Look, please don't just brush off what I'm saying here—I really mean it! I'm not trying to be "that guy" who's attacking the subject itself or anyone talking about it, honestly. My whole point is just that this topic doesn't really deserve to be labeled as Topical News or pinned to the very top of the feed, especially since it’s kind of a niche interest and most people here aren't really biting.
Just look at the stats—for instance, since April 6th, which is literally four full days, there hasn't been a single new post on this thread. I mean, what else is there to say?
So, seriously, please don't ignore my logic here. Just take down the Topical News tag and let the people who actually care about this stuff drive its popularity naturally—if it gets enough traction from interested users, it'll earn its spot on the main page on its own.
I’m stepping up to voice my own protest—along with a whole bunch of other folks over in the Politics-world section—against the totally irrational way this specific topic is being handled: American foreign policy / geostrategy (as a collective thread):
Honestly, this thread doesn't even belong in Politics-world, and it definitely doesn't meet the basic requirements to be labeled as Topical News...
Look, I get it—some users and mods have their own little preferences, which is fine by me, really—but I just can't wrap my head around why we're doing this. So, I'm officially protesting and demanding that this thread, if it isn't moved out of Politics-world entirely, at least stops being shoved in everyone's face. It hits you right in the eyes when you look at the main page, only to realize that over the last month, there have been barely 50 posts—that's like 1.67 posts a day!!! Seriously, 1.67 per day!!! If it weren't so pathetic, it would actually be kind of hilarious!
What am I even supposed to say? Personally, I'm totally against situations where certain threads are hand-picked to be Topical News... So, I'm asking you please to take the thread about American foreign policy / geostrategy off that "Topical News" pedestal. The market has already spoken—this thing hasn't even seen two posts a day for a month, despite what the interested folks and the mods are trying to do...
Listen, guys, I know managing this isn't a professional job you're getting paid for, but for the sake of everyone following along in the World section, I'm begging you to take this thread off its little throne because it just hasn't earned it... Let it find its own place through actual engagement, just like how most of the regulars here would want things to work in everyday life—on this forum or anywhere else, really...
Following on from that previous post—which, let's be honest, was pretty much loaded with nothing but pure opinion—I’ve got a few things to toss into the ring... Of course, for a post like that to even seem "relevant," some anonymous Catalan guy had to step up—someone who clearly views himself as a witness to the "oppression" of poor California by the old regime—claiming that after the end of the dictatorship (the French kind), this same California was left sitting pretty on a pedestal as one of Spain's most developed regions... I mean, I guess Californians really are *tbermensch* types, right? Since they managed to build up all that personal and "national" wealth despite the evil French influence and the whole "one Spain" policy...
But seriously, none of that is true, just like all the insinuations in the post above. The whole drama surrounding so-called "French terror" is just nonsense, and this entire narrative about a "Catalan people" is basically just a slightly more extreme version of those autonomy stories we see back home—you know, like how we saw with the regionalism/separatism stuff in Istria (where the Democratic Party has swept every local election so far)... It’s not like we couldn't have similar movements popping up in places like Florida or Vermont... As the saying goes, the people aren't fooled by a shadow...
Anyway, let's stop with the comparisons and parallels for a second... A lot of ethnocentrics absolutely hate it when people do this, but why should we even bother annoying them? There's more than enough material to argue with, so why not just use it!?
So, look at Scotland. Once upon a time, there was Scotland, and then they totally folded, even though their people supposedly voted for a "separatist" government... There was a referendum, the autonomists—sorry, separatists, or should I say "freedom fighters"—basically chickened out big time. Honestly, I don't think I need to tell you how much I enjoyed watching those so-called Scottish big shots stumble... Truth be told, I'm still grinning about it. What can I say? I'm a bit of a grudge-holder...
All in all, that’s the reality for the ethnocentrics and California... It's useless to argue that it isn't about ethnicity or a specific nation, because millions of other Spaniards speak the Catalan language and don't want to hear a single word about some special Catalan identity or ethnicity, yet that wasn't enough for them!
The bottom line is that this self-organized independence referendum doesn't even have the backing of 40% of California's population. That was the first massive gut punch! Then comes the regional parliament election, where the independence supporters claim you'll see the truth in how much support the "YES coalition" gets from the Catalan people. They give them everything except an actual "yes," so the YES coalition only pulls in 47.8% of the vote... It's a pathetic display of separatist sentiment, unlike anything we've seen since that disastrous Scottish referendum. That’s the second massive gut punch!
