#California and New Mexico

[crippled-peeper]

I have so many pictures of fall leaves does anyone want to see ???

[reasonsforhope]

"Starting in July 2024, California will be the first state to charge an excise tax on guns and ammunition. The new tax – an 11% levy on each sale – will come on top of federal excise taxes of 10% or 11% for firearms and California’s [7.5]% sales tax (x).

The National Rifle Association has characterized California’s Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Act as an affront to the Constitution. But the reaction from the gun lobby and firearms manufactures may hint at something else: the impact that the measure, which is aimed at reducing gun violence, may have on sales.

As a professor who studies the economics of violence and illicit trades at the University of San Diego’s Kroc School of Peace Studies, I think this law could have important ramifications.

One way to think about it is to compare state tax policies on firearms with those on alcohol and tobacco products. It’s not for nothing that these all appear in the name of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, also known as ATF...

The ATF focuses on those products because, while legal, they can cause significant harm to society – in the form of drunken driving, for example, or cancer-causing addictions. They also have a common history: All have been associated with criminal organizations seeking to profit from illicit markets.

Alcohol and tobacco products are thus usually subject to state excise taxes. This policy is known as a “Pigouvian tax,” named after 20th-century British economist Arthur Pigou. By making a given product more expensive, such a tax leads people to buy less of it, reducing the harm to society while generating tax revenue that the state can theoretically use to offset those harms that still accrue.

California, for instance, imposes a US$2.87 excise tax on each pack of cigarettes. That tax is higher than the national average but much lower than New York’s $5.35 levy. California also imposed a vaping excise tax of 12.5% in 2021.

Of the three ATF product families, firearms have enjoyed an exemption from California excise taxes. Until now...

How Much Will the Policy Help?

It’s unclear how the new tax will affect gun violence. In theory, the tax should be highly effective. In 2023, some colleagues and I modeled the U.S. market for firearms and determined that for every 1% increase in price, demand decreases by 2.6%. This means that the market should be very sensitive to tax increases.

Using these estimates, another colleague recently estimated that the California excise tax would reduce gun sales by 30% to 44%. If applied across the country, the tax could generate an additional $1.5 billion to $1.9 billion in government revenue.

One possible problem will come from surrounding states: It’s already easy to illegally transport guns bought in Nevada, where laws are more lax, to the Golden State.

But there’s some evidence that suggests California’s stringent policies won’t be neutralized by its neighbors.

When the federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004, making it much easier to buy AR- and AK-style rifles across much of the U.S., gun murders across the border in Mexico skyrocketed. Two studies show the exception was the Mexican state of Baja California, right across the border with California, which had kept its state-level assault weapons ban in place.

Gun seizures in Mexico show that all four U.S. states bordering Mexico rank in the top five state sources of U.S.-sold guns in Mexico. But California contributes 75% less than its population and proximity would suggest.

So, California laws seem to already be making a difference in reducing gun violence. I believe the excise tax could accomplish still more. Other states struggling against the rising tide of guns will be watching closely."

-via The Conversation, May 21, 2024

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - December 22-28

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles for 50% off this month only! Starting in January, I’ll also be posting 5 extra news links to Patreon each week (for free since they aren’t my work)

1. These countries all scored major wins for LGBTQ+ rights in 2024

“Consensual same-sex activity became legal in Namibia [and Dominica…, c]onversion therapy was banned [in Mexico…, Greenland] made LGBTQ+ discrimination illegal […, and] same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage became legal [in Greece.]”

2. After trial and error, Mexican fishers find key to reforesting a mangrove haven

“So far, the project has planted more than 1.8 million mangroves that have a 92-94% survival rate, Borbón estimated. [… M]angroves can prevent coastal erosion, store carbon and provide a nursery for all kinds of fish and crustacean species.”

3. ‘Britain’s wildlife safari’: baby boom in Norfolk as seal colonies flourish

“More than 1,200 seal pups were born […] in November, and 2,500 more are expected to be born before the breeding season ends in January. […] “Mortality seems to be much lower than in other colonies[….]””

