Saw an article on The Guardian this morning by some author about how his vision of the US has been “shattered”.
It’s still there this evening.
Dude. It hasn’t been “shattered.” You’ve just not been paying attention. We’ve had several close calls with absolute idiocy and we finally hit a concrete bollard on the turn.
It seems like every democracy does this. Somnelence and then, “huh? What? OH MY GOD!”
This won’t fit on a poster, will it?
«Now it is time for these goddamned Trump Nazis to bring Kilmar home, just like every fucking court has said. And then bring all the rest of Trump’s kidnapping victims home, so that they may receive due process, and if due process shows some should be deported, then do that, and send them away if you must, but not to a Trump/Bukele death camp. That is not “deporting.”»
https://www.thedailybeast.com/nate-silver-makes-shocking-prediction-for-dems-2028-nominee/
«Silver agreed with “everything” Druke had to say, but did note that AOC isn’t “sure to run.”»
Huh.
«And she called on Alaskans to “be affirmative” in protesting on behalf of programs they want to remain in place so that elected leaders are kept aware of where support and frustration exist among constituents.
“I think it’s important the concerns continue to be raised rather than letting the fatigue of the chaos grind you down,” Murkowski said.»
«The multiracial American working class had shouldered deindustrialization, deunionization, the financial crisis, and the squeeze of unaffordable housing and healthcare. At a time of record corporate profits, these service workers had become the driving force of the American economy, working underpaid jobs that couldn’t be outsourced and that required human touch, voice, and judgment.»
21% through “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together” by Heather McGhee.
https://apnews.com/article/irs-direct-file-tax-returns-free-trump-4bb0bca02fab9b3d06ae6f45ac67b7ab
Hey, non-voters… You chose this over a qualified Black woman.
Via Wonkette (go, Wonkette!):
«The wellness industry doesn’t spread misinformation by accident — it’s their business model. It convinces people that “mainstream” medicine, veterinary science, and public health experts are untrustworthy. It manufactures fear of “toxins,” “Big Pharma,” and “Big Pet Food,” then sells alternative solutions — raw diets, homeopathic remedies, and “natural” immune boosters — that have no scientific basis.
The claims aren’t supported by data. There is no evidence that raw diets provide health benefits to pets — but overwhelming evidence that they increase the risk of infections and illness. There is no evidence that “natural immunity” can protect against H5N1 — but plenty of evidence that the virus has a 50% mortality rate in infected cats. There is no evidence that raw milk is superior to pasteurized milk — but abundant evidence that raw dairy spreads deadly pathogens.»
…
«The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine monitors zoonotic diseases like H5N1, regulates pet food safety, and responds to veterinary public health crises, but it was hit hard by recent layoffs.
…
RFK Jr.’s proposal of letting H5N1 spread unchecked through birds will have the opposite effect. Pasteurization requirements and food safety laws must be strengthened — raw milk and dairy is a known vector for many viral and bacterial pathogens, including H5N1.»
…
«The real threat isn’t just the virus, it’s the anti-science movement enabling its spread.»
https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/16/homeland_security_funding_for_cve/
I know everybody knows about this already; I just need to put a kakistocracy post in my blog.
«The multihued group of activists, supported by the local SEIU and Seattle-area community groups, won a ballot initiative in the airport town, Sea-Tac, to raise airport worker wages to $15. The margin of victory was just 77 votes.
Sensing momentum, however, the coalition of supporters made a wild bet that they could win in an even bigger fight, in Seattle itself. By that time, in the spring of 2013, Seattle fast-food workers of every color were walking out in one-day strikes and organizing across the city. By August 29, on a national day of action that coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington, the streets of sixty cities teemed with fast-food workers demanding higher wages. But they weren’t alone: retail workers from department stores like Macy’s and chains like Victoria’s Secret also joined in. A year later, the demonstrations would include adjunct professors with graduate degrees. By May 2014, the Seattle City Council voted to make theirs the first American city to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour.»
I remember this (Seattle raising the minimum wage to $15). Predictions of disaster seem to have failed to materialize.
Just remember: good news is possible. This is Solnit’s “hope”.
(Those aren’t scare quotes.)
20% through “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together” by Heather McGhee.
«But it was a pivotal moment in realizing that Jon Stewart was more David Brooks than any sort of progressive.»
https://www.wonkette.com/p/jon-stewart-very-sorry-he-believed
OUCH.
Here, Read This 