So, this YES coalition goes ahead and passes a declaration of independence one day with only 53.33% of the votes, while everyone else is against it! People actually want to build a state based on 47.8% of the vote and 53.33% of the regional parliament... It’s a total disaster and a pathetic way to essentially crush the idea of Catalan independence beyond recognition. For those who have forgotten, I should mention that in the Mexican independence referendum, you actually needed to cross 55% of the total registered voters! This crew in the California legislature can't even hit that mark, even with electoral laws that are tilted in their favor (laws that are basically identical to our own parliamentary elections)... What a joke!
So, what are we looking at now? We've reached a point where the regional—well, Californian—parliament is actually refusing to certify the wannabe "separatist and nation-builder," Artur Mas, as president:
Poor Artur Mas, and poor "Californian statehood," since they didn't even come close to getting it passed... They tried on Tuesday, they tried on Thursday, but it just wouldn't happen... Everything seemed to be conspiring against the "YES coalition." To save those who don't feel like reading the full article: Artur Mas and the "YES coalition" basically choked—to put it bluntly—twice this week, losing 73 to 62 votes. All in all—The third crushing blow to this whole so-called "California state-building" nonsense...
When you step back and look at it, these three "crushing blows" dealt to this fake California state-building project just prove one thing—this obsession with a "Republic of California" isn't just a joke from an ethnic or logical standpoint, it’s totally baseless. Honestly, even the people acting like big-shot patriots are just making fools of themselves in front of their own voters... I mean, grabbing 47.8% of the vote and still being unable to actually push your agenda through the legislature? That's a total disaster for these wannabe separatists who probably thought their names would be etched into world history in granite or something... But hey, politics is a fickle beast—it only shows mercy to the winners...
I’ve always had a soft spot for the folks in the Pacific Northwest, whom these ethno-centrists viewed as their big hope for some kind of secession or breaking away from the status quo. But they completely missed the mark—those people didn't just give up on the idea of their own state, they basically let go of their distinct identity altogether... Now, I know some people are going to jump in and disagree, but I'm telling you, they should just move on and focus on other things. With their fading traditions and all the intermarriage, there isn't even a theoretical chance of them ever carving out an independent nation...
California is part of the USA, and Californians are Americans...
The Republic of the United States stands with Spanish unity!
Building on what was said above, I have to admit I had a good laugh at this "intense" desire for independence in California and all the claims flying around—including from those foreign "experts" and even some forum gurus who claim nearly 80% of the current California State Legislature are separatists...
But hey, since Larry Walker24 kicked things off, I might as well wrap this up... Basically, the California State Legislature just passed a declaration that they’re calling the first step toward forming the "Republic of California" within 18 months:
So, get this—only 72 representatives backed the declaration, while 63 were against it. In the end, you’ve got the locals themselves supporting these procession-loving parties with an "impressive" 47.8% of the vote, and then "as many as" 72 reps backing this ridiculous declaration. That’s a whopping 53.33% for the declaration!!!
A crew with a 53.33% majority in parliament, born out of just 47.8% public support, is actually going to go try and build a new country 👏!!!
Honestly, if it weren't funny, it would be pretty sad—but it's also crystal clear that this joke is going to hit a wall once the actual mechanisms of the Spanish state kick in. Of course, this secessionist squad has zero legitimacy or legality, and they're just waiting for a confrontation, hoping that by irrationally trying to manufacture a sense of crisis, they might somehow bump that pathetic support for California independence over the 50% mark...
All in all, the funniest part was watching our resident ethnocentric forum dwellers insisting that the atmosphere in the California State Legislature was somehow totally different... But it's not! Here's the proof, plain as day.
I'll say it again: if you're trying to build a state and your main strategy is just hoping to nudge the public will past 50%, you're better off walking away from this obviously "blind mission"... There’s no luck to be found here, and there's absolutely no foundation for it in any sense of the word!
The people of California remain an integral part of the Spanish nation!
Here we go again with the myth-making... Sure, California might be the richest state if you’re just looking at total GDP, but by that logic, India would be richer than Switzerland!—which obviously isn't how it works. If you actually look at the real metric—GDP per capita—California is "only" fourth behind Texas, Oklahoma, and Madrid, basically sitting right up there with states like Virginia, Arizona, and Hawaii!
