Russia's newest American subsidiary, aka the tRump administration, has pleaded ignorance concerning intelligence finding Putin's government paid bounties to the Taliban for killing our soldiers. The president's* spokesman went so far as to say her boss still had not been briefed on the specifics, therefore the whole subject was moot.
Of course, as we all know, if the previous president was found to have been credibly informed of such a threat, the conservative media would have exploded. Hannity and Ingraham would be demanding congressional hearings and the resignation of the commander in chief for cravenly failing to confront Moscow. Instead, crickets.
As with every issue these days, from Supreme Court opinions to the Covid 19 crisis to Black Lives Matter, you are either for or against what is happening based on tribal affiliations. The president retweets a video of one of his supporters shouting " White Power", and the lone black republican senator can barely condemn the action. Similarly, the hate filled expletives being leveled at tRump's supporters are barely given a mention in most media outlets.
Unfortunately, this tribalism carries over to areas which should not be subject to ideological tests. Science is at least one area where both sides can agree one would think. However, in today's cauldron, a significant minority of mostly republican white men would have us believe that science is magical thinking, observed when convenient and denied if necessary to maintain ideological purity. I can only hope the GOP's defeat in November is so convincing that this fever will break.
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Monday, June 29, 2020
A world gone mad
Picking up a virtual newspaper today is somewhat akin to catching a live hand grenade. You know it will probably explode, but there is always a chance it may not.
The big story in much of the media was the Russian bounty on US servicemen in Afghanistan. The president's* defense is "Nobody told me". As one former serviceman turned congressman put it, that is tantamount to admitting you run an incompetent administration. And that is the best spin you can put on it.
In other news, the Covid 19 pandemic is picking up steam, mostly in republican led states which opened with no plans to combat the spread of the disease. The glimmer of hope is since most of those catching the coronavirus are young, the fatality rate is probably going to be less than it was. However, as we learn more about the virus, scientists say many of the young victims may face lifetime disabilities stemming from the infection.
Siberia is heating and burning at the fastest rates ever seen. Unfortunately, the lockdown for the pandemic and the resulting pause in fossil fuel use was only a blip in the ongoing increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. A dust plume from the Sahara blanketed much of the American south yesterday and is a harbinger of a drier hotter African desert.
Another possible police killing of an African American man is being investigated in Colorado. It has been over a year, but body cam footage shows the man in a chokehold, basically begging to be allowed to breathe.
Finally, a baptist church in Troy, NY is giving away an AR-15 to some lucky member of the congregation this Tuesday. Let the good times roll...
The big story in much of the media was the Russian bounty on US servicemen in Afghanistan. The president's* defense is "Nobody told me". As one former serviceman turned congressman put it, that is tantamount to admitting you run an incompetent administration. And that is the best spin you can put on it.
In other news, the Covid 19 pandemic is picking up steam, mostly in republican led states which opened with no plans to combat the spread of the disease. The glimmer of hope is since most of those catching the coronavirus are young, the fatality rate is probably going to be less than it was. However, as we learn more about the virus, scientists say many of the young victims may face lifetime disabilities stemming from the infection.
Siberia is heating and burning at the fastest rates ever seen. Unfortunately, the lockdown for the pandemic and the resulting pause in fossil fuel use was only a blip in the ongoing increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. A dust plume from the Sahara blanketed much of the American south yesterday and is a harbinger of a drier hotter African desert.
Another possible police killing of an African American man is being investigated in Colorado. It has been over a year, but body cam footage shows the man in a chokehold, basically begging to be allowed to breathe.
Finally, a baptist church in Troy, NY is giving away an AR-15 to some lucky member of the congregation this Tuesday. Let the good times roll...
Friday, June 26, 2020
Partisanship and the coronavirus
As we have been told numerous times, the coronavirus is non partisan. However, it is opportunistic. It thrives when people deny its ability to infect them and those they come in contact with. As Cheetolini has said, it is an "invisible enemy". I think that if the virus was sentient and had to pick a political identification it would definitely choose today's republican party.
Since denial of science is one of the hallmarks of the GOP, the virus loves the idea of large gatherings of people who feel vaccines are for losers, the disease is a democratic hoax and besides only the olds are at risk.
The botched response at the federal level with little leadership and the waste of time in preparing for the eventual flood of infections allowed the virus to spread in densely populated areas like NYC and its environs. What's not to like if you are an infectious disease!
Finally, the haphazard reopening of much of the country without a plan for contact tracing and isolation of infected individuals is another win for the virus. Republican governors, mostly in thrall to the current occupant of the Oval Office, have resisted elementary steps like compelling everyone to wear masks in public. Instead they have pushed that decision on mayors and other local officials in hopes they won't be blamed for forcing people to protect each other.
