By Lambert Strether of Corrente.
Trade
“Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross may have summed up the Trump administration’s negotiating strategy during a TV appearance Wednesday when he said that Mexico and Canada can’t expect the United States to give up anything in the talks” [Politico]. “‘We’re trying to do a difficult thing,’ he said on CNBC. ‘We’re asking two countries to give up some privileges they have enjoyed for 22 years and we’re not in a position to offer anything in return, so that’s a tough sell.'”
“230 Law and Economics Professors Urge President Trump to Remove Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) From NAFTA and Other Pacts” (PDF) [Public Citizen]. “As Chief Justice John Roberts [!!] noted in his dissent in BG Group PLC v. Republic of Argentina, ISDS arbitration panels hold the alarming power to review a nation’s laws and ‘effectively annul the authoritative acts of its legislature, executive, and judiciary.’ ISDS arbitrators, he continued, ‘can meet literally anywhere in the world’ and ‘sit in judgment’ on a nation’s ‘sovereign acts.’ … However, through ISDS, the federal government grants foreign investors – and foreign investors alone – the ability to bypass the robust, nuanced, and democratically-responsive U.S. legal framework.” I understand you’ve got to tailor your message to your audience, but surely “the robust, nuanced, and democratically-responsive U.S. legal framework” is over-egging the pudding?
Politics
2016 Post Mortem
“A Review of What Happened by an Author Who Insists He Has Never Heard of Hillary Clinton or the 2016 Election” [Paste]. Deadpan and hilarious.
“City Board of Elections Admits It Broke the Law, Accepts Reforms” [WNYC]. Fancy that.
2017
“Virginia Governor – Gillespie vs. Northam” [RealClearPolitics]. The average of all polls:
GillespieNortham 3.9% [sorry the heart attack, Dems].
2018
“Has the Trump wing of the GOP handed Democrats an opening to retake the Senate?” [Los Angeles Times]. “The mathematics remain daunting and odds continue to favor continued GOP control. Thirty-four seats will be on the ballot and Democrats must defend 25, compared with just nine for the GOP. To take control of the Senate, Democrats need to keep every seat they now hold — no small feat — and pick up three held by Republicans. In addition to trying to flip a seat in Arizona, Nevada is a prime target.”
2020
“Why Joe Biden Didn’t Run . . . And Why He’s Not Ruling Out 2020” [Vanity Fair]. The man who turned a generation of college students into debt slaves keeps milking the death of his son.
Trump Transition
“Who Knew Trump Would Be a Weak President?” [Elizabeth Drew, The New Republic]. Not a gaggle of hysterical, gaslighting liberal Democrats, that’s for sure. More: “If this approach to governing keeps up, Trump may find himself once again on a newsweekly cover—the kind of prominence he craves—but this time with a sobriquet that once ordained one of his predecessors: ‘WIMP.'” I disagree (which is not to say that I think Trump is a strong President, or that it would be good if he were; gridlock is our friend!) Amazingly, Drew doesn’t mention the judiciary, where Trump has had great success — granted, without much Democrat opposition, who knew — in further packing the courts with conservatives. Drew also doesn’t mention the adminstration’s successful gutting of the EPA and the Education Department. I don’t have a general theory of why Trump is sometimes effective, and why he isn’t, but the judiciary and two major departments aren’t chopped liver. Drew is also wrong on health care. She writes:
Trump not only didn’t have an alternative to Obamacare ready on his first day in office, he never offered one. Moreover, when House Republicans presented to him their own ideas about what should be in the health care bill, they found him to be an easy mark.
This is nonsense. Obama turned writing his health care bill over to Max Baucus (who turned it over to his chief of staff,WellPoint’s Liz Fowler). Trump had every reason to expect to be able to do the same with Paul Ryan or Mitch McConnell, fawned over by the political class as a policy wonk and a veteran dealmaker respectively, but it turned out that after eight years in opposition, neither had a bill that would pass ready to deploy. Who could have predicted that the feral Republicans would be even more clueless and ineffectual on health care legislation than the Democrats? This matters because Drew is the doyenne of Washington political journalists; she’s what Josh Marshall would like to be when he grows up. If Drew can make such basic errors of perspective and analysis, that doensn’t bode well for the political class ever pulling itself out of its legitimacy tailspin.
“On Wednesday, Joe Straus, the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, announced that he would not run again, an indication that the Washington fever was spreading. Mr. Straus, a pragmatist with deep ties to the Bush family who had tangled with his state’s hard-liners, delivered a plea that Republicans ‘appeal to our diverse population with an optimistic vision,’ but he still chose flight over fight” [New York Times]. “Mr. Straus’s dash for the exits followed the retirement announcements of Mr. Flake, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee and Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Pat Tiberi of Ohio and Dave Reichert of Washington State — all members of the Republican establishment.” So, it’s the Republican establishment that’s making like the Whigs and leaving public life. Who knew?
“Jeff Flake and Bob Corker are cowards” [The Week]. “If Flake, Corker, McCain, and any other Republicans willing to stage a Jerry Maguire walkout scene really think that President Trump is a menace to the country, the truly courageous thing to do would be to switch parties and join the Democrats.” Indeed:
“The Party of Lincoln Is Now the Party of Trump” [New York Times]. “The growing strength of the kind of partisanship that is widespread today — whether you call it visceral, expressive, affective or tribal — undermines the workings of democratic governance. Not only are Republicans willing to support Trump, but both Democrats and Republicans are inclined to demonize the leadership of the opposing party.”
Realignment and Legitimacy
‘Antifa’ Waging Civil War on November 4, According to Right Wing Conspiracy [Newsweek]. My head hurts. Alex Jones has antifa confused with the Bob Avakian crew. Help me.
Oh, Bernie:
Do the people of #NYC support @BernieSanders endorsing @BilldeBlasio even though no one has gone to jail or even been fired in my dads case? https://t.co/4obvZMf43x
— officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) October 25, 2017
A straw in the wind:
Driving from Minnesota to upstate New York. 5 miles into Indiana turned on the radio and Have heard about "the elites" 7 times in 2 minutes.