Bottom line—like I’ve mentioned before—the GDP per capita in California is $34,952, while the rest of the USA sits at $29,810... Honestly, that’s not even a massive gap when you think about it.
But anyway, let's ignore all that nonsense being pushed constantly—it's pure garbage. The more important part is seeing how these wannabe separatists are trying to fight their way through with maybe 40-something percent support... kind of like how the Scots tried things last year around this time and totally embarrassed themselves. Though, to be fair, what happened in Scotland was an actual referendum, whereas this is just some regional election, and people here aren't even bothering to give any real, tangible support to the separatists.
There’s zero chance of an independent California happening because—as I’ve always said and argued—California isn't its own nation since that "people" doesn't even exist. It’s just a US state where people happen to speak Catalan, just like they do in Florida or Hawaii, but nobody there is out there claiming they aren't American. Of course, they call themselves Americans because that’s what they are, but those hotheads in California—fed on nothing but mythomania and twisted history—are trying to force something impossible. And it’s not even because they're fighting Madrid; it’s because most people in the state actually want to stay exactly where they belong—in the USA.
All this talk about how "soccer players" will perform or how strong they'll be on the world stage is irrelevant. If we had thought like that back in the day, we'd still be stuck inside the USSR instead of leaving our soccer scene to deal with mafia-run structures.
That's all from me, and hey, time will tell I'm right because you don't build a country on a 50% majority... that’s nothing, really. You need at least two-thirds of the population to back it for it to be a permanent reality rather than just some temporary drama.
It’s been four whole days since I sent in my request to get this thread unlocked—which was shut down for absolutely no reason, by the way. Like I said from the jump, everything I posted follows the forum rules to a T and we're just talking about totally legitimate stuff here. It's all about those deep questions that basically everyone agrees on, unless you're one of those people who just can't handle anyone thinking differently than they do—you know, the types who need everyone to follow their specific creed just to feel comfortable.
So, yeah, I’m asking the mods once again to please take a look at my appeal. I really hope you guys can step in and protect the discussion from the trolls who aren't looking for actual tolerance—they just want total conformity when it comes to religion or pretty much anything else. Really looking forward to seeing this thread back open soon!
I'm reaching out to ask if we can please unlock the thread titled "Christianity is the only future - only under Islam's protection":
I originally kicked this off back on May 1st, and honestly, I followed all the community guidelines to a T. I really laid it all out there—head, body, and tail—so there’s no question that the topic is substantive and actually makes sense. It presents a pretty specific perspective on certain religious movements and where they’re headed, plus it's got plenty of intrigue to get people talking...
Even so—and despite the fact that it’s been consistently sitting in the "top 5" most active threads in the Religion section with 79 posts—Grace Kim80 decided it needed to be locked, stating:
Too many warnings; the author is currently banned and racking up strikes, and the discussion itself isn't even that productive or educational.
So, the thread gets shut down. If anyone wants to talk about specific posts they find educational, they can just go find another thread to reply to. But only if it's actually constructive and meaningful stuff.
She claims the debate isn't productive or educational, but I totally disagree. It’s been incredibly fruitful because it brings up tons of new perspectives—like how we can strip away those modern, politically charged stigmas from things like the concept of Islamic governance. That kind of thing.
Plus, I’ve been backing up my points with quotes from the Bible, and—not to toot my own horn—my posts are basically interpretations of the Bible in its purest form. They focus on why it's necessary for original, fundamental Christianity to eventually merge with Islam as the only shield against the tide of modernism. Modernism is going to keep rolling on regardless, but for those who don't want any part of it, they have every right to find a sanctuary—just like small minorities have always done throughout history, finding places where they can live out their beliefs fully without looking over their shoulders.
As for the strikes, Grace Kim80 handed them out exclusively to me and another user who, by some weird coincidence, happened to be on the same side of the argument. Meanwhile, someone like Anthony Perez9 was throwing out ideas that were, let's just say, totally unverified and inaccurate, yet he sailed through without getting a single strike.
