Politics

[Zambezi]

Not Trump specifically but Federal government for disaster relief, which is one of the jobs of the Feds that both the left and right agree on. Also, Biden already announced relief.

And I’d submit that those impacted in CA paid heck a lot more in taxes than those that were impacted by the hurricanes on the East coast recently. CA as the highest tax paying State does subsidize a lot of the red states. I’d think tech bros of CA might pay heck a lot more in taxes than the hillbillies of TN.

Also a lot of the moronic policies are implemented by the forest service as well which is a Federal entity. Not to say locals weren’t moronic over the years either.

Difference is that hurricanes are NATURAL disasters while the extent and ferocity of these fires are largely due to HUMAN interventions. California should get zero relief from the Federal government. Like you said they have paid huge taxes so they should be rolling in the money. Plus they'll get their handouts even though they created the problem and then they will go right on being Libtards and doing Libtard things.

 

[spike.t]

Bit long but interesting....

 

[CoElkHunter]

Bit long but interesting....

Very interesting and the in depth analysis and commentary on the causes of the continuing
disasters in Africa was excellent.

 

[Hunt anything]

Easy to take a shot at the insurance companies, but the reality is they have had a pretty rough ride over the last decade or
So. They are for profit companies, and as such, cannot be forced to underwrite bad bets. Personally, I don’t want any exposure to insurance in my portfolio. If the insurance companies pull away from a category or a region, it’s time to re-evaluate the inherent risks in whatever they are pulling away from.

You’re right about the insurance companies being an easy target. Some of it is well deserved though.
We live in the zone that requires a special wind and hail policy to insure against hurricane damage. We dutifully paid our premiums and when our roof was demolished by tennis ball sized hail we called the adjuster. He came out and blew a bunch of smoke up our asses about how they would pay for our new roof and when the check came it was $1500.

 

[Red Leg]

Back in the 90s I did a steel mill upgrade and two glass factories in Brazil, spent lots of time there. I got introduced to this tall, blonde woman who kept me company. Her father was a general that had a villa at Rio. He could have been cast as a German general on a WW II flick.

Her grandfather probably was.

 

[Hunt anything]

Does anyone ever take note that over 70% (and I'm being generous) of the slave trade from Africa to the "new world" ended up SOUTH of the United States and Canada!? Anyone marching in the streets for reparations from the Caribbean to Brazil? No....

I looked up the numbers on this. The numbers of enslaved humans was appalling. From 1501-1866
Portugal to Brazil 5,848,265
Britain 3,259,440 (many probably to the NA colonies )
France 1,381,404
Spain to Uruguay 1,061,525
Netherlands 554,336
United States 305,326
Denmark 111,041
Not sure why the article only pointed out where Portugal and Spain sent theirs.

 

[BSO Dave]

Does anyone ever take note that over 70% (and I'm being generous) of the slave trade from Africa to the "new world" ended up SOUTH of the United States and Canada!? Anyone marching in the streets for reparations from the Caribbean to Brazil? No....

The actual number was that 3-4% of African slaves were being sent to North America, with the remaining 90+% going to South America and the Carribean...

The sad fact is that the majority of the historical record of slavery gets suppressed or presented completely out of context in most cultures worldwide. And, any Caucasian who attempts to present the facts is immediately branded a racist or white supremacist... This had divided the majority of white Americans into two categories: Those who became "woke" due to white guilt born of these false narratives, and those who were terrified to publicly acknowledge the facts out of fear of being branded a racist or being cancelled...

This type of politically driven wokeism is the exact type of bullshit that continues to divide the races. I also believe it was a huge factor in the rise of the populist movement in the USA. Whites, and specifically white American males were being crucified with these false narratives beginning mainly during Obama's first term... If the left had kept it with just race, they may have continued to get away with the pursuit of their division.... Their mistake was to take this woke bullshit to every level of society including race, religion, gender, and of course cultural & political ideologies which superseded emotion and inevitably began to affect people's wallets and pocketbooks... Enough Americans across a diverse spectrum finally woke up and rejected the lies this past election cycle... Let's hope the trend of common sense continues...