The Tail End Of Generation Y Steps Up

In just a few days, the youngest members of Generation Y have awakened. They have ended NRA discounts at car rental companies and have probably destroyed Marco Rubio's 2022 reelection campaign. Suddenly, I don't feel so old. The generation ahead of me has done something. Now can it keep doing it? The NRA is acting like they must be stopped. These kids have frightened the NRA. That's something that parents of 20 murdered children could not. 

This might be the beginning of a movement to make gun regulation an accepted and desired policy. And these kids who started the latest push for firearm regulation are off to the best start in US history. They will do more than just make the NRA a lobby group to avoid. Today's politicians will ignore them, but these kids will be running the nation 20 years from now. 

Even before the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, Amnesty International was set to publish their annual "State of Human Rights" report. In it, they downgrade the USA due to its growing casualty counts in gun massacres. You can go read it here.

Selling Out For No Reason Whatsoever

There's a weird but good line from Se7en (1995) when Detective Somerset asks Detective Mills:

"I wonder what exactly was the point of the conversation you were about to get into?"

I thought of that line when I saw Taoiseach Leo Varadkar publicly tell a story to Donald Trump in order to flatter the criminal, bigot president of the United States.

Just what was he thinking? Are Fine Gael ministers this bloody daft?

Selling out is one thing, but selling out for absolutely nothing, to a U.S. president who is universally loathed, is mind boggling.

Fine Gael need to be voted out of power. Just what will it take to motivate the Irish to vote differently at the polls?

Chances Are Brad Parscale Is A Criminal

Brad Parscale has been officially named the manager of Donald Trump's 2020 reelection campaign.

I do not know much about him. I know that he's an aryan-looking dude from Kansas who got economics and business degrees from a regional university in Texas that doesn't have particularly strong business programs. I know he's a bit of a marketing hustler who reached out to businesses offering to improve their websites and overall internet presence. One of those companies was the Trump Organization in 2011. That would be around the time that Trump was thinking of running for president for the second time, and leading the allegations that Barack Obama was foreign-born and performed poorly at Columbia and Harvard. Trump even accused Obama of never attending either school. Who has a chip on his shoulder?

But back to Parscale. Given that he has been highly paid (tens of millions, apparently) by the Trump Organization since 2011, and was the Facebook marketing and advertising manager for the Trump 2016 campaign, and that campaign was full of criminals, I'd say that there's a very good chance that Parscale is a criminal as well. I have no evidence. But now there's going to be a spotlight on him given today's announcement. Investigative journalists are going to be informing us who this guy is soon. Was he really paid over $90 Million to run Trump's online presidential campaign? Wasn't that nearly one-third Trumps' entire campaign budget? That's going to be re-examined.

There is an easy pattern with the Trump Organization. It engages in blatant nepotism and richly rewards those who are loyal to it. And in order to be loyal to the Trump Organization, one has to be comfortable with the fact that it is a criminal enterprise. Therefore it is no surprise that its top people, past and present, are criminals themselves. People like Donald Trump Jr, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Corey Lewandowski, Anthony Scaramucci, Ivanka Trump, Hope Hicks, Eric Trump, Allen Weisselberg, George Papadopoulos, Michael Cohen, David Pecker, Carter Page, Roger Stone, Jared Kushner and Michael Flynn. Chances are Brad Parscale is also a criminal like them. Let's see if I'm correct.  

Republicans Are Cowards

He's not up for re-election for another 56 months. But Marco Rubio's Senate career virtually ended this week.

Rubio's cowardice was on full display on February 21, one week after the Majory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre. What would you expect from the man who said it was "Florida's turn" for a gun massacre hours after the Pulse nightclub massacre less than 2 years ago? The problem for him and the rest of the NRA darlings is that there's no longer any place to hide on the issue of guns. All the ideologically approved slogans have outlived their shelf lives. Guns don't kill people. To stop a bad man with a gun you need a good man with a gun. Mass shootings are proof that the issue is one of mental illness, not the easy availability of combat weapons. "Gun-free zones" attract gun rampages. And these deaths are the price we pay for freedom. Every one of the shibboleths you hear when these tragedies unfold are finally being seen as the empty, hypocritical expressions of a profit-addicted gun lobby. Their time might be up. Throw the creeps out!

He's Not Listening

"I think the two fundamental issues were that Donald Trump doesn't read anything. Let me accent that — anything. Nothing. If you're working for the president of the United States, that's an odd position because how do you get information to him? That's already a major hurdle. But then there's the second hurdle — that not only does he not read; he doesn't listen. So it becomes from Day One, the crisis of the presidency: You can't tell him anything." - Michael Wolff

I Called It - Trump Is Seriously Bringing Us Down

Others have explained this far better than me. In January, Ellie Shechet of Jezebel wrote a feature piece on how 2017 was a year of total chaos and stress. In October, I specifically wrote this:

“Donald Trump has done something that no president has done since Nixon. He was worn down national morale.”

