Saturday, June 30, 2018
Always A Shortage
If you read our politico-economic press, you have to accept the following things:
1) More jobs is always good!
2) Falling unemployment is good...up to a point
3) Rising wages are bad
4) The free market is always good, except when not enough people are willing to work at the rate companies are used to paying.
1) More jobs is always good!
2) Falling unemployment is good...up to a point
3) Rising wages are bad
4) The free market is always good, except when not enough people are willing to work at the rate companies are used to paying.
Baba Booey
Busy trying to explain this to 1989 me.
I love how the NYT times paints this as just some cutesy thing with that funny Mr. Trump instead of a colossal fuckup by boy blunder, Jared, and the whole nightmare operation.
What could go wrong?
Melendez was pissed because media outlets wouldn't run with the story at first. I'm curious about that.
(yes I know Gary Dell'Abate is Baba Booey)
But President Trump, who likes to field his own telephone calls and prefers spontaneity to protocol, is a different breed. So on Wednesday, when a radio shock jock and comedian dialed the White House switchboard impersonating a United States senator’s aide, he found himself — in between barely suppressed giggles and off-color jokes with his producer — patched through to Mr. Trump on Air Force One.
The result was an impromptu six-minute conversation on immigration and the Supreme Court between the president and the radio host and comedian John Melendez, known to his listeners as “Stuttering John.”
I love how the NYT times paints this as just some cutesy thing with that funny Mr. Trump instead of a colossal fuckup by boy blunder, Jared, and the whole nightmare operation.
What could go wrong?
Melendez was pissed because media outlets wouldn't run with the story at first. I'm curious about that.
(yes I know Gary Dell'Abate is Baba Booey)
Friday, June 29, 2018
The Most Popular Vehicles On The Road
I'm happy to set the speed limit at 10mph, but this is going to inspire so much road rage.
Uber has shut down its testing in Arizona and last month Pittsburgh's mayor said the company would have to agree to some conditions before the city would allow it to revive its self-driving tests. Mayor William Peduto said the cars would have to drive no faster than 25 mph when operating autonomously and when humans were in control, Uber's app would have to alert drivers when they were exceeding speed limits.
Buck Tanks
Everybody's gotta eat.
The debacle raised all sorts of questions about New America’s coziness with corporate funders, and as staffers gathered in the conference room—across the lobby from the “Eric Schmidt Ideas Lab”—they were impatient for answers. Many worried that the think tank’s intellectual integrity had been compromised, and they feared for their reputations. What would happen the next time someone’s work ran crosswise with the interests of a big donor?
Instead of stanching the anxiety, Slaughter stoked it. According to a recording of the meeting, she said that while she recognized that the standard in journalism was never to show sources what you were writing, New America’s “norm can’t be that. We’re an organization that develops relationships with funders. And you know, these are not just black boxes; they’re people. Google is a person, the Ford Foundation—these are people. . . . And particularly when they give you money, which is really a nice thing . . . basic courtesy I think requires—if you know something really bad, you say, ‘Here’s a heads-up.’ ”
Things spiraled from there. Slaughter insisted that Lynn left not because he had criticized Google but because of the non-collegial way he’d handled himself. Many couldn’t believe the contradictory responses they were hearing. “The whole spectacle left me feeling really sick to my stomach,” recalls an employee who later left the organization. “It became clear they were going to respond to this ordeal with a whole lot of bureaucratic whitewashing.”
Bloomberg Isn't That Stupid
So I have no idea what game he's playing.
We all understand that if you know anything about power in American politics, that if you are roughly on board with the agenda of one party over the other, then you're pretty much an idiot for voting for (for example) the "good moderate Republican" over the "bad conservative Democrat" even if the good moderate Republican (I think there used to be a couple) is genuine (though ultimately any good moderate Republican would switch parties for the reason I am about to explain). Having a majority in the House or Senate is much more important than electing any individual person, no matter how good or bad, and of course in the Senate that means you need 60 (sometimes! it's confusing) so it's even more true.
This is the mostly true logic for supporting, for example, anti-choice Democrats.
Anyway the point is that if Bloomberg wants to flip the House to Democrats, and he's putting a lot of money into doing that, he can't have his left and right hands wrestling each other. So what is he doing?
Michael Bloomberg — a week after pledging $80 million to help Dems win the House (https://t.co/6wcxSNDm20) — held a fundraiser at his home last night for Republican Rep. Peter King.
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) June 29, 2018
Co-hosts asked to raise $10k for King. pic.twitter.com/4DbJu8Te72
We all understand that if you know anything about power in American politics, that if you are roughly on board with the agenda of one party over the other, then you're pretty much an idiot for voting for (for example) the "good moderate Republican" over the "bad conservative Democrat" even if the good moderate Republican (I think there used to be a couple) is genuine (though ultimately any good moderate Republican would switch parties for the reason I am about to explain). Having a majority in the House or Senate is much more important than electing any individual person, no matter how good or bad, and of course in the Senate that means you need 60 (sometimes! it's confusing) so it's even more true.
This is the mostly true logic for supporting, for example, anti-choice Democrats.
Anyway the point is that if Bloomberg wants to flip the House to Democrats, and he's putting a lot of money into doing that, he can't have his left and right hands wrestling each other. So what is he doing?
The Battle in Seattle
Aka — for the Twitter users going berserk — Mnuchin LIED. Trump has explicitly told his adviser he wants to withdraw from the WTO many times. Mnuchin has been in the room when he has said this. Every sentence in our story is accurate, including the way we framed the plausibility. https://t.co/drvJQqoAPZ
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) June 29, 2018
The Post-Roe Nightmare
I'm too young to remember that world, but I'm aware enough that the world has changed since that world. Society had ways of "dealing" with "certain problems" which, while horrendous, were at least structures for handling certain inevitabilities. And the universal casual sex and nonmarried serial monogamy (depending on you preferences!) aren't just going away.
Gonna be a lot of baby daddies. A lot of baby mommies, too, but I think women are aware of that.
Gonna be a lot of baby daddies. A lot of baby mommies, too, but I think women are aware of that.
Thursday, June 28, 2018
It Matters
I shouldn't have to point this out, but making abortion illegal doesn't just make it impossible for nasty slutty sluts to get safe abortions or even uterus-related care in general (this is very bad, but not the only issue), it also makes it impossible for women to get other necessary medical care. Doctors are already paranoid about treating pregnant (or possibly pregnant) women because they could cause an inadvertent miscarriage. Just wait until the punishment for that isn't a malpractice suit, but murder charges.
They Have To Make The Argument?
Don't quite get it.
Pressure Senate Democrats to hold the line. Liberal groups will intensify the pressure on Senate Democrats to declare at the outset that any nominee from Trump’s shortlist is a nonstarter, period, full stop.
“There’s no reason why every Democrat can’t say that right now,” Fallon said, characterizing the message that groups will deliver to Senate Democrats. “The idea that anyone would reserve judgment cedes the timing and framing to Trump. We’re going to be putting a lot of pressure on Democrats to close ranks quickly behind the idea that anyone on that list is disqualifying.”
This might generate a lot of tut-tutting from certain Beltway observers. But as another Democratic operative, Adam Jentleson, pointed out, Mitch McConnell essentially shredded all the old rules in these nomination battles when he refused a hearing to Merrick Garland, and if Democrats don’t play by the “new rules,” they’re “playing a fool’s game.”
I WILL FIGHT FOR YOOOOOOOUUUUU
It's my least favorite common campaign line from democrats, especially when they are incumbents or people who otherwise are/were in positions of power. There is no try, just do. Stop promising it and do it.
There's always some tension by diagnosing image problems as a problem of media portrayal or a problem of how Dems portray themselves, but there's something to the point that they're too unwilling to take their own side in an argument, and some do not understand that no one cares about fairness and hypocrisy. You aren't going to stop Mitch from doing what Mitch wants to do by trying to get a ruling from Referee Zombie Tim Russert.
There are limits to how much the minority party can gum up the Senate - and I'm no expert in all the tools available to them - but they certainly can cause problems.
There's always some tension by diagnosing image problems as a problem of media portrayal or a problem of how Dems portray themselves, but there's something to the point that they're too unwilling to take their own side in an argument, and some do not understand that no one cares about fairness and hypocrisy. You aren't going to stop Mitch from doing what Mitch wants to do by trying to get a ruling from Referee Zombie Tim Russert.
There are limits to how much the minority party can gum up the Senate - and I'm no expert in all the tools available to them - but they certainly can cause problems.
What Is There To Say
Back in the old days, explaining that George Bush sucked was actually a valuable contribution to the discourse as it was a weirdly lacking perspective in the media. 9/11 and war justified everything and it was conventional wisdom that "the adults were in charge" after all that nasty Clinton business.
