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Celerity's Journal
June 9, 2020
Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones once considered chasing the Democratic nomination to run against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky's 2020 Senate election. Instead, he plans to cast his ballot for Charles Booker.
“I’ve known Charles for a while, and we don’t agree on everything. But I do know this — Charles has a big heart, and he cares," Jones said in a video Sunday night. "And in the last few weeks, I’ve watched him develop into a leader that Kentucky can be proud of.” Booker, a state representative running against Amy McGrath and Mike Broihier for the Democatic nomination, has been busy lately.
He made several appearances at protests taking place in Louisville over the police killing of Breonna Taylor, speaking on the steps of the courthouse before appearing in front of a crowd at Waterfront Park on Saturday alongside several big names out of Louisville, including NFL player Jamon Brown, NBA player D'Angelo Russell and rapper Jack Harlow.
Jones cited the "leadership role" Booker has taken on in the past few weeks as a reason why he plans to vote for the 35-year-old native of Louisville's West End, along with Booker's stance on health care (supporting Medicare for All) and workers' rights.
snip
Matt Jones backs Charles Booker in Kentucky Senate primary race he had considered entering
https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/elections/kentucky/2020/06/07/matt-jones-charles-booker-kentucky-senate-primary/3172681001/Kentucky Sports Radio host Matt Jones once considered chasing the Democratic nomination to run against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky's 2020 Senate election. Instead, he plans to cast his ballot for Charles Booker.
“I’ve known Charles for a while, and we don’t agree on everything. But I do know this — Charles has a big heart, and he cares," Jones said in a video Sunday night. "And in the last few weeks, I’ve watched him develop into a leader that Kentucky can be proud of.” Booker, a state representative running against Amy McGrath and Mike Broihier for the Democatic nomination, has been busy lately.
He made several appearances at protests taking place in Louisville over the police killing of Breonna Taylor, speaking on the steps of the courthouse before appearing in front of a crowd at Waterfront Park on Saturday alongside several big names out of Louisville, including NFL player Jamon Brown, NBA player D'Angelo Russell and rapper Jack Harlow.
Jones cited the "leadership role" Booker has taken on in the past few weeks as a reason why he plans to vote for the 35-year-old native of Louisville's West End, along with Booker's stance on health care (supporting Medicare for All) and workers' rights.
snip
June 9, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/us/what-does-defund-police-mean.html
MINNEAPOLIS — Across the country, calls are mounting from some activists and elected officials to defund, downsize or abolish police departments. A veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council pledged on Sunday to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department, promising to create a new system of public safety in a city where law enforcement has long been accused of racism. The calls for change have left people uncertain of what those changes would really mean and how cities would contend with crime. Much remains uncertain and the proposals vary between cities, but here are answers to some questions about the issue.
What does defunding the police mean?
Calls to defund police departments are generally seeking spending cuts to police forces that have consumed ever larger shares of city budgets in many cities and towns. Minneapolis, for instance, is looking to cut $200 million from its $1.3 billion overall annual budget, said Lisa Bender, the City Council president. The police budget in 2020 was $189 million. She hopes to shift money to other areas of need in the city.
If the money doesn’t go to policing, where would it be spent?
Many activists want money now spent on overtime for the police or on buying expensive equipment for police departments to be shifted to programs related to mental health, housing and education — areas that the activists say with sufficient money could bring about systemic societal change and cut down on crime and violence.
What are calls for abolishing the police seeking?
Leaders in different cities have advocated various specific plans, but generally speaking, the calls aim to reimagine public safety tactics in ways that are different from traditional police forces. Activists say their intent is to ensure safety and justice but to wind up with a different system. Years of consent decrees and investigations into human rights violations by police departments have yielded little change, they say, so a more fundamental shift is needed.
What are some of the ideas for rethinking policing?.........
snip
NYT : What Would Efforts to Defund or Disband Police Departments Really Mean?
Much is not yet certain, but here’s what is known so far about some efforts to defund or abolish police departments.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/us/what-does-defund-police-mean.html
MINNEAPOLIS — Across the country, calls are mounting from some activists and elected officials to defund, downsize or abolish police departments. A veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council pledged on Sunday to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department, promising to create a new system of public safety in a city where law enforcement has long been accused of racism. The calls for change have left people uncertain of what those changes would really mean and how cities would contend with crime. Much remains uncertain and the proposals vary between cities, but here are answers to some questions about the issue.
What does defunding the police mean?
Calls to defund police departments are generally seeking spending cuts to police forces that have consumed ever larger shares of city budgets in many cities and towns. Minneapolis, for instance, is looking to cut $200 million from its $1.3 billion overall annual budget, said Lisa Bender, the City Council president. The police budget in 2020 was $189 million. She hopes to shift money to other areas of need in the city.
If the money doesn’t go to policing, where would it be spent?
Many activists want money now spent on overtime for the police or on buying expensive equipment for police departments to be shifted to programs related to mental health, housing and education — areas that the activists say with sufficient money could bring about systemic societal change and cut down on crime and violence.
What are calls for abolishing the police seeking?
Leaders in different cities have advocated various specific plans, but generally speaking, the calls aim to reimagine public safety tactics in ways that are different from traditional police forces. Activists say their intent is to ensure safety and justice but to wind up with a different system. Years of consent decrees and investigations into human rights violations by police departments have yielded little change, they say, so a more fundamental shift is needed.