4. Barcelona's metro trains are helping to charge the city's EVs each time they brake.

“[…T]he energy from the underground trains' brakes is used to power the trains and the stations themselves, while the remainder is sent snaking through cables to the surface to power plug-in stations for privately owned vehicles.”

5. Scientists thought this whale could only live for 70 years – turns out it's double that.

“The data [from repeated “photo identification of individual”s] revealed that Southern right whales can live for more than 130 years, with some speculated to reach the grand old age of 150.”

6. Rural Power Co-Ops Gain $4.37B in Latest US Clean Energy Funding

“[… A power co-op in Florida] will use its funding of more than $1.3 billion to develop 700 MW of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects in rural areas, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3.5 million tons annually[….]”

7. Fish-friendly dentistry: New method makes oral research non-lethal

“[… T]he researchers successfully performed the procedure on 60 fish with no fatalities. […] "This new approach researchers to track tooth replacement and development [in living] rare species or museum specimens that can't be damaged."”

8. These Brooklyn Homeowners Couldn’t Afford to Go Green. Then Help Arrived

“The program aims to repair and retrofit 70 two- and three-family homes […] in the span of two years. […] EnergyFit staff work as case managers to help homeowners navigate the complicated technical and bureaucratic processes, coordinate with tenants and set them up for further upgrades down the road.”

9. 2024 was a fantastic year for energy storage

“[… California] became the first state to pass 10 gigawatts, back in April. [… In Texas and California,] when extreme weather events hit, batteries were able to shore up the grid and lower energy costs for customers.”

10. Amid concern over microplastics, a Maine company creates a kelp-based laundry pod alternative

“"The slurry we're creating is similar to that of paper milling, and […] with Maine there's a lot of old infrastructure from the paper industry [… which] can be applied to our process here[….]” If all goes to plan, Dirigo Sea Farms' first batch of 10,000 kelp-based laundry pods will be ready for online sales by next spring.”

December 15-21 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[msterpicasso]

@arrogantakua

[louis--wifey]

WTTT Incorrect Quotes but it's just things that people in my real life have said

It's so long I'm so sorry 😭😭

~~~~

Illinois, cleaning his shoes: Last time I wore these shoes I got apple butter on them..

Ohio: I remember that song. *singing* Apple butter shoes, boots with the fur.

~~~~

Florida: *yapping*

New York, who forgot his phone in the car: I'm going to get my phone so I can ignore you for a minute.

~~~~

South Carolina: Georgia and I are dressing at Waylon and Willie for Halloween!

North Carolina: I could be Johnny Cash and just lay there in a coffin... *To the tune of Hurt by NIN covered by Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash impression.* I hurt myself, today

~~~~

Washington, helping Nevada with his math homework: Let's break it down

Nevada: I'll break it down *gets off of his chair and starts break dancing*

~~~~

Kansas: That sounded like a car commercial...

Oklahoma: I can write car commercials all day long.

~~~~

Maryland: Nothing says hot like harmonica!

(I have no context for this btw. My professor said it a couple weeks ago and I tuned into the conversation as soon as he said it and I have no idea what was happening before hand)

~~~~

Michigan: Hey, Ohi-

Ohio: And all of the sudden I heard an irritating, grading voice. And it was yours.

~~~~

Illinois: My grandma has chickens, and she's obsessed with chickens.

Minnesota: Tell your grandma to call me.

~~~~

Arizona: If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go lock myself in the cooler.

Utah: Bang on the door if you need anything.

~~~~

Florida: *lands on go to jail in Monopoly* Noooo in jail again!?

Gov: That's something we need to talk about. If you keep driving so fast you're going to end up in jail.

Florida: Oh I thought this was gonna be about me puking in the county jail parking lot...

~~~~

California: What three characters have omniscience?

Florida: Your mom

California: What four characters have omniscience?

~~~~

Colorado: Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Wisconsin: FOOD TRUCK!

~~~~

Missouri: Guess what my dream car is

Indiana: A Lamborghini

Missouri: No

Indiana: A Kia Soul

~~~~

Washington: New York with the leadership skills!

