The Miami Dolphins quarterback lay on his back for 10 minutes last night after his head slammed against the turf for the second time in 4 days. He now faces long term damage to his brain. Are we, as fans at least partially responsible for Tua Tagovailoa's injuries.
Watching numerous reporters standing, kneeling, being blown backwards and otherwise making fools of themselves with Hurricane Ian in the background struck me as a wierd kind of disaster porn. Similarly, today, the same reporters will show piles of rubble and speculate on the cleanup, interviewing dazed survivors and intoning about how it all could have been much worse.
There will be much speculation about climate change as the tens of billions of dollars it will take to rebuild becomes apparent. The usual suspects will intone that weather is weather and we can't attribute any one storm to climate change. Rinse and repeat.
The home of modern day facism, Italy, voted an acolyte of Benito Mussolini into power on Monday in a stunning rebuke of democracy. Georgia Meloni, whose Brotherhood of Italy will be the major party in a coalition government, has made complimentary remarks regarding Mussolini, calling him a good politician who worked for Italy.
It remains to be seen if Meloni tries to emulate the path taken by Viktor Orban in Hungary and saves the forms of democracy while killing its substance. Mussolini's brand of facism was an authoritarian dictatorship complete with secret police and control of the media. As most of us know, this did not end well, but it took a world war to turn Italians away from Il Duce. And by the way, the trains did not run on time.
Please, stop all the insistence that we are a nation of immigrants. Since the first colonists arrived in the 1600s, Americans have been trying to limit the influx of the poor, huddled masses. The original Anglo-Saxon colonists hated German immigrants. Upon assimilation, the Germans in turn despised the Irish, who looked down on the Italians. Don't even get me started on the discrimination faced by Chinese and Japanese immigrants. Many of my contemporaries, whose grandparents were allowed through the golden door because of a need for cheap labor now want to build a wall to keep out brown and black people.
There is no easy fix to the problems we face coming up with an equitable immigration policy. Even the most pro immigration people admit we can't absorb the millions of people who wish to come here. On the other hand we can't build a wall and declare we are now Fortress America. There is a middle way, allowing those who are being persecuted to seek asylum in our country in a legitimate manner. It will take a miracle, but it is a possibility if we heed the angels of our better nature.
The Divine Mrs. M and I spent 6 days in our nation's capital and it renewed our faith in America and its place in the world. Yes, we toured some of the monuments and were duly impressed by the Lincoln Memorial and especially the Viet Nam veterans' monument. But it was the museums we toured which made the biggest impact.
The museum commemorating the American Indian experience was a moving tribute to the original citizens of our country. The whole purpose was a celebration of indian culture and its contribution to America. The creators of the exhibits could easily have devolved into a protest against the brutality of white America and the genocide perpetrated on native tribes. Dog knows they had every right.
The African American Museum was less sparing of our feelings and had perhaps the greatest impact of any we experienced in D.C. Starting 3 levels beneath the street we were informed of the cultures of Africa and the brutality of the enslavement millions experienced. I guarantee many feelings would be hurt and eyes opened by the various exhibits. It would take days to due this one museum justice.
Despite the dark history of genocide and slavery there is much to celebrate in the history of our country. We came away from our trip with a greater understanding of the opposing forces which have shaped the USA. We are far from perfect, but nowhere else on the planet is there a brighter light shining into the darkness.
It is amazing how people can torment innocent data so it aligns with their expectations. The latest economic predictions are a case in point. One measure, inflation expectations over the short term, shows producers are banking on lower inflation. Meanwhile, another index, showing inflation somewhat stubbornly not falling because of high food prices, has many people spooked and calling for harsh measures.
The right wants to put the brakes on the economy and use the subsequent pain for political gain. The left would like to ignore inflation in favor of the vast numbers of poor and middle class who potentially benefit as their debt becomes less burdensome when paid for by cheap dollars. Both are right and wrong. The Federal Reserve is committed to disinflation, but also seems to be sending signals it may tolerate more inflation in the short run if it allows a "soft landing" for the economy. Who do you trust, the data or your lying eyes.
I'm fairly sure somewhere on the planet there is someone mourning the passing of Ken Starr. But not 100% certain. The man was a boil on the ass of our democracy and one of the meanest hypocrites of the late 20th century.
Starting with the Whitewater investigation of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Starr fastened himself to the Clintons like a barnacle and continued to torment facts and evidence up to and through the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Starr never met a Democrat he didn't consider prosecuting or a Republican he would exonerate. As President of Baylor University he helped cover up the football team's involvement with serial rape in the interest of a winning record.
His final assault on the halls of justice was his addition to the team defending tRump in his various sexual scandals as well as the second impeachment of the former guy. I don't usually wish ill of the dead, but in this case I will make an exception and hope he enjoys eternity in hell.
With a backdrop of Ukraine pushing Russian invaders back towards the border, the DOJ issued 40 subpoenas to many tRump campaign staffers. There is no reason for these people not to cooperate by telling what they know about the failed former president's state of mind leading up to the January 6 insurrection. This revival of Merrick Garland's DOJ is bad news for tRump.
I wish I could get a penny for every dollar Cheeto Jesus is spending on attorney's fees. Oh, wait! He probably won't pay most of them anyway. We seem to be reaching a tipping point where the increasing numbers of investigations will overwhelm tRump and his minions. One can only hope.
in his column in the NYT this morning, Ezra Klein argues the infrastructure we need to build to decarbonize our energy needs is being stymied by the multiplicity of agencies, federal, state and local which have input into key decisions about our national electricity grid.
