# April Sours... (Monthly Mini-Rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 1, 2025, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445 "2025-04-01T06:45:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/21 "2025-04-03T17:32:40Z")
Q: At what point do we all start plowing under our front and back lawns… and start planting crops…? I mean, we’ve officially passed through bear market territory into cocaine bear market territory… ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/22 "2025-04-03T17:38:39Z")
I asked my local garden supply for Erythroxylum coca but they did not have any. They did suggest Papaver somniferum as a possible alternative. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/23 "2025-04-03T17:47:21Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > Q: At what point do we all start plowing under our front and back lawns… and start planting crops…? I mean, we’ve officially passed through bear market territory into > cocaine bear market territory… Not ever going to happen in my world. I have to pay someone to cut my grass - I certainly can’t manage planting/harvesting lol. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/24 "2025-04-03T17:52:54Z")
Re: the current economic situation: Ticks me off a bit but whatever. I am not buying a new car for the foreseeable future although I had planned to purchase one this year. Gonna fix the old bessie chevy for now. Not buying anything new if I can maintain the old. Computer/laptop might become a necessity as the year unfolds. Had planned a lot of purchasing this year but that’s all gone. Just toilet paper and coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/25 "2025-04-03T19:39:00Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > When the temple was being built, my Gobhi and I planned to visit. Then, a story broke in all the local papers and on all the local news broadcasts. The Swami Narayan organization had been sponsoring Hindus in the process of getting visas to come to the United States. Once these people arrived, they had their papers, money and all their possessions confiscated. They were then told they could work building the temple as slaves or be handed over to ICE and sent back home poorer than when they left. Is it this controversy? > **[Suit accusing Hindu group of forced labour widens to 5 US states](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/11/human-trafficking-suit-spreads-to-hindu-temples-in-five-us-states)** > > The lawsuit says Hindu sect trafficked workers from India and forced them into labour at Hindu temples across the US. The group’s full name is “Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha”, though they abbreviate it to “BAPS”. Apparently, it led to feds raiding BAPS offices at gunpoint. But the whole thing was later withdrawn. [_Organizer.org_ - Swaminarayan Temple USA: BAPS Win legal battle, labourers withdraw US Lawsuit regarding discrimination](https://organiser.org/2023/07/18/184360/bharat/swaminarayan-temple-usa-baps-win-legal-battle-labourers-withdraw-us-lawsuit-regarding-discrimination/) Some more info in this article: > **[What happened at BAPS and Cisco is a timeless warning about the perils of...](https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/baps-cisco-connections)** > > Events and evidence shows that everything is not as it first seemed and reported. There are claims that at least some of the people who alleged that they had been pushed into slave labor were coerced into making those accusations. > **[Cracks Appear in BAPS Lawsuit as Workers Allege They Were Misled, Coerced...](https://castefiles.com/baps-hindu-temple-raids-sensational-turn-as-workers-withdraw-lawsuit-amidst-controversy-and-fabricated-caste-bias-accusations)** > > FBI raid on BAPS temple in New Jersey leads to a lawsuit alleging labor violations, later withdrawn by some workers, sparking debate on implicating the entire Hindu American community based on false caste discrimination claims. The latest update I can find on the case says that still aren’t answers as to exactly why the accusations started, why they were withdrawn, or what was discovered as part of the federal investigation. > **[The Caste Pigeonhole and The Controversy Of The BAPS Temple Investigation](https://castefiles.com/caste-discrimination-or-human-trafficking-the-controversy-of-the-baps-temple-investigation)** > > Federal agents from multiple US organizations raided the BAPS Swaminarayan temple in New Jersey on May 11, 2021, freeing 90 alleged human trafficking victims. Accusations of caste discrimination quickly surfaced, linking the case to India's Prime... I did find a separate lawsuit against BAPS regarding a bunch of workers living crammed in a single home, in what is alleged to be dangerous conditions. Here are two articles from local NJ papers: > **[Doors, other exits blocked at house where 33 volunteers for Hindu temple...](https://www.nj.com/news/2023/04/doors-other-exits-blocked-at-house-where-33-volunteers-for-hindu-temple-lived-officials-say.html)** > > Dozens were sleeping in the two houses that authorities say were illegally turned into boarding homes. [_Robbinsville Township_ - Doors, other exits blocked at house where 33 volunteers for Hindu temple lived, Township officials say](https://www.robbinsville-twp.org/news_detail_T2_R626.php) As far as I can tell that lawsuit is still ongoing. No charges have been filed. But generally, from what I can tell, no, the story about forced labor is not true, despite allegations from years ago. That’s not to say that workers aren’t being exploited, but the allegations of forced labor were retracted and lawsuit dropped. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/26 "2025-04-03T20:31:26Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > Not ever going to happen in my world. I have to pay someone to cut my grass - I certainly can’t manage planting/harvesting lol. You must have really deep pockets ( jealous ) but if you get hungry enough, you might. It doesn’t take a lot for me to see that a bunch of ‘neighbors’ are going to turn to ‘poaching’. The problem is that, by me, poaching deer just gets you ‘dirty meat’ from animals eating contaminated food and drinking contaminated water. Companies that render meat already know about this problem… and know not to dirty their equipment with contaminated animal meat. Fish are one thing ( we’ve cleaned waters well before Rump ) but … well I pity the families that eat ‘dirty meat’. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/27 "2025-04-03T20:37:25Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > > [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > > > Q: At what point do we all start plowing under our front and back lawns… and start planting crops…? > > It doesn’t take a lot for me to see that a bunch of ‘neighbors’ are going to turn to ‘poaching’. The problem is that, by me, poaching deer just gets you ‘dirty meat’ from animals eating contaminated food and drinking contaminated water. Around here, in greater suburbia, the deer eat what you planted & we don’t even need to exit the house, merely opening a window to bag the long-legged, white-tailed rat bastards! ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/28 "2025-04-03T20:41:36Z")
Could my state have more of a chemical industry than yours…? Also, could raising a window and firing a long gun possibly break other windows? Deafen your pets? Deafen you ( or your family members ) ? It almost seems like what someone warned me about years ago ( was it here on this message board? ) about firing a gun inside a car with the windows closed or a house that has all windows closed and is well insulated. What I read was that the air pressure would turn your brains to mush, if they were not already. Please don’t suggest I post this in ‘Stupid Gun News’ as I am banned from that thread. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/29 "2025-04-03T21:21:22Z")
Thanks, I am trying to eat dinner and leave for CVS before they close. I will read those links when I get back from my errands. Not surprisingly, the initial story was (as I said) big news and reported everywhere in the tri state area. I never heard about the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/30 "2025-04-03T21:46:19Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > > [@Ellecram](#): > > > > Not ever going to happen in my world. I have to pay someone to cut my grass - I certainly can’t manage planting/harvesting lol. > > You must have really deep pockets ( jealous ) but if you get hungry enough, you might. > > It doesn’t take a lot for me to see that a bunch of ‘neighbors’ are going to turn to ‘poaching’. The problem is that, by me, poaching deer just gets you ‘dirty meat’ from animals eating contaminated food and drinking contaminated water. Companies that render meat already know about this problem… and know not to dirty their equipment with contaminated animal meat. Fish are one thing ( we’ve cleaned waters well before Rump ) but … well I pity the families that eat ‘dirty meat’. I’m 67 and physically disabled. I’ll survive as long as I can with what I can purchase. There is no way I could ever physically deal with planting and harvesting in my condition. Some days I can barely schlep myself to work and back. And then it’s a mental struggle just to get a shower and get ready for bed. If needed I have plans B and C to shuffle off to Buffalo or thereabouts. If relatives will have me. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/31 "2025-04-03T21:59:00Z")
