggression", because not only is that all true, it will keep a bullet out of my head.

The South was totally in the right. It wasn't about slavery at all.

richwicks says

If I move to Texas ever, and I'm asked where I'm from I will first apologize

WTF? That's a seriously cucked-out mindset. Why the fuck should somebody apologize for moving from one state to another?

People are leaving communist states almost as fast as illegals are crossing the border:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/one-biggest-mass-migrations-american-113000683.html?guccounter=1

Eric Holder says

richwicks says

If I move to Texas ever, and I'm asked where I'm from I will first apologize

WTF? That's a seriously cucked-out mindset. Why the fuck should somebody apologize for moving from one state to another?

I am in Silicon Valley. WE FUCKED UP if you haven't realized.

All this bullshit is possible because we made is possible. We first made search engines that gave you the ability to talk to learn anything and we got people to make webpages, and you could talk to anybody on the planet. We had IMs that were originally private that allowed you to talk privately to anybody on the planet, and email and so on. If you wanted to know what was ACTUALLY going on in Ukraine or Servia or whatever, you could. It was possible.

Then Facebook was made, Google was taken over by the intelligence agencies. Google won't return results for MOST pages now, Facebook censors WHO you can talk to and where, it segregates you. Twitter is no different. There aren't many personal websites left. People are restricted to who they can reach and what they can say.

You don't grasp the enormity of what has been done. You are tracked constantly. Everything you type into Google is stored by Google forever. Every site you click on is recorded that you clicked it. It's HIGHLY likely that everything you say on a phone is permanently recorded, and why do I say this? Because it's trivial to do. Every single word you say through your ENTIRE lifetime will fit on a $10 SD Card in text. You can record 2000 hours of audio on such a card, so if you talked 8 hours a day for 50 weeks, it all can easily be recorded.

Edward Snowden has exposed this, but you don't believe him. It's not just the NSA doing this, it's the CIA and the FIB as well.

We have handed the technology needed to make 1984 a reality, and dumb people don't know it. They have an Alexa, do you know an Alexa records EVERYTHING you say in front of it? What's a pet you'd NEVER get? Start talking about this pet you'll never have in front of the Alexa, and see how long it takes before you get ads, but it's not just used for ads of course. Google purchased NEST which is just a thermostat for 2 BILLION dollars. Did you know Google put microphones into the devices?

You have no idea.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a26448907/google-nest-hidden-microphone/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amazon-s-alexa-may-have-witnessed-alleged-florida-murder-authorities-n1075621

This technology can be used for the public good, but it's not. Imagine if after a robbery at a liquor store, the faces of the assailants were posted online within the area? This is easy to do, why isn't it done? Same with Ring, with a murder for example or an assault. Instead, at best, we get a random video of such an attack, location not named, timestamp not available, useless in tracking down the criminal.

Why do you think this is?

We have Google, Facebook, and Twitter ACTIVELY protecting criminals. There were pedophile rings actively on Twitter. Any arrests? Were the people that allowed this to happen, were THEY held accountable? It's easy to do.

We made the bad assumption that if we could expose criminality, the public would care. We had NO FUCKING IDEA nobody would care. So, Hunter Biden is selling access to the presidency by selling this "art":



The public has all this enormous power, and what do they do with it? Nothing, they allow evil people to allow it to control them. We didn't know 90% of the population are cattle, subhuman.

Just consider, over the last 2 years, people have taken an injection for a disease which had a 99.9% survival rate (across the ENTIRE population, from 0 to 100) and this shot is without doubt causing heart attacks, neurological disorders, maybe even cancer - you name it. What does Silicon Valley do? Cover it up. Blame climate change for the deaths.

They should have overthrown this fucking government 10 years ago, but they will never do anything, ever. So despite knowing that a group of criminal syndicates really do run this nation, that people have been poisoned by them, all they do is sleep and wait, and do nothing. The people living today are the last people to have experienced any freedom. Maybe these "people" around me deserve what they get. We attempted to sound the alarm, we did, and the public just ignores it while a very small minority takes advantage of it.

richwicks says

If I move to Texas ever, and I'm asked where I'm from I will first apologize that I'm a Damn Yankee, explain I understand that the civil war was about taxation, and then correct myself saying "it wasn't a civil war, it was the war of Northern aggression", because not only is that all true, it will keep a bullet out of my head.

The South was totally in the right. It wasn't about slavery at all.

