The loudest voices

        A recent NYT article says that over 50% of the American population believes Covid was  leaked from a lab in China.   Meanwhile, among experts, less than 5% give credence to that origin theory.  The overwhelming consensus is the virus evolved naturally in the wild.   You could ask why the difference in opinion between the public and experts?  Part of it is the subject is incredibly complicated and reading the data requires knowledge at the PhD level.   The other part is people's desire to make China the villain in a morality play.   Also, the media megaphone is being used by those who prefer the later narrative.  Anytime the evidence gets in the way of a good story...

The teamsters and the future of unions in America

       Obviously, the title of this post would seem to demand much more than a few paragraphs to do it justice.  However, in the interest of brevity, here is my take on the new contract negotiated by the Teamsters and UPS and its possible effects on the labor union movement in the US.

       The new contract union members will soon vote on is basically the wishlist the union presented to management.   Full time workers will get hefty raises over the life of the contract and part timers who represent nearly half of UPS employees will start out at $21/hr. with automatic raises at the end of six months.  In addition, the company will install air conditioning in its delivery trucks which have been likened to microwave ovens.

      Hundreds of thousands of Amazon employees are reading news of this contract and many of them will be open to Teamster organizers.   This is the new frontier of labor organizing.  If the unions are able to organize a significant chunk of the service industry, union membership will explode.   This will have the effect of balancing the power of capital, much as it did in the years following WWII.

Got to love the gerontocracy

      Mitch McConnel looked like what you would expect an 81 year old with moderate dementia to look like yesterday.   He began his weekly press conference strongly, but after nearly completing his first sentence, he stopped and had a deer in the headlights moment which lasted for at least 20 seconds.  He looked like a broken old man until some fellow GOP senators stepped in and escorted him to his office.  He returned to the podium a little later and continued as if nothing had happened, but the  cat is out of the bag.

     This incident raises questions on both sides of the aisle.   Regardless how well many of the octogenarians in congress look, the truth is that mental disability and dementia are right around the corner for many.   It's time for a look at mandatory retirement beyond a certain age.  I would throw out 76 as the cutoff age at the end of whatever term the officeholder is elected to.   We have to do something before something like Ronald Reagan's 2nd term becomes our reality.

The three Cs

       China, criminality and climate change are likely to be the major issues facing the GOP candidates for the party's presidential nomination.  Of course the multiple criminal trials of the frontrunner, Donald tRump, will take center stage in any serious debate forum.  Candidates with little or no chance of winning will nonetheless be reluctant to criticize Donny Two Scoops and thereby jeopardize their chances of joining a tRump administration.

        China will be the secondary issue in the campaign.   Although, much as Japan was in the 1990s, China will be feared and hated as the main challenger to America's global empire, the country is already running into the same sort of demographic problems which derailed Japan's ascendancy.  However, that won't stop the candidates from bashing China and blaming Democrats for all problems associated with Sino-American relations.

       Finally, they won't bring up the subject of climate change, but the infernal summer weather and the definitive consensus that burning fossil fuels is leading to permanent climate change will spark questions from the media and citizens at town halls which will be difficult to dodge.   There will be a cottage industry on the right to provide deflective answers to difficult questions regarding climate and the legacy a waiting those who deny the science.

      Of course most of these candidates will fall back on divisive cultural issues.   But the substantive problems outlined above should provide plenty of fodder for Democratic ads calling our Republican obfuscation.

drops in a leaky bucket

       A story in today's WaPo lauds the efforts of a few Marylanders who are taking care of and returning to the Chesapeake Bay a few million oyster larvae in an program to revive the oyster industry in the bay.

     I haven't thought of oysters much since the Divine Mrs. M and I lived on the eastern shore for a year back in the late 70s.   At the time, my uncle was a waterman on the Bay and that meant he alternately fished for crabs in the summer and oysters in the fall and winter months.   The industry was already in decline when he moved from Long Island to the little town of Rumbley, Md. in the late 1960s.   He managed to make a living on the crab and oyster business until he retired, but the handwriting was on the wall.