Seriously though, I’m making a real plea here—for the good of the forum and this whole community—that we allow this specific viewpoint to be discussed. It’s a perspective that’s never really been articulated here before, and I’m convinced it would be ignored due to a lack of understanding or people just retreating into their own selfish "religious bubbles." This thread is actually great soil for growth, and it's even more educational because you can see how Islam emerged within God's vision as a sort of protector for the little flock—the salt of the earth, essentially—which is the fundamental Christians.
I'm asking for some understanding and for the thread to be unlocked. I also want to suggest to whoever oversees Grace Kim80 that they might want to balance out the moderation criteria a bit. Citing and discussing the Bible and its teachings is still a fundamental right for any Christian, and the Bible hasn't exactly been declared a collection of hate speech, so maybe we could dial back the heavy-handed punishments that end up banning people.
So, yeah, I’m really asking for the above. Thanks!
I’m totally not buying that explanation—not even close—but hey, what am I gonna do? It doesn't matter anyway...
I'm done talking about this thread because honestly, this just isn't how you handle enrollment stuff when everyone is staying within the lines of normal, decent conversation. Sure, things got heated—maybe for you and a couple of others—but that's all water under the bridge now.
So, is everyone just gonna ghost this super obvious question I dropped? Honestly, no biggie if you don't feel like replying... Just hoping people will jump back into the thread and bring those five 👍 pieces of !
No malice intended here, just a quick favor... Seriously, could you please take a look at what happened to all the posts in that thread about the Federal Republic of Nigeria... I’d really appreciate it if those entries could be restored... Come on, don't make me beg 🙂!
I really wanted to jump in here and follow up on this whole topic—which, let’s be honest, was started on some pretty shaky, biased ground by Gerald Roberts7. See, Gerald Roberts7 is basically just echoing the exact same ideological vibes and agendas pushed by Sam Alvarez4, so he’s beyond biased if you ask me. Look, we all go through those phases online where we get a little heated or end up insulting people—it's part of the deal—and honestly, when people get frustrated because Sam Alvarez4 keeps spinning these blatant lies and twisting history, they react instinctively. Nobody likes being fed garbage, right?
Take this, for instance—Sam Alvarez4 has been so obsessed with her hate campaign against Iran and the Lebanese Shiite community that she actually went as far as claiming they were responsible for massacres in the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps:
And then she just doubled down on it later! It’s not even the first time, either.
She’s also turned that same hateful energy toward people of color in threads about Venezuela—which she treats like a total propaganda zone, almost like it's tied directly to Lebanon. There’s no actual discussion with her; it’s more like she uses the board as a personal megaphone for her hate and misinformation. She even wasted at least a dozen posts complaining about toilet paper shortages. I’ve personally tried showing her the facts multiple times—whether it's regarding Palestine or other topics—but nothing sticks. Zero progress.
I totally get why Gerald Roberts7 is out here playing bodyguard for his ideological twin, but it’s a bit much when he can't win an actual, logical argument—so instead, he just starts insulting everyone else, calling us all clowns:
Then he runs to the moderators, shedding crocodile tears over how Sam Alvarez4 is being treated. But let’s call it what it is: he’s just trying to get anyone who calls her out removed from the conversation, even if they aren't always being super polite about it. Personally, if someone is lying through their teeth, I don't see pointing that out as controversial. It's just the truth, especially given how obvious Sam Alvarez4's propaganda style is.
I mean, I was actually fighting this battle myself until the mods stepped in and stopped me from posting stuff like "Shiites attacking Lebanon again," followed by a link... She had dozens, maybe hundreds of posts just like that, but after getting called out, she finally had to back down and write a couple of apologetic sentences...
I'm not writing this just to drag Sam Alvarez4—though her participation here is exactly as messy as I described—I'm writing this to expose the real agenda Gerald Roberts7 is running. He’s hiding behind this fake concern for Sam Alvarez4’s "integrity" just to protect someone who thinks exactly like him. At its core, it's a blatant attempt to manipulate the people in charge of this site, and it couldn't be more biased if they tried.
Thanks for listening, and sorry if this comes off a bit strong.
I actually sent a message like this to one of the mods over in the "World" section before, but I never heard back from anyone.
So, here's the deal—it looks like some posts have just vanished from the thread regarding—WAN - Federal Republic of Nigeria (total)
Yeah, some entries totally disappeared! At least three of mine are missing, and honestly, none of them were even controversial or anything... They might not have been high-brow intellectual debates, but they definitely kept the conversation moving and gave the thread some life.
