[The_Toecutter]

Missouri.

Large sections of the USSA look like this. They didn't look like this 30 years ago. Even small rural towns of ~2,000 people have homeless camps. When unemployment was officially around 4%, I still knew plenty of people who wanted work and couldn't get hired after sending out hundreds of job applications. I was one of them. "Now Hiring!" signs were everywhere and no one responded back or responded when follow-ups were attempted. I also know homeless people who work jobs and are priced out of rent, and the rent here is about as cheap as it gets in this country. There's a massive disconnect between what the government and mainstream news is telling us and how things actually are. People who live in their middle class burbclaves will typically never have to see it. They live in the nicer places that relatively speaking are thriving, places that James Howard Kunstler termed the "Landscape of Despair".

https://dailycaller.com/2019/09/03/cities-towns-landscape-despair/

But riding around the area made me happy. Nothing like moving 40 mph with nothing but your legs providing the thrust. Although the fact that it was 95 degrees kind of sucked because the cockpit of that vehicle quickly becomes an oven. Being stopped at red lights with no air coming in for cooling is especially brutal. Looking forward to translating a scaled version of this aerodynamically slippery body to my own custom build, so that using an electric motor I can do 120 mph on only 6 horsepower and accelerate like a car.

Maybe next time I'll show you a few superfund sites!

[C8]

But riding around the area made me happy. Nothing like moving 40 mph with nothing but your legs providing the thrust. Although the fact that it was 95 degrees kind of sucked because the cockpit of that vehicle quickly becomes an oven.

Wouldn't you get the same aerodynamics if you had plastic sheeting over a mesh frame? Then you could peal back the sheets for the summer and get some wind.

[AdamB]

Missouri.

Large sections of the USSA look like this. They didn't look like this 30 years ago.

Having been quite the North American road warrior when I was younger, most of the USA wasn't like that. And yes, parts did look like that 30 years ago. You might not have been around the steel plants and coal mines as they closed, but I am quite familiar with that aspect of Appalachia, having relatives there.

Missouri is an interesting tour along I-70 (I can name the fuel stops, hotels, rest areas, along most of that stretch from memory) and gives you the impression that for a Bible thumping state, they sure like porn.

There's a massive disconnect between what the government and mainstream news is telling us and how things actually are.

Well, that I can agree with. I've found the people of Missouri basic, and down to earth, and quite reasonable to deal with, and I love the farm country in the north of the state, and the northern part of the Ozarks in the south. Quick check on my travel records indicates I've visited 87% of the county seats in Missouri. Like I said, it doesn't all look as bad as some of your photos, which is why I asked.

But riding around the area made me happy. Nothing like moving 40 mph with nothing but your legs providing the thrust.

Or leaned over in a 70mph sweeper with nothing keeping you up except centrifugal force, and just waiting for the acceleration to 100mph down the next straight. Without moving your legs an inch!

Although the fact that it was 95 degrees kind of sucked because the cockpit of that vehicle quickly becomes an oven. Being stopped at red lights with no air coming in for cooling is especially brutal. Looking forward to translating a scaled version of this aerodynamically slippery body to my own custom build, so that using an electric motor I can do 120 mph on only 6 horsepower and accelerate like a car.

Like I said before, get that A/C thing and add seating for another 4 and I'd be interested! Seating for only 1 more if you could make it as fun as any 2-wheeler larger than 250cc's.

Maybe next time I'll show you a few superfund sites!

No need. In my state, the government creates them in real time for us to enjoy! Before GovCo decided to take over the cleanup, and after!

[JuanP]

UK PM BJ is supposedly renouncing today as head of his party. I can't wait for the UK to be rid of him for good. Good riddance! Better late than never. I can't wait for the British Empire to finally end completely. Long live a free Ireland!

Las Malvinas son Argentinas!

[JuanP]

"Russia introduces new payment rules for grain exports"

https://www.rt.com/business/558548-russ ... ent-grain/

"Russia is the world’s top wheat exporter and President Putin said in May that this year's grain harvest could be the biggest ever, as the country is expected to harvest 130 million tons of grain, including 87 million tons of wheat."

More at link.

[JuanP]

Last week I took a day trip to the DR to check the land we will be buying in person. Two thumbs up! Our friends chose a great spot!

This morning my wife and I became US Citizens. Now we are in the process of applying for our passports, registering to vote, and updating our status with the Social Security Administration.

We became citizens because the past few years made us realize that we want to travel more and also spend more time abroad. We also intend to collect payments from the SSA when the time comes, which we previously intended to renounce. Being US Citizens allows us to leave whenever we want, for as long as we want, and still come back whenever we want without any visa or Green card concerns or limitations.

[Newfie]

Yes, a USA passport is a wonderful thing.

[mousepad]

We also intend to collect payments from the SSA when the time comes, which we previously intended to renounce.

Look at you. And there I thought you're independently wealthy. What are you now? A liar or just greedy?

[Doly]

I can't wait for the British Empire to finally end completely.

???

What makes you think it hasn't ended?

[AdamB]

I can't wait for the British Empire to finally end completely.

???

What makes you think it hasn't ended?

Chinese mining colonies that still scrape and bow when the Queen visits?

[JuanP]

We also intend to collect payments from the SSA when the time comes, which we previously intended to renounce.

Look at you. And there I thought you're independently wealthy. What are you now? A liar or just greedy?

It is not about wealth for me; it is about moral principles. It is about not giving the US government any more money than absolutely necessary. I am sure all of you do the same. Does anyone here volunteer to gift or donate money to the US government unnecessarily? I highly doubt it!!! I don't intend to keep a penny of any money I may receive from the US government; I will donate it to people in need. I just don't want it to spend any more of my money on guns and ammo than necessary.

