Posts by Joseph Taylor11

stormybadger8 said:Oh, absolutely...
Take my neighbor, for example. He works over in Germany and is only actually here maybe five days a year, barely fills half a bin annually, yet he still gets hit with full trash bills...
The city doesn't care if you actually produce waste or if they even bother to pick it up. They just send the bill and call it a day.

So I assume they aren't charging for the actual pickup? 🤔... just the fixed service fee.

I mean, come on... wouldn't it be nice if they waived that part of my bill just out of the goodness of their hearts? Sure, it's technically $5.00... but it would be fair and decent.

(God, I can't believe I just used the words "fair and decent" in the same sentence as City Hall...🤦)

Did I actually read this somewhere, or was I just dreaming that you can't change your registered address right now?🤔
For instance, I own an apartment in the city and want to update my residency. I’ve got the deed and everything is squared away with the Democratic Party..

Why is this blocked? Is it suspended, or is it just gone for good?🤔

Grace Ramos said:I’m really wondering what’s going to happen with the lockdowns, living in the city versus being stuck out in the suburbs, not being able to move without some kind of pass, and having zero transportation options left. 👍

It’d be perfect if they just cut the power too, just to make the whole experience complete. 👍

I went ahead and shut off the gas and water at my apartment. I left the electricity on (mostly because I couldn't bear to empty out the freezer...) so we'll see how that goes. At least the bills should reflect actual usage.

Now I'm just sitting here waiting for the local Sanitation department to send over the bill for trash pickup.

Oh, they'll send it, don't you worry.

Though, I'd love to ask them how someone who wasn't even legally allowed to stay in their own apartment for a month—since it isn't their primary residence—is supposed to have generated any trash in the first place! 🤦

But let's be real, I'm afraid it'll just be another scene from a theater of the absurd.

Amy Gonzalez30 said:Essential shops and banks will stay open... and people should just stay home as much as possible.
Of course you'll still be able to go to the store.
As for the countryside where houses are spaced far apart... locking people up is just plain stupid. It's basically the same as telling someone in a big city they aren't allowed to step out onto their own balcony.

Based on my own experiences, which I've mentioned a few times now—this whole thing is looking pretty ridiculous.

So... honestly, I wouldn't be surprised by anything they pull next.

Maybe we'll eventually get permission to stand on our balconies or by an open window and—I don't know—clap for each other...
🤦🤦

Quarantine, as in—locking everyone inside their houses or apartments?🤔

That kind of quarantine only makes sense in big cities.
Maybe!
(Assuming you factor in the psychological fallout, which might actually wreck people's mental health even worse than the virus itself, but hey... I guess we'll just let the "experts" deal with that one...)☕

In a small town, locking people in their homes means leaving their gardens and yards completely neglected.
Do people even realize what THAT implies?

Because looking at how things are going, I honestly doubt anyone smart enough will grasp the fact that stepping out into your own backyard or a nearby field doesn't put anyone at risk.

And frankly, I have my doubts. I’ve seen plenty of "evidence" right here at home to prove it.

Steven Ramos5 said:So, what am I supposed to do here?
I’ve got this little patch of land outside my Municipality, along with an old abandoned house. Honestly, I don't really have any social contact with anyone besides MM.
I head out there every now and then to plant some stuff. It’s strictly for my own use—we aren't running a formal farm or anything, just growing food for ourselves.
But you’ve gotta look after it, right? Otherwise, how are you even supposed to maintain the place?
So, what's the move? Should I go down to Civil Defense and tell them the whole truth?
I tried doing some digging over the phone and called the local Ministry of Agriculture, and they're telling me Civil Defense won't let me touch it unless I'm registered as a formal farm.
I think I'm gonna give it a shot anyway (I mean, if I don't try, I'll never know, right?).
What do you guys think?

It's pretty much the same situation for me: my parents have a vineyard and a small cottage outside the city limits. 1.2 miles far from our address—it's in a different city altogether.
That's exactly what I keep insisting on, both here on the forum and in the media... I've even brought it up to politicians...

Some things are just plain ABSURD. And we need to clear those absurdities out of the way.
At this rate, we might soon see someone who's completely frayed at the edges, dealing with PTSD—but carrying a (potentially legal) weapon—showing up to ask some questions...
(Would you even be surprised? Just remember that incident at the social services center... I'm not trying to "invite" trouble... I'm just calling for some common sense while we all still have some left....)

James Reyes said:What a total circus....
Yesterday, the local authorities on the Riviera announced we could roam around freely. Then, half a day later, the City of Makarska posts that actually, we can't.

Joseph Taylor11 started making quite a stink about it, and now they've even banned us.

🤦🤦

So, apparently someone actually *is* reading my emails.

☕

Alright. Fine.
Every county should just lock down its own borders.
I'm all for it.

The only people allowed out should be delivery drivers—you know, the ones keeping the grocery stores stocked with essentials. E-x-c-l-u-s-i-v-e-l-y.