I don't need to try to explain why Trump is horrible. He makes that rather obvious. Everybody knows this except the 40% who think he's fine and nothing can convince them.
I don't need to try to explain why Trump is horrible. He makes that rather obvious. Everybody knows this except the 40% who think he's fine and nothing can convince them.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
I Am Bad At The Internet
I never tried to game google with SEO when that was a thing, and I never tried to get traffic from Facebook when that was a thing.
Things I Don't Get
Nothing is about me. I get that. But as a notparent I don't complain about my property taxes (okay, sure, I want them to be fair but I am happy to pay for kids to go to school). I also don't want babies to be locked in cages. I don't think people having babies is the cause of the problems in the world (something lots of people with kids and grandkids complain about) and even if it is, it's the problems we have to deal with not the procreation.
My Pet Peeves (Which Are Very Boring I Know)
Because of my peculiar interests, I read a lot of local forums. And wow do people complain about tickets. Parking tickets. Speeding tickets. Running red light tickets. I'm not immune to complaints that sometimes these things are priced a bit too high, or that violations which lead to people being unable to continue driving are actually a tremendous punishment, but often these complaints really are just "wow I got a $35 ticket and I don't want to pay it even though I deserved it how do I fight it."
Pay the damn ticket. You parked in front of a hydrant you asshole.
Pay the damn ticket. You parked in front of a hydrant you asshole.
What A Strange Publication
I really have a had time understanding the people who work at the NYT.
Before Tuesday’s victory catapulted her to the front of the political conversation, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez seemed to find readier audiences with outlets such as Elite Daily, Mic or Refinery29 — websites most often associated with millennial and female audiences — than with national publications.
Morning Thread
The story, for me, remains the Democratic voter turnout.
#NY19 congratulates Antonio Delgado, Democratic primary winner! Voters cast over 34,328 ballots today vs 19,352 in 2016, an increase of at least 77%! The #BlueWave is coming for #NoShowFaso in November.
My bold.
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Rage Against The Machine
I don't claim to know enough about this race, but people I trust were rooting for this outcome.
These Are People Of The Land. The Common Clay Of The New West. You Know, Morons.
Tomorrow is Wednesday.
Purity Politics
For some reason the left-leaning commentariat is obsessed with people who vote for Nader or Jill Stein or whoever. I think people who are engaged in politics who vote for Nader or Jill Stein or who loudly declare their intentions not to vote are narcissistic idiots. The lesser of two evils is the only real choice. Always.
But it isn't those assholes on the internet who are concerned with the purity of their own essence who sway elections. Hate Nader the man or Jill Stein or Susan Sarandon all you want! I am not their biggest fans, either. Still it's the masses of unengaged voters who just don't bother who matter, not some 1990s Slatebro.
But it isn't those assholes on the internet who are concerned with the purity of their own essence who sway elections. Hate Nader the man or Jill Stein or Susan Sarandon all you want! I am not their biggest fans, either. Still it's the masses of unengaged voters who just don't bother who matter, not some 1990s Slatebro.
The Internet Of Shit
I know I come across is a bit of a technophobe sometimes, though I don't see myself that way. Being skeptical about the Segway revolutionizing transportation would have been a pretty good bet, for example. Lots of tech nerd stuff sounds cool in science fiction stories but isn't actually useful, even once we manage to invent it. Sometimes people don't think through the obvious consequences of their gadgets.
Their stories are part of a new pattern of behavior in domestic abuse cases tied to the rise of smart home technology. Internet-connected locks, speakers, thermostats, lights and cameras that have been marketed as the newest conveniences are now also being used as a means for harassment, monitoring, revenge and control.
Only in DC
We've had a years of an organized political movement dedicated to making it legal to discriminate against gay people in retail establishments, but just don't be mean to baby kidnapping supporter Sarah Sanders.
Morning Thread
I can't recommend Echidne's post Fuck Civility post enough. Really, we have to draw the line somewhere. Ripping babies from their mother's breast is a good place to start.
For some reason I've been thinking of Albert Speer. To the day he died, he claimed he had no notion of the holocaust. He was just a pencil pusher tasked with getting stuff from here to there. Why stuff needed to be moved was not in his job description so he never asked?
For some reason I've been thinking of Albert Speer. To the day he died, he claimed he had no notion of the holocaust. He was just a pencil pusher tasked with getting stuff from here to there. Why stuff needed to be moved was not in his job description so he never asked?
Monday, June 25, 2018
Broadcast News
Is it a good movie? I liked it when I saw it. That was decades ago. Would I like it now? I am a bit scared.
Biden Baker
I honestly don't remember this. In 2012 a baker refused to serve Joe Biden and Republicans made him a hero. I don't remember this because why would I? Who cares. If a baker doesn't want serve Joe Biden I don't care. I don't remember it happening. I also don't remember several furious op-eds about it. Did they happen?
Scream At Them Always
Only the elite DC press could decide that baby kidnappers were sympathetic figures.
Yell at them whenever you see them.
Yell at them whenever you see them.
Community Garden
I am generally anti-community garden for various reasons (short version: better than an empty lot, but they are private parks not public ones) but I have a plot now and here are two things the squirrels did not steal. Fuck squirrels.
WE WILL FIGHT FOR YOUUUUUUUUUU
It's a weird thing Dems say. I don't know why they have to fight? They need to win elections and then pass good laws.
The Civility Refs
The 2016 election taught us that appealing to the civility referees is the best way to win elections. The civility referees were so into calling fouls on Donald Trump that they refused to point the camera at his empty podiums.
Twitter Jail
I'm not mad. I was trying to see what it would take. Telling 3 people to kill themselves did it!
The Price of Fame
Once upon a time I was asked by a cable news show host (no longer one) who I didn't much like to audition to be a regular on the show. I suppose to be the liberal Erick Erickson of sorts. I decided I didn't want to bother for many reasons. Probably my bank account is mad at that decision (cable news guests are not paid until they become regulars, but are reasonably compensated then). Some of those reasons were just practical. This sucky blog, which I feel an obligation to, takes a lot of time (even if that isn't always obvious), and taking a train to NYC 3+ days per week would have made my life complicated (the internet is everywhere now, it wasn't then so much). I didn't think I'd be especially good at being a TV pundit. But also, to be honest, I just didn't want to be famous.
Once upon a time I was a bit internet famous back when that was sort of a weird thing. I am not even internet famous anymore. While I would love to be your benevolent dictator, because I would be the best benevolent dictator, I really don't want to be famous. It's still a bit entertaining when people recognize me on the streets, which happens occasionally, but I would not want it to happen all the time.
If I was on the teevee regularly, I wouldn't be surprised if my local cheesesteak vendor didn't serve me. I would find it funny, and would not be mad at all. It's also why I don't want to be on the teevee regularly, but we all make choices.
Once upon a time I was a bit internet famous back when that was sort of a weird thing. I am not even internet famous anymore. While I would love to be your benevolent dictator, because I would be the best benevolent dictator, I really don't want to be famous. It's still a bit entertaining when people recognize me on the streets, which happens occasionally, but I would not want it to happen all the time.
If I was on the teevee regularly, I wouldn't be surprised if my local cheesesteak vendor didn't serve me. I would find it funny, and would not be mad at all. It's also why I don't want to be on the teevee regularly, but we all make choices.
Fuck Walgreens
I get prescriptions at a well known pharmacy not named Walgreens as it is the closest to me. I don't know what their policies about this kind of thing are.
I'm not mad at the people who work in my pharmacy and do not say this in order to try get anyone trouble, but I do find it a bit disturbing that they do tend to loudly talk about the name of the drugs people are purchasing. "Are you here for the [insert drug name]?" kind of thing. Again, I'm not mad and not trying to get anyone in trouble, but generally it's a kind of a bad practice.
I'm not mad at the people who work in my pharmacy and do not say this in order to try get anyone trouble, but I do find it a bit disturbing that they do tend to loudly talk about the name of the drugs people are purchasing. "Are you here for the [insert drug name]?" kind of thing. Again, I'm not mad and not trying to get anyone in trouble, but generally it's a kind of a bad practice.
Civilitude
These conversations only come up when the left is being very uncivil. The Tea Partiers crashed every town hall for a year and this was just an expression of democracy from real Americans truly upset about the black guy being president whatever the fuck they were supposed to be upset about.
Thanks, Obama
My personal opinion:
— Arne Duncan (@arneduncan) June 24, 2018
No matter how much we dislike or disagree with someone, we should not deny them the chance to have a meal.
The history in our country of denying people access to restaurants, to water fountains and even bathrooms is too raw, too real.
We can’t keep dividing.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Taken 4
I am not a parent. I know lots of people in politics and journalism are parents. They have children. I believe most of these people would use their particular set of skills to do anything to rescue their kids from being kidnapped. Except, it seems, being mean to people in restaurants. That's too much.
Our elite gatekeepers are monsters.
