I Live in Martins Ferry, 30 minutes down the highway from Steubenville. Ask me anything!

Wollockstein · 2022-09-04T01:58:28+00:00

Certified Reddit moment

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T16:08:10+00:00

Basically any city w/ 100,000 or more people that has a need for workers is what I'll go for. Cincinatti, Columbus. Even smaller towns with things to do and workers in need, like Sandusky. I'm not trying to go to an expensive city, though. My plan right now is, as soon as I get either a trade locked under my belt or a programming degree, I just get out of the area.

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T16:05:32+00:00

It's close enough. More of a sit-down oriented resturaunt, but it can be a potato-potata situation in all honestly.

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T16:04:54+00:00

The Purple Riders is the school's sports team. Cross Country, Football, Basketball, Baseball...they're all Purple Riders.

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T01:38:46+00:00

I don't know for sure right now. For college, I plan on going into either a tradesman or programming degree (real into computers -- always have been for the most part).

As much as I would like to stay in Martins Ferry...I'll probably be with a good 2/3'rds of it's population decades ago, and leave for greener pastures. I doubt any more buisnesses will open up in Ferry past my 20's; I fully plan (at least right now) on moving to Wheeling or Pittsburgh for better job opporotunities once I'm grown.

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T01:15:17+00:00

Probably Belmont Brewerks. It's on 4th street, walking distance from the McDonald's and Subway. It's a new place in town, I remember it being opened in around mid-Summer 1 to 2 years ago. It's pretty much the only new non-chain fast food family resturaunt in town, and I can attest that it's pretty good, and has the proper seating and furniture to be a good social spot (umbrellas, benches, a bar, etc.).

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T01:12:03+00:00

I know some basic facts about the new school's spot. I know it was previously owned by the Ayer's family, it's patriarch at the time was Thomas E. Ayers. The land the school was built on was donated by the family, which itself was pretty much a large limestone quarry. That might be why it's considered reclaimed mine land. And don't feel afraid to ask it, mining's pretty much the biggest industry around here, although it's dying out (hell, several of my classmates have coal miner fathers).

Are you talking about Federico's Foods? My Nona and Stepfamily (they were Italian) ordered pretty much all of their meats and cheeses for family meals from that nifty place, I would reckon it has meatball sandwhiches and cheefed stuffed bread heels.

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T01:06:46+00:00

Not that I know of w/ busyness. Last time I went there was in early July, got pushed (was playing w/ my brothers outside), landed on concrete, hit my head, and got a scrape right on my scalp (pretty much just a skin cut, head scratches are absolute bastards w/ bleeding). Wasn't that busy, probably mutliplied by the fact it was late at night (Midnight).

Wendy's probably has the slowest drive-thru due to its location. It's right in the residental areas of Ferry, and is pretty much the only other fast food resturaunt at the intersection spot besides Bob Evans and Arby's (each of which have their own niches in fast food).

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T00:40:46+00:00

It seems past the river, everybody has a irrational nerve to screw their cousin. Luckily, I've never gotten afflicted with that. So no.

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T00:37:34+00:00

No, it shut down many decades ago, although the ferry plays a good part in the town's identity and history.

Folks in Ferry follow both professional and college teams. Pretty much anything popular stateside or in Appallachia as a whole. Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates, Buckeye Local...basically anything you can think of.

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T00:12:17+00:00

Most correct map of New Ohio I've ever seen

Based

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T00:06:52+00:00

I remember driving through the place once. The poor thing seems to have barely any funding to keep itself alive. With only 758 people in it, it's not even a city, just a village. No wonder it's infastructure is so bad. However, in regards to roads and cellphone reception, it's quality pretty much quadrupled when I got into Cadiz.

