🏀 KuBuckets Archive

More again tonight. Pretty close to me. Think one touched down northwest of Topeka. Woof.

@BShark 🐦 View Tweet?s=12

@BShark :folded_hands: :folded_hands:

Many sirens in LFK

Update: we good

@Crimsonorblue22 said in Tornados:

@BShark 🐦 View Tweet?s=12

Ya we got really lucky. Massive tornado in North Topeka, right around Hwy 24 ran straight East Northern edge of Topeka, intersection of K-9 and 24 hwy - Thank God live on the Southern end of Topeka

We had two rounds of very high winds - - the National weather service at the Airport recorded 86 MPH winds- -then followed that up with 80 MPH winds.

Thing is they are calling for even a higher risk tomorrow afternoon & Evening

@Crimsonorblue22 said in Tornados:

@BShark 🐦 View Tweet?s=12

Yes this was very close me to. Got pretty hairy for a moment. Wind was insane and had a moment where I thought hail/wind might break my windows.

@BShark

Experienced this in Vermont a few weeks back (not tornado) but winds up to 70mph ripped my trampoline that was anchored into the ground and landed on top of my above ground pool, destroyed the trampoline, damage to the pool. Broken basketball hoop (shattered the backboard), broke 3 outside lights and several other things. I legitimately felt like the house was going to cave in and not a fun situation to be in. Can't imagine with a Tornado near

I mean what’s a spring without 80-100 mph wind? Happens a couple times a year in western Kansas. Removes the weak structures and dead branches from trees. Ugg - know someone who’s houses (x2) got completley leveled by tornados on back to back nights. First one was in Greenburg, the second was their farm house south of town. Always thought that put it in perspective.

The coolest thing I can remember associated with a tornado was over our farm there was volleyball size hail. It went thru roofs of vehicles and trailer houses. Dad’s pickup had a hail stone hit the windshield so hard it pushed a phone book into the dash. The fields around there looked like the surface of the moon with up to 10” craters from the hail - when running a tractor across it with sweeps the compaction from the hail was enough to make the implement sway back and forth.

That said I would love some rain even if it comes with tornados and hail. This drought is getting bleak. And I need a new roof.

@dylans You wouldn't get a new roof with a tornado. It would be a whole house. If you survived. Just ask for rain and a little hail. Insurance will buy you a new roof.

@nuleafjhawk I always enjoyed watching people freak out in Lawrence over 40mph wind, in all honesty it’s funny as hell as that’s a nearly weekly occurrence here during the spring.

Seen many a tornado. The odds of one actually hitting your house is so infinitely small it’s not really a concern -plus I have a basement and good insurance. If there is a tornado in all likelihood all I will experience is hail, wind, and rain.

Usually in a nasty storm it’s better to go outside and see what’s coming than hunker down all scared in the basement. But I live in an area with zero hills and very few trees that weren’t planted. If you can see them they really aren’t that scary, just be prepared.

During the most recent local tornado I was out in a few wheat fields working. I lost the pictures or I’d post there here, was an impressive cone.

@dylans drove around a bit, lots of big limbs down. A couple decent size trees snapped. Some roof damage here and there (not for me, I got a new roof like 7 years ago).

@BShark Glad you escaped major damage!

Lots of tornadic weather the last week. Remarkable there haven't been too many deaths.

I made light earlier as there is nothing you can do to about the path of a storm, but Westmoreland was hit very hard last night. Tough deal.

Had a tornado here in Houston this morning. Despite not being in tornado alley, Houston (Harris County specifically) has had the second most tornadoes of any county in the US on record behind somewhere in Colorado. Ours just tend to be very F-0 or F-1 tornadoes.

@Texas-Hawk-10 wasn't in Pearland?

@Crimsonorblue22 said in Tornados:

@Texas-Hawk-10 wasn't in Pearland?

The one I know about was in the suburb of Spring on the northside not too far from the school I work at.

@Texas-Hawk-10 my bro and his family live there. Did you guys go to shelter?

