@cstross
While it's tempting to make "buffer underflow" jokes at his expense, you're clearly right. This sort of illness-hiding is straight out of the authoritarian regime playbook.

He and Dianne Feinstein should meet and agree to retire immediately, preserving party balance and getting the hell out of the way now that neither can effectively serve the Senate. Of course, they won't do anything so sensible.

@n1xnx @cstross

More importantly USAnians, and everybody else for that matter, should stop electing people so old that they have no skin in the game any longer.

@bsdphk @cstross

Yes, but that means we'll need to remedy the twin plagues of corporate campaign financing buying politicians, and only rich people being able to afford to campaign for public office. (Or afford to serve, in states where legislators aren't paid.)

@n1xnx @cstross

If you do not fix those problems, and fix them now, our civilization is doomed to croak in the consequences of climate change.