COVID-19
This piece in the New York Times is a few days old but I'm just getting around to posting it. It's a useful resetting of expectations vis a vis Covid and what comes next for Americans: Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts
China
Everything you ever wanted to know about the origins of a virus that's killed more than three million people In the piece below, the science writer Nicholas Wade argues that in the early days of the pandemic, western scientists with conflicts of interest, vastly overstated the weight of
Criminal Justice
The following opinion piece was written by Liz Cheney in the Washington Post: The GOP is at a turning point. History is watching us. The Washington Post · by Liz Cheney May 5, 2021 In public statements again this week, former president Donald Trump has repeated his claims that the 2020
Uncategorized
There are public health officials who think those who've been vaccinated no longer need to wear masks in most situations. Needless to say, the answer has significant political implications for Democrats. From the Washington Post: Analysis | The Health 202: CDC's mask guidance is still too strict
Politics
Excellent piece from Richard North Patterson in Bulwark (a home for displaced Republicans) which describes eloquently and in detail the neuroses of today's Republican Party. Here's a sample: Substantively, the GOP is largely barren of coherent policies. The party which strove to repeal Obamacare with nothing
Economy
Wow, talk about getting your knickers in a twist. Joe Biden's plan to tax capital gains as ordinary income for people making over $1 million a year really hurt the feelings of some on Wall Street. The general theme seems to be, "ungrateful peasants, you just don&
Criminal Justice
Violent Insurrection Still Okay (Unless People of Color Are Present) Bill Urgently Needed to Stop Violent Protests that Didn't Happen in Florida (But Might!) DeSantis Bids to Be "New and Improved" Trump: Same Great Racism With Better Execution! Silent Majority Cheers, White Sheets Sales Soar Key
Economy
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times calls out the "experts" who say now is not the right time for the US to leave Afghanistan. My opinion is that this is the right strategic decision for the US and is a no-brainer political win for Biden. Ignore
Politics
Aaron Blake of the Wa-Post explains how white supremacy is the newest "plank" of the post-Trump GOP: The GOP’s descent into ‘replacement theory’ and ‘nativist dog whistles’ By Aaron Blake, April 17, 2021 If there’s one surprise in the conservative movement’s increasing embrace
Politics
The Atlantic reports on how an all-American mom (and Ivy League grad) discovered what Matt Gaetz already knew: race-baiting and conspiracies are a sure route to the top of Today's Republican Party: The Trumpy Republican Who Won in Biden Country For Republicans, acting like Trump still
Politics
In Greenville County, South Carolina, the deep south of the deep south, the MAGA Loonies are reenacting the French Revolution. Among serious experienced conservatives there were no survivors. The following is from the Daily Beast: ‘A Whole Bunch of Crazy’: Inside the South Carolina GOP’s MAGA Coup The Daily
Humor
As readers of American Carnage may recall, I decided some time ago to no longer subsidize the whitewashing of Britain's colonial atrocities by watching shows like The Crown. Regarding the current batch of "royals", my main reaction is a bemused yawn and on to things that