Saturday, February 10, 2018
We're Only All Going To Die If It's On The News
Obviously I'm linking to a news article so it is getting some coverage, but the severity of the flu season isn't getting that much coverage given how many people are dying.
It's enough that there could be panicked newscasts nightly. Or, as we see, not! What is covered has such power to impact our perception of dangers.
It's enough that there could be panicked newscasts nightly. Or, as we see, not! What is covered has such power to impact our perception of dangers.
Why Don't We Just Impeach Him?
I don't mind people saying Trump should be impeached - though they should be a bit specific about precisely why - but there is no "we." Need the majority of the House to impeach (that's after the process actually starts) and 2/3 of the Senate to convict and hahahaha. I mean, it isn't going to happen. I'm not saying no revelation could lead it to happening, but no revelation as of now is going to make it happen. And while this isn't an argument against driving Trump from office on the merits, it also isn't one quick trick to ending Trumpism, because Trumpism mostly isn't about Trump. It's about the Republican party.
We wouldn't have the daily drama with President Pence, but otherwise things would be just as bad. Maybe worse!
We wouldn't have the daily drama with President Pence, but otherwise things would be just as bad. Maybe worse!
The Worst People
As Trump cycles through the list of people actually willing to work for Trump, they're going to get more and more hideous...
Friday, February 09, 2018
Where Did I Hear That Name
Meadows... Meadows...
Oh, right.
I'm not sure Cohn and Mulvaney can do every job? They're totally running out of people...
Several Trump confidantes reached by ABC News said the president is considering multiple names as possible Kelly replacements, among those, top economic adviser Gary Cohn, Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney and Rep. Mark Meadows.
Oh, right.
The House Committee on Ethics is still investigating Rep. Mark Meadows’ (R-NC) handling of sexual harassment complaints against his former chief of staff, numerous sources have confirmed to The Daily Beast.
And though the primary source of interest has been why Meadows, the Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, continued to pay his former top aide Kenny West long after complaints were made about West’s behavior and even following West’s termination, another wrinkle has recently emerged. A former Meadows aide has testified to the committee that top staff and, perhaps, even Meadows himself were made aware of West’s behavior far earlier than has been publicly reported.
I'm not sure Cohn and Mulvaney can do every job? They're totally running out of people...
Why I'm Cranky
Seeing more and more of this type of thing.
For perspective, 30 years ago was 1988. Been stasis ever since.
Montana Sen. Jon Tester didn’t have any specific ideas in mind, but offered some principles the party should look at. “It wouldn’t increase the debt on our kids by a trillion-four, and the middle-class tax breaks — what we have would be permanent,” he said.
He was, however, fairly pessimistic about any changes happening in the near future. “There are a lot of things that could be changed in that, but I don’t see any effort to do any of those things,” he conceded. “I think we’ve got what we’ve got for the next 30 years.”
For perspective, 30 years ago was 1988. Been stasis ever since.
Why Do You Get Arrested For Fare Jumping
But not for stealing much more expensive parking?
I know the answer, but the powers that be need to be asked it more by journalists who are in touch with... haha I kid.
...oops, meant this link, but that one is good too, though different.
I know the answer, but the powers that be need to be asked it more by journalists who are in touch with... haha I kid.
...oops, meant this link, but that one is good too, though different.
But That's All They Have
I don't think "Trump is a unique threat to the country" was a particularly good message - or at least, not enough of one - but take that away and...what's left?
And I'm not against cutting deals that are actually reasonable deals, but you can cut deals and still go for the throat. Republicans always do.
And yet, today, in the highest circles of Democratic party politics, resistance is waning. “This is normal enough,” many key Democrats seem to be saying. When Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in advance of Trump’s State of the Union several weeks ago, he focused on finding ways to “work with” the president, such as infrastructure.
Bipartisan rhetoric is nothing new from politicians, but Democrats appear to be slipping towards making substantive policy concessions to Trump. Particularly in the Senate, Democrats have, bit by bit, begun acceding to Trumpian demands. Their attempted shutdown failed after less than three days, as many in the party pushed for a more conciliatory approach.
And I'm not against cutting deals that are actually reasonable deals, but you can cut deals and still go for the throat. Republicans always do.
The General Is Just Not Wise To The Weird Morality Of DC
To be fair, this isn't entirely crazy, because he's been a creature of it for years so one can forgive him for being surprised that "beating your wife" would be frowned upon by them.
