And that's just the property taxes. CA Politicians are Thieving Bastards

https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/all-of-the-license-plates-in-the-united-states/?utm_source=recommendedreads.com

All of the 8,291 License Plates in America
States now offer a vast menu of personalized plate options for a dizzying array of organizations, professions, sports teams, causes and other groups.

Jon Keegan
Aug 21, 2023 • 9 min read

An image quilt made up of hundreds of sample vehicle license plates from around the U.S.
During summer vacation car rides as a kid, I remember the thrill of seeing an unusual license plate from a faraway state. There were 50 possible plates to see (plus D.C.) each with distinct colors and often the state motto. Today the game of license plate bingo has gotten incredibly complex.

By my count, there are currently 8,291 different vehicle license plates offered by the 50 states and the District of Columbia. States now offer a vast menu of personalized plate options for a dizzying array of organizations, professions, sports teams, causes and other groups.

My count was conducted over June and July 2023, so this should be considered a snapshot, as I'm sure some plates have changed already.

For years, members of the military and veterans have been able to pick plates reflecting the honors they have received and the missions they have served in. Drivers have also been able to pick plates drawing attention to a large number of medical conditions such as breast cancer, downs syndrome, diabetes and autism, raising funds for various foundations through registration fees.

Doctors, first responders and even amateur radio operators have long been able to pick a plate reflecting their affiliations. But today, if you are a realtor, accountant, architect, chiropractor, pharmacist or optician you too can share your profession with a customized plate in several states.

Of course not just anyone can grab many of these specialized plates. Proof of service and professional credentials are required to qualify for many of these plates. Some are reserved for members of the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate.

You can even find the face of Dolly Parton on Tennessee's "Dollywood Foundation For Children" plate, and don't miss aging rocker Alice Cooper who you can find on Arizona's "Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock" plate (raising funds for his non-profit that provides free music lessons for kids).




Left to Right: Arizona's "Alice Cooper's Sold Rock Teen Centers" plate; Dolly Parton's Tennessee "Dollywood Foundation for Children" plate; Washington's "J.P. Patches Pal" plate.

Search all 8,291 License Plates

Too Many Plates?
Maryland ranks 19th in the United States with an estimated 2022 population of 6.1 million residents. But Maryland leads the pack when it comes to the number of license plates it offers drivers. I counted 989 distinct plates listed on the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles’ website.


A chart showing the number of license plates issued per state in June / July 2023, with Maryland leading the pack at 989 plates.
Maryland caving enthusiasts will be glad to know they can pick a “National Speleological Society” plate (although only one such plate was issued between 2018 and 2022). Likewise the “American Sewing Guild”, “Baltimore Yacht Club” and “Westie Rescue, Inc.” are among the organizations with only a single plate issued during this time period. Maryland “Barbershop Quartet Singers” did slightly better with three plates issued in this time period, just ahead of “Baltimore Rock Opera Society’s” two plates.





Some of Maryland's 989 license plate designs.

Texas, the second most populous state with nearly five times the population of Maryland offers the second largest number of license plates, coming in at 476 designs. Texas has taken a more practical approach to accommodating the demand for custom plates, outsourcing the whole effort to a private company called My Plates.

Hawaii offers the fewest number of plates, with just 14 designs to pick from (plus decals with messages drivers can attach). But a small number of plates offered doesn’t mean lower quality plates. In 2022, the Automobile License Plate Collector’s Association chose Hawaii’s beautiful “Polynesian Voyaging” as the "Best New Plate”. The “Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park” is also quite beautiful.



Hawaii offers some striking plates. Left: "Polynesian Voyaging" won Best New Plate for 2022 from the Automobile License Plate Collector’s Association. Right: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park plate.

The explosion of full color images on special plates has also created some concerns for law enforcement’s use of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), which automatically scan the plates of cars as they drive down the road or through tolls. Many police cars are equipped with ALPRs that scoop up all of the plates that drive by. A report by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators warned that high contrast backgrounds in these special plates can cause readability issues for ALPRs.