@dylans said in Tornados:

always enjoyed watching people freak out in Lawrence over 40mph wind

Uh, we have 40 mph winds here all the time. No freakouts. A few inconvenienced picnics, that's it... like the time my pringles blew off my plate and stuck on my wifes face. Good times!

KC and Topeka TV weather folks get pretty over the top with the tornado coverage though, good grief.

Lol!

@DanR said in Tornados:

@dylans said in Tornados:

always enjoyed watching people freak out in Lawrence over 40mph wind

Uh, we have 40 mph winds here all the time. No freakouts. A few inconvenienced picnics, that's it... like the time my pringles blew off my plate and stuck on my wifes face. Good times!

KC and Topeka TV weather folks get pretty over the top with the tornado coverage though, good grief.

I'll just say that as a survivor of 3 F-5 Tornados, - -Tornado's are no joke. The Weather broadcasters have to be serious with these things , trying to give location of where they are.

I was here in the Jun 8th Tornado in Topeka, bout took Washburn University off the map- -was on the ground forever. started in the Southwest part and made complete angle across Topeka. - -Lives were lost many , many lives. - -Anything that can drive a single piece of straw through a 2x4 is no joke.-- -strip bark of a tree , um no thanks. You have these chasers, chasing after them.-- I'm telling you if you have been through the Big one's if a tornado is going Northeast - - - -I'm going southwest.

I was in the Andoves two Tornados-- complete diaster -- sorry this is one thing I don't laugh about

@jayballer67 https://mythresults.com/episode61 ↗

I think it may have more to do with the twisting of the tree/board opening voids that the straw gets stuck in.

Out of town storm chasers piss me off. They park in the middle of the gd road, blocking traffic during limited visibility. Dumbasses. Get off on the destruction and leave without a care for the people affected.

dam , more tornado's , tornado's , tornado's

Had 1 or 2 visit on Wednesday night. EF-1’s. 6 in total in my area all within a 30 minute timeframe. Lots of tree damage. Mature old trees. One clipped a side of the house, but fortunately minimal damage. Just doing cleanup now.

If you look at this map the diagonal line is nearly 40 miles long. Its a tornado path from 2007. Mile wide in some places. 10 million trees mowed down. No fatalities as it was sparsely populated area. Lived near this area in the little crossroads at the top of the map called Lily.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/White+Lake,+WI+54491/ ↗@45.1438391,-88.6797904,41356m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x4d53586c84f8c071:0x553af5e08c6964aa!8m2!3d45.1571931!4d-88.7645511!16zL20vMDExNHpk?entry=ttu

Wow. the path is visible from space.

Houston area took a direct hit from a tornado tonight. Also had to deal with massive straight line winds up to 100 mph that's caused massive damage all over town reminiscent of Hurricane Ike here in 2008. Right now, over 800,000 without power and that number will likely go over a million people tonight as the storm is still making its way through the southeast side of Houston.

Fortunately, I don't think I lost power at home as I was at dinner with friends when the storm rolled through.

One of the buildings in downtown Houston that sustained some major damage is ironically the Centerpoint Energy building. Centerpoint is the major utilities provider for the Houston area.

Wow, kind of sounds like a derecho.

Currently under a tropical storm warning as Beryl prepares to make landfall south of Houston tomorrow morning. Already had a couple of the outer bands move through. Houston will be on the dirty side of the storm as we prepare for up to 15 inches of rain, possibly more in some areas. Also expecting wond gusts upwards of 90 mph and sustained winds around 40 mph where I'm at and higher the closer to the coast you get.

Hope all remains well.

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Tornados:

Currently under a tropical storm warning as Beryl prepares to make landfall south of Houston tomorrow morning. Already had a couple of the outer bands move through. Houston will be on the dirty side of the storm as we prepare for up to 15 inches of rain, possibly more in some areas. Also expecting wond gusts upwards of 90 mph and sustained winds around 40 mph where I'm at and higher the closer to the coast you get.

you just stay safe and take care of yourself and family - -hoping for the best

Beryl made landfall overnight and is currently sitting over the west side of Houston. I lost power about 7am amd have mostly been sitting on my patio this morning watching the storm. Saw a tree come down near my car, thankfully not on it, and a few sections of fence blown over on some house backed up to my apartments.