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) October 26, 2017
Stats Watch
International Trade in Goods, September 2017 (Preliminary): “The cross-border goods deficit widened to $64.1 billion in September,” above consensus [Econoday]. “September imports rose 0.9 percent on increases for capital goods, industrial supplies and food products. Exports rose 0.7 percent but strength was isolated to industrial supplies with capital goods, consumer goods, and vehicles all down.” Importing capital goods is important in a capitalist society.
Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index, October 2017: ” Kansas City’s manufacturing composite is up 6 points this month to a 6-1/2 year best of 23. New orders lead the report at 27 followed by an enormous build in backlog orders,” which could be hurricane-related [Econoday]. “Transportation issues are skewing some of the supply chain numbers but behind everything is robust strength in new orders. This week’s durable goods report offered confirmation that the factory sector is enjoying a pivot higher.” And: All of the regional Fed surveys have been strong in October” [Calculated Risk].
Retail Inventories, September 2017 (Advance): “Retail inventories fell a sharp 1.0 percent in September reflecting a 2.6 percent draw in vehicles, sales of which were unusually strong in the month” [Econoday]. “In a partial offset, wholesale inventories rose 0.3 percent in data also released with today’s report. The large retail draw could trim back estimates for tomorrow’s GDP report.”
Wholesale Inventories, September 2017: (Advance): “Wholesale inventories rose 0.3 percent” [Econoday].
Pending Home Sales Index, September 2017: “Existing home sales have been flat and flat is the indication from pending sales which were unchanged in September” [Econoday]. “Unlike yesterday’s new home sales report where sales spiked in the South, resales in the region are showing visible hurricane effects, down 2.3 percent in the month following August’s 3.7 percent decline. Year-on-year rates show the South the weakest, down 5.0 percent, with the Northeast doing the best at minus 2.4 percent.”
Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index. week of October 22, 2016: Held steady [Econoday]. “Full employment, the rally in the stock market, and solid home-price appreciation are all important pluses for confidence measures.”
Jobless Claims, week of October 21, 2017: “Puerto Rico is becoming a factor but claims data are otherwise very steady at historic lows” [Econoday].
Shipping: “Trucking volumes saw a decline from August to September, according to data released today in the American Trucking Associations (ATA) Truck Tonnage Index” [Logistics Management].
Retail: “McDonald’s in China provoked snorts of laughter Thursday, as internet users mocked a ham-fisted new company name that sounds a lot like the Chinese word for a pig eating” [Agence France Presse]. Sounds legit. What’s the issue?
Shipping: “UNCTAD flags oligopoly concerns amid unprecedented container shipping consolidation” [Splash 247]. “”The risk is that growing market concentration in container shipping may lead to oligopolistic structures,” said Shamika Sirimanne, director of [the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)]’s division on technology and logistics.” “May”? More: “Factoring in the incoming merger of Japan’s big three boxlines, and Cosco’s takeover of OOCL, there will be just seven global liners by next year – the number of container shipping majors having more than halved this decade. On top of this, the number of container alliances on the main east-west trades has shrunk from four last year to just three as of April 1 this year.”
Supply Chain: “Blockchain technology may be on the table during the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday in the U.S. Agricultural conglomerate Cargill Inc. is test-driving the digital tool to let shoppers trace turkeys from the store back to the farm that raised them” [Wall Street Journal].
The Bezzle: “Elon Musk Was Wrong About Self-Driving Teslas” [Bloomberg]. “A year later, there’s still no sign of Full Self Driving, and even the less ambitious ‘Enhanced Autopilot’ hasn’t quite reached parity with an earlier, discontinued version. The head of Tesla’s Autopilot division left in January, and six months later his successor did, too. Meanwhile, Tesla owners who paid thousands of dollars for the options filed a class action lawsuit, alleging they were tricked into buying a feature that doesn’t exist and—in some cases—an unsafe car. Tesla has yet to formally respond to those disgruntled drivers who want refunds and punitive damages, and the case is currently in mediation.” Elon! Elon! He’s our man! If he can’t do it, no one can! On robot cars, see NC here, here, and here.
The Fed: “Yellen looks to be out of the race for Fed chief” [MarketWatch]. “A Washington Post report, citing three people, said that President Donald Trump has narrowed his search to Fed governor Jerome Powell or Stanford University economist John Taylor. Earlier, Politico reported that one source who talks regularly to Trump said Powell and Taylor were the only finalists… Both reports on Thursday noted that Trump could still rip up the script.” Yep!
Five Horsemen: “Microsoft carries on ruling the roost.” [Hat tip, Jim Haygood].
Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 74 Greed (previous close: 75, Extreme Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 83 (Extreme Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed. Last updated Oct 26 at 11:17am.
Gaia
“US Department of Interior proposes biggest ever oil and gas lease sale in Gulf of Mexico” [Splash 247]. “Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said the areas offered would be almost 77 million acres offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida – all the US states with Gulf shorelines.”
“Seriously Metal Photos of Canada’s Tree Planters” [Vice (Re Silc)]. Indeed. The terrain looks clear-cut to me, so it makes sense to have a conflict photographer cover the story. Re Silc: “Not easy. I’ve done 400-500 a year in Vermont for the past three springs. Hard for geezers.”
Water
“[In] majority-African-American communities… residents’ median water bill is 20 percent higher for the same amount of water than residents pay in predominantly white communities, the Tribune’s examination revealed” [Chicago Tribune]. “Overall, towns with median household incomes in the bottom 10 percent of the region pay 31 percent more a month for water than towns with a median household income in the top 10 percent.”
Class Warfare
“Re-imagining Value: Insights from the Care Economy, Commons, Cyberspace and Nature” (PDF) [David Bollier, Heinrich Boell Stiftung. “This report, written by David Bollier, draws upon three days of discussion by twenty thinkers and activists convened by the Commons Strategies Group in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation and David Graeber in September 2016.”
“Rents have increased rapidly across U.S. housing markets as the share of renting households has risen faster than the number of new units. Now, in a survey published Thursday by an apartment-listing service, nearly one in five respondents reports struggling to make the monthly payments” [Bloomberg]. “While big landlords seem to be succeeding at finding tenants who can keep up, the survey, by Apartment List, suggests escalating housing costs may be straining renters’ resources. Eighteen percent of respondents couldn’t pay the full rent due in at least one of the past three months, according to the poll of 40,000 renters. Of those who have registered for the listing site this year, 3.3 percent said they had been evicted in the past, up from 2.8 percent in 2015.”