What are some of the ideas for rethinking policing?.........
snip
June 9, 2020
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/best-breweries-in-vermont
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN RANGE RUNS LIKE A CURVED SPINE through Vermont, bisecting it north to south. Along it, you'll find places as varied and intricately intertwined as bustling Burlington and ghost towns like Buels Gore. Route 7 runs like a zipper past farmland, maple creemee stands, and mountainside farmhouses. I-89 and serpentine Route 100 beam past ski resorts and the state-spanning Long Trail. Along these billboard-free roads, there are a few constants. Local dairy can be found at the gas station. Three-hundred general stores operate among the 251 named towns. And beer is everywhere. “Vermont beer” isn't just a geographical designation; it's a categorical distinction, both fostered and defined by its home state. Genuinely experiencing one of America's most lauded, under-visited, and influential brewing movements means going to the source.
Forty years ago, bold statements about Vermont’s influence would have seemed ironic, if not implausible. Vermont was early to prohibition and late to transition out of it -- some areas stayed dry for nearly 80 years. But the late blooming of Vermont brewing culture was one of its greatest advantages. Beer writer and food historian Adam Krakowski, a specialist on Vermont bootlegging and teetotaling, says prohibition erased most brewing traditions and heritage from the culture entirely. In other words: it wiped the slate clean. “By then, you have carte blanche,” Krakowski says. “There’s no rules, trends, or history to follow. You are not bound. Vermont was the total wild west.” Today, Vermont has about 14 breweries per 100,000 people over 21, leading the country in number of craft breweries per capita. In the last decade, the number of local breweries has tripled. What started in the '90s with breweries like Magic Hat, Long Trail, Harpoon, and Otter Creek gave way to wild innovations that took everything the state represented and distilled it -- literally -- into some of the country's most respected and beloved beers.
The Alchemist probed the now-iconic rise of hazy, drink-fresh New England IPA, originally called Vermont IPA, with Heady Topper. Lawson’s Finest Liquids created the aura of the small-batch beer drop. Hill Farmstead revolutionized the craft beer canon with the normalization of the 750ml bottles. It also, as the first brewery in the world to use (and trademark) “farmstead” in its name, intentionally shifted the vocabulary around beer to a level of reverie previously reserved for wine. Breweries like these became pilgrimage sites for beer fans, proving the viability of a contemporary craft model: can art, four packs, destination releases and limited distribution. Vermont beer is what happens when you live in a small state, topographically whittled into small towns by mountains, with some of the best brewers in the world. Here, the old trope “You’re only as good as your competition" becomes "you’re only as good as your neighbors."
Brewers share equipment, materials, and help distribute each other’s beer. Sometimes, they set up shop directly across the street. Vermont beer is not only beer: it’s a signal of community, a tight-knit one where old-guard brewers adroitly cultivate the next generation's leaders before sending them off on their own. “I think Vermont is home to the best brewers and beer in the country due to the homegrown aspect,” says Krakowski. “[In] how many places could you go to your competition and ask for help to get better?" For most, visiting these breweries isn't a current option. And though Vermont beer is best experienced in person -- against the saturated greens of summer, wine-colored leaves in the fall or a glinting tundra of snow in the winter -- getting a taste of the state's best breweries offers an extrasensory opportunity to experience what "Vermont beer" really is. The 10 essential breweries on this subjective list don't cover the full spectrum. Vermont's gems are too many to fit neatly into a compact list, and extraordinary breweries are certainly missing. So when the time is right, go to Vermont and discover them. It’s a place to experience in person, with the blue haze of Green Mountains holding court below the skyline.
Hill Farmstead
Greensboro Bend
After studying philosophy in college and brewing in Denmark, brewmaster Shaun Hill opened a brewery in his barn, a quiet sanctuary in the mountains a dozen miles from cell service. The Hill family has lived for eight generations in the belly of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, an enigmatic and arrestingly beautiful sweep of land where the rural U.S. becomes something like Narnia. In the past decade, Hill Farmstead has been named the best brewery in the world for seven consecutive years; surpassed its original business goal by millions; and expanded beyond the barn to an adjacent rustic spaceship of an onsite tasting room. Glowing pours of Anna, Edward, Poetica, and more of the best beer in the world can be sipped on the porch, a picnic blanket on the grass, or alongside a small, clear pond.
snip
Vermont: The Country's Raddest Beer Destination Is Full of Misty Mountains and Hazy IPAs
Here are 10 of its best, most influential breweries.https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/best-breweries-in-vermont
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN RANGE RUNS LIKE A CURVED SPINE through Vermont, bisecting it north to south. Along it, you'll find places as varied and intricately intertwined as bustling Burlington and ghost towns like Buels Gore. Route 7 runs like a zipper past farmland, maple creemee stands, and mountainside farmhouses. I-89 and serpentine Route 100 beam past ski resorts and the state-spanning Long Trail. Along these billboard-free roads, there are a few constants. Local dairy can be found at the gas station. Three-hundred general stores operate among the 251 named towns. And beer is everywhere. “Vermont beer” isn't just a geographical designation; it's a categorical distinction, both fostered and defined by its home state. Genuinely experiencing one of America's most lauded, under-visited, and influential brewing movements means going to the source.
