The idiocracy that is California

[Ichi-Go]

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

We (my restoration shop) haven't really seen that- while the restrictions are fairly onerous, there's no one saying "hey, you won't be able to do that."

We use a lot of electricity but not a lot of water.

Don't think it doesn't weigh on me. We restore dinosaurs that are driven for pleasure, not for any necessity. We specialize in the cars that don't have catalytic converters and are not electronically fuel-injected.

I've been trying to get one of our investors to fund an electric build. I'd do it myself but I have two BMWs to finish and I'd really like to get back into drifting.

You should require customers to add cats just make it part of the contract. Let your customers move states and take them off if they want to destroy the environment.

Drifting turns petroleum tires into pollution while banging the rev limiter maximizing green house gases. Randy Pobst and Sasha Anis have proven we can race hybrids and electrics while saving the environment for the tech oligarchs to enjoy on their yachts and jets.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by Ichi-Go

You should require customers to add cats just make it part of the contract. Let your customers move states and take them off if they want to destroy the environment.

Drifting turns petroleum tires into pollution while banging the rev limiter maximizing green house gases. Randy Pobst and Sasha Anis have proven we can race hybrids and electrics while saving the environment for the tech oligarchs to enjoy on their yachts and jets.

They really should just do cash for clunkers and crush all those old Porsches.

It's a win-win. We stop wasting resources on these god awful polluting unsafe murder machines while also encouraging people to invest in more efficient safer vehicles that also fund development of planet saving future technologies.

Think about it - KA's entire business model is built on selfishness and environmental destruction.

He takes Tens-of-Thousands of dollars from rich guys, who most likely made that money destroying the world with capitalism and pollution - and then sinks that money into ancient relics that glorify our horrifying past.

All the energy and resources - making replacement parts, murdering cows for interior upholstery, oils and lubricants, engine parts, assembly work, etc - all each doing their best by de-contributing to society and the environment - all so some rich guy can then burn hydro-carbons into the air on the weekend with fruitless driving while still maintaining a daily driver.

I mean, fine. You want to own a classic car great, but you should have to just keep it in a barn and look at it. All the wasted carbon-emissions from the entire industry to restore and operate one is simply fucking disgusting and anti-humanity.

[KA24DESOneThree]

No one's figured out a clean way to integrate catalytic converters to the vintage cars. Part of the value is in the look of originality. We're working on it but it's still a way out.

The electric cars can get away with departures from the norm, which is specifically why I'm so interested in them.

LOL at tens of thousands. Multiply that by ten and you'll be closer.

I've done a lot to reduce my personal footprint because my professional footprint is godzilla-sized.

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

My father-in-law factually died from...

Your father in law factually died from... life. I am sorry for your loss. Death is a part of life, and the sooner people understand this the sooner people will understand that there are things we can prevent and things we cannot. You wearing a mask, im afraid, is not part of the solution. Its just a political tool being used to make people think that something is being done to address this problem. Its putting your finger in the dike.

I really think you are a very misinformed individual. You have a very clouded view of the world. It really shows just how polarized people are in how they think. Im not faulting you, i'm just pointing out an observation. Normally in a free world, you can continue believing and leading your life to your own accord. Yet, here we are where people are protesting and fighting over soon-to-be vaccine passports... further leaning towards authoritarian rule.


People like you will continue to bend over willingly, albeit with pleasure, and take it up the ass.

[deolio]

Originally Posted by ixfxi

Your father in law factually died from... life.

That's like saying you should accept death instead of taking penicillin when you've got an infection, using an epipen when you have an allergic reaction, or giving someone CPR after they drown. Shit's preventable if you embrace science and technology and hop off this "let's politicize everything" train bound for bullshit-ville.

[Ichi-Go]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tri...-it/ar-AAMZ16S

Built Back Better.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by deolio

That's like saying you should accept death instead of taking penicillin when you've got an infection, using an epipen when you have an allergic reaction, or giving someone CPR after they drown. Shit's preventable if you embrace science and technology and hop off this "let's politicize everything" train bound for bullshit-ville.

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publicatio...and-statistics

95,000 people die each year from Alcohol.