“Drug Deaths in America Are Rising Faster Than Ever” [New York Times]. The struggle to medicalize — New drugs, ka-ching! Professionals, ka-ching! — Case-Deaton’s “deaths of despair” continues apace.
News of the Wired
“The useless design features in modern products” [BBC]. Not just modern!
“Whenever war, hurricanes or other disasters ravage part of the globe, one of the biggest problems for aid organizations is a lack of reliable data” [Nature]. “Three years ago, one frustrated first-responder decided to do something about it. The result is an innovative piece of software called the Dharma Platform, which almost anyone can use to rapidly collect information and share, analyse and visualize it so that they can act quickly. And although public-health veterans tend to be sceptical of technological fixes, Dharma is winning fans. MSF and other organizations now use it in 22 countries. And so far, the Rise Fund, a ‘global impact fund’ whose board boasts U2 lead singer Bono, has invested US$14.3 million in the company behind it.”
“Brain hardwired to respond to others’ itching” [Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis]. “‘Itching is highly contagious,’ said principal investigator Zhou-Feng Chen, PhD, director of the Washington University Center for the Study of Itch. ‘Sometimes even mentioning itching will make someone scratch. Many people thought it was all in the mind, but our experiments show it is a hardwired behavior and is not a form of empathy.'”
“The ‘Sciencing’ of Homo naledi” [National Geographic]. “Such a stunning treasure trove of hominin fossils presented a challenge about how to study them.Traditionally, a small group of senior scientists would spend years analyzing the fossils for subsequent publication. This collection would overwhelm such a system, so Berger chose to expand the team by inviting dozens of early-career scientists to Johannesburg in May 2014 to get the best young minds working on describing and identifying these bones.”
“To stay young, kill zombie cells” [Nature]. “Now biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are keen to test drugs — known as senolytics — that kill senescent cells in the hope of rolling back, or at least forestalling, the ravages of age. Unity Biotechnology in San Francisco, California, co-founded by van Deursen, plans to conduct multiple clinical trials over the next two-and-a-half years, treating people with osteoarthritis, eye diseases and pulmonary diseases. At Mayo, gerontologist James Kirkland, who took part in the 2011 study, is cautiously beginning a handful of small, proof-of-concept trials that pit senolytic drugs against a range of age-related ailments. ‘I lose sleep at night because these things always look good in mice or rats, but when you get to people you hit a brick wall,’ says Kirkland.”
Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please put it in the subject line. Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Today’s plant (JP):
JP writes: “We have had an incredible bounty this year, and it keeps producing, so we are taking a load every week to the local food pantry. Here’s the Versa loaded with fresh collard greens and chard, there are tomatoes and peppers too.”
Also, it would be nice to have some pictures of people’s gardens buttoned up for the winter, for those of you for whom winter is coming. And fall foliage, ditto.
Readers: The Naked Capitalism fundraiser is over, and let me express my personal thanks to all those who have helped keep Naked Capitalism getting better and better. Water Cooler, however, is a standalone entity not covered by the NC fundraiser. So do feel free to use the dropdown and click the hat to make a contribution today or any day. Here is why: Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I’m on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of small donations helps me with expenses, and I factor that trickle in when setting fundraising goals. So if you see something you especially appreciate, do feel free to click the hat!
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Recheck that RCP polling average.
Yes, I see Northam +3.9
Sorry about that. I had Gillespie on my mind because the latest poll was Gillespie by 8.1%, an outlier that I wanted to implicitly debunk.
A stunning new development in US politics… [/sarc]
That’s not fair. I’m more than willing to demonize the leadership of BOTH parties.
“Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross may have summed up the Trump administration’s negotiating strategy during a TV appearance Wednesday when he said that Mexico and Canada can’t expect the United States to give up anything in the talks” [Politico]. “‘We’re trying to do a difficult thing,’ he said on CNBC. ‘We’re asking two countries to give up some privileges they have enjoyed for 22 years and we’re not in a position to offer anything in return, so that’s a tough sell.’”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You’re demand, Wilbur!
Is it me, or does Michelle O just love to make Dubyah squirm?
When he goes low, she goes high!
So let me guess, the Clinton strategy of appealing to “white flight Republicans” only had temporary advantages in areas where the specter of defense spending being reduced (moving jobs would be a disaster for the housing market in NoVa) might have been a powerful factor in how people voted. Gee, how could this have happened?
Don’t worry, I bet Northam’s support for George W. Bush will make a real difference to Republican voters against a former lackey of Shrub. What really ticks me off is I need to vote for Ralph now.
I’m sure you’ll do your duty to vote for the guy who merely sucks to fend off the horror. But a lot of people won’t bother. If the Democrats are so smart, why do they keep setting up these predicaments?
Voting “lesser evil” is an inherently self-defeating strategy. To start, you’re rewarding bad behavior, so producing more of it.
It’s also depressing.
Better to just undervote the line, if there isn’t a protest candidate.
Be careful what you vote for, because you’ll get more of it.
Yes. Do not think you can bargain with evil.
Nailed it
In dog training, I was taught a simple-minded (but useful) mnemonic: “You get what you pet.”
I constantly see other dog owners at the dog park praising things they shouldn’t be reinforcing, or, scolding their dog when they do something they actually should be praising. The classic example is scolding a dog who fails to come after it has finally returned, when what you should be doing is praising the dog for returning.
I haven’t had a reason to say “Good politician!” hardly ever.
The voters in the Democratic primary had a chance to choose Tom Perriello, who was endorsed by “Our Revolution”:
https://www.ourrevolution.com/2017-elections-results/
Northam won 56% – 44%. (303, 537 – 239,505)
There were only 366,274 votes total in the 3-way Republican primary:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_gubernatorial_election,_2017
I’m not sure what lesson to draw from this. The turnout in the Democratic primary was considerably higher than in the Republican primary.
The hope is of course that somebody has a video camera aimed @ Alex when he spontaneously combusts, with a splatter guard for the lens. The suggested pay per view options for the faithful watching the fateful event are as follows:
$59.99 Regular TV
$69.99 HD TV
~~~~~~~
‘Antifa’ Waging Civil War on November 4, According to Right Wing Conspiracy [Newsweek]. My head hurts. Alex Jones has antifa confused with the Bob Avakian crew. Help me.
