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mariacallous · 3 months ago

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On Tuesday morning, five days after Hurricane Helene ripped through Boone, North Carolina, David Marlett was on his way to the campus of Appalachian State University. The managing director of the university’s Brantley Risk & Insurance Center, Marlett was planning to spend the day working with his colleagues to help students and community members understand their insurance policies and file claims in the wake of the storm. He didn’t sound hopeful. “I’m dreading it,” he said. “So many people are just not going to have coverage.”

Helene made landfall southeast of Tallahassee, Florida, last week with winds up to 140 miles per hour, downing trees and bringing record-breaking storm surges to areas along the Gulf Coast before charging up through Georgia. But perhaps its most shocking impacts have been on inland North Carolina, where it first started raining while the storm was still over Mexico. At least 57 people are dead in Buncombe County in the west of the state alone. Communities like Boone received dozens of inches of rainfall despite being hundreds of miles from the coast. Waters rose in main streets, sinkholes and mudslides wreaked havoc, and major roads were blocked, flooded, or degraded by the storm.

Now, there’s a good chance that many homeowners in North Carolina won’t see any payouts from their insurance companies—even if they have policies they thought were comprehensive.

“The property insurance market for homes was already a patchwork system that really doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Marlett says. “Now you’re adding in the last couple of years of economic uncertainty, inflation, climate change, population migration—it’s just an unbelievably bad combination happening all at once.”

For North Carolinians, the issue right now has to do with what, exactly, private insurance is on the hook for when it comes to a storm. An average homeowner policy covers damage from wind, but private homeowners’ insurance plans in the US do not cover flooding. Instead, homeowners in areas at risk of flooding usually purchase plans from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The way a hurricane wreaks havoc on a state is a crucial deciding factor for insurers’ wallets. Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida as a category 4 storm with some of the highest wind speeds on record, caused $63 billion in private insurance claims. In contrast, the bulk of the $17 billion in damage caused by 2018’s Hurricane Florence, which tore up the North Carolina coast, was water damage, not wind; as a result, private insurers largely avoided picking up the check for that disaster.

This breakout of flood insurance from home policies dates back to the 1940s, says Donald Hornstein, a law professor at the University of North Carolina and a member of the board of directors of the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association. Private insurance companies decided that they did not have enough data to be able to accurately predict flooding and therefore could not insure it. “In some ways, that calculation of 50 years ago is still the calculation insurers make today,” he says.

While the NFIP, which was created in the late 1960s, provides virtually the only backup against flood damage, the program is saddled with debt and has become a political hot potato. (Project 2025, for instance, recommends phasing out the program entirely and replacing it with private options.) Part of the problem with the NFIP is low uptake. Across the country, FEMA statistics show that just 4 percent of homeowners have flood insurance. Some areas hit by Helene in Appalachia, initial statistics show, have less than 2.5 percent of homeowners signed up for the federal program.

“Even in coastal areas, not many people buy that, much less here in the mountains,” Marlett says. “People have never seemed to fully understand that flood is a separate policy.”

Flooding is not unprecedented in the mountains of North Carolina: Hurricane Ivan swept through Appalachia in 2004, and flash floods from rivers are not unheard of. Purchasing flood insurance is mandatory with a government-backed mortgage in some areas of the country, based on flood zones set by FEMA. But the data is based on extremely outdated floodplain maps that have not taken the most recent climate science on record rainfall into account.

“The biggest non-secret in Washington for decades is how hopelessly out of date these flood maps are,” Hornstein says.

Even if water wasn’t the cause of destruction for some homeowners in North Carolina, the storm’s disastrous mudslides—another risk supercharged by climate change—may not be covered either. Many home insurance policies have carve-outs for what are known as “earth movements,” which includes landslides, sinkholes, and earthquakes. In some states, like California, insurers are mandated to offer additional earthquake insurance, and homeowners can purchase private additional policies that cover earth movements. But in a state like North Carolina, where earthquake risk is extremely low, homeowners may not even know that such policies exist.

It’s also been a tough few years for the insurance industry across the country. A New York Times analysis from May showed that homeowners’ insurers lost money in 18 states in 2023—up from eight states in 2013—largely thanks to expensive disasters like hurricanes and wildfires. Payouts are increasingly costing insurers more than they are getting in premiums. Homeowners are seeing their policies jump as a result: According to statistics compiled by insurance comparison shopping site Insurify, the average annual cost of home insurance climbed nearly 20 percent between 2021 and 2023. In Florida, which has the highest insurance costs in the country, the average homeowner paid over $10,000 a year in 2023—more than $8,600 above the national rate.

Florida has made headlines in recent months as ground zero for the climate-change insurance crisis. More than 30 insurance companies have either fully or partially pulled out of Florida over the past few years, including big names like Farmers’ and AAA, after mounting losses from repeated major hurricanes like 2022’s Ian, the most expensive natural disaster in the state’s history. Florida’s insurer of last resort, now saddled with risk from multiple homeowners, has proposed a rate increase of 14 percent, set to go into effect next year.

In comparison, North Carolina’s insurance market looks pretty good. No insurers have exited the state since 2008, while homeowners pay an average of $2,100 per year—high, but avoiding the sky-high rates of states like Florida, California, and Texas.

“What traditionally has happened is that there’s a rate increase every few years of 8 to 9 percent for homeowner’s insurance,” says Hornstein. “That has kept the market stable, especially when it comes to the coast.”

But as natural disasters of all kinds mount, it’s tough to see a way forward for insurance business as usual. The NFIP is undergoing a series of changes to update the way it calculates rates for flood insurance—but it faces political minefields in potentially expanding the number of homeowners mandated to buy policies. What’s more, many homeowners are seeing the prices for their flood insurance rise as the NFIP adjusts its rates for existing floodplains using new climate models.

Many experts agree that the private market needs to reflect in some way the true cost of living in a disaster-prone area: in other words, it should be more expensive for people to move to a city where it’s more likely your house will be wiped off the map by a storm. The cost of climate change does not seem to be a deterrent in Florida, one of the fastest-growing states in the country, where coastal regions like Panama City, Jacksonville, and Port St. Lucie are booming. (Some research suggests that the mere existence of the NFIP shielded policyholders from the true costs of living in flood-prone areas.)

Asheville, at the heart of Buncombe County, was once hailed as a climate haven safe from disasters; the city is now reeling in the wake of Helene. For many homeowners, small business owners, and renters in western North Carolina, the damage from Helene will be life-changing. FEMA payouts may bring, at best, only a fraction of what a home would be worth. Auto insurance generally covers all types of damage, including flooding—a small bright spot of relief, but not enough to offset the loss of a family’s main asset.

“People at the coast, at some point after the nth storm, they start to get the message,” Hornstein says. “But for people in the western part of the state, this is just Armageddon. And you can certainly forgive them for not having before appreciated the fine points of these impenetrable contracts.”

Marlett says that there are models for insurance that are designed to better withstand the challenges of climate change. New Zealand, for instance, offers policies that cover all types of damage that could happen to your house; while these policies are increasingly tailored price-wise to different types of risk, there’s no chance a homeowner would experience a climate disaster not covered by their existing policies. But it’s hard, he says, to see the US system getting the wholesale overhaul it needs, given how long the piecemeal system has been in place.

“I sound so pessimistic,” he said. “I’m normally an optimistic person.”

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madamlaydebug · 5 months ago

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The Truth Behind '40 Acres and a Mule'

BY: HENRY LOUIS GATES JR

We've all heard the story of the "40 acres and a mule" promise to former slaves. It's a staple of black history lessons, and it's the name of Spike Lee's film company. The promise was the first systematic attempt to provide a form of reparations to newly freed slaves, and it was astonishingly radical for its time, proto-socialist in its implications. In fact, such a policy would be radical in any country today: the federal government's massive confiscation of private property -- some 400,000 acres -- formerly owned by Confederate land owners, and its methodical redistribution to former black slaves. What most of us haven't heard is that the idea really was generated by black leaders themselves.

It is difficult to stress adequately howrevolutionary this idea was: As the historian Eric Foner puts it in his book, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877, "Here in coastal South Carolina and Georgia, the prospect beckoned of a transformation of Southern society more radical even than the end of slavery." Try to imagine how profoundly different the history of race relations in the United States would have been had this policy been implemented and enforced; had the former slaves actually had access to the ownership of land, of property; if they had had a chance to be self-sufficient economically, to build, accrue and pass on wealth. After all, one of the principal promises of America was the possibility of average people being able to ownland, and all that such ownership entailed. As we know all too well, this promise was not to be realized for the overwhelming majority of the nation's former slaves, who numbered about 3.9 million.