Our elite gatekeepers are monsters.
That Could Be Me
Saw it a million years ago so this is a fuzzy memory, but there's a scene in The Queen, the movie about the royals in the aftermath of the death of Diana, where Elizabeth confronts Tony Blair about why he seemed to have a change of heart and helped to turn the tide of public sentiment, which briefly was in favor of burning Buckingham Palace to the ground, back in her favor. She (the character, of course, this is fiction) was a bit of jerk and said something like "You only did this because you saw the angry crowds and you knew it could be you, next."
That is why people in DC think it is a valid question about whether business owners can deny service to gay people, but not serving a meal to Sarah Sanders is a sign of impending liberal fascism.
That is why people in DC think it is a valid question about whether business owners can deny service to gay people, but not serving a meal to Sarah Sanders is a sign of impending liberal fascism.
Suburban Memories
The first time I remember (not necessarily actually the first time - memory is the devil's volleyball) going into The Big City was when I was...14? I mean going into the Big City without my parents. I'm not sure if I ever really went to the Big City with them, other than the Zoo and the Franklin Institute. I went to a double bill of Stop Making Sense and the Home of the Brave...and then a midnight showing of Rocky Horror. On South Street. Back when it was the home of the Punks. A place of possibilities. The timeless old attraction.
I live near there now. It has changed.
I live near there now. It has changed.
Uh Oh Guys
A businesss owner asked Huckabee Sanders to leave and now the civility police are very upset and Trump, known for his civility and his appeal to our better natures, is going to be president for life. That's the rule.
2000 children have been kidnapped but...do... not... be... mean... to Sarah. It's just what the Trump White House wants! They're gonna have to kidnap more kids now, just to own the libs.
Hard to imagine an incident that would be more helpful to Trump White House and more harmful to its critics than this refusal to serve a senior government official, however troubling her views. https://t.co/J1OOS2puUK
— David Ignatius (@IgnatiusPost) June 24, 2018
2000 children have been kidnapped but...do... not... be... mean... to Sarah. It's just what the Trump White House wants! They're gonna have to kidnap more kids now, just to own the libs.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Saturday Afternoon
Wow it occurs to me the Huckabee family might be bad. This is shocking and disturbing.
The Racism
Philly has a history of racism as bad as any city (there are some good moments, too, but generally). Third generation white flighters still talk about how the blahs ruined the old neighborhood, and those left behind are still mad that those people ruined their neighborhood.
The weird thing is that recent visible (visible means "don't obviously blend in" to white people) immigration - Latino (mostly Mexican) and Asian (Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Chinese...) - hasn't inspired a big racist backlash. I don't mean every white person loves their new Cambodian neighbor, just that... it isn't a thing. Aside from the racist cheesesteak place - and that's for tourists and people in South Jersey (the racist cheesesteak guy lived in South Jersey) - there isn't a politics of racism against immigrants. Of course there is racism in institutions (cops, unions, criminal justice, etc...). Again I am not pretending Philly is not a racist place, just that the racism against... immigrants... has mostly not been a thing here.
The weird thing is that recent visible (visible means "don't obviously blend in" to white people) immigration - Latino (mostly Mexican) and Asian (Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Chinese...) - hasn't inspired a big racist backlash. I don't mean every white person loves their new Cambodian neighbor, just that... it isn't a thing. Aside from the racist cheesesteak place - and that's for tourists and people in South Jersey (the racist cheesesteak guy lived in South Jersey) - there isn't a politics of racism against immigrants. Of course there is racism in institutions (cops, unions, criminal justice, etc...). Again I am not pretending Philly is not a racist place, just that the racism against... immigrants... has mostly not been a thing here.
Why
It's difficult to express "there are certain kinds of bigotry I understand, and certain kinds I don't" because it sounds like I find one kind acceptable and one kind not. Of course that isn't true. It's just that having existed most of my life in American culture, I comprehend where some of it comes from. How it formed and percolated and persisted and too often boiled over. Not a justification.
I don't really get the recent eruptions of anti-immigrant hysteria. Sure some of it just part of the general package of racism. That part I get. None of the anti-immigrant hysteria is directed at the Canadian menace (at least the white Canadian menace). Get rid of all the brown people. That's America!
So, yes, to the extent that it's that simple, I get it. But there's something else going on that I really just don't understand. Maybe I can't explain it in an early morning blog post before I have had my coffee.
I don't really get the recent eruptions of anti-immigrant hysteria. Sure some of it just part of the general package of racism. That part I get. None of the anti-immigrant hysteria is directed at the Canadian menace (at least the white Canadian menace). Get rid of all the brown people. That's America!
So, yes, to the extent that it's that simple, I get it. But there's something else going on that I really just don't understand. Maybe I can't explain it in an early morning blog post before I have had my coffee.
Friday, June 22, 2018
The Week of Sucky Blogging
I hope it is not always apparent to you, dear readers, but sometimes life intervenes and I get busy with other things (sometimes bad things, sometimes less bad things, sometimes fun things), and this blog sucks even more than usual and while it is dumb that it stresses me out it actually does. This has been a busy week as have quite a few been in the past several months for various combinations of those reasons. It isn't because I do not love you all, because I do...
Friday Evening
Letters to my younger self:
Nostradamus didn't predict this one, did he.
Well, you see, 19-year-old Atrios, in 2018 the final clash of civilization will involve a battle between Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold, and Tom's the one fighting on the side of light...
Nostradamus didn't predict this one, did he.
Eat Shit
I don't always pile on the "Trump voters deserve what they get!" narratives Not everyone is sophisticated about politics and Trump said a lot of things during the campaign. And certainly not all locations and regions deserve what they get. There are D voters everywhere and it isn't their fault. But this guy can eat shit.
This is pure "we are the good people, the MULTI-GENERATIONAL AMERICAN FAMILIES" that you were supposed to give the good stuff too, once you took it from the blahs.
I'm sorry you thought Trump was just going to kick blahs and immigrants, except presumably the immigrants that are heavily employed in the agricultural industry, but you're still an asshole.
"This isn't just numbers on a sheet or percentage of trade or dollar value," said Michael Petefish, a 33-year old Trump supporter and fifth generation farmer in southern Minnesota.
Standing on the farm he will likely run for the next 40 years, he added, "This is multi-generational American families, your base, that you are now squarely putting into financial peril."
This is pure "we are the good people, the MULTI-GENERATIONAL AMERICAN FAMILIES" that you were supposed to give the good stuff too, once you took it from the blahs.
I'm sorry you thought Trump was just going to kick blahs and immigrants, except presumably the immigrants that are heavily employed in the agricultural industry, but you're still an asshole.
They Lie About Everything
Journalists - the lickspittles at the New York Times especially - are unwilling to deal with the fact that they lie about everything. Not the hyperbole or little white lies or apocryphal anecdote which are a perfectly normal part of politcal discourse. Not the occasional misstatement or shaded truth that needs to be "fact checked." They're just liars. They have no compunction about lying about everything and they do. Nothing they say should be believed, and nothing they say should be transmitted in any way before confirming the veracity. And sources who lie should be burned, but hahahahahaha that never happens.
Meanwhile, Behind The Curtain
A House panel has belatedly approved the 2019 federal budget proposal. And guess what 'the largest looming shadow on America's future is?"
The growing national debt! And that requires some firm cuts, tough love cuts, especially after all those tax breaks for the wealthiest among us:
The proposed mandatory reduction includes $1.5 trillion from Medicaid, $537 billion from Medicare and $2.6 trillion in reductions to other programs such as welfare, nutritional assistance and other anti-poverty programs.
Democrats have cried foul over the measure, accusing Republicans of slashing entitlements and key programs just months after blowing up the deficit with their signature tax plan, which the Congressional Budget Office projected will add $1.9 trillion to deficits over the decade.
Bolds are mine.
In his campaign Trump promised not to touch Medicare...
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Foster Care Or Whatever
We do love children.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Immigrant children as young as 14 housed at a juvenile detention center in Virginia say they were beaten while handcuffed and locked up for long periods in solitary confinement, left nude and shivering in concrete cells.
And They Don't Even Have Their Washington Post Jobs Yet
The Bushies were never tainted by association. Safeway Men and Women, every single one. The idea that elite society will shun Trump people is ridiculous. Assholes yelling at them at restaurants is the best we can do, and that is very naughty. Very naughty indeed.
Morning Thread
As readers have pointed out, nothing has been averted. Not even temporarily. My bad! I still say there will be another crisis created, if only to draw attention away from what's going on at the border.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Total Normal And Accountable Government Agency
Going to have to imprison them all.
As a result of what I witnessed, I have made a decision that if I'm ever assigned to a flight with children who've been separated from their families, I will immediately remove myself from the trip due to the nature of this unconscionable act by my government and my employer's complicity.
I have told my story to many of my flight attendant colleagues and they have pledged to do the same.
