When I was a kid, I thought New York always sounded like this

They came for Florida's sun and sand. They got soaring costs and a culture war.

Source: NBC

Florida has seen a population boom in recent years, but many longtime residents and recent transplants say rising costs and divisive politics have them fleeing the Sunshine State.

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“So many people ask, ‘Why would you move back to Kansas?’ I tell them all the same thing — you’ve got to take your vacation goggles off,” Carter said. “For me, it was very falsely promoted. Once living there, I thought, you know, this isn’t all you guys have cracked this up to be, at all.”

Florida has had a population boom over the past several years, with more than 700,000 people moving there in 2022, and it was the second-fastest-growing state as of July 2023, according to Census Bureau data. While there are some indications that migration to the state has slowed from its pandemic highs, only Texas saw more one-way U-Haul moves into the state than Florida last year. Mortgage application data indicated there were nearly two homebuyers moving to Florida in 2023 for every one leaving, according to data analytics firm CoreLogic.

But while hundreds of thousands of new residents have flocked to the state on the promise of beautiful weather, no income tax and lower costs, nearly 500,000 left in 2022, according to the most recent census data. Contributing to their move was a perfect storm of soaring insurance costs, a hostile political environment, worsening traffic and extreme weather, according to interviews with more than a dozen recent transplants and longtime residents who left the state in the past two years.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/economics/leaving-florida-rcna142316

You have to be at least 55 to really appreciate this

In my dream last night, someone revealed RFK Jr was Froggy from The Little Rascals

Can someone research this for me?

I've been listening to Rachel Maddow's "Prequel" book on CD. So many eerie parallels to today

The way the transAtlantic nazis laid out their early prep to form a political movement, with special emphasis on being a heavily armed political movement, the ultra wealthy financial backers of the well-branded paramilitary groups (Silver Shirts, Amerikan Bund, etc.) the exploitation of sympathetic, if unintellectual celebrities (Lindbergh, Laura Ingalls, Philip Johnson), the cranky fringe magazine editors (the Fox Newses of their day), the surreptitious underwriting from foreign extremists trying to neutralize America as a geopolitical power (Vladimir Hitler, Vladimir Goebbels, etc), the sleazy corrupt members of Congress gave official aid and shelter to the planners of insurrection under the banner of America First (Burton K. Wheeler, Gerald Nye, Hamilton Fish 3rd ), the smarmy con artist public figures who served as spokesmen for the pro-fascist cause (Rev Charles Coughlin, George Viereck), and even the way they disrupted and abused the legal system to bully their way out of being held accountable to the legal system for their crimes.

It's all so freakishly reflected in the antisocial disruptions of today's fascists. I highly recommend picking up this book or this audio book

Is it an "ambush" if you ask a candidate about their public record?

Asking for not-a-friend:

CNN Ambushes GOP Nominee Who Called for Biden’s Execution

CNN reporter Shimon Prokupecz approached candidate Michele Morrow after a Wake Country Republican Party event in the state, questioning her on her incendiary social media posts. CNN’s KFile reported how between 2019 and 2021 Morrow called for the deaths of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, as well as other prominent Democrats including Hillary Clinton and Andrew Cuomo—all while promoting QAnon conspiracies and disparaging public schools as “socialism” and “indoctrination centers.”

Morrow, an activist who homeschooled her children, defeated the incumbent superintendent in the GOP primary in a surprise upset earlier this month. Should Morrow win, she’d be in charge of the state’s public education system and its $11 billion budget.

Prokupecz and Morrow began cordially before the reporter disclosed his affiliation, causing Morrow and an associate to button up and refuse to answer his questions. Prokupecz pressed her on the inflammatory posts, asking if he stood by her calls to execute Democrats and her comments on public schooling.

“Do you stand by what you’ve said about the public education system, that it needs to be destroyed?” Prokupecz directly asked.

Mister Trump - And His Drug and Diaper Problems (primary source on creepiness)

You won't be appalled. After all these years, you're numb to the sense of disgust. You're worn numb from shock after shock watching him always get away with it. Nothing he does will surprise you. But can at least still be grossed out. Here's a chance to feel something again.

Mister Trump - And His Drug and Diaper Problems

Don Lemon does the liberal YouTube circuit: David Pakman, Brian Tyler Cohen, TYT

You get a good 3D view of the Lemon-Musk interview and the troubling issues about hate, free speech, and censorship involved in this discussion. But the most interesting thing to me, as someone with limited time and unlimited curiosity, about the three interviews is that you see the different virtues of the streaming news shows.

Pakman's interview of Lemon was the most straightforward. I liked how he explains how the business end of streaming works. You definitely get a sense of how Musk is hands on running Xitter. You got a sense of who Lemon is and how he did a real public service.

Awww, poor Peter Navarro. Scotus just reminded him he ain't the fool that hired them

Imagine the audacity of thinking that someone else's butler is going to dust your living room

Supreme Court says Trump White House official Peter Navarro must begin prison sentence

The Bureau of Prisons had scheduled Navarro to report for detention by 2 p.m. Tuesday in Miami unless the Supreme Court intervened.

Chief Justice John Roberts said he saw no reason to disagree with an appeals court decision denying Navarro's request to remain free, adding that the decision is distinct from a ruling on the appeal itself.

Navarro was convicted in September for refusing to testify or provide documents to the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

{snip}

Navarro had argued he should remain free while appealing because he's not likely to flee the country and poses no danger to public safety. 😆😆😆😆 He also said he is raising issues in his appeal that could overturn his conviction, including what constitutes a "proper" invocation of executive privilege.

Isn't it strange how the GOP VP wannabes have been imploding?

These PR nightmares are all self-inflicted

1. Britt's ridiculous speech, which was meant to be a dog whistle to the fundies, but ended up becoming a punchline even for conservatives

2. Noem's unfolding "Teethgate" scandal

3. Mace's parading her sexual assault around like a merit badge