Forty years ago, bold statements about Vermont’s influence would have seemed ironic, if not implausible. Vermont was early to prohibition and late to transition out of it -- some areas stayed dry for nearly 80 years. But the late blooming of Vermont brewing culture was one of its greatest advantages. Beer writer and food historian Adam Krakowski, a specialist on Vermont bootlegging and teetotaling, says prohibition erased most brewing traditions and heritage from the culture entirely. In other words: it wiped the slate clean. “By then, you have carte blanche,” Krakowski says. “There’s no rules, trends, or history to follow. You are not bound. Vermont was the total wild west.” Today, Vermont has about 14 breweries per 100,000 people over 21, leading the country in number of craft breweries per capita. In the last decade, the number of local breweries has tripled. What started in the '90s with breweries like Magic Hat, Long Trail, Harpoon, and Otter Creek gave way to wild innovations that took everything the state represented and distilled it -- literally -- into some of the country's most respected and beloved beers.
The Alchemist probed the now-iconic rise of hazy, drink-fresh New England IPA, originally called Vermont IPA, with Heady Topper. Lawson’s Finest Liquids created the aura of the small-batch beer drop. Hill Farmstead revolutionized the craft beer canon with the normalization of the 750ml bottles. It also, as the first brewery in the world to use (and trademark) “farmstead” in its name, intentionally shifted the vocabulary around beer to a level of reverie previously reserved for wine. Breweries like these became pilgrimage sites for beer fans, proving the viability of a contemporary craft model: can art, four packs, destination releases and limited distribution. Vermont beer is what happens when you live in a small state, topographically whittled into small towns by mountains, with some of the best brewers in the world. Here, the old trope “You’re only as good as your competition" becomes "you’re only as good as your neighbors."
Brewers share equipment, materials, and help distribute each other’s beer. Sometimes, they set up shop directly across the street. Vermont beer is not only beer: it’s a signal of community, a tight-knit one where old-guard brewers adroitly cultivate the next generation's leaders before sending them off on their own. “I think Vermont is home to the best brewers and beer in the country due to the homegrown aspect,” says Krakowski. “[In] how many places could you go to your competition and ask for help to get better?" For most, visiting these breweries isn't a current option. And though Vermont beer is best experienced in person -- against the saturated greens of summer, wine-colored leaves in the fall or a glinting tundra of snow in the winter -- getting a taste of the state's best breweries offers an extrasensory opportunity to experience what "Vermont beer" really is. The 10 essential breweries on this subjective list don't cover the full spectrum. Vermont's gems are too many to fit neatly into a compact list, and extraordinary breweries are certainly missing. So when the time is right, go to Vermont and discover them. It’s a place to experience in person, with the blue haze of Green Mountains holding court below the skyline.
Hill Farmstead
Greensboro Bend
After studying philosophy in college and brewing in Denmark, brewmaster Shaun Hill opened a brewery in his barn, a quiet sanctuary in the mountains a dozen miles from cell service. The Hill family has lived for eight generations in the belly of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, an enigmatic and arrestingly beautiful sweep of land where the rural U.S. becomes something like Narnia. In the past decade, Hill Farmstead has been named the best brewery in the world for seven consecutive years; surpassed its original business goal by millions; and expanded beyond the barn to an adjacent rustic spaceship of an onsite tasting room. Glowing pours of Anna, Edward, Poetica, and more of the best beer in the world can be sipped on the porch, a picnic blanket on the grass, or alongside a small, clear pond.
snip
June 9, 2020
https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/uber-eats-waiving-delivery-fees-black-owned-restaurants
There are numerous ways to disavow the police brutality and systemic racism that plagues our nation. And while protests, donations, and petitions are essential for creating change, supporting Black-owned businesses is another actionable way to help a hurting community. Uber Eats is now incentivizing it, too -- by waiving delivery fees on all orders from Black-owned restaurants through the end of 2020, the company's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced in an email to customers on Thursday. The app will provide a prompt so you can easily navigate on over to a list of available Black-owned restaurants in your area.
"I wish that the lives of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others weren’t so violently cut short," Khosrowshahi wrote in the statement. "I wish that institutional racism, and the police violence it gives rise to, didn’t cause their deaths. I wish that all members of our Black community felt safe enough to move around their cities without fear."
In addition to slashing delivery fees and offering discounted rides, Khosrowshahi has promised to increase the company's diversity numbers. According to a company report dating back to 2019, 45% of Uber's US employees were white, 33% Asian, 9% Black, and 8% Hispanic. The company is also donating $1 million to the Equal Justice Initiative and Center for Policing Equity.
"We know this isn’t enough. It won’t be enough until we see true racial justice. But we plan to work day in and day out to improve, learn, and grow as a company," Khosrowshahi closed out the email. "Lastly, let me speak clearly and unequivocally: Black Lives Matter."
snip
Uber Eats Is Waiving Delivery Fees for All Black-Owned Restaurants
The promotion will continue through 2020.https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/uber-eats-waiving-delivery-fees-black-owned-restaurants
There are numerous ways to disavow the police brutality and systemic racism that plagues our nation. And while protests, donations, and petitions are essential for creating change, supporting Black-owned businesses is another actionable way to help a hurting community. Uber Eats is now incentivizing it, too -- by waiving delivery fees on all orders from Black-owned restaurants through the end of 2020, the company's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced in an email to customers on Thursday. The app will provide a prompt so you can easily navigate on over to a list of available Black-owned restaurants in your area.
