Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Monday, July 29, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-29
Sanctions crushed Syria’s elite. So they built a zombie economy fueled by drugs.
They have jobs, but no homes. Inside America’s unseen homelessness crisis.: Homelessness, already at a record high last year, appears to be worsening among people with jobs. - "Many who spoke with The Washington Post said they’re trapped in an impossible position — making too much money to qualify for food stamps and other types of government assistance, but not enough to secure housing."
Walking the Line: Chinese migration surge tests President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping - "Republican lawmakers say the concerns are more than justified. They point to media reports of at least 100 incidents in recent years in which Chinese nationals were caught or suspected of trying to gain access or information about U.S. military installations.
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"Likely part of Beijing’s concern, analysts and lawyers say, is the potential for politicized Chinese migrants to become part of dissident communities abroad.
"'The [Chinese] police told my parents, tell your son not to speak any more or do any protests,' said Zhou Zheng, a recent migrant living in Los Angeles who joined groups that protested Xi’s November visit to San Francisco. He’d made the decision to walk the line after he was detained during protests in China.
"While the number of Chinese migrants is relatively tiny in terms of the country’s population, its impact is significant for a government that has sought to advertise its political system abroad.
"'It’s never looks good when people are willing to trek through the Darien Gap to get out of your country,' said Meredith Oyen, associate professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, referring to the dangerous jungle crossing between Panama and Colombia."
How the "Working Class Republican" Scam Works: A brief description of how this is all gonna go.
Meet the queen of the ‘trad wives’ (and her eight children): Hannah Neeleman, known to her nine million followers as Ballerina Farm, milks cows, gives birth without pain relief and breastfeeds at beauty pageants. Is this an empowering new model of womanhood — or a hammer blow for feminism? - "That is the biggest paradox: in selling the life of a stay-at-home mother, Neeleman and the other trad wives have created high-earning jobs. They are being paid to act out a fantasy. 'So for me to have the label of a traditional woman,' she continues cautiously, 'I’m kinda like, I don’t know if I identify with that.'
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"One day she mentioned to Daniel that she was getting the five-hour flight from Salt Lake City to New York, back to Juilliard. She didn’t realise his dad owned the airline. 'So Daniel was, like, 'I’m on that same flight!' ' she says. 'I remember checking in and them saying, 'You’re 5A and you’re 5B.' I just thought, no way, that’s crazy!' Daniel smiles: 'I made a call.' He had pulled strings at JetBlue. And so began their first date." [ed. note: this piece is vicious]
My day with the trad wife queen and what it taught me: An interview published last weekend with internet star Hannah Neeleman at her Utah home, Ballerina Farm, has sparked a global social media debate. Our writer, Megan Agnew, revisits her time with the mother of eight - "But it was also a life of contradictions. Children not allowed screens, but who are reality TV characters online for millions. A stay-at-home mother who has made a career out of being so. An analogue, old-fashioned farm, only working because it is underwritten by social media cash. A choice — modern in her ability to have one — to do something so very traditional.
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"Women who work in a paid job feel terrified that by promoting the seeming peace and harmony of a traditional home life, Neeleman is threatening their ability to choose otherwise. They fear they are going to experience guilt or resistance if other women do choose otherwise.
"Women who look after their children full-time feel judged or patronised for doing so by the women who haven’t, their choices seeming threatened, too. And so, out of fear comes anger, like a bloke punching a wall when his wife leaves him."
Sunday, July 28, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-27
Trump faces backlash for ‘in four years, you don’t have to vote again’ remark: Some Democrats say his comments, directed at a Christian audience, signaled his plans to be a dictator. His campaign says he was talking about ‘uniting’ the country, and experts point to his ‘deliberately ambiguous’ speaking style. - "Levitsky’s co-author, Daniel Ziblatt, also a professor of government at Harvard, put a finer point on the significance of Trump’s comment. 'I can’t think of a major candidate for office in any democracy on Earth since at least World War II who speaks in such overtly authoritarian ways,' said Ziblatt. 'Not Victor Orban in Hungary, not Recep Erdogan in Turkey. Nowhere.'"
Saturday, July 27, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-26
Why no one’s building middle-income housing in American cities - "When residents oppose new construction in their neighborhoods to fight 'luxury housing,' they are fostering the environment in which those very high-rent projects thrive."