@Texas-Hawk-10 my bro is in Pearland, lost 2 sections of fence, plugged frig and freezer into neighbors generator. He's not in a flood zone. Is the worst over? I hope a tree doesn't fall on you!

@Crimsonorblue22 I'm good for now. The rain is mostly done, but the eye is a few miles west of me so still getting tropical storm force wind and probably 50-60 mph gusts. There was a huge pine tree that came down about an hour ago or so that's blocking the parking lot to the back half of my complex. I still have probably another hour or two of dealing woth the wind before it starts to die down. There's currently about 2.1 million people without power in the Houston area right now.

This is a cool tool: http://hint.fm/wind/ ↗

@Texas-Hawk-10 their power is on!🔌

@Crimsonorblue22 said in Tornados:

@Texas-Hawk-10 their power is on!🔌

I still don't and have no idea how long it'll be. Centerpoint, who manages all the stuff here said they expect to have power restored to a million people by tomorrow, but that's still less than half of the people they service.

@Texas-Hawk-10 ugh, what's the temp up to there? My bro is definitely investing in a generator. Hang in there.

@Crimsonorblue22 said in Tornados:

@Texas-Hawk-10 ugh, what's the temp up to there? My bro is definitely investing in a generator. Hang in there.

Heat index was about 105° today. Spent most of today driving around to charge my phone and at a local bar that has AC.

@Texas-Hawk-10 still no power? I hear Abbott is in Asia. People will die from the heat. Hopefully the old people will get to shelters. You do have water? 🪭🪭🪭🪭🪭⛄️⛄️🌬️🌬️❄️❄️❄️

@Crimsonorblue22 Still no power, and no clue how hot it is in my apartment becausr my thermostatis off too, but it's upper 80's at least inside my apartment. I'm going to have to throw out pretty all the food in my fridge and freezer which sucks.

@Texas-Hawk-10 sucks! Sorry. I know if you don't open freezer it last a few days. I hope you don't have a big freezer full of meat. Ice chest and ice? I'd throw out the fridge stuff before it stinks up the place. Lots of cold showers!

@Crimsonorblue22 said in Tornados:

@Texas-Hawk-10 sucks! Sorry. I know if you don't open freezer it last a few days. I hope you don't have a big freezer full of meat. Ice chest and ice? I'd throw out the fridge stuff before it stinks up the place. Lots of cold showers!

Not a lot of meat, but it's already gone bad and will be getting tossed next time I'm home. My mom got power back overnight so I'm hanging out there and will check on my place throughout the day.

I finally got power back late morning today, but no internet and no estimate on when it'll be back. Definitely going be looking for a different internet provider after this.

@Texas-Hawk-10 thinking positively things could be much worse. But yes with probably cry with cost of groceries right now in this country absolutely ludicrous.

@kjayhawks Yes, pretty much everything in this country is ridiculous right now. I'm embarrassed for and saddened by this country. I have never talked politics much, but we need help. I almost hope that no one here expresses their political beliefs, because I'm afraid there would be a lot of people that I wouldn't like anymore. But if you're so inclined, pray for the USA.

@nuleafjhawk pretty much my sentiments.

The article NYT ran today about Elon Musks goal to have 1 million people on Mars in 20 years was an interesting distraction, minus the “Elon has happily donated his sperm to populate the colony” part.

I think in terms of describing the symptoms of the problem we can stay more or less on the same page with a little effort. Its when people talk about root causes and solutions, particularly when root causes are embellished, simplified or outright fabricated to facilitate solutions, that we venture into wonkytown.

@approxinfinity said in Tornados:

@nuleafjhawk pretty much my sentiments.

The article NYT ran today about Elon Musks goal to have 1 million people on Mars in 20 years was an interesting distraction, minus the “Elon has happily donated his sperm to populate the colony” part.