Since sharing my story, I learned from a fellow flight attendant that he was lied to by an ICE agent who said the children on the flight were part of a soccer team. When pressed, the agent finally admitted that they were, indeed children who were being relocated to assigned camps.
Really Wrong To Make Nazi Comparisons
So I would never do that.
Over the last three years, Texas inspectors found eight deficiencies at Shiloh, including overdue background check renewals for staff and poorly supervised medication inside the facility. A pending lawsuit alleges immigrant children housed there were held down and forcibly injected with drugs, rendering them unable to walk, afraid of people and wanting to sleep constantly.
Any Fix Could Be Worse
"Something" will change, because this isn't going to go away as long as it is happening, but the worry is the fix will actually be worse but the media will declare it solved and move on.
It Only Takes 2
2 Republican senators could flip control of the Senate. They won't, of course, but that's all it takes.
How Will You Treat Them When They Work With You At The Washington Post
The stain is real. It is indelible. The closer you are to the policy the bigger it is, but everyone is tainted. And no one will forget. Not voters. Not future employers. Not the people you will meet. No one. If you work in the Trump administration, this is you.
— Ruth Marcus (@RuthMarcus) June 20, 2018
Marc Thiessen is a torture apologist and a Post columnist. This is just not how any of this works.
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
How To Make Things Better
It was very hard to be a blugger during the Obama era. "George Bush sucks" was pretty easy and it sustained this pop stand for a number of years. No one wanted to hear "actually, Obama sorta sucks," especially after the 2010 midterms. I don't mean that I do this for popularity, but a lot of what I do now is about keeping you, dear readers, from killing each other in the comments.
I was a guest in a college classroom recently. One of the questions was something along the lines of "have you been writing about immigration issues?" The answer was... no, not enough. Some. But Obama was horrific on this and I am mad that I let his apologists convince me otherwise.
It isn't enough that Democrats are not as evil as the other guys. The horrors inflicted on people are documented and real, and all for a grand bargain which never happened.
I was a guest in a college classroom recently. One of the questions was something along the lines of "have you been writing about immigration issues?" The answer was... no, not enough. Some. But Obama was horrific on this and I am mad that I let his apologists convince me otherwise.
It isn't enough that Democrats are not as evil as the other guys. The horrors inflicted on people are documented and real, and all for a grand bargain which never happened.
Believe Them
Modern conservatives (including elected Republicans) aren't very shy about advertising their racism and cruelty. It isn't hidden. You don't have to call a fire engine siren a "dog whistle." They don't bother with the dog whistles anymore.
Where Are The Girls And Toddlers
One can rarely go wrong assuming that the Right's obsessions are projection. And this is scary.
A Healthy Political Movement
Good job everybody.
(CNN)The armed man who for more than an hour blocked a highway near the Hoover Dam with an armored truck and held a sign that said "Release the OIG report" is in an Arizona jail accused of several felonies, police said Saturday.
Matthew Phillip Wright, 30, of Henderson, Nevada, is accused of terrorist acts, unlawful flight from law enforcement, carrying a weapon in the commission of a felony and misconduct involving weapons. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of blocking a highway.
"Release the OIG report" apparently refers to the US Justice Department's internal watchdog report on the department's handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe. The 568-page report was released this week, leaving Wright's message unclear.
Monday, June 18, 2018
Bigot Eruptions
I don't even quite remember what inspired the anti-immigration uprising of the aughts. But it was a thing. There's a former member of Congress who I actually considered to be a friend (not a close friend, of course, but a guy I knew before he was in Congress), who ran on it and... lost. He became an ex-friend before he lost because I can't deal with that shit. Hating on immigrants, supporting curb cuts, you know. These are my lines. It's one thing to be tough on crime (for example) and another thing to run on being "tough on crime." Text and subtext. Policy and propaganda. You get the idea.
We all have our issues.
We all have our issues.
Of Course Trump Is Worse
But immigration activists were screaming about the Obama administration abuses (and they were abuses, just not the same) for years. The idea was that Obama would beat the crap out pf some immigrants for a few years and then the Republicans would be charmed by this and pass some sort of comprehensive immigration bill, the same way they came on board for a Grand Bargain (thank God they didn't) and an ACA compromise. We joke about the current President Deals but really it was Obama who was the original Deals.
There must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said -- no. But, somehow we missed it.
Well, we'll know better next time.
There must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said -- no. But, somehow we missed it.
Well, we'll know better next time.
Stupid People
When I was young and stupid I assumed the people they put on the op-ed pages and on the teevee were smart. Those white guys on the PBS Newshour must be smart! Only the smartest people in America would be asked to write for the New York Times!
Then I realized they were mostly dumb.
Then I realized they were mostly dumb.
Women Can Be Bad, Too
There is an annoying tendency to assume that women are always a softening force in politics, that they will make things a bit less bad, like your mommy kissing your boo boo.
Women can be bad, too. They just tend to have fewer opportunities to do so.
Women can be bad, too. They just tend to have fewer opportunities to do so.
These People Can't Tie Their Shoes
Aside from the evil, these people are incompetent. Would you trust them to take care of your kids, let alone thousands?
The Bullshit Spray Gun
The head of DHS is asserting, Spicey style, that up is down, PERIOD, and conservative media is running with "chain-link partitions are not cages."
People are so depraved.
People are so depraved.
Consequences
One can't hope for much in our "look forwards, not backwards [when it comes to holding rich people accountable]" nation, but hopefully some of these people will be scared to travel to another country for the rest of their lives.
Monday Morning Thread
We're going to sizzle today. Thank the goddess I'm not in an jail cell with no air conditioning.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
I'd Thought I'd Seen It All Before
A lack of (a certain kind of) passion is valued in our political discourse. It's mostly bullshit, but supposedly we're supposed to be Vulcans unless we are old white guys getting mad at the kids and blahs today.
Everybody has their issues. We aren't all obligated to be inspired by the same things. My white hot rage about curb cuts probably does not make sense to most people. I get that.
I am always suspicious about the people who have valuable pundit positions who never display any white hot rage. Maybe not this, but at least that. Maybe once. Ever? Why are you here? Aside from the paycheck, why do you do this?
Everybody has their issues. We aren't all obligated to be inspired by the same things. My white hot rage about curb cuts probably does not make sense to most people. I get that.
I am always suspicious about the people who have valuable pundit positions who never display any white hot rage. Maybe not this, but at least that. Maybe once. Ever? Why are you here? Aside from the paycheck, why do you do this?
Nobody Cares What I'm Talking About
I came into this politics blogger shit largely through media criticism. But how many times I can I point out that Meet The Press doesn't have any Democrats on it? And while I think the freak show matters...trying to manipulate the freak show is a soul sucking activity which makes me die just a little bit inside.
Democrats are not in power. There are two schools of thought about why the Democrats are shit at being in the minority, in the way that Republicans never are. One is that the media is basically against them. I sympathize with this view. The other is that the Democrats are completely shit at working the freak show. I sympathize with this view too. Is it a squirrel, is it a beaver? Maybe both but not quite either!
And tomorrow is Monday. Again.
Democrats are not in power. There are two schools of thought about why the Democrats are shit at being in the minority, in the way that Republicans never are. One is that the media is basically against them. I sympathize with this view. The other is that the Democrats are completely shit at working the freak show. I sympathize with this view too. Is it a squirrel, is it a beaver? Maybe both but not quite either!
And tomorrow is Monday. Again.
Bari Weiss Just Can't Find The Google On Her Internet
OK let's talk for a minute about what a fraud Salena Zito is, and how S.E. Cupp carried on that fraud for her in @nytopinion pic.twitter.com/MbXucaJf87
— Tom Scocca (@tomscocca) June 17, 2018
click the link for the rest.
The Morality Party
They have one thing: abortion. That's it. I'm not saying I agree with their proclaimed views on abortion (or even think most of them believe it), but, ok, if you really believe abortion is killing babies then thinking all pro-choice liberals are immoral monsters is reasonable.
Otherwise...there is no limit to the cruelty endorsed by the top members of the Republican party and the conservative movement. They're bad people.
Otherwise...there is no limit to the cruelty endorsed by the top members of the Republican party and the conservative movement. They're bad people.
Monsters
Really we just need to listen to (checks notes) people who thinks it's cool to take kids from their parents and put them in cages. Be their friends. Acknowledge their points of view. Bridge the divide.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Sports Betting
I have rather mixed feelings about the proliferation of legalized gambling, and non-mixed feelings about the belief by local public officials that we can gamble our way to prosperity, but as gambling goes, betting on sportsball is probably the healthiest. There's a time disconnect between the placing of the bet and the result, so your brain isn't getting that constant drug hit you get from playing the slots or table games. It's the difference between buying a lottery ticket and buying scratch cards. Shouldn't bet the rent on any of it, but...
