"Who cares about the leak? The leak's not important! People need to stop talking about the leak!

And now here are eight paragraphs on my personal theory of who leaked and why.

Please like and subscribe!"

I've been sort of enjoying it. Maybe it's just me.

Since he seems so keen on not rocking any boats to combat the Court's likely decision.

Gonna be a few more kids in the future for families who can't entirely afford them.

We've observed this shift/trend for a while now. Now this result from an A-rated poll.

https://maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/npr-pbs-newshour-marist-national-poll-the-2022-midterm-elections-bidens-job-performance-april-2022/

How does our party deal with this before midterms?

You're not the customer.

You're the product.

February Highlights

February 2022 marks the seventh month in a row where rent growth has reached double digits for 0-2 bedroom properties (17.1% Y/Y).

Despite a dip in the growth rate, the median rent in the 50 largest metros reached a new high, $1,792.

Studios continue to catch up with faster recent rent growth, but have the slowest growth over the last two years. Rent by size: Studio: $1,474, up 17.1% ($215) year-over-year; 1-bed: $1,648, up 16.4% ($232); 2-bed: $2,002, up 16.2% ($278).

Rents continue to increase the most in the Sun Belt metros, at an average growth rate of 22.5% Y/Y. Miami, FL was the fastest growing market, followed by Orlando, FL; Tampa, FL; Austin, TX; San Diego, CA; Las-Vegas, NV; Phoenix, AZ; Jacksonville, FL; San Antonio, TX; and Memphis, TN.

Affordability

In February 2022, rent was less affordable than the previous year. Renters earning the typical household income devoted 29.7% of their income to lease a typical for-rent home (vs. 24.8% in February 2021).

14 of the top 50 metros had a rent share higher than 30% relative to the median household income. Miami, FL, was the least affordable rental market in February 2022. The median rent for a typical 0-2 bedroom unit in Miami, FL, is twice as high as the estimated maximum affordable rent for the median household.

Kansas City, KS, is the most affordable rental market in Feb 2022. The median rent for a typical 0-2 bedroom unit was 34% lower than its estimated maximum affordable rent.

https://www.realtor.com/research/february-2022-rent/

And that is why touting "Best economy ever. Best wages ever! Stop complaining!" is not hitting average voters as well as is assumed. When your rent is up 17% but your pay is up only 4%, you're not going to count it as one of your better years within that blazing economy.

Reality is a thing that must be grappled with when formulating a strategy to at least break even come November. These numbers are the reality for tens of millions of Americans.

I've seen some variation of, "Why are voters unhappy when wages are doing the best in years?!"

This. This is why. Mix in food and energy prices, and we need better messaging than, "Best economy ever!" Because people are not feeling it.

It is not . . . trickling down.

Salient.

https://twitter.com/MattBors/status/1514282671064719364?s=20

I'm still a liberal who believes in civil liberties. Not going to give that up. That comes with the package, not when convenient.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ccla-lawsuit-emergencies-act-1.6355846

Mendelsohn acknowledged reports of "violent, racist and homophobic acts" occurring within the Ottawa protest but said the presence of those elements doesn't justify the introduction of measures the CCLA considers a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The act gives the federal government temporary powers to quell protests by, among other things, banning travel to protest zones and prohibiting people from bringing minors to unlawful assemblies. The act also allows the federal government to restrict protesters' access to bank accounts.

"Protest is how people in a democracy share their political messages of all kinds, whether they be environmental activists, students taking to the streets, Indigenous land defenders, workers on strike, people who know that Black lives matter, and others who oppose government measures of all kinds," Mendelsohn said.

"Not every person may agree with the content of every movement."

One of the things we often see in Democratic primaries is this line: "I'd love to nominate someone more liberal, but they just can't get elected statewide. That's why we must put forth more moderate and Blue Dog candidates."

And that may be true in certain areas of the country.

However, Fetterman won his statewide election over the Republican 58.7% - 41.3%.

The early push by the power structures in the party to promote the more conservative candidate Conor Lamb seems to poke quite a few holes in this, "We'd really love a liberal, but . . ." angle of attack during this primary.

So now something else will need be found. And boy howdy, it's already starting. We're going to enjoy months of creative attacks on liberalism. Because, you know, reasons. I'm sure we'll be told why we have to opt for the more conservative candidate when the more liberal one is perfectly capable of winning.

It was a major story last year, and I think we were all pretty horrified and outraged about it. We know the history of what governments have done to Native populations and the treatment and conditions on reservations.

However, this is interesting. A history professor from the University of Montreal dug deep to research what happened. He came to some conclusions. It's a long article with over two dozen footnotes at the end.

But still, interesting reading. Even without the initial story, it relates a lot of information about how things operated in the early 20th Century.

https://www.dorchesterreview.ca/blogs/news/in-kamloops-not-one-body-has-been-found

I wanted to discuss this a little bit, because it seems like many people are watching cable news nonstop and placing great importance on what is said on it. I'm using CNN as an example, because I happened to see their 2021 ratings this morning.

Overall, CNN averaged 1,078,000 total viewers in prime time, 268,000 adults 25-54 in prime time, 773,000 total viewers across the 24-hour day and 185,000 adults 25-54 across the 24-hour in 2021

Let's look at this. CNN in prime time is getting less than 300k viewers under 54.

You know what gets over 300,000 views? Reaction videos on YouTube. ASMR artists. Pam's Home Cooking 'Splosion Extravaganza. (She mixes folksy with ramen!)

In a nation of 340 million people, 300,000 viewers is 0.08%. Even mixing clips on YouTube or shared on websites, this is a vanishingly small number of people under 54 bothering about these overpaid, know-nothing talking heads.

Cable news importance is probably one of the most imbalanced things in our media ecosystem. Who is paying attention? Politicians and other media figures. It's a tiny little bubble they all exist in. When someone retires from politics, here's your cable news paycheck. Back scratches all around.

So all the drama, nonsense, bloviating, "Hey, this person on my tv is wrong!" angst doesn't really mean anything. No one sees it. It's a niche TV show you're watching. It's the Matlock of politics.

If people would stop watching, it would die. If people would stop spreading it, it would die.

And it deserves to die. It serves this country not at all. No, not even the ones we like.