At least he wasn’t angry at it. Maybe a little Hawk Tuah girl for inspiration. 😝

@nuleafjhawk the entire infrastructure of this country is failing and you don’t have to be a genius to figure it out or put solutions in place to fix it. Both sides are plenty corrupt and are lining their own pockets with our money. It will be the less of two evils in November if there is such a thing. One man has made a living as a con artist the other likes sniffing children and seems to have the brain capacity of a toddler on his best day.

All I’ll say on the matter is we’ve got two shit sandwiches so pick whichever bread has your favorite color of mold

Well, you've wound me up.. Hold on to your top hats. I assume you all wear that fashionable head gear since we're all governed by a constitution was last updated when top hats in vogue, even though there have been massive technological advances in telecommunications, medicine, and so many other fields in the past 90 years.

Although it isn't stated explicitly, I think most people would agree that both Declaration of Independence and the constitution imply that the government has the responsibility to provide security for its citizens. And it's doing a crappy crappy job right now.

I'm talking about Fraud. Phone fraud. Internet fraud. Hacks hacks hacks.

It's an individual security issue and a privacy issue (neither of which the constitution addresses because these are contemporary concepts.) At this point, probably 99.9% of American's have had at least some personal data leaked. Today's latest hack is AT&T. But don't worry. It's just all of their customers and all of the call data and texts.

Millions of people's data is stolen pretty much monthly. And when that happens, it's the victim's responsibility to deal with the fallout. Even if its not identity theft, you still have to sign up for credit reporting and monitor your credit (which requires putting more of your data in yet another system that will probably be hacked.)

Why isn't this a massive campaign issue?

The issue is politically indiscriminate; young and old, rich and poor, and red and blue people's data is getting hacked. It's a ubiquitous problem and unambiguously a bad thing. No one is going to argue that a little fraud is ok.. or that some kinds of fraud are legitimate. I T I S A L L B A D.

How hard is it for a candidate to wake up and say they will get tough on fraud? Hold businesses responsible for lax IT security — there have to be consequences. Hit fraudsters hard no matter where they are and lean on partners to help us reach across borders — there have to be consequences.

That's my 2cents.

wait, what was this thread? lol

@bskeet thats a great issue to focus on. Another is spam. I get spam texts and calls every day. If politicians focused on things that Americans gave an actual shit about, they could win on that instead of these single issue voter issues that they hype up intentionally to drive wedges into the populace with.

@approxinfinity
100% agree on the divisive issues that the parties have pushed forward. Most of those issues only affect a small percentage of citizens. Digital fraud affects virtually everyone.

Spam is a form of fraud. I'm sure you've had that email from the former prince of Namibia who wants to give you $50m in cash? Not to mention the phishing and extortion emails..

I actually think that the fact that people have put up with spam has led us to where we are now with so many forms of online fraud and so little consequence.

The label "spam," which is cute and sounds harmless, is probably part of the problem as well.

@approxinfinity (because they’re the ones spamming people)

You guys want to start a political party?

@approxinfinity I’m very much retired from that line of work 😂

LOL I don't want to. But maybe we need to.

I have a sense that deference (or worse, ambivalence) has been one of the reasons we are where we are. Both parties are doing a disservice to the country.

That said, each are massive machines, and collectively, they are titanic.

It's not impossible to put a dent in them, I guess, if you're an iceberg.

It’s sort of darkly humorous we asked for a prominent person to run as a third party candidate and in the ultimate monkeys paw curl we got an admitted sexual predator with literal brain worms

@approxinfinity I think we could put our minds together and do a better fairly easily is the sad part lol.

@kjayhawks just need some decent people to try, really.

@approxinfinity it’s very sad how true that is, I feel Washington is starved on those type of people.

In a country of 300 million-ish people it's almost unbelievable that we can't find TWO people who are running at full capacity and aren't perverted, self righteous, misogynistic, convicted criminal assholes.

Yes, @approxinfinity , let's start our own political party.

@nuleafjhawk I’m a registered independent for a reason not sure how anyone can not be embarrassed by claiming one of main parties in this country really for the past few decades. I tell people all the time if everyone had the guts for actual change, they’d vote for someone not affiliated with those parties. Vote every last one of them out. I’d bet a hefty amount the average person would be better at budgeting. Imagine you and your wife being broke, then deciding to spend more money that you didn’t have. Common sense and logic in Washington could fix about 75% of the issues in this country.