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-25
U.S. flag set ablaze, 23 arrested as thousands protest Netanyahu’s D.C. visit: Thousands protested in D.C. as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress. Though most marched peacefully, there were some clashes with police. - "Outside Union Station, pro-Palestinian protesters set an American flag ablaze, along with an effigy of Netanyahu, and spray-painted the Christopher Columbus fountain and adjacent Liberty Bell reproduction with messages like 'Free Gaza,' 'All zionists are bastards,' and 'Free Palestine.' Police appeared to hit some demonstrators with a chemical irritant at multiple points during the day." [ed. note: burning the American flag is self-sabotage at work]
Biden the anti-icon: In his televised address, Biden was pragmatic, muted and self-effacing.
In Vance’s ‘Hillbilly’ home, his story rings true — but not always his message: JD Vance shaped his image in his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” about his roots in rural Kentucky. Many there question his theories about the White working class. - "In fact, many in Jackson say government help is a key lifeline in a distressed region. At Jackson’s city hall, on a downtown street near closed-up storefronts, Mayor Laura Thomas ticked off the recent run of calamities that have required help from federal agencies: After the steep decline of coal-mining came the pandemic and then two successive historic floods in 2021 and 2022."
Opinion How the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling could really backfire: The recent decision could turn the CIA into a political tool once again. - "The Trump decision thus manages to turn the essence of the Nuremberg trials — that “just following orders” is not a defense to a war crime — on its head: It provides absolute immunity for the president, unqualified authority to pardon in advance underlings who follow illegal orders and no legal accountability for obvious criminal activity."
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-24
WHAT YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT SALMON FROM ITS PACKAGING
Opinion Libraries can help end the culture wars. That’s why they’re under fire.: Nothing threatens authoritarianism like a quiet place to explore knowledge. - "Many school librarians have quit, exhausted by harassment and even death threats; during the 2021-2022 school year, 35 percent of districts nationwide had no librarian at all."
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-23
Opinion Defeating Trump in November will not save democracy: Today’s aspiring autocrats are mobilizing voters to dismantle checks and balances. - "The acknowledgment of gender inequities and the acceptance of formerly proscribed gender identities; the critique of colonialism, racism and xenophobia; the rise of environmentalism — all challenge a cohort that once determined the status quo. The old mainstream culture feels under siege; political entrepreneurs promise to return to old norms, if only they are given the power."
Harris packs first rally as Trump retools for new opponent
You can forage a delicious meal almost anywhere. Here’s how.: Foraging — the act of finding wild, edible food — is a lost art in modern society. It’s time for a revival. [ed. note: this is extractive and also dangerous]
Kamala Harris said 19 words in 2018 that taught us all we need to know: Curious about what kind of candidate she’ll be? Her dismantling of Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his confirmation hearing is worth a rewatch. - "'Can you think of any laws,' she asked the nominee, 'that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?'
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"But the version of Harris that always struck me as the most authentic and the most reassuring was the one we were introduced to in 2018, when Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick turned up on Capitol Hill with the confidence of an altar boy who’d never before had to account for some missing Communion wine."
Monday, July 22, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-22
RFK Jr. sought job in a Trump White House as he weighed endorsing Trump: The independent candidate suggested being given a senior job overseeing a portfolio of health and medical issues, an idea that the Trump campaign rejected. - "Trump and Kennedy’s private effort to cut a deal with each other contrasts with Kennedy’s public opposition to a second term for Trump or President Biden, who on Sunday bowed out of the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Harris."
Opinion Are Democrats really going to do this?: Democrats’ rush to Kamala Harris bypasses the question of who has the best chance of beating Trump. [ed. note: Trump apologist]
Friday, July 19, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-19
Two killed, child injured in shooting that pushes D.C. past 100 homicides: D.C. surpassed the benchmark 41 days later than in 2023, which saw a generational spike in violence. - "Violence interruption experts also note that perhaps years of investment in community-based approaches to quelling D.C.’s neighborhood feuds have begun paying off." [ed. note: lol]
Thursday, July 18, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-18
Gunman’s Phone Had Details About Both Trump and Biden, F.B.I. Officials Say: The disclosure, during private briefings to lawmakers in the House and Senate, offered more details from the early stages of the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump. - "Among the other prominent figures the gunman searched for using one of his phones, besides Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden, were the F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray; Attorney General Merrick B. Garland; and a member of the British royal family, according to two officials with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter publicly."
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-17
Opinion Off the record, I am resigned to the Big Bad Wolf: Look, if I lived in a straw house myself, I would be very concerned. - "Do I think that if enough of us stepped forward instead of just sitting backward, we could figure out a strategy to stop him? Sure! I would gladly join a courageous majority of people who were stepping forward, provided that the majority was already assembled by somebody else."