Since denial of science is one of the hallmarks of the GOP, the virus loves the idea of large gatherings of people who feel vaccines are for losers, the disease is a democratic hoax and besides only the olds are at risk.
The botched response at the federal level with little leadership and the waste of time in preparing for the eventual flood of infections allowed the virus to spread in densely populated areas like NYC and its environs. What's not to like if you are an infectious disease!
Finally, the haphazard reopening of much of the country without a plan for contact tracing and isolation of infected individuals is another win for the virus. Republican governors, mostly in thrall to the current occupant of the Oval Office, have resisted elementary steps like compelling everyone to wear masks in public. Instead they have pushed that decision on mayors and other local officials in hopes they won't be blamed for forcing people to protect each other.
Thursday, June 25, 2020
The sun rises, republicans lie and other truths
Over in Mother Jones, Kevin Drum has a graph filled article tracing the course and finding out who benefitted from the 2017 republican tax cut. You remember how we were assured the $1.5 trillion dollar cut was going to "supercharge" the economy and help everyone. It turns out just like every other republican sponsored cut in the last 40 years, the 2017 bill was designed to benefit corporations and the rich and it did so with a vengeance.
From Reagan's trickle down theory to the Shrub's disappearing the Clinton surpluses to benefit his wealthy donors to tRump's supercharger, we have been lied to and forced to watch as a generational transfer of wealth from the poor and middle classes to the wealthy has occurred. Wages for most people have been stagnant or declining since the 80s. As tax revenues have declined, the GOP whenever in power has continued to shred the social safety net in order to "reduce the deficit". These cuts have disproportionately affected the poor and middle classes.
If current trends continue, at some point, a majority of Americans will realize they are being taken to the cleaners by republicans with the sometimes tacit assistance of democrats. When the torches and pitchforks come out it won't matter what party you belong to if you haven't done anything about the problems.
From Reagan's trickle down theory to the Shrub's disappearing the Clinton surpluses to benefit his wealthy donors to tRump's supercharger, we have been lied to and forced to watch as a generational transfer of wealth from the poor and middle classes to the wealthy has occurred. Wages for most people have been stagnant or declining since the 80s. As tax revenues have declined, the GOP whenever in power has continued to shred the social safety net in order to "reduce the deficit". These cuts have disproportionately affected the poor and middle classes.
If current trends continue, at some point, a majority of Americans will realize they are being taken to the cleaners by republicans with the sometimes tacit assistance of democrats. When the torches and pitchforks come out it won't matter what party you belong to if you haven't done anything about the problems.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Jonesing for a Win
Despite the president's* campaign pitch that the American public would be so tired of "winning" we would be begging him to stop, I, for one am tired of losing. It would seem a substantial number of voters are also. In a new poll, Joe Biden has increased his lead over tRump to 14 points. If these numbers hold in November, it will result in a landslide election victory for Biden and democrats.
What brought the GOP and their standard bearer to this pass are the twin crises of the Covid19 pandemic and the protests caused by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Cheetolini fumbled the response to both and he and his party will seemingly pay a high price for failure.
Coronavirus cases continue to rise, especially in states with republican governors and legislatures. Texas, Florida and Arizona lead the way and should all three states go blue in November, there is no path to a tRump electoral victory. Meanwhile, as the European Union opens for tourists again, it looks like Americans as well as Brazilians and Russians will not be invited to the party. The bourgeoning number of new coronavirus cases in these countries have unnerved the Europeans. The Chinese and Japanese tourists will be welcomed, however. This would constitute another blow to American prestige around the world. So much for winning.
Even tRump's most reliable voting bloc, whites with a high school education or less, the classic "low information voters" whom he professes to love are deserting him. The reality distortion field of Faux News and its offshoots are finally at such odds with what is actually happening on the ground that many of this cohort have decided, at least for now they are tired of "winning" also.
A columnist in the NYT noted that perhaps the most reliably conservative of the baby boom generation, those born from 1956-65, the so called Jones generation have also opted out of the tRump coalition.
What brought the GOP and their standard bearer to this pass are the twin crises of the Covid19 pandemic and the protests caused by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Cheetolini fumbled the response to both and he and his party will seemingly pay a high price for failure.
Coronavirus cases continue to rise, especially in states with republican governors and legislatures. Texas, Florida and Arizona lead the way and should all three states go blue in November, there is no path to a tRump electoral victory. Meanwhile, as the European Union opens for tourists again, it looks like Americans as well as Brazilians and Russians will not be invited to the party. The bourgeoning number of new coronavirus cases in these countries have unnerved the Europeans. The Chinese and Japanese tourists will be welcomed, however. This would constitute another blow to American prestige around the world. So much for winning.