     Feel good programs like Marylanders Grow Oysters are all well and good, but the underlying causes of the decline of the Bay; overfishing, pollution and climate change are not going to be solved by a few retirees raising a oyster spat.

Aging into the system

        The Divine Mrs. M had an encounter with the American health care system last week and for the most part it went well.  But, I have a few niggling doubts about health care for seniors in this country.

      After showing up in the ER with symptoms of a serious infection, the aforementioned patient was held overnight and at one point moved to a busy hallway for several hours before being admitted.   All this while telling her it could be a contagious infection.  Fortunately that was not the case, but it is a telling indictment of hospital procedures.

      Four days later, without noticing a great deal of improvement in her symptoms, the Divine one was notified she  would be discharged.  Again, fortunately, we have several medical professionals in the family and I am able to care for her.   However, without the support system, I'm not sure she would have been able to cope with the numerous demands her treatment made and continues to make of her.

     The best thing you can say about our health care system is it encourages people to be healthy.  The worst you can say is it has no clue about the demands of after care once the patient leaves the hospital.  It will not get better as the population ages.

in a Barbie world

       I have to admit that growing up, I never really "got" Barbie.  My younger sister had platoons of semi-dressed and naked Barbie dolls all over the house.   But despite the evident sexuality conveyed by her pulchritudinous charms they always seemed asexual to me.  My own daughters flirted with the phenomenon in the mid 90s, but again, Barbie seemed like some unattainable perverse ideal .  In the era before internet bullying, Barbie induced many a case of bulimia and self loathing in  young women who didn't come anywhere near the physical ideal she represented. 

     Now comes the Barbie movie.   I have to admit it will be a guilty pleasure to see Greta Gerwig's take on the Mattel icon.   It can't hurt to have Margot Robbie in the title role!   In a strident post feminist world, Michigan governor Gretchen Witmer has a Governor Barbie  doll and glories in its signing legislation.  In her case, may we anticipate a President Barbie in 2028?

Tarnishing the golden rule

        In a story reported by CNN, Texas governor, Greg Abbot, has directed state troopers to push would be immigrants back into the Rio Grande river and admonish them to go back to Mexico.   The order supposedly also requires the troopers to withhold drinking water from immigrants despite temperatures well over 100 degrees in the shade. 

      Abbot is a perfect reflection of the modern day Republican party.  I'm quite sure if he had been the Roman governor of Judea he would have had Jesus Christ arrested for vagrancy.   Only a tiny minority of the bible thumping members of the GOP ever attend any church services and even those who do rarely practice what the new testament tells us on how to treat the poor, the sick and those fleeing from oppression.

Alternate universes

      That tRump received a target letter from special counsel, Jack Smith, is abundantly clear to consumers of mainstream and left leaning media.  To the devotees of Faux News and its right wing imitators, not so much.   The imminent 3rd indictment of the twice impeached, sexual assaulter and former president, this time on possible sedition charges, provokes a big yawn from tRump supporters.   Various GOP presidential candidates responded to questions about Smith's intentions with attacks on the DOJ and Joe Biden.  This is the Bizzaro World today's Republican party inhabits.

Slouching toward the apocalypse

       Triple digit heat grips much of the nation as the work week begins.   In the northeast, flooding rain washed out numerous roads over the weekend and more thunderstorms are expected tonight and tomorrow.   At this point virtually no one is denying the reality of human driven climate change, yet no politician running for president  has made it a signature issue and tied their campaign to it.

      Yes, there are plenty of issues confronting the nation in the years ahead, but they all pale in comparison to the existential threat to humanity a rapidly warming earth poses.   Republicans remain in thrall to fossil fuel interests and have decided culture war issues are their ticket to power.  A vote for any GOP candidate from dogcatcher to president is a vote to condemn our descendants literally to a hellish future.  