@FarmerJayhawk said in Tornados:

It’s sort of darkly humorous we asked for a prominent person to run as a third party candidate and in the ultimate monkeys paw curl we got an admitted sexual predator with literal brain worms

Don’t say that too loudly…Elon may be listening.

@kjayhawks I am admittedly politically ignorant. I've never been interested in the whole thing. But now, I'm fearful for the first time in a long time. Only bad things can happen if either of these ...people are our next President. I wish this country would abandon the Republican/Democrat ideology and vote for the most qualified, best person. We need to revamp this government.

@nuleafjhawk I tend to agree with George Carlin - “Think about how dumb the average person is and realize that half the people out there are dumber than that!” These are the same people who elect our leaders. Of course the people in charge are morons, they were elected by millions of idiots.

@dylans love it!

Heres my theory.

Idiots can be good. Man is inherently neither good nor bad.
Man is inherently neither lazy nor motivated.

We are the product of our environments.

And right now its easy to be lazy.
And its hard to be good.

So people aren’t good, and people are lazy.

This is why I registered www.ez2bgood.com I just havent done anything with it…. Yet.

All I ask for is a candidate (not just at the presidential level) that will consistently put citizens' interests above the interests of PACs, massive donors, and themselves.

Is that too much?

.

.

I will say, there is some comfort in knowing that I'm not holding these concerns by myself, alone.

Clearly, this community is on the upper half of George Carlin's bell curve (thx @dylans ) Maybe there's enough entropy in the bottom half to nominate and elect someone above a "moron".

@approxinfinity what the he!! Is that symbol?

Its my approxinfinity symbol.

@approxinfinity as I always say good times create weak people. Tough times create strong people, if you look at the cycle maybe we were too good from after WW2 to the 1990s. I tell my kids constantly this generation is so weak if you are willing to put in the work you will easily make it. As a guy that hires people, if I can find someone that will show up and stay on task below the age of 30. It’s an Absolute miracle and an act of god himself.

@kjayhawks said in Tornados:

@approxinfinity as I always say good times create weak people. Tough times create strong people, if you look at the cycle maybe we were too good from after WW2 to the 1990s. I tell my kids constantly this generation is so weak if you are willing to put in the work you will easily make it. As a guy that hires people, if I can find someone that will show up and stay on task below the age of 30. It’s an Absolute miracle and an act of god himself.

I'm going to push back on this a bit a ask a question. Who's responsible for instilling that mentality in Gen-Z and young Millennials? That blame lies squarely at the feet of younger Boomers and Gen-X because that's who raised those kids and are now having to deal with consequences of those parenting choices.

@Texas-Hawk-10 while i dont disagree that one could spread the blame around, i am a fan of the inverse of the old saying:

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.

Harry S Truman

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the blame. At the least, blame
isnt a magic bullet.

@approxinfinity said in Tornados:

@Texas-Hawk-10 while i dont disagree that one could spread the blame around, i am a fan of the inverse of the old saying:

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.

Harry S Truman

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the blame. I think blaming is unfortunately a convenient reason for all of us to do nothing.

I'm sorry, but I'm calling bullshit right now because of all the preventable shit I've dealt with this week due to the greed and selfishness of Boomers and Gen-X. That's doesn't doesn't apply to all Boomers and Gen-Xers, but it's the mindset and mentality of those generations at large that have many of the issues in this country today through public policy.

I don't really wanna jeep going on this because I will absolutely get into a culture war and flame Boomers and Gen-X right now because of the bullshit myself and millions of people here in Houston have gone through and still going through in the aftermath of Beryl because of the leadership in this state and city that have caused this situation here.

Has blaming an entire generation been a successful solution to anything?

I mean. I hear you. But just saying that i think advocating solution is much more important than blame.

@approxinfinity said in Tornados:

I mean. I hear you. But just saying that i think advocating solution is much more important than blame.