Maybe just promptly change your plates and drivers license.

https://transcriberb.dreamwidth.org/132392.html

Judea Johnson, Mother, Chef, and Nutritionist Talks to Shades of Beige (Micropixie, Sane Francisco)
posted September 27, 2022 [filmed in 2021]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6V95H676X4

TEXT: In 2020, many medical freedom communities formed worldwide in response to increasingly nonsensical measures enforced in the name of "public health"
Shades of BEIGE

TEXT: I met Judea at a Bay Area community gathering. A mother, a chef, and a nutritionist, she is the first person I interviewed for this series.
Shades of BEIGE

TEXT: (At the time of publishing, this interview is over a year old. In my opinion, however, much of what is said not only still holds, but is also becoming more relevant by the day.)
Shades of BEIGE

0:26
JUDEA JOHNSON: My name is Judea Johnson. I've lived in the Bay Area for 14 years.

TEXT: What is your take on the pandemic?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: I think the pandemic is kind of an orchestrated, exaggerated flu. I think there is an illness out there. It looks very much now with a year and a half's worth of data that it's on par with a flu, maybe a bad seasonal clue. Seems to really be devastating for the elderly or people with many pre-existing conditions, seems to really spare kids and young people, so I think that the response especially is overblown and an excuse to kind of come in with a lot of authoritarian and tyrannical orders.

TEXT: Who, in your opinion, is orchestrating it?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: I think it's, you know, kind of a globalist agenda, the elites which I don't even like to call them that but, you know, a lot of very wealthy, powerful people. It seems like they're looking to reinvent capitalism and, and swoop in with kind of this next stage of capitalism because a lot of the resources they've gotten rich on are running out. And looks like, like we the humans are the next target, we're the next capital.

TEXT: How were you affected by the events of 2020?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: I was affected by the events of 2020 in numerous ways. I think most profoundly my daughter who was 14 I guess at the very beginning and quickly turned 15, she was finishing her freshman year of high school, she's just had a really devastating year. The closure of schools has impacted not only her grades and her kind of future prospects, but her mental health in a big way. She's never had any of these kind of issues with depression and, you know, just deep kind of apathy that we've seen come out in her. She really thrives on her peers and structure in a school setting and that was ripped away from her, in addition to any extracurricular activities, hanging out, wow, what have you.

She got straight A's her first semester in high school and proceeded to, you know, just do pretty, you know, average or subpar for what she's capable of this year, so I think that's a real big indication that, of how hard this has been on her.

And then just kind of a little on a lighter level, I am a big traveler, I love to travel, I love to experience other cultures in the world, and that all came to a screeching halt last summer 2020. I was supposed to go to Portugal and Morocco, couldn't do that, and haven't left the country since all of this went down.

TEXT: Did you change your behaviour and lifestyle during this time?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: I haven't changed much in terms of my behavior or lifestyle because of the pandemic. I've never been afraid of getting sick. I trust that I'm strong with a strong immune system, and the same for my husband and kids. We focus a lot on really good nutrition, nutrient dense food, good supplements, so no, in terms of changing behavior to try to avoid a virus, no, I have not worn a mask when not necessary, I've continued to gather with and hug friends and even meet lots of great new people over the last year. So no major behavioral or lifestyle changes, although, like I said, much less travel.

TEXT: Did you notice anything weird about people's behavior?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: Yeah, I thought a lot was weird. I thought, I thought the way everything kind of just came to a sudden screeching halt was bizarre, and how everyone just kind of accepted it without much evidence and proof. I'm a big why person so I, I always want to know, I want to see, okay, we're doing this, why? What's the reason?

I thought that the mask stuff that was instituted here in the Bay Area really early on was insane. And again, no data to back this up, and the only studies that were done prior to 2020 showed that masks are ineffective and can even increase respiratory viral infection and transmission. So the mask thing certainly, super weird. Super, yeah.

TEXT: Did you ever wear a mask?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: I've worn a mask. I don't think anyone here in the Bay Area has been able to get through you know 15, 16 months without wearing a mask occasionally. All of the grocery stores around me required a mask and early on, throughout the summer, I really tried to push back and, you know, get in without one and claim exemptions, and they didn't care. They didn't care if you have a medical exemption, they didn't care if you had a valid excuse. At a certain point they just would not let you in for food. So yeah I had to put a muzzle on to go get my groceries occasionally. And I have wanted to fly a handful of times over the last year and a half, that was a trade-off I was willing to take. I got the most breathable mask I could, but I figured the, the boost to my sanity and being able to get out of California a few times was was worth the, the mask.