Let them eat chard. Has anyone here ever tasted chard? I tried it two years ago, even made dried chard chips for snacks. Too much work. Tastes awful.
I use it regularly where I use cabbage. The stems are great chopped in stir fry; the leaves and stems are excellent in lentil soup (Lebanese-style, with potato). Also grows through fall and mild winters so good if you’re trying to eat cheaply in season year-round.
I love, love, LOVE chard! Thanks for the reminder. I need to get some chard seeds for my fall/winter garden.
Hey Ed. Chard is much sweeter than spinach, and packs a good brain punch. I immediately feel more awake after eating it. Easy to grow too. I get three little crops in san francisco a year. Just do the southern euro method. Steam for 5 minutes or so, add butter, or garlic and olive oil. It’s good. Just make sure you steam it long enough so that the stalks are all tender. Try it again. Really good shit, no kidding.
Tommy, I tried it that way too. Butter, garlic, and olive oil are wonderful and I use them frequently, and I do know how to cook. I bought the CIA instructional manual for $8 (culinary institute, not those other people). But chard does not taste good. But there’s no need to convince me. I take rat poison in small amounts as per my doctor so I get to choose what freen and leafy things I will eat.
Chard interfers with warferan (coumadin)
Depends on whether you like beets, since chard is just glorified beet greens. Some people really don’t, and it’s hereditary, the way their taste buds are wired.
In NZ, they often put a slice of beetroot on hamburgers, kinda weird.
It is to ruin your clean white shirt.
Yeah, beets on burgers all over NZ. In Dunedin they pronounce cheddar cheese like ‘shitter’, as in “Would you like shitter on your burger?” Then they drown it in mayonnaise and a cloyingly sweet, heavily cloved ketchup. At that point beets seem fairly normal. It’s a wild, strange world for hamburgers out there.
Another odd thing they do there is slather bbq sauce on damn near every pizza, yuck!
Heck, here in Thailand they put mayonnaise on pizza. Finally found a shop that doesn’t, but you have to make it a special request. I’ve even encountered thousand island dressing. And pineapple! The long heat wave we had last year devastated the pineapple crop (they take two years to grow), so they don’t put as much pineapple on, but they also use a lot less pineapple in sweet and sour, so that’s a net loss.
I love beets. I don’t like chard, or kale.
Lambert: A new meme
Kale is beyond the pale
Ed: Chard chips? Didn’t you learn after kale chips?
Chard is great as a sauté, as mentioned. In soups–lentil with potato, mentioned above,too: 3 yums.
When you make mushroom broth, throw in a chopped leaf or two.
It just takes longer to cook than spinach, which may be why you don’t like it. Chard shouldn’t be crispy. Let it cook down like the “classic” greens like turnip and rapini.
Re chard: We make it like most of the cooks here, and it’s great in homemade chicken soup with garlic and onions. Super easy to grow too. Also feels useful in providing the local pantry with greens, something they are always low on.
re Trump.
No data but just a hypothesis to put out there – have the Republicans already (and the Democrats via Sanders just begun to) realign according to new principles…. say (for instance) the Schwartz list of values? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Basic_Human_Values – we know both parties were coalitions and maybe those coalitions will break up and re-form according to different principles. just a thought.
I wouldn’t say new principles yet. Trump was a “none of the above candidate” who was made the candidate when Jeb’s sheepdogs attacked voters.
The alliance of various blocs who make up the GOP after the Southern Strategy are breaking apart, but as they don’t have natural homes they have to stay together. The result is the Republicans at the voter level are opposed to anyone perceived as establishment Republican. The contest between Reagan and Ford and then Reagan and Bush is still relevant. Perot challenging 41 also. Many ignored the nature of the GOP during W’s Administration because he could fit into both camps as a black sheep within the Romney wing.
Take Evangelicals. What is the expectation of Joel Osteen-type versus a parishioner in a mega-church in regards to say abortion? If abortion is illegal, do the parishioners keep giving? If abortion is accepted, what does the mega minister use to tug at the heart strings? All of this needs to be understood per each group. Movement conservatives, Evangelicals, Southern Democrats, libertarians, traditional country club Republicans, and new Republican that isn’t quite country club but not an outright libertarian.
I do believe the various groups want a new arrangement with the Taft-Romney class. They don’t necessarily know the direction. Talk of people voting against their interests is relevant here. How many Evangelicals types would be better off with a generic (key word) Democrat? In the absence of the presentation of a better alternative, its difficult for a mob to articulate the next step. 1968 was a very long time ago. The adults who made the decision are senior citizens or dead.
>>The alliance of various blocs who make up the GOP after the Southern Strategy are breaking apart, but as they don’t have natural homes they have to stay together.<<
Most of the population do not have a natural home to go to with the only major exception is the top 10% to 20% of the population; the college educated, white-collared that tends to act as the, often unwitting, courtier class to the 0.01% Further, both parties, but strangely the party of the "working class," even middle class, the most, seem to dropped all that actually block by block, county by county, mass organizing and permanent political social support that they both used to do.
The precise details are different, but you can see it across Western politics, even beyond the West I think. It has become all about the money.
I was disappointed that neckties aren’t mentioned — no list of uselessness is complete without the inclusion of neckties. But I guess the article is about features that started out being useful, and stopped being so in later product iterations. Neckties have never been useful.
I donno, they seemed to be very useful in the wild west. :-)
Ah, the ones made from hemp fibers. I forgot about them. :-)
Range fruit? Think I’ll pass, tyvm.
Vatch: Neckties protect the neck. Now that the seasons are changing, I am wearing them more. They keep the collar in place around the throat, which is where colds often lodge themselves.
If you have nice ties, you can also get a bird-of-paradise effect. People will stare. I have a lot of neckties from back when I worked in an office, and when I used to do even more “picking” at resale ships. When you buy ties for two dollars a pop, they’re an accessory. Like the tail of a peacock.
Also, because neckties are banned, more or less, in Iran as a sign of Western decadence, people no longer take me for a Shi’i cleric.
And I find (perversely) that wearing a tie gets me better service in restaurants. I must look like the prime minister of Sweden or something. Possible free desserts!
So, you see, a tie has many uses.
Okay, you’re just messing with me. If one wants protection from a cold, one must wear the necktie over the mouth and nostrils.