"I wish that the lives of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others weren’t so violently cut short," Khosrowshahi wrote in the statement. "I wish that institutional racism, and the police violence it gives rise to, didn’t cause their deaths. I wish that all members of our Black community felt safe enough to move around their cities without fear."
In addition to slashing delivery fees and offering discounted rides, Khosrowshahi has promised to increase the company's diversity numbers. According to a company report dating back to 2019, 45% of Uber's US employees were white, 33% Asian, 9% Black, and 8% Hispanic. The company is also donating $1 million to the Equal Justice Initiative and Center for Policing Equity.
"We know this isn’t enough. It won’t be enough until we see true racial justice. But we plan to work day in and day out to improve, learn, and grow as a company," Khosrowshahi closed out the email. "Lastly, let me speak clearly and unequivocally: Black Lives Matter."
snip
June 9, 2020
Christine Wang, Assata Taught Me, 2016
Kandis Williams, Degradation: Erasure II, 2016
Marisa Takal, I’m Driving By, 2019
Andy Woll, Judicium, 2018
Awol Erizku, THIS IS A PIG. HE TRIES TO CONTROL BLACK PEOPLE, 2017
Original drawing by James Teemer
Andrea Marie Breiling, If Day Light Breaks, 2019-2020
snip
An Art Benefit Exhibition Supporting Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and Other LA Organisations
https://viewingroom.nightgallery.ca/viewing-room/black-lives-matter#tab:thumbnails;tab-1:slideshowDuring this moment of profound and necessary protest, Night Gallery recognizes the call for deep reflection and a commitment to ongoing work. As we search for strategies to effect change in the long term, we hear the call for immediate action, and are finding the best ways that we as a gallery and a community can contribute to the fight for racial justice and equality. We wanted to meet the moment with what we know best, bringing together our roster of celebrated artists for a group exhibition, with 100% of the gallery's share of proceeds benefiting organizations providing vital services at this time. The gallery selected Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, wanting to support this historic movement in our own city. Following input from our artists, a portion of proceeds will also benefit four other causes: the Los Angeles Black Worker Center, an organization devoted to closing the employment equity gap for Black workers; the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), a nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons; Critical Resistance, a national grassroots organization building a movement to abolish the prison industrial complex; and the Los Angeles Action Bail Fund, providing rapid response aid to the protestors on the front lines of this fight.
Christine Wang, Assata Taught Me, 2016
Kandis Williams, Degradation: Erasure II, 2016
Marisa Takal, I’m Driving By, 2019
Andy Woll, Judicium, 2018
Awol Erizku, THIS IS A PIG. HE TRIES TO CONTROL BLACK PEOPLE, 2017
Original drawing by James Teemer
Andrea Marie Breiling, If Day Light Breaks, 2019-2020
snip
June 9, 2020
https://thebanter.substack.com/p/trump-declared-war-on-americaand
What if you threw an American military coup and no one showed up, including the military? That’s the question Donald Trump answered for posterity last week as he bravely hid in his bunker and tweeted his impotent rage to the world. Make no mistake about what happened; America was on the edge of the abyss. We were at the same inflection point we’ve seen in other countries right before they fell into despotism. Where the military ceased to be a force to prevent foreign incursion and instead became a weapon to coerce the civilian populace. Trump tried to take up arms against the people of the United States and failed spectacularly on every conceivable level.
What Happened?
The basics are clear: George Floyd was slowly asphyxiated to death over the course of almost ten minutes by a white cop who was clearly enjoying himself. Three other officers helped hold Floyd down while this murder was taking place, showing a depraved indifference to what was happening. The entire scene was recorded and it went viral, sparking large protests. The police in several locations around the country responded as the police are wont to do: poorly and with grossly unnecessary violence. There was tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and pepper balls; all of which was unloaded into crowds of unarmed protesters with reckless abandon. At the same time, a small number of protesters, overwhelmingly and curiously white, smashed windows, burned cop cars, and instigated looting. Unlike previous protests over police brutality that got violent, disproportionately little of the violence appears to have been carried out by the black community. For instance, here’s a totally not-at-all suspicious looking white protester smashing windows and then immediately leaving the scene. Nope. Nothing odd about this guy. Absolutely spontaneous. For sure.
https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/1266132570980454400
This lends credence to various reports from authorities that white nationalist agitators were targeting the protests in order to kick off their long-awaited race war. Or maybe just a war against the government. It depends on which faction of the domestic terrorist right you belong to. Do you wear Hawaiian shirts to the second Civil War or do you wear camo? These questions matter, darnnit! Regardless of which group of white people started smashing things or why, the right blamed Antifa, the right’s favorite boogeyman not named George Soros or Hillary Clinton. This allowed them to clutch their pearls in fear and demand an increasingly violent response to the civil unrest. Trump, following his authoritarian instincts, wanted to use the military to stomp out the protests. But, as in most of his life, his natural cowardice prevented him from actually giving the orders. Instead, he tweeted about how he was going to send the military into cities and be super duper tough. Then he demanded governors carry out his super duper tough guy plan for him because, again, he was too cowardly to give the order himself. It was only after Trump hid in his bunker that he (or more likely someone on his staff) ordered the military into DC to quell the growing protests. That’s when Trump’s grand plan to lead a military takeover of the United States went off the rails at high speed.