Even tRump's most reliable voting bloc, whites with a high school education or less, the classic "low information voters" whom he professes to love are deserting him. The reality distortion field of Faux News and its offshoots are finally at such odds with what is actually happening on the ground that many of this cohort have decided, at least for now they are tired of "winning" also.
A columnist in the NYT noted that perhaps the most reliably conservative of the baby boom generation, those born from 1956-65, the so called Jones generation have also opted out of the tRump coalition.
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
What if they started the season and nobody cared
It looks like the MLB season is the latest casualty of the Covid 19 pandemic. The players' union voted down the offer by the owners of a 60 game season plus playoffs. While I am no fanatical baseball fan, I do enjoy watching an occasional game, especially when my beloved Yankees play (and beat) the hated Red Sox. But after casually following the negotiations, I have to admit some disgust with the whole process. In the event a truncated season is actually played, I'm not sure I would care about the outcome.
Greed is the proximate cause of this debacle. The owners are sitting on a virtual gold mine, yet they would not agree to pay the players 100% of their pro-rated salary during a shortened season. The owners can afford to take a one season hit on revenue. As an example, the owners of the Kansas City Royals recently sold the club for 1.1 billion dollars. They paid 96 million originally. The Yankees and Red Sox are valued in multiples of billions. Of course, some will say it is the fault of greedy players also.
It is hard to sympathized with a player whose contract calls for a salary of tens or hundreds of thousands per game. However, the players are the ones whose performances generate the revenue which accounts for the valuation of the clubs. The owners seem willing to blacken the game's reputation in order to save money. Instead of the enhanced reputation they might garner by "taking one for the team", they are counting on fans' amnesia regarding their current stance. I may be getting older, but I doubt I will forget the owners' role in this fiasco of a season.
Greed is the proximate cause of this debacle. The owners are sitting on a virtual gold mine, yet they would not agree to pay the players 100% of their pro-rated salary during a shortened season. The owners can afford to take a one season hit on revenue. As an example, the owners of the Kansas City Royals recently sold the club for 1.1 billion dollars. They paid 96 million originally. The Yankees and Red Sox are valued in multiples of billions. Of course, some will say it is the fault of greedy players also.
It is hard to sympathized with a player whose contract calls for a salary of tens or hundreds of thousands per game. However, the players are the ones whose performances generate the revenue which accounts for the valuation of the clubs. The owners seem willing to blacken the game's reputation in order to save money. Instead of the enhanced reputation they might garner by "taking one for the team", they are counting on fans' amnesia regarding their current stance. I may be getting older, but I doubt I will forget the owners' role in this fiasco of a season.
Monday, June 22, 2020
Bunker Boy's disappointment
Depending on whose story you believe, the president's* first campaign rally in months was a total bust, a moderate success or for those firmly in the tRump bubble, a resounding success. The shots of thousands of empty seats during Cheetolini's self aggrandizing speech put paid the last theory.
As polls have shown, over 60% of tRump's mostly elderly white fans are also worried about the coronavirus and it seems they decided a night of mostly incoherent babble from the liar-in-chief was not worth a trip to the ICU of their local hospital and 2--3 weeks on a ventilator. If this trend continues, the campaign may have to rethink its dependence on the spectacle of thousands of people gathered in enclosed spaces yelling and cheering for hours. Until Saturday night's debacle that was what tRump's supporters were counting on to at least get better polling numbers. Back to the drawing board.
In gardening news, the hot and dry weather continues as the summer solstice has come and gone. Temps in the low 90s and hit and miss thunderstorms will continue at least through mid week. At this point, i am just trying to keep transplants alive in the hope we will get rain at some point. Aside from deep rooted crops like potatoes and garlic everything in the garden is suffering.
As polls have shown, over 60% of tRump's mostly elderly white fans are also worried about the coronavirus and it seems they decided a night of mostly incoherent babble from the liar-in-chief was not worth a trip to the ICU of their local hospital and 2--3 weeks on a ventilator. If this trend continues, the campaign may have to rethink its dependence on the spectacle of thousands of people gathered in enclosed spaces yelling and cheering for hours. Until Saturday night's debacle that was what tRump's supporters were counting on to at least get better polling numbers. Back to the drawing board.
In gardening news, the hot and dry weather continues as the summer solstice has come and gone. Temps in the low 90s and hit and miss thunderstorms will continue at least through mid week. At this point, i am just trying to keep transplants alive in the hope we will get rain at some point. Aside from deep rooted crops like potatoes and garlic everything in the garden is suffering.
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