Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Asshole
I really don't get public officials who are brought down by dumb shit like free trips.
Especially as this is the stupid shit that brings public figures down and a DA should know that.
Seth used to come to various progressive meetups back when he first running, saying all the right things. I voted for him. He was a big disappointment even before this, basically because he's just a stupid asshole.
In an indictment unsealed Tuesday, prosecutors paint a portrait of a craven politician willing to do favors for friends willing to help him in return.
In one February 2012 text message exchange quoted in the filing, Williams allegedly agreed to help a friend of Mohammed N. Ali, a Philadelphia business owner, by offering to see about shortening the prison sentence the man faced as part of a plea deal with the District Attorney’s Office.
Within days, Ali offered to send Williams on a $3,000 trip to the Domican Republic resort of Punta Cana, prosecutors said.
Especially as this is the stupid shit that brings public figures down and a DA should know that.
Seth used to come to various progressive meetups back when he first running, saying all the right things. I voted for him. He was a big disappointment even before this, basically because he's just a stupid asshole.
The Kids Today Don't Learn To Drive
I have wondered about this myself for a few years and the only real answer I came up with that makes sense is that it is more socially acceptable in more places to not be able to drive. Sure there's been a bit more re-urbanization by people who would have otherwise been car dependent, and public transportation has actually improved in many places, if not nearly enough. Of course "don't got no money" and the related "schools don't teach driver ed anymore" are contributors, but when I was 16 people basically did anything they could to get themselves a license and, of course, a car. It was the top life priority. I can't remember ever knowing anyone in college or graduate school (except maybe some foreign students who used their stay in the US to get one) who didn't have a license.
So, yes, there are some financial and other incentives at the margins, but I really do think it's largely cultural. You can do it and not be a "total loser." Those things are related, of course - as the financial and related incentives tip more people away from driving, it becomes more socially acceptable - but I would guess that the real driver is social acceptability.
So, yes, there are some financial and other incentives at the margins, but I really do think it's largely cultural. You can do it and not be a "total loser." Those things are related, of course - as the financial and related incentives tip more people away from driving, it becomes more socially acceptable - but I would guess that the real driver is social acceptability.
Because The Whole Problem Is Hard
Reading a bunch of stuff from self-driving car boosters (we all have boring hobbies), I gather people sorta get the problem but usually don't come right out and say it:
To the extent that self-driving cars work (you know my position about them essentially not working, but..), they probably won't work everywhere, anytime, under any conditions, meaning that they won't be very useful as the "family car." Thus, the focus on self-driving taxis, which on one hand can be reasonably required only to function in relatively limited areas, but on the other hand having to function as a taxi creates a whole set of new complicated problems which are also really hard to solve.
To the extent that self-driving cars work (you know my position about them essentially not working, but..), they probably won't work everywhere, anytime, under any conditions, meaning that they won't be very useful as the "family car." Thus, the focus on self-driving taxis, which on one hand can be reasonably required only to function in relatively limited areas, but on the other hand having to function as a taxi creates a whole set of new complicated problems which are also really hard to solve.
Going Rogue
Whatever the problems (often many!) of police departments nationwide, the police as a concept do fill a necessary public safety role. ICE are just shit people, serving no useful purpose except to destroy lives.
A U.S. magistrate judge has claimed that a recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency raid in Austin, Texas wasn’t simply business as usual—it was retaliation for the city’s efforts to protect undocumented immigrants from federal authorities, the Austin American-Statesman reported on Tuesday.
The shocking allegation came from Judge Andrew Austin, who testified in court this week that ICE officials notified him in January that they planned to conduct a sweep for undocumented immigrants as a result of Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez’s policy to reduce cooperation between her office and that of federal immigration authorities. Shortly thereafter, ICE arrested 51 people during a two-day operation, which the agency claimed targeted “public safety threats.”
Crass Trump
If he didn't have the manners and style of a white trash lottery winner (invoking a stereotype here), I'm not sure what elite centrist pundits would find objectionable about Trump, except maybe the foreign policy stuff, as the State Department, "Intelligence Community," and Military-Industrial complex hold great powers over our pundits. I suppose it's good that we're starting to discover that taking away health insurance from people isn't very nice, but so is not providing it in the first place. It looks like they're making Trumpcare even worse than the first proposal, but the first round wasn't actually worse than the pre-Obamacare framework unless I missed something. I guess the lesson (which people need to learn over and over and over again) is that nice government goodies (which the best parts of Obamacare are) function like a ratchet. Lock in the status quo, and it's hard to go back.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Our Sister Network
Most people (other journalists) who pontificate about Fox News never watch it. I'd guess they get their impressions from the people who they work with, the people at Fox who are actual journalists (close enough), rather than the TV product that people see 24/7. It is a shitshow.
Imagine If...