What Exactly Was Promised?

We have been taught in school that the source of the policy of "40 acres and a mule" was Union General William T. Sherman's Special Field Order No. 15, issued on Jan. 16, 1865. (That account is half-right: Sherman prescribed the 40 acres in that Order, but not the mule. The mule would come later.) But what many accounts leave out is that this idea for massive land redistribution actually was the result of a discussion that Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton held four days beforeSherman issued the Order, with 20 leaders of the black community in Savannah, Ga., where Sherman was headquartered following his famous March to the Sea. The meeting was unprecedented in American history.

Today, we commonly use the phrase "40 acres and a mule," but few of us have read the Order itself. Three of its parts are relevant here. Section one bears repeating in full: "The islands from Charleston, south, the abandoned rice fields along the rivers for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the St. Johns river, Florida, are reserved and set apart for the settlement of the negroes [sic] now made free by the acts of war and the proclamation of the President of the United States."

Section two specifies that these new communities, moreover, would be governed entirely by black people themselves: " … on the islands, and in the settlements hereafter to be established, no white person whatever, unless military officers and soldiers detailed for duty, will be permitted to reside; and the sole and exclusive management of affairs will be left to the freed people themselves … By the laws of war, and orders of the President of the United States, the negro [sic] is free and must be dealt with as such."

Finally, section three specifies the allocation of land: " … each family shall have a plot of not more than (40) acres of tillable ground, and when it borders on some water channel, with not more than 800 feet water front, in the possession of which land the military authorities will afford them protection, until such time as they can protect themselves, or until Congress shall regulate their title."

With this Order, 400,000 acres of land -- "a strip of coastline stretching from Charleston, South Carolina, to the St. John's River in Florida, including Georgia's Sea Islands and the mainland thirty miles in from the coast," asBarton Myers reports -- would be redistributed to the newly freed slaves. The extent of this Order and its larger implications are mind-boggling, actually.

Who Came Up With the Idea?

Here's how this radical proposal -- which must have completely blown the minds of the rebel Confederates -- actually came about. The abolitionists Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens and other Radical Republicans had been actively advocating land redistribution "to break the back of Southern slaveholders' power," as Myers observed. But Sherman's plan only took shape after the meeting that he and Stanton held with those black ministers, at 8:00 p.m., Jan. 12, on the second floor of Charles Green's mansion on Savannah's Macon Street. In its broadest strokes, "40 acres and a mule" was their idea.

Stanton, aware of the great historical significance of the meeting, presented Henry Ward Beecher (Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous brother) a verbatim transcript of the discussion, which Beecher read to his congregation at New York's Plymouth Church and which the New York Daily Tribune printed in full in its Feb. 13, 1865, edition. Stanton told Beecher that "for the first time in the history of this nation, the representatives of the government had gone to these poor debased people to ask them what they wanted for themselves." Stanton had suggested to Sherman that they gather "the leaders of the local Negro community" and ask them something no one else had apparently thought to ask: "What do you want for your own people" following the war? And what they wanted astonishes us even today.

Who were these 20 thoughtful leaders who exhibited such foresight? They were all ministers, mostly Baptist and Methodist. Most curious of all to me is that 11 of the 20 had been born free in slave states, of which 10 had lived as free men in the Confederacy during the course of the Civil War. (The other one, a man named James Lynch, was born free in Maryland, a slave state, and had only moved to the South two years before.) The other nine ministers had been slaves in the South who became "contraband," and hence free, only because of the Emancipation Proclamation, when Union forces liberated them.

Their chosen leader and spokesman was a Baptist minister named Garrison Frazier, aged 67, who had been born in Granville, N.C., andwas a slave until 1857, "when he purchased freedom for himself and wife for $1000 in gold and silver," as the New York Daily Tribune reported. Rev. Frazier had been "in the ministry for thirty-five years," and it was he who bore the responsibility of answering the 12 questions that Sherman and Stanton put to the group. The stakes for the future of the Negro people were high.

And Frazier and his brothers did not disappoint. What did they tell Sherman and Stanton that the Negro most wanted? Land! "The way we can best take care of ourselves," Rev. Frazier began his answer to the crucial third question, "is to have land, and turn it and till it by our own labor … and we can soon maintain ourselves and have something to spare … We want to be placed on land until we are able to buy it and make it our own." And when asked next where the freed slaves "would rather live -- whether scattered among the whites or in colonies by themselves," without missing a beat, Brother Frazier (as the transcript calls him) replied that "I would prefer to live by ourselves, for there is a prejudice against us in the South that will take years to get over … " When polled individually around the table, all but one -- James Lynch, 26, the man who had moved south from Baltimore -- said that they agreed with Frazier. Four days later, Sherman issued Special Field Order No. 15, after President Lincoln approved it.

What Became of the Land That Was Promised?

The response to the Order was immediate. When the transcript of the meeting was reprinted in the black publication Christian Recorder, an editorial note intoned that "From this it will be seen that the colored people down South are not so dumb as many suppose them to be," reflecting North-South, slave-free black class tensions that continued well into the modern civil rights movement. The effect throughout the South was electric: As Eric Foner explains, "the freedmen hastened to take advantage of the Order." Baptist minister Ulysses L. Houston, one of the group that had met with Sherman, led 1,000 blacks to Skidaway Island, Ga., where they established a self-governing community with Houston as the "black governor." And by June, "40,000 freedmen had been settled on 400,000 acres of 'Sherman Land.' " By the way, Sherman later ordered that the army could lend the new settlers mules; hence the phrase, "40 acres and a mule."

And what happened to this astonishingly visionary program, which would have fundamentally altered the course of American race relations? Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's successor and a sympathizer with the South, overturned the Order in the fall of 1865, and, as Barton Myers sadly concludes, "returned the land along the South Carolina, Georgia and Florida coasts to the planters who had originally owned it" -- to the very people who had declared war on the United States of America.

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leviathan-supersystem · 6 months ago

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@traveling-spartan @priveetru

gonna be responding to this in a separate post because i've already left two comments on the post this was in reply to and i suspect that the OP already would consider that two too many.

at any rate:

Government regulation causes monopolies more often than it combats them.

[...]

It's why big corps like Disney lobby for said regulation in the first place, it crushes all their smaller competitors for them.

for what it's worth the data doesn't seem to be backing this up. if both these claims were true, you'd expect to see a multitude of pieces of regulation that disney supported, and few if any pieces of regulation that disney opposed, but this quick overview of some of disney world's political spending on florida trend [x] doesn't show that. now admittedly this is just the partial info for the disney world division in florida specifically, and not a general overview of all their political spending, so if anyone has more complete data i'd be interested to hear it. that said, i think it's a decent slice of data to start with.

in fairness, here we can find one notable example of disney lobbying for regulation- namely when they funded efforts to support Amendment 3, which would have prevented any more large casino chains from opening in florida, so that disney world could avoid competing with major casino chains like Genting and Las Vegas Sands. and, to be fair, as noted in the article this was a pretty major driver of campaign spending.

however, A: this was primarily aimed at combating rival megacorps, not combating small businesses, (and naturally the casino megacorps disney was fighting were spending their lobbying money to combat said regulation) and B: this was the only time in the article we see disney fighting for regulation rather than against. examples in the article of disney lobbying against regulation include:

By virtue of its size and economic importance, Disney has always been an influential voice in state politics. But the company had found itself on the losing end in a series of lobbying battles — among them, a fight with the National Rifle Association about whether employees could bring guns to work.

this is an important example of how regulation of private enterprise is sometimes necessary to preserve our fundamental rights- if disney can say employees can't bring guns to work even if they keep them in their parked car, what's to stop landlords from saying tenets can't bring guns in their apartment? if you value the right to bear arms, you should understand why sometimes the power of private enterprise over employees and customers must sometimes be curbed.

Disney also battled with personal-injury attorneys about whether parents could sign away the liability rights of their children and with counties and hotel chains about how online travel companies should be taxed.

[...]