Opinion Can Be Moved
The Sorkin plot that someone can give a big speech and suddenly everything changes is dumb, but leaders can lead and opinion can shift. Get out ahead of things sometimes.
But Jeff Flake Tweets
There will come a time when the Trump era is over and media figures who spent a lot of time tut-tutting critics on the Left (naughty words!) and elevating critics on the Right (save us, Bill Kristol, you're our only hope), will welcome the "normal" Republican party back to power as if they haven't supported everything Trump has done.
Friday, June 15, 2018
Oops
BREAKING: Theranos founder, former chief operating officer charged with defrauding investors, doctors and patients.
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 15, 2018
New Rule
If you are a Democratic president, do not appoint Republicans to top law enforcement, defense, intelligence, and diplomacy jobs. GOP Daddies are bad.
In The Pokey
The best and worst thing about rich white guys going to jail is that it inspires a conversation about our brutal criminal justice system.
A bunch of guys on Rikers sympathize with that struggle.
A federal judge Friday revoked the bail of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and ordered him taken into custody after he was accused of tampering with witnesses in special counsel Robert Mueller’s criminal case against him.
“I have struggled with this decision,” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said before announcing her decision.
A bunch of guys on Rikers sympathize with that struggle.
Donald, Are You There? Donald? Big Don?
Nothing can bail out Cohen at this point.
Trump is only loyal to Trump and maybe Ivanka. Maybe.
(CNN)President Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen has indicated to family and friends he is willing to cooperate with federal investigators to alleviate the pressure on himself and his family, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Cohen has expressed anger with the treatment he has gotten from the President, who has minimized his relationship with Cohen, and comments from the President's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the source said. The treatment has left him feeling isolated and more open to cooperating, the source said.
Trump is only loyal to Trump and maybe Ivanka. Maybe.
We Do Love Children In America
I don't have children. For decades (I am old enough that I can say this - two decades!) people have been telling me some version of "you just don't get it" about numerous subjects, often only tangentially related to the having of children, because I do not have them.
Yah, well, I see parents thinking it's cool to put toddlers in concentration camps, so maybe having children is not the empathy giver it is supposed to be.
Yah, well, I see parents thinking it's cool to put toddlers in concentration camps, so maybe having children is not the empathy giver it is supposed to be.
Thursday, June 14, 2018
I Missed One
It's unlikely, but there is the possibility that it gets built and then the question is:
Most transit of all kinds is subsidized in various ways. The benefits of the network outweigh the private costs is one justification, though not the only reason or justification. But "rich people mass transit" tends to be the most subsidized of all. Ferries. Airport trains. That kind of thing.
Just how high will the per trip operating subsidy be?
Most transit of all kinds is subsidized in various ways. The benefits of the network outweigh the private costs is one justification, though not the only reason or justification. But "rich people mass transit" tends to be the most subsidized of all. Ferries. Airport trains. That kind of thing.
Bruni
Frank Bruni was the worst campaign reporter in 2000, then a horrible Vatican reporter, than America's worst restaurant critic, and then a simultaneously boring and bad columnist, which is a talent. Bad enough that you roll your eyes, but boring and inconsequential enough that you just don't care enough to bother to complain.
Who does he have pictures of? I mean, I grudgingly have to admit, as much as it pains me, that people like Brooks and Dowd have had, at least at times, admiring audiences. Bruni? It's weird.
Who does he have pictures of? I mean, I grudgingly have to admit, as much as it pains me, that people like Brooks and Dowd have had, at least at times, admiring audiences. Bruni? It's weird.
Tough On Democrats
The reasons are complicated and not entirely clear, but my entire adult life, people in positions of authority and power have felt the need to prove they are "tough on Democrats." Whether it's the supposedly liberal media, including the eventheliberalmedia, the Democratic president of United States, the head of the FBI, ... I mean, I'm tough on Democrats too, but generally from The Left, which is a different sort of thing and absent most other places.
Sounds Kinda Bad
Really nothing they do isn't corrupt.
The New York attorney general on Thursday filed suit against President Trump and his three eldest children alleging “persistently illegal conduct” at the president’s personal charity, saying Trump repeatedly misused the nonprofit — to pay off his businesses’ creditors, to decorate one of his golf clubs and to stage a multimillion dollar giveaway at his 2016 campaign events.
Because They're Stupid
One of my rules of "scandals with legs" is that they have to be a little bit stupid. It's a sad comment on all of us, but one reason people can't stop talking about something is because it's a little bit stupid and we all feel the need to say "BUT THIS IS STUPID" and explain why it is stupid and why it is so stupid that "we" keep talking about it but we can't stop talking about it because it is SO STUPID.
And that is what Elon and Rahm have done to me with their Tunnel of Love ride to the airport. I will never be able to stop talking about this or thinking about it or wanting to explain just how stupid it is even though the stupidest is part is that it will never be built and I need to spend my time thinking about more important things like past seasons of The Bachelor.
And that is what Elon and Rahm have done to me with their Tunnel of Love ride to the airport. I will never be able to stop talking about this or thinking about it or wanting to explain just how stupid it is even though the stupidest is part is that it will never be built and I need to spend my time thinking about more important things like past seasons of The Bachelor.
Elon&Rahm
Obviously these guys were just sent to this earth to torment me (and in Rahm's case, a bunch of minority kids and adults).
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
I'll Take Boondoggles For $1000, Alex
So funny.
Take your bets on:
1) the year they throw a bunch of public money at it to keep it going
2) the year they throw a bunch more public money at it despite it being clear it will never be built
3) the year everybody knows it will never be built
4) the year they finally pull the plug
Happy to be wrong!
Autonomous 16-passenger vehicles would zip back and forth at speeds exceeding 100 mph in tunnels between the Loop and O’Hare International Airport under a high-speed transit proposal being negotiated between Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s City Hall and billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk’s The Boring Co., city and company officials have confirmed.
Take your bets on:
1) the year they throw a bunch of public money at it to keep it going
2) the year they throw a bunch more public money at it despite it being clear it will never be built
3) the year everybody knows it will never be built
4) the year they finally pull the plug
Happy to be wrong!
Wages Will Never Go Up Again
Fed raises interest rates, of course, because inflation is just around the corner...
Trump Talks About Diplomacy Like Everyone Does
OK he's always extra stupid about it, but he doesn't really sound any different than any number of foreign policy "experts" who talk about diplomacy and agreements as if they're all about status and face saving and who bowed and who had the stronger handshake, rather than people and states with concrete interests (justifable or not). Some talk about the big swinging dick contests using bigger words and a more somber tone, but usually that's how they talk about it.
And nobody cares about human rights issues.
And nobody cares about human rights issues.
I Can't Think Of Anything I'm Not Guilty Of
I suspect Cohen's one of those guy for whom once anybody turned over a rock or two...it was always gonna be over.
And just why would it hit them hard?
The amount of white collar crime that goes uninvestigated - let alone unpunished - in this country is staggering.
Cohen, now with no legal representation, is likely to cooperate with federal prosecutors in New York, sources said. This development, which is believed to be imminent, will likely hit the White House, family members, staffers and counsels hard.
And just why would it hit them hard?
The amount of white collar crime that goes uninvestigated - let alone unpunished - in this country is staggering.
Can't Keep A Good Grifter Down
Hilarious.
The disgraced organizer of the Fyre Festival, who was charged last year with wire fraud in connection to the failed event, ran a fraudulent ticket-selling scam for several months while he was out on bail and now faces new charges, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Wow The News Is Just Dominated By Fretting Deficit Hawks
Just kidding they only get thawed from their pods when Democrats are in charge.
The U.S. government had a $147 billion budget deficit in May, an increase of 66 percent from the same month last year as the ledger took a hit from declining revenue and higher spending, according to Treasury Department data released on Tuesday.
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Trump Is Uniquely Bad... In Some Ways
Sometimes I make somewhat not in vogue points about how, Actually, George Bush was worse than Trump. Obviously Trump is catching up fast and I have never denied that this was possible and likely. Still there's a weird amnesia about past presidents and their administrations. George and Dick were not just right of center politicians who I quibbled with, and nor were their boosters. They did evil things incompetently, which made them more evil.
One doesn't need to pretend the past was good to criticize Trump. More than that, it's not helpful. The actions are the problem, not the man. When the man leaves power the actions will still be bad.
One doesn't need to pretend the past was good to criticize Trump. More than that, it's not helpful. The actions are the problem, not the man. When the man leaves power the actions will still be bad.
The Cure For Boredom
My memory of childhood contains very long periods of boredom. I suppose learning to cope with boredom is healthy - both in terms of accepting being bored and finding creative ways to not be bored - and a lack of boredom likely reduces the attention span significantly, but being bored... sucked. Totally sucked. Boredom was torture. And there were limits to the old parental standbys, "read a book" (which I did, often) and "go walk around the block" (it was a boring block).
