Author's archive
“Follow the Money” 0
Hal Crowther tries to “listen outside his bubble” and understand why some of his college classmates–mostly highly-educated professionals–support Donald Trump. He offers a hypothesis that may take you aback; follow the link for his reasoning:
Contact Tracing 0
The Seattle Times’s Danny Westneat tracks the trail of a Facebook falsehood from a Washington state chiropractor in the Seattle suburbs to Donald Trump and Fox News.
Remind You of Anyone? 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Claire Jack explores five reasons why narcissists are dangerous. Here they are; follow the link for a discussion and examples of each one.
- They do not respect experts
- They act without consulting others’ opinions
- They’ll put other peoples lives in danger if it meets their needs
- They have low empathy
- They like drama
Chaos Agent, Reprise 0
David is less than sanguine.
Extra-Special Bonus QOTD 0
Harry S Truman:
Socialism is what they called public power.
Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called farm price supports.
Socialism is what they called bank deposit insurance.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
When the Republican candidate inscribes the slogan “Down With Socialism” on the banner of his “great crusade,” that is really not what he means at all.
What he really means is, “Down with Progress — down with Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal,” and “down with Harry Truman’s fair Deal.” That is what he means.
Afterthought:
That was 70 years ago.
Times haven’t changed.
Lessons Learned 0
At the Bangor Daily News, University of Maine Professor Amy Fried recalls that, after the U. S. Senate acquitted Donald Trump refused to act on the impeachment of Donald Trump, Maine Senator Susan Collins opined that Trump had learned his lesson. Professor Fried agrees that he did.
Follow the link for her reasoning.
Tales of the Trumpling: Snapshots of Trickle-Down Trumpery 0
One of the things that I have trouble wrapping my mind around when I read of conduct such as this, beyond the hatred and the bigotry, is the plain down-home rudeness of it all.
“Can That Be Called Violence?” 0
I received an email recently from a friend of mine (it was not sent solely to me; I was but one of a number of addressees).
I met him some years ago. shortly after I moved to these parts, when I worked on his sadly unsuccessful campaign for local office; we have stayed in sporadic touch since then.
My most vivid memory of him is of the time we dining with a black woman, a mutual acquaintance and political activist, who had grown up in Connecticut; we were trying to explain to her what is was like to live under Jim Crow, he from his perspective as an African American sailor stationed in these parts in those days and me as a white guy, a native Southerner, who grew up under Jim Crow and went to segregated schools.
I am sharing this with his permission. It’s a powerful letter; because of its length, I’ve placed most of it below the fold.
I Too Am Human!
America’s problem with race has deep roots, with the country’s foundation tied to the near extermination of one race of people [Native American] and the enslavement of another [African American]. Racism is truly our nation’s original sin….with many more sins as follow-up. To make it lasting, they made it systemic. Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist environment.
What I just said sounds a lot like violence to me!
What escapes many people is that the whimsical killing of enslaved Blacks in this country during slavery, and even after, by white folks, without punitive consequence, is based on laws passed by white politicians, who happened to be plantation owners as well. Can that be called violence?
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
You’ve heard of “packing heat”? Now there’s unpacking heat.
Guns and stupid, guns and stupid.
They go together like love and Cupid.
Let me tell you brother,
You can’t have one without the other.
Tithes and Offerings 0
Warning: Farron gets a bit heated.
All the News that Fits 0
Margaret Sullivan talks with Brian Stelter about his new book on Fox News. A snippet:
(snip)
The second surprise, Stelter told me, was the number of Fox News staffers who acknowledge the harm it has done and its frequent failure to meet basic standards for truth-telling — and who struggle with whether to remain at the network. Some hesitate because they fear they are tainted by having worked at Fox News; others because the money is too good to walk away.
Follow the link to find out what the first surprise was.
Tripping the Light Fatalistic 0
At the Hartford Courant, Thomas Cangelosi suggests a metaphor for the United States’s incompetent and uncoordinated response to COVID-19. A snippet:
(snip)
The scene seemed to be a microcosm of the national crossroads America faces as it negotiates the COVID-19 pandemic, which has become nothing less than a crucible of our national character.
Follow the link for his explanation.