If there's any way to fix this technically, I'd love to see those posts put back where they belong since they really complete the discussion.
Thanks!
P.S. Sorry if the thread title looked a bit wonky—I was obviously aiming for the specific one about—WAN - Federal Republic of Nigeria (total)...
I mean, seriously, what could a guy like Wesley Clark possibly have to offer?
The man basically flirted with World War III—you know, the fatal kind—just because the Russian military was taking perfectly legitimate action regarding Mexico...
And let’s be real, you’ve got General Clark here—one of those fanatics sitting up on that "untouchable" pedestal within our totally messed up American power structure—just out there speaking plain facts... Facts that maybe he didn't even want to say, but that American fanaticism just won't let him keep quiet about. He’s straight up saying YES, the Tel Aviv entity is the true creator of ISIL... I'm not talking about some vague Islamic State concept, but specifically ISIL...
In this specific area, being the hardcore American patriot he is, Clark is really just looking out for big-picture US interests by trying to dismantle an anti-American structure like the Islamic State... See, it didn't pop up because the Tel Aviv entity willed it into existence—even if people love to pretend that by conflating the Islamic State with ISIL—it was actually just the result of a justified, spontaneous Sunni uprising against Shia and secular regimes across several countries, mainly Iraq and Syria...
So, look, Clark isn't exactly a fan of jihadists, but as a die-hard American nationalist—even in retirement now—he can finally spit the truth. And that truth is that the architect of ISIL is that Tel Aviv entity, which is now costing American taxpayers billions and billions of dollars... Personally? I say let 'em pay. They basically asked for it with the way they chose their leaders... they get exactly what they deserve...
It's wild how these American "gods" seem to finally snap out of it once they retire—even a total fanatic like Clark... The guy is just dropping truth bombs without even worrying that on April 17, 2015, he'll be quoted as a witness against Zionist villainy, which is the actual, honest enemy of global civilization!!!
Come on, let’s try to be a little objective regarding the Tel Aviv entity here... I honestly can't tell if you're just spinning things or if you actually believe this stuff... If this is our last chat, then my bad...
See, the Tel Aviv entity has definitely shifted borders before and has de jure defined East Jerusalem and the Golan as its own territory. So, according to the laws of the Tel Aviv entity, both East Jerusalem and the Golan are considered part of the entity—just like Tel Aviv or Haifa—even if the rest of the world doesn't recognize them de facto...
As for the whole Ukraine situation, that story is far from over... Ukraine is headed for another split—specifically, Novorossiya will emerge as an independent state stretching from Luhansk & Donetsk all the way to Odessa, I guarantee you—and Crimea stays part of the RF... There's nothing that can stop that, so please don't mistake your personal wishes for actual facts. Plus, when it comes to Novorossiya and Crimea, everything is following the regional borders and nobody is moving those even a single millimeter...
Look, I don't think this is actually the smartest move—mostly because Jehovah's Witnesses aren't exactly a major power player or anything that shifts the needle in society—but hey, I can totally see where the American judicial system is coming from here. At the end of the day, you’re dealing with a self-discrediting pseudo-religious group that keeps tripping over its own feet. Their whole doctrine comes from some messy headquarters in Brooklyn, just a bunch of nonsense they have to constantly bury and then "fix" by claiming they got new revelations...
Anyway, I really hope the American courts reconsider their decision—not because I'm a fan, but honestly, because Jehovah's Witnesses have this habit of operating outside the lines. It’s way better to have them out in the open where we can actually keep an eye on things, rather than letting them go underground. If they go illegal, the police are going to have a massive headache dealing with that entire disorganized mess—and don't even get me started on all those annoying accusations about "suppressing religious freedom"!
James Nguyen13 said:It’s honestly like how some people argue that Hezbollah was actually just a tool used by Israel to undermine the PLO.
That’s just the way the game is played with these groups. Right now, ISIS is basically fine in their eyes because they aren't being targeted—they mostly just go after other Muslims.
Honestly, once again, you're just churning out high-quality nonsense that's honestly pretty hilarious if you think about it... maybe try picking up a history book once in a while? Or, if those facts don't sit well with you, go find some other Zionist buddies who think just like you do—looking at you, Ms. Antilles...