Being bored as an adult kinda sucks, too. Waiting rooms. Airplanes. Bus rides.
But the phones. The world is in our pocket. Who amongst us can't easily kill 2 hours messing around on those things? Music, video, the intertubes, games, whatever. I used to spring for Amtrak sometimes when I went to NYC and now "eh, whatever, I'll take the bus." 10 bucks or so and 2 hours if traffic behaves. The phone will entertain me. And occasionally I will still read a book.
Being bored as an adult kinda sucks, too. Waiting rooms. Airplanes. Bus rides.
But the phones. The world is in our pocket. Who amongst us can't easily kill 2 hours messing around on those things? Music, video, the intertubes, games, whatever. I used to spring for Amtrak sometimes when I went to NYC and now "eh, whatever, I'll take the bus." 10 bucks or so and 2 hours if traffic behaves. The phone will entertain me. And occasionally I will still read a book.
Rocket Man
I know a lot has to do with sticking it to the Obama that lives in his head, but I still haven't seen a clear explanation for why Trump seems to have genuine affection for Kim Jong-Un.
Monday, June 11, 2018
Bourdain
Even before his suicide I'd probably read more things about Bourdain than things by him, and was more aware of things written about his TV shows than watched the shows myself. No particular reason. His shows are actually the kind of thing I like! Just never really got around to it. The one he did in Philly was good.
But what always came through was that he did not treat Others as inscrutable outsiders, foreign countries (or even foreign cities) as museums or colonial outposts, or food tours as a Michelin star restaurant roundup. So that was good.
But what always came through was that he did not treat Others as inscrutable outsiders, foreign countries (or even foreign cities) as museums or colonial outposts, or food tours as a Michelin star restaurant roundup. So that was good.
My Transportation Plan
A tunnel from my house to a dozen of my favorite destinations, with a little choo choo car. Anyone can ride it, if they can figure out how to get into my basement. I hope the government funds this.
What Could Go Wrong
Tesla's "autopilot" hasn't actually been, is not likely to be, and even if the software is genius, the hardware just isn't up to the task.
People will die and this will be a combination of driver error and a few eggs most be broken for the glorious AI omelette.
Over the weekend, avid Twitter user Elon Musk said that Tesla’s “long awaited” Version 9 of Autopilot would begin rolling out this August. “To date, Autopilot resources have rightly focused entirely on safety,” Musk tweeted. “With V9, we will begin to enable full self-driving features.”
...
Indeed, every time there is a crash involving Autopilot, the company issues a statement reminding drivers “to keep their hands on the wheel and maintain control of the vehicle at all times.” (Musk has been featured in news segments using Autopilot without his hands touching the steering wheel.)
People will die and this will be a combination of driver error and a few eggs most be broken for the glorious AI omelette.
We're The New York Times, Bitches
All too established elite institutions are bad.
One New York Times reporter, who asked to not to be identified in order to speak freely about their workplace, says they heard a couple of surprising sentiments expressed at the paper: That McGann was either angry about not having a job at the Times, or else too slutty to be believed.
“I heard from people in the DC bureau that all the middle-aged white guys, the national security reporters, the people who see themselves as the traditionalists, were all talking about how Laura McGann is a big slut who’s doing this to advance her career,” the person tells Jezebel, paraphrasing what they’d heard. “Which was pointed out to them doesn’t make much sense. It didn’t seem to make a difference.”
Inscrutable
It's pretty normal for coverage of foreigners, especially the "exotic" and "dark" kind, to treat them like weirdly inhuman aliens with their own bizarre customs that Merkins just can't understand. It's one thing - still bad - to cover people this way when they actually have some distinct customs. But sometimes... they're just like us! And that's still treated as something impossible to understand.
I can't find it now (google is basically useless for that type of thing these days) but back during the early days of our glorious adventure in Iraq, there was one particular story about how Arab men have this weird code of "honor" and because of that they tended to get upset when soldiers burst down their doors in the middle of the night and shoved their faces into the floor. Very humiliating, you see, because of this bizarre sense of "honor."
I can't find it now (google is basically useless for that type of thing these days) but back during the early days of our glorious adventure in Iraq, there was one particular story about how Arab men have this weird code of "honor" and because of that they tended to get upset when soldiers burst down their doors in the middle of the night and shoved their faces into the floor. Very humiliating, you see, because of this bizarre sense of "honor."
Elon Musk Has Made Me Mad
I thought I never had to think about PRT (personal rapid transit vehicles) again because self-driving cars had replaced them in the imagination of "what if mass transit...but it's cars" crowd. But then Elon came along and told everyone he could run PRTs in tunnels (not a new idea) and stupid nerds who don't know anything about transportation got all excited again. The stupidest article every written on such a thing was just published in the Atlantic (you will go have to find it yourselves). As someone remarked, when magazines publish things that are this stupid on things you do know about, it tends to make you doubt whether you can learn anything about the things you don't know about from them. The reason I haven't read The Economist in years.
It's so stupid one can't even try to rebut it, but in general:
1) you can move a lot of people in trains.
2) you can't move a lot of people in small individual/shared vehicles.
3) more potential stops and more flexible routing always slow things down, no matter how clever you think your solution to this problem is.
4) as you think more about these problems, you inevitably pull yourself back to a more fixed route/fewer stop system with larger cars until you converge on...a basic subway system.
It's so stupid one can't even try to rebut it, but in general:
1) you can move a lot of people in trains.
2) you can't move a lot of people in small individual/shared vehicles.
3) more potential stops and more flexible routing always slow things down, no matter how clever you think your solution to this problem is.
4) as you think more about these problems, you inevitably pull yourself back to a more fixed route/fewer stop system with larger cars until you converge on...a basic subway system.
Morning Thread
Paul Rebmann is one the very best nature photographers we have. Lighten your mood, go look at pretty pictures.
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Stop The Madness
I have been having very vivid dreams lately. As is usually the case I tend to forget them pretty quickly, except the impression they leave, which lately has been, well, "vivid."
I do remember the basic outlines from my dream before waking this morning. I was Spider-Man. Nay, not Spider-Man, but the brother of Spider-Man, who had to step in to take his place for reasons I do not remember. I had to go fight the Green Goblin, who after a bit of training in my spider skills (somehow I had them), I managed beat. Except my vanquished villain was not the actual Green Goblin, but a robot Green Goblin. The real Green Goblin was building an army of robots who, as is it turned out, were Daleks.
The Marvel-Who crossover is inevitable.
I do remember the basic outlines from my dream before waking this morning. I was Spider-Man. Nay, not Spider-Man, but the brother of Spider-Man, who had to step in to take his place for reasons I do not remember. I had to go fight the Green Goblin, who after a bit of training in my spider skills (somehow I had them), I managed beat. Except my vanquished villain was not the actual Green Goblin, but a robot Green Goblin. The real Green Goblin was building an army of robots who, as is it turned out, were Daleks.
The Marvel-Who crossover is inevitable.
Tony Tony
I like live theater and see a lot of it though because I do not live in NYC and do not have infinite money and time I do not usually see the productions that Mr. Tony sees. (If you are a NYC local, finding reasonably priced tickets for most shows is not so hard. Just harder to commit to a for tourist trip.)
But I have actually seen many of these this year!
Farinelli and the King.
Angels in America.
Three Tall Women.
Travesties.
All good, don't care who wins.
But I have actually seen many of these this year!
Farinelli and the King.
Angels in America.
Three Tall Women.
Travesties.
All good, don't care who wins.
Shit Is Always Fucked Up And Bullshit
More high profile celebrity suicides have been in the news lately, but I'm also still sad about the death of Scott.
My mostly online friend Leah wrote about Frightened Rabbit.
And my mostly online friend Deanna wrote about helping people who deal with depression.
My mostly online friend Leah wrote about Frightened Rabbit.
And my mostly online friend Deanna wrote about helping people who deal with depression.
No One Cares
I just don't know what's wrong with the brains of people who truly think Trudeau gives a shit Trump's people trash talk him or that Rocket Man is going to be scared and intimidated by this kind of thing.
Even Rocket Man and Trudeau, hardly the children of poverty, have likely faced more adversity in life than this crew.
Even Rocket Man and Trudeau, hardly the children of poverty, have likely faced more adversity in life than this crew.
Cancel Your Subscriptions
NYT lede.
SINGAPORE — When President Trump declared that he did not really need to prepare for his legacy-defining meeting with North Korea’s leader, he drew sighs or snickers from veterans of past negotiations. But he had a point: In his own unorthodox way, Mr. Trump has been preparing for this encounter his entire adult life.
Saturday, June 09, 2018
Trade Wars Was A Fun Game
There are exceptions and it's sometimes complicated but basically:
Trump: Unfair you have high tariffs!
Canada: umwhat?
