DL Open Thread Wednesday May 24 2023
I wonder how this is going to play out. Will insurance companies increase premiums and claims payments to keep pace with climate change, or will they increase premiums while denying more claims? Hmmm…on second though, I don’t wonder how it will play out.
Climate-driven floods, hurricanes, wildfires and heat waves cause billions of dollars of damage every year in the United States. Federal scientists hope that better access to climate data will help one industry adapt: property insurers.
Insurance companies are on the hook to pay for repairs after disasters, and even to rebuild entire homes and businesses that are destroyed. The growing cost to insurers was on full display last year, when Hurricane Ian caused more than $100 billion of damage in Florida, at least half of which was insured.
As climate-driven extreme weather gets more common, insurance companies nationwide raise prices, or cancel policies altogether, leaving homeowners in the lurch. Florida, North Carolina, Louisiana, Colorado, Oregon and California have all seen insurers fold, cancel policies or leave the state after repeated floods, hurricanes and wildfires.
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A judge in Boston has ordered a hearing next week on one of the key arguments that President Joe Biden has the legal authority to ignore the debt limit statute and continue to pay the federal government’s bills.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns set a May 31 hearing on a lawsuit filed by a federal workers union contending that the 14th Amendment empowers Biden and other officials to sidestep the standoff with Congress that has threatened a potential default.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the so-called X-date for a default could come as soon as June 1, just one day after the scheduled arguments on the National Association of Government Employees’ request for a preliminary injunction requiring Yellen to keep paying bills — and salaries — as usual.
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What do I do if I don’t like a book at the library?
A handy step-by-step guide.
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told an audience gathered at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Orlando Monday that over the next two presidential terms, whoever is leading the nation could be responsible for picking successors for both Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas.
“You can’t really do better than those two,” said DeSantis, who has previously praised both justices numerous times. “They are the gold standard for jurisprudence.”
Countdown to Kristallnacht:
NEW YORK (AP) — Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers.
“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement Tuesday. ”Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”
That’s fucked up. The right’s campaign against gays fizzled out because so many people know a gay person. I don’t know the stats, but I don’t think as many people know a transgender person. So I guess they are thinking anti-trans hate can have some electoral legs.
Hatred seems durable as it continues to sell, but as noted at this point a great many gays and lesbians are “out” and it seems their our relatives, coworkers and friends. Trans will take time but will gain acceptance for the same reasons. As ever Leave People The Hell Alone seems a difficult task for the far right and above all else religion.