Disney’s 2018 spending included $1 million on Amendment 2, which keeps a tax cap in place that limits increases in the taxable value of commercial and other non-homestead property from rising more than 10% per year. Records show Disney was by far the largest donor to a Florida Chamber of Commerce-backed political committee used to promote the amendment. The cap saved Disney more than $6 million last year alone through reduced property tax payments to Orange County and the South Florida Water Management District.

[...]

As prominent as Disney has made itself on the campaign trail, lawmakers who have worked with the company say it still tries hard to maintain a low profile while lobbying — to avoid having its brand linked with potentially controversial public policies. Disney, for example, has exerted “significant influence” on the Legislature to not pass a law requiring employers to use the e-Verify system to ensure they aren’t employing undocumented workers, says former Senate President Don Gaetz, a Republican from Okaloosa County.

[...]

Cloaked or not, the company enjoyed a number of successes in the 2019 legislative session. Late in the session, as lawmakers finalized a broad tax package, Disney — working through the Florida Retail Federation — persuaded lawmakers to add an extra sales-tax break that will help big retailers who order too much inventory and wind up not selling it all. Retailers generally don’t have to pay sales tax when they order inventory because they are planning to resell it to consumers. The sale to consumers is the transaction that’s supposed to be taxed. But retailers must pay the tax on whatever they don’t sell, since they have become the end user of the product. Disney has for years donated its leftover inventory to charities. So the company persuaded the Legislature to create a sales tax exemption for the leftover inventory that goes to charity. Economists expect the new tax break will save retailers about $5 million a year. Disney won’t say how much it expects to save itself. Disney also worked quietly to reshape a bill, which it objected to in 2018, that would have exposed hotel operators to civil lawsuits if they failed to do enough to prevent human trafficking.

i'll leave it for the reader to consider why disney would want to combat regulation which might cause them to be held accountable for facilitating human trafficking.

Disney even won some changes in state rules for how tourist venues manage all the stuff — from hats to strollers to phones — that visitors lose or leave behind. Generally, businesses are supposed to alert law enforcement and must hold on to lost property for 90 days before they can dispose of it. But that has become cumbersome for Disney — and for Universal Orlando, Central Florida’s other big theme-park resort — which must devote lots of warehouse space simply to holding lost-and-found items. Disney helped write a bill establishing new rules for theme parks, hotels and some other commercial venues that requires them to hold the property for just 30 days and then donate it directly to charity.

looking outside the article to other examples of disney's political lobbying, we find them lobbying against minimum wage laws [x]

Five years ago, on Nov. 6, 2018, the city’s voters approved Measure L, which mandated that “area resort workers” — Disneyland employees, basically — must be paid a living wage if the parent company receives city subsidies. The Walt Disney Company, which at the time was paying some of its workers the state-mandated $11 an hour minimum, fought the measure bitterly, and the ordinance spent most of the next five years kicking around the state court system as a class-action lawsuit sought to force the company to comply. Only in late October, when the California Supreme Court declined to hear Disney’s final appeal, did Measure L become settled city law.

we can also find disney lobbying against heat safety regulations (and against raises to the minimum wage at the same time, a twofer) [x]

House Bill 433 prohibits local governments from passing legislation that protects workers from extreme heat and laws requiring companies to raise the minimum wage beyond the state’s current $12 an hour. But now, we’re learning more about how this bill was passed and the role that Disney World played in helping to remove basic protections from outdoor workers, including cast members. According to Jason Garcia of Seeking Rents, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida donated more than $2 million to mostly Republican legislatures and another $1 million to the Florida Republican Party. The two lobbying groups expected House Bill 433 to become law for those donations.

[...]

Local government officials in South Florida were considering passing heat protections after the death of migrant farm workers of heat stroke. These laws would have prohibited work in extreme Florida heat and mandatory water breaks for workers. The possibility of these laws stopping work became dangerous to businesses in Florida, which would have had to shut down in extreme heat. Thus, donations to politicians were made to get this bill passed.

[...]

The law was wildly unpopular, with hundreds of civic groups opposing it. That outrage nearly killed the bill. However, according to Garcia, with just one day left in the legislative session, lobbyists sent texts to lawmakers to ensure the bill’s passage.

so what can we see from all this? first, that there are more pieces of regulation that large businesses lobby against than regulations that they lobby for, so the claim that businesses are the primary force behind pushing regulation is patently false and B: when businesses do support regulation in order to pursue their financial interests, this is mainly in order to combat rival large corporations, not small businesses. because fundamentally large businesses don't have to worry that much about competition from small businesses, because fundamentally small businesses can't compete. a small business would have had to expand to the point of being a large corporation long before it would be something disney would have to worry about "competing" with instead of just buying out or ignoring entirely. you think that a megacorp like disney is worried about competition from a little mom and pop shop? get real.

Fines for breaking the rules, for example, always disproportionately affect small businesses where large corporations either have enough money to pay those fines and be unaffected by them, or have the legal teams to get around them.

a few responses to this. the first is, so what? laws against murder, rape, assault, etc are all easier for the rich to dodge, and yet we don't decide murder should be legal. the solution to that imbalance is to be more serious about holding rich people accountable for these crimes, or for fine-related punishment to scale the fine to income, not to get rid of the laws altogether. if a regulation outlaws genuinely abusive or harmful behavior from a company, the way that small companies can avoid that fine is by simply not engaging in abusive or harmful behavior.

secondly, plenty of regulations nonetheless have specific exemptions for small businesses anyway. for example

In general, if your business is under $50 million in annual sales and your fuel or additive has traditional chemistry, then you are exempt from the health effects testing requirements. If you have non-traditional chemistry and are under $10 million in annual sales, you are exempt from some of the testing. EPA staff can discuss testing requirements.

[x]

or for another example:

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires packaged foods and dietary supplements to bear nutrition labeling unless they qualify for an exemption (A complete description of the requirements). One exemption, for low-volume products, applies if the person claiming the exemption employs fewer than an average of 100 full-time equivalent employees and fewer than 100,000 units of that product are sold in the United States in a 12-month period. To qualify for this exemption the person must file a notice annually with FDA. Note that low volume products that bear nutrition claims do not qualify for an exemption of this type. Another type of exemption applies to retailers with annual gross sales of not more than $500,000, or with annual gross sales of foods or dietary supplements to consumers of not more than $50,000. For these exemptions, a notice does not need to be filed with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On May 7, 2007, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched a new web-based submission process for small businesses to file an annual notice of exemption from the nutrition labeling requirements. The new process will make it easier for businesses to update their information. In addition, firms eligible for the exemption will receive an electronic reminder when it is time to resubmit their nutrition labeling small business exemption notice.

[x]

or yet another:

Manufacturers of consumer products covered by the Department of Energy (DOE) standards with annual gross revenues not exceeding $8 million from all its operations, including the manufacture and sale of covered products, for the 12-month period preceding the date of application, may apply for a temporary exemption from all or part of an energy or water conservation standard. (42 U.S.C. 6295 (t))

[x]

so, no, regulations are not a sinister trick of large corporations to crush small business, because if they were they wouldn't specifically exempt small businesses.

does this mean that @priveetru was right? are regulations an important part of maintaining ideal market conditions and thus creating Real Capitalism, which is Good?

also no.

first, it's all "real capitalism". more regulated, less regulated, it's still Real Capitalism. and as demonstrated by the things going on around us, right now, real capitalism is Bad.

as @traveling-spartan pointed out, large corporations can simply afford to pay or dodge any fees for breaking regulation (though overall they would prefer not to have to, hence why they usually fight against regulation) and small businesses are often exempt from regulations in the first place. so who do regulations actually prevent from economic malfeasance?

nobody. not a soul. they're a completely ineffective bandaid on a bazooka wound which accomplishes nothing.

regulated or unregulated, all market economies tend towards consolidation. on a long enough timeline, all small businesses either are successful enough to become large businesses, are unsuccessful enough to go out of business, or are average enough to get bought out. it's an inevitable part of capitalism as it actually exists, and no matter what fantasy you chase after of a hypothetical, imaginary, impossible "real" capitalism, whether this fantasy is laissez-faire or tightly regulated, you will never escape that reality.

if you want to solve the problem, you can't keep chasing after an imaginary "real capitalism". instead you need to move past capitalism altogether. if you want to address the fact that bill gates and other billionaires are monopolizing farmland and therefore gaining control over our very subsistence, the solution to that isn't to sit around praying to the invisible hand of the free market to save us, and it's also not begging and pleading the existing bourgeoisie state to Le Heckin Tax The Billionaires. the real solution is for regular working class people like us to rise up and take back what is rightfully ours, and create a new state that actually serves the needs of the working people and not just the owning class.