Yurp: a bit, but not really bro
Trump: Get rid of all tariffs or I will raise ours!
Canada,Yurp: sure, dude, backatya. Gonna raise tariffs on every industry located where your supporters are located.
Trump: We are going to have free trade now!
I mean as I said it's complicated with some industry carveouts and blahblahblah, but basically NAFTA largely lives up to its name. The real issue is that Trump thinks if there is a trade deficit then it means other countries are getting stuff for free instead of just giving us a bunch of money instead of goods and that since our goods are the yugest, there must be something unfair going on. No it doesn't make any sense, even if you have a dim view of some of these agreements.
Trump: Unfair you have high tariffs!
Canada: umwhat?
Yurp: a bit, but not really bro
Trump: Get rid of all tariffs or I will raise ours!
Canada,Yurp: sure, dude, backatya. Gonna raise tariffs on every industry located where your supporters are located.
Trump: We are going to have free trade now!
I mean as I said it's complicated with some industry carveouts and blahblahblah, but basically NAFTA largely lives up to its name. The real issue is that Trump thinks if there is a trade deficit then it means other countries are getting stuff for free instead of just giving us a bunch of money instead of goods and that since our goods are the yugest, there must be something unfair going on. No it doesn't make any sense, even if you have a dim view of some of these agreements.
I Admire Their Balls, Getting Out Of Bed At All
That there are so many sociopaths, that they find each other, and that they run the country... do not get.
Random Story Saturday
I briefly knew a guy who was a buyer for a large supermarket chain. His job was to make deals to get the massive amounts of grain for the future store brand cereal production. This is a huge amount of food production, and making sure you have the supply booked up - low cost imports from anywhere they can be found, basically (this was not a US chain, so a lot of grain was imported) - way in advance was important.
Amusing was his nonscientific (though not necessarily incorrect) views of the product. "It's all poison. Do not eat it." But more relevant to now, you can get the impact of things like Brexit uncertainty and threatened future tariff changes on these types of businesses. Supply contracts start shifting long before they actually take effect, and even if they never do.
Amusing was his nonscientific (though not necessarily incorrect) views of the product. "It's all poison. Do not eat it." But more relevant to now, you can get the impact of things like Brexit uncertainty and threatened future tariff changes on these types of businesses. Supply contracts start shifting long before they actually take effect, and even if they never do.
Us And Them
Trump promised to screw immigrants and black people, which is a pretty good way to win elections in much of this country. He's also screwing poor white people, middle class people, and even higher into the income distribution. It isn't just Trump - these are all trends. Kicking the poors and the blahs has become kicking almost everybody.
Morning Thread
Reminder, a long time valued poster is having her first novel published July 2nd. You can pre-order the Kindle edition of
through Atrios' link to Amazon on the left side of the page. I ordered my copy and can't wait for it to arrive!
through Atrios' link to Amazon on the left side of the page. I ordered my copy and can't wait for it to arrive!
Friday, June 08, 2018
Incoming
BREAKING A new indictment was returned by prosecutors with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III this afternoon in federal court in Washington, according to court papers. Details are expected imminently.
— Spencer Hsu (@hsu_spencer) June 8, 2018
...another one for Manafort. Not that fun.
...oh and an aide.
In court documents, prosecutors with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III allege that Manafort and his associate — referred to only as Person A — tried to contact the two witnesses by phone and through encrypted messaging apps. The description of Person A matches his longtime business colleague in Ukraine, Konstantin Kilimnik.
Heckuva Job
I figured Republicans would steal this issue eventually. The Democrats left it on the table. No not all democrats, of course, but they won't be able to take credit for it or make it an election issue.
Good if he actually goes through with it, but...
President Trump said he likely will support a congressional effort to end the federal ban on marijuana, a major step that would reshape the pot industry and end the threat of a Justice Department crackdown.
Good if he actually goes through with it, but...
Norms
The press does focus a lot on "norm erosion" under Trump. Decrying the process and failure to submit to traditions is an acceptable thing to take a position on. Sometimes these criticisms are valid and important, but other times they just... don't really matters. Some norms and traditions are at best pointless, and they tend to accumulate over time. Nothing wrong with chucking a few of them out the window.
For some reason Democrats act as if respecting the norms is super important. This is either sorta dumb or sorta dishonest. I'm not always sure which. Some norms and processes are important because our constitution sucks and making it work depends on respecting them, and some adherence to tradition can always be defended on those grounds, but sometimes outcomes matter much more.
For some reason Democrats act as if respecting the norms is super important. This is either sorta dumb or sorta dishonest. I'm not always sure which. Some norms and processes are important because our constitution sucks and making it work depends on respecting them, and some adherence to tradition can always be defended on those grounds, but sometimes outcomes matter much more.
Nothing Matters
Once upon at time I was at a journalism conference and a person whose name you probably know was talking about her then-newspaper (I don't say the name only because this is from memory and the details are fuzzy. Not because there is some need to protect her or that it was off the record). Basically she said she didn't believe in doing activist journalism, but then went on to say that she was proud of reporting that her newspaper had done which had led to a change in law which (I think, again from memory) closed a loophole which was letting people get off from DUI charges. I pointed out that this was a bit of a contradiction.
There's a lot in there: 1) that we all agree DUI is bad 2) we all agree that this particular law was badly crafted and 3) (probably most importantly) we all agree that the new law which led to more people being penalized for DUIs was superior. Even if 1) and 2) are noncontroversial, 3) should be. I mean, even if you think DUIs are bad and should be punished, there are still problems with bringing people into the justice system, with giving cops increased power for car stops and checkpoints, etc. Maybe this isn't the most controversial thing in the world, but it still involves essentially taking a stand on what the law should be.
And it isn't too much of a reach to go from there to "putting children in cages is bad and we would hope our reporting on this issue will put a stop to this practice." Or "racism is bad" or "children shouldn't die because they can't get medical care."
There's a lot in there: 1) that we all agree DUI is bad 2) we all agree that this particular law was badly crafted and 3) (probably most importantly) we all agree that the new law which led to more people being penalized for DUIs was superior. Even if 1) and 2) are noncontroversial, 3) should be. I mean, even if you think DUIs are bad and should be punished, there are still problems with bringing people into the justice system, with giving cops increased power for car stops and checkpoints, etc. Maybe this isn't the most controversial thing in the world, but it still involves essentially taking a stand on what the law should be.
And it isn't too much of a reach to go from there to "putting children in cages is bad and we would hope our reporting on this issue will put a stop to this practice." Or "racism is bad" or "children shouldn't die because they can't get medical care."
Bad People
Policies have consequences and often (not always) those consequences are largely foreseeable. People who enact policies which cause misery and sickness and death are bad people. This basic concept rarely shows up in political coverage, even from teeve pundits or in op-ed pages. Policy, when it is discussed, is usually presented as a clash of ideology, with an underlying assumption that everybody mostly wants the same things and they just disagree about how best to get there. Nobody really wants to starve granny or have children go without health insurance.
But they do.
But they do.
Thursday, June 07, 2018
Never Tweet
JUST IN: Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo submits his resignation in the wake of being accused of using multiple fake social media accounts to anonymously disparage players and fellow executives. https://t.co/6yMTk02cOv pic.twitter.com/5lbjVSrhgj
— ABC News (@ABC) June 7, 2018
On Teevee
Of course Piro doesn't actually want to be Attorney General. That's a job that requires actual work and thought about things. Jeffy Jeff Sessions is probably the worst person in America, but I think even he understands that it's a real job. Like many people in the Trump administration, including, of course, Trump, she wants to be the star of a teevee show. The Attorney General show, in her case.
I blame Aaron Sorkin for all of this.
I blame Aaron Sorkin for all of this.
Surly Blog Post
I typed this one 15 times and kept deleting it so you will just have to imagine what it was.
Nicer Things Are Not Possible
How did we lose in 2020?
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and other top Democrats are vowing to abide by fiscally hawkish pay-as-you-go rules if they seize the majority next year, rejecting calls from liberals who feel they’d be an impediment to big legislative gains.
Pelosi, who adopted “pay-go” rules when she held the Speaker’s gavel more than a decade ago, says she’ll push to do it again if the Democrats win the House in November’s midterm elections.
America's Best Infographics
Trump gets a lot out of trade wars. The U.S. gets less https://t.co/8cBm4ps2i8 pic.twitter.com/59450VAZmF
— Bloomberg (@business) June 7, 2018
We Do Love Children
That's really what separates America from the rest of the world. We love children. So much.
Plenty of these children almost certainly US citizens, of course.
Agents surrounded the perimeter of the Castalia location, blocking off nearby streets as helicopters flew overhead, AP and local television stations reported. They arrested 114 workers suspected of being in the country illegally and loaded many onto buses bound for ICE detention facilities. Dozens of the workers’ children were left stranded at day-care centers and with babysitters, local activists wrote on social media.