I’ll have to risk being mistaken for a Shia cleric. Do Shia clerics wear Bernie Sanders hats?
Also something to grab in a bar fight.
Hitler wore a tie*; Why should I?
Pip Pip
In England we refer to that odious and superfluous dangling piece of cloth as the “tie”. The word is part to the term “old School tie” – symbolic of the cronyism that seemingly remains a major factor in British society. Wikipedia has an “Old school tie” page.
It was fun to read but…. I got a bit derailed by the “engine in the front just like a horse!” thing when the early cars, including the one shown via the advert, had the motor underneath.
Lambert,
You need to stop giving credit to the Trump administration for judicial nominees. The slates of conservative candidates for judgeships have been refined and vetted for years by conservative groups, who are simply waiting for a President with an “R” after his name to start pushing the names forward. The speed of the appointments reflects very little any sort of efficiency or expediency with the administration.
I agree. Trump has only “assisted” in the process of judicial nominations and appointments by pretty much staying out of the way. This may be one of the few things that Trump hasn’t blundered into and make a hash of it.
The lists of potential judicial nominees are developed and vetted by both parties ongoingly. Both parties are ready when they have the opportunity to put forward the nominations.
I, too, don’t give Trump much credit for this. I do give the GOP credit for finally being ready to do something and having the nominees actually lined up and ready to go. It’s one of the few times that they’ve actually been prepared to DO something, rather than just be obstructive. Not that I like most of their choices, however, but that’s another story.
Obama and the Democrats characteristically dropped the ball on this when they held all the marbles. No wonder they fumbled the ball first chance they got
Fumbled seems to suggest error, rather than strategy, and therefore a good faith interest in an alternative.
Obama could not have any doubt that republicans would oppose any nominee he put forward to the Supreme Court to replace Scalia. And he nominated a moderate republican.
Yes it was the plan all a long
Yes, I have long been aware of, for example, the machinations of the Federalist Society. If the administration’s major achievement was staying out of the way and not butchering the job — something they seem quite prone to do in other areas — then so be it, and credit due. (Given that the Federalist Society is pure Republican establishment, they get credit for working with the establishment, too.)
The idea seems to be that good Presidents sit down and devise their own lists. I don’t think that’s true; they all work from lists prepared by others.
NOTE I hate that “you need to” formulation. You don’t get to define my needs.
I always find myself asking, if I point out the moral vacuousness of our ruling aristocracy, does anyone hear? And if so, does it even matter? What’s a human being to do in a world ruled by people that clearly consider me less than that.
Talking to folks about the “moral vacuousness of our ruling aristocracy” is akin to arguing with somebody who thinks pro wrestling is a competitive sport. What keeps me going is the hope that some day the equivalent of the Hacksaw-Jim-Duggan-Iron-Sheik-Turnpike-Marijuana-Incident will happen to the aristocrats and break kayfabe.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1177297-wwe-legend-explains-a-drug-arrest-affected-his-career-success
“US Department of Interior proposes biggest ever oil and gas lease sale in Gulf of Mexico” [Splash 247]. “Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said the areas offered would be almost 77 million acres offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida – all the US states with Gulf shorelines.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He came into Humordor riding a pony, but it was all about horsepower.
I have a question for everyone siding with the “Mainstream” Republican Party over Trump: what has Trump accomplished that they wouldn’t have?
The only ones that I can think of is pulling out of the TPP and the refugee ban. All of the other things that he has done either other Republicans would have (rightwingers on the courts) or are things that he’s said rather than done. Even the Muslim ban was struck down.
They may have done a less extreme version of what Trump is doing, but with the Republican party this is doubtful as they are so off the deep end extreme already, with Hillary it is more likely, with Bernie more likely still.
Thinking about the latest news. In my view the establishment pundit class has this backwards. Trump would have had an even easier time gaining the Democratic nomination than the Republican nomination. He is the result of decades of lying to voters about what the two parties will deliver to them — namely decent jobs and a decent standard of living — none of which is in the cards.
Hence, the R-party is, and sort of always has been, the Trump party. They just never had a “leader” before. While those in DC continue to expend their energy in service to the donor class (same for the Ds), he succeeds at railing against them.
Trump’s complete lack of skill, no real policies, no idea how to exercise power other than to settle slights and even scores and his huge interest in being a kleptocrat explains why he is getting nothing done. If he cut the noxious tweeting and acted like a true populist with a bully pulpit he would have high approval ratings and be building a lasting coalition.
Until then, the money that fuels both parties will continue to get its way.
Trump’s status as only a businessman wouldn’t play well with potential Democratic primary voters regardless of what he said. Zuckerberg can’t win the Democratic nomination for the same reason.
From your mouth to God’s ears. I’m not so sure anymore. I remember when I “knew” Trump could never be president.
Tone doesn’t translate through text well at all. I feel like I’m reading it several different ways.
I loved it. One highlight:
“It is a book about how the structures of capital and empire turn even the brightest young radicals into its servants, how it can turn a student who implored her college class to discover “ecstatic modes of living” into a candidate angered by black activists’ impatience. The true plot of this book is about an anti-Vietnam War radical who later finds herself celebrating the “values-driven” foreign policy of American Empire. It is about an heir apparent who is felled by international antagonism and the malfeasance of covert operatives but who does not ask how all this spy craft came to power in the first place. It is about how a bright, ambitious politician can believe, truly believe, that she has been fighting for the same values all her life and yet become someone who could only be unrecognizable to her younger self.”
“This matters because Drew is the doyenne of Washington political journalists; she’s what Josh Marshall would like to be when he grows up. If Drew can make such basic errors of perspective and analysis, that doensn’t bode well for the political class ever pulling itself out of its legitimacy tailspin.”
Do these elite coastal journalists ever go out into the rest of the country and question what is happening on Main Street in the not-coastal-elite places?
Adding:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View_of_the_World_from_9th_Avenue
This is an overly generous portrayal of their world. It shows something beyond the Hudson.
Truth!
Thanks for this.
I especially like this earlier one:
https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~268748~90042985:A-New-Yorker-s-idea-of-the-United-S#
“He’s moving to Dallas so he can be near his little Mother in El Paso”
What would be the point of that? They’d just get non elite answers for their pains.
They do, but in the role of anthropologists. Or tourists. It’s like Thomas Freidman talking to his cab driver on a grander scale.