Friends and associates noted that with Mr. Kelly’s lack of experience in Washington politics, he may not have been attuned at first to how the domestic abuse allegations against Mr. Porter would be perceived.
The Crime Was Getting Caught
Nobody cared about the beating accusations because nobody cared about the beating accusations. For a certain kind of man (this is somewhat a generational "code of honor", but not just), it's ok to do anything you want to women, it's just not ok to get caught doing it. You know, cheat on your wife, but don't let her know about it, and certainly don't let her know about it in a way she can't pretend she doesn't know by having it become public. Do what you want, but just don't be dumb enough to get caught. The assault isn't the problem, the pictures are. And throw in Trump's narcissism, and the real problem is that it makes Trump look bad.
No one there cared, they just didn't want it to make them look bad. That's Porter's "crime" (and now Kelly and Hicks).
The president, for his part, was deeply displeased with how his staff had handled this latest self-inflicted crisis. According to two sources with direct knowledge, Trump began commenting in the West Wing about how awful press coverage had been of the Porter scandal and “how terrible” it looked that the White House was forced to back down and—in a jarringly uncharacteristic move from Trump-world—ultimately cop to a grave error.
No one there cared, they just didn't want it to make them look bad. That's Porter's "crime" (and now Kelly and Hicks).
Nobody Cares About The Deficit
I've said this for years, though it wasn't quite true. Democratic politicians genuinely thought it was important. Centrist wonks thought it was important. It dominated all of the budget (especially, but not just, when Democrats were in charge) coverage by our objective political press.
Now can we stop pretending the Republicans care about the deficit? Haha the deficit scolds will be back as soon as Dems are in charge again. Only really stupid people can not see that Republicans run up the deficit, with tax cuts, wars, and occasionally some domestic spending, when they are in charge, and then the Democrats reduce it to win the love and adoration ofvoters Fred Hiatt, while not being able to fund any of their supposed other priorities, then we repeat. It's been that way since 1980. Not as if they have been hiding it. "Reagan proved deficits that don't matter," said Dick Cheney.
Now can we stop pretending the Republicans care about the deficit? Haha the deficit scolds will be back as soon as Dems are in charge again. Only really stupid people can not see that Republicans run up the deficit, with tax cuts, wars, and occasionally some domestic spending, when they are in charge, and then the Democrats reduce it to win the love and adoration of
MOOC'd
Something else I've been proved fucking right about.
After spending $75 million and struggling to create a signature product, the University of Texas System's Institute for Transformational Learning closed its doors last week. The decision follows a recent investigation by The Texas Tribune and Reveal that raised questions about the system's spending.
The institute was created in 2012 under former Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa and the UT System Board of Regents. It was envisioned as a kind of startup technology company that would create digital learning tools like a platform for health education, online courses available to people around the world and an iPad app that would let students access course materials.
Thursday, February 08, 2018
My Rights Versus Yours
Well then.
Three former employees of the famed Cato Institute say they were sexually harassed by Ed Crane, the 73-year-old co-founder and president emeritus of the think tank and one of the most recognizable figures in the libertarian movement.
One former employee said Crane asked her to take off her bra. Another said he compared her breasts to pornographic images on his computer. A third said he sent her an email on breast augmentation. Crane also settled an additional sexual harassment claim by a former employee in 2012, her lawyer confirmed to POLITICO.
...
“Working at Cato, if you’re a young libertarian, is an enormous privilege,” said the former research assistant who said she received an email from Crane about breast augmentation in 2003. “People just sort of thought, ‘Well I’m a libertarian, Ed owns the place, I kind of believe in his right to run it the way he wants to.’”
The Greatest Health Care System In The World
Perhaps I need to make this a daily reminder:
We spent as much or more public (government, taxpayer, whatever you want to call it) money as most "comparable" countries (Europe, etc.) on health care, and then we spend that much again in private (yours, mine, the gofundmes which are increasingly the preferred way to get cancer treatment for your kid, etc.) money.
We spent as much or more public (government, taxpayer, whatever you want to call it) money as most "comparable" countries (Europe, etc.) on health care, and then we spend that much again in private (yours, mine, the gofundmes which are increasingly the preferred way to get cancer treatment for your kid, etc.) money.
Priorities
While we're on local sports franchises.
There's always money in the banana stand... for some things.
