Category Archives: Politics

“A Slight Openness”

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From the New York Times.

“Among some Texans, the drumbeat of mass murder has fueled rising frustration and a slight openness to more gun regulation in a state where even Democrats proudly discuss their firearms. But the violence has done little to reshape the political realities in the State Capitol, where Republicans control both legislative chambers and all statewide offices.

In the past two years, as the state has been shaken by more than a dozen mass killings of four or more people, Texas has increased access to firearms, doing away with its permit requirements to carry handguns and lowering the age when adults can carry handguns to 18 from 21.”

Utter madness.

Paragraphs to Ponder

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Peggy Noonan:

“Most of those around Mr. Trump know his problems—bad judgment, little understanding of history, disordered ego. They’re for him for their own reasons. But to their credit, they never say, ‘He’s wiser than he was in his first administration,’ or ‘He’s mellowed,’ or ‘This is a good man.’

When your own people can’t say these things, that is a weakness. What they do believe, and will say, is the Democrats are worse, the media is worse, and Mr. Trump was never treated fairly. That is their sole unifying principle.

Those around Joe Biden believe in Mr. Trump, in that they believe they can take him. He can take Mr. Trump again. They can’t know that about other candidates but they know it of Mr. Trump because he does what Mr. Biden has long struggled to do, rally and unify the Democratic base. They long to read, ‘Trump Wins GOP Nomination.’ It means the November headline is ‘Biden Re-Elected.’ How odd it would be for Republicans at this point in history to give Democrats what they so long for.

The Difference Between the (dis)United States and South Korea

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Like the (dis)United States, South Korea is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. Japan too.

From CNN:

“Some South Korean youth are so cut off from the world, the government is offering to pay them to ‘re-enter society.’

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced this week that it will provide up to 650,000 Korean won (about $500) per month to isolated social recluses, in a bid to support their ‘psychological and emotional stability and healthy growth.’

About 3.1% of Koreans aged 19 to 39 are ‘reclusive lonely young people,’ defined as living in a ‘limited space, in a state of being disconnected from the outside for more than a certain period of time, and have noticeable difficulty in living a normal life,’ according to the ministry’s report, citing the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.”

And yet. . .

Sentence To Make Grown Men and Women Cry

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The last one in this short/live update from Jonathon Swan in the NYT on Trump’s Tuesday night speech at Mar-a-Lago.

“One theme to watch in the speech is how Trump portrays the nature of his victimhood. His advisers and allies have explicitly referenced scripture and the fate of Jesus Christ — a play to rally evangelical voters. Trump’s campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, on Monday tweeted out a picture of a Trump supporter by the roadside in Florida holding a large wooden cross. Mr. Cheung quoted Ephesians 5:2, implying that Trump was imitating Christ’s sacrificial love through his handling of his criminal indictment in the porn star hush money case.“

Someone PLEASE tell me we’ve bottomed out.

Who Is Delivering The Republican’s Official Response To Biden’s State Of The Union Address?

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Here are some clues:

“Yeah, yeah: She’s young, she’s a working mom, she’s the first female governor of Arkansas (where she’s not yet through her first month in office). All of that says fresh start.

But nothing else about her does, not if you have a memory and a moral code. She spent nearly two years as Trump’s press secretary, the central figure in excusing his outrages and laundering his lies. She spent much of her campaign for governor invoking his name, appearing with him, even sending money his way — for the catering of fund-raisers for her at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump was her cause and then Trump was her springboard, and that’s what’s so fascinating about where she is now and what she’s being asked to do. She’s supposed to carry Republicans beyond Trump when she so carefully carries Trump inside her. It’s ludicrous. It’s perfect. It’s what makes her such a fitting mascot for a party that won’t come clean about the compromises it has made, the values it has trashed and the madness it has abetted.”

If you’re still not sure.