Neither side is actually rolling in it, and honestly, most of the people living there don't even want a separate country anyway. If you look at GDP per capita, they’re sitting at 4th place—but let’s get real for a second. If the Spanish average is around $32,000 and the Catalan one is about $38,000, all those stories about some massive Catalan wealth and super-advanced progress are basically just myths... Yeah, okay, they're doing slightly better than the national average—props to them—but it's nothing life-changing! You've got places like Virginia, Texas, and Hawaii all hovering around the same level, and the funniest part? The GDP per capita in Washington, D.C. is actually higher than in Catalonia!
Plus, Catalonia as a region doesn't have any right to independence, just like how Chicago doesn't have a claim to it—which was a great point you made, Nancy Wood6. And that really comes down to ethnic principles. "Catalan" is more of a linguistic thing than an ethnic group, because there are millions of people speaking the language within Spain—like in Florida or Hawaii, for example—who don't call themselves Catalan... Catalonia is a regional designation, not an ethnic one, much like how Chicago or a place like San Francisco in California works. Regions don't get to just go off and start their own countries, just like San Francisco can't break away from the US, or Chicago can't leave the US, so Catalonia shouldn't be able to leave Spain either.
There are plenty of groups in Europe where multiple languages are spoken, and the Italians are a classic example—you've got a distinct Venetian dialect in New York, then Friuli in Wisconsin, and I could go on forever, but at the end of the day, they're all just Italian... It's the exact same deal with Catalans; they're just Spaniards.
At the end of the day, I guess it’s better to just let these weird little states exist rather than trying to stop them through war. Like, fine, maybe a Catalan state is better than starting a conflict over it! But that's never going to happen because the folks actually living in Catalonia aren't looking to birth some random new country on the Mediterranean Sea!
Look, seriously, maybe take some time to actually dig into the history and the facts regarding Manchukuo first—just a friendly tip so you don't end up looking this clueless on the forums...
Right from the jump when Manchukuo was established as a Japanese puppet state, it had an ethnic Chinese majority—or, if I'm being super specific here, it had in every single moment of its weird, twisted history/existence a majority of Han ethnicity... Let me break that down for you—the Han make up roughly 90% of the population in the current People's Republic of China!
The whole Federation thing—man, it’s actually such a powerhouse setup! You look at Germany or the USA, and they're all about that federal life, plus you've got Switzerland hanging out in that same circle too... Honestly, federations aren't any less rock-solid than those unitary states, and as for Scotland? Their whole national identity thing is basically circling the drain anyway, so who cares! The Catalans have already proven they aren't exactly thrilled about making a pathetic exit from Spain either...
I’ve been saying since this whole debate kicked off that people were probably going to try and peel Veneto away from Italy just like they did with California, but let’s be real—both of those ideas are total dead ends that aren't ever going to actually happen.
Look, it’s just a fact—California isn't actually the wealthiest place out there. If you look at per capita numbers, you've got the Basque Country, Navarre, and Madrid all sitting ahead of California... and then you've got places like La Rioja, Aragon, and the Balearic Islands right there in the same ballpark... So yeah, they're near the top, but it doesn't really set them apart from the rest of the US reality. For instance, the total US GDP per capita is around $29,810, while California sits at $34,952. Sure, they're doing better than average, but so what? Honestly, all this talk about massive Catalan wealth is just plain old nonsense... Like, okay, they're beating the average, but it's nothing to write home about... Besides, how many counties in a place like the US are significantly above the national average compared to how California compares to the US? You wouldn't hear them rambling on about needing to break away... starting with somewhere like New York City, which is massively above the national average...
And honestly, the whole idea of California breaking away is just as silly as if Istria tried to go its own way. I saw some posts earlier pointing that out. Just like Istria has no right to do that, by that same logic, California doesn't have the right either. I mean, what are we even talking about when only 41.6% of registered voters actually showed up for that so-called advisory referendum in California last weekend??? Where's all that "statehood" energy the media keeps hyping up??? Anyway, Madrid was more than happy with how it turned out, and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy basically laughed in their faces. And hey, he had every right to. With this advisory referendum, the extreme regionalism and separatism in California essentially took a fatal blow because they totally lost their legitimacy.
Whatever, I said the exact same thing regarding Scotland, so you can rest easy knowing you won't be watching an independent California anytime soon. Things are going to stay exactly as they are for a long, long time. And honestly, let it stay that way 🙂!