Yes! The Cooper’s Ferry village site in Nez Pearce territory contains the oldest verified evidence of habitation in North America, with dates to 16.5k years ago. There is very likely earlier habitation sites, but they will be difficult to find, and many would have been on the coastline that is now miles out to sea due to sea level rise after the glacial melt.

This buffoon couldn’t have chosen a worse group to tell to go back to where they came from… They’ve been there since the glaciers. What a dense, ignorant and racist waste of space… too bad the constituents think enough like him that they vote this hate into office.

This DEI rhetoric, while obviously racist and sexist, I think has deeper resonance than just the immediate backlash to Harris’ campaign. The escalation of racial and identity battles in the US today snacks of the rhetoric used in early 30s Germany to limit political access to both Jews and anyone else the Nazis were suspect of (basically any non-‘Aryan’ - whatever definition they chose to take that to mean). The law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service granted them the power to remove anyone from political or civil roles if deemed “unfit”. Basically an anti-DEI bill. We already know Trump has sworn vengeance, and we know the Republicans are not above cruel and discriminatory laws. I worry this renewed focus on DEI is priming their voter base to accept not just authoritarianism, but a power structure that openly persecutes groups they have defined as ‘the other’ (I recognize this is already happening at both federal and state levels, I’m just worried it becomes official, unbridled policy).

“Its in the game!”… Ads, that is.

Why even show content? It’s the ads that people are actually here for! Can you imagine the audacity of people, wanting a little creative content amongst our cloud of vapid, capitalistic hawking.

Are you suggesting that in democratic countries that citizens should not have the right to free assembly? Or that active criticism of government or corporate powers should be banned?

Not only would this be a dangerous precedent that belies fascist ways of thinking, it also would then take away any legal right you likely believe the Jan. 6 insurrectionists had to free assembly. Of course in that case they were actively breaking the law by entering restricted areas, brandishing weapons, committing acts of violence… Unlike these dangerous climate protestors who were blocking a public street (clutches pearls).

Thank you for your honest response, and it is good to hear you have found your feet. I too have struggled to find employment that pays me what I am worth (I have a M.A. is social sciences, but also am a trained teacher). We moved overseas to support my wife’s family during a difficult time and decided to try and settle there. It turns out its hard to buy a $850k 2-bedroom bungalow when you are making 70k a year. Returning to Canada, we assumed our previous experience teaching would mean we would find jobs easily. In reality, it had priced us out of the market, and in our province a school division can keep you on terms for two years and then has to give you a permanent position or let you go. I have spent the last 5+ years bouncing from term to term, often very difficult positions where other term teachers have cut and run. I’ve saved the ass of the few school divisions in my area so many times, but all I have got in repayment is to be bounced around and when a permanent comes up they give it to a recent grad, who frankly does not have the experience or diverse range of talents I do. This year, I decided to pivot into the heritage industry. I am currently working a job I like quite a lot that requires virtually no communte and can help build my local community. Problem is, I make less than 40k a year. We can make it work because our mortgage is incredibly cheap (we lucked out and got a fixer upper for way below market value), but employers in this area also vastly undervalue labor. I’ve realized I will either have to create a secondary income stream, or use my growing contacts in private industry to leverage myself into a position that pays even close to what my work output is worth. All that being said, I still find that Canada provides good support for its citizens and generally has decent opportunity. Ultimately, we stay for the people. Returning to my wife’s home country we struggled to make any real connections and while people are friendly, it was so hard to make friends. In Canada, we have a large and varied friend group. We have potlucks almost weekly with several families, and I have opportunities to be deeply involved in community arts programs that provide opportunity for self expression and better my community. We have never been able to find that anywhere else, and I think that is why we stay.

As a Canadian, I’m curious to know which issues burdened you so heavily that you felt leaving Canada was the only option? It is a vast country with plenty of differences regionally, so the option to internally migrate was always there. What area of the world did you move to that you seem to have found what you were looking for?

I’m asking because I am genuinely curious, as someone who grew up in Canada, lived overseas (in a country on most people’s bucket lists, but has its own set of issues) and has returned to Canada. I can personally attest to the fact that the addage “the grass is always greener over the fence” rings true initially, but every place has its similar issues.

“La Donna è mobile” from Verdi’s Rigoletto. Have you seen a pasta sauce commercial? Then you’ve heard this aria.

That’s actually a massive issue that I saw in NZ. My in-laws and their friends profiting massively off rental properties with no capital gains, meanwhile blaming foreigners for the fact their children can’t afford rent or housing. That being said, putting all geographic issues aside, Healthcare in NZ is significantly better served than in Canada (at least as far as family doctors go), but when we last visited this year, it seems to be a growing issue. Overall, I found NZ much more of a user-pay society than Canada. The fees aren’t always high (like US healthcare, my god!) but there is no “free lunch” anywhere in NZ. Going to a community festival? Pay $10 for 15 mins to put your kids in the bouncy castle. That sort of thing is everywhere. I love NZ, and it is a beautiful place with wonderful people. However, there are two things I would say.

1. It is a great place to visit. (Notice how the phrase stops there)
2. Ive heard kiwis described as “clannish and distant” and I think that is an accurate depiction. Friendly when meeting, but high on impossible to make friends with.

I live in Canada now (we have our own taste of fascism here), but have lived in NZ. It is actually quite a conservative country and the same forces that are driving far-right tendencies in Europe and North American are exerting their influence in NZ as well. The benefit over North America is they have a proportional representation system, and so governments are almost always coalitions and require across the aisle agreements. Pay attention to the rhetoric in the current election cycle (they go to the polls in about a month) and you will see how the political landscape looks, that will give you an idea of it is different from Europe in the ways that you want. Relocating to NZ long-term is not that easy, as there are quite strict immigration policies. Unless you qualify under a small category of in-demand trades or are under 30 and going on a working holiday it can be difficult to get a work visa or Permanent Residency. Also note, NZ is a bloody long way from anywhere and anything. The total country’s population is less than most European metropolitan areas and so it might be a massive shift in lifestyle (for better or worse) depending on where you come from.

Old phone? I’m still running a Mi A1 as my daily. I’m on LineageOS 19.1. There have been rumblings of Lineage 20 coming to it, but the Dev community has largely dropped off.

I’d check if there are any local high-schools or support services that are looking to get phones intot he hands of underprivileged teens/adults. A Mi A3 is likely still better than the low end Samsung garbage, or even an old iPhone (below X).

Better to have it be reused than become a paperweight in a cupboard.

If you are on Android, you really should download ReVanced. You can add adblock and sponsorblock, and you will barely ever see ads again.

I actually refused to watch YT on mobile because it was too annoying an experience, but 'vanced makes it much more like the good old days of no ads everywhere.