I was more suggesting that w/o natural predators they are overrunning everything & walking right up to residences & eating what people have planted. In my neighborhood their tame but the next neighborhood a couple of miles up I could literally catch ‘em with a fishing net; there you can get within 5-10’ of them. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/32 "2025-04-03T22:01:25Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Not surprisingly, the initial story was (as I said) big news and reported everywhere in the tri state area. The _New York Times_ wrote an article with the allegations (as well as the _Al Jazeera_ article I posted, along with others), so I’m not surprised it got a lot of attention. The follow-up articles with the dropping of the lawsuit and the retraction of the accusations were published in much smaller places, so I’m also not surprised that part was missed. Splashy allegations are sexy and get you a lot of views. A follow-up a couple of years later where they admit that it wasn’t true is not nearly as exciting. (Note, I’m not saying they didn’t do anything wrong; that last allegation and lawsuit where workers were being housed in inhumane conditions that were potentially lethal and required EMTs to intervene is still ongoing as far as I can tell.) ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/33 "2025-04-03T23:43:48Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > I was more suggesting that w/o natural predators they are overrunning everything & walking right up to residences & eating what people have planted. > In my neighborhood their tame but the next neighborhood a couple of miles up I could literally catch ‘em with a fishing net; there you can get within 5-10’ of them. Ok then, what you seem to be describing is what I might call ‘varmint hunting’? We definitely live in different locales though. First, discharge w/i city (town?) limits will bring the police. Second, neighbors hearing gun shots around their spouses, kids, and houses would be all over you. Third, if it suddenly becomes acceptable to ‘start blastin’… well then other people on your street who might not be as skilled/trained as you… might ‘start blastin’ at things too. An example might be… car thieves or catalytic converter thieves? In my state, you can’t shoot at people who are just (attempting to?) steal property. If that changes, then you could have dead kids in the street. This could lead to either them carrying guns to shoot back at you or their families trying to come to your house with guns to shoot you. The police won’t be happy about ‘shoot outs’; your neighbors won’t either. In my state most houses are made with siding over drywall so there’s a good chance innocent people may get shot.as the entire region devolves 150 years. Look, I accept that you and I are not going to agree about this… and that I probably just wasted your time by typing this… but it really is how I see things and how it is where I live. I get it… where you live it’s different… but with how far the market went down today it’s not like I can sell and get enough money out of the deal to move elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/34 "2025-04-04T00:05:42Z")
People are hurrying and buying stuff that they fear might be too expensive in the days to come… I decided to do the same with medical procedures. So I made a boatload of appointments, and some have led to other ones (PT for sciatica wasn’t helping, they recommended a chiropractor). But my biggest one was lung and heart checkups because I’ve been getting winded just carrying stuff up a flight of stairs. So, got pulmonary and cardiac testing, including a radioactive infusion that made my blood give off gamma rays (“Hulk try not to smash!”). They imaged my heart, put me on a treadmill until I felt like giving up, then pumped me full of radioactive stuff and took pictures of my heart again. I was worried, because my sister and mother have heart issues (Mom had open heart surgery). But I got a report within two hours that said… [W A R N I N G : A N T I - R A N T] My heart’s fine! It just needs to be exercised more. My doctor sent me a note with congrats on passing the tests and detailing how much aerobic exercise I should get every day. I replied: So the only thing wrong with my heart is that its owner is lazy… ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/35 "2025-04-04T00:34:51Z")
Thanks! I read all the articles and shared links with my Gobhi in Facebook messenger. My take away- Complaining that armed law enforcement agents showed up with ambulances and emergency medical personell, is not IMO a valid complaint. When I was having small fires and explosions in my kitchen, I could not find a non emergency number for the local fire department. I ended up calling 911. A squad of firefighters in full gear showed up on a fire engine. That was the correct thing for them to do. If the government receives a credible claim of people being held against their will and used for forced labor, armed law enforcement and fully-staffed ambulances and busting in without giving any prior notice or asking permission is absolutely the right thing to do. I am unsure whether claims of caste discrimination would have been brought up if the workers were not from India. They might have been. AFAIK the average American has a vague idea of what castes are and thinks they still exist in India. I don’t think the average American knows that castes exist in other countries. I really should find out what caste my Gobhi is. IIRC her mother’s family claims descent from Viassa. OTTOMH (This is from an English adaptation of the epic poem The Mahabharata) Spoilered in case nobody cares. A king took a