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beardedmrbean · 5 months ago

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A U.S. judge in Florida on Monday dismissed the criminal case accusing Donald Trump of illegally holding onto classified documents after leaving office, handing the Republican former president another major legal victory as he seeks a return to the White House.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, was unlawfully appointed to his role and did not have the authority to bring the case.

It marked another blockbuster legal triumph for Trump, following a July 1 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that as a former president he has immunity from prosecution for many of his actions in office.

Cannon's ruling came two days after Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in western Pennsylvania. Trump is set to be formally named the Republican presidential nominee in Milwaukee this week challenging Democratic President Joe Biden in the Nov. 5 U.S. election.

Prosecutors are likely to appeal the ruling. Courts in other cases have repeatedly upheld the ability of the U.S. Justice Department to appoint special counsels to handle certain politically sensitive investigations.

A spokesperson for Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At the very least, Cannon's ruling throws the future of the case into doubt. Smith is also prosecuting Trump in federal court in Washington on charges involving the former president's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, but his lawyers have not made a similar challenge to the special counsel in that case.

In the documents case, Trump was indicted on charges that he willfully retained sensitive national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office in 2021 and obstructed government efforts to retrieve the material.

Two others, Trump personal aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Olivera, were also charged with obstructing the investigation.

Trump's lawyers challenged the legal authority for Attorney General Merrick Garland's 2022 decision to appoint Smith to lead investigations into Trump. They argued that the appointment violated the U.S. Constitution because Smith's office was not created by Congress and the special counsel was not confirmed by the Senate.

Lawyers in Smith's office disputed Trump's claims, arguing that there was a well-settled practice of using special counsels to manage politically sensitive investigations.

"This ruling flies in the face of about 20 years of institutional precedent, conflicts with rulings issued in both the Mueller investigation and in D.C. with respect to Jack Smith himself," said Bradley Moss, an attorney who specializes in national security.

Moss also said the ruling raises the question of whether Smith will seek to have Cannon removed from the case.

Cannon's ruling is the latest and most consequential in a series of decisions she has made favoring Trump and expressing skepticism about the conduct of prosecutors. The judge previously delayed a trial indefinitely while considering a flurry of Trump’s legal challenges.

In an unusual move, she allowed three outside lawyers, including two who sided with Trump, to argue during a court hearing focused on Trump's challenge to Smith's appointment.

Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas also provided a boost to Trump's challenge to the special counsel. In an opinion agreeing with the court's decision to grant Trump broad immunity in the election-related case, Thomas questioned whether Smith's appointment was lawful using similar arguments to those made by Trump's lawyers.

Garland appointed Smith, a public corruption and international war crimes prosecutor, to give investigations into Trump a degree of independence from the Justice Department under Biden's administration.

#nunyas news

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thepoliticalvulcan · 3 months ago

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As a Floridian, let me just say something about water.

It is not an ornament. It is not a playground. It is a soup of fish poop and lawn fertilizer runoff and sometimes reptilian carnivores that preceded and outlived the dinosaurs. It wants you to gawk at it and forget about inconvenient details like "flood plains" "storm surge" and "evacuation zones." But water is patient and given half a chance or 140 mile an hour winds blowing out from the sea against the coastline, it will take back that mangrove swamp that developers half a century ago drained off and sold to unsuspecting dupes as "paradise."

I personally didn't lose anything in Helene or Ian or Charley, but I've known people who did, and I have had the experience of trying to estimate how screwed I was based on the water level against the mailbox.

What is happening in Florida ironically fits a model that has been discussed in many places but especially Robert Evans et al's "It Could Happen Here" with is term "the crumbles." Less of a sudden, sharp societal collapse and more of a slow but steady erosion. There are people along the Florida coastline, especially in Big Bend (that's the curve between the peninsula and the Panhandle for those not in the know) and the Fort Myers metro area that have experienced devastating flooding two or three times in two years now. The insurance market is a mess because not only is a bad for profit business model to insure coastal Florida areas, its turning into something that's simply not feasible. The money just isn't there.

So what does that mean longterm? Well for the near term, probably an acceleration of existing trends. People who already were being priced out by property taxes and the uninsurability of their homes and business calling a quits and leaving for other areas. If you leave in a rapidly overheating housing market in the Sunbelt, you may very well already be familiar with refugees from Florida's insane politics and crazier housing costs turning up.

The properties they sold off or abandoned will likely be acquired by deep pocketed interests who will redevelop them into some mix of more resilient or something more disposable: expensive timeshares and vacation rentals for instance. Itinerant residents tend to have no loyalty to the community, resent paying into schools and infrastructure, and care little if the area is ecologically ruined and denuded of native wildlife and plant life because for them the carefully manicured and managed illusion of nature will be assumed to be reality.

As a Floridian is my deep seated conviction that having your economic driver be tourism and planned communities breeds reactionary politics. Hospitality doesn't really care if its workers are well educated as long as it has workers. If it has to import those workers and have them live dormitory style, then that's what it will do. Hospitality has no vested interest in infrastructure beyond the walls of its carefully curated experiences, although too much crime and poverty in the news might be a problem.

This is much the same for planned communities that market heavily to remote workers and retirees out of state. Thus there's money for law enforcement but not public infrastructure, public green spaces, education, healthcare etc. because there are amenities to be provided at a premium and on a for profit basis by the owner, not entitlements for people outside the walls of the planned community.

And it almost assuredly breeds contempt. The maintenance department, the check in clerk, the ride share driver: these are not your neighbors. They're from another country, if not literally, then proverbially. They're from the outside. The outside where it is dirty and people are presumed uneducated, coarse, and unruly.

And of course, savvy politicians lean into this. Watch the political ads. The real Floridians are identified as retired or upper middle class suburbanites. No one is for the farm hands picking the ever declining citrus monocultures, the crops falling prey to disease and the land itself becoming more valuable for housing than it is commercial use. If you have a lawn care or pool cleaning business, you can imagine they're talking to you when they talk about small business owners, but there again its not as your employees or perhaps even you get to live in the same neighborhoods as your clients and increasing its not clear you get to live anywhere.

There is some small, dark satisfaction to be gained from the knowledge that, much like the next wave of construction that will happen along the coasts, the pastures, wilderness, and farmland being paved over has been left green for good reasons and the bill for fraudulent impact assessments and security theater flood mitigation will come due. But the developers will have long ago fled town with suitcases full of cash, leaving their tenants waist deep in sewage and hungry reptiles after substandard seawalls and pumps failed.

It would be easy to hate the ignorant who didn't look beyond the walls of their gated communities. In the end they will be suckers and I pity them because many of them will lose family photos and home equity, only to have their insurance company declare insolvency and fight their claims tooth and nail. Many of them will not be the uber rich, many will be the petite bourgeois whose extravagant (by our standards) lifestyle was always far more perilous than they or we could have possibly imagined.

Because water is patient and it will have its swamp back.

#florida #hurricane #housing #ron desantis #florida politics #hurricane helene

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worldofwardcraft · 8 months ago

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The bad example state.

April 25, 2024

In his State of the State Address in January 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis declared that Florida was "the freest state in these United States." He also claimed "the state is well-prepared to withstand future economic turmoil." Turns out this description does not apply at all to his state's insurance industry. That particular segment of Florida's economy is currently verging on catastrophe.

Because of ocean warming, Florida is especially subject to heavy rainfalls, storm surge, and major category hurricanes that can devastate entire cities. For example, 55% of all the properties in Miami are at risk for severe flooding. And Florida's sea level, as much as eight inches higher now than in 1950, is rising by one inch every three years.

Bloomberg Intelligence reports that a 360% rise in Florida's insured losses in the past three decades due to the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters is causing insurers to “hike premiums and exit high-risk areas.” And with reinsurance — essentially insurance for insurers — becoming unaffordable, major insurance companies are fleeing Florida in droves. AIG ceased insuring new properties along Florida's shoreline, while Farmers Group has stopped writing new policies statewide entirely.