If You Lead, They Might Follow. But First, You Have To Lead
Trump “leads” the same way a mob boss “leads”; he never gives the orders himself so he can claim innocence in a court of law. “It’s not my fault that military raid went wrong, blame the generals!” “It’s not my fault this pandemic spread, blame the CDC!” “I don’t take any responsibility at all.” This is why he was trying to get the governors to order the military in. It’s true a president legally needs their consent to use the military in American cities but Trump has nothing but contempt for the law. If he thought the military would obey his illegal orders, he would have given them without a second’s hesitation. But he didn’t know if the military would be his personal weapon so he wanted the governors to try it out first. If they had done so, Trump could take credit and he would know that the military would, in fact, deploy against the civilian population if he ordered them to start shooting protesters. If they refused to take up arms against civilians, he could blame it all on the governors for trying to force the military to break their oath, etc. etc. These kinds of tests are a regular occurrence in the Trump regime. Cross a line here, violate a political or ethical norm there. Who needs the Constitution when you have the most powerful military in the world to subdue the masses?
snip
Trump Declared War On America...And Lost
Trump tried to take up arms against the people of the United States and failed spectacularly on every conceivable level.https://thebanter.substack.com/p/trump-declared-war-on-americaand
What if you threw an American military coup and no one showed up, including the military? That’s the question Donald Trump answered for posterity last week as he bravely hid in his bunker and tweeted his impotent rage to the world. Make no mistake about what happened; America was on the edge of the abyss. We were at the same inflection point we’ve seen in other countries right before they fell into despotism. Where the military ceased to be a force to prevent foreign incursion and instead became a weapon to coerce the civilian populace. Trump tried to take up arms against the people of the United States and failed spectacularly on every conceivable level.
What Happened?
The basics are clear: George Floyd was slowly asphyxiated to death over the course of almost ten minutes by a white cop who was clearly enjoying himself. Three other officers helped hold Floyd down while this murder was taking place, showing a depraved indifference to what was happening. The entire scene was recorded and it went viral, sparking large protests. The police in several locations around the country responded as the police are wont to do: poorly and with grossly unnecessary violence. There was tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and pepper balls; all of which was unloaded into crowds of unarmed protesters with reckless abandon. At the same time, a small number of protesters, overwhelmingly and curiously white, smashed windows, burned cop cars, and instigated looting. Unlike previous protests over police brutality that got violent, disproportionately little of the violence appears to have been carried out by the black community. For instance, here’s a totally not-at-all suspicious looking white protester smashing windows and then immediately leaving the scene. Nope. Nothing odd about this guy. Absolutely spontaneous. For sure.
https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/1266132570980454400
This lends credence to various reports from authorities that white nationalist agitators were targeting the protests in order to kick off their long-awaited race war. Or maybe just a war against the government. It depends on which faction of the domestic terrorist right you belong to. Do you wear Hawaiian shirts to the second Civil War or do you wear camo? These questions matter, darnnit! Regardless of which group of white people started smashing things or why, the right blamed Antifa, the right’s favorite boogeyman not named George Soros or Hillary Clinton. This allowed them to clutch their pearls in fear and demand an increasingly violent response to the civil unrest. Trump, following his authoritarian instincts, wanted to use the military to stomp out the protests. But, as in most of his life, his natural cowardice prevented him from actually giving the orders. Instead, he tweeted about how he was going to send the military into cities and be super duper tough. Then he demanded governors carry out his super duper tough guy plan for him because, again, he was too cowardly to give the order himself. It was only after Trump hid in his bunker that he (or more likely someone on his staff) ordered the military into DC to quell the growing protests. That’s when Trump’s grand plan to lead a military takeover of the United States went off the rails at high speed.
If You Lead, They Might Follow. But First, You Have To Lead
Trump “leads” the same way a mob boss “leads”; he never gives the orders himself so he can claim innocence in a court of law. “It’s not my fault that military raid went wrong, blame the generals!” “It’s not my fault this pandemic spread, blame the CDC!” “I don’t take any responsibility at all.” This is why he was trying to get the governors to order the military in. It’s true a president legally needs their consent to use the military in American cities but Trump has nothing but contempt for the law. If he thought the military would obey his illegal orders, he would have given them without a second’s hesitation. But he didn’t know if the military would be his personal weapon so he wanted the governors to try it out first. If they had done so, Trump could take credit and he would know that the military would, in fact, deploy against the civilian population if he ordered them to start shooting protesters. If they refused to take up arms against civilians, he could blame it all on the governors for trying to force the military to break their oath, etc. etc. These kinds of tests are a regular occurrence in the Trump regime. Cross a line here, violate a political or ethical norm there. Who needs the Constitution when you have the most powerful military in the world to subdue the masses?
snip
June 9, 2020
The marshmallow test is a famous psychological experiment that tests children’s willingness to delay gratification. Children are offered a marshmallow, but told that they can have a second marshmallow if they’re willing to wait 15 minutes before eating the first one. Claims that children with the willpower to hold out do much better in life haven’t held up well, but the experiment is still a useful metaphor for many choices in life, both by individuals and by larger groups. One way to think about the Covid-19 pandemic is that it poses a kind of marshmallow test for society.
