But first I think he's going to pardon Hunter Biden. He'll get to look like he's rising above politics (despite Hunter not being a political figure) while painting Democrats as hypocrites for prosecuting their political rivals. Then he'll pardon anyone associated with January 6th, using the Biden pardon as cover. Then, once he's proven all the fascist rhetoric wrong, he'll seek his revenge.

Private insurance used to offer flood insurance like 100 years ago, but to stay in business they had to raise premiums to a point where no one could realistically afford it (which is to say that living in a flood zone is not financially feasible for most people). The government had to step in with their own flood insurance program, which was tied to regulation intending to minimize the risk of flooding in at-risk zones so that premiums could remain affordable. Even these measures haven't been sufficient to keep the program from running out of money, and we've been subsidizing it with taxpayer bailouts to keep it afloat.

All this is to say that private insurance is literally incapable of insuring against flood damage, so you can't blame them for any of this. If you want to blame someone, blame Trump for rolling back standards that would have allowed FEMA to consider climate change in their risk models.

They fact-checked constantly during the first half, which was a huge improvement over former debates. Honestly I thought this was better moderated than any previous debate involving Trump.

Harris campaign requested unmuted mics - it was Trump's team that was worried about him making an ass of himself with interruptions. With that in mind they might be letting him talk because it's what Harris wanted in the first place.

When my wife told me what he said I assumed it was an onion article. When she said it was real I assumed it was taken out of context - surely there was some policy proposal behind these comments, like a new federal stipend for caretakers. Nope - he genuinely seems to believe that the government's role in childcare is reminding parents that they can ask friends/family for help, as if there's a struggling parent out there who needs to hear this. I really don't understand who he's trying to reach with these comments - it's like reminding homeless people that they can panhandle if they're struggling, which is an obtuse way of saying "fuck you, you're on your own."

Cheney is a fascinating example of how you can support every conservative policy and still be considered a RINO for suggesting that Trump shouldn't be in charge. She's proof that you can't be a Republican today without kissing the ring.

The way I see it a day might come when I have to explain to my kids what I did to try to make a better future for them. I could tell them I worked hard to put a roof over their head. I could tell them I changed my lifestyle to try to reduce my carbon footprint. If Trump wins I expect they'll want to know what I did about that. I don't have time to volunteer, but if $100 can help pay for an ad in a swing state and win Harris half a vote, that's better than nothing. Then I can tell my kids I tried to protect their access to abortion, tried to slow down climate change, tried to depoliticize the Supreme Court, tried to strengthen our alliance with Europe, and tried to keep hate and bigotry from having a voice in our government.

Trump's cognitive deficiencies are old news, whereas the Biden we're seeing now is unrecognizable from the last campaign. Given the narrow margin Biden won by last time, that should be concerning to his supporters. You really think this is a media conspiracy?

Reforming the Supreme Court was basically Pete's thing during the primaries. He was talking about it years before Roe, Chevron, and absolute immunity. He suggested adding 6 more judges, 5 of which would be rotating appointments by the other 10. It's a shame Biden won't do anything about this - especially when there are other leaders in the party who would.

One clone so that I can be a stay-at-home dad without losing my income. Finally finish grad school and fix up the house. Show my kid the world when they get old enough to appreciate it. Get a second job once they start school - something to get me outside, or working with people face-to-face. That would be amazing.

Sometimes I wonder if international laws against genocide have done more harm than good. When we see atrocities occurring where it's strategically inconvenient to intervene we look the other way or squabble over legal definitions - anything to excuse ourselves from getting involved. The results are no different than if these laws did not exist, except that we are also complicit in denial, which in itself is a terrible thing.

I was about to make this same comment, but I looked up some statistics and it seems that COVID still has a 10x hospitalization rate and 3-4x death rate among seniors as compared to seasonal flu. While it's fair to say that COVID is probably seasonal now, like the flu, I think it's important to acknowledge that it's much more dangerous. I was never one to get flu shots in the past, but COVID shots seem like a good idea. I'll probably stay home from work longer if I do catch COVID, and I'll probably wear a mask if I have to go out in public before I'm fully recovered. I think we just need to recalibrate our common sense for this new reality.

https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Blog/Pages/Flu-or-COVID-19---Which-is-Worse.aspx