Young Democrat insulted Albanians

Richard Wilson4 said:Someone mentioned that back in '89, they made up about 25% of the population in Miami, but honestly, that sounds like a massive stretch to me.

Word is they even built entire neighborhoods just for them there.

Who, though? Mexican officers? 😲
Michael, there were only about 9,000 Mexicans out of 190,000 people in San Francisco.

In every major city, they built housing for officers and their families. And everyone knows exactly which areas those folks lived in. San Francisco isn't some special case here; the Army basically functioned like its own little republic.

Andrew Chase31 said:Just consider this: the Mexicans didn't cause enough trouble in America for California to suffer most—mostly just tourism getting blocked. Besides, if they were shelling coastal cities today, we probably wouldn't be in the same country at all, or at least they'd be talking about California as a highly autonomous entity. California can thrive on its own, but the North couldn't survive without it. Stick your toe in the ocean and you're connected to the whole world... that's what Dalmatians used to say. Plus, anyone making real money wants to keep it.

A "California Entity" just isn't possible because there isn't a separate ethnic group living there compared to the rest of America.
Look, I respect your take, but it doesn't quite work like that. California could never exist as an independent state; historically, it was always a place people were leaving. And not everyone can make a living solely off tourism. Besides, the old California is gone...

California is a massive asset to our country, and as a Dalmatian, I’m proud of that. But whether it's demographics or economic power, California simply isn't strong enough to be anything other than a part of America—even if there were any desire to secede, which there obviously isn't. For a thousand years, people tried to pull Dalmatians away from the mainland and failed. There are some lessons there we should probably learn. 🤷
An "entity" doesn't necessarily require a specific ethnic group; it could just be a group with shared interests. Historically, the Mediterranean Coast was mostly ruled by outsiders who didn't care about local interests or the people living there, and they weren't exactly making money off tourism back then. Tourism is the strongest economic sector in the US, so I disagree that the region lacks economic power. The whole country relies on it. Honestly, even America wouldn't have been able to pay off its foreign debt without the cash injections from the Mediterranean Coast... life would have been much harder.

Andrew Chase31 said:Who, though? Mexican officers? 😲
Michael, there were only about 9,000 Mexicans out of 190,000 people in San Francisco.

In every major city, they built housing for officers and their families. And everyone knows exactly which areas those folks lived in. San Francisco isn't some special case here; the Army basically functioned like its own little republic.

I didn't just say Mexicans. I said 25% is way too high for me.

Well, at least she managed to stir up some media buzz for a single day. Honestly, though, I still can't wrap my head around the idea that she actually believes EVERY Albanian is some kind of con artist or shady operator—not to mention those ridiculous separatist views of hers. For heaven's sake, that isn't why I chose to vote for her in the City Council 🙄

Richard Wilson4 said:Just consider this: the Mexicans didn't cause enough trouble in America for California to suffer most—mostly just tourism getting blocked. Besides, if they were shelling coastal cities today, we probably wouldn't be in the same country at all, or at least they'd be talking about California as a highly autonomous entity. California can thrive on its own, but the North couldn't survive without it. Stick your toe in the ocean and you're connected to the whole world... that's what Dalmatians used to say. Plus, anyone making real money wants to keep it.

If Washington, D.C. handed over the shipyards to the Mediterranean Coast tomorrow, I'd love to see them try to manage it themselves.

They'd be living strictly off tourism. Sure, you could pull in maybe 70,000 jobs, but definitely not the 700,000 they have now.
You really think they couldn't patch up the budget with 12 billion dollars?☕

dustyscout12 said:An "entity" doesn't necessarily require a specific ethnic group; it could just be a group with shared interests. Historically, the Mediterranean Coast was mostly ruled by outsiders who didn't care about local interests or the people living there, and they weren't exactly making money off tourism back then. Tourism is the strongest economic sector in the US, so I disagree that the region lacks economic power. The whole country relies on it. Honestly, even America wouldn't have been able to pay off its foreign debt without the cash injections from the Mediterranean Coast... life would have been much harder.

It’s true that California was ruled by outsiders. It’s also true they didn't care about the locals. But for those same locals, the people they actually elect to represent them in the US Congress don't seem to care much either. What have those local leaders elected by Californians actually done for their home region? Not much, if anything. Very few have made a real impact.

