1
ISIS Prisoners Threaten U.S. Mission in Northeastern Syria
Overcrowded, makeshift prisons and camps and fears of Covid-19 have led to
two riots by hardened fighters.
Religious wars are best avoided.
Conversion by the sorde does not last.
2
Joe Biden, Wearing Mask, Appears in Public at a Veterans Memorial
The presumptive Democratic nominee made a public appearance for the first
time since mid-March, after campaigning from home for more than two months.
Militaries are not democracies.
3
Trump Threatens to Pull Republican National Convention From North Carolina
The president, who has wondered aloud to aides why the convention can’t be
held in Florida, said North Carolina’s governor needed to “guarantee” that
the event could be held in August.
Trump wants a coronation.
4
African-Americans Are Highly Visible in the Military, but Almost Invisible at the Top
Seventy-five years after integration, the military’s upper echelons remain
the domain of white men.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Johnson
5
What the Coronavirus Revealed About Life in Red vs. Blue States
Beyond perception and ideology, there are starkly different realities for
red and blue America right now.
In red states density seems to have gone to their heads.
6
Telling An Adventure Story With Your Life
One of the most popular articles on my site is The Philosophy of Collapse
and Decline, about how to live in a civilization where you know bad things
are going to happen and you can’t stop them. This is a topic I keep
thinking about. Once I threw myself into the fight to stop evils […]
What a novel idea.
"Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die."
"Think globally. Act locally."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_globally,_act_locally
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Geddes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danse_Macabre
7
Trump Tweets and Golfs, but Makes No Mention of Virus’s Toll
Coronavirus deaths in the United States approached a staggering 100,000, a
number the president once predicted would never be reached.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rime_of_the_Ancient_Mariner
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
poems/43997/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner-text-of-1834
"Like one, that on a lonesome road
Doth walk in fear and dread,
And having once turned round walks on,
And turns no more his head;
Because he knows, a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread."
8
May 24th US Covid Cases
Our benefactor notes that the 7 day average is still going up. We’ll see if
it continues. Remember that many states are essentially allowing
uncontrolled spread. States that are serious about controlling this are
going to have to put in border controls. The results of the work I do, like
this article, are free, but […]
The case doubling period has gone from 54.6 days, a minimum to 48.3 days.
Mortality rate remains 6.0%.
9
Trump Promotes Posts From Racist and Sexist Twitter Feed
On a somber Memorial Day weekend, the president did not mention the
mounting coronavirus toll and instead retweeted personal attacks on his
political rivals.
"All is fair in love and war."
I doubt it is love.
10
Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – May 24, 2020
Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – May 24, 2020 by Tony Wikrent
Strategic Political Economy The Big Failure of Small Government Maria
Mazzucato [Project Syndicate, via Naked Capitalism 5-22-20] Effective
governance, it turns out, cannot be conjured up at will, because it
requires investment in state capacity…. Decades of privatization,
outsourcing, and budget cuts […]
Catastrophic change is hard to predict.
11
Trump Sows Doubt on Voting. It Keeps Some People Up at Night.
A group of worst-case scenario planners — mostly Democrats, but also some
anti-Trump Republicans — have been gaming out how to respond to various
doomsday options for the 2020 presidential election.
Thinking and planning is part of being awake.
12
May 23rd US Covid Data
Our benefactor notes that there is “a definite increase in the number of
cases, but one day is not sufficient to tell what’s going on…yet.” The
results of the work I do, like this article, are free, but food isn’t, so
if you value my work, please DONATE or SUBSCRIBE.
Infection doubling period went from 54.6 days to 32.5 days.
13
Elizabeth Warren to Hold Big-Dollar Fund-Raiser for Joe Biden
Ms. Warren, in the mix for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination, had
made opposition to fund-raising events with big donors a central part of
her own presidential bid.
Defeating Trump is the objective.
14
Biden’s ‘Breakfast Club’ Controversy Shows What His Rivals Already Knew
The syndicated radio show with Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee and DJ Envy
has serious political power.
Biden suffered an attack of foot in mouth sickness.
15
Open Thread
Use the comments to this post to discuss topics unrelated to recent posts.
Sooner is better. As soon as you can is best.
16
White House Worries About Kelly Loeffler’s Senate Prospects in Georgia
President Trump, concerned about his own outlook in the state, plans to
stay on the sideline in a race where he favored a different choice for
senator.
Any loss is important.
17
Firing a Salvo in Culture Wars, Trump Pushes for Churches to Reopen
President Trump threatened to overrule states that refuse to open places of
worship. The White House could not explain how he has that power, and legal
experts said he did not have such authority.
Churches have no place in politics.
18
Trump Orders States to Allow Places of Worship to Open, Though He Has No Authority To
President Trump has always been an unlikely champion of evangelical and
conservative religious voters, and by speaking out, he put himself out
front on an issue important to them at a time when his support has been
eroding.
Trump cannot control his tung.
19
Kayleigh McEnany Displays One of Trump's Checks in a Little Too Much Detail
The $100,000 check was made out to a government agency. This time his
account and routing numbers were clearly visible.
Small change in budget numbers.
20
May 22nd US Covid Data
Plus ca change. The results of the work I do, like this article, are free,
but food isn’t, so if you value my work, please DONATE or SUBSCRIBE.
The mortality rate is stable at 6.0%
||