nap in a forest. He had a wet dream. When he woke up, he saw his sperm on a leaf. He called a bird to carry the leaf and the sperm to the queen, so it would create a child instead of being wasted. The bird flew off but was shot by a hunter. It fell into a lake and the leaf and sperm were eaten by a fish. A fisherman eventually caught the fish. When he cut it open to gut it, he found a small human girl. The fisherman raised the girl as his own. She was beautiful but always smelled like fish. One day, a wandering holy man came to the area. He was enamored with the girl and sexually propositioned her. She refused only because they were out in the open and everybody would see. The holy man used his powers to draw a dense fog over the land. He and the woman made love. After that she no longer smelled like rotten fish. She was sweet and fragrant. She bore a child. That child was Viassa. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/36 "2025-04-04T00:49:37Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Complaining that armed law enforcement agents showed up with ambulances and emergency medical personell, is not IMO a valid complaint. When I was having small fires and explosions in my kitchen, I could not find a non emergency number for the local fire department. I ended up calling 911. A squad of firefighters in full gear showed up on a fire engine. That was the correct thing for them to do. If the government receives a credible claim of people being held against their will and used for forced labor, armed law enforcement and fully-staffed ambulances and busting in without giving any prior notice or asking permission is absolutely the right thing to do. I agree; raids are necessary at times to prevent evidence from being destroyed, hidden, or removed when conducting a slower investigation or one that has prior notification. It’s easy to claim an overreaction when looking back in hindsight, when the accusers have made retractions, but the authorities didn’t know at the time that the claims were inaccurate and I presume they had enough evidence to get a warrant so thought that what they did was justified. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/37 "2025-04-04T01:07:10Z")
I’m happy to report that my mini-rant in post #2 has been solved on the second try. I logged on today, jumped through their typical e-commerce hoops and successfully sent a few shekels to a county tax collector on the far side of the country. Yaay! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/38 "2025-04-04T01:12:01Z")
Another anti-rant in the Department of Good News. Due to my delinquency in refilling some ongoing cardiac-related medication, Lipitor, and some other stuff needed in the short term, I had quite the haul at the drugstore today. As an Old Fart, I’m covered under the provincial drug plan, but since it’s not part of basic health care coverage, there’s a $100 annual deductible and also dispensing fees. As small as they are, they’re not covered. We recently had a lively argument as to whether dispensing fees should be considered a kind of co-pay, and I guess they are. So today I was hoping that much or all of the $100 deductible had been used up. Imagine my surprise when all my medications were absolutely free – no deductible, no dispensing fee. Something has changed, but I don’t follow all the details of policy changes to know what it is. I just know that I love this country! 🙂 Now if we could just eliminate parking fees at hospitals, things would be super peachy! ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/39 "2025-04-04T01:15:30Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > Ok then, what you seem to be describing is what I might call ‘varmint hunting’? We definitely live in different locales though. First, discharge w/i city (town?) limits will bring the police. Reread my post. I never said I _was_ leaning out the window blasting away, only that I _could_ do that & have a short distance to target. Yup, illegal &, more importantly, not safe given how close neighbor’s houses are but those frikin’ things have no natural enemies & very little fear of humans. They’ll walk right up to your house & eat whatever you’ve planted, whether that’s flowers or a garden. There are way to many of them for the ecosystem to support & they are decimating the next generation of trees by eating all the leaves off the saplings. OTOH, I have _thought_ about buying a BB gun. Quiet enough, non-lethal enough, & maybe it’ll cause them just enough pain to stay away. They are seriously the wild animal I am most afraid of. We don’t have lions, tigers, bears, or Oh-my’s around here but between all the car accidents & the deer ticks/lyme disease I am honestly a bit scared of them. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445/40 "2025-04-04T01:33:00Z")
Hmm, guns too loud and unsafe? Have you considered a bow or crossbow? Wait. You said they let you approach them. You can safely and quietly behead them with a samurai sword! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-sours-monthly-mini-rants/1016445.md?page=3)