And now, we are beginning to see evidence. Gallup and Sharecare have released their annual Well-Being Rankings for all 50 US states. They found that for the first time since 2009, the first full year of the "great recession," their well-being index for the USA is down a significant amount - 0.6 percent. That might sound tiny, but in the history of the survey, it is a large drop. 

What areas in life did Americans experience a major drop in optimism? Areas like a sense of purpose, enjoying what you do each day, confidence in one's leader (could be political, religious, professional, a teacher - any leader), and confidence in the support of friends and family (social links, Persona fans!) All down. 

What was up? "Significant Daily Worry."

View fullsize

Now what could be the cause of that? Anyone want to guess? I will kick back with a drink while you come up with explanations. We have time. Or not.

 

It's Still A Masculinity Crisis

Professor Sut Jhally wrote about it 18 years ago.

He spoke about it 8 years ago (above).

I wrote about it 11 years ago.

We got possibly the biggest reminder of it in world history last fall.

The world has a serious masculinity crisis. And in the US, that crisis is directly linked to its gun violence epidemic. 

Laura KIssel raised the topic again this week. And the comments prove two things. First, they strengthen her argument. And second, they prove we will never even try to address this crisis. Not even try. 

The gun violence epidemic in the United States is both a public health and a cultural crisis. Since I last raised this topic in 2007, the number of firearms in the US surpassed the number of living citizens. 100 million new guns. This is our crisis now and until the end of this broken republic. 

Trump Is Obese

Donald Trump is the same height and weight as Albert Pujols. Riiiight. Why does the White House lie like this? It's just absurd. The White House lies about everything, important or trivial. Trump is obese, and everyone knows it. His diet is hideously bad. He must have good genes and the constitution of a bull, because given what he eats and his lack of exercise, he ought to be an invalid.

Oh, and off-topic, where did the leftover inauguration day cash go? That's still missing. 

Here's Joe Scarborough with an appropriate rant about Trump's physical health summary.

The USA Missed Its Chance To Make Room For High Speed Rail

High speed rail is not coming to the US in any sustained system, except perhaps in California.

Why? The USA missed its chance after World War II, when it had the capital and its rail corridors could have gotten the width they needed for freight and passenger trains on their own tracks. If the US tried to make room for high speed rail on the west and east coasts today, it would cost hundreds of billions. Of course, the US is still spending $2 Billion a week in Afghanistan. So I guess we can't afford it. 

In France, Germany Japan and China, where four of the world class train systems are found, the high speed passenger services were built from scratch, not piggybacked on an old, existing, mostly freight rail system. A world war helped, and that included a lot of bombing by the US and UK. But I don't think that's any excuse. The USA remained a wealthy nation through the space age. Just look at what happened to Penn Station. The French National Rail Corporation would die laughing if it ever got a good look at Penn Station and Amtrak. After all, France is a first world country, while the United States barely qualifies as a banana republic. And I wrote these words before news came out that the state of New York is considering yet another private company to manage the crumbling Penn Station.

This ties into the bigger, more obvious issue that mass transit in the US is generally terrible. The underlying reason is the same: the best chance for planning and funding was in the last century (either before the 1920 crash, or just after WWII). In my father's day, New York City took care of it's essential infrastructure. The automobile had not yet become the dominant means of transportation, and Robert Moses had not yet rearranged the city to accommodate millions of cars. Now, after decades of neglect, the bill is coming due. I hope the city gets the help it needs, because it's approaching a dangerous tipping point.

A Revolutionary War Mass Grave In Brooklyn?

Here's another story for 2017 I didn't post until now. A Brooklyn site next to the Gowanus Canal is to be excavated. There's reason to believe it holds a Revolutionary War mass grave, dug in the aftermath of the Battle of Brooklyn.

The Battle of Brooklyn wad a bad defeat, but thanks to Mr. Glover of Marblehead Massachusetts, Washington's troops were able to make good their escape to the Jersey shore, and live to fight another day. By the way, Continental cannons were emplaced in Red Hook to strike the British fleet as it entered the harbor, but they didn't hit a thing! If they find a mass grave, the city, state and Federal governments should erect a fitting monument. 

Red States Turned On Their Blue Cities In 2017

But the tide might be turning back to the cities' favor.

After the election of Donald Trump in November 2016, there was a wave of bad behavior by his supporters. Hate crimes spiked. The Federal government threatened states. And some states punished their cities, the largest of which voted for Hillary Clinton.

