@SFGate If CA wants to pay undocumenteds, illegals, or whatever then that's its business, but those funds need to come from CA's budget, not the feds (taxpayers from other states). A little reality wouldn't hurt. Can CA say VAT tax?
@DecisionDeskHQ Theatre. Republicans no longer support a voter population capable of winning this statewide race. Their voter base continues to leave the state post haste while Dโs gladly replace them with immigrant loyalists
๐ฆ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ ๐๐ป ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ถ
Yesterday, I visited what remains of Old Town Lahaina, my first in-person look since the 2023 fire, and what I found struck me sideways, backwards, upside down, and inside out. A once vibrant village simply vanished as though the fire gods themselves remorselessly targeted Maui's heart and soul, transforming the island's feel into a place that might as well be the mainland.
Crumbling walkways, pier supports without piers, hollowed-out concrete structures, US Army Corp of Engineers signs, and "government property no trespassingโ warnings supplant seaside restaurants, cobblestone walkways, catamaran snorkel sail, bustling shopping, and barefeet works everywhere good vibes; transforming the area into a desolate and empty shell increasingly hidden by weeds sprouting through walkway and parking lot cracks - erasing bit by bit evidence such a magical place ever existed.
Lack of restoration stuns the senses. I see no effort being made to rebuild the area save a few apartment structures outside the perimeter of Old Lahaina. No contractors anywhere. No people except one woman who appears to own one of the shelled out buildings, sitting inside a plastic storage shed doing nothing. Three or four tourists walk around Lahaina's famed but now fenced off banyan tree, miraculously spared from the firegod's wrath. Foodland Grocery chose to rebuild outside the district rather than wait upon whatever it is being waited. Outlet stores seem to have chosen nothing rather than rebuild elsewhere. Some enterprises, like Dukes, relocated to sprawling golf/condo Kaanapali. Otherwise, nothing.
A bypass highway skirts visitors and residents around downtown and, for those who never visited Maui pre-fire, nothing strikes them out of the ordinary. Highway speeds, impatient drivers, near constant traffic, and small strip malls give the place a mainland feel - contradicting directly what made it uniquely special to those of us fortunate enough to visit the island in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Almost immediately upon exiting Kahului Airport a giant Walmart, Target, and Home Depot retail area greets visitors. Several random homeless people hint at a larger, hidden population which I find accidentally later, including one sizable contingent outside Paia lining a decaying road not far from architecturally profound Old Maui Highschool.
At a distance, Maui appears the same beautiful place I fell in love with years ago. Up close, it feels increasingly like an aging oceanside, socio-economic segregated area almost akin to some areas of California except, unlike like Laguna Beach, Medicino, or even old town Napa, it lacks the unique heartbeat only old town areas can bring to a community. And, for myself, that's the problem. Maui doesn't feel like a community because what made its heartbeat beat sits idle, lifeless, seemingly forgotten.
I don't live there nor do I own Lahaina property; therefore, I lack insight about local dynamics but of one thing I'm quite sure: something isn't right. It's plain as day. And it ruined my desire to revisit.
More photos at https://t.co/NcFoqWeoR5
@Glenn_Diesen The only way the war spreads to NATO countries is if Ukraine attacks them. Russia possesses zero interest in a broad war against European countries
@RT_com Deluded. 1/2 of his nation left. 2M+ men AWOL. No elections. -20% GDP. Martial law. EU leaders play him, buy time, using the war to sell retooling VW/BMW plants into weapons making, supplying a future assault on RU who stands between them & their unipolar aims. Prepping society
@patriot_apranik Hopefully, after your citizens were gunned down in the streets for protesting, you better recognize the importance of our 2nd amendment. Assuming they finish the job, perhaps you might consider something similar in your own country. To avoid repeat scenarios
@Martyupnorth Lincoln's inaugural address, speeches, & writings revealed a very Marxist sounding theory by declaring states were ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ obligated to the union, forbidden to leave - even if it required sacrificing 700k US men & up to 1M slaves. Expect the same mentality there.
@RokoMijic I see Russia advancing across the Donbas region. I see them removing entrenched Ukrainian soldiers in Kharkiv. Ukraine's population is 50% prewar. 2M wanted for AWOL. Martial law. -21% GDP. Begging for $$. Lowering conscription to 18. Maybe we're watching different channels
@GolfDigest NBA pro, Larry Bird, maintained 3 non-negotiable rules as the Pacer's coach: play unselfishly, play hard, be on time. Once, starters Travis Best & Dale Davis arrived to the tarmac 2 minutes late, only to watch their team's flight take off. Like Higgo, they learned rules matter
@MattWallace888 Have you seen his leg injury, a non-uniform deep laceration? His symptoms are consistent with sepsis, a possible culprit . Like an intestinal injury, he may have mistook symptoms as something else, running out of time before getting proper treatment. Quite common & not murder.
@ngosugartp@M_Simonyan Please find me any reference by Russia suggesting they are considering some kind of offensive against the greater European community. You won't find one because one does not exist. Western Europe prepares for war because Western Europe wants war. Why, explore on your own
@AG2982373939644@SaveJxn Sepsis generates coughs. He suffered a deep laceration on his leg not long ago that looked very gruesome. https://t.co/brVkPCZMz6 .
This looks consistent with mistaking sepsis as some other ailment and he ran out of time before getting proper medical treatment.
May 18, 1980. Forest Rd 26. Richard Lasher takes this iconic photo of Mt. Saint Helens, escaping with his life on the motorcycle. According to Lasher, by the time he freed the bike from his car and sped off, his Pinto had begun burning.
Chicago woman mocks Democrats by speaking in a squeaky, high-pitched voice, who say black people's voting rights are in danger.
The woman also called out the commissioners one by one to their faces.
"I'm 63 years old. I've been voting since I was 18. I have never had a problem voting..."
"So now you're all gonna drag black people in here, definitely some senior citizens, and gonna have them come up here and talk about how they're scared to vote... all that junk, when you know it's not true."
@JohnLeFevre Define elitist: Your post.
I have flown since the 80s without witnessing bad behavior. Seat density increased reducing comfort & since more people fly I cant sleep across 3 seats but I still get from A to B 10x faster than Greyhound. Or were you suggesting something else...?
@okcthunder I didn't see the game but 6 ft 5 Caruso on 7'4 Wembanyama alone down low = 4-1 exit. Did your bigs foul out? The Thunder needs to employ the 80s Celtics/Lakers strategy of getting bigs whose sole purpose was to body up opposing centers until they fouled out.
I.E. Greg Kite