discogeek

discogeek t1_j5fw1rg wrote

If you don't mind bitter snow now and then, Erie is a great place. Lots of ourdoors stuff to do (skiing, we've got a fantastic beach, forests and parks all over), decent culture for a city our size (art museum, playhouse, theater, and a great live music scene), academics (four universities and a half dozen within an hour drive). Great people, low cost of living, and those days you want to get away we've got three large cities and tons and tons of small treasures to go explore.

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discogeek t1_j4gfrbc wrote

If you refuse to take a breathalyzer test in PA, your license is instantly suspended. Whether or not you were driving impaired.

Nonetheless, I never said "incriminating yourself," I said "if a cop asked you where you got it" - which is not self-incrimination, it is impeding a police investigation of a tobacco distributor.

(Not like we have tobacco squads out there in PA, but talking about this on a meta level, you're not going to hold water in a court if they ask you about someone else's activity and refuse to answer... that's not 5th Amendment stuff.)

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discogeek t1_j4g59jk wrote

It's pretty much illegal for anyone to provide tobacco to someone under 21, so while Act 112 itself doesn't expressly say "18 year olds can't smoke a cigar," you'd possibly get into trouble if a cop asked where you got it and refused to answer or lied about it. Then both you and whomever got you the cigar (sold it, handed it to you, left it lying around) would be in trouble. (I'm sure there's a scenario someone can come up with that gets around the law, just like technically it's legal to give someone underage a drink if you're creative enough.)

I believe there's an exception for 18 year olds in the military too.

https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/programs/tobacco/Pages/Act-112.aspx

Act 112 of 2002

Act 112 of 2002, an Act amending Titles 18 and 53 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, prohibiting the sale of tobacco to those under the age of 21. In 2002, Pennsylvania's Act 112 amended Section 6305 of the Crimes Code and created new fines for clerks and owners of tobacco retail stores. In November of 2019, Governor Tom Wolf signed legislation that prohibits the sale of any tobacco, nicotine or related item to anyone under 21 years of age.

The Act:

* Prohibits sales of tobacco products to a minor (individual under 21 years of age).

* Prohibits the furnishing of a tobacco product to a minor (selling tobacco to a minor).

* Prohibits vending machines to be in any place where a minor can gain access without the supervision of a parent or guardian.

* Restricts displaying or offering for sale a cigarette out of a pack.

* Restricts access to tobacco products by non-employees.

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discogeek t1_j490jvq wrote

Government work isn't going to make you rich, but you'll be in the middle class with a stable job with good benefits and vacation time. If someone on your team annoys you, don't worry they'll get promoted soon enough. Don't tell anyone your salary or benefits - no matter what they are, people will get mad at you for earning a salary from tax dollars.

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discogeek t1_j46vh37 wrote

Not sure if it's different there than here, but pre-pandemic what you're describing sounds like the booth Wegman's set up on their own, not a private company. Yours could be different for sure.

I haven't seen the booth in years, but can still get the chocolates in the fancy-pants section alongside olives and cheeses and macaroons.

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discogeek t1_j46sa59 wrote

Almost all of them are Central Bucks. Seems they act like even MAGA and Fox News is full of liberals so they need to push things further to the right "to protect the children" from society.

Pro-life my ass, give 'em a gun when they pop out of the womb and let them fend for themselves. Unless they're not white, then hold the gun.

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discogeek t1_j46rq3y wrote

On the one hand, I'm always sympathetic toward accidents or mistakes. I don't think people should be punished just for messing up.

That being said, we sure to give a hell of a lot of leeway and benefits to hunters and gun owners that the rest of us aren't welcome to claim on our own. The hunter caused some damage to an individual, basic logic and compassion would suggest he/she should somehow compensate the family - not necessarily punish the hunter for an accident (if it was one, and the article doesn't give a reason to suggest otherwise) - but to make them as whole as possible again.

Two sets of rules, one for them and another less-fair one for the rest of us.

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discogeek t1_j46bzrn wrote

Be the vocal yet not-obnoxious friend / aunt / uncle / neighbor that reminds your network of contacts this is the case. 99% of them won't care or think you're a little obsessed and nuts, they'll never come to PA for an abortion. That one 16 year old desperate for help and no support network for this will appreciate remembering you saying something.

Do what you can when asked to help "go camping" as well. A huge number of women getting abortions are desperate, mentally fatigued, emotionally spent. We owe it to them as equal members of society to do what we can to help.

Remember the resources available through Planned Parenthood and other organizations. When you help someone "go camping" remember there are networks out there that will do the lifting with appointments, travel and hotel if you're not able.

Donate when you have the means. Support politically when you feel that's all you have - it's a huge benefit too. Tell your elected officials this is your red line, and bring swarms of like-minded supporters to the meetings too, to make it impossible for the official to say "oh it's just one person" (even though the most zealous will stay in their bubble and ignore reality).

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discogeek t1_j3lkuxq wrote

You can use a PO box as a secondary / mailing address for PennDOT, but you have to have a physical address as your main one.

Your residential address is also used for various things like voter registration, jury duty, county residency. So if you use a "fake" address in another county, you're not only breaking the law, but you're also setting yourself up for lots of unforeseen problems.

https://www.dmv.pa.gov/Pages/FAQ%20Pages/Address-Requirements-FAQ.aspx

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discogeek t1_j2tv2fo wrote

Honestly, it's a fascinating topic and I'm happy to answer any questions you'd have - Wikipedia has some basic info. I've debated doing a YouTube channel with stuff like this for years too but I'm no good at video editing.

The paper compared the 1934 / 1964 / 1994 elections and analyzed them as realignment years. (My conclusion was these were massive "wave" elections like 2010 and 2018 but realignments are generational and not able to pinpoint to one specific event.)

I'm happy to discuss the academics behind it with you or anyone interested. Don't ask me to dig up the old statistical regressions or plot charts though, I'd have to go to the attic to find the original paper.

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