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Some states have tried to reign in the sheer number of new plates being proposed each year, but with little success. In 2010, the Florida Senate tried to restrict plates only to designs that had at least 4,000 pre-orders, but the measure did not advance.

Animals and Conservation
Some of the most popular special plates feature animals and messages about nature conservation. Whales, sharks, moose, salamanders, eagles, deer, butterflies, salmon, trout and loons can be found on plates around the country. Fees from many of these animal plates help fund state conservation efforts.

Animal conservation plates were some of Florida’s most lucrative license plate designs for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The “Sea Turtle” plate brought in $2.4 million, “Save the Manatee” brought in $1.3 million and “Protect Wild Dolphins” brought in $1.1 million in revenue. Texas’ “Horned Lizard” plate raised $6.5 million in fiscal year 2019. California’s “Protect Our Coast & Ocean” featuring a whale tail pulled in $1.1 million in 2021.










Some of the menagerie of animals depicted on popular nature conservation plates.

Controversial Plates
License plates have been the subject of dozens of legal cases challenging the messages imprinted on them by the state. In 1976, a New Hampshire resident successfully pleaded his case to the U.S. Supreme Court that he had the right to obscure the state’s motto “Live Free or Die” on his plates, which conflicted with his religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness.

Recently, a group of atheists in Mississippi sued the state when the governor changed the state seal to include the words “In God We Trust”, which appeared on the standard license plate design. The plaintiffs objected to the fact that there was no alternative design without the slogan without having to pay an extra fee for a special plate. The court found that the plaintiff's free speech argument was valid, but recently the Governor introduced a new standard plate that does not mention God, rendering the case moot.

"I consider it a victory because the Governor's previous comments suggest he would not have chosen a design without a religious reference if it were not for the pressure that was applied to him," wrote Jason Alan Griggs, one of the plaintiffs in the case in an email to Beautiful Public Data.

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A 2016 report from the National Conference on State Legislatures (NCSL) warned state administrators of the controversy that can come with political messages on special plates. “Specialty license plate designs may encounter resistance, however. While courts have consistently stated that license plates are private speech, the fact that they are issued by government agencies can incite much controversy and debate,” said the report.

But the full scope of American political expression is not evenly distributed in the plates offered today.

Anti-a******n license plates such as “Choose Life” can be found in 34 states. Only four states appear to offer pro-a******n rights plates. Nebraska and Pennsylvania offer Planned Parenthood plates, with Nebraska’s displaying “My Body, My Choice” on the tag. Virginia has a “Trust Women, Respect Choice” plate and Alaska offers “Pro-Family, Pro-Choice”.

At least nine states offer Revolutionary War Gadsden F**g “Don’t Tread on Me” plates. 22 states offer either “God Bless America” or “In God We Trust”.

I could only find three plates in the whole dataset that represented the L***Q community: “Indiana Youth Group”, “South Carolina E******y” and “Maryland E******y”.

Texas offers a "Juneteenth" plate, and Arkansas has a Martin Luther King, Jr. plate. I couldn't find any plates related to Black L***s M****rs, which was surprising considering the scale of the civil rights movement in recent years.

Big Money for Charities and for the State
Some organizations pull in huge amounts of money from the fees shared by the state. California’s well-publicized “Arts Plate” which costs $50 initially with a $40 annual renewal (or $103 initially with an $83 annual renewal for personalized plates) pulled in $2.2 million for the California Arts Council non-profit in 2019. In 2022, the non-profit Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation raised $556,000 from its North Carolina specialty plate.

License plate fees also are major sources of revenue for state motor vehicle departments. Florida pulled in over $44 million just from specialty license plates in the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

Made By Prison Labor
Yes, license plates are still made by cheap prison labor in most states. 80% of all license plates issued in the U.S. today were made by state prisoners, with only 12 states opting out of the practice. According to a 2022 ACLU report on prison labor in the U.S., many states offer no pay at all to prisoners, while the average hourly wage across the country was between 13 and 52 cents per hour.

