https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/03/climate-crisis-on-track-to-destroy-capitalism-warns-allianz-insurer?utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=gnews&utm_campaign=CDAQzYiJy5rl5IEnGKbb_4uMxa_9jgEqEAgAKgcICjDCjqoLMMKZwgM&utm_content=bullets

Real climate change impacts continue to show up first and most strongly in the insurance industry.

«Among cultural organizations, the Smithsonian — with its exhibitions on first ladies’ gowns, space travel and the Star-Spangled Banner — hardly has a reputation for edginess. But the executive order echoes some complaints aired in a 2023 congressional hearing, where some Republicans accused the Smithsonian of “left indoctrination,” and raised questions about drag events and about a graphic posted online by the African American history museum in May 2020 that referred to “hard work,” “individualism” and “the nuclear family” as part of “white culture.”

The graphic, removed six weeks later after it was criticized by Donald Trump Jr. and other conservatives, was cited in the president’s order.»

Government by (not very smart) right-wing news and social media. Perfect.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/arts/design/smithsonian-trump-executive-order.html?unlocked_article_code=1.804.-wsp.x_Rv99FVqaSl&smid=url-share (gift)

Everybody’s freaking out again, and we’ll see how all this shakes out, but… waivers and favors, baby. Waivers and favors.

Kind of amazing to me that 30% of eligible Americans actively voted for this while another 30% said, “whatever y’all decide, it’s fine with me,” but whatever… 🤷‍♂️

https://data4democracy.substack.com/p/does-higher-turnout-now-help-republicans

«Registered Democrats made up a much larger share of non-voters (15.2 million or 38.8%) than registered Republicans (7.7 million or 19.6%), with Independents/Other affiliations constituting the largest group (16.3 million or 41.6%). This means that nearly twice as many Democrats as Republicans sat out the election—a stark contrast to claims that increased turnout would benefit Republicans.»

…

«The data reveals that Republicans consistently turn out at higher rates than Democrats—often by substantial margins—regardless of which sample definition we use.»

…

«These findings run counter to claims that higher turnout would benefit Republicans. While 2024 patterns may differ from previous cycles, the historical evidence is clear: across multiple recent elections, non-voters have maintained a consistent and substantial Democratic lean—often by substantial margins.

We’ll have more definitive evidence when the 2024 CCES data is released, but the existing survey data provides no support for the narrative that non-voters now favor Republicans.»

So, voter suppression remains the name of the game.

«One reason to be concerned about embracing the narrative that increased turnout hurts Democrats is that it would discourage the party from adopting the vocally pro-voting messaging that helped fuel their success in the 2018 midterms. In that election, Democrats successfully mobilized their lower-propensity voters, achieving extraordinary turnout for a midterm election—even as measures of ideology showed Democratic candidates as a group veering to the left.»

…

«Ultimately, this debate will be settled by data, not theory. When the 2024 CCES results become available, we’ll be able to directly test whether non-voters have indeed shifted toward Republicans as dramatically as Shor suggests.

For now, the evidence from voter files and recent survey data points to a different conclusion: Democrats’ primary challenge isn’t that high turnout inherently favors Republicans, but that they’re consistently losing the mobilization battle with their own registered supporters.»

«“Why are you looking at me?” Dirk said. “Are you saying—”

“He’s not saying anything to you, Navy. Relax,” Ana said, spooning the last of his tray into his mouth. “He’s not saying you can’t do two things at once.”

“Okay,” Dirk said.

“Watching your landings, you can’t even do one thing at once. We’d all be happy if you could get that worked out.”

“My landings are—”

“Horrifying,” Lee said.

“Unskilled,” Gavin said.

“Sickening,” Dena said.

“Great fun. Exciting,” Scruggs said.»

😀

*”Imperial Mercenary: Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire Book 3″* by Andrew Moriarty.

https://wapo.st/4c8CGcZ (gift)

Here we go. Direct assault.

Where are the Republicans decrying “imperial presidency”?

https://viewfromthewing.com/everyone-saw-the-headline-u-s-canada-airline-bookings-down-70-its-wrong-heres-what-the-real-data-shows/

https://www.newsweek.com/leonel-moreno-migrant-influencer-squatting-arrested-gun-charges-tiktok-1886919

This article is a year old, but according to Red State and the right-wing mediasphere, this person has been sent back to Venezuela and they’re very happy about it.

I was absolutely not kidding about museums:

«The order he signed behind closed doors puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.»

https://apnews.com/article/trump-smithsonian-executive-order-improper-ideology-558ebfab722f603e94e02a1a4b06ed4d