The real solutions will never happen because they aren't in the best interests of those in power who make the rules and policies. Getting money out of politics such as super PACs, corporate lobbying, and stuff like that. Congressmen make $174,000 per year. There's no reason members of Congress should become millionaires off of that job. Having to maintain two residences (Washington DC and home district) should prevent politicians from becoming wealthy.

Second, term limits. Being a politician should not be a career. There's no reason why someone who was first elected to national office in the 1960's or 1970's is still in office. This would also apply to the Supreme Court as well.

Third, age limits. There's no reason we should be choosing between a 78 year old narcissist and an 81 year old with cognitive issues for the most powerful office in the world. In November, for the third election in a row, whoever gets elected will be the oldest elected president in US history.

4th, institute ranked choice voting. This allows more third party candidates to have a chance in local and statewide elections as well as Congressional elections.

But like I said, none of those things will ever happen in the US because those things don't benefit those currently in power. Those currently in power didn't get into federal level politics for benevolent reasons.

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Tornados:

The real solutions will never happen because they aren’t in the best interests of those in power who make the rules and policies.

I fear this is 100% correct.

Fraud and digital security is now such a big business, any dramatic decrease would harm an entire sector. They make enough money to lobby lawmakers to filibuster as long as possible, then craft impotent, exploitable laws.

It's been like this for a long time in Pharma. Some say cancer treatments are too big of a business now for a true cure to be faithfully and vigorously pursued.

I don't know if I believe that. I'd like to believe otherwise. But I do believe that there is strong evidence that all three branches of the government have become ethically and morally bankrupt. Not everyone, but even one person is too many.

These people are in trusted positions in our institutions. Some don't take that trust seriously. They don't care about conflicts of interest. They act as though they are entitled to whatever they can get away with. Leveraging loopholes, exploiting positions of power.

It's despicable. And it's not something new.

But it does seem to be epidemic (or maybe even celebrated), and that's new.

@Texas-Hawk-10 so, not to be offensive, but to be blunt, i hear you stating a lot of facts that are undoubtedly true, and positive steps that could be taken, and there is obviously value in having a grasp of reality, but when you go so far as saying “things will never change”… its like, what is the point in dilligently paying attention to details of the past only to assume that there is no positive path forward?

@Texas-Hawk-10 let me rephrase…. Lets assume we are Dr Strange and have identified the one reality where “we win”. How does it happen?

Term limits and reducing the influence of parties and PACs are fundamentally irreconcilable

@approxinfinity said in Tornados:

@Texas-Hawk-10 so, not to be offensive, but to be blunt, i hear you stating a lot of facts that are undoubtedly true, and positive steps that could be taken, and there is obviously value in having a grasp of reality, but when you go so far as saying “things will never change”… its like, what is the point in dilligently paying attention to details of the past only to assume that there is no positive path forward?

This is how younger generations feel when they look and see all the things their parents and grandparents were able to achieve by certain ages and those goals are completely out of reach for many Millennials and Gen-Z Americans.

If you want something practical that has a chance of happening, then raising the federal minimum wage to something in line with the median cost of living is a start. It's been 15 years since minimum wage was increased and $7.25 an hour is not a livable wage anywhere in the US which is what minimum wage is supposed to be, the minimum liveable wage in the US.

@FarmerJayhawk terms limits should be the number 1 priority. @Texas-Hawk-10 you definitely have some valid points sir. But the system is part of the issue, very very few families have a parent that says home. Up until the late 90s most moms stayed at home and raised children now someone else raises our children most the time. The average week day I get a few hours with my kids as does my wife.

@approxinfinity I just rewatched Infinity War and Endgame earlier this week. They seem to be aging well.

I think the point of that story is that it is naive to think that complex problems can be solved with a simple solution, even with primeval, celestial power at your fingertips, so to speak. Real solutions are messy and hard and require sacrifice.

That last thing is the real kicker. Most American leadership is very sacrifice-averse. Too many leaders in the public sector and private sector avoid putting their own "skin in the game" at all costs. It's all about playing the game with someone else's skin in the game -- make someone else make the sacrifice -- avoid responsibility if something goes wrong, but position yourself to take credit if it goes well.