This conflict is about raw political power, and I'm afraid that cities are at a huge disadvantage in any conflict with the state. Legal precedents all give enormous deference to the state, holding that cities, towns, counties and all other local jurisdictions are under sovereign state authority. If Texas wanted to abolish the charters of local government and designate them differently, increase or decrease their powers, they can, and there's little the local areas can do about it. When a cult like the Texas Republican Party gains unchecked power, it will use it to crush local opposition. The same pattern is being replicated almost everywhere in states with Republican governors and legislatures. Elections, as they say, have consequences.

Interestingly, the onslaught against the cities might have been slowed down thanks in part to Trump not being able to get his administration to focus on any one issue for long. And the Trump backlash has been in-gear since Roy Moore was upset in Alabama in December 2017. The aforementioned Texas Republican Party's unshakable hold on power is suddenly under threat. 

2018 Is Bringing The Turmoil

You thought 2017 was turbulent? We've seen nothing yet.

The first month of 2018 has brought a pack of storms through Washington DC and the world. We've read the biggest threat of a nuclear war ever written by a US president. A new book came out, and we're still feeling the shock waves it has caused. We've seen the first reporter insulted during a press briefing in the Trump presidency. The administration ended protected status for over 200,000 El Salvadoran asylum seekers. The president said racist things in a meeting for a second reported time.  Shithole is already the English word of the year. Trump's trip to the UK has been canceled, as I predicted. A Democratic Senator on her way out has released the valuable Senate interview of Glenn Simpson, and it offers a preview of what's going to be in the Mueller Report later this summer. But don't expect Robert Mueller to indict Trump. It might be too late for him or anyone to rescue this republic from Donald Trump. Just hang on tight. 

The Racist Authoritarian President

There wasn't any doubt that Trump and his base are racists. And finally, the press has acknowledged it. 

Only the people who refuse to accept reality fail to comprehend the visceral racism of Donald Trump. This is a man who demanded the death penalty for young African Americans who were clearly not guilty of the attack on the Central Park jogger a few decades back. He led the "Birther Lie" campaign against Obama, for reasons transparently racist, said a Mexican American judge, born in Indiana, couldn't fairly preside over a lawsuit involving him, and began his pursuit of the presidency by slandering the entire population of a neighboring republic. It's clear we have the most overtly racist president since Andrew Johnson, 1865-1869, who did all in his power to destroy the chances of 4,000,000 freedmen of ever achieving legal equality in this country. There are two primary reasons this fat, orange man is president. His Democratic opponent was pathologically hated by millions of Americans, and chose to vote for the least experienced, most ignorant, and most psychologically damaged candidate to ever run on a major party ticket rather than put her in the White House. And the second reason is equally chilling. Trump validated the deep racial resentment of millions of white Americans.

Trump's base remains a solid 35% or so. This base is not only overtly racist, but demands an authoritarian leader. We can pay lip service to our sanitized corporate culture and say that they are not aligned with "American values." But actually, there has always been a minority of citizens like this in the US since the Civil War. We have seen flare-ups in support of the KKK, the Third Reich, and the "Patriot Movement" (roughly 1978-2010). Trump has helped us re-identify and track them going forward. They are going to play a role in both local and national politics long after Trump is gone.

New York's Infrastructure Will Soon Collapse

New York City's bridges are falling apart. It would cost over $20 Billion to reapir them.

New York City's rails, from the state owned subway and commuter rail to Amtrak, are a mess. It would cost tens of billions to replace, fix and renovate signals, switches, tunnels and stations. The only major projects that are currently in-progress are the repair of the L train tunnel under the East RIver, and the MTAs East Side Access project to move Long Island Rail Road Penn Station to Grand Central Terminal. Other critical projects, such a new Amtrak tunnel under the Hudson River and the replacement of Penn Station remain unfunded,

And even when the state of New York maintains its rails, the waste and corruption is is easy to identify.

Even if Trump and the Republicans actually gave a rat's ass about the state of America's cities or public transportation, the Administration's crippling incompetence and absurd scandals make serious action nearly impossible. This is what middle America voted for, and all of us, beginning with the people of New York, are going to pay for it.

Experience Not Necessary

It matters not that this guy didn't make it onto a Federal bench. The damage has been done. Trump has filled the judicary with baby Clarance Thomases for decades. They are all under-qualified and are also religious zealots who pick-up caes already knowing how they will vote.

The charge of Liberal judges "legislating from the bench" is just projection. It is the right wing judges who have been biased, voting with their ideoology rather than on the merits of the case. The right wing members of the court have been nakedly partisan since the appointmet of Scalia in 1986 and Bush v. Gore in 2000. It's only gotten worse since. 

