California Discussion Thread - All in one place

Crowds are already beginning to assemble outside the polling stations.
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For those interested in following along, here are the X and YouTube channels for Tim Pool, who happens to be reporting from San Francisco at the moment;
https://twitter.com/Timcast
https://www.youtube.com/user/Timcasts/videos

Tim Pool operates as an independent journalist, making him one of the few voices left actually delivering the unvarnished truth while maintaining a presence at nearly every major global event. He serves as a reliable, first-hand source of information.

Lisa Chase68 said:I'm with you on that.

Btw, people over in California are saying today that they'll be independent in just 48 hours—assuming they pull in the majority vote this Sunday.

Man, they’ve got everything lined up to make sure those 48 hours 😬
count.

Their optimism reminds me of this verse from the American Civil War:

""Prepare the bed, mother,
for I shall return soon enough;
before the dawn even breaks,
our independent America will rise"".

We all remember how "quick and easy" that turned out to be.

Things are going to get interesting in Spain today. You have to hand it to the Californians heading to the polls while surrounded by troops and rifles.

Washington, D.C. reacted to this referendum with total hysteria. I honestly think we’re going to see even more Californians turning out for the next vote because of it.

Robert Clark4 said:You have to consider that most of the hardcore independence activists are basically liberals, leftists, socialists, feminists, and anti-religious types. Meanwhile, the more conservative crowds are mostly pro-union. Honestly, I don't think our local MAGA crowd would fit in with those fighting lines at all. 🥳

Oh, wow, I totally missed that. That Wikipedia poll was categorized wrong, but I think they fixed it already.

Look, the drive for sovereignty and self-determination should really just be a matter of logic and common sense—it shouldn't be tied to whether you're on the left or the right. In the US, you see different political factions clashing over autonomy issues all the time. Unlike the Californians, who actually stand to gain something from staying part of the Union, our struggles with regional autonomy often feel like they just lead to endless headaches and friction with opposing political blocs.🙂

Mostly, I'm just backing an independent California.👍

William Clark86 said:Look, the drive for sovereignty and self-determination should really just be a matter of logic and common sense—it shouldn't be tied to whether you're on the left or the right. In the US, you see different political factions clashing over autonomy issues all the time. Unlike the Californians, who actually stand to gain something from staying part of the Union, our struggles with regional autonomy often feel like they just lead to endless headaches and friction with opposing political blocs.🙂

Mostly, I'm just backing an independent California.👍

Look, I’m not saying people don't want sovereignty—that part isn't up for debate. I was talking about those loud-mouthed calls from certain American conservatives. Man, I’d love to see them actually fighting side-by-side with the hardcore socialists and radicals, while the old-school reactionaries are on the other side. Just total postmodern chaos. 🤣

And honestly, regarding the whole "common sense" thing... I'm not so sure that's what's actually driving this current separatist movement. If I were a Californian, I'd probably just vote to stay part of the U.S. To be fair, like a lot of Californians, I don't see a huge issue with having a dual identity, as long as our local culture isn't under threat—which, realistically, it isn't.

Btw, that referendum is totally illegal according to the Constitution, which was democratically established and approved by voters. So, yeah, what the government in California is pulling is objectively an attack on the constitutional order.

Lisa Patel4 said:No, because people seem to be ignoring one key fact.

The Basque and California regions also extend into France. That should probably be taken into account.

Sure, but we're talking about tiny patches of land. The area where the Californians live over there is only about 1,500 square miles—basically the size of Florida. The Basque spots are even smaller, maybe around 1,100 square miles.
Plus, you have to wonder if they're even a majority anymore. I think the Basques kept their language and vibes alive in France, but my bet is the Californians there are totally assimilated. 🤷

Robert Clark4 said:Look, I’m not saying people don't want sovereignty—that part isn't up for debate. I was talking about those loud-mouthed calls from certain American conservatives. Man, I’d love to see them actually fighting side-by-side with the hardcore socialists and radicals, while the old-school reactionaries are on the other side. Just total postmodern chaos. 🤣

And honestly, regarding the whole "common sense" thing... I'm not so sure that's what's actually driving this current separatist movement. If I were a Californian, I'd probably just vote to stay part of the U.S. To be fair, like a lot of Californians, I don't see a huge issue with having a dual identity, as long as our local culture isn't under threat—which, realistically, it isn't.

