Friday, March 06, 2020

A Bit of Sun



35 comments:

  1. How Bernie Sanders Can Still Win It All [Click] “America’s favorite radical is a family values candidate in disguise.”

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The more I think about Biden vs Trump, the more I want Bernie to be our nominee. But the NYTimes won't let me read the article. Can you tell us the gist?

      Delete
    2. I'll try.

      Nothing undoes Bernie's previous victories. He should go on the offensive vs. Joe. He should attract the support of suburbanites with his (widely popular) support for Universal health care, subsidized child care and guaranteed paid parental leave.

      Delete
    3. Here's a brief quote from the article:

      In many countries with economic development comparable to that of the United States, the programs Mr. Sanders has built his candidacy on are mundane facts of life: Universal health care, subsidized child care and guaranteed paid parental leave are all de rigueur in much of Europe, for example. This is what led Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland to remark that life in her country more closely approximates the American dream than America itself does: "We have a very good education system. We have a good health care and social-welfare system that allows anybody to become anything.”

      The author goes on to point out that establishing such popular programs on the federal level is in fact not radical or revolutionary, but very much in line with what the people want and, in some cases, have through schemes provided by employers. She also likens universal infant through kindergarten child care to an extension of public schools.

      In other words, Bernie is offering what people want. He just needs to make them see that.

      Delete
  2. I’d rather have a socialist than a sociopath.

    I’d rather have Medicare for all than mediocre for all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Trump administration ‘brain drain’ is impeding the coronavirus response [Click] “Efforts to address the outbreak risk are being undermined by an exodus of scientists and a leader who regularly distorts facts.”

    Sweep of arrests hits US neo-Nazi group connected to five murders [Click] “Five senior members of Atomwaffen Division charged with federal crimes in recent weeks, including harassing journalists and activists.”

    Donald Trump attacks Biden's cognitive health in possible general-election preview [Click] “Possible?” More like a trial iteration.

    ‘Wildly unprepared’: survey of nurses highlights coronavirus concerns [Click] Oh, yes, things work SO much better with MBA’s in charge.

    The germ-sharing economy: coronavirus takes toll on gig workers [Click] “As companies scramble to release safety guidelines for employees, many say they simply cannot afford to take time off if they are sick.”

    Don't let coronavirus tip society into panic, say psychologists [Click] “Science behind spread of virus must be clear to avoid public discord.”

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bernie’s Easy Path Has Closed, But the Harder Path Is Better [Click] “Sanders can still win, but piecing together a majority means delivering the new voters that his supporters insist he can inspire.” Takeaway: Biden has not yet been tested; it is necessary that it be done, for his good, that of the party and of the nation. Bernie is the only one who can do it, and it will be a further test of Bernie as well.

    ReplyDelete
  5. In re Warren I think we can count her out as a colleague of Bernie.

    Here [Click] Warren displays aggressive mind-set in conference call.

    Warren complains of “nastiness” of some Bernie supporters [Click]

    And just how much of that “nastiness” was/is stealth propaganda of Trump supporters or Russia? [Click]

    Combine that with her aggressive attacks on Bloomberg and her incredible claim that Bernie told her a woman couldn’t beat Trump, and I think she has destroyed her opportunity to become a member of Bernie’s administration. Remember that Bernie sought a legal opinion on whether she could simultaneously be VP and Treasury Secretary.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been thinking about this. Warren's non endorsement of either remaining candidate smacks of cowardice. You could regard it as being canny. After all, if she endorsed one candidate, she might choose wrong, thereby spoiling her chance at a VP spot or a cabinet position. But in reality, her failure to endorse either one of them, on top of her behavior up to now, shows her to be, shall we say, unsuitable for any position in Bernie's administration. If Biden wants her, he can have her. She has certainly turned me off. I will think long and hard before voting for her reelection to the Senate as well.

      Delete
    2. I am also very disappointed in her, Cat. One should make some allowance for the great stress of the campaign, but how people react in very trying circumstances is a real test of their character and ability. I should prefer a President who is cool as a bucket of cracked ice if things go really bad.

      Delete
  6. Trump Insists Less Travel Will Help Economy [Click] “…like an onion of stupidity…” I note with interest that the fans of Trump and Fox News are disproportionately older and therefore more likely to suffer severely adverse effects of the new coronavirus; presumably they are also more likely to ignore precautions because they are more exposed to Trumpian propaganda that everything is OK.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It occurs to me to wonder if reservations at Trump's hotels are dropping off.

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. And Cat shamed me into donating $1000 in addition to my small monthly contribution and what I've contributed before. According to ActBlue that brings my total to a bit over $2300, although it doesn't seem like it should be that much. But 2016 Bernie is a different account.

      Delete
    2. OhWOW!! Apparently that first $1000 contribution via SeaMoney that I thought didn't go through actually did. Just not the ActBlue tip I intended. Then I donated $1000 plus a $25 tip via Internet Explorer. So that's R2000 to Bernie tonight. Oh well. The Illinois primary is coming up and to my intense disappointment Dick Durbin has endorsed Biden.

      Delete
    3. Yikes, Bill! Sorry about that. You know though that Bernie can make good use of it.

      Curious about ActBlue on Sea Monkey. Not only do my attempts to donate not go through (The system refuses to bring up my credit card info and Paypal doesn't open), but I can't access my account with that browser either. Clicking the account link just gives me a blank page. There's clearly some incompatibility between the browser and the site. But I don't understand why it sometimes works for you while it never works for me anymore.

