It’s funny they act like piracy didn’t exist before the internet. The tools are different and easier to use, but the justifications are the same. People want convenience, so if companies really cared about stopping piracy they would bend over backwards to make their content affordable and easy to access. Releasing only in theaters and/or doing the subscription shuffle is not convenient to the consumer.

I was very disappointed by Biden’s speech shaming people for being mildly disruptive, like that’s the point of protesting, but I will still vote for him.

He’s not much better than Trump on handling Israel and Palestine being that there is still a genocide occuring, but he is still better than just being “not Trump”. He has been working towards a permanent ceasefire and has been air dropping aid into Gaza vs Trump who said he would help Israel “finish the job”. With Biden we also got a ban on non-compete clauses, a strong economy and job market, 144 billion dollars forgiven in student loan debt, restored net neutrality, pardons for nonviolent marijuana offenders, reschedule of marijuana, restored LGBTQ rights in education, and so much more.

We should also remind ourselves of what the Trump administration gave us. Raised taxes for lower and middle class people, lowered taxes for the rich, protestors snatched off the streets in unmarked vans, pardons for rich Trump yes men, lowered taxes for the rich again, death of net neutrality, stripped education rights for LGBTQ individuals, stripped abortion rights, a dumb border wall that is already falling apart and easy to climb, and so many more things that hurt lower and middle class people. We were heading into a recession under Trump too. If he gets another term, we will have all of those previous things at a worse level than before plus a dictator, executions of anyone who disagrees with or challenges Trump, death to net neutrality, restoration of non-compete clauses, nation wide ban on abortions/IVF and contraception, death of child labor laws, stripping children from single parents and LGBTQ parents, genocide of Mexico, genocide of LGBTQ people, and so many more awful things that you can find laid out in Project 2025.

His grandparents let him watch whatever is on nick jr or Disney jr, so he already has paw patrol shoes, toys, and books. I figure it’s a losing battle at this point. I should let him have fun. Paw Patrol isn’t the worst thing in the world for him and if he’s happy I am happy.

Parents know those other shows are better, but I am more likely to be asked to put on Paw Patrol than Bluey and my toddler doesn’t ever ask for Hilda. Kids have their own tastes, and it is impossible to shield them from everything you don’t want them to watch. Thankfully, everyone I know agrees Cocomelon is harmful garbage and off limits, so I’ve been able to avoid that completely.

There is no way “centrists” understand the issues because a majority of politics today is about trying to define what the issues of a country are. Centrism only works as a political philosophy when it is universally agreed that something is an issue. There is no nuanced center position when one side believes that climate change exists and another refuses to acknowledge the existence of climate change. You can’t say that “climate change exists sometimes”.

Centrists are only focused on the how of problem solving process, which inadvertently makes them choose sides before the what is even answered. You may be able to pull off being a centrist within a political binary, but until the what our problems are is answered across the political spectrum, it is impossible to be a centrist within the full political spectrum.

It is true he was paid by the GOP to split the vote among Democrats, but I believe it has backfired if RFK Jr is running independent so soon into the election cycle. Several stories have come out about the GOP and Trump being worried about this move. Usually, federal abortion bans and right wing conspiracy theories don’t appeal to left wing voters the same way they appeal to right wing voters. Add the fact that there are so many right wing conspiracy theories that say that the Kennedy family will somehow save Trump and give him control of the government, at a time where it looks like trump will likely go to prison for the rest of his life, and Kennedy becomes a conservative super hero. Also, Kennedy was given time to speak during CPAC, which has given him exposure among conservatives in a way that he hasn’t received among left wing people.

There are a ton of reasons I am cautiously optimistic that RFK Jr. will end up tanking Trump or whoever Trump’s replacement will be if Trump ends up in prison before the election. I still plan on voting and encouraging others to vote despite this turn of events.