Should we ban alcohol? Should we ban smoking, fast food, trans-fats, high fructose corn syrp, palm oil and vaping? Should we mandate helmets be worn while driving cars? Ban motorcycles?

Should we mandate obese people be put on diets? Require weekly gym training for everyone? Seize Pepsi and Coca Cola's assets and put the executive boards on trial ?

I'm guessing the dude was in his late 60's, overweight and was already suffering from cardio-pulmonary failure. Covid, Influenza, whatever - it was going to cause pneumonia which is ultimately what likely killed him. This is pretty much how every single terminal elderly person goes.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by Ichi-Go

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tri...-it/ar-AAMZ16S

Built Back Better.

Get back to your pod and eat some more soy.

[KA24DESOneThree]

Originally Posted by Corbic

I'm guessing the dude was in his late 60's, overweight and was already suffering from cardio-pulmonary failure. Covid, Influenza, whatever - it was going to cause pneumonia which is ultimately what likely killed him. This is pretty much how every single terminal elderly person goes.

While you're right, but he had ten or fifteen years left in him according to the docs... until he developed pulmonary fibrosis as a byproduct of COVID-19. Then he spent months on oxygen until he got pneumonia, got intubated, and passed in the course of a week and a half.

I'll gladly take it up the ass, if that's what you want to call it Mike, to never see another family go through what I'm both witnessing and participating in.

[nick_d_240sx]

Back, Back to Cali, Cali.

https://nypost.com/2021/08/05/woman-...san-francisco/

Shootings are also up significantly in 2021: there were 328 as of June 28, compared to 241 in the same time frame in 2020, a 36% increase.

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local...252541618.html

California has an estimated 161,000 unhoused people, more than a quarter of the nationwide total of 580,000, according to the the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

https://fox5sandiego.com/news/califo...ple-in-hotels/

A comparison of 2020 tax rates compiled by the Tax Foundation ranks California as the top taxer with a 12.3% rate, unless you make more than $1 million. Then, you have to pay 13.3% as the top rate. The additional tax on income earned above $1 million is the state's 1% mental health services tax.

[Ichi-Go]

I am glad they banned wood stoves.... we know burning wood adds to pollution. Between wood stoves and computers we are well on our way to cleaner air and less green house gas.

https://www.kcra.com/article/firepla...nties/6410635#

Unrelated article.

https://lasvegassun.com/news/2021/au...s-area-as-smo/

[KA24DESOneThree]

Is adding smoke to an already smoky area a particularly good idea? Note that it's a temporary ban, and also note that every single one of those counties is in an upward trend of COVID cases.

Anticipated AQI of 110-125+ in those areas. Meanwhile, you're at 42.

Want to bring up all the dumb shit CA does? Please do, most of us who live here agree that there's a lot of it. But don't tilt at windmills.

Edit: it's supposed to be 91 degrees and 60+% humidity here today. I'll take 105 and 5% humidity instead.

[spooled240]

^All I have to say is..No one's figured out a clean way to integrate catalytic converters on wood burning stoves. Part of the value is in the look of originality. We're working on it but it's still a way out.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by nick_d_240sx

Back, Back to Cali, Cali.

https://nypost.com/2021/08/05/woman-...san-francisco/

Clearly cause White Supremenanists


https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local...252541618.html


https://fox5sandiego.com/news/califo...ple-in-hotels/[/QUOTE]

Need to stop calling these drains "Homeless" as if they were some hardworking blue collared families that Jeff Benso kicked out of their homes.

They are vagrants which have no interest in becoming contributing members of society. It's basically 75% Drug Usage and 25% Mentally Disabled.

We need to stop sugarcoating our words with Social-Engineered Language.

Its not "mental health". MH is when your teenage daughter is having social anxiety, your neighbor is struggling with depression or that odd-one at Starbucks thinks they are Gender-Fluid.

Screaming at passing cars, muttering to you self at 3am while petting a dead rat and being completely incapable of functioning in society is a disability. It needs appropriate treatment.

People who lose shelter because of unemployment, domestic abuse, etc - resources do currently exist to help them return to having a home and getting situation. Sadly, those resources are heavily sapped with those who are "chronically" vagrant that utilize the resources to supplement their life styles.