At this point, there have been enough international success stories in dealing with the coronavirus to leave us with a clear sense of what beating the pandemic takes. First, you have to impose strict social distancing long enough to reduce the number of infected people to a small fraction of the population. Then you have to implement a regime of testing, tracing and isolating: quickly identifying any new outbreak, finding everyone exposed, and quarantining them until the danger is past. This strategy is workable. South Korea has done it. New Zealand has done it. But you have to be strict and you have to be patient, staying the course until the pandemic is over, not giving in to the temptation to return to normal life while the virus is still widespread. So it is, as I said, a kind of marshmallow test.
And America is failing that test.
New U.S. cases and deaths have declined since early April, but that’s almost entirely because the greater New York area, after a horrific outbreak, has achieved huge progress. In many parts of the country — including our most populous states, California, Texas, and Florida — the disease is still spreading. Overall, new cases are plateauing and may be starting to rise. Yet state governments are moving to reopen anyway. This is a very different story from what’s happening in other advanced countries, even hard-hit nations like Italy and Spain, where new cases have fallen dramatically. It now looks likely that by late summer we’ll be the only major wealthy nation where large numbers of people are still dying from Covid-19.
Why are we failing the test? It’s easy to blame Donald Trump, a man-child who would surely gobble down that first marshmallow, then try to steal marshmallows from other kids. But America’s impatience, its unwillingness to do what it takes to deal with a threat that can’t be beaten with threats of violence, runs much deeper than one man. It doesn’t help that Republicans are ideologically opposed to government safety-net programs, which are what make the economic consequences of social distancing tolerable; as I explain in today’s column, they seem determined to let crucial emergency relief expire far too soon. Nor does it help that even low-cost measures to limit the spread of Covid-19, above all wearing face masks (which mainly protect other people), have been caught up in our culture wars. America in 2020, it seems, is too disunited, with too many people in the grip of ideology and partisanship, to deal effectively with a pandemic. We have the knowledge, we have the resources, but we don’t have the will.
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Paul Krugman - America fails the marshmallow test
The marshmallow test is a famous psychological experiment that tests children’s willingness to delay gratification. Children are offered a marshmallow, but told that they can have a second marshmallow if they’re willing to wait 15 minutes before eating the first one. Claims that children with the willpower to hold out do much better in life haven’t held up well, but the experiment is still a useful metaphor for many choices in life, both by individuals and by larger groups. One way to think about the Covid-19 pandemic is that it poses a kind of marshmallow test for society.
At this point, there have been enough international success stories in dealing with the coronavirus to leave us with a clear sense of what beating the pandemic takes. First, you have to impose strict social distancing long enough to reduce the number of infected people to a small fraction of the population. Then you have to implement a regime of testing, tracing and isolating: quickly identifying any new outbreak, finding everyone exposed, and quarantining them until the danger is past. This strategy is workable. South Korea has done it. New Zealand has done it. But you have to be strict and you have to be patient, staying the course until the pandemic is over, not giving in to the temptation to return to normal life while the virus is still widespread. So it is, as I said, a kind of marshmallow test.
And America is failing that test.
New U.S. cases and deaths have declined since early April, but that’s almost entirely because the greater New York area, after a horrific outbreak, has achieved huge progress. In many parts of the country — including our most populous states, California, Texas, and Florida — the disease is still spreading. Overall, new cases are plateauing and may be starting to rise. Yet state governments are moving to reopen anyway. This is a very different story from what’s happening in other advanced countries, even hard-hit nations like Italy and Spain, where new cases have fallen dramatically. It now looks likely that by late summer we’ll be the only major wealthy nation where large numbers of people are still dying from Covid-19.
Why are we failing the test? It’s easy to blame Donald Trump, a man-child who would surely gobble down that first marshmallow, then try to steal marshmallows from other kids. But America’s impatience, its unwillingness to do what it takes to deal with a threat that can’t be beaten with threats of violence, runs much deeper than one man. It doesn’t help that Republicans are ideologically opposed to government safety-net programs, which are what make the economic consequences of social distancing tolerable; as I explain in today’s column, they seem determined to let crucial emergency relief expire far too soon. Nor does it help that even low-cost measures to limit the spread of Covid-19, above all wearing face masks (which mainly protect other people), have been caught up in our culture wars. America in 2020, it seems, is too disunited, with too many people in the grip of ideology and partisanship, to deal effectively with a pandemic. We have the knowledge, we have the resources, but we don’t have the will.
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via an email
June 9, 2020
https://www.nationofchange.org/2020/06/08/four-numbers-that-show-americas-disdain-for-its-most-vulnerable-people/
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have suffered “deaths of despair” from alcohol and drug abuse and suicides because they could no longer provide for their families. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, during a post-recession period when the economy and stock market were booming, the poorest 50% of Americans lost wealth. And now many of them have lost their jobs, their income, their livelihoods.
40%—The percentage of lost jobs that may be lost for good
Anywhere from half to three-quarters of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Now the paychecks are disappearing. Tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs, many of which will not come back. A recent paper out of the University of Chicago estimates that over 40 percent of jobs lost are gone for good.
$40 Trillion—The amount of wealth that went to America’s richest 10% in just ten years
The poorest 50% got nothing. Their wealth actually declined. Over three-quarters of our wealth is owned by the richest 10% of Americans. Over $40 trillion has surged up to these individuals since the recession, allowing them to more than double their wealth to an average of over $3 million, mainly by doing nothing while the stock market nearly quadrupled in value. That’s American prosperity being shifted upwards, a redistribution of wealth to households that were already wealthy. America has nearly 20 million millionaires—approximately one for every seven households. But four of seven households are living without savings.
