Alice Speri, writing at The Intercept, explains "How the High Cost of Justice Pushes the Poor Into Prison." Bail money is, as you know, a major problem -- the average bail detainee has to cough up eight months' worth of income to get out -- but lack of representation in civil cases may be an even bigger one, as the "right to an attorney" doesn't exist for civil cases, which (along with procedural confusion and onerous fees) "tends to channel people into the criminal system," after they commit the crimes of desperation that the civil system enables. BUT TEH POORZ COMMITZ MOST OF TEH CRIMEZ!!!! I can already hear right-wingers squealing, as if I hadn't written the previous paragraph.
A Southern pastor reveals "Ten Things You Need to Know About Bathrooms," i.e., the Department of Education's recent letter about transgendered students in bathrooms. Attend items 1 and 2, which reveal that the Department's letter is not an Obama "executive order" and that Title IX is over 40 years old, and especially attend item 5, which instructs us that you can't just put a dress on and go to the girls' room, but that parents must notify school administration of your gender change. Also, too, why would boys try to peek at girl business at school when "(t)hey can see all the boobs they want for free on the internet"?
This Kansas City Star article exemplifies incompetent "liberal" media reporting on "free" trade. The writer seems surprised that stances on "free" trade don't align neatly with party affiliation. But folks across the political spectrum have opposed "free" trade for a long, long time, so they aren't "switching" their positions (and they only "appear" to be if you haven't been paying any attention), and certainly changing positions doesn't all by itself constitute a "flip-flop." Note, also, how the writer allows Sen. Blunt to change the subject from "free trade" to "trade." And there's no "tangled political web surrounding trade," only politicians who refuse to listen to the people and who only do their paymasters' bidding. Let these "liberal" media morons get their jobs outsourced the way so many Americans' jobs have been outsourced, and they might get a clue.
A local New York business paper finds that Donald Trump has qualified for a New York state tax break only given out to folks who make less than $500,000 annually. Amusing as it is to think that Mr. Trump has hidden his tax returns because they'll reveal he isn't the high-roller he says he is, I suspect this $300 tax break only scratches the surface of some serious tax-code manipulation. And if that's the case, he's probably not going to be able to talk his way out of it, though a lot of Americans will secretly admire him for "sticking it to the man," blissfully unaware that, in this case, they're "the man."
Finally, Hillary Clinton says she'd put would-be First Gentleman Bill Clinton in charge of "revitalizing the economy" if she becomes President. Regardless of one's dim memory of 20 years ago is not good news. Bill Clinton didn't "revitalize the economy," but merely had the luck of being in office when the tech bubble inflated. That's before we get to all of Bill Clinton's other "revitalization" ideas, which included "free" trade deals and repealing Glass-Steagall, both of which have proven to be a pronounced drag on our economy.
Comments