Bill, my heart ached when I read that your mother needed to be a farm laborer from age 5, to stave off starvation. 5 is so young! With grandchildren around that age, I can barely wrap my mind around it.
Yes, things could be very bad for some people in the early 20th century. A lot of them were black, but there were white people on the edge of starvation too.
Reminds me of one of my long-term favorite books: The Good Old Days—They Were Terrible! [Click] By Otto L. Bettmann, with illustrations from the eponymous archive. (Available from alibris.com for 95 cents and up plus shipping.)
One can look up "The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible" on amazon.com, click on the cover photo and see quite a few pages inside the book. Then buy from alibris.com if you like--seems fair to me.
Listener, I came across this video on my YouTube recommendations and was reminded of you. Though you may not remember doing so, you shared it with us several years ago. You know, Fred has his own YouTube channel.
Fred Marple: Yoga for Yankees https://youtu.be/U_i5ijCow1c
Alan, thanks for the Guardian article on the last thread and for the Politico article on Bernie. As I pointed out when posting the latter to Facebook, anyone trying to listen to Bernie today on MSNBC was out of luck, as they cut him off mid-sentence.
MSNBC mutter, mutter, mutter DNC mutter, mutter, mutter New Democrats...
Frank Rich: “I have no idea who is going to be the Democratic nominee, but I don’t think it’s going to be Biden. One of the several reasons is that by focusing solely on Trump 17 months before Election Day and refusing to engage with any of his Democratic opponents, he is disrespecting not just those opponents but the majority of voters in his own party. He looked presumptuous when he blew off an Iowa event with 19 other Democratic candidates over the weekend, no matter how commendable his excuse (a grandchild’s high-school graduation).”
“In a party where every major politician (and presidential candidate) is fiercely anti-Trump, Biden isn’t even the most clever at goading him. Nancy Pelosi is the gold standard, with Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren coming up strong.” ============================== Beware of 2020 Predictions
Matt Taibbi: “Trump’s thin Electoral College win against Hillary Clinton was a similar story. One of the most amazing stats from Election Day was that around one in six of Trump’s voters in November 2016 actively disapproved of him. This allowed him to enter the White House with a ridiculously low 38 percent approval rating.”
“What predictions can you possibly make in a political environment so saturated with ambivalence and pessimism that a person with a 38 percent approval rating can win the presidency? The answer should be none, or nothing obvious.”
“2016 was an indication that voters had traveled so far off the reservation that any choices they made going forward were likely to be hard to predict.”
The Worst Patients in the World [Click] “Americans are hypochondriacs, yet we skip our checkups. We demand drugs we don’t need, and fail to take the ones we do. No wonder the U.S. leads the world in health spending.”
YouGov national poll [Click] Biden 27%, Warren 16%, Bernie 12% Quinnipiac national poll [Click] Biden 30%, Sanders 19%, Warren 15%. Iowa Poll [Click] Not terribly scrutable, but it looks like its Biden 24%, Sanders 16%, Warren 15% with uncertainties of 4% each. Pete 14% first choice, but weaker than the others as a second choice.
So it looks like Warren has recovered from her early fumbles.
Remember what Nate Siver said the other day— those are percentages of a portion of the Democratic voters, probably less than half of them. Lots of people are still waiting to make up their minds (naturally, at this stage of the proceedings).
I agree on both points, Bill. I expect noticeable thinning of the herd before the Iowa "caucuses" and marked thinning in the early states. People used to say there were three tickets out of Iowa; I figure there might be two or at the most three out of Super Tuesday. I just have to remember to warn myself that if past is precedent, whomever I support is doomed. If the Dems were to nominate someone I really wanted to vote for, I might have to hit my physician up for someting--either nitroglycerine tabs or Valium, I'm not sure which.
Bill, my heart ached when I read that your mother needed to be a farm laborer from age 5, to stave off starvation. 5 is so young! With grandchildren around that age, I can barely wrap my mind around it.
ReplyDeleteYes, things could be very bad for some people in the early 20th century. A lot of them were black, but there were white people on the edge of starvation too.
DeleteReminds me of one of my long-term favorite books: The Good Old Days—They Were Terrible! [Click] By Otto L. Bettmann, with illustrations from the eponymous archive. (Available from alibris.com for 95 cents and up plus shipping.)