$8.70—The amount of black household wealth for every $100.00 of white household wealth
The economic pain is greatest for black households, who have seen their median household income DROP over the past twenty years, while their total household wealth remains at about one-twelfth of white households. The pain and misfortune continue to pile up for the black community, which has suffered the greatest effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Because of their job losses and lack of savings and inability to maintain rent payments, they will be taking the brunt of an inevitable housing crisis; and, in perhaps the cruelest hit of all, the Trump administration is still considering cuts in the food stamp program.
One hour—The amount of work in a week to be qualified as ’employed’...........
snip
Four numbers that show America's disdain for its most vulnerable people
Now, with a quarter of the population facing economic collapse, the need for a guaranteed income is magnified to a level last seen in the Great Depression.https://www.nationofchange.org/2020/06/08/four-numbers-that-show-americas-disdain-for-its-most-vulnerable-people/
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have suffered “deaths of despair” from alcohol and drug abuse and suicides because they could no longer provide for their families. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, during a post-recession period when the economy and stock market were booming, the poorest 50% of Americans lost wealth. And now many of them have lost their jobs, their income, their livelihoods.
40%—The percentage of lost jobs that may be lost for good
Anywhere from half to three-quarters of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Now the paychecks are disappearing. Tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs, many of which will not come back. A recent paper out of the University of Chicago estimates that over 40 percent of jobs lost are gone for good.
$40 Trillion—The amount of wealth that went to America’s richest 10% in just ten years
The poorest 50% got nothing. Their wealth actually declined. Over three-quarters of our wealth is owned by the richest 10% of Americans. Over $40 trillion has surged up to these individuals since the recession, allowing them to more than double their wealth to an average of over $3 million, mainly by doing nothing while the stock market nearly quadrupled in value. That’s American prosperity being shifted upwards, a redistribution of wealth to households that were already wealthy. America has nearly 20 million millionaires—approximately one for every seven households. But four of seven households are living without savings.
$8.70—The amount of black household wealth for every $100.00 of white household wealth
The economic pain is greatest for black households, who have seen their median household income DROP over the past twenty years, while their total household wealth remains at about one-twelfth of white households. The pain and misfortune continue to pile up for the black community, which has suffered the greatest effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Because of their job losses and lack of savings and inability to maintain rent payments, they will be taking the brunt of an inevitable housing crisis; and, in perhaps the cruelest hit of all, the Trump administration is still considering cuts in the food stamp program.
One hour—The amount of work in a week to be qualified as ’employed’...........
snip
June 9, 2020
Why have command over armed forces and federal marshals, tear gas and booming helicopters, if not to quell mass insurgency?
https://www.nationofchange.org/2020/06/09/trump-on-fux-news-whats-with-the-phony-shock-or-loser-disloyal-generals-when-didnt-i-bash-agitators-with-shock-awe/
President Trump is renowned for sticking to his guns and never apologizing, the rock-solid genius who nails every crisis with the same reactive media hammer. That take-no-prisoners nonchalance was on display last night on FUX News, as the president expressed bafflement his shock-jock tactics surprised anyone. Interviewed by Brawn N. Sannity, President Trump wondered why nay-saying haters, even in his own party, act like his norm-busting bravado is new. “What’s with the phony shock?” demanded the president, “Or loser, disloyal generals? When didn’t I bash all agitators with shock and awe? When thuggish rioters rule the street, you call in the military or prison riot commandos, which I did. Good message for the campaign, too. Double-down domination and we win.”
He went on, “We’ve got vicious dogs terrorizing major cities – ruining stores I ordered open for business right now. Why have command over armed forces and federal marshals, tear gas and booming helicopters, if not to quell mass insurgency? Know the difference between terrorists decoyed as protesters vs. inmates? Not all are in jail yet. My perfect gut instinct says make the harsh penalty fit the anti-American crime. Why else would I tell police to knock heads? Sure, pack grenades and chemical spray. Who cares if wimps say it’s a banned war weapon? Never forget who’s in charge. Hell, if I knew what habeas corpus meant, I’d suspender that, too.” “I forgot who said, ‘use the army you have,’ So I jailed illegals and put kids in cages. These looters remind me and my CEO buddies of Mexicans: bringing drugs, bringing crime, bringing gangs. Imagine outlaws daring to block my roads or access to my golf courses, even my emoluments, whatever they are. I’m doing a public service: looters invite shooters.”
Sannity then asked the president about racial equality. “Well, I think it’s great thanks to me. Perfect, like that Ukrainian phone call. When was there evermore freedom for poor people to serve rich people, just like the good old days? Nobody’s ever done more to the black community top to bottom than what I’ve done. Look at all those new jobs. Keeps them off the streets.” “How can someone without a racist bone dislike blacks? Sure, fear of bad Negroes put me in the White House. But I know so many good Negroes and they don’t want riots in their front yards any more than me. How about law-abiding Mexicans who clean up disgusting stuff at my resorts white guys wouldn’t touch? Hey, I can’t stand lots of white people too, especially pro-impeachment haters. So I like dominant white people who like dominant white people, many serving in the police. It’s human nature and disloyal not to stand with your own people.”
