March, 2017 archive
When Does a Pot Become a Kettle? 0
Josh Marshall wonders just how “unsubstantiated” an “allegation” must be for the media to call it a lie.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Engage yourself with being polite.
Monetizing the Public Good 0
Virginia’s previous governor was a Republican. Accordingly, one of his core beliefs, as illustrated through his actions, was that there is no such thing as the public good.
When he looked at a big pile of public good, he saw dollar signs, something to be monetized, not something to be husbanded with stewardship. He saw the bridges and tunnels which for years had been free to cross and heard the ring of cash registers (remember cash registers?). He imposed tolls and sold the tolling rights to a private firm for 70 years because God forbid that government should provide services to citizens, when instead it can bleed them dry.
In a long report in today’s issue, my local rag documents the toll of the tolls. Here’s a snippet from the story of one the persons interviewed for the report (emphasis added).
Takeisha Reynolds owes more than $15,000 for commuting to a job that paid $11,000 last year.
She bought an E-ZPass transponder three years ago, when Elizabeth River Crossings began tolling the underwater tubes that link her home in Portsmouth to work in Norfolk. But she wasn’t making enough money to fund the account. A few months later, she faced a choice: tame the flurry of tolls, or pay for groceries, gas and rent.
The ERC invoices piled up fast. What started as a stack of small bills – $10, $20, $30 – became an impossible debt.
“It was already hard for me without tolls to pay for regular bills. Then you put this on me and tell me I have to pay this or I can’t go to work,” Reynolds said as she sifted through a drawer stuffed with statements. “I’m just stuck.”
Words fail me.
Race in the Presidential Race 0
The discussion does not accept the poll’s result uncritically, but does dig into the methodology and possible flaws in the poll.
Institution Flailure 0
Josh Marshall steps back for a closer look at the Trump wiretapping scamdal. A snippet:
I would say that this ability – both the President’s pathological lying and our institution’s inability to grapple with it – is the big, big story. The particulars of the accusation basically pale in comparison.
Jabba the Cat 0
. . . because the internet needs another cat picture.
Walleyed 0
The Seattle Times reports on one outfit bidding to work on Trump’s stupid wall of hate. A snippet:
The company’s listed principal? That would be Albert Speer, the Nazi war criminal who was Adolf Hitler’s personal architect. Speer, who designed the infamous Nazi party rally grounds in Nuremberg, died in 1981.
Trump Wall Solutions is actually a small group of Canadian pranksters mortified by the Trump administration and the border-wall plan, according to two men involved in the project who spoke with The Seattle Times by phone Friday.
Ryan’s Derp, Return of Beyond the Palin Dept. 0
David Ruth explains that fantastical things sometimes come to pass.
This is probably the inevitable result when laws are cooked up by a speaker of the House of Representatives who has treated the post as if he is president of the Ayn Rand Society.
More at the link.