The people of Cobb County, Ga., have a budget conundrum on their hands, thanks to craven former county chairman Tim Lee’s insistence on spending almost $400 million in public money for a stadium without giving the public a chance to vote on it. Despite a record-high tax digest, the county is $30 to 55 million in the hole after unlocking a $21 million rainy day fund to fill out the 2018 budget. (Tax cuts passed by Lee have also contributed to the shortfall.) The parks budget has already been beset by issues; non-profits have seen their funding dry up. The latest public institution on the chopping block is the library system, only months after Cobb County unveiled a fancy $10 million new library.
There's always money in the banana stand... for some things.
I Love A Parade
People have been streaming down my (usually quiet) block for hours. People do like their local sports franchise.
Wednesday, February 07, 2018
Coulda Woulda Shoulda
Musk: "We could have done the coast to coast drive but it would have required too much specialized code to game it."
— E.W. Niedermeyer (@Tweetermeyer) February 7, 2018
🤔🤔🤔
Says "we could do it in three months... six months at the outside."
— E.W. Niedermeyer (@Tweetermeyer) February 7, 2018
This sounds... familiar.
This is reference to the coast to coast self-driving trip that was supposed to happen in 2016.
I guess promises of 3-6 months are Musk Time. MT promises.
These Ideas We Shall Always Have With Us
United States of Care is basically an extension of the "Bipartisan Policy Center"'s future of health care initiative (I don't mean institutionally, I mean some of the players, including Frist and Andy Slavitt and Tom Daschle, and their general thrust). Amazing how these people all have so much time to participate in so many of these things! I hope when I'm Daschle's age I have as much money he does and spend it sipping wine in Italy!
Anyway, the point about means testing is here...
Gotta get it juuuuuuuuust right. Not too hot or too cold. Again, the way to get it juuuuuuuust right is simply to tax the hell out rich people, not to force people to leap through fire hoops to prove their eligibility.
Anyway, the point about means testing is here...
BPC’s work will build upon a series of common themes that have animated both parties’ health care proposals, such as:
Policies that promote stable private insurance markets and include pre-existing condition protections
Value-based benefit designs that incentivize delivery of medically appropriate care
Reforms that increase the efficiency of service delivery through appropriate combinations of both public and private incentives while improving the nation’s long-term fiscal position
Approaches to affordability that do not over-subsidize higher-income Americans or under-subsidize lower-income Americans
Medicaid policies that expand administrative flexibility without creating financial risk for states, the federal government, or the beneficiaries of the program
Gotta get it juuuuuuuuust right. Not too hot or too cold. Again, the way to get it juuuuuuuust right is simply to tax the hell out rich people, not to force people to leap through fire hoops to prove their eligibility.
The Worst Thing Hillary Clinton Said During The 2016 Campaign
To me, anyway, and I don't mean it contributed to her losing the election.
This isn't about free college, it's about the idea that every public/publicly provided good needs to be means tested. I think we should soak the rich. We do that by taxing the hell out of them. If their kids want to go to Penn State* (they won't, because they are rich and can go to Harvard), fine. The truth is there aren't that many rich people. We call them the 1% or the 5% or the 10% for a reason. They're 1% or 5% or 10% of the population. They do, however, make a lot more than 1% or 5% or 10% of the income. That's the point. Means testing programs like universal free public college (thus making them not universal) doesn't "save" much money. What does is pushing up their tax rates. Removing the richest person from free college saves a year of tuition. Increasing their tax rate by one percentage point pays for a shitload of tuition for the rest of us.
And if you do want to "save" money through means testing, to get your CBO score down to some arbitrary number that makes Fred Hiatt happy, you have to go much lower in the income distribution. Suddenly your universal free college is only for the bottom 50%. One big problem with ACA is the subsidies aren't generous enough, because the only way to cut the "cost" was to phase them out at fairly low incomes. "Subsidize" health care for everyone and claw it back on their income taxes, not by means testing the program itself.
I'm a little different from those who say we must means test all public goods. I am in favor of letting Donald Trump's kids go to state colleges for free, and increasing his tax rate to pay for the free college for the rest of the kids.
*Penn State is actually quasi-public, but you get the point.
Now, I'm a little different from those who say free college for everybody. I am not in favor of making college free for Donald Trump's kids.