      Delete
  8. Cat--I've been meaning to salute you for maxing out your donations to Bernie. I increased my regular donation amount and frequency through the end of the primaries.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It Wasn’t Just Sexism That Tanked Warren [Click] And burning her bridges behind her is not helpful at this point. IMO.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Spain’s otherworldly red river [Click] “The particular geochemistry of Río Tinto, a river in southern Spain, makes it a good analogue to Mars. Now this wondrous red river has become a laboratory for Nasa operations destined to explore our neighbour.”

    Was the neolithic humankind’s biggest mistake? [Click]

    Bones found in Kent church likely to be of 7th-century saint [Click]

    ReplyDelete
  11. All day I've been looking at yesterday's thread and wondering where everybody was. *sigh*

    Check out this tweet from Bernie and the attached video:

    Tweet from Bernie - Click

    ReplyDelete
  12. Will Biden's Trade Policy Record Come Back to Haunt Him in Midwest? [Click]

    'This Is Unacceptable': Sanders Calls On Biden to Disavow Surrogate's Racist Attack on Nina Turner [Click] I have no idea if this Rosen person is a Biden surrogate or not, but he is clearly very far out of line no matter who he is.

    Sanders Supporters Decry MSNBC for Not Covering Nazi Protester at Bernie Rally [Click]
    ==========================
    From The Guardian:

    “Reuters reports that the United States is considering ways to discourage U.S. travellers from taking cruises, as part of a broader Trump administration effort to limit the spread of coronavirus, according to four officials familiar with the situation…..The cruise industry contributed nearly $53 billion to the U.S. economy in 2018 and generated more than 420,000 jobs, according to an analysis by the Cruise Lines International Association…Shares in Royal Caribbean Cruises, Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings have fallen around 50% since January.”
    ==========================
    21 people on cruise ship off San Francisco test positive for coronavirus; all passengers to be tested. [Click]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Epidemiologist: air is recirculated on cruise ships, making them more incubators than quarantine facilities. The passengers should be taken off and transferred to quarnantine facilities as soon as possible to avoid what happened on the Diamond Princess in Yokohama.

      Delete
  13. I hadn't heard about the flag. Horrors! I'm shocked that Rachel Maddow didn't mention it. My goodness, what a wasteland this nation is becoming. It was bad enough when W got a second term. I do fear that such stupidity will keep DT in office.

    The American Dream was always about taking what we have received and making a better life for our children and all who come after us. But "the greatest generation" took what they had received and kept it for themselves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd be more inclined to blame a faction of the baby boomers. But no matter how you cut it, many people now getting on in years rejected the basic social compact--that each generation provides for those following.

      Delete
    2. I agree with Alan. The WWII generation did not create the topsy turvy world we are living in now. Think a momen, Listener. They are the ones who defeated fascism. It's those who came after that screwed everything up.

      As for Rachel not mentioning anything about the incident: Well, however wonderful she may be, she does work for MSNBC, which is deeply invested in defeating Bernie.

      Delete
  14. New CDC guidance says older adults should 'stay at home as much as possible' due to coronavirus

    https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/health/coronavirus-older-people-social-distancing/index.html

    My goodness. I am perfectly fine to be quarantined if I get sick, and I am fine with hanging out hopefully at home if I've been exposed. But I'm not so happy with being told to stay at home when nothing of the kind is afoot. I really really don't want to have to not see my grandchildren for a long stretch. Wow. That's gonna be hard. The older will understand and the young ones can still connect via FaceTime. But that sweet 20 month old really needs to be hugged!! The last time I was at her house she came RUNNING into my arms. I picked her right up and she hugged me so tight for a very very long time. I can still feel that hug. She was so tired that day and snuggled with me. I need to be there for her if at all possible. They say to avoid large crowds. That's pretty easy to do in Vermont! Ha! But they also say in the article to avoid family events. That's the ONE thing I balked over.

    So far so good, though. I bought a bunch of stuff earlier this week and ran errands today to get most of the rest of it. But I have to sit down and parse out what meals the stuff I already got will make. I'm sure I'm missing some ingredients. But we wouldn't starve, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yesterday I was thinking I ought to check in with the folks I meet with in spiritual guidance, to let them know I am well and pretty much ascertain if they are well, prior to any meetings, going forward. I didn’t take the chance to check in with the person who came for spiritual guidance today.

    So you will have to imagine what I felt when I learned that the person I was sitting with had spent the first two weeks of February touring Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea...! As of today, he and his wife had been home 17 days. So that's a relief. But! He originally gave me three dates to choose from for our meeting, the last being today. I’m so glad I didn’t my meet with him a week ago on Day 10! I asked if they had self-quarantined and they had not. Egads!

    ReplyDelete

  16. How the humble potato changed the world [Click] I learned at least a couple of things about the potato that I didn’t know before.
    ==============================
    Excerpts from The Guardian:

    “Speaking at the White House, Pence said the government was planning to bring the Grand Princess cruise ship into a ‘non-commercial port’ where all the passengers and crew would be tested. They would be quarantined and treated as needed… Pence said 19 of those who tested positive were crew members and two were passengers.” Hmmm…. on the Diamond Princess crew had communal living arrangements and circulated from there to all parts of the ship. Hmmmm No. 2: In times past, a non-commercial port would probably have been either Mare Island Naval Shipyard or Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard, but those both closed long ago. Ditto the Alameda Naval Air Station.M It must be a navy port of some sort. Coast Guard Island is an unlikely choice. Maybe Military Ocean Terminal Concord? Or Oakland Outer Harbor? Well, we will see. Looking at the Oakland Outer Harbor satellite photos I see that the old warehouses and docks I remember have disappeared; but the area still obviously functions as a distribution point for a lot of cargo.

    ReplyDelete