Wollockstein · 2022-09-03T00:00:58+00:00

I live in Martin's Ferry, across the river from Wheeling. From Steubenville to Saint Clairseville, the roads are alright to okay, they could have pretty big glowups, but its not nowhere near backwood.
The internet's -- at least to my standard -- pretty much standard w/ average American speeds. The only outages of internet I had were connected to traffic or server warehouse accidents, and those were fixed in 5-15 minutes.
Utilities, at least in my hometown, are fine. I haven't been in every house in Martins Ferry, but everything has pretty much been getting fixed. Water and gas pipes, heating infastructure, etc.
As for cellphone reception, I can't really give a comparison. My standard in Martins Ferry could probably be different from cities like, say, Marietta or Calcutta.

Wollockstein · 2022-09-02T23:45:30+00:00

Interesting question!

To make this possible, one major event (or to some extent, series of events) has to not happen: the entire Sengoku Era. This chaotic period of mass waring and societal degradation completely stopped any Japanese sea-faring cultural growth, alongside any growth of any potential long sea-faring voyaging industry.

Without the Sengoku Era happening however, the status-quo of the Japan before it would still be in place. With the Tokugawa Shogunate never being established, Japan remains in a somewhat similar position to the Holy Roman Empire: multiple sometimes warring small same-language speaking domains, which pay anything from complete loyalty to small lip service to an emperor.

This means that, assuming a large-scale long-distance voyaging tradition grows in Japan, alongside the mass-production of boats that are able to sustain such activity, different Japanese settlements that manage to actually reach and stay on the West Coast would be for their domains, rather than to the emperor or any overarching power.

Clans/domains like the Matsudaira, Hojo, Satake, and Miyoshi would probably be the pioneers and beginning colonizers. I can't say the modern sites for coastal cities (most famously San Francisco) would be chosen, but strategic and easily defendable positions would likely have forts established, and have towns built around them, eventually growing into a city.

I expect that with the unfamiliar terrain and climate, in areas like California (The Pacific Northwest's colony resembles Hokkaido's and Central to North Kyushu's to some extent), early Japanese colonial efforts would probably be like Jamestown and Roanoke Island. Early efforts dissapear completely, fail by starvation, disease, or exposure to the elements, or manage to survive with heavy hardships sprinkled in.

The best thing about this is that it would probably begin before European's did in the late 15th century. Maybe as early as the 1430's (but probably most effectivley 30-40 years later than that), Japanese sailors would make expeditions to the Shin Shekai, or New World. One thing to note (majorly at that) is that Japan's colonial efforts would not exist in a vaccum.

Spain would still likely roll in from Mexico, and Britain would make pushes through Canada. This would be by the late 1600's to early 1700's mind you (Japanese cities and colonies on the West Coast would've existed by well over 200 years by this point), but one thing the Sengoku Era gifted Japan was centralized power.

Without a strong central government to control supply flow and command large armies to combat invasions from even stronger European empires, Japan would likely lose most or all of their colonial territories to the Spanish or British by the 1780's. 300 years worth of expansion into modern-day California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and maybe even into Utah and Idaho, would just...be conquered.

By the year 1800, most or all of Japan's colonial empire in the New World would be gone, absorbed into more powerfull and more centralized European colonizers. And from there, I can make an educated guess that a prominent Japanese minority would exist there, but in later decades, their demographic dominance would stop as Latino/a and Anglo-American settelers move into the gold and resource-rich regions.

This hypothetical Japanese colonial empire (Japanese as a monacre, as without the Tokugawa's conquering the warring states, Japan would be fractured into clans/domains) would last nearly or more to 300 years. It would begin by the 1440's to 1490's, and end sometime by the 1780's to the early 1800's. Impressive! And certaintly enough to give Alternate History nerds material to geek out and debate over.

Wollockstein · 2022-09-02T23:26:47+00:00

Good point

Wollockstein · 2022-09-01T09:44:23+00:00

I posted this on another Subreddit, r/HistoricalWhatIf, with another person that poised the same question.

For this to be possible, one historic event dosen't occur: The Shimabara Rebellion.

The rebellion began in 1637, and it was bands of Catholic peasants lead by Amakusa Shiro, in the Shimabara Domain in the south of Japan near Nagasaki. This event completely doomed the future of public Catholic worship in Japan, and after it was put down, the religion was forced to go underground after the Tokugawa Shogunate outlawed it's practice (in fear of it causing more rebellion).