“Obama turned writing his health care bill over to Max Baucus (who turned it over to his chief of staff,WellPoint’s Liz Fowler)”
The massive difference between the Obama approach vs. the Trump-Ryan-McConnell approach is that the Democrats had a somewhat coherent concept of expanding healthcare insurance towards universal coverage. The questions the Democrats had to answer related to how to structure this in a way that could pass through Congress.
Obamacare repeal and replace ran into the fundamental wall where many Republicans want to eliminate public healthcare altogether vs. the electorate’s general desire to have health care coverage, which is frequently not available from the private sector. “Repeal Obamacare” turned out to simply be an empty slogan because nobody in the Republican Party could come up with a “conservative” replacement that could get enough Republican votes and they were unwilling to have moderate Republicans negotiate with the Democrats.
So it wasn’t just Trump’s fault – none of the Republicans, including Trump, had an approach that could have passed the Republican Congress without causing a voter revolt. Obamacare makes Rube Goldberg machines look sleek and efficient, but it did increase coverage, so people now have something to lose which is a large hurdle to overcome.
that the Democrats had a somewhat coherent concept of expanding healthcare insurance towards universal coverage.
Universal coverage is not universal care. The Democrats had a coherent plan to bail out insurance companies and large hospital chains, but slow walk or outright defeat any attempt at universal care.
Excuses, excuses. The Democrats specialize in them.
Funny thing is, the voters couldn’t care less (keeping it family blog.)
> nobody in the Republican Party could come up with a “conservative” replacement
As I kept saying: ObamaCare was the best possible Republican plan. And yes, the benefits that ObamaCare (randomly) delivers do have an endowment effect. Not a very significant one, I think; see election 2016, in which the people didn’t seem to express their gratitude sufficiently.
Have hydrocortisone ready before you read the following.
Of course, now that the Russians know about that, they will use it on guys in our war room….they will suddenly, for no apparent reason, have ‘itchy fingers.’
How much time did our ancestors spend grooming each other in the generations leading up to farming? Even then, there was no TV. Seems obvious. Mentioning the very slightest recent injury will bridge most conversation gaps.
Claim seems overblown for what’s presented which is nice enough, but is ‘hardwired in the brain’ a scientific term?
I’ve heard social media compared to grooming. If that’s true, than itching as a social contagion would explain a lot.
On the laymen’s term, it’s a press release. I would have quoted from the original if it weren’t paywalled.
God, that photo of Michelle Obama cuddling Bush just makes my blood boil. “Who’s a cute widdle mass murderer? Who? Who?!?”
This current effort to rehabilitate Bush Junior is all the more remarkable/repugnant when you consider that many of the players were the same people screaming abuse at the Democratic base (and independents) back in the 2000’s because they weren’t sufficiently deferential to Dem “leaders.” We were told non-stop that Bush was the Anti-Christ, and now these bastards are trying to claim the evil little cretin wasn’t so bad after all? It makes you wonder what they’re going to be saying about Trump in another 10 years’ time when the next asshole turns out to be even worse.
“Well… at least he (Trump) wasn’t Hitler II.” – Media Blowhard circa 2028
Priceless!!!
Thanks for that, John. I am consistently at a loss as to why it is that we Americans tolerate behavior(s) from our political class which we, or at least I, do not tolerate in the behavior of my children and grandchildren?
The Beltway has been in dire need of adult supervision for as long as I have been around.
Lookin’ at the Giant Meteor, again, for 2020. I refuse to do incumbents.
hey, Michelle is no angel, how is she helping his image? She worked as a money (bribe) disperser for Valarie Jarrett and Daley Machine, lubricating efforts to destroy urban housing so that the tenants could be moved out and the land sold cheap to friends of Valarie. That’s why Obbie-the-Wan/Obameter and her made such a team, they met up while both worked hard at screwing over the bottom economic levels and government funds to profit their crew.
Note how she’s clasping Bush Jr.’s hands to keep them off her ass, while she’s keeping an eye out on the other side at Obameter, warning him about chasing Eurasian or thin white tail. A marriage of two actors, doomed to play out unhappy roles for the sake of their investments.
> We were told non-stop that Bush was the Anti-Christ, and now these bastards are trying to claim the evil little cretin wasn’t so bad after all
Yes. This is particularly surreal for me, since so much of what we are hearing about Trump now is what we were hearing about Bush then, especially in his first term; basically, elaborate refashionings of the central liberal Democrat trope (see Thomas Frank) that they’re “smart” and everybody else is “stupid.” I even participated in it!
So, not only is the hysteria reheated, fifteen-year-old material, the strategy failed. Bush won two terms, and when the left put the Democrats back in power in 2006, Pelosi immediately took impeachment off the table (even though the case for doing it was perfectly reasonable; his warrantless surveillance program, which involved multiple felonies). And if Pelosi had done that… We might not be here we are today, eh?
This exactly. This is when I realized that they are just power-mongers and worshippers of filthy lucre. They weren’t against the evil things Bush was doing — they just wanted their guy doing them!
My view: outflank them. Go around them while they fight kabuki battles from the past, like a more pathetic version of the French General Staff.
Onward!
I’m not so sure about the lack of Democratic opposition. Neil Gorsuch was confirmed for the Supreme Court by a vote of 54 – 45. John Kenneth Bush of Kentucky was confirmed by a narrow vote of 51 – 47. Amal Thapar, also of Kentucky, confirmed by a vote of 52 – 44. Only 3 or 4 other judges have been confirmed by bigger margins (plus 3 for the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims). I’m not sure what else the Democrats could do, since the filibuster is not available.
Agree with you. I’m not sure what else the Dems could do under the circumstances and given the numbers.
Just whose fault was it that the Democrats lost control of Congress and 1,000 legislative seats around the nation in one six-year period?
The Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for their own powerlessness.
They are happy to look powerless, as they can take the bribes while playing up to their base. It would be more sticky for them if they actually were in a position where it was clear they sold out.
You have a reasonable point, but the context of the sentence I was commenting on seemed to be about the level of Democratic opposition in 2017.
Trump’s judicial nominees plus brain dead Democratic establishment leadership are both reasons for progressives to be very active in the 2018 Democratic primaries.