So, since Republicans believe a "free" state means having little to no business regulation, homeowners are left having to depend on companies that are smaller, less diversified, less capitalized and more prone to becoming insolvent. A recent study by researchers at Harvard University, Columbia University and the Federal Reserve found that a majority of homes in Florida are insured by companies whose ratings would not receive an A from Demotech Inc., the industry’s primary ratings agency, and thus not be good enough to secure full backing by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Naturally, costs for home insurance have skyrocketed, too. Floridians paid an average annual premium of $10,996 in 2023 — more than anywhere else in the country. And online insurance agent Insurify predicts that number to go up to $11,759 in 2024.

DeSantis likes to hype "free" Florida as a model for the nation. Here's how Latisha Nixon-Jones, law professor at Jackson State University responds to that notion:

Will the state serve as a blueprint for disaster-prone regions, or act as a cautionary tale? After all, states such as California and Louisiana have also seen insurance companies withdrawing from their markets.

Plus, Newsweek reports that Brookfield Asset Management Reinsurance Partnership is pulling out of nine states: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Washington. If Florida is an example for America, that's not very reassuring.

#floridainsurancecrisis #desantisdestroysflorida #climatecrisis

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texashuntranch · 8 months ago

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Hog Hunting in Central Texas - Let the Adventure Begin

Hog hunting is considered an underutilized activity in Texas. There are so many ranches that provide the services of hog hunting, but you have to choose the best one. Texas Hunt Rach has provided the word class services of Hog hunting since 2002. It offers top-notch - hog-hunting adventure services to make the hunting lover's experiences memorable and fun. This considers and provides the best native and exotic animals like Hogs, Elk, Axis Deer, Red Stag, Black Buck, Ibex, Sika Deer, Fallow Buck, white deer, and more. In this article, we dive deep into hog hunting in central Texas.

Why You Consider Hog Hunting In Central Texas?

Wild hogs are invasive, causing financial damage to farmers. They also create an uncontrollable environment for thriving and can transmit diseases to domestic pig populations.

Wild hogs threaten nature; they prefer to eat turkey and quail eggs, turkey poults, and newborn deer. They are extremely intelligent, approximately only at night, and can smell a hunter from a mile away. These wild hogs are popular among society as a game animal that advocates for liberal hunting seasons and regulations. Feral bacon is also one of the finest game meats available, and the ability to hunt year-long combined with the prospects of a good old-fashioned pig roast should incite a craving from all who enjoy the outdoors. This is the great South Texas hunting

Where You Do Hog Hunting in Central Texas

Unlike the greater part of the country that stands by to fill its destiny with people, Texas and Florida have the advantage of geography. Texas alone accounts for an estimated number more than any state, with Florida signified in second place. From the state hunter’s point of view, the whole of the state of Florida does not come under consideration because 160 Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) occupy nearly 6 million acres of public land.

Private property gives hunters the privilege of the top pick of spots, even if it requires additional budget. Although there are isolated cases of exceptions, wild hog hunting in public land is limited to another season where hunting other wild animals is also permitted. Most states have created laws allowing hunters to hunt private lands year-round and at night with the landowner's written permission. Certain states don't even provide for one to have a license while hog hunting. Ask the private landowners around countywide wildlife areas if any issues are carried over. Especially they express that they want to solve the issue so does the counselor.

The USA’s other best states for bagging a boar are Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Only conduct fishing in the areas permitted by your state’s regulations. You may also consider the bow-hunting ranches in Texas.

For more information, You can visit Texas Hunt Ranch's official website.

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kineticpenguin · 2 years ago

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youtube

In fact, along with this newfound lust for vehicular homicide, lawmakers have passed or tried to pass laws designed to make it nearly illegal to have any kind of protest. Arizona tried -but failed- to make it legal for cops to arrest and seize the assets of anyone attending a demonstration that resulted in property destruction. But in Louisiana, they succeeded in making organizers of protests legally liable for anything that happens during that protest. Tennessee, South Dakota, Texas and Iowa have greatly increased punishments and fines for anyone blocking traffic. South Dakota has also gone after pipeline protests, passing a law that would limit demonstrations to less than 20 people on public lands.

Los Angeles has made it illegal to protest within 300 feet of a targeted residence. In Oklahoma, you could face 10 years in prison or a $100,000 fine if you trespass and tamper with critical infrastructure, however the hell they define that. Additionally, any organization associated with the trespass could pay up to a million dollars. There are in fact three states that made efforts to enact harsher penalties for protesting fossil fuel companies.

In Oregon, one lawmaker tried to force schools to expel students who were involved in a riot. Another in Missouri tried to make masks at protests illegal. Florida has literally created a new type of crime around protesting that they are calling "mob intimidation" that would come with no bail and harsher punishments. And in fucking Michigan (the sneakiest little state) they actually tried to pass a bill fining $1000 day for the crime of illegal picketing. Not rioting, not destruction, but holding a fucking sign.

So much work put into tamping down protesting, as opposed to listening to what protesters say. This is the end result of the civility debate: a horrifying conclusion somehow justified through a funhouse of twisted logic around pearl-clutching and bipartisan finger-wagging. These ghouls mindfucked America so hard, that they managed to convince people that it was good and right to plow over and shoot protesters rather than be inconvenienced by them.

#SMN #Youtube

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mint-moon25 · 1 year ago

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youtube

My Melody & Kuromi Rose Party | Miniso Sanrio Unboxing 🌸

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

CORNER - OF - SW NORTH RIVER DR - PENTHOUSE

BLDG - WEDDINGS - BAR - MITZVAHs - GRADUATION

PROMS - NEXT - 2 - BOX VAULT - SELF - STORAGE

THAT - AS - LONG - AS - IT - WAS - AROUND - HAS

ILLEGALLY - THROWING - WITHOUT - ANYONE FL

KNOWING - US MAIL - BY - MEMORY

FOR - 18 AND OLDER - BY - 18 AND OLDER

PENALTY - PER - US MAIL - THROWN

$5,000 - AND - 5 YEARS - PRISON EA

THAT’s - RARE - BOTH - OTHERS US

ONE - OR - OTHER - OR - BOTH - IF

HONOROBLE - JUDGE - DECIDES

CAN - CALL - ANOTHER - COURT

4 - ULTIMATE - DECISION

BOTH - THROWING - SOMEONE’s

MAIL - PHILIPPINES - GUILTY - OF

THROWING - MAIL - GIFTS - A LA

‘ROMEO & JULIET’

EACH - MAIL - THROWN

BECAUSE - CONSTITUTION - AND

AMENDMENTS - AND - FURTHER

FIRST - 10 - AKA BILL OF RIGHTS

ONLY - LAWS - OF - USA

THEY - VIOLATED

2 - ESTABLISH - A - POST OFFICE

WHO - PAID - MAIL - THEY’RE YES

THROWING - WHAT - PERSON XO

PAID - FOR - MANY - DON’T KNOW

COMPANIES - CORPORATIONS

NON-PROFIT - HAVE - BULK RATE

NEXT - SUNDAY - 21 JAN 2024

NEW - FIRST CLASS - FOREVER

STAMP - MAIL - $0.68

MANAGER - AT - LEAST - HISPANIC

AMERICAN - SAMOAN - HUGE GUY

THREW - OVER - 750 MAILS

FUTURE - PROVIDED - BY - DEMOCRAT

PARTY - HERE - IN - FLORIDA - A - STAR

POLICE - REPLACED

LAST - PAYCHECK - FELONIES - GIVEN

LAW - ENFORCEMENT - ILLEGAL

ON - CARS - ONLY - TRUTH

PROFESSIONALS

1ST - AMENDMENT

FREE - EXERCISE - THEREOF - OF

RELIGION

DEMOCRAT - PARTY - DEMOCRATS

INTERNATIONAL - FUNDING

AMENDMENT 2

MIAMI - MILITARY - FORCE

18 AND OLDER

ONLY - PROVIDES - FINEST - MILITARY

EQUIPMENT - IN - THE - WORLD

LESS -THAN - TIC TAC - SIZE BULLETS

FULLY - AUTO - MACHINE - GUNS

LIGHT - AND - SHOULDER - STRAP

FLORIDA - NOT - OPEN - CARRY

LIKE - TENT - PUT - INSIDE - HAS

STRAP - 2 - MAKE - IT - EASIER

NO SOUND - 5,000 BULLETS

SHOOT - BUTTOCKS - THIGHS

PSYCHOS - ON - US - PSYCHIATRICAL

MEDS - SHOOT - APPENDIX - 2 X EACH

14TH - STANDS

NO - STATE - CAN - DEPRIVE - PERSON

OF - LIFE - LIBERTY - RIGHT - 2 - ACT AS

THEY - PLEASE - POVERTY - POOR - AS

HOMELESS - JUMP - UP - AND - DOWN

NO - STATE - CAN - DEPRIVE - PERON

OF - PROPERTY - BACKPACKS - BAGS

FLORIDA - AND - OVER - 30 STATES

CASTLE - DOCTRINE - STATE

DEFEND - YOUR - CASTLES - YOUR

TENT - YOUR - APTS - TINY HOUSES

WITH - DEADLY - FORCE

OURS - PILIPINAS

AFTER - 10TH - CENTURY - GOREO

‘BEGINNING - OF - WARRIORS’