For businesses, it doesn't matter what the margins are, Wall Street demands companies grow profits every quarter. It's not acceptable to have the same profit as the previous quarter. If it doesn't grow, it's failure.

It's a corrosive mix of hypocrisy, selfishness and greed.

If the younger generations are looking for good role models, they don't have many options. People talk about 'servant leadership' but you just don't see much of it these days.

@kjayhawks I totally disagree. If you turn over the Congress constantly you get 1) greater influence by lobbyists. It takes years to become a serious policy expert. And there aren’t term limits for lobbyists so they’re always going to be more knowledgeable than members on issues if you have term limits. 2) you’ll empower the administrative state. Same logic applies. Members of Congress without expertise can’t write clear, thorough laws so they write vague laws with gaps the administration fills in on a whim. The ACA is probably the best example of a very poorly written law that has spawned approximately a gazillion regulations, intended or not, from unelected bureaucrats. There will be more of them without an informed Congress. We need much more Congressional capacity, not less.

@FarmerJayhawk Term limits are absolutely necessary. I'll agree that constant turnover isn't good for stability, but neither are people serving 20+ years either. Set it at 12 years so that's 2 terms for a senator or 6 terms for a representative. I'm sure people could argue all day about an exact amount of time, but that's not the point. The point is not allowing people to be career politicians and get to a point where they're owned by lobbyist groups and serving them instead of the people that elected them like they are supposed to do.

Lobbyists themselves aren't the issue which is why I never specifically mentioned them. The issue is the money attached to lobbyist groups. Here in Texas, the only reason marijuana has not been legalized in any form at the state level is because of the private prison lobby lining the pockets of our representatives. I don't know the exact numbers because it's late and I'm too tired to look them up now, but there's a ridiculous amount of people in prison, not jail, but prison in Texas for non-violent drug crimes such as possession of marijuana because private prisons have to have a minimum amount of occupancy to stay open and make money for the politicians who support them.

@FarmerJayhawk Without naming names, career politicians are a big part of the reason we are in the current mess. No one should be in office for decades, it’s perverse.

@dylans also without naming names, convicted criminals should not be eligible for office. And I haven't been east of Kansas City since March.

Again, what does blame here do but divide us?

@approxinfinity It helps get to the root cause.

Edit - If there is no blame, there can be no accountability. If there is no admission of mistakes, no growth can occur and the cycle repeats in perpetuity.

Our Bipartisan system is a self sustaining duopoly. If you are Republican or Democrat you are as much alike as you are dissimilar.

We have ceded control to the lawmakers, to the stockbrokers, to the manufacturers and distributors, to the caretakers, to Big Pharma, to the advertisers.

We used to cede control to Nature or God or Big Unknown, when we had a more direct relationship with uncertainty.

Now we are all very small circuits or pawns, locked in on a very big board.

How did this thread...nevermind :zany_face:

@BShark as apt a name as any, this thread.

@Texas-Hawk-10 I think you have the chain of causality backwards. New members are more beholden to special interests than more senior members. They haven’t been able to develop a unique relationship with their voters so they have to maintain close ties with the groups that supported them originally. For example, if someone were to challenge Senator Moran they’d have to get the support of AFP, Farm Bureau, the Chamber, etc to mount a real challenge. Jerry can go it alone because his constituents know and trust him. More recently, whether it’s JD Vance or Rafael Warnock, they have to pander to stick around. Their senior staff also come largely from special interests since they don’t have a network on the Hill yet.

@FarmerJayhawk said in Tornados:

@Texas-Hawk-10 I think you have the chain of causality backwards. New members are more beholden to special interests than more senior members. They haven’t been able to develop a unique relationship with their voters so they have to maintain close ties with the groups that supported them originally. For example, if someone were to challenge Senator Moran they’d have to get the support of AFP, Farm Bureau, the Chamber, etc to mount a real challenge. Jerry can go it alone because his constituents know and trust him. More recently, whether it’s JD Vance or Rafael Warnock, they have to pander to stick around. Their senior staff also come largely from special interests since they don’t have a network on the Hill yet.

