"Newsom’s plan in California is unlikely to succeed. More than a decade ago, California voters approved a constitutional amendment that stripped lawmakers of their ability to draw congressional districts and gave it to an independent redistricting commission. Newsom has only offered vague ideas for how to get around that requirement. He has suggested the legislature could call a quick voter referendum to potentially strip the commission of its power. He also said on Wednesday there was a possibility of the legislature trying to enact new maps on its own – a novel legal theory.

“It’s not lawful in any way,” said Dan Vicuña, a redistricting expert at the watchdog group Common Cause. “It was clear that this was meant to be done one time after the census, through a public and transparent process that centers community feedback, and then to be not touched again until the next decade.”

He added: “It’s not an invitation to them to circumvent the independent process and gerrymander maps in the middle of a decade. That would completely undermine the purpose of the independent process voters approved.”

California’s independent commission has long been considered a model for making the process of drawing district lines fairer. There has been a bipartisan push in recent years to get more states to adopt commissions such as California’s, where ordinary citizens – Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated – have the power to draw district lines. After the 2020 census, four states – California, Arizona, Michigan and Colorado – used independent commissions. Democrats sought to require all states to use independent redistricting commissions in federal legislation that stalled in the US Senate during Joe Biden’s presidency."

That’s pretty!

I also have windows that slide left/right. Specifically, the right side slides left to open, right to close. Two are “landscape,” one is “portrait” shaped. Then I have three sliding-glass doors, which work exactly the same way except for the latch, threshold, and the fact that the screen also slides. It may be relevant that it never snows here.

Trying to think if I can cobble together 90 minutes a day that I’m NOT online…

I don’t have to tell you “that’s what the insurance companies want you to think so you’ll forget about the option of free healthcare for all” because here we both are.

I’d bet, although the hospital billed that amount and insurance covered it, they actually paid less to the hospital. Because they negotiate lower “allowed amounts” in exchange for keeping the hospital in their “preferred provider” group.

But surely your out of pocket maximum was much less. The “before insurance” numbers are a fiction to make your insurance company look like they’re doing more for you. They don’t pay the hospital anything like that amount, and if you had no insurance, you could negotiate a lower amount from the hospital as well, since they’d rather get something over time than have you go bankrupt on them.

As a short woman who can’t run fast, it depends on how safe the situation feels. In general, I keep moving if there’s someone coming out and approaching people, because some of those folks can switch from a scam to a purse-snatch/assault in a flash. But I’ve occasionally tucked a 20 into the cart of a woman sleeping on the sidewalk, and I don’t care what they spend it on. I donate monthly to my local food bank as well of course.

If you can easily pass for part of a plant, it’s pretty darn effective. Especially if you live where most plants stay green all year. Except it doesn’t work on invasive ferrets, stoats, and rats who eat the eggs.

With a prehensile nose. And fangs. And smelly glands.

And yes, so tiny they would probably roll coal in a lifted truck

The only dick pix I want to see are dik-dik pix.

https://marybatessciencewriter.com/home/2015/08/03/the-creature-feature-10-fun-facts-about-the-dik-dik

How can you tell a male dik-dik from a female dik-dik?

Look for the dik-dik dick

I’m no dentist but his gums look in great shape!

In B4 someone blames the Left

I live in Los Angeles and just happen to have a grocery store within easy walking distance. Like 0.5 km. But I don’t, because the old nice little convenience store got turned into stupid Whole Foods. Or Mold Foods, as we started calling it after trying some of their groceries. Now I drive a mile to where I can get fresher produce and dairy, and paper towels that don’t disintegrate with the first touch of liquid. Or we get our groceries delivered.

Good points, both would be good.

But, $GOP$

True, and maybe it would make sense for the county (or a cellphone company?) to invest in strategically located towers so that cell service would be less spotty in general there? Not just for this kind of emergency but also lost hikers etc.

Now he can grow up to be a SPICY butterfly!

Well if you would just demonstrate that you know how to catch and kill your own, she could relax about trying to teach you.

First thing they teach first responders: don’t become a second victim, it helps nobody. Look at your big-ass self, you think cat can save you? And if cat goes running for help, who’s gonna listen? Maybe they’d give cat some salmon but you’ll still drown.

Cat loves you and will sit with you while you finish drowning. Then when you get your next life you can go together for some salmon. You still have some lives left, right?

Hot AIR rises. And it can also move sideways, and both are possible with this mesh. Looks like the hot air would go up and out in 3 directions (plus through) and cooler air would be pulled in from the yard. Wouldn’t it be interesting to test it with colored smoke? Or as you said a fog machine