AS - FAMILIES - FRIENDS - RELATIVES

ESCAPED - WITH - THEM - WEAPONS

CLICK - CLICK - CLICK

BOW - AND - ARROW - REVISED - AS

NEEDLES - DISPENSED - ON NECKS

POISONOUS

BUT - TODAY - THEY - AIR - CREMATE

STILL - POISONOUS

AS - ANTIDOTE - TAKEN - BY - FAMILY

USE - 4 - TENTS - AS - DEADLY FORCE

AS - THEY - DISAPPEAR - AUTO - WILL

GO - ON - NECK - AIR - CREMATED

1ST - LEVEL - OF - HEAVEN - AS THEY

MEET - CREATOR

TODAY - SABBATH - SATURDAY - FL

MIAMI - MAIN - LIBRARY - LAST DAY

FRIDAY - FEDERAL - HOLIDAY

MON - 15 JAN 2024 - CLOSED

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

SO - OLD - MALE - CORNER - HISPANIC

EXCELLENT - ENGLISH - DAMAGED FL

OLD - FACE - LOOKS - LIKE - A - TALL

SANTA - CLAUS - SPEAKS - SPANISH

EXTREMELY - WINDY - HE - AND OLD

PRUNE - BAG - LISA - ANOTHER MIDDLE

AGE - HISPANIC - TALKING - 2 - ME - 6A

LISA - 2A 4A 5A - OLD - SANTA - FACE

9P - 10P - 11P - ALL - THEIR - TALKING

GOT - HIGH FEVER - COUGHING THAT

IS - RARE - 4 - ME - COLDS - SO THEY

CAN - STEAL - FR - MY - USUAL - YES

AMAZON - SPENDING - MEDICATION

CVS - PHARMACY - EXPENSIVE

OLD - HISPANIC - WEIRDO - HE GIVES

ME - SPOILED - RICE - SPOILED FOOD

SPOILED - RASPBERRY BLACKBERRY

HE - CAN - JUST - THROW - AWAY BUT

HE - GAVE - 2 - ME - WANTING RETURN

BIBLE - ‘THEY - ADD - SORROW - 2 HIS

GIVING’ - GOD - DOESN’T - ALWAYS

LIKE - LISA - HAS - OPINION MORE

THAN - HARVARD - OLD - WEIRDO - ME

DECIDED - 2 - SAY - STILL - LICENSED

IN - EUROPE - AND - ASIA - MILITARY

SURGEON - SPECIAL - MARINES FLIES

AUTO - NO - BOMBS - MADE - IN JAPAN

FIGHTER - PLANES - DELIVERY BABIES

CAMP SITES - NEAR - RIVER - MOUNTAIN

BLAH - BLAH - MACHINES - DOING - THAT

SO - WANTED - 2 - BUY - JBL - SPEAKER

WHY - U - NEED - SMARTPHONE - OR HAS

NO - SOUND - HE - WANTED - ME - 2 GIVE

MY - SPEAKER - BLK - ANKER - BEFORE I

BUY - MY - JBL - GOD - CUTE - BLUE AND

SMALL - WHEN - I - SWIM - WILL - GIVE

MUSIC - WHEN - I’M - SWIMMING - HE

WAS - ALWAYS - STOPPING - ME - FR

GOING - 2 - LA FITNESS - HAD 2 YELL

HAVE - 2 - SHOWER - BUT - YESTERDAY

WAS - LAST - STRAW - HE - WANTED TO

BUY - EXPENSIVE - BLUE - JBL SPEAKER

HISPANIC - OLD - SCUM - SAYING - ‘UGLY

WRINKLED - PRUNE - BAG - WHO - DO U

THINK - U R - AS - UGLY - AS - FIRST

FEMALE - PRESIDENTS - U R - HOUSE

WIVES - STAY - THERE - HE - IMPLIED

HE’s - GLAD - IMELDA MARCOS - WAS

STABBED - WITH - RUSTED - KNIFE

STAY - WOMEN - OUT - OF - POLITICS

AN - EVIL - HUMAN - SO - FINALLY - I’M

NOT - YET - HEALED - OF - COUGHING

AND - COLDS - FINALLY - SCREAMED

HE - NEEDED - AM - AND - FM RADIO

SO - HE - DIDN’T - NEED - JBL SPEAKER

HE - LIED - AMERICAN - EXPRESS - $50

WAS - ONLY - $25 - WAS - VERY WINDY

LAST - NIGHT - DIDN’T - READ - 4 - NOT

ALL - GIFT - CARDS - SAY - $$$ - 4 - ITS

DANGEROUS - IF - SOMEONE - SAW

THAT - I’VE - BEEN - IN - OVER 25 YES

ARMED - ROBBERIES - I’M - SUPPOSED

2 B - IN - ROSS - DRESS - 4 - LESS - FOR

SALE - $0.49 - TO - $2.50 - THEY - HAVE

BEEN - BLOCKING - ME

GOD - SAID - ‘FOR - THE - SHREWD - HE

WILL - SHOW - HIMSELF - REVISED YES

MORE - INTELLIGENT - HARD 2 DECEIVE’