> I’m not sure what else the Democrats could do
Maybe get their allies in the press to make a constant issue of it, instead of doing the Boris and Natasha thing?
Fundraising off judicial opposition?
Constant hysteria?
Busted:
Last year Insys gave $500,000 to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, which opposed a recreational cannabis initiative that went down to a narrow defeat. At the same time, Insys is developing a synthetic cannabis drug, Syndros. Payback time.
It seems highly unlikely that somebody in Arizona highly placed in the white elephant party could be charged for any offense, are you sure you’ve got the right state?
The Sacklers don’t like competition and are big donors to the elephant party. The best way to think of this is when one big time drug dealer colludes with the cops he’s paying off to squash an upstart competitor.
NC just put up a fantastic piece the other day by Bill Black that sheds some light on this behavior:
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2017/10/impossible-compete-unintentional-self-parody-trump-opioids.html
The biggest proponents of prohibition were often bootleggers. They didn’t want the competition.
Am I wrong for the good old days when the gangsters just shot each other?
Bingo, and Trump is putting a hit on one of their competitors.
Kapoor was born in India, and former hecto-millionaire Conrad Black was born in Canada. This is a ridiculously small sample upon which to base a theory, but I’ll do it anyway. Ultra rich U.S. residents who are foreign born are more likely to be arrested than are native born U.S. rich people. Maybe that will change with the Sacklers, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Raj Rajaratnam comes to mind…
No other Unabanker types were sentenced to 11 years in jail~
Unabanker!
I love it!
There goes our US-India alliance against Little-Red-Book-II mXi strategy.
But Conrad Black had to renounce his Canadian citizenship to become a British Lord. I think his title may have been taken away after his conviction. As far as I know he is back in Canada since his release. Ironically, his former partner David Radler, who ratted him out, is part owner of a newspaper chain.
If memory serves correctly, the recreational cannabis proposition won here in southern AZ. I think the Phoenix metro area vote tipped it into the “no” column.
Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Good liberal Pima Co., of course!
Just got the brochure for the WMG tour … are you No. 2 on the list?
“If Drew can make such basic errors of perspective and analysis, that doesn’t bode well for the political class ever pulling itself out of its legitimacy tailspin.”
Is this as dark as I think it is? If so, it joins other darkening views I’ve read in the past few days.
Funny how allowing equal opportunity FIRE sector abuse of the little guy doesn’t translate into electoral advantage for the Dem estab (or the GOP).
adding: now, if the abuse wasn’t equal opportunity, then that would get the Dem estab’s attention. If it is equal opportunity abuse, then the abuse isn’t an issue for either the GOP or the Dem estab. (It’s not abuse that’s the issue; it’s who is abused that’s the issue for the current neolib Dem/GOP estab, imo.)
For some definition of dark, yes. “The old is dying and the new is struggling to be born. In the interim, a variety of morbid symptoms occur.” –Gramsci (paraphrasing).
I don’t regard this as new; what are some of these other “darkening views”?
Maybe it’s just the way the revelations about Niger have struck me, especially the image of NATO creating this diaspora of well-armed and infuriated people by its Libyan adventure and then proceeding to drive them south across Africa so that we can spread death and destruction more thoroughly there.
But to answer your question, these are a few of the things that seemed especially dark this week:
Corey Robin’s “Forty Years of the Firm,” in which he comes to a conclusion similar to yours–that our elites are unable to even comprehend how they might address our problems;
Ryan Cooper’s lament about “America’s Appalling Inattention to War;”
Uri Friedman’s piece about “The Unthinkable;”
the article in Bloomberg about a conference held by the Institute for New Economic Thinking whose president said:
The biggest danger right now is whether this dysfunctional economics produces not the wisdom of crowds in democratic governments but creates something that looks more like a raging mob and deforms the way we live,” said INET President Robert Johnson. “Behind the scenes if you’re talking to state leaders right now, they’re scared.
You’re right. None of those really constitute something new, but it just seems to me that fewer and fewer observers who are truly attuned to what is happening continue to hold out much hope that problems will be addressed before there are some consequences that make our current misery look mild by comparison.
Regarding exponentially increasing apartment renters’ woes, I’d love to know the statistics on what percentage of the deaths of despair are renters. And speaking of the new umbrage among predominantly well to do women in Statehouses about how they’ve been treated, for one, in Sacramento:
it might be nice if they would include in the misogyny statistics how many single/widowed women make up the renter population and are living in fear of homelessness every single night as they’ve only made 70%, plus/minus on a males dollar their entire adult lives and can no longer afford shelter over their head. The only time I recall any of the many Female State, or Federal, Representatives bringing up the wage differential, was Anna Eshoo (of the Google/Facebook District) when running for Re-Election the last time, she hasn’t mentioned it since, that I’ve read; and she certainly hasn’t mentioned the Ugly, Homogenous Demographics of Google, Facebook, Apple, etc. Employees, nor the obscene Silicon Valley rent increases, that I’ve read.
Apartment Renters have always been treated like third class citizens in the US, just another ultimately deadly result of capitalism. A Home should be a human right, not a commodity.
AZ Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley is all over this issue. To the point where she introduced an ERA ratification bill as one of her first acts as a legislator. Happened earlier this year.
> it might be nice if they would include in the misogyny statistics how many single/widowed women make up the renter population
That’s economics. Everybody knows gender issues have nothing to do with economics.
The tweet from Erica Garner regarding Bill deBlasio and Erica’s father’s death prompts me to mention, in case anyone is interested, Matt Taibbi has a book out on the subject.
I Can’t Breathe
A Killing on Bay Street
I’ve seen a few very good reviews. Recently, there were very sweet tweets between Matt and Erica. She tweeted, roughly by memory, ‘OMG, the first book about my dad.’ He said back that it was an honor to write about her father. In another tweet he thanked her for talking to him about him.
From the publisher.
Excerpt from Rolling Stone. Looking forward to reading the whole thing.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/excerpt-from-matt-taibbis-book-on-the-eric-garner-killing-w509713
That’s great news. Kudos to Taibbi for doing this. Also, I think Erica Garner is terrific and I wish she’d run for the Senate and not Chelsea. They’re certainly equally qualified.
I can save the economy, here’s my plan:
I’m going to start pitching ‘double-reverse mortgages’, that’s where you do a HELOC and a reverse mortgage at the same time.