While not an insuperable task, Klein says it is underestimated by those who support and oppose the move away from fossil fuels. It has been estimated that renewables capable of supplying the 3-400% increase in electricity needed to offset its use to replace fossil fuels used in heating and transportation would require the landmass of several large states. I can already hear the arguments against these projects by NIMBYs around the nation. The same with the transmission lines needed to carry the power from where it is generated to where it is needed. It dwarfs the scale of the interstate highway system.
Klein remains optimistic the projects necessary for energy evolution can be carried out in the time frame dictated for the avoidance of the worst of climate change. I am more sanguine about the possibility.
The Queen is dead. Long live the King. I have a feeling Americans are taking the death of Queen Elizabeth more seriously than most of her own subjects. We seem to take the royals as if they are much more than a multi million pound drain on the British treasury and perennial fodder for the gossip rags around the english speaking world.
The Queen was consistent throughout her 70 year reign. She rarely if ever expressed an opinion and put up with fools and charlatans without complaint. 25,000 days of pomp and circumstance and she never flagged while dealing with family dramas in the glare of the public spotlight.
She was a pretty nice girl, but she didn't have much to say. RIP, but let's move on.
I was never a big fan of CNN. From its inception as the brainchild of Ted Turner it seemed the network could never decide whether it stood for anything besides ratings. This policy reached its apex in 2016 when CNN was all Trump, all the time. Jeff Zucker saw tRump as ratings gold and covered virtually every utterance from Cheeto Jesus as if it was the sermon on the mount.
Gradually, as the failed former president's anti democratic agenda became apparent, many of the network's anchors and reporters began reporting the truth. As far as I was concerned it was too little and too late. Many felt the same way and the ratings declined vis a vis Fox News and MSNBC who remained consistent in their coverage of the right's anti democratic tendencies; Fox cheerleading and MSNBC reporting the right's agenda with increasing hysteria.
CNN's leaders have chosen a doomed path. You cannot defend journalistic integrity while at the same time pandering to the right wing and its propaganda outlet. When the brown shirts come for CNN, who will defend the network?
In an egregiously worded decision, a tRump appointed judge approved the twice impeached failed ex-president's request for a "special master" to review the document taken from Mar a Lago by the FBI. The judge, whose main qualification for the job would seem to be obeisance to Cheeto Jesus is allowing justice to be delayed once again. I'm betting tRump gets himself another 6 months of delay. Hopefully the DOJ will appeal the ruling. However, the court which will decide any appeal has a majority of tRump appointed judges.
Mitch McConnell, the gravedigger of democracy, spent his entire time as majority leader confirming as many judges with partisan leanings as possible. This spree is now bearing fruit for Republicans and tRump in particular. There is virtually no respect for the rule of law by today's Republican party. WTF!!
Labor Day is the sanitized version of May Day, the international celebration of working citizens. Most of us will spend the day mostly celebrating the end of summer and the impending opening of schools. Unionization is at a low ebb in the US. Unions are a driving force for reducing inequality. Most union members represent low skilled occupations and the recent union elections at Starbucks and Amazon represent the new frontier of union organization.
The labor movement is at least getting vocal support from the Biden administration. The president has said it is up to workers to unionize with minimal interference from employers. Unfortunately, a change to Republican rule in 2024 would reverse most gains by the movement. Paradoxically, Republican hostility to immigration reform may well give Labor a shot in the arm as few immigrants will mean more competition for workers' services.
The significance of labor is at a crossroad. For every glimmer of increased organization, there is pushback from employers. A new generation of leaders is coming into power and their imprint will determine the direction of the movement. Let's hope it is a positive note as we celebrate the day.
The president spoke to his fellow countrymen last night. It was a good, forthright speech. He explicitly called out tRump and the so called "MAGA Republicans" who blindly follow their dear leader. This was a particularly smart move on his part. Somewhere around 30% of the American population would not vote for Biden or the generic Democrat even if the alternative was a Klansman.
Laying out the parameters of democracy and its dark side, Biden said he would fight for the former with every fiber of his being. Pretty words, but aside from cheerleading Dems' efforts to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Bill this administration has done little to fight voter suppression. I appreciate the rhetoric, but Biden can and must do more by executive orders to fight the states who are making it hard for citizens to vote.
By calling out tRump and the semifascist GOP, Biden has staked out a position embracing the rule of law. He let us know what the Democrats have done for the country since 2020. These messages will form a template candidates can use in the upcoming election. Individual Dems in red or purple districts may not want to campaign with Biden, but his message will resonate throughout the country.
Hopefully we have heard the last of Sarah Palin. Bursting onto the scene in 2007 as part of John McCain's campaign against Barack Obama, Palin was tRump before most Americans had ever heard of the future president. Proud of her ignorance of history as well as current events, her middle age sex appeal was evidently the only thing she was able to convey. Most pundits have concluded her nomination as McCain's running mate was the death knell of his campaign.
After flaming out in 2008, Palin made the rounds of celebrity TV, eventually resigning as Alaska's governor to host her own short lived reality show. Finally she sank into blessed obscurity only to decide to run for Don Young's seat after he died. A victim of her high negatives in Alaska, she lost under the new ranked choice voting system when the third candidates vote was redistributed between Palin and the democratic candidate. Obviously many voters decided they preferred Mary Peltola to Palin as their second choice to Nick Begich.
Hopefully we have heard the last of Palin, but after a lifetime of underestimating the stupidity of the average American voter I won't write her off just yet. She still has a chance in November to make us weep once more.