LADIES - RADIO - FR - CHINA - THEY

HAVE - A - PROBLEM - WITH - AMERICAN

EXPRESS - GIFT - CARDS - DISCOVER

GIFT - CARDS - I - ALREADY - TOLD THIS

OLD - HISPANIC - SCUM - I - DON’T HAVE

A - LOCAL - BANK - 2 - PUT - CASH

HOMELESS - I’M - HAVING - ARRESTED

4 - TAX EVASION - THEY - RECEIVE $$$

CASH - FR - NON-RELATIVES - EXCEEDING

$8 - EACH - YEAR - POLICE - JUST NOTICE

HAVE - DONE - NOTHING - ABOUT - MONEY

GIVEN - THEY - ALWAYS - GIVE - FOOD TO

SAME - PEOPLE - 4 - CHURCHES - ONLY

GIVE - MONEY - 4 - HOMELESS & POOR

THEY - IGNORE - TENTS - NOT - HOMELESS

AS - HISPANICS - CORRECT

TENTS - ARE - CASTLES - IN - FLORIDA AND

OVER - 30 STATES - ‘FIRE - AT - WILL’ - TRUE

DEFEND - YOUR - CASTLES - WITH DEADLY

FORCE - AS - THEY - SMILE - ONLY SPEAK’G

SPANISH - IN - THE - UNITED STATES

BUT - I’M - THE - WARD - OF - KING - AND

QUEEN - OF - SPAIN - MADRID - THEY’RE

NOT - GETTING - HIS - PROTECTION

JESUS - IS - LORD

SO - DIDN’T - SEE - BELOW - THAT CARD

SAID - 25.00 - SO - I WENT - 2 - WEBSITE

AMERICAN - EXPRESS

DIDN’T - WORK - FIRST - TIME

ENCRIPTED - THE - CARD - NOS

VERY - BOGUS

NEVER - BUY - AMEX - GIFT - CARDS

CHEAPEST

SO - WINDY - LAST - NIGHT

LESS - THAN - 1 HR - 2 - ORDER

DID - THAT - THEN - YOUTUBE - 24 HRS

FULL - SCREEN - DIDN’T - SEE NOTICE

NO - DIFFERENCE - ANYWAY - 4 - THE

DELIVERY - TIME - ALREADY - DONE

BUT - EVERY - TIME - ENTERED NOS

EVERY - TIME - CAME - BACK 2 - APP

ALWAYS - ENTER - AND - ENTER YES

AGAIN - JUST - ENTERED - NOS JUST

ONCE - DIDN’T - TELL - ME - CARD

HAS - INSUFFICIENT - FUNDS 4 TOTAL

$48.88 - TOTAL

CARD - $25

TOLD - WEIRDO - ONLINE - ORDERING

NOT - LIKE - WALMART - ALL - CARDS

DEBIT - CREDIT - CASH - COINS - PUT

ALL - 2 - GET - TOTAL

HE - SMILED - THINKING - ALL SHOULD

BE - SAME - HE - GIVES - ME - OLD

FOOD - 2 - GET - SOMETHING 4 ME

TOLD - HIM

TALKING - AND - TALKING - AND TALK’G

2 - ME - MY - THINGS - ARE - OPEN YES

VIEW - AT - MAIN - LIBRARY - AND - IF IT

IS - STOLEN - ‘QUE SERA SERA’ - WHAT

WILL - BE - WILL - BE

ORDERED - THE - ANGEL - OF THE LORD

GOD - 2 - CHASE - HIM - AND - END - HIS

EXISTENCE - INCLUDING - HIS RELATIVES

HAVE - A - LOT - 2 - TYPE - ABOUT

BARBIE - WORLD

WITH - TUMBLR - NOW - BLOCKING - US

FOR - THEY’RE - NOT - COMING - NEAR

OUR - BANKS

BUT - NOW - ITS

BARBIE - BANKS

BARBIE - KIDS - BANKS

BARBIE - TEENS - BANKS

ITZY - HELLO - KITTY - BANKS

AESPA - CHARLIE BROWN - BANKS

MUCH - BETTER - OUR - CAMOUFLAGE

THESE - BEAUTY - PAGEANTS

SINGERS - ONLY

TONGUES - ONLY

ALL - AGES

MS BARBIE - BABY

MR KEN - BABY

I’M - FORGETTING - AMOUNTS

MS BARBIE - BABY

MS - WORLD - BARBIE - BABY

MR KEN - BABY

MR - WORLD - KEN - BABY

4:21P - I - HAVEN’T - QUITE - FULLY

EATEN - LUNCH - ALSO

THEY - DID - THIS - ON - PURPOSE

I - TOLD - HIM - I - HAVE - 2 - WALK

2 - PUBLIX - AND - GET THIS CARD

HE - CAN’T - WALK

KOREAN - GIRLS,

YOUR - LAWS - GOVERNMENT - ARE

ONLY - ALLOWING - U 2 - MARRY - AS

OLD - PEOPLE

KOREAN - LAW

CHILDREN - TAKE - CARE - OF - OLD

OLD - PRUNE - BAG - PARENTS

REMEMBER - CHINESE - FILM

TANAKA - FILMS - PRESENTS

AS - THEY’RE - OLD - I’M - AUTHORIZING

HER - 2 - STAB - EACH - PARENT - 25 TIMES

4 - MAKING - HER - OLD - CHINESE

EMPEROR’s - CONCUBINE

BUT - HER - ACUPUNCTURIST - TOLD - HER

NOT - PRODUCING - KIDS - HER - BODY NOT

EVEN - ONE

THUS - WHEN - OLD - CROW - DIES - THEY

ARE - GOING - 2 - STAB - HER - 2 - DEATH

SAME - ROYAL - GUARDS - SEEING - HER

NAKED - BEING - HUMPED - FR - BEHIND

BY - OLD - CHINESE - EMPEROR

SAME - LARGE - BED - HIS - PERVERTED

EMPRESS - LESBIAN - WATCHING - LIVE

NAKED - CONCUBINES - SAME - BED AS

THESE - CHINESE - WEIRDOS - ROYAL

GUARDS - WATCHING - HE - DIES THEN

CHINESE - LAW - THEY - STAB - EVERY

CONCUBINE - NO - CHILD - EACH

BURRY - ALIVE - FEMALE - PALACE

MAIDS - AND - ALL - CONCUBINES WHO

PRODUCED - A - KID - AND - KIDS

NO - CHILD - THOSE - CONCUBINES

STABBED - 2 - DEATH - SAME GUARDS

CHINESE - MALE - EMPEROR

NEEDS - SERVANTS - AFTER - LIFE

KOREA - JAPAN - DIDN’T - STOP THIS

BEEN - AROUND - LONGEST - BOTH

SO - HAD - HER - PARENTS - BURNT

AFTER - HER - LOOK - ALIKES - 2 TAKE

HER - PLACE - OLD - SCUM - HAD THIS

DONE - 2 - ME - WENT - 2

MC GIFT . GIFT CARD MALL .com

BY - MEMORY

2 - REGISTER - CARD

MY - BILLING - ADDRESS

TEL NO - FULL - NAME

ALL - THIS - NEED - 2 B - DONE

OLD - SCUM - BOUGHT - HIS - STUFF

ON - MY - EBT - 50% - OFF

NOT - HIS - ACCOUNT - BUT - HE

CAN’T - ACCESS - BY - WEATHER

PROBLEMS - WITH - WEATHER FL

WELL - DESCRIBING - CARD

THEY - WERE - USING - ME 2 STEAL

MY - DISCOUNTS - SCUM - SCUM

‘I - WILL - NOT - MARRY - SPANISH’

‘I - WILL - NOT - MARRY - SPANISH

SPEAKING’ - SAY - 2 - APP

500 BLLION - X - 500 - TAX - PAID

DAILY - SAME - AMOUNT - NOT 2 GO

2 - UNITED - STATES

LIFE - WILL - B - OUTSIDE - USA

#youtube

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lawofficeofryansshipp · 2 months ago

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Understanding Florida Statute 723.002: A Guide for Mobile Home Park Owners

Understanding Florida Statute 723.002 As a Florida mobile home park owner or property manager of a mobile home park, you’re likely familiar with the complexities of managing tenancies. One of the most important laws you need to understand is Florida Statute 723.002, which governs the application of Chapter 723, Florida’s law on Mobile Home Lot Tenancies. This statute outlines when Chapter 723…

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lapsed-bookworm · 1 year ago

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"UNESCO World Heritage Committee Names Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks to Prestigious List" (19 September 2023):

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 named the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, a group of eight ancient earthwork sites in southern Ohio, to its World Heritage List. The decision by the World Heritage Committee was made by consensus at its 45th session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The monumental earthworks were built 2,000 years ago by Native American communities. Five of the earthwork sites are managed by the National Park Service and three are managed by the Ohio History Connection.

The destination was applauded by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), whose department oversees the National Park Service.

“Today’s designation by UNESCO is a tremendous opportunity and recognition of the contributions of America’s Indigenous Peoples,” Haaland said in a press release. “World Heritage designation is an opportunity for the United States to share the whole story of America and the remarkable diversity of our cultural heritage as well as the beauty of our land. The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are unique creations of America’s indigenous people and a remarkable survival of our ancient history.”

The sites that comprise Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks were built between 1,500 and 2,200 years ago by people now referred to as the Hopewell Culture. The earthworks, built on an enormous scale and using a standard unit of measure, form precise squares, circles, and octagons as well as a hilltop sculpted to enclose a vast plaza. The geometric forms are consistently deployed across great distances and encode alignments with both the sun’s cycles and the far more complex patterns of the moon. Artifacts, which are among the most outstanding art objects produced in pre-Columbian North America, show that those who built the earthworks interacted with people as far away as the Yellowstone basin and Florida. These are among the largest earthworks in the world that are not fortifications or defensive structures.

The properties comprising the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks:

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in Chillicothe, including the Mound City Group, Hopewell Mound Group, Seip Earthworks, High Bank Earthworks and Hopeton Earthworks

The Ohio History Connection’s Octagon Earthworks and Great Circle Earthworks in Newark and Fort Ancient Earthworks in Oregonia

During a recent vote, the World Heritage Committee members agreed that these earthworks deserve to be recognized alongside such places as Stonehenge in England and the Nazca Lines in Peru, as well as other iconic places in the United States, including Independence Hall and the Grand Canyon. The National Park Service manages all or part of 19 of the 25 World Heritage Sites in the United States. It is also the principal U.S. government agency responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention in cooperation with the Department of State.

The inclusion of a site in the World Heritage List does not affect U.S. sovereignty or management of the sites, which remain subject only to U.S., state and local laws. Detailed information on the World Heritage Program and the process for the selection of U.S. sites can be found at the National Park Service’s website.

#Native and Indigenous tag #ohio

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madamlaydebug · 1 year ago

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The Truth Behind '40 Acres and a Mule'

BY: HENRY LOUIS GATES JR

What Exactly Was Promised?

Who Came Up With the Idea?