TEXT: Did you get the Covid-19 Vaccine?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: I have not gotten the covid-19 vaccine and I never will get the covid 19 vaccine.

TEXT: Why won't you ever get the Covid-19 Vaccine?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: Well, first and foremost it's rushed and experimental. The trials are ongoing and aren't set to finish until 2022 or 23, depending on the manufacturer. And I also believe that the risk of this virus is fairly low, or quite low, in someone my age and with my health status and I don't think the risk benefit analysis makes any sense.

TEXT: Will your children ever get the Covid-19 Vaccine?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: Same for them. One is 18 now and so he's gonna start to have to make these decisions for himself, but I think we've laid a good foundation and we constantly talk about the risk versus the benefits, so hopefully he'll choose wisely.

TEXT: Before 2020, did you vaccinate your children?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: Before 2020 my children and, still to this day, have never received any vaccinations. It's because we believe in our body's ability to fight infection if it's healthy and give them the raw materials it needs to stay healthy and maintain a strong immune system.

Also, you know, I did research. I didn't just come to this willy-nilly. There's a lot of data that shows that most of the childhood infections that we vaccinate for started to disappear in society before the introduction of mass vaccination, and that was mostly due to good sanitation, proper sewage, refrigeration, and nutrition improved, so those things really sent those childhood infections like measles and mumps, rubella, polio is a kind of a longer story.

TEXT: Would you call yourself an anti-vaxxer?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: So I wouldn't call myself an anti-vaxxer, but I don't really mind the term. But I think I have a different feeling than a lot of people who have stopped vaccinating who have vaccine injured children. A lot of friends who have vaccinated and, and then harm came to their children, don't like that term I think, number one because they did vaccinate, they're not anti-vaxxers, they vaccinated and it caused harm to someone they love. I think it's used as a derogatory kind of insult to lump anyone who questions vaccines into kind of a quack, clueless, uneducated thoughts.

TEXT: Do you identify with any political party?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: I do not. I'm more left-leaning for sure, but the two main political parties in the United States do not represent me, do not speak for me, do not help me in any way so, no. ...

TEXT: What do you think of the labels given to people who think similarly to you?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: Well, I am someone who questions lockdowns, but I'm not a Q Anon, right-wing conspiracy theorist whatever label they try to throw at us. I would respond by saying, you know, look at me and look at my, my past and my life. I, I'm more of a left-leaning politically person. I'm certainly not white, and I don't think I'm a conspiracy theorist, either. I think I do a ton of research and my views are are based on that.

TEXT: Were you vocal on social media with your views?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: I was vocal about the pandemic immediately on FaceBook. In fact, you know, a few months ago I started getting those memories from a year ago and I was like, wow, yeah, I really started speaking out about this kind of from the beginning.

TEXT: What was the response like to such posts?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: There were a couple of times someone who was a nurse or a teacher might have chimed in and, you know, during the first few months I think there was a lot of unknowns so some of the people just questioned from that viewpoint. But generally, I know a lot of people tell me privately that they appreciate my posts and they feel they themselves can't speak as candidly, whether for professional reasons or they say their family will just jump on them. I've had pretty good reception and, you know, just try to get the information out that I can.

TEXT: Have you noticed a rift in your community?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: Yeah. I've noticed a rift in my community. I'm kind of more of a quality over quantity person, so I don't have a huge circle of friends that, you know, like, I've lost over this but certainly a couple of friends see this very differently than I do. I think we've still been able to maintain a friendship, mainly because it stays respectful, you know, they're not shouting at me to wear a mask or calling me a conspiracy theorist, at least to my face. And then family, you know, you just have to accept to a certain degree if you want them in your life.

But I'm really lucky that I mentioned I was fighting this vaccine bill here in California in 2019 [1] just before the pandemic hit and I have a lot of great friends I met kind of standing in solidarity with that fight that led me into this year with a great base of really awake people. And we've been so grateful for each other, we've gotten each other through a lot of craziness this last year.

TEXT: Tell me about the Superhero protest you participated in...
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: Sure. I attended a demonstration on June 4th down in Disneyland in Anaheim, California for the opening day of the Avengers campus at Disneyland. And the organization V is for Vaccine [2] organized this demonstration and we had about, I don't know, 25 to 30 of us dressed up as various Marvel comic book characters and we held signs educating the public about the covid-19 vaccines. Some of the signs said covid-19 vaccine manufacturers are exempt from liability. My, one, one side of my sign said, vaccine passports lead to modern day segregation.