The vagrants don't want to get 9-5 jobs, they don't want to be drug free, they don't want long-term solutions. They ARE more than happy to take free money, free temporary shelter and free food.

This is why anywhere that is all about "fighting homelessness" by increasing budgets and handouts while also stopping enforcement of vagrancy, public deification, drug possession, public intoxication, petty crime, vandalism, etc -

Well, their Vagrant numbers just increase.

[Yardjass]

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

The government spies on you every day. You have to wear your seatbelt and drive with insurance and not have bald tires and can't have your wheels sticking out from your fenders and have to pay fuel taxes and have to pay state taxes and have to pay increases in property taxes and have to pay federal taxes and have to register for permits and have to pay fees. The mask, though, is too fucking far because it covers up your mouth so you can't spray angry spittle on the supermarket employee just doing their job.

The only people thinking straight are from Florida and Texas? Did someone hand you the "Right-Thinking Man's Argumentation Playbook" and you turned to page 37 to the "Hymn of DeSantis?" My dad always said, "Once a state gets to be the top five in infectious virus cases, you know it's run correctly. And if it's second to Louisiana, it's not only run correctly but the governor should be deified." Imagine, America's Dong getting second to America's Boot. And Texas is fucking fantastic, I love losing power during a cold snap but also during hot spells. It really shows that my state is equivalent to a second-world country (did he just compare Texas to an industrialized socialist state?).

There's plenty of shit you're willing to swallow, most of it from the end of the human centipede that is the Republican Party.

The irony in here is palpable. Let me get this straight:

1. You don't like other people's "good ideas" being forced on you but you're perfectly fine with getting the government to force your "good ideas" on others. I hate to break it to you but that's not how that works. You either consistently fight that shit or sooner or later, the shoe will be on the other foot and you probably won't like it when it is heel deep in your asshole. There is a case for some government authoritarianism in a serious emergency. Unfortunately, despite your anecdotal experience (sorry for your loss), a bad flu with a much less than 1% mortality rate of mostly unvaccinated elderly that are now 85% vaccinated, is not anywhere near an emergency. If this virus was really as serious as people are acting, force, lies, and coercion wouldn't have to be used at all. People would comply simply because they're terrified of it.

2. Texas had a serious power problem once. Your state has had chronic problems with the power grid, the water supply, and wildfires for decades, and mostly due to the incompetence of your leaders. Pot, meet kettle.

3. Let's not act like the Republican party is the only one consisting of, and supported by morons. About 90% of the support base of both major parties, is complete imbeciles, and it shows. Pretty much all your flagship states are shitholes, just for different reasons. California is one of the biggest shitholes in the entire nation but the rest of us still have to endure their delusions of superiority as they type on an illegal computer, whist also contemplating basic essentials that the rest of us take for granted, like when they'll next be able to plug in their car or take a shower in their third world state.

[KA24DESOneThree]

Addicts are people who can recover. They aren't lost causes. They don't want to be drug free because they are physically or mentally (or both) addicted to the effects of a drug. They do, however, want long-term solutions- do you think an addict wants to be couch-surfing and going through life from high to high with no possibility of long-term existence?

They may have started using as a coping mechanism for sexual assault or to try and self-medicate for PTSD or an underlying condition. They need psychological help and long-term therapy.

I mentioned this in the other thread- Portugal decriminalized drug usage and what happened? Drug-related deaths fell, drug-related incarceration fell, and rates of drug use are consistently below the EU average. Yes, the rate of high-risk opioid users is higher than the European average, but it's lower than prior to decriminalization. HIV diagnoses plummeted and are still low. Health spending dropped. Social costs dropped.

https://transformdrugs.org/blog/drug...ecord-straight

https://drugpolicy.org/sites/default...approach_0.pdf

Want to get people help? Stop sending them to jail. Start treating them like people who have an addiction, rather than like criminals.

I'm surprised your solution isn't "send them to the Central Valley and to the Imperial Valley to replace illegal immigrants."

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

Addicts are people who can recover. They aren't lost causes.

Except they are lost causes.

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

They don't want to be drug free because they are physically or mentally (or both) addicted to the effects of a drug.

And like a 3 legged dog, they won't grow back the forth.

