Trudeau wasn't terrible, but he wasn't going to win again. I only voted Liberal once (otherwise NDP who are center-left to left). I did so because Trudeau promised to get rid of first-past-the-post elections, and when that didn't happen they lost me. My take on his time as leader is that he was decent during hard times. Not great, not terrible - life got harder as Canadians but we fared better than a lot of countries.

I'd much rather have him than the MAGA-lite conservative government which I fear my nation is headed for. My right-wing family members seem to share very similar faults to MAGA. I really don't want Americans to get fucked by Trump and his reality-show appointees, but it looks like that's what the US is headed for regardless of my wishes. I can only hope that our undecideds look at the mess the US Republicans are already and move away from voting in that mindset here.

BTW, Trump responding by continuing to call Canada as the 51st state and referring to our office of Prime Minister as the "governor of Canada" is shit behaviour and likely to burn through some goodwill. I know the folks reading this have no control over that clown, but I'm not looking forward to getting that attitude from the bloc of voters that parrot his verbal diarrhea.

"Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State," Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social. "If Canada merged with the U.S., there would be no Tariffs, taxes would go way down, and they would be TOTALLY SECURE from the threat of the Russian and Chinese Ships that are constantly surrounding them. Together, what a great Nation it would be!!!" Fuck right off you spray-painted felon sex offender.

BTW, are you trying to say US oil usage has dropped? I looked that up and it's not what's happening.

US oil production is not US oil usage.

Explain. Do you think the oil disappears or doesn't affect climate because it's not burned in the US? Why wouldn't I hold US policymakers accountable for oil being produced under their watch, even if it is exported?

As for dips, then there was the 2008 great recession and covid which changed everything for a few years each.

Look at the chart. The decline started in the mid-80's, and reached the bottom in 2005. By about 2001 it was the lowest since 1950. Years before the 2008 crash. You are right that the drop during Trump's last year coincides with the onset of COVID, but it rises again as early as the summer of 2020. And continues unabated into Biden's presidency and last year.

That running on an environmental policy was a losing proposition.

Obama was already elected into his 2nd term when oil production started climbing quicker than ever before at the end of 2012. Campaign strategy was over by then.

Nothing I'm seeing in the data suggests that Dems were meaningfully impeding/capping oil production. You may say it's because the environment is a losing political proposition (and you may be right). But in doing so you're just assigning a reason for the trends and timing that show dual-party responsibility.

4 years? Climate scientists have been warning the world about climate change for about half a century, and urgently for a few decades. Bill Nye specifically has videos going back at least 13 years.

Don't just blame the 2017-2021 Trump presidency either for the current high, if that is what you mean by your "reworking the energy grid/vehicles in 4 years" argument. US oil production was at its lowest since about 1950 under Bush Jr. then climbed again dramatically through Obama's 2 terms. Then the Biden presidency started after a year of "low" production (that was actually higher than anything pre-2017) before climbing again steeply during the last 4 years. This is a problem of both parties, and the worst of it has happened in the last 13 years of which 9 were under a Dem president.

"I hope this medal makes up for 2024 being the year of highest oil production in US history. Which happened in defiance of all the climate science you've been trying to tell us about. You know, as part of the years of science education this award honors."

The original Baldur's Gate story (1 and 2 + expansions) begin with you being a barely trained orphan sent on an unexpected journey by your foster father...

I wish I was winning round cheeses! TFW too hetero a man to seduce a farmer and get treated like this:

Bullet vending machines? Just in case you find yourself running low on bullets while out and about in the city? "Damn it. They're out of Snickers bars so I guess I'll just settle for some 9mm."

Hope Ukraine can get a lot done in the 2 months before US policy changes back. Maybe Biden is trying to force a rift between two old dictators before he leaves office, because as is I doubt Putin is going to allow Trump to stay on Ukraine's side.

Fabulous.

I disagree that "their humiliating defeat on November 5 was due largely to their undeniable role in the Israeli war and genocide in Gaza." I definitely think it played a role and Dems would have won more voters with concrete promises to halt Israel's genocide and enforce US laws like the Leahy Law. People are justifiably upset with Israel crossing lines without Biden enforcing consequences, and the huge amounts of money going to fund genocide as opposed to being used domestically.

Was it really THE major issue affecting votes though? IMO the more significant issues were things like a feeling of "more of the same" when people are struggling and focusing on trying to win "moderate" Republicans instead of motivating a base they thought was guaranteed. Still, it's an article with valid points.

It's nice to know cracks are beginning to appear in his administration not even 10 days post-election. The more people opposing Trump the better for almost everyone. Even if it's bastards opposing bastards.

The article has a quote about how Musk is a great asset to the US: “He’s a Thomas Edison. He doesn’t care about wealth.” Musk fired about 20% of his workforce earlier this year and took a 46 billion-dollar bonus that was so large it was blocked by a judge (as far as I know he got it anyways when the shareholders voted again). What a selfless hero showing he cares more about people than money.

8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and you can find episodes if you want on YouTube.

They're such a good duo :)

Sean Locke and Miles Jupp putting a personal bet on the outcome of a round is one of the funniest moments in the whole series.

Rare W for separation of church and state in Republican territory. I hope it lasts.

Reminds me of a quote from a Warhammer 40k book. "When the stars fell, when the seas boiled and the earth burned, my faith didn't die. That is when I began to believe. God was real, and he hated us."

I doubt Israel feels the need to wait out the months. Nothing was happening before, even when Israel crossed "red lines". Here's an impact snapshot for Nov. 5th. With Biden in power the situation right now is:

• 345,000 people are at the UN's highest level of starvation (Level 5 - catastrophic). 876,000 are at Level 4 - emergency.

• 87% of housing units are completely destroyed or seriously damaged. Average space for people in shelters is 1.5sq meters (5sq feet), less than half the 3.5sq meters (11.5sq feet) considered the humane minimum.

• At least 137 journalists killed, 47 injured, 71 arrested. It's the deadliest period since the CPJ started collecting data in 1992.

Remember the outrage when the rocket hit the parking lot outside Al-Ahli hospital a few days into the war, with both sides claiming they'd never attack a hospital? Now 19 of 36 hospitals hospitals are completely out of service, and the remaining 17 are only partially functional. 130 ambulances have been damaged or destroyed.

The change Israel has announced post-election is plans to bring Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank, calling the Trump presidency "an opportunity".

My mistake, deleting it.