Plenty of these children almost certainly US citizens, of course.
Wednesday, June 06, 2018
Racism And Nice Things
Absent a post-9/11 rally around the flag type effect, I think it'll be a long time before any president will be very popular. The teams kind of hate each other now. So a popular president means have a 55%ish approval rating over an extended period.
Donald Trump campaigned on racism and nice things. Too many people say "this is what he promised!!!" but he's only delivering on the racism, not the nice things. I thought there was a mild possibility he'd deliver on a couple of nice things, like maybe some infrastructure spending and not being obsessed with cutting SocialSecurityAndMedicare quite as much as most people in DC are, but those weren't the only nice things he promised.
Lots of people prattle on about "populism" and while there is really no similarity between left wing and right wing populism, there a "populism" which could be popular in a mostly white very racist country. Racism+nice things. What left wing and right wing "populists" are interested aren't the same, but the truth is someone who could deliver both would probably be...reasonably popular.
Mr. Deals could be Mr. 55% if he'd just delivered on the nice things. That isn't entirely good, and not a trade-off I would make, but now all we have is the racism.
Donald Trump campaigned on racism and nice things. Too many people say "this is what he promised!!!" but he's only delivering on the racism, not the nice things. I thought there was a mild possibility he'd deliver on a couple of nice things, like maybe some infrastructure spending and not being obsessed with cutting SocialSecurityAndMedicare quite as much as most people in DC are, but those weren't the only nice things he promised.
Lots of people prattle on about "populism" and while there is really no similarity between left wing and right wing populism, there a "populism" which could be popular in a mostly white very racist country. Racism+nice things. What left wing and right wing "populists" are interested aren't the same, but the truth is someone who could deliver both would probably be...reasonably popular.
Mr. Deals could be Mr. 55% if he'd just delivered on the nice things. That isn't entirely good, and not a trade-off I would make, but now all we have is the racism.
You Can't Appease Him
The NFL could mandate all black players be brought out with their hands taped to their hearts and propped up on poles to prevent them from kneeling, and Trump would still make this an issue. Trump doesn't care about any issues except Trump, and keeping his applause lines alive, no matter what the relevant facts, is what matters.
Sportsball might not matter much, but it's helpful tale to understand many things that do. The only thing that will stop Trump harassing the NFL is if he finds a new racist thing he likes better. And even then probably not. Also, too, why should they care?
Because NFL owners are quite stupid even by the water-brained standards of the ultra-rich, they devised a strange sort of tiered non-compromise compromise on the protests in the hopes that Trump would stop ranting about their league and the ungrateful, un-American, subhuman thugs who are both its labor and its product. They did this without the consent or even the input of the players, which displeased the players. And Trump, because he is Trump, did not accept the deal. He’s a man who only knows how to do a couple of things, but one of those things is to find a bruise and then push and push on it. He does that very well.
Sportsball might not matter much, but it's helpful tale to understand many things that do. The only thing that will stop Trump harassing the NFL is if he finds a new racist thing he likes better. And even then probably not. Also, too, why should they care?
Labour's Brexit
I suspect I don't agree with Jeremy Corbyn's actual (not entirely known) position on Brexit, but there's this weird thing in British punditry right now where the mostly anti-Brexit serious pundit class, who generally hate Corbyn and as in America basically want Very Serious Tories to run the country (not necessarily the Bad Tories but, you know, the good ones, whoever they might be though no one quite knows who they are). Essentially they want Labour - which doesn't run the government and has less power than Democrats in Congress now - to somehow clean up Theresa May's mess.
It really is like The Discourse in this country. Republicans are painted as the Responsible Daddy Party and then they get drunk and fuck everything up and then the Mommy Party is supposed to clean up the puke as punishment for failing to keep Daddy away from the liquor cabinet in the first place.
It really is like The Discourse in this country. Republicans are painted as the Responsible Daddy Party and then they get drunk and fuck everything up and then the Mommy Party is supposed to clean up the puke as punishment for failing to keep Daddy away from the liquor cabinet in the first place.
Top Two
I haven't had a chance to dig in, but buzz seems to be that Democrats have avoided losing a bunch of Congressional races in California, which was a worry because too many ran and split the D vote.
I know even plenty of basically partisan people have a weird dislike of partisan primaries and seem to happily embrace any "solution" to that "problem," but those solutions are all bad. The top two system is dumb. Open primaries are dumb. There's no perfectly right way to do these things, and all will have consequences, but I think there's something obviously off about a primary system where two Republicans (or Democrats) can be on the general election ballot by getting, say, 20% of the vote, while 80% goes to candidates from the other party.
I know even plenty of basically partisan people have a weird dislike of partisan primaries and seem to happily embrace any "solution" to that "problem," but those solutions are all bad. The top two system is dumb. Open primaries are dumb. There's no perfectly right way to do these things, and all will have consequences, but I think there's something obviously off about a primary system where two Republicans (or Democrats) can be on the general election ballot by getting, say, 20% of the vote, while 80% goes to candidates from the other party.
Huzzah!
One of our long time and respected commenters is having her first work of fiction published. The kindle edition of Same River Twice can be pre-ordered through Atrios' link to Amazon on the left side of the page. I haven't read it yet, but feel confident in predicting that it will a real page turner. Go.Order.Now.
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
The Best People
Even *I* wouldn't mock John McCain in that way.
Kelly Sadler, the White House communications aide who made a imprudent comment about Republican Sen. John McCain's health last month, no longer works in the administration, three sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
In the aftermath of the comment -- in which Sadler told a meeting that McCain's opposition to CIA director nominee Gina Haspel didn't matter because he's "dying" -- the White House refused to condemn her remark. She remained on the staff for nearly a month before departing.
Enrico Palazzo
Of course.
Trump unable to remember words to "God Bless America" at replacement event he commissioned to prove his patriotism: https://t.co/LrMPaCEnen pic.twitter.com/oCcWMX9g39
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) June 5, 2018
I Bet A Billionaire Has Lots Of New And Interesting Ideas
Like, uh..."debt is bad and everyone needs to suffer." The usual.
How are we going to pay for these things, I wonder from my $25 million home? Well, Schultz is worth $2.8 billion. Perhaps, and I’m just throwing this out there, if we were to “redistribute” most of his “wealth” from his “stupid fucking bank account” and “big dumb houses” to “people who need healthcare,” and do the same thing with the 540 other billionaires in America, we might get there. A crazy idea, I know.
Attempted Murder
That police respond this way without any verification is a problem, but whoever set them up knows what they were asking to happen.
It is prank, it is an attempt to get somebody killed.
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - The family of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg was "swatted" Tuesday morning, causing police to respond to their Parkland home.
A call came into the Broward Sheriff's Office claiming a hostage situation at the home.
...
In a phone call with Local 10, Hogg reacted to the massive police presence at his home following the prank call.
It is prank, it is an attempt to get somebody killed.
Sportsball
It's the kind of thing that matters much less than everything else, but it's part of Trump's "othering" of black people. They are unpatriotic. They aren't real Americans. Members of my local sportsball team didn't even taken a knee or stay in the locker room, but Trump gets to paint them as America haters simply because black people play football.
Monday, June 04, 2018
Oopsie
JUST IN: U.S. Special Counsel Mueller says ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has attempted to tamper with potential witness - court filing pic.twitter.com/9Dcxi9YGyw
— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) June 5, 2018
Self-Driving Taxis Are So Stupid
As an urbandweller without a car, I do take taxis sometimes. And since Uber/Lyft have eroded the hailable cab presence, I do increasingly take Lyft. But I just marvel that anyone these thinks these can be realistically driverless anytime soon, that they can pull up to a a crowded venue when people are leaving, or rely on the your phone GPS marking your location perfectly, or...really anything. It's so hilarious anybody thinks this can work. And they don't, really. They're just grifting.
Which Jobs Should "Criminals" Be Allowed To Have
For many people the answer is "none."
Maybe there isn't a simple answer, but what are these people supposed to do?
Three years after he was released from prison, Chammout wanted to be an Uber driver. The company did not run a background check on him and he was allowed to drive in 2015. Three months later, he followed one of his passengers into her home and sexually assaulted her. He is now serving a 25-year prison sentence.
It wasn't the only time Uber welcomed a driver who should have been barred under the company's policy that excludes people with convictions of serious crimes or major driving offenses from shuttling passengers, a CNN investigation into rideshare background checks found.
Maybe there isn't a simple answer, but what are these people supposed to do?
Something's Not Right
When I visited an immigration detention center housing the children separated from their families, I was barred entry & the police were called on me. The front doors were locked and blacked out. What are they hiding about the conditions these innocent children are being held in? pic.twitter.com/LkEbAYAbcm
— Jeff Merkley (@JeffMerkley) June 4, 2018