Just for fun.

https://youtube.com/shorts/5-k7DOM5EA0?si=gjlvoub4ybw_4p8r

https://reformcalifornia.org/news/ca-democrats-place-two-measures-on-2024-b****t-to-gut-prop-13-how-to-fight-back

CA Democrats Place Two Measures on 2024 B****t to Gut Prop 13 – How to Fight Back

September 15, 2023
CA Democrats Place Two Measures on 2024 B****t to Gut Prop 13 – How to Fight Back
Image Credit:Canva
California families already pay the highest taxes in the nation, but state Democrats want to raise taxes even higher – and have come up with a dirty trick to prevent v**ers from blocking their tax hike schemes at the b****t box. Reform California is leading the campaign to protect Prop 13 and block the tax hikes – but needs your help!
After years of slowly attacking and chipping away at Prop 13, California Democrats are moving in for the k**l shot by placing two constitutional amendments on the b****t in 2024 to gut Prop 13 and make it easier to raise taxes in California.

In the final few hours of the legislative session, Democrats in the State Senate and Assembly v**ed by a slender margin to approve ACA-1 and ACA-13 (details below).

“With these v**es to gut Prop 13, California Democrats have shown they do not care about the cost-of-living crisis that is hurting California working families and they are hell-bent on making things worse by raising taxes even higher,” says Carl DeMaio, Chairman of Reform California.

Reform California had mounted an aggressive campaign to urge v**ers to call legislators to urge them to reject ACA-1 and ACA-13. Senator Richard Roth (D) admitted his office got 600 calls in one day alone – and legislative staff estimate tens of thousands of calls were received across all offices over a one-week period on this issue alone.

A few Democrats buckled to public outcry and flipped their v**es, but in the end ACA-1 and ACA-13 squeaked by and will now be presented on the b****t to v**ers.

DeMaio said he expects the v**es to gut Prop 13 would come back to haunt several Democrats in 2024 and beyond, but for now he’s focused on defeating ACA-1 and ACA-13 at the b****t box and passing the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative.

What Is Being Proposed to Gut Prop 13?

DeMaio says CA Democrats are pursuing a very clever strategy with ACA-1 and ACA-13 that is all part of their “total war to repeal Prop 13.”

For years CA Democrats have tried to outright repeal Prop 13 but v**ers have rejected those efforts. Then CA Democrats switched strategies and started the “death by a thousand cuts” approach by using court cases in front of liberal judges to open loopholes in Prop 13 to make it easier to raise taxes.

CA Democrats also discovered they could get around Prop 13’s public v**e requirement on tax hikes by just outright lying to v**ers on the b****t by using false and misleading b****t titles on tax hike measures to confuse and deceive v**ers. The titles never mention that the measure is a tax hike, but only use titles that tout the benefits of the measure.

“If a b****t title fails to disclose that a measure is a tax hike, then you effectively eliminate the v**er requirement for tax hikes that Prop 13 requires,” DeMaio notes.

That’s why a coalition of taxpayer advocates collected over 1.4 million signatures to force the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative (CTPI) on the 2024 b****t. The measure eliminates the loopholes CA Democrats have opened in Prop 13, restores the two-thirds v**e requirement on special taxes, and mandates honest b****t titles that use the words “Tax Increase” when presenting measures that contain tax hikes in them.

“California Democrats know if the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative (CRPI) passes, the days of lying to v**ers to impose costly and unfair tax hikes in California will be over and that’s why they are using ACA-1 and ACA-13 to confuse v**ers and derail the effort to save Prop 13,” DeMaio explains.

Here’s what the three measures do:

‍ACA-1: Lowers the threshold to approve special tax hikes from two-thirds to 55%
CTPI: Restores Prop 13’s v**er approval requirements for tax hikes and requires honest b****t titles
ACA-13: Blocks the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative from being approved by increasing the v**es required for approval from a majority to a super-majority
Are you a bit confused right now? That’s exactly what the Democrats want. But it gets worse.