[screenshots]

So we're just out there trying to educate people who might not not normally see this stuff about the dangers of the vaccine specifically and of the vaccine passports and certification programs they're trying to usher in. And, and the, the demonstrations, this is, there's been several other before, at Disney or Comic-Con, they're a great way to take activism off of social media and online, and get actually in person and in people's faces, so they can't ignore you.

TEXT: Recently you decided to leave California... why?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: I've decided to leave California at least temporarily because my daughter, who's 16 and going into her junior year of high school, will be kicked out, is not allowed into any school in California, public, private, or parochial because she has a medical exemption for vaccines and it has been revoked.

TEXT: Do you have concerns for the future?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: Yeah I have many concerns about the future. I, I mean, I'm, I'm concerned about just the next handful of years, I don't, I don't know that any of us know where this is going and what it will look like. And certainly as a mother with kids just sort of entering adulthood I have a lot of concerns. I wonder about their prospects for just being able to kind of live on their own, and be financially secure. I wonder about even just them deciding to have kids if they remain in California how restrictive that is. It's quite hostile to, well to a lot of people who question this stuff but especially to people who question vaccines for their, their kids. You basically can't get your child in education in California without submitting them to the full CDC childhood schedule of vaccines, which by the time they're 18 is 72, maybe more at this point, doses.

TEXT: What could be a solution to the problems we discussed today?
Shades of BEIGE

JUDEA JOHNSON: I don't know that I have the solution to these problems. I think a lot of it stems from the corporate influence in everything. I think government is so usurped and captured by corporations. I saw that firsthand, I mean, there's a lot of examples of it, but I saw it firsthand in the fight against SB276 here in California, where, you know, constituents, mothers and fathers, tried to get in and speak to our representatives in Sacramento and had, many of us had a really hard time getting any face time with them. Yet, they see, you know, tens of lobbies a day for these corporations, many of them pharmaceutical.

So I think, you know, the corporate influence on politics and our daily lives is a big way to start to move in the right direction, by removing that. Yeah, a lot of issues around poverty and wealth inequity. I'm, I'm a nutritionist and chef and so I see a lot of issues with our food system. I think that we could talk all day about that, but farm subsidies and that, but again it all comes back down to the corporate influence in every aspect of our lives.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:

Micropixie (Neshma Friend) is a multimedia artist best known for her videos and music albums. Her Substack is Sane Francisco. https://sanefrancisco.substack.com./ See also her speech for a freedom rally in San Francisco in 2021:
My Speech at the Health & Freedom Rally, August 2021
(Filmed August 27th 2021 at City Hall, San Francisco, California)
https://sanefrancisco.substack.com/p/my-speech-at-the-health-and-freedom
Sane Francisco, Posted August 31, 2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShjwZmp2jbk
Transcript: https://transcriberb.dreamwidth.org/104843.html

Judea Johnson www.twitter.com/judeajohnson

[1] On September 9, 2019 California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 276 into law. It severely restricts and makes the process cumbersome for medical exemptions from vaccination requirements.
See: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB276

[2] https://www.visforvaccine.com/

Talked to one of my old co workers that was born and raised in LA. Told me fuck CA, he just did his taxes and paid 100k this year. Looking to move out before it gets worse. Do we have to wait for next census to see migration numbers again for CA?

RC2006 says

Talked to one of my old co workers that was born and raised in LA. Told me fuck CA, he just did his taxes and paid 100k this year. Looking to move out before it gets worse. Do we have to wait for next census to see migration numbers again for CA?

100K in CA income taxes? What make/model private jet he flies?

Don't celebrate those leaving CA for RED states. That is just spreading the disease.
I know many who have left the bay area for austin, reno (well - minden), and they are all far left. They just left because the taxes are too high.
And they admitted they voted for the left wing political leaders that increased taxes and there wasn't a ballot/bond initiative they didn't vote for.
They simply use the savings to travel when the weather is bad - but they vote no differently. They complain about how they don't see as many rainbow flags!

Really, you should want no one to leave CA. Even the politically right in CA is moderate in any other state.

We left. Most of the people I know who left have never agreed with the politics in California. Most of the people there don't agree with it. I think we all know the state has some massive problems outside a deluded few.