Some counties don't even have many cases right now.
Why should they have to "suffer" because of a few reckless folks from Washington, D.C. who were out partying when they should've been isolating?
(And I don't mean every single Washington, D.C. resident, just the crazy ones... 😉.)

I'm not talking about what happened after the earthquake—when everyone started fleeing the city. I get that. That's just survival instinct. I probably would've done the exact same thing if I found myself there—assuming I actually had somewhere to run to!

@rustywalker42 - I sent you a DM.

Frank Flores63 said:It basically means that people from small towns who frequently head into slightly larger cities—and happen to have a permit—are treated somewhat casually (not necessarily thoroughly checked). They aren't pulled over for full inspections, but the officers will definitely take a quick glance at your permit.

How on earth do you think they "eye the pass" without actually stopping them?
If I'm driving—how can they check my pass if they don't pull me over?

Or have I just become so brain-fogged by all this hysteria that I can't even process basic sentences anymore? 🤦🤦

BTW, I already sent my complaint to a Congressman from my neck of the woods!
No response (yet) 😁
(He'll get mine at the next election—just putting that in my signature so I don't have to keep repeating myself...)

Isn't it a bit harder to track a quarantine involving 3,800,000 people (I'm just throwing numbers out there, but I assume that's roughly our population in America) than it is to manage those who actually need to be in self-isolation because they're infected? 🤔

March 12th. The Government is still debating whether or not to shut down the schools.
March 19th. The Government is still thinking about whether teachers should bother coming into school every day (since online classes start March 16th, it's pretty obvious that's a waste of time...).

March 22nd. The Government issues a stay-at-home order regarding traveling "from city to city"—which, honestly, is so absurd in practice that it's barely even worth writing about.

If they had just made the call to close the borders immediately—something they spent ages overthinking—and banned international travel, while putting anyone arriving from abroad into strict quarantine for 14 days...
They could have implemented rigorous hygiene and epidemiological measures (whatever they want to call them), clearly regulated the supply chains for stores, kept production running, and limited ANY kind of public gathering...
🤔

But it's much easier to just wait and overthink things first...
Now we've hit a wall.

This virus is nothing compared to what's heading our way over the next five years.
People are going to suffer mentally; we'll see an increase in suicides and violent crimes, and people will die from stress-induced illnesses. We'll see a spike in heart disease, strokes, and malignant tumors.

In the end, more people might die from that than from this virus itself.

I’m going to screenshot this post... just in case someone needs a reminder in a year or two.

(One more prediction: next year we'll deal with the flu—with the corona-type virus being dominant. I hope vaccines are available, but I also know plenty of people won't get them... just like they aren't getting their flu shots today.)

Charles Carter4 said:I was being a little sarcastic there—mostly because the way they present this makes it sound like a good thing, when in reality, they're just stripping away everyone's freedom.

Aha. Got it.😉
There you go. Apparently, I can't even catch sarcasm anymore. 🤦

Charles Carter4 said:Regarding the idea of a total lockdown...
At the end of the day, people's health is what matters most. If we can save even just one single life by shutting down the entire country—stopping businesses, putting everyone under a stay-at-home order, basically freezing everything in its tracks—then we've actually succeeded.🤦

Look, I value every single human life—but what you just wrote is honestly pretty reckless when you consider the massive fallout it would have on the other 3.8 million people living in this country (or however many of us there actually are...).

Frank Flores63 said:I mean, look, it all just comes down to whether you're dealing with some local bureaucrat looking for a handout. A couple of days ago, I sent over the completed form and even called to double-check that they actually received it. She promised she’d get it sorted within the day since I needed it by the day before yesterday.
Then yesterday, I’m sending emails and calling, and absolutely nothing—not a single response.
Today I call again, and she goes: "Oh gosh, didn't we already send that to you?" Me: "No, you didn't."
Her: "Oh, right, right, I'll do it now, I honestly thought I had already sent it."
So, it's the human factor all over again. Just typical.
By the way, the Police Department barely even glances at your pass before letting the locals through.

Could you clarify that? What exactly do you mean by "locals"?

Because I still can't manage to get a pass for the neighboring city.
I did receive a notice saying our local Police Department is allowing residents of our Municipality to travel to that city as far as the gas station, which happens to be right at the entrance.
So, I guess that means I'm stuck once I pass that point... 🙄

Frank Flores63 said:That’s exactly what I told this forum member, and honestly, regarding our seniors... what else can I say? It's a total mess.
As I mentioned here yesterday—I'm still sitting around waiting for a response from Town Hall. It's been two days, I still don't have my permit, and the people at the municipality aren't even returning calls.
The whole system is completely broken, plain and simple.

Reach out to your local news outlets too!

