Earlier, the Niobrara had been running at 5 or 6 feet of gauge height. After it broke through the dam, it measured nearly 17.5 feet. It wasn’t a gradual increase, either.

“It started a really fast rise,” he said. “There was an 11-foot wave that rolled through.”

And in its wake, three Nebraska counties would learn how that much moving water can become immediately destructive and potentially deadly. How it can cause instant pain and long-term suffering. How it can harm not only those in its path, but those living miles away.

First, the wave swept away a section of U.S. 281, a nearby riverside saloon and at least one home, possibly occupied. And it continued downstream, barreling toward the town of Niobrara — and its mouth at the Missouri River — about 40 miles away.

Of course, Trump could try a more conventional approach to negotiating, in which he offered something tangible that Democrats want in exchange for what he wants. In fact, some on the right are concerned the president may eventually do exactly that. The New York Times published a quote the other day that stood out for me:

“I’ve always thought it created a danger that he would trade almost anything in order to get the wall – I think that’s still a potential danger,” said Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that argues for less immigration. “I’m still worried about that now.”

From a conservative perspective, those concerns are well grounded. Democrats really don’t want to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on a giant, ineffective border wall, so if Trump were try to come up with an offer designed to entice them, he’d have to propose something that would be (a) enormous; and (b) wildly unpopular among Republicans.

And this got me thinking: what exactly would it take? What would a borderline-desperate president put on the table to sway Democrats?

Democratic voters have no shortage of choices as the 2020 presidential primaries draw nearer. More than three dozen politicians, former officials and political outsiders have considered throwing their hats into the ring, with at least 20 likely to commit by the first primary debate in 2019.

They all bring different visions of what the party needs. Is it generational change, a history-making barrier breaker, a centrist with a proven ability to win Trump voters or a military veteran?

But the decision is not up to them. For the voters who will decide, here is a quick guide to help with understanding the choices ahead.

THE PRE-FLOOD WORLD

Content-wise, this area has massive potential. It shows what the world was like before the flood, which was apparently lots of people vs. dinosaur gladiator battles, human sacrifices, and people getting eaten by sharks.

But, unfortunately, with the exception of three dioramas, all of that is depicted using a bunch of pictures and text on boards stuck to the wall.

IS IT FUN ENOUGH TO CONVERT YOU TO A CREATIONIST BELIEF SYSTEM? No. I can’t imagine it would’ve taken a massive chunk out of their overall budget to make this section a dark ride or a haunted house or something.

As Lawrence Brown, a community health expert at Baltimore’s Morgan State University, tweeted in response to the ILSR report, dollar stores function as “subprime groceries.” And recently some local governments have started pushing back on these retailers, rejecting development at the neighborhood level or devising ordinances that seek to limit their spread in certain areas.

Such moves can be divisive—detractors point to the dire need such stores are meeting in retail-starved areas. But the rise of dollar stores represents a deeper problem, one rooted in the history of housing segregation. Addressing that issue requires questioning the host of complicated assumptions that have led to the present conditions—and the myriad ways residents in so-called food deserts have responded to them.

The “food desert” paradox

Ashanté Reese, an assistant professor at Spelman College, lives on Atlanta’s Westside, within two miles of a pair of dollar stores. Her zip code was particularly hard hit in the recession, suffering a 50 percent foreclosure rate. Those demographics are now changing, but the residents for a long time included elderly folks and people on fixed incomes—the exact kind of shoppers dollar-store executives have said they are targeting.

There’s also a traditional supermarket, a Kroger, which is where Reese shops. But the one near her house isn’t as nice as the one 15 minutes away, she says. The one in a whiter, more affluent neighborhood regularly advertises grains, nuts, seafood, olives, and wine.

Elizabeth Warren has announced a run for the presidency. Now is the time to move.

Go to the New York Times comment sections. Go to Reddit. Go to Twitter. Pose as a concerned Democrat and criticize her for being white. Criticize her for being a woman. Do whatever it takes to further divide the left and prevent them from unifying behind a candidate for 2020.

If we can manufacture another Bernie/Hillary split, they'll get crushed in the general election.