Trump proves that norms are there to be violated by the first one to smack them away, and there isn't really any kind of check on that. Imagining press outrage if Obama or a President Clinton does this misses the point to some degree. Norms constrain the presidency because the people who are elected let themselves be constrained by them.
So Easy
Absent colossal fuckup or major scandal, it really isn't that hard to be a fairly popular president for your entire term in office. Sure some random winds can hit - like a recession - but otherwise the US population is fairly forgiving, and at least until the Trump era that was doubly true of "just give him a chance" Democrats. Obama was a consistently popular enough president for his entire term. Republicans mostly hated him, Democrats mostly liked him, and frankly that's how it should be, notwithstanding all the rhetoric about "unifying the nation" blahblahblah. People disagree about stuff, elections are a competition between visions of governance, and the idea of a super popular president is, to me, more horrifying than desirable. George W. Bush was super popular for awhile. You might remember why. Generally, one side wins, one side loses, and the losing side is unhappy. To get below 40% you have to start losing your fanbase. To get much about 55%, aside from the new in office honeymoon, there's probably just been some horrific tragedy.
With a little luck and a lot of competence (not even personal competence, just in the people you hire), you can be "as popular" as Obama, who wasn't actually super popular.
All of this is just my way of saying - if you're sub-40% for an extended period of time absent major recession or clear scandal, you really have to suck.
With a little luck and a lot of competence (not even personal competence, just in the people you hire), you can be "as popular" as Obama, who wasn't actually super popular.
All of this is just my way of saying - if you're sub-40% for an extended period of time absent major recession or clear scandal, you really have to suck.
Invisible Disabilities
Lots of people have them. You don't need to be in a wheelchair to need a handicapped parking placard, for example. An extra hundred feet of walking can be a major hurdle for some even if that isn't obviously apparent. I don't know if you really need that "emotional support" animal on your plane flight or not, and I'm not going to ever assume I do.
But I do know that some people abuse these things (because I know people who have), and the price of that is it makes it that much harder for people who actually need them to make use of them. Don't claim a medical condition because you just want to bring your damn pets with you.
But I do know that some people abuse these things (because I know people who have), and the price of that is it makes it that much harder for people who actually need them to make use of them. Don't claim a medical condition because you just want to bring your damn pets with you.
The Stupidest Timeline
Everybody knows Trump just tweeted out some bullshit about wiretapping because he heard it through the right wing nutjob puke funnel. The degree to which people pretend otherwise is astonishing.
Rabbit Holes
My minor plea: Louise Mensch is a horrible person, dumb as a stump, and knows nothing about anything. Please do not do this lefties...
And having pissed in the wind about this topic, I will shut up now.
Thank you for good journalism. https://t.co/0qtqD4u1Nu
— Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) March 18, 2017
And having pissed in the wind about this topic, I will shut up now.
Everybody's In Prison
Trump's budget director: "The only way to get truly universal care is to throw people in jail if they don't have it" https://t.co/ElhhI1Tufd pic.twitter.com/XxvZAWP7FO
— The Hill (@thehill) March 19, 2017
And it isn't just Trump. These people live in some alternate universe in which Fox News is actually the sane and trustworthy news source.
Every nation we usually consider ourselves to be in the club of (I never know what to call them anymore as "advanced" or "Western" or "1st world" or whatever really don't seem appropriate if they ever were) has universal health care. They aren't all perfect, they aren't all "single payer," but no one worries that they can't afford medical care. They all have much lower incarceration rates than the US, too, as if that's a point that needed to be made...
The New Reality
I don't think anyone could have convinced me that the first thing I'd have to do every morning in 2017 was see what stupid shit President Trump had tweeted that morning.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Only Fools And Frenchmen
Apparently it was 14 years ago today that we began our glorious war for the liberation of the people of Iraq, or whatever the hell reason we gave that day.
Linkrot is the devil and I don't have time to track down the original column right now, but this is how the Washington Post's liberal columnist helped to "sell" the war.
So glad the grownups were in charge then. Praise jeebus for the elite consensus.
Linkrot is the devil and I don't have time to track down the original column right now, but this is how the Washington Post's liberal columnist helped to "sell" the war.
It is time once again to quote my favorite philosopher -- Tevye, the lead character from "Fiddler on the Roof." It was his habit to weigh his options by saying, "On the one hand, " and then, "On the other hand," until he confronted a situation where there was no other hand. This is where Colin Powell brought us all yesterday.
The evidence he presented to the United Nations -- some of it circumstantial, some of it absolutely bone-chilling in its detail -- had to prove to anyone that Iraq not only hasn't accounted for its weapons of mass destruction but without a doubt still retains them. Only a fool -- or possibly a Frenchman -- could conclude otherwise.
So glad the grownups were in charge then. Praise jeebus for the elite consensus.
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