This isn't about free college, it's about the idea that every public/publicly provided good needs to be means tested. I think we should soak the rich. We do that by taxing the hell out of them. If their kids want to go to Penn State* (they won't, because they are rich and can go to Harvard), fine. The truth is there aren't that many rich people. We call them the 1% or the 5% or the 10% for a reason. They're 1% or 5% or 10% of the population. They do, however, make a lot more than 1% or 5% or 10% of the income. That's the point. Means testing programs like universal free public college (thus making them not universal) doesn't "save" much money. What does is pushing up their tax rates. Removing the richest person from free college saves a year of tuition. Increasing their tax rate by one percentage point pays for a shitload of tuition for the rest of us.
And if you do want to "save" money through means testing, to get your CBO score down to some arbitrary number that makes Fred Hiatt happy, you have to go much lower in the income distribution. Suddenly your universal free college is only for the bottom 50%. One big problem with ACA is the subsidies aren't generous enough, because the only way to cut the "cost" was to phase them out at fairly low incomes. "Subsidize" health care for everyone and claw it back on their income taxes, not by means testing the program itself.
I'm a little different from those who say we must means test all public goods. I am in favor of letting Donald Trump's kids go to state colleges for free, and increasing his tax rate to pay for the free college for the rest of the kids.
*Penn State is actually quasi-public, but you get the point.
Mysteries
I don't have kids. I'm not likely to have them in any imaginable scenario. I still want good schools and state funded parental leave and free pre-K and cheap-to-free public universities etc. I have a hard time believing that *most* people who have kids won't benefit from these things directly, and yet... they're perceived as unicorns.
Segway For Stuff
Luggage doesn't seem to be the perfect application, but a "self-driving" small cargo carrier to follow you home from the supermarket would be a good thing for urban dwellers.
Grifters
I'm obviously not one who thinks Dem politics is pure, but the kind of scam fundraising that the Right has had for decades was never really a big thing until now.
Just say "resistance" and "Putin" and make up a bunch of shit and gullible people send you money.
Trump "resistance" has brought a lot of new people to politics - and online is where politics is now - and twitter celebrities have found their marks. This is bad.
I try to warn people, but nobody listens to Atrios. You know, years ago I could've started a PAC and paid myself a nice salary from it. I never did. Fundraising for candidates and causes has always gone directly (or through Actblue, which is the same thing), and I've never promised to spend blog fundraising on anything but me.
Omar Siddiqui couldn’t make it to an August fundraiser in Beverly Hills for the Democratic Coalition Against Trump. But he ponied up the $2,000 ticket price after the group’s senior adviser, Scott Dworkin, sent him a personal invitation.
Months later, Siddiqui, the Democratic challenger to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), was surprised to discover his money—or three of every four dollars of it—had gone to the coffers of consultants and lawyers the group leaned on to fight a libel suit, rather than pushing back against the president.
Just say "resistance" and "Putin" and make up a bunch of shit and gullible people send you money.
Trump "resistance" has brought a lot of new people to politics - and online is where politics is now - and twitter celebrities have found their marks. This is bad.
I try to warn people, but nobody listens to Atrios. You know, years ago I could've started a PAC and paid myself a nice salary from it. I never did. Fundraising for candidates and causes has always gone directly (or through Actblue, which is the same thing), and I've never promised to spend blog fundraising on anything but me.
The Permanent Floating Professional Dems
Members of the party out of power gotta eat, and more importantly they gotta keep in the game. There isn't a lot of money to support lefty causes, but there is a lot of money to support fighting lefty causes. So we get astro-turf groups like the "United States of Care." It's only supported by nonprofits, they are quick to say! Cool. Of course these days in the health care industry the profit/nonprofit distinction is meaningless. The non-profit hospital chain funding the non-profit organization which is the primary funder of this advocacy group is in talks to merge with another non-profit hospital chain to become the largest hospital chain in the country. Take the profit out of big hospital chains and you're left with massive executive compensation.
It has Obama people on board, supporting this noble cause.
Oh no! Volatile swings in health policy! Fortunately these guys are going to try what has never been tried before - bipartisan policy making. The commitment by one of our major parties to this noble cause has never been in question. All we need is the right group to move us beyond politics. Once the politics goes away, then Mitch and Paul will be on board!