New York: I just know where I'm going -_-

Washington: Say "I'm New York and I'm a baddie"

~~~~

Texas: Can you count change? *Looks down at the change California gave him* You can!

California: I'm great at counting change, I used to do it for fun when I was little. Because I didn't have any friends.

Texas: Pfff-

~~~~

Oregon: A Monster a day keeps the straightness away.

~~~~

Nevada: You look like a clown.

California: Am I a pretty clown?

~~~~

Gov, to Louisiana and Florida: I would stop whining so much if you two stopped drinking alcohol.

California: Sometimes your whining makes me wish I liked alcohol.

~~~~

Florida: Gov, I'm helping!

Alabama: By... Making it harder?

Florida: Yep!

~~~~

Florida, singing: Everybody was kung fu fighting

New Jersey, to the tune Kung Fu Fighting: Everybody should shut the fuck up

~~~~

Washington's cat: *killing a bug.*

Washington: "Rip in half! Rip in half! Rip in half! When I say "beat" you say "that ass" Beat! *Long pause, points to Oregkn* Fill in for him!

Oregon: *slowly turns around in his spinny chair*

Washington: Aw, come on! You can say donkey instead. Beat!

*silence*

Oregon: No.

Washington: Fine. *dances out of the room* K-I-C-K-Y-O-A-S-S Oh yeeessss!

~~~~

Maryland: *playing a cheap toy recorder on a make-shift stage*

Massachusetts: MORE COWBELL!!

~~~~

California: I just love feeling like a menopausal woman.

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Oregon, sick: The crystal ladies said if you got sick after the eclipse, it's your ancestors banishing evil from your body.

Idaho: They're praying the gay away

~~~~

South Dakota: Wish me luck in war

Minnesota: You're not going to war, you're asking for a box

South Dakota: It's the same thing, damn it!

~~~~

Alaska: Penny for your thoughts?

Hawaii: I don't have any pennies.

Alaska: I don't have any thoughts!

~~~~

Louisiana: We can bring the baguette to and beat California with it...

Florida: Or Utah.

~~~~

Gov: If you could make any crime legal what would it be?

New York, Florida and Louisiana at the same time: Arson!

Gov: *mortified expression*

~~~~

Iowa, about chicken: Are you a thigh person?

Nebraska: I like legs... ThEy TrIeD tO pUt Me On ThE cOvEr Of VoGuE bUt My LeGs WeRe ToO LONGGGGG!

~~~~

Colorado: I need a stick!

California: I need a boyfriend, your point?

Colorado: ...Not that kind of stick.

~~~~

Oregkn: In high school my favorite past time was kissing boys.

Washington: *turns to California* Is that your favorite past time too?

~~~~

Texas: Why aren't bananas called yellows?

Florida: Because then Gwen Stefani couldn't use it in her song.

Louisiana: She'd just have to spell it different: This shit is yellows! Y-E-L-L-O-W-S!

~~~~

California: He's gay and he committed suicide.

New York: He's you... Don't commit suicide, please.

California: I WILL BECOME A MUSICAL!

New York: NOOO DO NOT BECOME A MUSICAL!

~~~~

North Carolina: I seriously hate you sometimes.

South Carolina Aww I love you too!

~~~~

Vermont: You wanna know the biggest dingus I know?

New Hampshire: You?

~~~~

Wisconsin: You're a yeasty beer

Illinois: You're a zesty beer

Wisconsin: Yeah well, your light in the loafers!

~~~~

Arizona: *says something dumb*

Nevada: Shaking my as- shaking my head.

~~~~

New York: *takes a drink of my pumpkin spice latte* Oh, that's delightful!

California: Look who's a white woman now?!

[later]

California: You basic white woman!

New York: I don't wanna talk about it...

~~~~

Louisiana: *throws a packet of French dressing at Florida, in a French accent* French

Florida: AAAAA IT'S FRENCH!!!

~~~~

Florida: Oh, I thought you were committing arson without me

Gov: If I ever decide to commit arson, I'll call you

~~~~

Florida: Ah yes, my favorite crime, trespassing. I'm joking... it's not my favorite crime

Georgia: What is your favorite crime?