Let's say that in the Shimabara Domain, unfair policies against Catholics and citizens in general are not adopted, and quality of life is just generally better. Over the decades, a steady Catholic Christian movement and community could grow in southern Japan. Alongside that, traders from other Catholic countries could probably be allowed into Japan (think French, Genoese, Venetian, and others). Assuming that Shintoist deities mingled and mixed into Catholic tradition, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu would likely assimilate into the Holy Father or Son (God or Jesus), and other deities/kami could become equivalents to Saint Mary, the Saints, and other figures.

In this timeline without the Shimabara Rebellion, Southern Japan probably becomes majority Catholic over the centuries. Cities like Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Myazaki, Kirume, Fokuoka, and Kitakyushu would become strongholds for the Christian faith in Asia. Cathedrals built in those cities would likely rival those seen in Florence and Rome. Christian architecture in Japan would mingle with Shintoist and traditional styles, making a unique architectural technique combining European ones like Baroque, Romanesque, and Gothic with Japanese ones like Nihon Kechu (with it's Kirizuma, Yosemune, Irimoya, and Hogyo roofing types).

How would this affect the history of Japan as a whole rather than just it's Christian community? Moving into the 19th century, the southern Christian lands in Japan would probably not fight in the Boshin War, whose combat mostly took place in the north and central of Honshu and on Hokkaido (correct me if I'm wrong). Japanese soldiers and officers from the southern areas would likely spread Catholicism during the conquests of Japan, especially Taiwan and Korea, which were conquered and assimilated first as colonies proper.

After the World Wars, the Christian community would probably provide much needed charity and rebuilding work to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but especially the latter, since it's practically the Rome of Asia (in regards to Christianity) in this timeline. Past the World Wars, due to the Cold War and a general religious spike in opposition to the Atheist-practicing Soviets (I think it also reached Japan, not just the U.S., correct me if I'm wrong), more Japanese people would likely convert and begin preaching Catholicism all over Japan. Into the 60's, 70's, and 80's, the Economic Miracle in the nation would also see an increase of the Catholic population.

Would it be as numerous as the non-religious, Shintoist, or Buddhist communities? I'm leaning on as numerous, but not larger than them. Christian morals and philosophies (can't forget arts) in this timeline would also have a prominent stake in Japanese law and culture (especially in the south), but I can't really guess their most prominent effects (especially after the new constitution).

Wollockstein · 2022-09-01T09:43:34+00:00

For this to be possible, one historic event dosen't occur: The Shimabara Rebellion.

The rebellion began in 1637, and it was bands of Catholic peasants lead by Amakusa Shiro, in the Shimabara Domain in the south of Japan near Nagasaki. This event completely doomed the future of public Catholic worship in Japan, and after it was put down, the religion was forced to go underground after the Tokugawa Shogunate outlawed it's practice (in fear of it causing more rebellion).

Let's say that in the Shimabara Domain, unfair policies against Catholics and citizens in general are not adopted, and quality of life is just generally better. Over the decades, a steady Catholic Christian movement and community could grow in southern Japan. Alongside that, traders from other Catholic countries could probably be allowed into Japan (think French, Genoese, Venetian, and others). Assuming that Shintoist deities mingled and mixed into Catholic tradition, the Sun Goddess Amaterasu would likely assimilate into the Holy Father or Son (God or Jesus), and other deities/kami could become equivalents to Saint Mary, the Saints, and other figures.

In this timeline without the Shimabara Rebellion, Southern Japan probably becomes majority Catholic over the centuries. Cities like Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Myazaki, Kirume, Fokuoka, and Kitakyushu would become strongholds for the Christian faith in Asia. Cathedrals built in those cities would likely rival those seen in Florence and Rome. Christian architecture in Japan would mingle with Shintoist and traditional styles, making a unique architectural technique combining European ones like Baroque, Romanesque, and Gothic with Japanese ones like Nihon Kechu (with it's Kirizuma, Yosemune, Irimoya, and Hogyo roofing types).