CA Democrats are sure to use dishonest b****t titles to present these three measures on the b****t. Here’s how Democrats may try to lie to v**ers with manipulative b****t titles:‍

‍ACA-1: Local government financing: affordable housing and public infrastructure: v**er approval (actual current title Democrats want)
CTPI: Limits ability of v**ers and state and local governments to raise revenues for government services. (actual current title Democrats want)
ACA-13: Ensures fair v****g thresholds for approval of constitutional amendments (our rendition of possible title Democrats want)
What happens next?

While the California Taxpayer Protection Initiative is already scheduled for the November 2024 b****t, the question now is whether ACA-1 and ACA-13 will be on the March 2024 or November 2024 b****t. Sources say Governor Newsom wants the March 2024 b****t set aside exclusively for his raids b****t measure proposal on mental health funding to give developers subsidies. Decisions on b****t placement will be known in the next few weeks.

DeMaio says the next step is to organize the most aggressive grassroots campaign California has seen since Prop 13 passed in 1978.

“California Democrats have the liberal media and special interest money on their side – and they intend to lie to v**ers with manipulative b****t titles – but we have won battles like this before and can do it in 2024,” DeMaio notes. DeMaio points to the big win Reform California and others achieved in defeating Prop 15 in 2020 which – surprise – was the most recent Democrat attempt to overturn Prop 13.

“I need everyone to step forward today and join the fight so we can organize this campaign to protect Prop 13 early – we simply cannot wait until b****ts drop next year to put together the volunteers, canvassers, ads, events, and coalition we’ll need to win this fight,” DeMaio implores.

https://gizmodo.com/mozilla-new-cars-data-privacy-report-1850805416
If You’ve Got a New Car, It’s a Data Privacy Nightmare
Bad news: your car is a spy. Every major car brand's new internet-connected models flunked privacy and security tests conducted by Mozilla.
By
Thomas Germain
UpdatedSeptember 7, 2023

Cars driving on a highway made of zeros and ones.
Turns out you’ve been driving in the data fast lane. Photo: metamorworks / Shutterstock.com (Shutterstock)
Bad news: your car is a spy. If your vehicle was made in the last few years, you’re probably driving around in a data-harvesting machine that may collect personal information as sensitive as your race, weight, and sexual activity. Volkswagen’s cars reportedly know if you’re fastening your seatbelt and how hard you hit the brakes.

That’s according to new findings from Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included project. The nonprofit found that every major car brand fails to adhere to the most basic privacy and security standards in new internet-connected models, and all 25 of the brands Mozilla examined flunked the organization’s test. Mozilla found brands including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, and Subaru collect data about drivers including race, facial expressions, weight, health information, and where you drive. Some of the cars tested collected data you wouldn’t expect your car to know about, including details about sexual activity, race, and immigration status, according to Mozilla.

“Many people think of their car as a private space — somewhere to call your doctor, have a personal conversation with your kid on the way to school, cry your eyes out over a break-up, or drive places you might not want the world to know about,” said Jen Caltrider, program direction of the *Privacy Not Included project, in a press release. “But that perception no longer matches reality. All new cars today are privacy nightmares on wheels that collect huge amounts of personal information.”

Modern cars use a variety of data harvesting tools including microphones, cameras, and the phones drivers connect to their cars. Manufacturers also collect data through their apps and websites, and can then sell or share that data with third parties.

The worst offender was Nissan, Mozilla said. The carmaker’s privacy policy suggests the manufacturer collects information including sexual activity, health diagnosis data, and genetic data, though there’s no details about how exactly that data is gathered. Nissan reserves the right to share and sell “preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes” to data brokers, law enforcement, and other third parties.

“When we do collect or share personal data, we comply with all applicable laws and provide the utmost t***sparency,” said Lloryn Love-Carter, a Nissan spokesperson. “Nissan’s Privacy Policy incorporates a broad definition of Personal Information and Sensitive Personal Information, as expressly listed in the growing patchwork of evolving state privacy laws, and is inclusive of types of data it may receive through incidental means.”

Other brands didn’t fare much better. Volkswagen, for example, collects your driving behaviors such as your seatbelt and braking habits and pairs that with details such as age and g****r for targeted advertising. Kia’s privacy policy reserves the right to monitor your “sex life,” and Mercedes-Benz ships cars with TikTok pre-installed on the infotainment system, an app that has its own thicket of privacy problems.

