Murtaza Hussain at The Intercept reminds us that we shouldn't let the terrorist attack in Nice prompt us to "Give ISIS What It's Asking For," i.e., a world divided against itself. You know, kinda like we gave Osama bin Laden what he was asking for after 9.11 -- not just withdrawing American troops from Saudi Arabia (his only actual demand, if I remember correctly), but all the injuries we did to ourselves afterward, like the PATRIOT Act and the Department of Homeland Security and the Iraq war. If your impulse, upon reading the first sentence above, was to respond well, naturally a guy named Hussain would say that, please do two things: 1) slap yourself, and 2) stop reading this blog. (You would also have the option of repeating step 1 as often as necessary before proceeding to step 2.).
Charlottesville (VA) Legal Aid Justice Center files class-action lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, alleging that its system of automatically suspending drivers' licenses for unpaid minor infractions not only violates "the Constitution’s “fundamental principles of due process and equal protection," but has turned the state into a sort of debtors' prison. Before you laugh, consider not only that the fines are automatic (aren't judges supposed to set sentences in America?), but also that about one out of every six Virginia residents currently have suspended licenses -- meaning, if you live in Virginia, this could be you if you work a minimum-wage job and get caught with a busted tail-light in a state with inadequate public transportation, and you may be out of a job soon, and thus unable to pay your ever-increasing debt, et cetera. Wow, it's like the state is a payday lender or something.
As Donald Trump accepts the Republican Party's Presidential nomination this week, Justin Talbot Zorn at the Huffington Post wonders why Mr. Trump, supposedly so anti-"free" trade, chose a "free trade cheerleader" as his running mate. But I think he gives Mr. Trump too much credit for actually meaning what he says this one time, for his stance on trade, too, "has been subject to negotiation and revision" -- Mr. Trump said not long ago that he supports "free" trade, as long as it's a good trade deal, when we can all cite numerous reasons why the last dozen or so "free" trade deals are fundamentally evil. I bet President Trump's first yuge and byootiful trade deal will look just about exactly like the TPP he now professes to hate -- and I also bet he lies about it.
It gets worse, of course: Mr. Trump actually excused new running mate Mike Pence for his pro-Iraq war vote, while explicitly saying Hillary Clinton shouldn't be excused for hers. So now Mr. Trump has openly embraced hypocrisy as a way of making hard decisions, but then so have many of his votaries, who must do ever-more complicated intellectual gymnastics in order to keep the faith. Am I the only one who notices, by the way, that saying Mike Pence was "misled" about Iraq doesn't exactly endorse Mr. Pence's leadership ability? Does no one remember the time George Romney once had to quit the Presidential race in embarrassment after saying he felt like the military had "brainwashed" him regarding the Vietnam war?
Finally, some good news: the National Labor Relations Board (or NLRB) rules that temporary workers may bargain collectively along with permanent workers regardless of the wishes of either the temp workers' employer or the permanent workers' employer. And if your Tea Party uncle cries TEH OBAMA AND HIS BUREAUCRATZ IZ TEH AMURIKAN CAESARZ!!!!!!, you can go ahead and remind him that this decision actually restores the status quo as it existed before the NLRB under an actual aspiring Caesar, George W. Bush, reversed it. Dig, also, the corporate lobbies weighing in that this NLRB ruling would "sow uncertainty and conflict." Want some cheese with that whine, American Staffing Association? Or will you cry into hundred-dollar bills?
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