If the US government wants to gift tens of billions of our taxpayers' dollars on fighting a completely unnecessary war against the Russians in Ukraine, then they will only get from me the absolute necessary and not a penny more. I have paid taxes, SSA contributions, etc. to the US government for over 30 years. The Ukraine conflict was the tipping point for me.

[JuanP]

Yes, a USA passport is a wonderful thing.

The US passport means absolutely nothing to me. Uruguayans can travel anywhere in the world freely and are welcomed with wide open arms everywhere. The US Citizenship's main advantage for me is the ability to spend most of my time abroad and not be limited to the Green Card's requirement of spending a minimum of six months and a day every year in the USA. Uruguayans have absolutely no enemies anywhere in the world. My country has very friendly relations with all nations on Earth.

[JuanP]

I can't wait for the British Empire to finally end completely.

???

What makes you think it hasn't ended?

The Malvinas War? The fact that the British Crown still has occupied territories all over the world? The fact that Queen Elizabeth 2 is the head of state of places like Canada and Australia? Their foreign policy? Their continued occupation of Northern Ireland? They are not even a shadow of the empire they once were, but they are still full of s#@t about it and have imperial dreams, nostalgia, and ambitions.

And I say this as a person that is 1/4 English, is fluent in English, speaks English with an English accent, has an English last name, has several close English friends, could pass as a native English citizen, and was educated with textbooks from Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.

The British Empire will have ended the day the English are reduced to England. I have no doubt that this day will come, though I may not live to see it. I would love to live to see the final, complete end of the British Empire, though; it would give me great satisfaction. I would love to visit a reunified Ireland. I would also love for the Malvinas Islands to be returned to their rightful owners, the Argentinians. Almost every single South American wants the British to leave the Malvinas; I've never met one that doesn't, and I've met many thousands of them.

Are those enough reasons for you to accept that there are many millions, probably billions, of people on this planet who don't believe that the British Empire has ended?

[mousepad]

It is about not giving the US government any more money than absolutely necessary.

Careful there, buddy. Once a US citizen, there's no hiding from the US tax man anywhere in the world anymore.
Even if you moved back to Urugauy, you will have to pay taxes on any income, anywhere. Whether you live in the US or not.
And even worse, in case you open a business in foreign lands, you will have to PERSONALLY pay the difference in business tax.

So if you want to play the moral high ground, rescind the citizenship and move out of the US. All else is hypocrisy. But that's often the case with the 3rd world types. Bark loudest about their hate for the empire, yet taking any opportunity to moving to it.

[mousepad]

The British Empire will have ended the day the English are reduced to England.

Don't worry. The british empire has already ended. Not only has it ended, england is conquered. The majority of candidates for british prime ministers are 3rd world imports. By 2060, there's less english in england than 3rd world. You can sleep tight knowing that the english are no threat anymore.

[C8]

The British empire did bad things but it also did good things such as roads, schools, hospitals, science study, etc. and can be credited with spreading democracy to its lands (rather reluctantly of course). The places England took over had a lot of awful practices. There is a strong tendency to focus on oppression between different ethnic groups and ignore the oppression within ethnic groups. There was a lot of horror in India, Africa and the Americas before the Brits got there. Nobody living in those nations wants to return to that life.

[AdamB]

I would also love for the Malvinas Islands to be returned to their rightful owners, the Argentinians.

SO...folks who voted like 99%+ to be Brits a decade ago, should be disenfranchised because......? Self determination is 'MURICAN!!!! And you JuanP are now 'MURICAN!!! Grow a pair! Feel your exceptionalism!!! Throw your weight around a little, you are allowed, you aren't only the citizen of a country that could be knocked off by 20 well armed Argentinians anymore!! Allow people who want to be free Brits be free Brits! Or subjects to the Crown or whatever, but it is their choice.

[Doly]

SO...folks who voted like 99%+ to be Brits a decade ago, should be disenfranchised because......?

They live right next to Argentina, and realistically, do you think the Brits are going to defend them again when they're so busy with bigger problems?

You don't get governed by the people you want, you get governed by the people with the local bigger guns that want your territory. If you have any doubts whatsoever about this, ask any North Korean, Ukrainian, Palestinian... I could go on, but I hope you get the idea by now.

[JuanP]

It is about not giving the US government any more money than absolutely necessary.

Careful there, buddy. Once a US citizen, there's no hiding from the US tax man anywhere in the world anymore.
Even if you moved back to Urugauy, you will have to pay taxes on any income, anywhere. Whether you live in the US or not.
And even worse, in case you open a business in foreign lands, you will have to PERSONALLY pay the difference in business tax.

So if you want to play the moral high ground, rescind the citizenship and move out of the US. All else is hypocrisy. But that's often the case with the 3rd world types. Bark loudest about their hate for the empire, yet taking any opportunity to moving to it.

Do you think that I don't know that? I have been a US taxpayer for over 32 years, and I consulted tax attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors before becoming a US Citizen. I also legally renounced several foreign sources of income in preparation for this move.

I can choose to renounce my US Citizenship whenever I want. The cost is around $5,000.

You are very funny and completely full of s@#t!

[JuanP]

SO...folks who voted like 99%+ to be Brits a decade ago, should be disenfranchised because......?

They live right next to Argentina, and realistically, do you think the Brits are going to defend them again when they're so busy with bigger problems?

You don't get governed by the people you want, you get governed by the people with the local bigger guns that want your territory. If you have any doubts whatsoever about this, ask any North Korean, Ukrainian, Palestinian... I could go on, but I hope you get the idea by now.

MOST DEFINITELY! Just ask the Australian aborigines!