What Became of the Land That Was Promised?

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rockislandadultreads · 1 year ago

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New Title Tuesday: Cozy Mysteries

Mrs. Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn

Mrs. Loretta Plansky, a recent widow in her seventies, is settling into retirement in Florida while dealing with her 98-year-old father and fielding requests for money from her beloved children and grandchildren. Thankfully, her new hip hasn’t changed her killer tennis game one bit.

One night Mrs. Plansky is startled awake by a phone call from a voice claiming to be her grandson Will, who desperately needs ten thousand dollars to get out of a jam. Of course, Loretta obliges―after all, what are grandmothers for, even grandmothers who still haven’t gotten a simple “thank you” for a gift sent weeks ago. Not that she's counting.

By morning, Mrs. Plansky has lost everything. Law enforcement announces that Loretta's life savings have vanished, and that it’s hopeless to find the scammers behind the heist. First humiliated, then furious, Loretta Plansky refuses to be just another victim.

In a courageous bid for justice, Mrs. Plansky follows her only clue on a whirlwind adventure to a small village in Romania to get her money and her dignity back―and perhaps find a new lease on life, too.

Peg and Rose Stir Up Trouble by Laurien Berenson

When a typically closed-off Peg attempts online dating at Rose’s strong urging, the experience plays out like an embarrassing mistake. At least, until she matches with Nolan Abercrombie—intelligent, attractive, and a self-proclaimed dog lover. The two share an instant connection that has Peg cautiously excited to finally bring someone special into her busy world of Standard Poodles and conformation shows.

Before Peg can admit that Rose was right and let down her walls for the budding romance, a terrible accident claims Nolan’s life. As details about his background and tragic death come to light, Peg has a serious hunch that someone successfully plotted to kill her first real date in decades . . .

With suspects galore and a slew of puzzling clues to peel through, Peg and Rose team up to solve a dangerous mystery unfolding before their eyes. The question is: Can the unlikely duo turn their radically different personalities into an advantage as they scramble to ID the guilty culprit—or will they manage to work against each other and find themselves precisely where a meticulous murderer wants them to be?

This is the second volume of the "Senior Sleuths Mystery" series.

Read to Death at the Lakeside Library by Holly Danvers

Summer is in full swing as tourists flock back to the Northwoods and travel to Lofty Pines, Wisconsin. For Rain Wilmot, owner of the Lakeside Library, this is the perfect opportunity to bring back her mother’s summer book club. But the summer sun starts to really heat up when one of the club’s members, Lily Redlin, is found dead in her own home not long after the first meeting.

Alongside her sidekick and neighbor Julia Reynolds and the charming Jace Lowe, Rain discovers that the murder is seemingly inspired by the book club’s recent selection of Agatha Christie’s classic mystery novel, Sparkling Cyanide. But who would kill Lily, and more importantly, why?

The deeper Rain goes into the story, the more confusing and complicated the plot becomes. Was Lily murdered to cover up a tragic accident involving an old classmate years earlier? Or were the rumors true—did Lily really possess priceless original Laura Ingles Wilder manuscripts and someone killed her for them? And who stands to gain the recently inherited piece of waterfront property that Lily received from a long-lost relative?

With a long list of suspects and motives, Rain realizes that all leads come back to people involved in the book club. Rain and her friends take a page from Agatha Christie’s book by hosting a reenactment of the club’s first meeting to flush out the killer. Will Rain’s plan succeed—or will this librarian’s book be checked out for good?

This is the third volume of the "Lakeside Library Mystery" series.

Take the Honey and Run by Jennie Marts

As a successful mystery author, Bailey Briggs writes about murder, but nothing prepares her for actually discovering the dead body of the founder of her hometown of Humble Hills, Colorado. Bailey grew up at Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch and was raised by her beekeeping grandmother, Blossom Briggs, aka Granny Bee, and her two eccentric sisters, Aster and Marigold—which is why she drops everything to come home and help Granny Bee after a bad fall.

A broken foot doesn’t stop her grandmother from ruling The Hive, her granny’s book club, or continuing to prepare and package her bee-inspired products. But when Bailey's grandmother’s infamous "Honey I'm Home" hot spiced honey turns out to “bee” the murder weapon and her granny is now the prime suspect, Bailey has no choice but to use her fictional detective skills to help solve the murder and ‘smoke-out’ the real culprit.

With the help of Bailey’s witty bestie, a pair of meddling aunts, the feisty members of The Hive, and her computer-savvy daughter, this amateur sleuth is determined to solve the case. A malicious attack and an ominous threat reveal that someone wants Bailey to butt out of the investigation, but there’s no way she’s backing down. She must use her skills to uncover the truth and catch the clever culprit before her grandmother ends up bee-hind bars.

This is the first volume of "A Bee Keeping Mystery" series.

#cozy mystery #cozy murder mystery #mystery books #reading recommendations #reading recs #book recommendations #book recs #library books #to read #tbrpile #tbr #booklr #book tumblr #book blog #library blog #new books

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mostlysignssomeportents · 2 years ago

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This day in history

#20yrsago Turing Machines aren’t as universal as they could be https://www.coherenceengine.com/blog/2003_06_01_archive.html#105547327596834731

#15yrsago Ancient Roman D20 for sale, $18,000 https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-4205385/?intObjectID=4205385

#15yrsago Diesel Sweeties: the ten-volume free Creative Commons licensed collection edition https://www.dieselsweeties.com/ebooks/

#15yrsago Canadian DMCA is worse than the American one https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2008/06/canadian-dmca-fine-print/

#10yrsago Sesame Street’s materials for kids with an incarcerated parent https://web.archive.org/web/20130629061517/https://www.sesamestreet.org/parents/topicsandactivities/toolkits/incarceration

#10yrsago Roundup of responses to the Snowden/NSA leaks https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/12/anger-mounts-congress-telephone-surveillance-programmes

#10yrsago Photos from #OccupyGezi https://occupygezipics.tumblr.com/post/52730157891/taksim-rainbow-tuesday-evening

#10yrsago Greek government shuts down state broadcaster, police force journalists out of the building https://www.yanisvaroufakis.eu/2013/06/11/ert-greek-state-tv-radio-is-dead-a-blacklisted-persons-lament/

#10yrsago Former UK drug czar calls banning marijuana and psychedelics “the worst case of scientific censorship since the Catholic Church banned the works of Copernicus and Galileo” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-worst-case-of-scientific-censorship-since-the-catholic-church-banned-the-works-of-galileo-scientists-call-for-drugs-to-be-legalised-to-allow-proper-study-of-their-properties-8654514.html

#10yrsago Why are the protesters in Gezi Park? https://technosociology.org/?p=1349

#5yrsago Reddit sounds the alarm: the EU internet proposal would end the net as we know it! https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/8qfw8l/protecting_the_free_and_open_internet_european/

#5yrsago LA’s high-tech, thoughtful water management is cause for cautious optimism about adapting to climate change https://www.wired.com/story/la-is-doing-water-better-than-your-city-yes-that-la/

#5yrsago Feds indict Florida police chief who framed a teen for burglaries so he could boast about perfect record https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/06/11/police-framed-a-teen-for-four-burglaries-so-chief-could-tout-perfect-clearance-rate-feds-say/

#5yrsago Empirical evidence for the Peter Principle (or, why bosses are so incompetent) https://hbr.org/2018/03/research-do-people-really-get-promoted-to-their-level-of-incompetence

#5yrsago The EU’s terrible copyright proposal will “carpet bomb” the whole world’s internet with censorship and surveillance https://newint.org/features/web-exclusive/2018/06/11/eu-copyright-law

#5yrsago 70+ internet pioneers to the EU: you are transforming the internet into a “tool for automated surveillance and control” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/06/internet-luminaries-ring-alarm-eu-copyright-filtering-proposal

#5yrsago The Freeze-Frame Revolution: mutineers unstuck in time, strung out across an aeon https://memex.craphound.com/2018/06/12/the-freeze-frame-revolution-mutineers-unstuck-in-time-strung-out-across-an-aeon/

#5yrsago Eh, too: Canadians will also suffer under the EU’s proposed copyright rules https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.4700930/how-canadians-could-get-caught-up-in-the-eu-s-proposed-copyright-law-1.4700935

#1yrago The Geico STD story is the new McDonald’s Hot Coffee story https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/12/hot-coffee/#mcgeico

#pluralistic

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