I'm going to tell you right now, going down this rabbit hole isn't going to be productive because this is something we will never see eye to eye on. You're too tied into the that world because of your agriculture background while I've seen my profession fucked over countless times because of special interest groups lobbying for policies that actively harm public education. I'm not going to change your mind and you're not going to change my mind on this matter so I'd suggest leaving this here.

@approxinfinity Yes most government officials should wear NASCAR type jackets with all the money that flows in thru the back door.

@BShark tornadoes ALWAYS lead to politics. Duh...

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Tornados:

@FarmerJayhawk said in Tornados:

@Texas-Hawk-10 I think you have the chain of causality backwards. New members are more beholden to special interests than more senior members. They haven’t been able to develop a unique relationship with their voters so they have to maintain close ties with the groups that supported them originally. For example, if someone were to challenge Senator Moran they’d have to get the support of AFP, Farm Bureau, the Chamber, etc to mount a real challenge. Jerry can go it alone because his constituents know and trust him. More recently, whether it’s JD Vance or Rafael Warnock, they have to pander to stick around. Their senior staff also come largely from special interests since they don’t have a network on the Hill yet.

I'm going to tell you right now, going down this rabbit hole isn't going to be productive because this is something we will never see eye to eye on. You're too tied into the that world because of your agriculture background while I've seen my profession fucked over countless times because of special interest groups lobbying for policies that actively harm public education. I'm not going to change your mind and you're not going to change my mind on this matter so I'd suggest leaving this here.

Ag, public finance, working on the Hill, in a state legislature, regularly meeting with lobbyists, did a PhD in education policy…

The Texas education wars are a good example. Special interests are playing on both sides (unions vs. business) in GOP primaries. It’s not special, there are hundreds of millions poured into elections from groups on all sides of the issue.

@FarmerJayhawk said in Tornados:

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Tornados:

@FarmerJayhawk said in Tornados:

@Texas-Hawk-10 I think you have the chain of causality backwards. New members are more beholden to special interests than more senior members. They haven’t been able to develop a unique relationship with their voters so they have to maintain close ties with the groups that supported them originally. For example, if someone were to challenge Senator Moran they’d have to get the support of AFP, Farm Bureau, the Chamber, etc to mount a real challenge. Jerry can go it alone because his constituents know and trust him. More recently, whether it’s JD Vance or Rafael Warnock, they have to pander to stick around. Their senior staff also come largely from special interests since they don’t have a network on the Hill yet.

I'm going to tell you right now, going down this rabbit hole isn't going to be productive because this is something we will never see eye to eye on. You're too tied into the that world because of your agriculture background while I've seen my profession fucked over countless times because of special interest groups lobbying for policies that actively harm public education. I'm not going to change your mind and you're not going to change my mind on this matter so I'd suggest leaving this here.

Ag, public finance, working on the Hill, in a state legislature, regularly meeting with lobbyists, did a PhD in education policy…

The Texas education wars are a good example. Special interests are playing on both sides (unions vs. business) in GOP primaries. It’s not special, there are hundreds of millions poured into elections from groups on all sides of the issue.

That's the fucking problem, those hundreds of millions of dollars have much better uses than convincing some politician to push their agenda on the public that's not in the best interests of the people they're supposed to be representing. That's money that could be used in their own communities to improve the overall quality of life in those places or to pay lower level employees better wages. So again, you're never going to convince me that the money spent by billion dollar conglomerates on lobbying is a net positive. There's a reason why the US is ranked near or at the bottom of 1st world countries in quality of healthcare and education, and those billions of dollars spent annually on lobbying by those industries is a big reason why.

Enjoy the last word on this though because I'm done responding to you on this topic.

@Texas-Hawk-10 enjoy arguing with points I’m not making :)

Everybody’s right! Everybody’s wrong! 500 points to everyone!

@approxinfinity Thank you, Drew Carey!

@mayjay fun fact: Drew is my boss 😂

@approxinfinity yay!! I finally got some points lol