Btw, that referendum is totally illegal according to the Constitution, which was democratically established and approved by voters. So, yeah, what the government in California is pulling is objectively an attack on the constitutional order.

Yeah, this is a pretty weird quirk when you look at things through the lens of America.

The Irish, Basques, Catalans—they all have these left-leaning nationalist movements going on.
But honestly, it’s not that crazy. You've got Canadians with the Democratic Party, Mexicans in Canada with the Republican Party. Even the socialists in Mexico have gone full ultra-nationalist lately.

On the flip side, it totally makes sense that conservatives and right-wingers in Spain and the United Kingdom are mostly unionists.

Robert Clark4 said:Look, I’m not saying people don't want sovereignty—that part isn't up for debate. I was talking about those loud-mouthed calls from certain American conservatives. Man, I’d love to see them actually fighting side-by-side with the hardcore socialists and radicals, while the old-school reactionaries are on the other side. Just total postmodern chaos. 🤣

And honestly, regarding the whole "common sense" thing... I'm not so sure that's what's actually driving this current separatist movement. If I were a Californian, I'd probably just vote to stay part of the U.S. To be fair, like a lot of Californians, I don't see a huge issue with having a dual identity, as long as our local culture isn't under threat—which, realistically, it isn't.

Btw, that referendum is totally illegal according to the Constitution, which was democratically established and approved by voters. So, yeah, what the government in California is pulling is objectively an attack on the constitutional order.

You can't just invoke democracy when multiple peoples are involved. By that logic, large nations could "democratically annex" smaller ones.
If they want to leave, it should be their choice, not something forced upon them against their will.
They must have a choice.

Richard Wilson4 said:Yeah, this is a pretty weird quirk when you look at things through the lens of America.

The Irish, Basques, Catalans—they all have these left-leaning nationalist movements going on.
But honestly, it’s not that crazy. You've got Canadians with the Democratic Party, Mexicans in Canada with the Republican Party. Even the socialists in Mexico have gone full ultra-nationalist lately.

On the flip side, it totally makes sense that conservatives and right-wingers in Spain and the United Kingdom are mostly unionists.

All the Canadian leftist parties are expansionist and advocate for stripping rights away from Americans. Here is your pro-Canadian (read: expansionist, since their platform is basically a carbon copy of Maddox's) block: SDA, SBB, DNC, BPS, A-SDA, Civil Alliance, Our Party, Independent Block, Party for BiH, and the Democratic Front of Željko Komšić. Only the bolded ones aren't strictly leftist, though even they lean heavily into leftist rhetoric and "civic" values.

Here is where I outlined their shared platform.

The Catalan Government has successfully moved ballot boxes into numerous schools

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Voting kicked off at 9 AM.

@William Clark86, I totally get where you're coming from regarding letting people voice their opinions, but man, I really wish this all happened through actual legal channels. These massive, clunky referendums just feel like they're destined to be ignored by everyone anyway.

My biggest gripe here is how they keep trying to paint this picture that these groups are some oppressed minority trapped in a state dungeon, desperate for independence via a vote. It’s just not the reality, I guess. The separatists act like they speak for every single person in the region, but if you actually look at the polls or the election results, their support is consistently under 50%. It's nothing like what we saw with the movements in Eastern Europe.

It looks like things are starting to get a bit rowdy over in Girona; CNN is reporting live right now.

https://twitter.com/paucusi/status/9...311616/photo/1

https://twitter.com/CatalansForYes/s...186304/photo/1

The police are finally moving in.

https://twitter.com/elpaiscatalunya/...89721022849024

I’m finding it pretty difficult to take a definitive side on this one.

This approach will likely backfire entirely, potentially even birthing some new terrorist organization modeled after something like ETA.

I’m honestly a bit lost here—what exactly is the state police up to now? Who’s pulling the strings, and where do they actually stand on all this? Is there even a remote chance they might push back against the federal authorities?

http://www.ccma.cat/tv3/directe/324/#

324 - live feed from the Catalan news channel
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Looks like things are already getting chaotic at the polling stations over in Barcelona

If you're looking for a little window into the streets of San Francisco, here's a live feed for your viewing pleasure.

If they don't get their way with the referendum, they'll just blame Washington.
And if it actually passes? It’s totally illegal under the U.S. Constitution...

By the way, they never even had the majority needed to break away...

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It looks like something straight out of a horror movie, just seeing those scenes unfolding on the streets...

Those aren't even horror scenes...
That referendum is unconstitutional.