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Zorro's JournalHome insurers cut natural disasters from policies as climate risks grow
Some of the largest U.S. insurance companies say extreme weather has led them to end certain coverages, exclude natural disaster protections and raise premiumsIn the aftermath of extreme weather events, major insurers are increasingly no longer offering coverage that homeowners in areas vulnerable to those disasters need most.
At least five large U.S. property insurers — including Allstate, American Family, Nationwide, Erie Insurance Group and Berkshire Hathaway — have told regulators that extreme weather patterns caused by climate change have led them to stop writing coverages in some regions, exclude protections from various weather events and raise monthly premiums and deductibles.
Major insurers say they will cut out damage caused by hurricanes, wind and hail from policies underwriting property along coastlines and in wildfire country, according to a voluntary survey conducted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a group of state officials that regulates rates and policy forms.
Insurance providers are also more willing to drop existing policies in some locales as they become more vulnerable to natural disasters. Most home insurance coverages are annual terms, so providers are not bound to them for more than one year.
That means individuals and families in places once considered safe from natural catastrophes could lose crucial insurance protections while their natural disaster exposure expands or intensifies as global temperatures rise.
https://wapo.st/45T2qGa
I'm sure DuhSantis and his ilk will get right on addressing the problem -- by labeling the insurance companies as "woke" while also demanding more political contributions from them to "insure" that no meaningful legislation is passed.
How wildfires are threatening the Mediterranean way of life
RHODES, Greece — As flames approached the 19th century Monastery of Panagia Ipseni, the nuns inside steeled themselves. A village seer in the 1990s dreamed of women in charge of the sanctuary’s cloistered life, prompting the Orthodox church to replace its male monks with sisters. Now those nuns refused to leave — vowing to keep the wildfire at bay with prayer and water buckets.
But this was no ordinary blaze. In what seemed like minutes, superheated gyres engulfed the workshop where the sisters labored over icons of Saint Meletios and the Virgin and Child. Smoke filled the monastery’s mosaicked courtyards. The olive orchards and vineyards that provided their livelihood erupted in flames.
“It was like seeing hell,” said Mother Superior Mariam Nikitiadi.
In a summer of megafires across the northern hemisphere, the Mediterranean region is confronting what from on the ground has seemed an existential threat. A toxic mix of extreme heat and drought, together with human malice or carelessness, has set the region ablaze, costing dozens of lives and untold millions in damage.
https://wapo.st/3Z4KlTq
This is the consequence of over 30 years of climate change denial. And today's reality still isn't persuasive enough to sway the opinions of our Republican Presidential candidates.
Republicans Urge Americans To Look Away From McConnell Or Else They Too Shall Freeze
WASHINGTON—Following the second press conference in five weeks during which the 81-year-old was temporarily unable to speak, Republicans warned Americans Thursday to look away from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) lest they too should freeze.
“Good people! Gaze not upon the senator’s visage or you may be struck dumb yourselves—and not for a mere 30 seconds, but for all eternity,” said Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, who explained that everyone in attendance when the Senate minority leader froze at an event in Kentucky yesterday was now locked in a catatonic spell that would never be broken, with many reporters still holding their microphones and voice recorders in outstretched arms, waiting for a reply they would never hear.
“Please, we beg you, no matter how many viral videos, images, or news stories may tempt you, do not look into Mr. McConnell’s cold, dead eyes, for their paralysis will infect you and leave you trapped forever at a single point in time and space. Look away, look away!”
Asked a follow-up question, a look of horror came over McDaniel’s face and fixed itself there as she stood stock-still and silent behind her podium, where she remained as of press time.
https://www.theonion.com/republicans-urge-americans-to-look-away-from-mcconnell-1850792733
Tesla discounts Model S by $30,000 and Model X by $41,000 to gain EV tax credits
Source: Bloomberg via Yahoo Finance
Tesla Inc.’s latest discounts will newly qualify one of its models for federal subsidies that Elon Musk said years ago the U.S. should scrap.
By dropping the starting price of the Model X to $79,990 — a $41,000 reduction from the start of the year — Tesla made the sport utility vehicle eligible for the federal tax credits revamped by the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s signature climate bill
Musk in December 2021 called for the Biden administration to get rid of the incentives, citing concerns about government spending and the deficit. At that time, Teslas were no longer eligible for the tax credits because the company had already reached a limit that triggered a gradual phase-out of the benefit.
“I’m literally saying, get rid of all subsidies,” the chief executive officer said during a Wall Street Journal conference. When asked if his opposition had anything to do with the effect this would have on competitors, Musk replied: “Maybe they need it, I don’t know.”
With the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden discarded a cap on how many vehicles each automaker could sell before the credits began to wind down. The administration also set maximum retail prices at $80,000 for electric SUVs, vans and pickups, and $55,000 for cars.
Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-discounts-model-30-000-142300452.html
This is a pretty drastic price cut.
Trump Said He Was Too Busy Saving Millions From 'Nuclear Holocaust' To Commit Fraud
Donald Trump said he was too busy doing “the most important job in the world” and “saving millions of lives” from “nuclear holocaust” to commit fraud, according to a newly released transcript from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into the former president and his business.
“So you were too busy for the company?” Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for James’ office, asked Trump during the April 2023 deposition.
“In a way, yeah,” Trump responded. “Yeah, I think you can say it. It’s another way of saying it. I was very busy. I was — I considered this the most important job in the world, saving millions of lives.”
“I think you would have nuclear holocaust if I didn’t deal with North Korea,” he added. “I think you would have a nuclear war, if I weren’t elected. And I think you might have a nuclear war now if you want to know the truth.”
The remarks from the seven hour deposition was the former president’s effort to distance himself from his own company as he seeks to evade responsibility for James’ fraud allegations. The attorney general has claimed in her $250 million lawsuit against Trump, his children and the Trump Organization that the company routinely inflated the value of its assets to save money on bank loans, insurance, and taxes. She is seeking a $250 million penalty from Trump and wants to permanently ban him from doing business in New York state.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-said-he-was-too-busy-saving-millions-from-nuclear-holocaust-to-commit-fraud
Matt Schlapp's CPAC Team-Building Exercises Sound Fun, If You're Into Exorcisms
OK so you know how CPAC conservative family values hero Matt Schlapp and his Christian wife Mercedes “Mercy” Schlapp are having a fucking shitfit this week? There are new allegations that say Monsieur Schlapp tried to yank additional peens besides the one in the ongoing lawsuit from the former Herschel Walker staffer who says Schlapp tried to pummel his junk without his consent. Oh yeah, and we just found out Schlapp reportedly tried to settle with that dude.
This whole time Schlmatt and Schlmercy have been pretty sure this is a coordinated attack on them from the Daily Beast and Dark Lord Satan himself, who is definitely real and not just a character from an extremely long children’s fantasy book called “Holy Bible.”
Oh. My. Lord. They have been on Twitter posting pictures of their favorite saints and begging those saints to rain down hell on the Daily Beast. It’s so deranged. “Our Lady of Guadalupe, strike down the BEAST,” tweeted Schlmatt. “St Michael the Archangel take down the beast,” tweeted Schlmercy, with a bit less flair and punctuation.
We guess all this has put people in the mood to spill more Schlapp Schlecrets to (natch) the Beast. Now Roger Sollenberger is bringing us the story of that time last year when Matt Schlapp got a priest to come in and do exorcisms to get all the demons out of the CPAC offices.
https://www.wonkette.com/p/matt-schlapps-cpac-team-building
DeSantis Super PAC's Urgent Plea to Donors: 'We Need 50 Million Bucks'
In an audio recording made just before the first G.O.P. debate, the super PAC’s chief strategist disparaged rivals and described an expensive attempt to thwart Donald Trump in Iowa.Hours before the Republican Party’s first presidential debate, the chief strategist for the super PAC that has effectively taken over Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign met with donors in Milwaukee.
“Now let me tell you a secret — don’t leak this,” the strategist, Jeff Roe, told the donors last Wednesday, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by The New York Times. “We need to do this now. We’re making a move now.”
Then Mr. Roe made a bold sales pitch: “The day after Labor Day we’re launching and we need your help to stay up and go hard the rest of the way. We need 50 million bucks.”
With urgency in his voice, Mr. Roe told the donors he required much of the $50 million in the next month before the second G.O.P. debate on Sept. 27. He said he needed $5 million a month just to sustain his Iowa operations. And he said Mr. DeSantis needed to beat Donald J. Trump in “the next 60 days” and separate from all of his other rivals “now.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/us/politics/desantis-super-pac-audio.html?unlocked_article_code=JLOOGpuWjvuOLk-TR08el3fsajB16E0Np-i_xiXIRcApITIRgPFvBeo6n4YIwghKk4SWJL-KVHQAsMAp4BOxVWzTLBIfvN73Rj6encJbcTK3LExAOVRNlJM7Obo2GcquUBYivkflud1GhPu7CjNdZJDl4OB-h-FU6Y5GT0IZnM7N1gzq6umLvzSplsdIiMIi7ZmUeiP-s1TTfStJaqhlrri6RxJJxz0DF8Caj3_lQ1_wn4785hAMesnCDjVbMSAFrmZCuYdOSfCgy8P76TUi-9onEd6yA4VjM3c_K1PsQarvavyyHw30Gy5YoMY3FAPOwDz4MDPm8s3mfS82dzOAsV-G386DHg&smid=url-share
"I'm a colossal asshole. Give me your money!"
