Not only is moderation expensive, but the current administration has attacked organizations that try to moderate anyone who catches the fancy of the MAGAverse. Slash moderation departments and reduce the risk of expensive lawsuits and harassment with the power of the federal government behind it, win-win.
Their belief in MAGA is filling some deep psychological need. Logical reasoning around the belief is irrelevant because logic can’t activate whatever social buttons are being satisfied by their engagement with the MAGA movement.
Research trying to figure out what makes humans susceptible to this kind of stuff and how to protect each other was a hot topic, but then Congressional Republicans launched harassing investigations into everyone in the field and the institutions that supported their work, and of course the current executive branch has entrenched that fear. Gotta keep the victims coming to the grifter trough.
Outside of major roads (the proposal sounds like it allows strip mall-type businesses facing onto major roads), the limits are on square footage, traffic, hours, and compliance with residential noise and similar restrictions. Mcdonald’s probably wants to be open at 1am and have two lanes of drive-thru, but if some franchisee thinks they can make a go of it with a day-hour-only, walk-up-only store, I say let them try.
Loaded-up big trucks/semis and frost-thaw cycles are the source of almost all road wear. Less passenger cars/SUVs/unloaded pickups wouldn’t really matter.
I think the person you were responding to was making a joke.
Different people and relationships can have different solutions that work for them. That’s OK!
There isn’t a list of abusers. The only person the files have evidence of abuse is Epstein himself. Per multiple sources interviewed by the NY Times, the only lists in the files are victims and witnesses, and releasing the files would just victimize them again to doxxing. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/us/politics/epstein-files-trump-bondi-justice-department-fbi.html
Dems are jumping on the bandwagon because it distracts the Republicans from their rampage of destroying the foundations of our country, but the files themselves are a nothingburger as far any actual evidence of crimes.
https://clerk.house.gov/Members/ViewVacancies
Gerald Connolly and Raúl M. Grijalva, apparently. Both were Democrats. No, there are no alternates. Each State determines its own process for filling vacancies: often the governor appoints someone but special elections are also common.
Eliminating benefit cliffs, and taking the onus off applicants (the government has all our taxes!) to prevent qualified people from being cut off due to missing some paperwork box or deadline, would go a long way. Given how great our government has been at making programs that sound like they would help people, but then creating bureaucracy to ensure very few actually get help (not as a money saving thing - the bureaucracy costs a lot - but just because they believe people don’t deserve help), I have a lot of skepticism for any new program.