So much for the Emoluments clause

Corollary data for cyclist fatalities shows a similar increase over the same timeframe https://bikeleague.org/new-fatality-data-for-2021-shows-increase-in-bicyclist-deaths/

Of the 1,230 bicyclist deaths in 2021, 853 died in motor-vehicle crashes and 377 in other incidents, according to National Center for Health Statistics mortality data. https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics/bicycle-deaths

It will be difficult to do, though, without alienating the people in the country who have incorporated Trump into their political identity

They’re already alienated, there’s likely nothing Biden could possibly do that would earn him their votes.

The question is- can Biden afford to alienate the folks who are against US support of Israeli occupation and genocide? If they stay home, the GOP wrecking crew may get another 4 years of opportunity to dismantle American democracy. Is it safe to bet that they’ll hold their nose and vote against the greater evil?

I’m not 100% sure how much of the Democratic party (or independents) would find it to be a deal-breaker if Biden were to take a critical stance of Israeli occupation and genocide, nor am I certain of how many likely-democratic voters find it a deal-breaker if Biden continues to give Israel military support without conditions. It seems likely to me that if Biden doesn’t address this issue directly and clearly, he will lose one or the other of these groups and I worry he can’t afford that in 2024

I’m encouraged to hear that he’s talking with historians on the current moment; there’s a lot going on right now that if he just follows politics-as-usual may result in a failure of democracy in the United States.

The deficits in trust the Democratic party are experiencing today might be unprecedented in modern US politics, but the pattern on display bears striking similarity to the politics of the Antebellum period in the United States, and there are also stark parallels to be drawn between US politics today and that of Weimar Germany in the 1920s.

The last thing Biden can afford to do is double down on the status quo. Although his admin has been doing yeoman’s work in bringing back progressive policy, I worry that his political instincts on Gaza will have him rush to the “middle ground” to appease the right, when really that isn’t a middle ground at all- and in doing that he risks squandering whatever goodwill he’s accumulated among likely democratic voters.

Now to stop talking crazy: The harm caused is extremely rare, and the percentage of affected people is quite small.

True, and worth extending: for example, the cardiomyopathy (heart inflammation) known to affect some people (particularly, young men): if we’re evaluating the risks of taking a vaccine vs. not taking it, we also have to consider the risks of not taking the vaccine.

It turns out that incidence of cardiomyopathy in young men that didn’t receive the vaccine but were infected is higher than its incidence among young men that got the vaccine- and if anything, the immune reaction to the live virus (it causes the body to attack heart tissue) is stronger and more lethal than the reaction to the vaccine.

This means that the people arguing ‘but the vaccine has risks!’ as an argument against receiving it aren’t considering the risks associated with rejecting it. If you think about it, your odds of being exposed to the virus are basically 100% given enough time, and basically every adverse reaction to the vaccine will be milder than the same reaction to the live virus.

One interesting corollary to the bicameral mind theory is that our brains have multiple sentient centers to them- that in turn might explain that feeling of struggling with a decision and being able to see the same thing from more than one point of view. It also explains why different parts of the brain light up in different situations

Translation: get over that we’re taking away your rights. We’ll give you some privilege we can take back whenever we want to in exchange for your votes for long enough for us to take away voting rights and then we won’t have to offer you shit

This sort of thing helps me understand why the first thing the house GOP majority leader demanded was defunding of the IRS. Not only is their commanding majority for the next generation on the high court vulnerable if the justices are audited, the new house majority leader has shady finances and claims not to have a bank account with any reportable amount of money in it

Yeah I hope they get audited and it’s uncomfortable AF

I landed in DeWalt when their cordless devices became as good as/better than corded tools; I standardized on their battery platform only for them to abandon my battery and roll out a new (incompatible) one. Shortly thereafter my batteries bricked and it seems the business model is to force consumers to buy new tools every so often

FML I hate it that they’re all proprietary and incompatible

While it’s nice to hear that Biden is ‘under pressure’ about this, I wish it took something less than obvious genocide and a near-global consensus that these are crimes against humanity for any sort of media to register it.

I honestly don’t understand why Biden is so hawkish on this; it’s not like giving Israel carte blanche will get him support from Republicans, and doing it really does appear to divide the left enough to hurt him politically.

Apparently Russia called for a meeting of the UN Security Council to complain about Ukraine fighting back

LOL no fair when you fight back, it’s violence! /s

Ehhh. For the range-anxious until charging infra catches up, there can be PHEVs.

I’ve been excited to have my next vehicle be a BEV for a while now, but having rented a Tesla while on vacation in Michigan (where the infra wasn’t exactly good for it) I understand why people might have reservations about jumping in with both feet. Also now that I’ve interacted with the vehicles and got a better idea of Tesla as a company, I won’t be buying one.

For the moment, given my use cases (I periodically have to drive between western WA and central UT) my next vehicle will likely be a PHEV unless there are real breakthroughs in EVs (fuel cells? swappable battery standards?) or charging infra where I need it.

Oh, no!

Did their feelings get hurt?

That’s just a shame, if it keeps going like this anyone that acts like an antisocial asshole could be criticized for it, too.

It’s a slippery slope, y’all /s

That’s a lot of words to say “Trump plans to lie his ass off and attack anyone enforcing the laws”

Isn’t Trump’s victory predicated on an electoral college victory?

It doesn’t have to be. If there are enough splits to deny any candidate an outright majority in the EC, the task of choosing a president falls to the congress in the ‘contingent election’ procedure, whereby state congressional delegations each have 1 vote. If 26 states have republican delegations (which seems plausible, given how many states are controlled by the gop) it’s very likely Trump wins if it goes to a contingent election.

If anything, this supports the argument against voting 3rd party protest votes in any FPTP election

Well, good.

Yes, telling the truth that he’s in legal trouble is “propaganda” and it hurts his political prospects. MAGA Attorney solution: Lie!

almost nobody is making Plug-in Hybrids and they cost an absolute fuck ton of money.

The 2024 Prius prime starts at $33k, is a PHEV https://www.kbb.com/phev/best-phev-cars/2024/

BMW, Volvo, Mercedes are also making PHEVs for 2024 model year So are Chrysler, Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, Porsche, Land Rover https://www.autoweek.com/rankings/g45455983/best-plug-in-hybrids/

There are some really expensive ones on that list, but a half-dozen under $45k

Look at the new “Ram Charger” that works like you describe

Yeah a lot of the hybrid offerings in the truck market are really not targeting the budget market at all- some of them seem to reflect automaker bets that truck buyers want more power and don’t want to compromise on towing or range. Other hybrid trucks (looking at you, Toyota) aren’t using their hybrid systems to improve fuel economy, they’re using them to juice performance.

but now it’s apparently too much since he no longer agrees with their message

Yep, sure has ‘don’t make me uncomfortable for having politics that sanction oppression’ energy to it.