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

They do, however, want long-term solutions- do you think an addict wants to be couch-surfing and going through life from high to high with no possibility of long-term existence?

Yes, go talk to them. That is exactly what they want. If you would just give them a free place to trash, universal income check and all the drugs they could ever want - they would be perfectly happy with that.

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

They may have started using as a coping mechanism for sexual assault or to try and self-medicate for PTSD or an underlying condition. They need psychological help and long-term therapy.

This is a debunked fallacy. 70% of those "traumas" take place after addiction and typically BECAUSE of addition. You get sexually assaulted by someone while high or attempting to get high. You get robbed or beat up trying to buy or sell drugs or while high. You're traumatized cause you BFF Overdosed or again any number of crimes and incidents that happen related to drugs.

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

I mentioned this in the other thread- Portugal decriminalized drug usage and what happened? Drug-related deaths fell, drug-related incarceration fell, and rates of drug use are consistently below the EU average. Yes, the rate of high-risk opioid users is higher than the European average, but it's lower than prior to decriminalization. HIV diagnoses plummeted and are still low. Health spending dropped. Social costs dropped.

Portugal is not the United States. People are not interchangeable, contrary to the leftist beliefs.

Want to get people help? Stop sending them to jail. Start treating them like people who have an addiction, rather than like criminals.

Why not just say "get tough on crime and drugs! Scottdale doesn't put up with BS and they have no Homeless problems like San Francisco!"

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

I'm surprised your solution isn't "send them to the Central Valley and to the Imperial Valley to replace illegal immigrants."

If I was California's Comrade Govertator, I'd build Rustic Rehabilitation and Relaxation Communes out in the wilderness. 3RC.

Semi-Electrification, Clean Water, Natural Sanitation systems, basic whole-food nutrition. Camp Members would be expected to perform maintenance task, education and training would be offered. All the drugs they want would be available. Limited Frontier Free Healthcare also available - you know, bone setting, aspirin, antibiotics, experimental vaccines.

They can waste their days away in palpable, environmentally friendly living conditions away from society. Certainly more humane then letting them pilferage through garbage cans and shitting in front of Starbucks while begging for change and stealing anything not nailed down.

[KA24DESOneThree]

Originally Posted by Yardjass

The irony in here is palpable. Let me get this straight:

1. You don't like other people's "good ideas" being forced on you but you're perfectly fine with getting the government to force your "good ideas" on others. I hate to break it to you but that's not how that works. You either consistently fight that shit or sooner or later, the shoe will be on the other foot and you probably won't like it when it is heel deep in your asshole. There is a case for some government authoritarianism in a serious emergency. Unfortunately, despite your anecdotal experience (sorry for your loss), a bad flu with a much less than 1% mortality rate of mostly unvaccinated elderly that are now 85% vaccinated, is not anywhere near an emergency. If this virus was really as serious as people are acting, force, lies, and coercion wouldn't have to be used at all. People would comply simply because they're terrified of it.

2. Texas had a serious power problem once. Your state has had chronic problems with the power grid, the water supply, and wildfires for decades, and mostly due to the incompetence of your leaders. Pot, meet kettle.

3. Let's not act like the Republican party is the only one consisting of, and supported by morons. About 90% of the support base of both major parties, is complete imbeciles, and it shows. Pretty much all your flagship states are shitholes, just for different reasons. California is one of the biggest shitholes in the entire nation but the rest of us still have to endure their delusions of superiority as they type on an illegal computer, whist also contemplating basic essentials that the rest of us take for granted, like when they'll next be able to plug in their car or take a shower in their third world state.

This is not a bad flu, no matter how you want to spin it. Mortality rates and hospitalization rates are entirely different, as are transmission rates. If it was just "a bad flu," it wouldn't have been the third cause of death in the United States last year- although you likely consider that to be an inflated number and incorrect.

California has had brownouts and blackouts, yes. California has problems with its water supply, as does Texas. Texas' forested areas are lower in density than California's, and don't have the same problem with extremes of elevation.

California being one of the biggest shitholes in the nation is always something I love to point out as being flat-out wrong in so many ways. GDP, tourist dollars, public lands... the list goes on and on.