     Meanwhile, many Democrats continue to avoid the hard choices that must be made relatively quickly to avoid the worst outcomes climate change threatens.   The Biden administration has made a start on the issue, but it must use the increasingly dangerous weather conditions we are enduring as a springboard to increasing the general public's understanding of the dangers we face.  

Running on empty

       One of the GOP's main claims to relevance is the trust the American people have in its ability to run the economy.   I would add a disclaimer to this premise.  The budget deficit has increased under every Republican president since Ronald Reagan.

      Despite their obvious incompetence, Republicans get the benefit of the doubt on economics and they have been blaming the Biden administration for high inflation for the past year.   Now, new data shows inflation rapidly subsiding and the economy remaining strong.  This combination previews the possibility of a "soft landing".   If this indeed is what is occurring, Republicans will have little to run on besides abortion restrictions, book banning and Hunter Biden's laptop.  Good luck with that!

Climate change becomes more personal

        As we alternately swelter in the heat and humidity or watch thunderstorms dump heavy rains on increasingly saturated soils, there is little acknowledgement by our political leaders that the climate change clock is ticking and action needs to be taken now.

        Northern New York and Vermont have long been viewed as insulated from climate change to a greater extent than say the Southwest.   Sure it may get a little warmer in the summer, but certainly not the triple digit heat and humidity that even NYC is experiencing.  

      That smug certainty was wiped away in a few hours on Monday as up to 9 inches of rain fell on Vermont in the space of a few hours.  Later in the day, the state's capitol, Montpelier, was inundated by floodwaters even worse than those caused by tropical storm Irene.  Both were called thousand year events, yet they occurred less than 20 years apart.

      As the air warms it can trap and hold more and more moisture which eventually falls to the ground often thousands of miles away.   Water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are as high as 97 degrees.  This accelerates the process.   Meanwhile another large insurance company has announced it will no longer cover homes and businesses in Florida because it is too risky.  

     The change is accelerating, but our leaders heads are still buried in the sand.   Bill Nye, the science guy, recently said each candidate for public office should by asked if they believe in climate change and what plans do they have to mitigate it.   He challenged the media to do its job.  We need to vote like our lives depend on it, because they do.

Dick Tracy's watch

      My granddaughter, Hannah, turned 9 yesterday.   Among the presents she received to celebrate the occasion was a "Gizmo watch".   What, you may ask, is a Gizmo watch.  I had no idea until the Divine Mrs. M schooled me.  It turns out, for the technology challenged among us, the Gizmo watch is the 21st century answer to the Dick Tracy watch used by the eponymous detective I read in the Sunday funnies in the 50s and 60s.   I was fascinated by Tracy's ability to make phone calls through his wristwatch.   And here we are, 60 plus years later with a 9 year old making calls (to trusted folks in her network) on old Dick's watch.   Makes me feel like a kid again!

The "so what" theory of political accountability

       The NYT published a meticulously researched article about Clarence Thomas and the Supreme Court yesterday.   It shows a direct connection between Thomas and a team of right wing billionaires dating back to the early 1990s.   Thomas was supplied with lavish trips and perks by people with business before the Court.   It was and continues to be an appalling conflict of interest.   In an earlier era, Thomas and probably Samuel Alito as well would have been hounded into resigning as a result of their ethical lapses.   However, in the age of tRump, Republicans especially tend to give the middle finger to the public in cases like these.

     Many people respond with the cynical  take that everyone does it.  Yes, the Democrats engage in corruption also, but for the most part it is the garden variety both parties have engaged in since time immemorial.   Thomas and Alito and tRump are a symptom of a much more serious malaise gripping the political system.   Using their exalted positions for personal enrichment sends a message that Democracy itself is on the auction block.   At the very least, Thomas should face censure .  But it won't happen.

