This New Gilded Age 0
At the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Bob Marshall argues that the Trump maladministration’s EPA is putting profits over people. A snippet:
(snip)
That sentence was handed down when the agency quietly decided this: It will no longer include the number of lives lost or damaged when determining the required cost-benefit analysis of pollution regulations.
Immunity Impunity
0
My old Philly DL friend Noz has some thoughts on what must be done if the American Stasi is to redirected from their current path of trampling on rights and violating Constitutional protections.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Noam Shpancer cautions us that (slightly reformatted from the original)
Follow the link for his descriptions of just what they “tend to do.”
Be forewarned, it ain’t pretty.
The Me Veneration 0
Seth identifies the governing principle of today’s Republican Party.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another oxymoronic “responsible gun owner” discharges his responsibility.
Once again, we are reminded that “accidental” and “negligent” are not synonyms, despite how we might see them used in news reports and police statements.
Republican Thought Police 0
In the midst of a longer article about the Trump maladministration’s attempt to white-wash America’s history, Diane Carman succintly sums up what’s going on:
But apparently only the white ones.
American Stasi 0
MIT professor and Nobel Laureate Daron Acemoglu is not sanguine. A snippet:
If this violence goes unchecked, it could indeed be a turning point, because it will create a template for other security forces more closely aligned with Trump to use force against any manifestation of opposition. In that case, the slide toward an authoritarian regime could become difficult to reverse, as civil society becomes prostrate in the face of mounting repression and the norms against such crackdowns become steadily eroded.
Already, the two branches of government that are supposed to check the presidency (Congress and the Supreme Court) have proven to be highly solicitous of Trump’s agenda.
Afterthought:
I question his use of the term “Trump’s agenda.” Me-me-me-me may be motivation, but I don’t think it rises to the level of “agenda.”
“Agenda” implies a coherent strategy, not an incoherent one.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
If you think the elementary school basketball coach should give your little boy more playing time, be sure to make the request with politeness.
We are a society of stupid.
Fly the Fiendly Skies . . . 0
. . . but be sure to dress apropriately.
“She Was Just Following Orders” 0
David hears Kristi Noem say something that rhymes with the Nuremberg trials.
American Stasi 0
The Brock Press (a student publication at Brock University in Canada) offers a case study in devolution:
No Change Agents 0
At the The American Scholar, Robert Zaretsky writes f the theories of Austrian philosopher Karl Popper, who lived through and studied the rise of fascism in early and mid-twentieth century Europe. In the midst of a lengthy exploration of Popper’s work, Zaretsky makes what I find a trenchant observation, one which I characterizes dis coarse discourse:
I find his piece a timely and relevant read.