But, hey, they're going to "change the conversation" because, as Stephen Hawking said in that Pink Floyd song, all we really need to do is keep talking. There has been no talking about health care for the past 10 years, so if we talk about it a little bit more, maybe with some skype diagnoses from Bill Frist (his specialty), we can get beyond the politics, and... Oh, did I mention Bill Frist is on board? Of course he is. The obligatory pablum:
We have the most fiscally irresponsible health care system in the world. We already spent as much public money, as % of GDP, as most "comparable" (Europe, etc.) countries and then we spend that much again with private money. The only fiscally responsible health care choice, unless this is code for "keep the government out of it" (which it is), is to emulate the roughly 3-4 successful models which are out there and which we are determined not to emulate. Because America.
The support of dedicated Medicare privatizer Bill Frist will ensure it's fiscally responsible! More grifting! The family business got rich off of Medicare fraud, so he knows just how troubling Medicare is.
The goal of these organizations is a) provide respectable employment for people waiting to get back into power and b) become the "respectable" face of health care advocacy, marginalizing anything else.
Mock them and anyone who gets near them. Radioactivity is good.
Sometimes the dirtbag left overstates the case, but endeavors like this, explicitly designed to blur the distinctions between the parties, don't do much to undermine the potato-potahto view of politics.
It has Obama people on board, supporting this noble cause.
The organization is trying to prepare for an eventual opening for bipartisan policy making, while heading off increasingly volatile swings in health policy when political fortunes shift in Washington. Already, potential Democratic contenders for the 2020 presidential election are signing on to Senator Bernie Sanders’ ‘Medicare for All’ bill, which has more than a dozen co-sponsors in the Senate.
Oh no! Volatile swings in health policy! Fortunately these guys are going to try what has never been tried before - bipartisan policy making. The commitment by one of our major parties to this noble cause has never been in question. All we need is the right group to move us beyond politics. Once the politics goes away, then Mitch and Paul will be on board!
But, hey, they're going to "change the conversation" because, as Stephen Hawking said in that Pink Floyd song, all we really need to do is keep talking. There has been no talking about health care for the past 10 years, so if we talk about it a little bit more, maybe with some skype diagnoses from Bill Frist (his specialty), we can get beyond the politics, and... Oh, did I mention Bill Frist is on board? Of course he is. The obligatory pablum:
Affordable Source of Care: Every American should have an affordable regular source of care for themselves and their families
Protection from Financial Devastation: All Americans should be protected from financial devastation because of illness or injury
Political and Economic Viability: Policies to achieve these aims must be fiscally responsible and win the political support needed to ensure long-term stability
We have the most fiscally irresponsible health care system in the world. We already spent as much public money, as % of GDP, as most "comparable" (Europe, etc.) countries and then we spend that much again with private money. The only fiscally responsible health care choice, unless this is code for "keep the government out of it" (which it is), is to emulate the roughly 3-4 successful models which are out there and which we are determined not to emulate. Because America.
The support of dedicated Medicare privatizer Bill Frist will ensure it's fiscally responsible! More grifting! The family business got rich off of Medicare fraud, so he knows just how troubling Medicare is.
The goal of these organizations is a) provide respectable employment for people waiting to get back into power and b) become the "respectable" face of health care advocacy, marginalizing anything else.
Mock them and anyone who gets near them. Radioactivity is good.
Sometimes the dirtbag left overstates the case, but endeavors like this, explicitly designed to blur the distinctions between the parties, don't do much to undermine the potato-potahto view of politics.
Morning Thread
Dear Leader's handlers are going to have to learn that you can never appease a two year old. The demands will just keep escalating every time you cave.
Tuesday, February 06, 2018
Something Else I Can't Make Fun Of Europe For
Always used to say, "At least we don't do that..."
President Trump’s vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America’s armed forces.
Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump and top generals in the Pentagon’s tank — a room reserved for top secret discussions — marked a tipping point, according to two officials briefed on the planning.
Speaking Of People Ripping Off Taxpayers And Destroying Lives In The Process
Maybe Ira Glass can spend some time on this.
Asshole.
For this huge task, FEMA tapped Tiffany Brown, an Atlanta entrepreneur with no experience in large-scale disaster relief and at least five canceled government contracts in her past. FEMA awarded her $156 million for the job, and Ms. Brown, who is the sole owner and employee of her company, Tribute Contracting LLC, set out to find some help.
Ms. Brown, who is adept at navigating the federal contracting system, hired a wedding caterer in Atlanta with a staff of 11 to freeze-dry wild mushrooms and rice, chicken and rice, and vegetable soup. She found a nonprofit in Texas that had shipped food aid overseas and domestically, including to a Houston food bank after Hurricane Harvey.