Fewer people means less taxes supporting the stuff you don't like. Means the state moves closer to collapsing, the only way things will ever improve there.

krc says

Don't celebrate those leaving CA for RED states. That is just spreading the disease.

Yes, like a metastasizing cancer. We have the same issue in Virginia with DC area folks fleeing their fowled nest and settling in the Williamsburg area - they bring their politics with them are recreating the mess they left.

.

gang related like MS 13 ?

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/29/us/california-mojave-desert-six-dead-arrests/index.html

.

.

All suspects have been identified in this drug related murder in southern California. Looks like Mexican gang involved.

********
https://news.yahoo.com/california-authorities-arrests-deaths-6-211439521.html

"He (Sheriff Dicus) criticized Proposition 64, which legalized cannabis for non-medical use for people 21 and over and also reduced the penalty for marijuana-related offenses.

"The reality of this is, by allowing that we've unleashed a plague that is the black market of marijuana and cartel activity and a number of victims," Dicus said.

AD says

"The reality of this is, by allowing that we've unleashed a plague that is the black market of marijuana and cartel activity and a number of victims," Dicus said.

You mean, like it's always been?

Eliminate taxation on the drug, and there will be no cartel activity at all. All you are seeing is avoidance of taxes.

Notice how all rosy predictions of illegal drug trade going away and state coffers brimming with tax revenue if MJ were to be legalized has turned to be complete and utter bullshit?

Make taxes off of selling product that's grown as easily as a weed. Most the pot heads I've met over my life have been deadbeats and losers.

RWSGFY says

Notice how all rosy predictions of illegal drug trade going away and state coffers brimming with tax revenue if MJ were to be legalized has turned to be complete and utter bullshit?

Cannabis has always been easy to procure. I'd hardly consider that the "illegal drug trade". Heroin is still illegal, so is meth, and crack cocaine, cocaine, may others. Legalize those. It's not like there's any fucking law enforcement anyhow.



The law is merely used to turn people into slaves. That's it. There's no rule of law at all.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/income-tax-just-killing-wealthy-181514413.html

'The Income Tax Is Just Killing Me,' — Wealthy People Are Ditching These States And Moving To Places Where Their Money Goes Further

In recent years, IRS data revealed an exodus of wealth from major urban centers. Large coastal cities like New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles saw over $68 billion in taxable income depart because of net migration between 2020 and 2021. This migration wasn’t random; high earners were drawn to states like Florida, Texas and Arizona, attracted by the promise of no personal income tax, thriving business environments and a quality of life unattainable in their previous locales.

In California, personal income taxes are as high as 12.3%. Todd Litman, an estate planning attorney in Tustin, reflects a growing concern among high-income earners in California. Litman’s observation that an increasing number of his clients, particularly those with significant retirement savings, are considering leaving California because of the state’s high income tax rates illustrates a broader trend of tax-driven migration. "They're saying, ‘Hey, I'm working hard and the income tax is just killing me,'" he told the Napa Valley Register.

Florida emerged as the leading beneficiary of this net income migration, with Texas and Arizona close behind.

We didn't move to CA because of the income taxes and property value. We can and do make the same in IL at a 5.5% rate (roughly). I know it's a progressive tax, but we would have hit the 13% on the top end. That's fucking nuts on top of a $1M home and we're late to the prop 13 game. $40k/yr more and we'd make the same.

Witnessed this in IL. Still losing people, but it's not as bad versus 10 years ago. You guys are in phase 1. It only gets worse. No ill will on Californians, but you have no clue what's coming. Your nearing phase 2 with actual massive financial loss. This is why I say in other threads this is local. The Feds ain't gonna come in and save you cats. Ground up. You gotta fix your cities and major suburbs. Or get the fuck out. I've stuck with IL because our cost of living is nothing and income is high. When everything in CA is high, shit will hit the fan.... or your foot walking down the street.

WookieMan says

Witnessed this in IL. Still losing people, but it's not as bad versus 10 years ago.

Wookie, you wrote "We didn't move to CA because..." ... so your family and you now live in California ? If yes, then what town or city ?

Fitch rated Illinois at BBB- back in 2017. The last Fitch rating was in November 2023 for Illinois and it is at A-. We will see how it fares during the Biden recession of 2024, but it appears Illinois (and New Jersey) are the worst rated state by Fitch.