And speaking of Thomas, the US Supreme Court has an ongoing ethics problem. 

Trump's legacy is three-fold. First, as detailed above, he has made the judiciary biased and under-qualified for decades. Second, he, his White House staff, and his appointments have all had a severe and alarming lack of experience. And third, he has brought his naked and highly amplifed ego into the executive branch. Our standards of how a US president should act and communicate have been forever changed.

A White House Run By Generals

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders tells the press that criticizing generals is "innapropriate."

When Trump appointed Kelly, Mattis and McMaster to high posts in the government, a chill went through me. There's a solid, history-based reason for insuring civilian control of the military. There are only a few thousand good histories of the phenomenon, available in any University library, or I suppose these days, online. We now have an ignorant president, with a childlike admiration for high ranking military figures. Far too many commentators took solace in that fact, imagining that they would bring intelligence, discipline, and common sense to an otherwise chaotic administration. There is no reason, no reason whatever, to believe that's true. Trump hiding behind generals means we're in deep trouble in this country. Those are totalitarian techniques, and I think it will get a hell of a lot worse in the next few years. 

The Most Sacred Topic In the USA

Our bloodthirsty, military-worshiping news media declares the president's swipe at his predecessors and dead soldiers as "rock bottom." Not pussy grabbing. Not "both sides." Not the white nationalists had "permits." No, rock bottom has to be his swipe at dead soldiers. That's bad. I get it. But this is not rock bottom Trump. This is not the worst he can get. This is the US news media showing its military-worshiping ideology. Worshiping military service members and even military hardware has become our official religion behind the worship of money.

Try Not To Die If You're Famous

Memo to celebrities: don't die during the Trump administration. There's so much chaos, you won't get a proper send-off. It's like the weeks after 9/11, except life doesn't settle down. It has been unsettled since March.

The Poor Do Our Fighting

The majority of people who enlist in the US armed forces come from poor families. And after a few wars, what has emerged is a warrior caste. You ever hear how just a handful of families have ruled the Philippines for the last 600 years? Well some tens of thousands of US families have done virtually all our fighting since the Vietnam war.

Vietnam poisoned the idea of a large military draft, feeding an endless and stupid ground war, for millions of Americans. The citizens of this country are unlikely, any time soon if ever again, to tolerate the existence of a conveyor of healthy young men, fed into a war machine. The draft enabled Johnson and Nixon to pour young lives into an unwinnable and unjustifiable conflict in Southeast Asia. The lesson the political class learned from this was to establish an all volunteer force, largely removed from the great majority of the population. Now, when these wars are fought, justifying the immense defense budgets which enrich an entire industry and securing the professional opportunities of our military elite, the mass of voters hardly notice. The wars go on and on, the money and the promotions flow, and the politicians don't even have to explain to the taxpayers. Genius!!

Fuck You

It's nothing personal. I don't mean fuck you, personally. I mean it in general terms. Fuck you. You know who you are, even though I don't know you personally. 

I will not stand up for you. I will not salute you. I will not call you a hero. I will not call you a first responder. I will not thank you for your service. I won't fantasize of being anything like you. I repeat, I will not use the word hero. 

It's not your fault. I have been told to worship you. I strongly reject that. Politicians have told me. Movies, going back to Backdraft have told me to idolize and honor you. But I'm 44 now. And I think I know better. And I think I see through all the bullshit that has been sold to me since September 2001 - some 16 years.

I will not stand for the Star Spangled Banner. I will not face or salute the flag. I am not down with your program. I am not down with the USA's program. It's a broken and cruel republic. The only thing it has left is its empire. And I'm supposed to say "thank you for your service," to the men and women who maintain that empire? Bullshit. Fuck you.

To the police. I will not thank you. I will not call you when I need one. I will not respect you. I will not ask you to pose in a photo with me. Fuck you. You do not protect and serve me. You exist to police black people and make me and other white civilians feel safer. And for that politicians put you on a pedestal, and direct me to honor you. Fuck that. And fuck your evil unions, too. They are the worst. 

To the firefighters. Fuck you too, although I admit I hate you less. We do need firefighters. What we don't need are fire departments full of white supremacists. But because politicians tell me that you need to be worshiped and idolized, I have to lump you with the soldiers and cops. It's nothing personal. Fuck you.

I'm not quite sure how nationalism became intertwined with worship of "first responders," in addition to our soldiers, but here we are. And here I am. Fuck you.

Fuck nationalism. Fuck hero making, hero narratives, and hero worship. Fuck flag lapel pins. Fuck the flag. Fuck the president (all of those who came after Carter). Fuck this.