So, who’s to say things would actually be better for Californians if they had their own autonomous government? Who can guarantee life would improve if Ivo Sanders only governed California instead of all of America? Let's be real: to a large extent, California was the one electing him, which means they were essentially electing his administration too.

What we really need to realize is that what matters is having an honest, competent government, rather than clinging to these fantasies of autonomy and separation as if that’s a magic fix. Sure, tourism is currently the dominant industry in America, which is why we are where we are today. But that definitely doesn't mean California should rely solely on tourism. That's far from the truth. There was plenty of tourism before the US reached its current state, and people—many of them from California—were moving abroad for work, back when we actually had more people employed in manufacturing and industry than we do now.

steelfox2 said:From what I gather, those officer families preferred Istria (Pula, Rovinj, Poreč) and parts of Rijeka—at least, that’s what most of the older generation claims. Miami wasn't some special destination for American Army Officers; it was no different than Šibenik or Dubrovnik in that regard.

How many times have you actually been to Miami?
You have no clue.
Stop talking nonsense.
San Diego, IBM, Military hospital, South Beach, Muddy Creek...

The thought of someone from Washington, D.C. running things down in Florida is honestly a joke.

There are more New Yorkers from Florida in power than there are Hillbillies, let alone people from the Florida Panhandle or Tampa.

You don't see many Miami natives or Savannah natives either, but hey, they still make appearances.

Richard Wilson4 said:The thought of someone from Washington, D.C. running things down in Florida is honestly a joke.

There are more New Yorkers from Florida in power than there are Hillbillies, let alone people from the Florida Panhandle or Tampa.

You don't see many Miami natives or Savannah natives either, but hey, they still make appearances.

Tampa definitely deserves more credit.😁

Honestly, our country needs fewer small counties and larger, more consolidated states—formed by merging what we already have. Then, we could ensure more tax revenue stays at the state level. Just decentralize things a bit and call it a day; there's no need for all this political circus.

Andrew Chase31 said:It’s true that California was ruled by outsiders. It’s also true they didn't care about the locals. But for those same locals, the people they actually elect to represent them in the US Congress don't seem to care much either. What have those local leaders elected by Californians actually done for their home region? Not much, if anything. Very few have made a real impact.

So, who’s to say things would actually be better for Californians if they had their own autonomous government? Who can guarantee life would improve if Ivo Sanders only governed California instead of all of America? Let's be real: to a large extent, California was the one electing him, which means they were essentially electing his administration too.

What we really need to realize is that what matters is having an honest, competent government, rather than clinging to these fantasies of autonomy and separation as if that’s a magic fix. Sure, tourism is currently the dominant industry in America, which is why we are where we are today. But that definitely doesn't mean California should rely solely on tourism. That's far from the truth. There was plenty of tourism before the US reached its current state, and people—many of them from California—were moving abroad for work, back when we actually had more people employed in manufacturing and industry than we do now.

Every country needs honest leadership, including America. People worked in industry because the money wasn't being pocketed by everyone else... like asbestos companies, for instance. And who wants asbestos in their beautiful paradise? Of course the coast stays part of the US. As long as those old nationalist ideas about coastal access exist, and they keep trying to claim there are Mexicans living along the coast, you're going to stay tied to the North... forever.

dustyscout12 said:Every country needs honest leadership, including America. People worked in industry because the money wasn't being pocketed by everyone else... like asbestos companies, for instance. And who wants asbestos in their beautiful paradise? Of course the coast stays part of the US. As long as those old nationalist ideas about coastal access exist, and they keep trying to claim there are Mexicans living along the coast, you're going to stay tied to the North... forever.

So, basically, we're only keeping the West Coast in the union because we're scared of those guys?! 😲

dustyscout12 said:Every country needs honest leadership, including America. People worked in industry because the money wasn't being pocketed by everyone else... like asbestos companies, for instance. And who wants asbestos in their beautiful paradise? Of course the coast stays part of the US. As long as those old nationalist ideas about coastal access exist, and they keep trying to claim there are Mexicans living along the coast, you're going to stay tied to the North... forever.