If stock market takes dive, then tax revenue from NYC suburbs of New Jersey takes a major dive, and California goes also into further deficit. But fortunately for Biden, this will not show up until after November 2024.

.

richwicks says

RWSGFY says

Notice how all rosy predictions of illegal drug trade going away and state coffers brimming with tax revenue if MJ were to be legalized has turned to be complete and utter bullshit?

Cannabis has always been easy to procure. I'd hardly consider that the "illegal drug trade". Heroin is still illegal, so is meth, and crack cocaine, cocaine, may others. Legalize those. It's not like there's any fucking law enforcement anyho

Gotta love the liberal logic: after witnessing Portland disaster with hard drugs they are still on "legalize everything" bend. :rolleyes:

Booger says

Seriously?

richwicks says

I can't think of a single time I've had a negative interaction with a Mexican.

I've encountered the same. But the culture is a bit shady for some. Looks good on paper, you just don't know what's going on when you're not around them. They still have their gangs. Little Village and Pilsen in Chicago are the biggies. Hermosa in 3rd place. They're not remotely as violent as blacks though. So they're not all good as Trump would say.

Working Mexicans are some of the best people though. Especially the professional ones. Occasionally run with a legal immigrant who played football (not soccer) in Mexico. And about 4 other Mexican Americans. Great people overall. If we're talking race, which I turn a blind eye to 99% of the time. My issues have been in my daily going abouts has been with blacks.

I think music can tell a lot about a culture. There's nothing positive in black music outside of Jazz and that was decades ago. Can anyone even name a decent all black rock band? Hell even Jazz band now? It's all tits, booty, guns and killing for lyrics and average backing music. Says a lot. I love latin and Soca music. It's fun, good vibe.

AD says

Wookie, you wrote "We didn't move to CA because..." ... so your family and you now live in California ? If yes, then what town or city ?

We're high income W-2 so would have gotten trashed in CA regardless of any other factor. We wouldn't have made more there either. So no sense in moving. IL is 4.95% flat income tax. We would have gotten into the 13% range in CA and it sounds like from what I've read it's probably going up more. Then factor in property values/expenses and it was a no go. Would have been looking at $20-40k per year more depending on housing.

I think I deleted it, but I had a spreadsheet of different locations where my wife was offered a high paying job. As weird as it sounds, the math made the most sense to stay put in IL. Fuck winter, but I can manage and we usually travel at that time to warm places as it is cheaper generally. Her current work is flexible with vacation as long as she's available via phone/computer. Another job in another state would probably change that. So we stayed. In laws and our moms are here, not that I particularly care for them, but it's important to her. We were close though. It was CA or CO that lead the list. None made financial sense. So IL it is as crazy as that sounds.

Wife just got back from visiting family. Had two strangers come up to her asking about how it was here and how lucky she is getting out after seeing her cars plates. She went to mall by our old house and said there were way more foreigners not speaking English, we have only been gone since 2020. She said traffic and roads were even worse and everything just looked more run down. Only plus was she said mountains and hills looked very green and pretty from all the rain, but that means fires are going to be bad this year.

RC2006 says

She said traffic and roads were even worse

That's what high rates of EV ownership is going to look like anywhere it gets above 2-5%. Not sure how they'll extract the $$$ but it's coming. 95-97% of tax payers are not going to help finance a non-green toy. 2-5% drop in MFT is higher than the numbers would leave you to believe. Probably closer to 10%. Switching from ICE to EV is a 100% drop in those cars. $0 of revenue.

CA roads and most roads are going to eat shit until they figure out how to tax EV's. Everyone's golf cart toy is going to get more expensive. 2025. Not sure how they do it, but it's coming. No one has the balls to do it in an election year. I hope they don't do it in shipping/trucking. Inflation now will look like a joke. They need to tax EV's hard.

RC2006 says

She went to mall by our old house and said there were way more foreigners not speaking English,

Funny you should mention: after two visits to Miami my impression is that nobody fucking speaks fucking English there. :D It's wall-to-wall Español.

Hollywood:

https://www.newsweek.com/nevada-residents-want-people-california-stop-moving-1896103

Nevada Residents Want People From California to Stop Moving to Their State

Back of moving truck here.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chevron-misses-estimates-adding-hess-102154971.html

Chevron to Quit California for Texas

Chevron Corp. is relocating headquarters to Houston from California after repeatedly warning that the Golden State’s regulatory regime was making it a tough place to do business.