Corbic, I have no idea why I continue to go back and forth with you. You have no thirst for knowledge and no zeal for the truth. Instead, you're a dog being led by Russians, Iranians, and Chinese disinformation farms and your false gods.

[ronmcdon]

having worked with recovery, ptsd and mental health in general, have to side more with KA here. that being said I think a lot of addiction doesnt have anything to do with ptsd and sometimes its just questionable life choices, sometimes getting over prescribed painkillers and other stuff.

do have to agree with Corbic some are entirely lost causes and not really motivated to be in recovery. not all are lost causes and many have decades of sobriety. its pretty complex topic and one of the more challenging populations to work with.

yeah was in Scottsdale a few weeks ago and noticed no homeless. maybe its more bc of the above 110f heat. kinda depressing place and reminds me of godforsaken Irvine, CA. seems like good place to invest in real estate maybe.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by ronmcdon

yeah was in Scottsdale a few weeks ago and noticed no homeless. maybe its more bc of the above 110f heat. kinda depressing place and reminds me of godforsaken Irvine, CA. seems like good place to invest in real estate maybe.

Homeless all hangout in downtown PHX where they are treated like royalty.

I've thought of starting a GoFundMe to pay for Charter Buses and move them to LA. I'm sure they'd appreciate the weather and endless sea of litter more.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

California has had brownouts and blackouts, yes. California has problems with its water supply, as does Texas. Texas' forested areas are lower in density than California's, and don't have the same problem with extremes of elevation.

Had? Try, HAS - as in ongoing.

Regardless of regional variation, the fact is, California has these issues and chooses not to address them. Rather, they focus on Woke-Politics to hide their vast bureaucratic corruption and waste.

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

California being one of the biggest shitholes in the nation is always something I love to point out as being flat-out wrong in so many ways. GDP, tourist dollars, public lands... the list goes on and on.

Except it is. When is the last time you've left? Trash everywhere. Homeless everywhere. Buildings in total decay. Homes poorly maintained. Dirty beaches. Then the politics.... oh the politics.

You defend it with $$$, which sadly has nothing to do with Californians or the Regime in charge. Those great dollar generating industries where built 20, 30 and +40 years ago. Disneyland, Hollywood, etc was establish, what +70 years ago?

Just look at any "Quality of Life" Index.



California routinely ranks dead-center or just over the line to the lower 25 states.

How can that be? I thought you dominated the nation in terms of GDP, Jobs, Industry, Social Progressiveness, Weather, Climate, Natural Resources, Land, etc. You're getting you ass handed to you by fucking Iowa and can barely eek past Indiana that literally has NOTHING going for it. Terrible weather, flat, boring, corn.... Ya'll fucking lose to MICHIGAN. FUCKING DETROIT IS BETTER THAN YOU.

Businesses and People are RUNNING from California. I got 300k Refugees here, please, take them back. I'm sure the PNW and Colorado would love to start shipping people back to you.

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

Corbic, I have no idea why I continue to go back and forth with you. You have no thirst for knowledge and no zeal for the truth. Instead, you're a dog being led by Russians, Iranians, and Chinese disinformation farms and your false gods.

Did CNN tell you to say that?

[deolio]

Can't have the largest economy without taking advantage of the most people (who constantly complain about it)! Capitalism, baby!

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

do you think an addict wants to be couch-surfing and going through life from high to high with no possibility of long-term existence?

hahahahha...... YES

Where the fuck do you live, Mars? I take it you dont have any fucked up family members? I do, and some of these family members are parasites and leeches. How do you think people end up homeless? At some point, the rotten apple is given the boot because its fucked up beyond repair. The bad apple doesnt get fixed by the good apples, it rots the rest. This is the problem with this radical, super-accepting society nowadays... we've gone away from strict family values, religious values, morals, and we end up with shitheads who dont contribute in any way, shape or form. Are you a parent? Do you not understand these simple concepts?

And yes, jail IS the way to pay for your crimes. And when you commit larger offenses, prison. Dont do the crime if you cant do the time. Government only perpetuates all of this poor behavior. Thats why crime is going up, people arent being held accountable. You really just dont get it.