Shifting to America having to clean up the “Chinese” pandemic mess, Sannity asked why they went after the U.S., causing our world-breaking death rate. “Ask my tricky friends in China,” Trump snapped, “and why some bad, bad virus experiment conveniently went awry. The insecure have to cheat against their betters. China must have figured this modest little flu would take us down – not that it ever did. Eventually, my team and Yankee brainpower will right the ship. How sad: those who can’t beat us fair and square send bad germs – on our own planes from Europe. Very devious. Very oriental. Facedown bullies like I did with those genius tariffs. The small pain they cause is the price to pay not having “loser” stamped on your kisser. Never give a sucker – or a competitor – an even break.” “Look, the courts and the Constitution give me unlimited power, rubber-stamped by my latest attorney general, what’s his name,. He says Nixon was right: if a president does it, it’s legal. If you’ve got power, I say, flaunt it. Just compare me with that weakling Nixon, ran away, tail between his legs, terrified by the mere threat of impeachment. I crushed the impeachment farce and triumphed over backfiring Democratic schemes. We’re in the battle of our lives so I say fire the big guns. I love the batta boom batta bing of big guns! I only have big guns. And big everything else.”
snip
P.S. Disclosure: While sources verify the spirit of these comments, not every satiric word has been independently verified. Trust your gut.
Trump on FUX News: "What's with the phony shock? Or loser, disloyal generals? When didn't I bash
agitators with shock & awe?”Why have command over armed forces and federal marshals, tear gas and booming helicopters, if not to quell mass insurgency?
https://www.nationofchange.org/2020/06/09/trump-on-fux-news-whats-with-the-phony-shock-or-loser-disloyal-generals-when-didnt-i-bash-agitators-with-shock-awe/
President Trump is renowned for sticking to his guns and never apologizing, the rock-solid genius who nails every crisis with the same reactive media hammer. That take-no-prisoners nonchalance was on display last night on FUX News, as the president expressed bafflement his shock-jock tactics surprised anyone. Interviewed by Brawn N. Sannity, President Trump wondered why nay-saying haters, even in his own party, act like his norm-busting bravado is new. “What’s with the phony shock?” demanded the president, “Or loser, disloyal generals? When didn’t I bash all agitators with shock and awe? When thuggish rioters rule the street, you call in the military or prison riot commandos, which I did. Good message for the campaign, too. Double-down domination and we win.”
He went on, “We’ve got vicious dogs terrorizing major cities – ruining stores I ordered open for business right now. Why have command over armed forces and federal marshals, tear gas and booming helicopters, if not to quell mass insurgency? Know the difference between terrorists decoyed as protesters vs. inmates? Not all are in jail yet. My perfect gut instinct says make the harsh penalty fit the anti-American crime. Why else would I tell police to knock heads? Sure, pack grenades and chemical spray. Who cares if wimps say it’s a banned war weapon? Never forget who’s in charge. Hell, if I knew what habeas corpus meant, I’d suspender that, too.” “I forgot who said, ‘use the army you have,’ So I jailed illegals and put kids in cages. These looters remind me and my CEO buddies of Mexicans: bringing drugs, bringing crime, bringing gangs. Imagine outlaws daring to block my roads or access to my golf courses, even my emoluments, whatever they are. I’m doing a public service: looters invite shooters.”
Sannity then asked the president about racial equality. “Well, I think it’s great thanks to me. Perfect, like that Ukrainian phone call. When was there evermore freedom for poor people to serve rich people, just like the good old days? Nobody’s ever done more to the black community top to bottom than what I’ve done. Look at all those new jobs. Keeps them off the streets.” “How can someone without a racist bone dislike blacks? Sure, fear of bad Negroes put me in the White House. But I know so many good Negroes and they don’t want riots in their front yards any more than me. How about law-abiding Mexicans who clean up disgusting stuff at my resorts white guys wouldn’t touch? Hey, I can’t stand lots of white people too, especially pro-impeachment haters. So I like dominant white people who like dominant white people, many serving in the police. It’s human nature and disloyal not to stand with your own people.”
Shifting to America having to clean up the “Chinese” pandemic mess, Sannity asked why they went after the U.S., causing our world-breaking death rate. “Ask my tricky friends in China,” Trump snapped, “and why some bad, bad virus experiment conveniently went awry. The insecure have to cheat against their betters. China must have figured this modest little flu would take us down – not that it ever did. Eventually, my team and Yankee brainpower will right the ship. How sad: those who can’t beat us fair and square send bad germs – on our own planes from Europe. Very devious. Very oriental. Facedown bullies like I did with those genius tariffs. The small pain they cause is the price to pay not having “loser” stamped on your kisser. Never give a sucker – or a competitor – an even break.” “Look, the courts and the Constitution give me unlimited power, rubber-stamped by my latest attorney general, what’s his name,. He says Nixon was right: if a president does it, it’s legal. If you’ve got power, I say, flaunt it. Just compare me with that weakling Nixon, ran away, tail between his legs, terrified by the mere threat of impeachment. I crushed the impeachment farce and triumphed over backfiring Democratic schemes. We’re in the battle of our lives so I say fire the big guns. I love the batta boom batta bing of big guns! I only have big guns. And big everything else.”
snip
P.S. Disclosure: While sources verify the spirit of these comments, not every satiric word has been independently verified. Trust your gut.
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