DeleteOne can look up "The Good Old Days--They Were Terrible" on amazon.com, click on the cover photo and see quite a few pages inside the book. Then buy from alibris.com if you like--seems fair to me.
DeleteListener, I came across this video on my YouTube recommendations and was reminded of you. Though you may not remember doing so, you shared it with us several years ago. You know, Fred has his own YouTube channel.
ReplyDeleteFred Marple: Yoga for Yankees
https://youtu.be/U_i5ijCow1c
Oops! Repairing the link:
DeleteFred Marple: Yoga for Yankees -Click
I remember that one--will watch it again, though!
DeleteYes! Best yoga program ever!
DeleteAlan, thanks for the Guardian article on the last thread and for the Politico article on Bernie. As I pointed out when posting the latter to Facebook, anyone trying to listen to Bernie today on MSNBC was out of luck, as they cut him off mid-sentence.
ReplyDeleteMSNBC mutter, mutter, mutter DNC mutter, mutter, mutter New Democrats...
Guess I'll have to continue, even intensify, my boycott of MSNBC. They will probably pay just as much attention to it as Coors does.
DeleteA couple of items from politicalwire.com:
ReplyDeleteFrank Rich: “I have no idea who is going to be the Democratic nominee, but I don’t think it’s going to be Biden. One of the several reasons is that by focusing solely on Trump 17 months before Election Day and refusing to engage with any of his Democratic opponents, he is disrespecting not just those opponents but the majority of voters in his own party. He looked presumptuous when he blew off an Iowa event with 19 other Democratic candidates over the weekend, no matter how commendable his excuse (a grandchild’s high-school graduation).”
“In a party where every major politician (and presidential candidate) is fiercely anti-Trump, Biden isn’t even the most clever at goading him. Nancy Pelosi is the gold standard, with Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren coming up strong.”
==============================
Beware of 2020 Predictions
Matt Taibbi: “Trump’s thin Electoral College win against Hillary Clinton was a similar story. One of the most amazing stats from Election Day was that around one in six of Trump’s voters in November 2016 actively disapproved of him. This allowed him to enter the White House with a ridiculously low 38 percent approval rating.”
“What predictions can you possibly make in a political environment so saturated with ambivalence and pessimism that a person with a 38 percent approval rating can win the presidency? The answer should be none, or nothing obvious.”
“2016 was an indication that voters had traveled so far off the reservation that any choices they made going forward were likely to be hard to predict.”
Well, Biden isn’t my choice, but I’m fine with him going to his grand’s grad ceremony.
DeleteThe Worst Patients in the World [Click] “Americans are hypochondriacs, yet we skip our checkups. We demand drugs we don’t need, and fail to take the ones we do. No wonder the U.S. leads the world in health spending.”
ReplyDeleteYouGov national poll [Click] Biden 27%, Warren 16%, Bernie 12%
ReplyDeleteQuinnipiac national poll [Click] Biden 30%, Sanders 19%, Warren 15%.
Iowa Poll [Click] Not terribly scrutable, but it looks like its Biden 24%, Sanders 16%, Warren 15% with uncertainties of 4% each. Pete 14% first choice, but weaker than the others as a second choice.
So it looks like Warren has recovered from her early fumbles.
Remember what Nate Siver said the other day— those are percentages of a portion of the Democratic voters, probably less than half of them. Lots of people are still waiting to make up their minds (naturally, at this stage of the proceedings).
I rather imagine things will be more meaningful after the first debates. Although that is still early.
DeleteI agree on both points, Bill. I expect noticeable thinning of the herd before the Iowa "caucuses" and marked thinning in the early states. People used to say there were three tickets out of Iowa; I figure there might be two or at the most three out of Super Tuesday. I just have to remember to warn myself that if past is precedent, whomever I support is doomed. If the Dems were to nominate someone I really wanted to vote for, I might have to hit my physician up for someting--either nitroglycerine tabs or Valium, I'm not sure which.
DeleteBiden, Sanders and 8 other hopefuls to attend ‘Poor People’s’ forum [Click]
ReplyDeleteMonmouth poll, Nevada Dem caucuses: [Click] Biden 36%, Warren 19%, Sanders 13%.
ReplyDelete