‘Betrayed’: Unions, White House irate over Teamsters president’s RNC speech: One Teamsters executive board member said he was “embarrassed” by Sean O’Brien’s speech at the Republican National Convention. - "Biden secured a pension bailout that restored retirement accounts for around 350,000 Teamsters members, appointed staunchly pro-labor allies to the National Labor Relations Board and instituted labor requirements for federal contracts. The backlash against O’Brien’s speech reflects the high stakes of the 2024 presidential election for the nation’s labor movement, which fears Trump will undo these policies."
‘Economic nationalism’ at the RNC clashes with Trump’s pitch to donors: Even as Donald Trump woos unions at the convention, he has continued to make clear that he views himself as the best choice for billionaires and big business. - "In an interview with Bloomberg published Tuesday, Trump also called for cutting the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 21 percent — something some of his advisers have said he would not try to do — while suggesting he could pick JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, a billionaire, for treasury secretary."
Gold bar scammers bilk nearly $1M from Maryland woman, police say: Gold bar fraud trend involves parcels of precious metals, parking lot meet-ups and fake federal agents. - "In the case involving Weng, police say, a man posing as an 'undercover agent' met the victim at a Wendy’s restaurant on May 3 and took possession of $266,948.75 worth of gold bars. The scammers then convinced her to buy several hundred thousand dollars more in gold bars, met her at a shopping center, and stole it, according to police.
"Still on the hook, and still scared she would lose her savings if she didn’t act, the woman purchased $2.55 million more in gold bars from a company based in Massachusetts. But she grew suspicious, police say, and the new gold orders were stopped before they were shipped." [ed. note: better late than never]
LGBTQ flags and quinoa: The liberal Va. enclave where J.D. Vance lives: One resident said he’s okay with the senator living in the neighborhood because “it says a lot about Del Ray — he picked a place that’s a great place to live.” - "'He railed against the liberal elites and then he picked the wealthy liberal neighborhood outside D.C. to bring up his kids,' said Kreutzer, 35, a commercial real estate broker who lives a few doors away. 'He’s more aligned, truly, with people like me than he is with your typical Trump voter.'"
Firefighter Corey Comperatore’s widow refused Biden call after Trump rally shooting: ‘Didn’t want to talk to him’ - "She said the former president has not reached out — but Biden’s call wasn’t welcome."
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-16
This butterfly went extinct. That’s not the end of the story.: The Xerces blue butterfly vanished from San Francisco in the 1940s. Scientists just released dozens of butterflies from a related species to take its place. - "While the group that bears the butterfly’s name did not oppose the project, 'we do not see it as a priority when there is so little funding for insect conservation,' said Scott Black, [Xerces] executive director.
"'We should invest limited funding in the protection of and habitat restoration for the butterfly species that are currently facing extinction rather than introducing a common species into new areas,' Black added."
Democrats clash over timing of formally nominating Biden: DNC leaders demand a quick virtual nomination ahead of late August convention, sparking pushback. [ed. note: it's Donna Brazile, Howard Dean, and Terry McAuliffe. That's Al Gore's campaign manager, the Scream Heard 'Round the World, and the guy who lost to Glenn Youngkin]
Monday, July 15, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-15
Even Donald Trump can’t shift the momentum of Trumpism: Trump’s allies were quick to blame his critics for this weekend’s assassination attempt, while Trump pledged a new dawn. The former impulse is likely to prevail. - "This idea that Trump has the opportunity to reform his approach to politics and/or unify the nation is as old as Trump’s career as a national politician. And, sure, maybe this time it will happen, who knows? But after he won the election in 2016, he claimed that he would seek to unify the country. That quickly manifested as an insistence that Americans should rally around his presidency and his policies."
J.D. Vance pick unnerves GOP’s business elite, thrills populists: Ohio senator leads GOP faction sharply breaking with party ideology on free markets, trade and other policies - "“What they’re trying to do is tap into white working-class cultural and social signifiers, while doing as little as possible to actually reduce incomes at the top and actually redistribute them down. It’s a delicate game they play,” said Matt Bruenig, co-founder of the People’s Policy Project, which advances left-wing policies."
Sunday, July 14, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-14
Opinion A foreign policy that sees the world: I coined the term “progressive realism.” What does it mean? - "The trouble with Biden’s Manichaean mantra begins with the fact that it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. The sanctioning of autocratic and authoritarian nations naturally drives them into closer linkage with one another, reinforcing the Western perception that they represent a monolithic, ideologically motivated threat, a perception that can then lead to more sanctions, still closer linkage, and so on." [ed. note: Biden didn't corner China into supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine; China has done that all on its own. But otherwise a very comepelling read]
‘BlueAnon’ conspiracy theories flood social media after Trump rally shooting: Researchers who track online conspiracies say liberals are increasingly vulnerable to — and generating — QAnon-like bursts of misinformation. [ed. note: also covers Republican conspiracy theories]
Friday, July 12, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-12
Opinion The real reason the frenzy over Biden is so unsettling: The herd-like reversal of certain institutions on Biden’s abilities reflects a loss of political freedom. - "This is a fight over power more than values, and it’s driven by fear more than reason, on both sides. Part of me wants to see Biden overpowered as a comeuppance for his hubris and egotism. But part of me wants to see Biden overpower the noisy hysterics who closed ranks around him out of fear and are now fleeing for the same reason."