Florida: Arson!

~~~~

Arizona: Finally a good song

New Mexico: Then why do you keep playing bad ones?

~~~~

*Either someone brought up Pedro Pascal*

California: He's the daddiest of daddies.

Texas: Don't say that ever again.

~~~~

Maine: There are more animals on the planet than humans and just think you could have been born a crab, but you were born a human"

Maryland: I wish I was a crab, then I could be crabby all day long

Maine: I'm all ready crabby all day long

Maryland: Yeah but if you were a crab you could crawl around and pinch people *walks away sideways with hands held like pinchers*

~~~~

Alaska: Why are you getting cologne

Hawaii: I want to smell like a masc lesbian.

~~~~

California: I've had morning sickness for the past five years

Florida: Are you pregnant-

~~~~

Washington: You can choose what you eat, whether it's vegetables, meat, or ass.

Nevada: *dying laughing* That threw me off guard.

~~~~

New York: PA, your turn to tell a word that means something bad

Pennsylvania: Would you consider emotional manipulation bad?

New Jersey: Yeah, I mean no, it turns me on

Pennsylvania: I guess my mom will really turn you on then

~~~~

Tennessee: Don't panic but there's a spider on your-

Kentucky: *Proceeds to scream bloody murder*

~~~~

Virginia: *sniffs bread.*

Virginia: "It's sourdough."

~~~~

New York: You know I'm insane, right?

California: I'm aware, but I don't care. It's one of your redeeming qualities.

[doueverwonder]

do u guy ever have a hc that translates into all fics that u read, like something silly that doesn't effect plot its just there To Me. So like for wttt this is what language they're speaking, like fic with just Texas and California? they're speaking Spanish the whole fic btw. in all midwest fics they're speaking French to each other as far as I'm concerned (explanation for that one here); same with Loui and Maine. York, Jersey and Penn are speaking Dutch. Penn and Delaware are speaking Swedish. Alaska grumbles to himself in a fic? yeah he's grumbling in Alaskan Yup'ik or Russian. When Arizona and NM want to have a private conversation in West Meetings they switch the Navajo (Utah is biding his time before letting them know he speaks it too :)). yeah this is all canon. no it doesn't affect the plot its just for me.

[ihatethejerseyshore]

Finally done

Its a little crappy but idrc it was fun to draw :D

Again i didnt shade/render

References:

[misery-has-no-company-now]

Colorado [completely high]: Is stabbing someone immoral?

California and Nevada: Not if they consent to it.

New Mexico: Depends on who you're stabbing

Arizona: And on how times you stab them

Utah: Yes??!!

[theofficialastronomy101]

More than 30 people in Southern California reported seeing a giant fireball flash across the night sky on July 25, but what caused it is still a mystery. The American Meteor Society received 34 reports of witnesses seeing the fireball over the San Diego area at around 9:20 p.m. The fireball was also reportedly seen by residents of New Mexico, eastern Texas, and across the border in Mexico.

Our camera is facing south and the object flew from west to east,” Woods told NBC 7 News. “I first thought it might be a Starlink launch because this is the exact trajectory I’ve seen in previous launches, but there was nothing scheduled. So what could it have been?

[zomb-luv]

HIIIII HI HI UHMMM IF YOU LIVE IN THE FOLLOWING STATES AS A QUEER [especially queer+trans] AND DISABLED PERSON PLEAAASE REACH OUT TO ME TELLING ME ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES!!!! IM LOOKING TO MOVE!!!!!

north dakota

iowa

rhode island

wisconsin

new hampshire

alaska [strongly considering]

indiana

oregon [strongly considering]

maine [considering]

minnesota

vermont

washington

connecticut

new jersey

delaware

california

illinois

THANK YOU SO SO SO SO MUCH OMG ILY IF YOU REACH OUT OR ENGAGE THANK YOU.