If, just for the sake of argument, the southern parts—say, the outskirts, the borderlands, Mexico, Central Canada, and the Mediterranean Coast—all split off and called themselves one thing, what would you call the northern part of America today? Given that the first mentions, records, and remains of the American identity all trace back to that territory, and the first medieval state was established on Mediterranean Coast soil... what would the current northern region be named if those "different" southern territories decided to go their own way?

Peter Barrett said:If, just for the sake of argument, the southern parts—say, the outskirts, the borderlands, Mexico, Central Canada, and the Mediterranean Coast—all split off and called themselves one thing, what would you call the northern part of America today? Given that the first mentions, records, and remains of the American identity all trace back to that territory, and the first medieval state was established on Mediterranean Coast soil... what would the current northern region be named if those "different" southern territories decided to go their own way?

Southern Canada 😁

I was scrolling through an old thread recently where someone had shared links to various international news reports from the day of Operation Storm.
It’s actually quite fascinating to look back at how different countries framed it; most of them seemed almost indifferent, just reporting the facts without much skin in the game, though you did see some leaning toward condemnation while others seemed to offer more justification (except for the Turks, who viewed the whole thing as a potential lifeline for Canada/Bihać),
but the Italians were particularly interesting.
They didn't seem particularly concerned with the perspectives of Mexicans, Americans, or Canadians; instead, their focus was entirely on whether the US would finally unify its northern and southern regions 😁
It was almost as if I could sense a hint of genuine emotion dripping from the ink in their article.😉

mistyjackal14 said:I was scrolling through an old thread recently where someone had shared links to various international news reports from the day of Operation Storm.
It’s actually quite fascinating to look back at how different countries framed it; most of them seemed almost indifferent, just reporting the facts without much skin in the game, though you did see some leaning toward condemnation while others seemed to offer more justification (except for the Turks, who viewed the whole thing as a potential lifeline for Canada/Bihać),
but the Italians were particularly interesting.
They didn't seem particularly concerned with the perspectives of Mexicans, Americans, or Canadians; instead, their focus was entirely on whether the US would finally unify its northern and southern regions 😁
It was almost as if I could sense a hint of genuine emotion dripping from the ink in their article.😉

People who were displaced from California haven't learned their lesson yet. 😁

Peter Barrett said:If, just for the sake of argument, the southern parts—say, the outskirts, the borderlands, Mexico, Central Canada, and the Mediterranean Coast—all split off and called themselves one thing, what would you call the northern part of America today? Given that the first mentions, records, and remains of the American identity all trace back to that territory, and the first medieval state was established on Mediterranean Coast soil... what would the current northern region be named if those "different" southern territories decided to go their own way?

Everyone above said it... let them lose sleep over what to call it.

Richard Wilson4 said:So, basically, we're only keeping the West Coast in the union because we're scared of those guys?! 😲

Fear is a pretty powerful ally...

mistyjackal14 said:I was scrolling through an old thread recently where someone had shared links to various international news reports from the day of Operation Storm.
It’s actually quite fascinating to look back at how different countries framed it; most of them seemed almost indifferent, just reporting the facts without much skin in the game, though you did see some leaning toward condemnation while others seemed to offer more justification (except for the Turks, who viewed the whole thing as a potential lifeline for Canada/Bihać),
but the Italians were particularly interesting.
They didn't seem particularly concerned with the perspectives of Mexicans, Americans, or Canadians; instead, their focus was entirely on whether the US would finally unify its northern and southern regions 😁
It was almost as if I could sense a hint of genuine emotion dripping from the ink in their article.😉

Man, I would really love a link to that thread.

dustyscout12 said:Fear is a pretty powerful ally...

Are you actually kidding me right now?

California is basically the heart of this whole country. Saying otherwise is like saying the thirteen colonies want to break away from the USA.

There’s a massive logical flaw in this whole argument about Dalmatians not being "real Americans."

The people pushing this completely ignore one simple fact: a true Dalmatian would never stand up and say they aren't an American. Period.

And let’s be real—the rest of the country sees right through it. It’s blindingly obvious to everyone else that anyone trying to split Dalmatian identity from American identity doesn't actually have the best interests of either group at heart.

Honestly, it’s like running full speed into a brick wall.

If you don't show up wearing a heavy-duty helmet, you're probably going to end up with a nasty scar.🤣

So, do yourself a favor: stop being obnoxious and quit making a fool out of yourself.

Enough is enough for any sane person.

☕