So when The Intercept asked over 50 holders of Puerto Rican debt what they'd do about the crisis caused by Hurricane Maria, what did the vast majority of them say? Well, most of them said nothing, but most of the rest offered new loans for Puerto Rico! You may have grown up thinking disaster is disaster, but for our best and brightest, it's just another opportunity -- particularly another opportunity to keep Puerto Rico's government from passing almost any laws that benefit its workers, like the PROMESA Act did last year.
Trump advisor/hysterically rich person Gary Cohn says $1,000 (the sum of what a family making $100,000 annually will get from Mr. Trump's tax reform plan, according to him) is enough money to, get this, "renovate (your) kitchen," "buy a new car," or "take a family vacation." Maybe the last time he ever had to count the cost of anything, all that might have been true, but not now -- $1,000 might get my family out of state for a long weekend, but you're not thinking that when you're thinking "vacation," either.
Yes, Newt Gingrich really did say last week, about NFL players protesting systematic racism, that "(i)f you’re a multimillionaire who feels oppressed, you need a therapist, not a publicity stunt." But what makes NFL players different from banksters, besides that NFL players work harder and contribute more to society and are not parasites? Most NFL players are black, and are thus much more likely to die at the hands of police -- police might see "rich person" when they see a bankster in a Mercedes, but they're much more likely to see "drug dealer" when they see an NFL player in a Mercedes. Of course Mr. Gingrich knows all this; he's just hoping to make you forget it by inducing a fog of rage.
Nate Berg wonders if "America's Trillion-Dollar Investment" in infrastructure will "Withstand Tomorrow's Disasters." Short answer: not if President Trump has anything to say about it -- his ethos is Houston and Florida reconstruction so far has been to circumvent regulations mandating that new structures built with federal funds be able to withstand our most interesting climactic future. The more cynical among us might say that rebuilding badly insures we'll have to rebuild again and thus create jobs again, but badly-built buildings kill people in the meantime, so don't drink from that cup. (Better to attend the developments described in the article, actually, since it's very good.)
Finally, Democrats think they've got a good match-up in the Alabama Senate special election between notorious far-right maniac Roy Moore and successful racist-fighter Doug Jones, but I'm sad to say I think Mr. Jones will lose the election. Why? Because, as Mr. Jones's own campaign website demonstrates, he won't go for the jugular -- "we can't go backward" on health care, sure, but can we go forward? He wants to "modify" the three-strikes law instead of, you know, repealing it? Plus, of course, he wants to get beyond partisanship and "streamline regulations." But did you know this phrase -- "the successful prosecution of two men who bombed a place of worship, killing four innocent little girls" -- actually refers to the crowning achievement of his life, bringing two of the Birmingham bombers to justice? Why would you be so general about that? Because racists might not vote for you? Fuck racists -- if you're not going to be your best self, you have no business running for the Senate.
Comments