I swear, you make it seem like a social worker and some therapy will stop criminals from being..... fuckin criminals. Watch Deathwish or Mad Max, because CA is pretty much headed in that Chicago-esque direction... ya stoooopid

Originally Posted by Corbic

You defend it with $$$, which sadly has nothing to do with Californians or the Regime in charge. Those great dollar generating industries where built 20, 30 and +40 years ago. Disneyland, Hollywood, etc was establish, what +70 years ago?

Just look at any "Quality of Life" Index.

You fuckin computer nerds, you dont need a quality of life index to see that a place is run down and shitty... you just need to walk the streets. Walk Hollywood. Go to Santa Monica (or worse) Venice. I took family visiting from overseas to Westwood and couldnt even walk the streets, most of the businesses on Westwood Blvd were vacant and had 2-3 homeless people sleeping in the entryway. After grabbing some food, I went to get my car out of the car lot but couldnt get to the stairs or elevator. I had to walk up the parking complex and when I met the attendant on the way out, he explained that after 10PM they lock everything up because homeless camp inside. If you're lazy, just search youtube for "homeless los angeles tour" and you'll see plenty.

I'm born and raised here and its a done deal, I have no interest in staying. From the insanely overvalued/inflated cost of micro-real estate, the taxes, the constant ass-fucking by government, parking enforcement, all of it. Basically, living in Cali has turned into a gang-bang train session where you are the star and everyone else is in line to fuck you.

The state is BEYOND repair and many of the people still here are sniffing angel dust with the belief that this place is special, that there is something of insane value here. Well, I can straight up say that there isnt anything of value left. When you see them creating "new developments" that are RIGHT NEXT to the freeway, you know its over. I really do sympathize for anyone stupid enough to move here.

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

I'll gladly take it up the ass, if that's what you want to call it Mike, to never see another family go through what I'm both witnessing and participating in.

Thats been my point, you make it seem like we can control everything in life. The truth is, there is very little we can control. You say you never want to go through loss again, but what makes you think thats what the creator has planned for you?

These public officials are clueless. The mask mandate is useless. Clearly, these people dont believe in mathematics. They would make brilliant engineers... I can see them now:

"Our new vehicle will use dual air filter system, for maximum engine protection" hahha seriously, why stop at 2?

Then they were trying to make it seem like that non-vaxxed are the spreaders, and now they're admitting that the vaxxed are spreaders.

If these people were mechanics or engine builders, they'd be FUCKIN FIRED A LONG TIME AGO. I just dont understand how people continue to eat the straight up bullshit that these clowns have been peddling. Credibility was lost LONG ago. Take care of yourself as best as you can and fuck the rest, its all bullshit. Live your life.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by deolio

Can't have the largest economy without taking advantage of the most people (who constantly complain about it)! Capitalism, baby!

Except those companies are not "taking advantage" of anyone, let alone the locals. I'm sure +75% of their revenue is generated outside of California.

It's you're own Government taking advantage of you.

[KA24DESOneThree]

This is now a pissing contest.

People love to pick on CA- Californians love to pick on CA. We constantly bitch about every aspect of government, the never-ending roadwork, the horrible quality of most roads regardless, the lack of drainage whenever SoCal gets proper rain, the trash, the homeless, income inequality, real estate prices, smuggling boats that get dumped on our shores, labor disputes bottlenecking our ports, retail theft, wildfires, corrupt and stupid power companies, the CARB and smog testing system as a whole, addicts shooting up in plain view, the Salton Sea, Owens Valley, the Imperial Valley, ugly stupid beaches, clean stupid beaches, traffic, somehow the state has a budget surplus but the sidewalks are cracked and buckled everywhere but where the wealthy live, taxes, environmental laws regarding business, employment laws regarding business, dumbass zoning rules, property taxes, etc.

You think I don't know all of that?

Nothing ever gets done when squabbling is the only course of action.

My ZR2's air filter has a foam pre-filter with a fabric filter behind that. My M3 has only a fabric filter because it's unlikely to see the level of dirt in the air that a truck will. If I did a lot of off-roading in groups, I'd add a pre-filter snorkel to the existing air intake to reduce the amount of particulates getting to my airbox. When the environment becomes more hazardous to the health of an engine, we take more steps to protect the engine.