After 4-month trial, jury finds 3 men guilty in killing of 13-year-old: Malachi Lukes was walking to play basketball with his friends in Shaw when prosecutors say several men sprayed the area with bullets in a turf war. - "Freeman’s attorney told Judge Rainey Brandt that his client wants to be sentenced under the District’s Youth Rehabilitation Act, a controversial city law that gives individuals 25 years of age or younger at the time of their crime a chance to receive a lighter sentence and have their criminal records sealed should they successfully complete probation." [ed. note: god help us]
Hawaii isn’t protected by NATO. Some senators are trying to change that.: The archipelago became a state 10 years after NATO was born, but remains outside of the treaty’s geographic scope. - "Article 5 of the treaty states that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all, but Article 6 clarifies that such protections only apply to land, forces, vessels or aircraft north of the Tropic of Cancer. Hawaii, as well as the U.S. territories of Guam and Puerto Rico, are south of that line. American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands are also south of the Tropic of Cancer.
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"He added that any effort to amend the treaty to include Hawaii would be 'unlikely to gain consensus' because other allied nations also have territory outside the geographic scope of the agreement. (Martinique, an island in the Caribbean home to nearly 400,000 people, is a French 'overseas department' south of the Tropic of Cancer.) Such a discussion would 'open something of a Pandora’s box,' Blinken said. 'I’m not sure that we could get there.'"
Thursday, July 11, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-10
A nuclear accident made Three Mile Island infamous. AI’s needs may revive it.: Closed nuclear power plants are getting a second look amid a surge in demand for electricity from data centers and other customers. - "Some New York experts regret the closure of Indian Point near New York City in 2021 after years of pressure from environmentalists. The state was unable to secure enough clean energy to replace the power it produced, forcing New York to fall back on gas generation. Emissions surged, according to Environmental Protection Agency data."
Opinion Rural America is vanishing. This tiny county is fighting back.: Tensions between development and rural character are playing out across the country. - "But Supervisor Gary Deal lectured constituents that they 'have to understand that we have to plan for the future.' That future, he said, involves millions of dollars in tax revenue from data centers. 'We have a low tax rate right now,' Deal acknowledged, but he thinks Culpeper can 'even do better.'" [ed. note: destroying the countryside in hopes of further lowering taxes, yikes]
Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-08
What would happen if Russia detonated a nuclear bomb in space?
There’s real danger in digging deep holes on a sandy beach: Experts recommend never digging a hole deeper than the knee height of the shortest person in your group — with two feet being the maximum depth. - "Experts recommend never digging a hole deeper than the knee height of the shortest person in your group — with two feet being the maximum depth."
Sunday, July 7, 2024
Saturday, July 6, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-03 through 2024-07-05
Doing Nothing About Biden Is the Riskiest Plan of All
This Isn’t All Joe Biden’s Fault - "But rather than act as a check on Biden’s decisions and ambitions, the party has become an enabler of them. An enforcer of them. It is giving the American people an option they do not want and then threatening them with the end of democracy if they do not take it." [ed. note: the party is right, but voters are morons]
Joe Biden should drop out: Denying Joe Biden's decline has put Democrats in a terrible position.
The short answer on office shorts: No: Ask yourself these questions before you free your knees.
Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-02
What conservative justices said about immunity — before giving it to Trump: Most of them assured Americans that a president isn’t “above the law.” Some went further. - "'In the majority’s view, while all other citizens of the United States must do their jobs and live their lives within the confines of criminal prohibitions, the President cannot be made to do so; he must sometimes be exempt from the law’s dictates depending on the character of his conduct,' Jackson wrote.
"'Indeed,' she added, 'the majority holds that the President, unlike anyone else in our country, is comparatively free to engage in criminal acts in furtherance of his official duties.'
Monday, July 1, 2024
Reading archive 2024-07-01
Opinion God save us from this dishonorable court: An egregious, unconscionable ruling on presidential immunity from the Supreme Court. - "Sotomayor was similarly apocalyptic. 'With fear for our democracy, I dissent,' she closed her dissent. Both Sotomayor and Jackson abandoned the customary 'respectfully' — for good reason."