By the time 18.5 million meals were due, Tribute had delivered only 50,000. And FEMA inspectors discovered a problem: The food had been packaged separately from the pouches used to heat them. FEMA’s solicitation required “self-heating meals.”
Asshole.
I Love A Parade
My local transit authority greatly screwed up the last time a local franchise won a big sporting competition. They're trying to do better this time, but the truth is the capacity of the rail system - the way most irregular riders get in from the suburbs on mass transit- just isn't big enough to handle those kinds of crowds.
I'll resist critiquing the plan and just summarize it and add a few recommendations for locals:
Subways are running all day for free with some stop skipping. Check the maps.
Commuter ("regional rail") system is running only inbound trains before the parade and only outbound ones after, also with limited stops. Check the maps. Only taking passes and day passes, no cash or single tickets (this is ridiculous, gr.). Best to buy them beforehand if you don't already have one. Family pass is a good deal if have a family (two adults+the brood).
Buses running with lots of detours of course.
Tips&tricks: take the bits no one knows about if they are convenient. The Norristown High Speed line is a good option. Take it to 69th st. and take the MFL the rest of the way. The 101+102 trolleys are similarly good options. Also to 69th st. Jersey people take PATCO of course.
Likely the best suburban trick, if the options above don't help, is finding that nearby bus line you didn't know was there which probably only runs about once and hour or even less frequently but which will take you into the city.
If you're going to drive in and park - either come really early and park at the stadiums or go to North Philly, not South Philly, and take the BSL the rest of the way.
Good luck.
...oops no stadium parking. Stay away from south philly.
I'll resist critiquing the plan and just summarize it and add a few recommendations for locals:
Subways are running all day for free with some stop skipping. Check the maps.
Commuter ("regional rail") system is running only inbound trains before the parade and only outbound ones after, also with limited stops. Check the maps. Only taking passes and day passes, no cash or single tickets (this is ridiculous, gr.). Best to buy them beforehand if you don't already have one. Family pass is a good deal if have a family (two adults+the brood).
Buses running with lots of detours of course.
Tips&tricks: take the bits no one knows about if they are convenient. The Norristown High Speed line is a good option. Take it to 69th st. and take the MFL the rest of the way. The 101+102 trolleys are similarly good options. Also to 69th st. Jersey people take PATCO of course.
Likely the best suburban trick, if the options above don't help, is finding that nearby bus line you didn't know was there which probably only runs about once and hour or even less frequently but which will take you into the city.
If you're going to drive in and park - either come really early and park at the stadiums or go to North Philly, not South Philly, and take the BSL the rest of the way.
Good luck.
...oops no stadium parking. Stay away from south philly.
Lever Up
The problem is always the leverage.
I don't know if Icahn has any special genius knowledge, but if you're betting what you have you can only go broke. If you're betting 100X what you have, then everyone can go broke. This is not rocket surgery.
Billionaire Carl Icahn told CNBC on Tuesday there are too many exotic, leveraged products for investors to trade and one day these funds are going to blow up the market.
"The market is a casino on steroids" with these derivatives and they are the "fault lines" that will lead to an earthquake on Wall Street, Icahn said. "The market itself is way over leveraged."
I don't know if Icahn has any special genius knowledge, but if you're betting what you have you can only go broke. If you're betting 100X what you have, then everyone can go broke. This is not rocket surgery.
It's Pennies
The thing about the obsession with "disability fraud" - Fuck you Washington Post and This American Life with your smug bullshit - is that even if there are a significant number of moochers scamming the system, the monthly disability check is so low and the requirements to qualify and continue receiving it are so onerous... how dare anyone make an issue of this. People are getting filthy rich stealing money from taxpayers through the Pentagon and elsewhere. If this is your priority as a reporter and an editor, there is something seriously broken in your brain. Hope someone runs hit pieces on your disability "scam" when you need it, assholes.
The belief that the poorest and most marginalized people in society Actually Have It Better Than Everybody is destroying us. The souls of the people perpetuating this bullshit are already destroyed, and if I believed in an afterlife I'd at least be content knowing which way they were headed.
SSDI is not a welfare program. Just like Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, the more famous half of Social Security, it’s a social insurance program that only goes to people who’ve paid into it over the course of many years. It’s meant to protect against a risk that every employed person faces: the risk that one day their body will fail them and leave them unable to keep their job.