[Yardjass]

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

This is not a bad flu, no matter how you want to spin it. Mortality rates and hospitalization rates are entirely different, as are transmission rates. If it was just "a bad flu," it wouldn't have been the third cause of death in the United States last year- although you likely consider that to be an inflated number and incorrect.

Influenza and coronaviruses are essentially cousins. Covid has roughly 10x the annual mortality rate of the common flu. The spanish flu had nearly a 2% mortality rate. Bubonic plague killed 1/3 of Europe. Argue semantics all you want but both are more deadly than covid. Perhaps I was wrong to describe it as such. "A bad flu" is worse.

Regarding numbers, I don't know how you can inject both a financial, and political incentive into something and not expect the data that you get back out to not be affected. I'm not going to speculate on exactly how, or in what sort of numbers, but it is painfully obvious that this has occurred.

Another important point to consider is, go ahead and google "covid deaths". The graph at the top lets you toggle between deaths and new cases. Look at the peaks in the winter months in late 2020 and early 2021. Look at how the deaths seem to follow the new cases with a 1-2 week delay. Now, look at the current deaths compared to the current spike from 1-2 weeks ago. Deaths are going up but they're not following cases like they did before. Our case rate is pretty high but deaths are not following it. This will really be telling in 2-4 more weeks when deaths continue to rise but not anywhere near the spike in new cases that has occurred. TL/DR: We vaccinated nearly all of the highest risk people and this shit is now even less of an "emergency" than it was to begin with.

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

California being one of the biggest shitholes in the nation is always something I love to point out as being flat-out wrong in so many ways. GDP, tourist dollars, public lands... the list goes on and on.

You haven't brought anything up other than things that are a consequence of the beautiful land out there or geopolitical factors like the fact that your state controls most of the ports on the coast closest to the region of the world that most of our goods come from.

The rest of us do travel there, spend money there, and enjoy it. However, we are every bit as much paying to get the fuck out when we are done as we are to enjoy ourselves and enjoy the scenery.

In terms of taxes, laws, cost of living and general quality of life, your state sucks. That's why there is a massive exodus out of it, by both individuals and businesses. Your state sucks for the same reason that places like Dubai suck, despite being some of the wealthiest areas in the world: You only have what you do because you were sitting on it. You erroneously conclude that you built what is great but in reality, most don't want to live there and the ones that do, do so despite all the ass-backward bullshit and the parts that you built.

[KA24DESOneThree]

See, you're trying to convince me that a state I love dearly sucks. You're not going to, quite literally ever, so you might want to just bark up a different tree. Everything you fly out here to enjoy, I'm within a day and a half of. I'm within an hour of a dozen roads that are worth the tax increase and the corruption. I live in a town smaller than yours, with 900 people less per square mile. I haven't seen a human shit in public since the last time I went out into the desert (why the fuck is it so hard to just grab a Home Depot bucket, a $15 toilet seat, and a roll of trash bags?).

And what's your point, anyway? That people are leaving and that there are problems? I gave you a list of problems. We all know there are many, many problems and there are many, many reasons why we're unhappy with our government but the vast majority of us stay here because we like it here. I built none of this and I think out of all my votes in my life, only one of the people I've voted for was elected.

Another thread I'm going to nope out of.

[Corbic]

Originally Posted by KA24DESOneThree

See, you're trying to convince me that a state I love dearly sucks. You're not going to, quite literally ever, so you might want to just bark up a different tree. Everything you fly out here to enjoy, I'm within a day and a half of. I'm within an hour of a dozen roads that are worth the tax increase and the corruption. I live in a town smaller than yours, with 900 people less per square mile. I haven't seen a human shit in public since the last time I went out into the desert (why the fuck is it so hard to just grab a Home Depot bucket, a $15 toilet seat, and a roll of trash bags?).

And what's your point, anyway? That people are leaving and that there are problems? I gave you a list of problems. We all know there are many, many problems and there are many, many reasons why we're unhappy with our government but the vast majority of us stay here because we like it here. I built none of this and I think out of all my votes in my life, only one of the people I've voted for was elected.

Another thread I'm going to nope out of.

So "I got mine, fuck the rest".

Another Champaign Socialist whose going to tell us how it is from his Ivory Tower.