Squiggy from Laverne & Shirley will be my spokesman on tv commercials…
“Driving from Minnesota to upstate New York. 5 miles into Indiana turned on the radio and Have heard about “the elites” 7 times in 2 minutes.”
FWIW: at that point he was effectively still in Chicago and getting Chi. radio stations. (I’m from Indiana and still have family there, in the south of the state, so the geography is significant to me.) I think this would be more significant further south, though of course there’s a lot of population near Chicago.
He doesn’t say whether RW or LW stations; both use that rhetoric.
There are “left wing” radio stations in Chicago? How lucky they must be.
There are none left in CA, I believe.
That article about ripping off poor people with their water costs in Chicago is ridiculous and sadly not shocking. Did anyone else catch that they removed wood pipes? I had no idea that was a thing.
http://www.sewerhistory.org/photosgraphics/pipes-wood/
Yup!
The water infrastructure in my neck of the woods (Acela Bubble) is ancient and needs to be replaced.
For instance in NJ, roughly 1 in 3 gallons of water that enters the pipes at the water treatment plant leaks into the ground before it gets to the tap.
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/16/12/14/just-how-badly-is-nj-s-water-infrastructure-leaking/
It’s even more expensive when you consider that a lot of the leakage ends up leaking INTO the sewers, which are below the water mains, and in many cases, even older than the water pipes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infiltration/Inflow
All over L.A., water mains have been breaking for years now, some with major flooding…
I don’t ever remember it happening when I lived there for about 4 decades~
Buried in an oxygen-free environment, wood has surprising durability. Wood pipes used to be widespread and lasted for decades or longer.
We have 50,000 year old furniture, to prove your point.
Around here wood has been used in some construction due to its resistance to fire. If properly built, wood just burns up on the surface, while maintaining structural integrity as opposed to steel and concrete which apparently can’t handle very high temperatures.
Wooden pipes were common. They work well in high water table areas. They don’t rot- Water inside, water outside.
There were still a few companies that make them. Here’s one-
http://canbar.com/
Not on the point of wood pipes, and the racial and socio-economic disparities obviously need attention, but the photo and caption at the end of Part 1 should also raise questions.
The caption reads, “Charlene McFadden, shown at her home in Dixmoor, has long complained to the village about high water bills. “ Take note of the man standing behind her in the picture. With hose in hand, he’s watering a grassy lawn, in what appears to be a purely ornamental landscape. Does this not make a statement about high water bills, too?
At some point, people could be asking whether they are putting their water to best uses first –especially when water becomes costly or scarce. Perhaps one might argue that keeping a lawn is about maintaining a home’s value, but that only raises another question in need of scrutiny.
1,500 year old tree: 1, circa 2000 Jeep Cherokee: 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lKXdVqEFWM
“milking the death of his son”
A Biden-Kelly 2020 unity ticket – you read about it here first.
In other news, it’s expensive being poor:
Mom cuffed after leaving young kids alone in car at LaGuardia Airport for an hour during her job interview [NYDN]
Which will undoubtedly make her more employable.
If only there were some way for low income parents to be provided with daycare while hunting for jobs.
Maybe someday there’ll be an app for that.
Please, allan, do not give SillyCon Valley any ideas. God forbid Elon should find out about this grand scheme of yours! s/
Ah yes,
Another undiscovered benefit of self driving cars!
Flip on DVD and have the Model S circle the block, kids enshrined, while you attend your job interview!
You’re not loitering if you’re in motion! Live in your self driving car, save so much money you can finally get ahead!
UserFriendly, re:
That reminds me of the predominantly black DC neighborhood’s water expose somewhere around the peas in a pod Bush/Oboma transition. I don’t recollect reading such, but it would not at all surprise if they were also paying more for the poison.
DC is a hellish place, … when a person visits, … and meditates on such stark, … 180°, … differences, …a short walk away.
About the Heroin epidemic, here’s a radio story (Reveal) describing how the DEA was halted from investigating the drug companies.
Trump Memo on JFK Docs
White House memo from Trump excerpt:
“I am ordering today that the veil finally be lifted. At the same time, executive departments and agencies have proposed to me that certain information should continue to be redacted because of national security, law enforcement, and foreign affairs concerns. I have no choice — today — but to accept those redactions rather than allow potentially irreversible harm to our nation’s security. ”
This begs several questions:
Did Trump read the redacted documents prior to issuing this memo or simply take the spooks’ word for it?
Isn’t Trump allegedly in conflict with the CIA/FBI? Would releasing these documents not be a fantastic way to flip them them the bird?
Assuming there really is a conflict between Trump and the spooks, how was Trump persuaded to redact these files?
Arizona Slim, re:
Well the predominant issue was apartment/’condo’ renters, but I understand that you’re referring to equal wages for women and Pamela Powers Hannley’s efforts to have Arizona ratify ERA -which was reportedly first introduced into Congress in 1923 – which has yet, after almost a century, to be fully ratified (for surely horrid reasons, and yet possibly good ones, I wouldn’t know, given the treachery of both male and female, well fed politicians). California did ratify ERA (the 22nd state to do so), on November 13, 1972, and still allows females to be paid, and treated, like dogshit.
Aside from all that, I’m quite sure there are no protections in ERA which will retroactively save millions upon millions of older, single/widowed women who’ve made two thirds or less of a man’s dollar for their entire working lives. Many are now, increasingly, looking at homelessness, suicide, or incarceration, as their fate. I did a scan of Pamela Powers Hannley’s info, and saw nothing whatsoever about unaffordable rents, and protecting women for whom it’s too late to pay them equally.
I’m sure you mean well, and thank you so much for responding, Arizona Slim, but ratifying ERA, will likely do nothing for females, particularly for women who’ve already been underpaid for decades.
Kid Rock said he won’t run for senate. Probably bad news for Stabenow. I think she loses against generic republican. The Detroit machine can’t pull the state anymore and Stabenow is about as uninspiring as they come.
A department specializing in itching, you’ve gotta be kidding..
Lets pile on some student debt for that one and just know there are jobs out there for itch specialists..
People wonder about the piles of unpayable student debt and allow this BS to go on..
How much does the jackass teaching that course suck out of academia in salary, classroom space, office space and a few wannabes brought in to lecture or teach the actual course..