But the stereotype Rand Paul echoed, of the lazy SSDI recipient with occasional backaches, influences policy. President Trump’s 2018 budget proposed $72.5 billion in cuts to SSDI and to Supplemental Security Income, another program for disabled people, over 10 years. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney called the program "very wasteful" and bemoaned the fact that it "grew tremendously under President Obama."
The belief that the poorest and most marginalized people in society Actually Have It Better Than Everybody is destroying us. The souls of the people perpetuating this bullshit are already destroyed, and if I believed in an afterlife I'd at least be content knowing which way they were headed.
I Love New Marketing Phrases
This is a good one.
"It's no longer a shopping mall but a consumer engagement space, which opens up a world of opportunities for developers in terms of how they use this space," Brown said.
Got It Wrong
None of us like to be wrong. I'm wrong a lot (though not about those damn self-driving cars). For good or ill, this little blog rarely has much influence on the universe so I have the luxury of my wrongness rarely mattering much. Republicans are almost always wrong and they're like the honey badger. But Dems have a lot of wrong to account for, from the Clinton years through the Obama years. They done fucked up, and unlike this silly little blog, they done fucked up when they ran the world.
I rarely see much acknowledgment of that which doesn't come with caveats. A common one is that they had to do certain things to keep winning elections. Well, uh, look around at the results of that successful strategy. Another is they had to deal with Republicans. True of some things. Not others. Quite often having to deal with Republicans is an excuse to do things they wanted to do anyway. Obama's people really wanted a "grand bargain." Governor Cuomo does everything he can to keep Republicans (and Democrats who vote with them) in power in the state Senate
It matters because in politics, much like the rest of our great society, once people hit a certain level they don't ever sink. They don't go away. Henry Kissinger (not a Democrat, I know, but a good example) is still a beloved elder statesman.
Yes Trump is worse than all of them. Fine.
I rarely see much acknowledgment of that which doesn't come with caveats. A common one is that they had to do certain things to keep winning elections. Well, uh, look around at the results of that successful strategy. Another is they had to deal with Republicans. True of some things. Not others. Quite often having to deal with Republicans is an excuse to do things they wanted to do anyway. Obama's people really wanted a "grand bargain." Governor Cuomo does everything he can to keep Republicans (and Democrats who vote with them) in power in the state Senate
It matters because in politics, much like the rest of our great society, once people hit a certain level they don't ever sink. They don't go away. Henry Kissinger (not a Democrat, I know, but a good example) is still a beloved elder statesman.
Yes Trump is worse than all of them. Fine.
Gonna Have To Sell One Of The Yachts
Every 10 years or so we learn that "the economy" depends on the ability of rich people to pay their gambling debts.
Monday, February 05, 2018
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Am I going to have to set my alarm? From CNBC.
BREAKING: Dow futures point to a more than 1,000-point fall at the open
But Having Said That
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
...
...
DJIA −1,285.06
...
DJIA -1,332.57
...
DJIA −1,547.74
The Falling Stock Market Probably Isn't Good?
I don't think the stock market matters to most people and it certainly should not be used as a proxy for general economic well-being, but I don't think it falling several hundred points in a couple of days is "good," either (probably one could make a complex argument for why this might be the case, but it certainly isn't obviously good).
This falls under my "media criticism and Trump criticism are not the same" point. Members of the media who tout the TRUMP BOOM should be criticized if they don't similarly tout the TRUMP BUST (whatever they base that on), but that isn't the same as "haha, Trumpy, where's your stock market boom now?"
And the thing is...as horrible as the Trump tax cuts for rich people are, it isn't actually crazy to think they'll be good for the "economy" - GDP, unemployment rate, etc. - at least in the shorter term. These things increasingly don't capture in any meaningful way what economic conditions are like for most people, but all things equal... rising GDP and falling unemployment (and, yes, a rising stock market) are probably good, relative to their alternative directions.
This falls under my "media criticism and Trump criticism are not the same" point. Members of the media who tout the TRUMP BOOM should be criticized if they don't similarly tout the TRUMP BUST (whatever they base that on), but that isn't the same as "haha, Trumpy, where's your stock market boom now?"
And the thing is...as horrible as the Trump tax cuts for rich people are, it isn't actually crazy to think they'll be good for the "economy" - GDP, unemployment rate, etc. - at least in the shorter term. These things increasingly don't capture in any meaningful way what economic conditions are like for most people, but all things equal... rising GDP and falling unemployment (and, yes, a rising stock market) are probably good, relative to their alternative directions.
