Their existence is insane. The problem is, they go with nationalism like bread and butter.

We regulate certain things more or less out of existence because they're dangerous. Certain types of products which people can't or won't make themselves can be prohibited from sale, for example. I generally am in favor of legalizing things and enforcing laws against fraud, so that people get honest information about consequences, but I also like for people to be protected from other people.

Tobacco products are my favorite example because they affect people who aren't even using them. We allow them to persist only because of a profitable and highly taxable industry, not because of any notions about freedom. Freedom would be to permit you to grow your own instead of enabling the cancer stick industry, and let all the smokers move to farms in the south.

I feel like they are asking for the sun. Are you new to negotiations?

I also feel like all of this could have been avoided by just not doing what we've been doing. For decades.

Here's a fun fact, there's a clearing house colloquially known as the "federal hub" where your name, DOB, SSN, and ID numbers can be rubbed together and your citizenship verified in seconds if you're well-documented. It takes longer to verify noncitizen status, but citizenship is stupidly easy to verify once identity has been verified, and registered noncitizens are required to carry their citizenship documents anyway... authorization to work, legal permanent resident card, passport, etc etc. Those are also all photo ID.

The passport is the gold star of verification, as it verifies both citizenship and identity anywhere in the US.

Addictive products are just good products! Have a cigar.

Odd, the ones I have been in to do work on "my" racks, it wasn't uncommon for me to see nobody at all (not even a guard) the whole time.

Just row after row of servers doing their thing. Sometimes I would see the manager or a tech updating something.

It's more that they have seen they can count on protectionism. Which ironically they also hate because it subjects them to dealers

Indeed. Here in California we are the poster children for this, because we have a 55 mph speed limit while towing which is NEVER enforced. We have a requirement that headlights be aimed correctly, same. We have a law saying that if there are five or more people behind you, you must pull over at the first safe opportunity to let them pass, same. Fender flares must project as far as tires, same. (Anyone who's ever had a rock break their windshield understands.)

CHP cares specifically and only about revenue generation, so they do nothing to improve safety except go after speeders. That's not nothing, but it's not enough.

If they weren't they wouldn't buy their shit, so they KNOW they're stupid

First, Iran has never been close to having a weapon

Second, if they do want one, it's because their primary enemies have one, and one of them is the only country to ever nuke another country

Assuming that no plant ever goes offline for any reason and that there will be no other growth in Kenya ever.

Or the gravel pit

That costs money. They were hoping the locals would foot that bill for them.

How many data centers in your immediate area? Are they the modern high density data centers with thousands of GPU units per rack or the old school 4U's in a rack supporting a few websites kind of data center?

As for employment, when is the last time you saw a data center that was bustling with human activity once construction and move-in was finished?

That was a joke! backhoes breaking fiber is part of the natural order.

That's why you should always carry a length of fiber with you. If you ever get stranded with no cell service, you can just bury the length of fiber in the dirt. When the backhoe guy comes along to break it, ask him for a lift.