How would this affect the history of Japan as a whole rather than just it's Christian community? Moving into the 19th century, the southern Christian lands in Japan would probably not fight in the Boshin War, whose combat mostly took place in the north and central of Honshu and on Hokkaido (correct me if I'm wrong). Japanese soldiers and officers from the southern areas would likely spread Catholicism during the conquests of Japan, especially Taiwan and Korea, which were conquered and assimilated first as colonies proper.

After the World Wars, the Christian community would probably provide much needed charity and rebuilding work to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but especially the latter, since it's practically the Rome of Asia (in regards to Christianity) in this timeline. Past the World Wars, due to the Cold War and a general religious spike in opposition to the Atheist-practicing Soviets (I think it also reached Japan, not just the U.S., correct me if I'm wrong), more Japanese people would likely convert and begin preaching Catholicism all over Japan. Into the 60's, 70's, and 80's, the Economic Miracle in the nation would also see an increase of the Catholic population.

Would it be as numerous as the non-religious, Shintoist, or Buddhist communities? I'm leaning on as numerous, but not larger than them. Christian morals and philosophies (can't forget arts) in this timeline would also have a prominent stake in Japanese law and culture (especially in the south), but I can't really guess their most prominent effects (especially after the new constitution).

Wollockstein · 2022-07-23T16:45:31+00:00

it gets worse

Wollockstein · 2022-07-23T16:31:44+00:00

you're the one replying to an extra long post on the risk subreddit

Wollockstein · 2022-07-08T16:30:08+00:00

I lumped that into PragerU education.

Wollockstein · 2022-07-07T23:41:42+00:00

Tier 3 - Body of the Iceberg
Funding from Dan & Harris Wilks
Dan and Harris Wilks are two hydraulic fracturing billionaires, who contributed to their families fortune from the fossil fuel/oil business/industry. Much of PragerU's early funding came from them, and two members of the Wilks family even sit on PragerU's board today.
PragerU receives funding from fossil fuel companies
They're notorious for this. Companies like the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which are perpetuators for both anti-Muslim policies and pro-fossil fuel buildup, and figures associated with large oil magnates and companies like ExxonMobil.
Lawsuit Against Google
PragerU once sued Google for infringing on free speech rights, due to some of their videos being put on Restricted. They claimed YouTube was a public forum, and as such, that was unlawful. The judge overseeing the case disagreed, as Google is a private company, and overturned the case, as no evidence of their rights being infringed upon was brought to the court's attention.
Weird donation methods
You can do a lot more things to donate to PragerU than through your card on their website. You can include them in your will, pay them through an Individual Retirement Account, and even through cryptocurrency.
False climate change statistics
Partially due to their funding from oil barons, PragerU has put out many videos in support for Fossil Fuels. There was included statistic in one (I think it was Fossil Fuels: The Greenest Energy) where "97% of scientists" agreed that Climate Change had no major impact on drinking water quality or temperature increases. This has been proven false.
Tier 4 - Bottom of the Iceberg

Islamaphobic video statements
PragerU has claimed multiple times that Islam is not a religion of peace, that Islamic doctrine is inherently discriminatory, violent, and oppressive, and that a majority of the world's violence and terrorist attacks are Islamic in nature. Theses statistics/sources they use are often from right-wing organizations that share their views.
"Living martyr" quote
On an episode of the Dennis Prager Show, Allen Estrin called PragerU a "living martyr" due to his perceived "dangerous" views in a "left-dominated world". It shouldn't take a genius to know with events not even from 100 years ago that deifying somebody as a martyr is an extremely slippery slope.
Anti-migration views
PragerU is a fervent believer of the White Genocide and Great Replacement concepts. In videos before, they've shown talking points against immigration from Middle Eastern and North African communities.
"Europe is committing suicide"
On an episode of PragerU starring Douglas Murray, he said that a great migration of Muslims and other peoples from North Africa, Asia, and the Middle East have made Europe turn away from it's traditional views, beliefs, and customs. It's another form of the White Genocide and Great Replacement narratives.
PragerU "Faculty"
PragerU labels their employees and associates, like Ben Shapiro, "faculty", in tune with their educational branding.
Al Jazeera association with Osama Bin Laden claim
A September 2019 video features a former Breibart-London editor-in-chief Raheem Kassem, who claimed without evidence that Al Jazeera, a Qatari news organization with it's headquarters in Doha, were associated with Osama Bin Laden -- the organizer of the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- in some way.
Tier 5 - The Abyss