New Maps
BREAKING: Supreme Court allows Pennsylvania congressional redistricting to proceed, denies Republican plea.
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) February 5, 2018
Exciting times in PA!
Oh We Didn't Think About That
One could spend an entire life documenting all of the difficulties of Brexit, and all of the evidence that the leading Tories are unaware of (and doing absolutely nothing to deal with) most of them. The latest one to pop up is that outside of the EU, UK truck (I mean "lorry") drivers will only get 1200 permits to operate in the EU. Aside from devastating that industry, it'll compound the problems of leaving the customs union, something they also haven't bothered to prepare for even as they promise it's happening, will create.
Congrats Little Englanders. Little England it is.
British truckers are alarmed by the fact that, under current rules, they will be granted 1,200 permits to drive in the EU. For a fleet of 75,000 lorries.
Congrats Little Englanders. Little England it is.
Local News
One thing which has long annoyed me has been members of the national press decrying the state of journalism because of turmoil in the industry which has made some of their jobs a little less cushy and stable than they once were. I'm sympathetic to anyone with job concerns, of course, but much like elite Ivy League and R1 professors discussing the State Of Academia (or elite journalists who went to elite colleges talking about the state of academia), elite journalists talking about the State of Journalism usually are clueless about and disdainful of those on the lower rungs. It's long been clear that local journalism, not nationally focused journalism, is the real casualty of changing economics of the industry (and, of course, looting by execs and owners). The NYT and the Post and even nationally-focused internet outlets we will long have with us. Actual reporters focused on local government and news, not so much.
Sunday, February 04, 2018
I Had No Idea So Many People Lived In My Neighborhood
Where do we hide the 23-year-old bros (and gals) the rest of the year?
Wave
People misunderstand me a lot (probably my fault!) when I "go there" but the Dems are not going win in 2018 on "Russia." That's entirely about the politics, not the substance of any actions, crimes, coverups, investigations, etc. And the problem with screaming "Russia" since the day after election day, 2016, is that most normies have tuned out on the issue by now. You might like your cannon booms, but eventually things just become background blather. The people you need to get to vote in midterm elections - the people who are less likely to vote, generally - are the people who tune out politics most of the time, the lucky souls. What did "Russia" do to me? Nothing. What are the Dems going to do for me? ...
And it doesn't help that Dems keep trying to appeal to non-existent "reasonable Republicans" instead of tying Trump around their necks about everything, including Russia.
And it doesn't help that Dems keep trying to appeal to non-existent "reasonable Republicans" instead of tying Trump around their necks about everything, including Russia.
ACA Sucks
Too much of the debate about ACA became reduced to "we need a public option!" versus "we didn't have 60 votes for a public option!" But embedded in ACA are lots of "wonky details" which for the most part could have been at least tweaked one way or the other which didn't reflect the need to win over Joe Lieberman so much as they reflected the deeply wrong-headed views of the left-of-center wonks who really were getting, for the most part, the plan they wanted. The mandate is dumb. The cadillac tax is dumb (also, take away the final crumb a few unions manage to hold on to, sure). Pushing people to high deductible plans is dumb. The subsidies on the exchanges phase out too early. The politics of giving some people Medicaid and some people not is bad. They idea that young people are "healthy" as opposed to... healthy people being healthy... is dumb. Anyone who uttered "skin in the game" anywhere near this debate is dumb. There is more but I have not had coffee yet.
Sure the decision was made to make an insurance-industry plan and once that was the path taken my fantasy plan was never going to happen. But even within that framework, the "wonks" had some ideas about people using too much of our medical system for shits and giggles, as if anyone is really into kafakesque bureaucracy and needles as fun Tuesday afternoon entertainment.
About as in touch as Paul Ryan bragging about an extra $1.50 per week.
Sure the decision was made to make an insurance-industry plan and once that was the path taken my fantasy plan was never going to happen. But even within that framework, the "wonks" had some ideas about people using too much of our medical system for shits and giggles, as if anyone is really into kafakesque bureaucracy and needles as fun Tuesday afternoon entertainment.
About as in touch as Paul Ryan bragging about an extra $1.50 per week.
Morning Thread
Fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, does not apply to evidence gathered in the Russia investigation. Sounds good, though.
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