“BMW NA provides our customers with comprehensive data privacy notices regarding the collection of their personal information. For individual control, BMW NA allows vehicle drivers to make granular choices regarding the collection and processing of their personal information,” said Phil DiIanni, a BMW spokesperson. DiIanni said BMW hasn’t reviewed the study, but said “BMW NA does not sell our customer’s in-vehicle personal information,” and the company takes “comprehensive measures to protect our customers’ data.”

Mercedes-Benz spokesperson Andrea Berg declined to comment, as the company hasn’t reviewed the study, but Berg said the MercedesMe Connect app gives users privacy settings and the ability to opt-out of certain services. Gizmodo contacted the other manufacturers named in this story, but none immediately provided comments.

The privacy and security problems extend beyond the nature of the data car companies siphon off about you. Mozilla said it was unable to determine whether the brands encrypt any of the data they collect, and only Mercedes-Benz responded to the organization’s questions.

Mozilla also found that many car brands engage in “privacy washing,” or presenting consumers with information that suggests they don’t have to worry about privacy issues when the exact opposite is true. Many leading manufacturers are signatories to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s “Consumer Privacy Protection Principles.” According to Mozilla, these are a non-binding set of vague promises organized by the car manufacturers themselves.

Brian Weiss, a spokesperson for the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, shared a link to a letter the organization wrote to congress about its Privacy Principles. These principles “are in effect today and enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission,” Weiss said.

Questions around consent are essentially a joke as well. Subaru, for example, says that by being a passenger in the car, you are considered a “user” who has given the company consent to harvest information about you. Mozilla said a number of car brands say it’s the drivers responsibility to let passengers know about their car’s privacy policies—as if the privacy policies are comprehensible to drivers in the first place. Toyota, for example, has a constellation of 12 different privacy policies for your reading pleasure.

Margarine has only one molecule difference from plastic. (let's see how many pick up on this)

It sure seems that way. I wonder when we will reach a critical mass of democrats willing to dump Joe and the entire democrapic crime syndicate.

Does Your V**e Still Matter?
If the last civil measure to correct Democrat corruption of our Constitution is the b****t box, but your v**e no longer counts, then what?

https://patriotpost.us/alexander/100454-does-your-v**e-still-matter-2023-09-13

What I wish is that the uninformed and misinformed l*****ts would wise up.

https://www.prageru.com/video/ep-306-people-dont-know-real-evil?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_7715916

Ep. 306 — People Don’t Know Real Evil
Dennis PragerDennis Prager
Fireside Chats
Sep 14, 2023

About half of Americans ages 18-39 cannot identify Auschwitz or any other N**i death camp, even though most can probably explain preferred pronouns, intersectionality, r****m, and sexism. So, why aren’t most students learning anything of importance? Dennis provides three reasons why today's young people are not being taught about real evil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcOEWlFoMGc

Sky News host Rita Panahi couldn’t contain her laughter over “dimwitted lefties” on The View discussing the influx of i*****l m*****ts in New York City.

“But what is the Biden administration, which has overseen record numbers crossing that southern border illegally, millions every year, what are they going to do?” Ms Panahi said.

“Well, this is their latest genius idea, no they’re not going to complete the wall, they’re not going to implement tough border protection policies, they’re going to try to keep the i*****l m*****ts in Texas.”

The LA Times reported the Biden administration was considering a plan to force i*****l i*******ts to remain in Texas while awaiting asylum screenings.

“Genius, genius – why should Texans have to deal with this crisis, they aren’t the ones v****g for sanctuary city mayors and governors,” Ms Panahi said.

https://rumble.com/v3hogbu-of-all-the-stupid-fact-checks-protecting-biden-this-one-takes-the-cake.htmlwhen the rest of us are laughing at them.
https://rumble.com/v3hogzy-cnn-reporter-humiliated-on-her-own-show-by-matt-gaetz.html

https://rumble.com/v3hmk66-the-medias-hail-mary-to-save-the-dems-ep.-2088-09142023.html