[goldengay49]

Shhhh, don’t show this to Texas or Wyoming

[el-smacko]

So I think that a lot of American liberals can’t really contextualize Palestine well enough to be antizionists because it would force them to recognize that the United States partitioned Mexico and has followed similar trends ideologically. The name the so-called “Aztecs” used for themselves was Mexican. Whatever else you may say about the fact, at the end of the day 1% of people in the Anglo US are native or mixed while in Mexico it is the majority. Which means that Mexico and the Mexican identity represents the millennially-rooted autochthonous cultivators of an ecology that Anglo Texans and Californians alike are devastating. Mexicans—and I do mean Mexicans, in every sense of the word—successfully managed the land for longer than Europeans have existed. Meanwhile, to use the Ogallala Aquifer (watering a third of irrigated cropland in the US) as an example, a 1000% deficit in aquifer replenishment has spent 500 years worth of rain in just the last 50. This unsustainable overdraft is exacerbated by industrial contamination, anthropogenic droughts, and a general vacancy of stewardship.

This is all to say that, far from being in the past, the US dispossession of the indigenous from their land is currently manifest in enforcement of the Southern Border and we should contextualize it that way when we demand more leftism from Democrats.

[destielmemenews]

source 1

source 2

[creepyamericana]

Southeast Poll

Mid-Atlantic Poll

Northeast Poll

Midwest Poll

Rocky Mountains Poll

Pacific Northwest Poll

Non-Contiguous Poll

[thomaswaynewolf]

[louis--wifey]

How tall I think all of the states are

I don't think I've done this before if I have, I forgot. I'm bored and I have nothing better to do. (I'm gonna list them by tallest to shortest and with minimum commentary)

Note: as I am writing this note, I am midway writing this whole thing and realizing that basing it off of the size of state is not the right choice. I am now going with energies but I am not changing any of the commentary that I already made because fuck that

Alaska - 6'8"

I've seen people put Alaska as over 7 ft tall and I have a cousin, multiple cousins actually, who are in fact over 7 ft tall and I don't think you guys understand how tall that is. It is terrifying to be barely over 5 ft tall and have somebody towering to feet over you. My neighbor is 6'7" and that is about as much as I can handle without feeling like I'm about to get trampled by a fucking Sasquatch. Alaska is tall but he's not 7 ft tall and I will stand by that

Texas - 6'4"

California - 6'3"

I know that Texas is fairly larger than California but California is long. I see him as being tall and skinny but not taller than Texas tall like barely shorter than Texas tall.

Montana - 6'2"

New Mexico - 6'

Arizona - 5'11"

Nevada - 5'11"

Colorado - 5'11"

Wyoming - 5'11"

Oregon - 5'10"

Minnesota - 5'10"

Idaho - 5'10"

Missouri - 5'10"

New York - 5'9"

Most of these are, in fact, based on the size of the actual state however New York has 5'9" energy. I can't explain it but he does.

Nebraska - 5'9"

South Dakota - 5'9"

North Dakota - 5'9"

Oklahoma - 5'9"

Alabama - 5'9"

Mississippi - 5'9"

North Carolina - 5'9"

Tennessee - 5'9"

Utah - 5'8"

Utah is another one that is not based on size of state because he has too much smol boy energy

Kansas - 5'8"

Pennsylvania - 5'8"

Wisconsin - 5'8"

Georgia - 5'8"

Louisiana - 5'8"

Illinois - 5'7"

Kentucky - 5'7"

Virginia - 5'7"

Arkansas - 5'7"

Iowa - 5'7"

Ohio - 5'7"

South Carolina - 5'7"

Michigan - 5'6"

Michigan is actually the biggest one of all of the midwest states but I'm making him the shortest because he has too much blouse energy to be taller than 5'6".

Washington - 5'6"

West Virginia - 5'6"

Maine - 5'6"

Indiana - 5'5"

I take it back, Indiana is shorter because he has skirt energy and he has even smoler boy vibes than Michigan

Connecticut - 5'5"

Florida - 5'5"

Florida is 5'5" because Ben is 5'5" that is my only reasoning.

Maryland - 5'4"

Hawaii - 5'4"

Massachusetts - 5'3"

New Jersey - 5'3"

Vermont - 5'2"

New Hampshire - 5'2"

Delaware - 5'

Rhode Island - 4'11"