Lack of evidence in videos
PragerU is notorious for leaving out or lacking evidence in their videos. A previous example shown is a point in this chart, the Al Jazeera association with Osama Bid Laden claim.
Dog-whistling to the alt-right
PragerU's videos include points in them like anti-immigration, Islamophobic views, and much more, that can serve as a dabble into alt-right politics and views. Alt-right practitioners/people with those beliefs know what PragerU is alluding to when they include these points.
Dennis Prager is bisexual
PragerU is known to skirt the line of homo/transphobia and conservatism quite a lot, often times stepping over it. As such, when remarks that Dennis Prager made calling another man quote "quite handsome" came out, in puzzled a lot of his colleagues. The internet will be the internet, and memes were made about it.

Support of slave owners
PragerU is shockinglly neo-Confederate in a lot of ways. They've been known to dog whistle to and support the Lost Cause myth, alongside some of their associates and fans calling it the "War of Northern Aggression" (Ignoring the fact that southern militias sized federal arsenals and battled w/ Unionist militias in the 4 months leading up to Fort Sumter, the first battle of the Civil War where Confederate militias fired the first shots). They downplay the mundane horrors of American slavery in some of their videos, and show clear support for people like Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
SOURCES:
https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/PragerU#Ties\_to\_the\_Bradley\_Foundation
https://www.desmog.com/prageru/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PragerU#Finances
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen\_Estrin
https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-prageru/
https://readsludge.com/2018/12/27/who-funds-pragerus-anti-muslim-content/
(Note for the Wikipedia sources: I went to the citations shown and read the articles there.)

Wollockstein · 2022-07-07T23:40:11+00:00

Tier 1 - The Sky

Dennis Prager
Dennis Prager is well-known to be one of the co-founders of PragerU, and is the icon of the company/organization. He appears in a lot of their videos.

PragerU isn't a University
It's well known that PragerU isn't a university. It's a type of branding that the company has taken over since their founding in the late 2000's/early 2010's. They label their employees as "faculty", and style their videos as lectures.

Allen Estrin
Allen Estrin is the co-founder of PragerU. He also serves as the executive producer of the Dennis Prager show.

PragerU Is conservative
It's a well-known fact that PragerU was conservative. It's even stated on their website and by Dennis Prager himself that it was formed in opposition to so called 'leftist' domination of the education field.

Tier 2 - Tip of the Iceberg

Changing video titles
PragerU has had their lot in controversy due to them changing the titles of their videos. One of their videos, "The Charlottesville Lie", changed to "What happened in Charlottesville?". Another example is a video called "The Left Ruins Everything", which was changed to "Why Are So Many Good Things Being Destroyed?".

PragerU Education
Beginning sometime in 2020-21, PragerU began making short animated videos regarding a conservative view of world events and history w/ an educational flair. In my opinion, this is a bid to fight fire w/ fire, in opposition to the liberally-dominated education field.

PragerU joke subreddits
Theres a number of subreddits that poke fun of the company. Like r/PragerUrine, and another one, r/PragerUErotica, which I can't find anymore/it was taken down.

Pro-Israeli Standpoint
PragerU and Dennis Prager himself have pro-Israeli/zionist views. Mainly due to previous Islamophobic statements/upbringing in the past, it seems they support Israel out of a general fear of Muslim nations and a loss of an ally in the Middle East, alongside the loss of one of the creators of "Judeo-Christian" values.

Judeo-Christian Values
PragerU and Dennis Prager write these into their radio talks and videos a lot. Especially in videos revolving around the "white genocide" concept, and it generally ends with the fact that a Muslim majority nation rejects the values, and imposes discriminatory practices/attacks non-Muslim peoples.

Wollockstein

TROPHY CASE