And don't you dare forget to give those same people at Town Hall your answer when the next election rolls around.😉

darktinker4 said:Maybe it would make sense in a perfect world, but here, every little village has its own Municipality regardless of how many people actually live there. Now, I can't even step an inch outside my yard without breaking rules, and my uncle is stuck wondering how he's supposed to get into the city for his pension appointments.🕺
Am I allowed to drive into town for groceries? That local Walmart is basically built out of Lego bricks—they barely have enough bread to go around, and when they do, the prices are 70% higher. It’s just ridiculous.🤦

Not without a pass.
Since yesterday, I’ve been going back and forth with everyone: all the local Civil Defense Headquarters in my County—and now I've reached out to the news outlets too.
The media will probably pick up on my specific situation... though whether that actually helps anyone else at this point, I honestly don't know.

I’d suggest anyone living in those weirdly isolated Municipalities who isn't allowed to leave to speak up. Maybe hit up the news, too.

Does it seem right to you that people living in big cities (like Washington, D.C., Rijeka, Indianapolis, or San Jose) can move around freely (even if social contact is still a bit risky)... while someone from a small rural area isn't allowed to go to the next town over just to grab some food or gas?
Especially when that neighboring town is actually halfway closer than their own "center"?

Which political parties were actually pushing for reducing the number of Municipalities in the first place?

It won't be the virus that kills us—it'll be their response to it.

hollowbison80 said:Just as a precaution, I’d like to suggest that the Government implement a new measure: a stay-at-home order restricted specifically to one's own street. Wouldn't that significantly aid our efforts in the fight against the coronavirus?

Personally, I’d take it a step further. Let's just ban leaving your house entirely.
If you dare to crack a window, that's a fine of 15 $0.00- 30 $0.00—depending on how big the window is.
Opening a door? That’ll cost you 50 $0.00.

silentpanther10 said:Hey everyone. Here’s my take on how this is going.

So, last week I headed over to my mom's place. She lives in a different county—El Paso-Srijem County—so I actually made the trip before the whole Stay-at-home order officially kicked in.

On Monday, I shot an email over to the City Civil Defense Headquarters in my home base (Indianapolis) to explain my situation. I was basically asking what I should do and if there was any way to get a pass that lasts longer than just a day. They got back to me within a few hours, saying they thought I should probably register a temporary residence with the El Paso Police Department since that's where I am now. Apparently, that would help avoid any headaches. They also mentioned that passes for vital family reasons are meant for daily trips, not for moving out indefinitely (even though, I mean, I'm not moving forever, but whatever...).

The next day, I gave the Osijek Police a call. They told me they didn't see any issue with me being away from my permanent address right now, as long as I follow the Headquarters' guidelines about avoiding social contact and all that stuff. They suggested I call 112 for more specific instructions.

I called 112, and the guy on the line confirmed it wasn't a big deal if I'm caught away from my registered address, provided I'm at my mom's and following the Civil Defense orders. 😁 He even asked if I was under any specific self-isolation mandate, and since I wasn't, he repeated that it shouldn't be a problem. He said the whole measure was mostly because of the massive wave of Chicago residents heading down toward the coast and the islands. Also, he mentioned I don't need a special pass to head back to my own place if I decide to leave early. The only thing that might be slightly sketchy is driving my own car since it has plates from a different county, making me kind of "noticeable," but I guess I'll figure that out some other way 😁 and as far as the county I'm in right now (El Paso-Srijem County), from what I gathered, you might need a pass to travel between the city and the smaller municipalities.

Oh, and he did mention that if I really want to clear my conscience, I could give the El Paso City Civil Defense Headquarters a quick ring just so they have an idea of how many people are currently in town without living here, just in case there's a major health emergency. He gave me a number, and honestly, the guy was super nice—same goes for the lady at the Osijek Police. I haven't called the El Paso Civil Defense yet, but I'll probably do it tomorrow.

Neither of them mentioned anything about needing to formally register my stay, and judging by what I'm reading from others on this thread, it doesn't even seem possible right now anyway.

And then it didn't occur to anyone to just apply that rule to Washington, D.C. specifically.🤔
Or even just the major cities?🤔
Just tell them they can't leave the city limits.

Inside the city, people can move around just fine. They have everything they need right there. They can hit the grocery store, they can get whatever else they need within the city bounds—which is only a few dozen square miles...

Meanwhile, those of us in rural areas are stuck with one specific store 3.7 miles near our address—and we aren't allowed to go to the closer one just because it happens to be in a different Municipality.

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

crimsonhawk23 said:I’m just sitting here listening to the News (CNN) and some guy from the Government says "people need to get used to these measures because they won't be around for just a few weeks—they'll be here for much, much longer".

😲

Luckily, elections aren't that far off—so (unlike these restrictions) they won't actually be around for a "long, long time."

I’m not even going to touch the actual rules—I'll just stick to the absurd stuff.
Did I mention that from my window, I can literally see the sign for the very City I need a permit to enter, yet somehow I still can't get one?

Do I even need to say more?
☕

I dug up the email address for the County Civil Defense Headquarters and sent them a quick question about whether they could find a solution similar to what some other Counties have already implemented.

I’m actually really curious to see how they respond.
☕