They are not happy warriors

       Last week, in a column in the NYT, David French told us the people who adore Cheeto Jesus and abhor those who do not share this feeling are not racist killjoys, but instead are a joyful people who have had little contact with the left and have found a community of like minded individuals.   I almost stopped reading at that point, but because the screed was mercifully short I continued to the end.

      Apparently, French feels the MAGA enthusiasts who are mainly professed evangelicals and are heavily concentrated in the south are searching for the fulfillment they used to get by attending church services.   Many of the most invested followers of tRump haven't attended services at their local church in years.  He tries to square this circle by asserting that the vitriol these Magats hurl at their ideological opponents is mostly pro forma and they are really good ole' boys and girls who wouldn't actually do violence.   Apparently, French feels the events of January 6, 2020 were an aberration.

It's that time again

        It seems it's time for the VSP (Very Serious People) to tell us the olds and the poor must suffer in the name of fiscal austerity.   The NYT editorial board says we are all living beyond our means and someone has to pay for it.   Republicans want to cut spending as they always do when a Democrat is in the White House.  However, they are savvy enough to realize cutting Social Security  and or Medicare and Medicaid would be extremely unpopular with their base.    

     Enter the useful idiots at the Times.   Being above the political fray, they can make the case that old people have it too good and they must be made to bear the cuts which will make us fiscally responsible.  Of course, they say they are looking for "changes" to the system, but in reality they mean cuts and means testing which will have to impact many more people in the lower end of income distribution to have a meaningful on expenses.  

     

We are all in this thing, together

        As I write this, my forearms are sticking to the desk where my computer sits.   It is as unpleasant as it sounds and despite the open window and an overhead fan, it will be another hot and sweaty day here in the north country.

      Of course we will only be dealing with temperatures in the mid 80s to low 90s.  Texans would probably consider this kind of weather as a welcome respite from what they have been enduring.   30 years ago, air conditioning was thought to be an extravagance in this area.   Average daily highs in northern New York were in the low to mid 70s and it often dropped into the 40s at night.  Those days are gone and the Divine Mrs. M is seriously considering air conditioning instead of window fans.

      Climate Change is here, yet hardly any politicians are willing to tell us the truth and offer solutions which may inconvenience us in the short term but preserve the planet for our grandchildren's children.  WTF!

Which people?

        As we celebrate the Declaration of Independence today, Heather Cox Richardson puts the case succinctly by quoting from the Declaration and then juxtaposing it with Abraham Lincoln's immortal address at Gettysburg.   Yes, the Founders and in particular, Thomas Jefferson declared all men are created equal, which of course did not mean his slaves.  Eventually, this wrong was righted and even women were included by 1920.

      Lincoln reminded us of what was at stake in the Civil War.  The South wished to re-establish an aristocracy of birth, making a hollow mockery of the Declaration.   He called on his fellow Americans to rededicate themselves to the proposition of government of the people, by the people and for the people.  

    We now live in an era where powerful and wealthy elites would turn back the clock and impose another hereditary aristocracy on the nation.  I believe Lincoln would have some thoughts on this idea.  I hope anyone who reads this will also ponder its implications during today's celebrations.

supreme hurt fee fees

        Growing up, and especially lately, I was always impressed by the concept the country was under the rule of law.  Now comes a Supreme Court where feelings have replaced respect for the law and individual's wishes about what the law should be replace the actual law itself.

       Last week, the Court ruled 43 million Americans will not be given relief from student loan debt, not because the Secretary of Education was not empowered to "waive or modify" the terms of the loan program, but because the Court's conservative majority believed it was unfair that some students and their parents repaid the loans in full.   They not only granted standing to the plaintiffs in the suit where none existed, but ruled in their favor, disregarding the clear intentions of the statute.

      As we celebrate Independence Day tomorrow, it would be wise to consider the threat of a new absolutism being practiced as egregiously as was done by King George.