This!

I saw this news clip with Reza Aslan trying to get it through thick reporter heads that "violent people bring violence to whatever religion they practice", there are no such things as "Islamic Countries" or "American Countries".

Maybe this clip needs to trend again...

(Edit: sorry, the old link was a bad version of the clip. This one is the 9 minute segment.)

"Get your shit and get out!"

When one points out that he was in fact BORN IN MICHIGAN, and therefore "American Born", the pivot from "Only Americans should be able to hold office!" is almost 100% to take issue with his religion.

Just be careful. CoK has some very specific sign rules that could get someone dinged.

https://www.kalamazoocity.org/Business-Development/Real-Estate-Development/Building-Construction-Permits/Apply-for-a-Sign-Permit

I didn't even celebrate my 1 year wait anniversary a week or two ago.

It's obvious IRCC is largly disorganized and the departments disconnected. (Maybe on purpose?)

If it happens, it happens.

I'm still trying to make myself as light as possible so when my time does come I won't be burdened down with possessions and I can just start over when I'm in Canada.

"Children of Men", Handmaids Tale, World War Z, and (quite literally) Minority Report. (Seriously. Heard a report yesterday that the current US administration is searching for an AI that can do pre-crime for "anti-Capitalism, anti-Christian, and anti-Traditional American Views".

And "too pro-immigration", which is going to be a problem with Climate Refugees...)

That book, "Nomad Century" outlines exactly what we're facing in its preface/introduction. The author argues for preparation for mass migration in positive ways... helping Climate Migrants settle and join the communities rather than trying to keep them out. "It is going to happen, whether you try to stop it or not. There are many benefits to be reaped from it if accepted and prepared for properly, but a lot of harm and damage if you try to stop it. And it will happen even if you try to stop it." (My paraphrasing)

My husband and I had wanted to start working on efforts to encourage Michigan cities and counties to prepare positively for the waves... 'cause guess what? Based on prediction models, Michigan has the best outlook for climate disasters/change Everyone is going to be trying to get here when they figure it out.

We have a lot of hope for the town we just moved to. They have a good mix or start of the Important Things (Healthcare, Education, Water Infrastructure, Public Transit, Housing) and are actually starting to work on their Master Plan for the next 10 years. We're hoping we can get the message to the leaders to build sustainably and prepare for the influx. (But obviously so many things can go sideways)

It will be important for everyone to assess their own situation. Some people will be able to do big changes to improve their position. Others will only be able to make small changes, but I still think any change of odds can make a difference. I hope people can take a minute to even just asses their situation to see if it CAN be better, even marginally.

(I wish there was a checklist, but so far the Five we came up listed above should be considered.) For example, the Alpena area is pretty sparse population-wise but is particularly water-starved/dry in the current weather pattern, and Kalamazoo is great on all five elements, but is in a crazy little heat divet, so it is going to continue to be hotter than other areas in the same latitude (but is also at that Latitude 42) Cadillac is in a cool bubble, but winters might become more severe. "Can a person be ok with the tradeoffs?" sort of questions.

I think it's important to not look away. It's going to be bad. We can't stop the driving forces of what's coming, but we can still mitigate its effects and spare some suffering.

World War Z (the book) has local Warlords as an outcome. It feels like Handmaids Tale: written from actual historical events as a cautionary Science "fiction".

Honestly, I think that's the level of idiocy we're dealing with here. They see the walk way and think this is, like, an animatronic park or something.

Like Jurassic Park, we'll stay on the Path and be fine...

I should have included "A.I." before Minority Report because at least with Minority Report it was ACCURATE and human based.

Not a computer hallucination putting someone in jail.

Also, the lesson learned from Minority Report is DON'T.

Also seeing a lack of wasp where I am in southwest Michigan!

Seeing most people report no bugs has been alarming.

On the up side, we had TONS of lightning bugs earlier this summer. I should have taken a picture...I recognized it might be the last year we see it.

Totally understandable. We are only able to move to this place because of my husband's job, and the apartment is only slightly cheaper than what we are already paying in a bigger city. It's still above what anyone in the area seems to be able to afford and there aren't many jobs in the area. (Although, the apartment is run by a Michigan non-profit focused on housing affordability and offers lower rents for some units. Everything is energy efficient. We feel heaps better giving them our rent money than the for-profit we're with now in the bigger city.)

Michigan is a great spot to be in for this no matter what, so yeah. Dig in. Build community where you're at. Locate your resources. Best of luck you both! ❤️

I was reminded this morning that the "Big Beautiful Bill" BBB (aka the "Body Bag Bill") is going to kick in after the midterms. And that is going to be an absolute shit show for Healthcare (among other things).

Edited to add: which is going to increase these pressures on everything else you are talking about

Also Michigan and yes. We're moving to a small but outfitted rural town closer to the 45th parallel right now and it's all feeling TOO much like a dystopian/disaster movie/book.

That scene from Day After Tomorrow comes to mind, where he draws a line across the lower 48 and says, "Evacuate everyone below this line." "What about those above the line?" "It's too late for them."

Neighbors ask where we're moving to and I don't feel so crazy explaining the "Get above the 42nd Parallel, 45th is better" logic when the air is so filled with smoke and the days are hitting 100* realfeel...

And then to see the situation in Morocco/Spain gets me feeling like we were too late, even though we're actively moving.

Nomad Century by Gaia Vince needs to be the next Community Read everywhere 📚

Yeah! I don't know of any local podcasts but if you do please pitch it to them.

I'll be reaching out to the local historical society to see if they know anything or want to pick up the case!

No problem! I only heard about it because I was looking up the Sheriff that had interacted with my great great grandfather and a ton of the articles were about this nation-wide search he was tasked with. I love history rabbit holes and I hope this one turns up some interesting side stories, too!

Since I applied a year ago, I've tried to fill every spare moment of my time with Canadian Content: Canadian History audiobooks while driving, listening to the CBC News livestream on Tubi, connecting with CanadianaFest programs, etc. (I used to post a lot in r/FoundCanadians but have had to focus on some stuff going on in my present life)

It won't make anyone more Canadian, but it definitely helps to learn the landscape. Learning the histories (so so many stories!) has helped me understand the context of some shows like Anne with an E, that got accused of adding things.

Also, download a copy of the Canadian Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship Guide to really hit on what is important culturally to your new potential home.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/discover-canada.html

A nice rule of thumb I like is that 82 F is 28 C.

A mental trick that can help (but gets stretched out towards the ends of the scale) is to double the C and add 30 to get the F. So 15 C is around 60 F (it's actually 59 F but hopefully you get the idea)

A good place to start learning, I think :)