White Bronco Syndrome

       At least one cable network is covering the tRump indictment for misuse of classified records as if O J Simpson was still riding a white Bronco into the sunset.  On the one hand, evidence of his criming is supposedly so overwhelming that xxxL orange jumpsuits should be on order.  On the other hand, there are seemingly an infinite number of tiny loopholes Donny Two Scoops can wriggle through to freedom.  Which is it?  

      I have a feeling a tiny number of protestors will show up in Miami today; about equal numbers from either side and then the legal maneuvering will begin.  There is a limit to the attention span of even the most rabid followers of MSNBC.   A full fledged discussion of the color of the shoes the defendant is wearing just won't keep me watching the endless commercials that are part of the process.   On to Atlanta!!!!!!

Once Again

      Over the weekend, the disgraced, twice impeached former president resorted once again to his favorite rhetorical strategy when dealing with his perceived political opponents.  Projection, also known as ascribing your own actions to others, is a helluva drug, and tRump used it to assure his supporters they should believe him and not their lying eyes when it comes to the evidence the government presented to a grand jury.

     The ironic part of this whole fiasco is tRump is being charged under a bill he signed in 2018 which sought to protect classified documents by raising the conduct he exhibited toward said documents to felony status.  Hoist by his own petard!

     Next up is Fulton County prosecutor Fani Wells probable indictment of tRump for trying to subvert the 2020 election in Georgia.  The hits keep coming.

Life and death

       What do the deaths of James Watt and Pat Robertson have to do with tRump's indictment and the Canadian wildfires causing yellow skies over NYC.   It's a complicated tale in some ways, but relatively simple in others.

       Watt was Reagan's Secretary of the Interior and until his disgraced exit from that egregious administration he was a leading advocate for the rape of natural resources in the west.  He even went so far as putting up a list of national parks to be decertified.  You can draw a straight line from Watt and his advocacy of fossil fuel interests to climate change and the aforementioned Canadian wildfires.

      Pat Robertson is another piece of work.  Unable to pass the bar exam after college graduation he decided instead to go into the religious grift.   He was vastly successful in this endeavor and was one of the first televangelists.   He set the stage for the rise of the white supremacist, christian right wing political movement which spawned tRump and his many imitators.  Hopefully, tRump will be held accountable for his many crimes by the multiple indictments Federal, state and local prosecutors are churning out.   Meanwhile, I'm sure Satan is greeting Robertson warmly, shall we say!

coming attractions

     The Yankees and Phillies postponed their games last night due to air pollution concerns.  Indeed, NYC had the unhealthiest air quality readings in the world yesterday.   The games will be made up, but the deeper implications of the Canadian wildfires which caused the problems should be apparent to even the most casual fan.

     East Coast wildfires are far more rare than those in the west, mostly because rainfall is spread more evenly in the east during the summer.  Thanks in part to climate change, a prolonged period of dry weather  in northern Quebec has led to wildfires and a low pressure area steered the resulting smoke down the eastern seaboard leading to excessive air pollution.   I have a feeling we will be experiencing more events like this in coming years.  However, if I know anything about human nature, future major league ballparks will feature retractable domes.   Rather than deal with the disease, we will continue to treat the symptons.

They had the right of it

       As Roger Waters put it, "Money, it's a hit, don't give me that do goody good bullshit".   That should be the PGA's new motto after the US golf tour agreed to a merger with the Saudi Arabian LIV golf entity.  PGA commissioner Jay Monahan gave a world class seminar in hypocrisy as he tried to justify any association with the Kingdom's sports washing of its human rights abuses.

      After banning players who took the Saudi's money supposedly on moral grounds and recruiting high profile golfers like Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods to criticize the country's regime, the tour capitulated as the money spigot continues to gush billions of dollars with no end in sight.   The PGA lends legitimacy to Mohammed Bin Salman and his murderous regime which has gone so far as to kill a Saudi journalist who dared write about its crimes.   It will be interesting to see if Woods and Mcilroy walk back their morally based criticisms.  Or will they quote Pink Floyd's take on money and its pernicious effects.  "Money, so they say is the root of all evil today, but if you ask for a rise, it's no surprise they're giving none away."

      

The GOP and immigration

       Once upon a time, Republicans favored immigration and the booming economy it created.  They couldn't be bothered to craft a humane immigration bill which would help migrants coming to the US for a better life, but under Reagan, they did legalize millions of illegals.   Then, as now, these people do the jobs no citizen wants to do at the wages businesses are willing and able to pay.

     Now, Florida is testing the limits of cruelty to these vital workers.  A bill which passed the legislature and which will take effect in July will require businesses with more than 25 employees to use the E-Verify system.   This database will flag illegal workers and trigger deportation orders.  The bill also forbids the use of out of state licenses and makes getting health  care tricky for anyone without papers.   

     The result is an exodus of workers from the state in the weeks leading up to the law's inception.   I guess we'll find out how much the state misses immigrants in coming months.s

Terrorists or skilled negotiators ?

 Two different takes on the debt negotiation and its eventual resolution.   Paul Krugman in today's NYT makes the case Republicans didn't really care whether the deficit is cut or not.  Like the gang that couldn't shoot straight, they are mostly rando terrorists in it for the thrill of taking the US to the brink of default.  They didn't have any policy goals because they don't care about policy.

    Over at his blog, Jabberwocking, Kevin Drum has a diametrically opposed view.  In his estimation, McCarthy's merry band of nihilists knew exactly what they were doing and succeeded in making the Biden administration cut the social safety net spending by 5-10 %.

    As is usual in such cases, the truth is somewhere between Krugman's and Drum's telling.  The GOP and its donor class hate the idea of any income transfer, no matter how benign.  They cover their intentions with the usual blather about fraud and waste.  Meanwhile, Biden and his negotiators made most of the cuts reversible within a couple of years.  Both sides got something to crow about.  Nothing much to see here.