Florida school vouchers can pay for TVs, kayaks and theme parks. Is that OK?
As Florida lawmakers expanded eligibility for school vouchers this year, they also gave parents more ways to spend the money.
Theme park passes, 55-inch TVs, and stand-up paddleboards are among the approved items that recipients can buy to use at home. The purchases can be made by parents who home-school their children or send them to private schools, if any voucher money remains after paying tuition and fees.
The items appear in a list of authorized expenses in a 13-page purchasing guide published this summer by Step Up For Students, the scholarship funding organization that manages the bulk of Florida’s vouchers. Many of the items are similar to what was permitted for vouchers to students with disabilities in the past, but now they’re available to anyone who receives an award of about $8,000.
The list quickly raised eyebrows as it circulated.
“If we saw school districts spending money like that, we would be outraged,” said Damaris Allen, executive director of Families for Strong Public Schools, who recently started speaking out publicly on the issue. “We want to be conservative with our tax dollars. We want to be sure it is being used for worthwhile things.”
By comparison, Allen and others noted, teachers who want some of the same items for their classrooms would have to pay out-of-pocket or turn to other fundraising sources such as GoFundMe because schools won’t pay for them.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/education/2023/09/01/florida-school-vouchers-can-pay-tvs-kayaks-theme-parks-is-that-ok/
No, it's not all right. It is another outrageous example of how Republicans diminish the administration of our public schools.
Brian Kilmeade Terrified A Bong Full Of Pots Is Going To Win The US Open
One of the courts at the US Open in New York smells like pot. It’s a thing many people have noticed.
It’s not the first time Court 17 has smelled like pot. Apparently it smells like this every year. Nobody really thinks it’s coming from the locker rooms or the stands or any tennis players secretly snorting reefer ganja devil herbs. They think it’s wafting from the park next door, Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. Court 17 is apparently way far from the other courts, almost all the way to that park.
One player who spoke up about it, Maria Sakkari, told reporters, “Sometimes you smell food, sometimes you smell cigarettes, sometimes you smell weed. I mean, it’s something we cannot control, because we’re in an open space. There’s a park behind. People can do whatever they want.” Another player, Alexander Zverev, says it “smells like Snoop Dogg’s living room.” Others interviewed don’t seem to notice it. (Probably potheads.)
So it’s a thing. But people are taking it in stride. Most of the quotes in normal news articles about it, from players and officials and fans, are like “Pot? Can’t live with it, can’t live without it!” or “Reefer? But I just met her!” (None of the quotes say that.)
Know who’s freaking out? Who is ALWAYS totally freaking out whenever marijuana is brought up? That’s right, Fox News. It has to be. Its audience is conservative white 88-year-olds who have fallen and they can’t get up because their grandchildren are too busy doing a pot to come help them, and also because they don’t like being around their Trump-supporting racist grandparents, so fuck them.
https://www.wonkette.com/p/brian-kilmeade-terrified-a-bong-full
Ted Cruz: Regular Guy Who Drinks Beer And Not Even Everybody Wants To Punch Him In The Face
Just regular old Ted at the end of the bar!Have y’all heard the new lie from the washing machines/gas stoves genre about what Joe Biden is going to steal from us next? Biden is now going to hold us down and force us to only have two beers per week. (Probably Bud Light!) Idiot boy Peter Doocy asked about it at the White House the other day and Karine Jean-Pierre was like Jesus, what?
It’s not even halfway based on something real. And quite frankly it’s not worth explaining. It’s too fucking stupid to occupy space in your brain. If you for some reason care — or, like, if you’re just surrounded by lunatics and you want to know whey they’re writing “GIVE ME LIBRUTY OR GIVE ME BEERS” in poo on the wall — click the link in the last graf.
But because Republicans are pant-shitting fucking babies who are scared of literally everything, we guess it’s a potent issue for Ted Cruz to go on Newsmax and make absolutely the most cringe-inducing Ted Cruz clip ever made by any Ted Cruz in the allegedly human history of Ted Cruzes. We really don’t know if we’ve ever seen him more pathetic.
It is Ted Cruz, flanked by regular guys at the bar, who were somehow conscripted into pretending they were “just one of the guys” with Ted Cruz. You know, because Ted Cruz really blends in with that crowd.
(They are probably all gay theater majors. Or just old gay bears at some kind of Republican country-western gay bar.)
And Ted Cruz SAYS A SWEAR. He says that if Joe Biden tries to come get his beer, you can KISS MY ASS.
https://www.wonkette.com/p/ted-cruz-regular-guy-who-drinks-beer
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