heybruce

When you look at what DeSantis has actually accomplished in Florida, the answer is "very little". There is also the blatant hypocrisy of the man who illegally used taxpayer money to fly asylum seekers from Texas to Massachusetts in an obvious election stunt, but who has gone silent on the topic of illegal immigrants now that so many are employed in hurricane clean-up after Ian. However since DeSantis is a Fox News darling, and since the Fox viewers seem unable to recognize hypocrisy, he may be a contender in 2024.

Examples, with sources please.

Look at a topographical map of Florida. The only significant coastal protection are the barrier islands, and they have been built (overbuilt) upon. As already posted, storm surges of more than 10 feet/3 meters are common all around the Gulf coast. Sea walls are not built that high because they spoil the view rich people have of the water. The only way to build a house that can survive a ten foot storm surge it to build it 11 feet above sea level. In Florida that doesn't mean build on a hill (excluding unstable sand dunes there are no hills near Florida's coasts), it means putting the house on tall, sturdy piles. However this increases the cost of construction and is unpopular with home builders and buyers, so Florida, being a "business friendly" state, usually will not require it. In 2018 Hurricane Michael and its ten foot storm surge destroyed most of the housing in the Florida coastal town of Mexico Beach. The local government is allowing people to rebuild on foundations 1 1/2 feet above sea level; so the next ten foot storm surge will wipe out the town again. https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/mexico-beach-city-council-votes-on-new-building-requirements/

Votes in several close elections are still being counted, but the Republicans will probably have a narrow majority in the House of Representative when they take office in January 2023. That will result in the investigation ending, unless enough Republicans decide to abandon Trump worship and allow it to continue.

Family responsibilities (aging mother, younger brother with cancer) forced me to return to the US four years ago. I have only recently been able to return to Thailand for a six week visit. For the foreseeable future annual visits to Thailand is all that I can manage.

Pushing the limits of technology in launch vehicles and electric cars is challenging, but the challenges abide by known laws of physics. Social media is an entirely different game.

Clearly the population did not think that the Republicans had any fixes for their sorrows.

Ukraine will not be abandoned. NATO will not be undermined. Election deniers will not be over-ruling voters. If you expect Washington DC to solve all the world's problems you live in an alternate reality.

Getting off-topic, but Bush was responsible for appointing that staff and chose to listen to the chicken-hawks instead of the actual military experts advising caution. https://www.cnn.com/2013/03/20/opinion/mills-truth-teller-iraq/index.html

dotcalm seems to have gone quiet. I think he's suffering the hangover that comes from premature gloating.

I wasn't in Thailand in the 70's and 80's but I understand it was pretty wild. I agree the hooker bar situation was much better in Bangkok and Chiang Mai twenty years ago, but I'm not looking for hooker bars--I know where they are and they don't have the appeal they once did.

Japan has an easier time controlling its borders because it is an island nation, but it is definitely not closed.

Wow; we're largely in agreement. As so often happens in two party elections, many people reluctantly chose the lesser of the two evils. I'd really like to see Ranked Choice Voting in the US. It's not a guaranteed solution to a two party system in which both parties cater to their extremes, but I think it has potential.

Japan is not closed, it allows some immigration and is increasing what it allows, though not as fast as the needs of an aging population require. Countries like North Korea and Belarus are closed. Would you like to live in either of these places?

Storm surges in excess of ten feet/3 meters are common along the Gulf of Mexico coast. How many sea walls are built that high? People should not build in storm surge areas (which can extend many miles inland) unless they are prepared to pay insurance rates that reflect the true cost, or accept the complete loss of their house. The government definitely should not help these people rebuild in high-risk areas, but it will.

Would a rushed job with few safeguards against mistakes or fraud be less pathetic?

You are correct: You are confused.

Two trolls under a bridge.

This may be the beginning of the greatest "Pride precedes the fall." business case in US business history.

I think he's been surrounded by sycophants who pretend to believe anything he says for so long that he's become convinced he can say anything and people will believe him. Unfortunately, a lot of people do believe him.

The author's of the US Constitution didn't anticipate the rise of two party politics. They assumed society would be divided into several factions with competing interests. The Founding Fathers were incredibly intelligent and far-sighted men, but they couldn't know everything. History has shown that with the current system in the United States two party politics is inevitable. I would definitely like to see a change to that system, but a change that doesn't change the current structure or core values of government. I think Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) would greatly improve the current US government system without changing the structure or values of the current system. Unfortunately a two party government has no incentive to create a multi-party government, so implementing any change will be difficult.

With those two, I'm pretty sure the answer is yes.

"It seems you havent asking questions on how to meet Thais. " Wow! You really haven't read any of my posts, or the title of this topic. Where did I ask how to meet Thais?

Your very ignorant assumptions are very wrong.

True, but let's not discount the stupidity of Florida's government. It uses taxpayer money to find ways to subsidize insurance for the fools, rich and poor alike, who buy or build in the high risk storm surge areas. If Florida's government stopped interfering and allowed insurance companies to charge rates the reflect the risk of the area, development in the high risk areas would go down.