Earlier this week, journalist Ryan Grim of the Hill’s Rising show did a segment entitled, “Democrats’ Culture War Problem is Much Deeper than The Squad.” I highly recommend checking it out. In it, he touches on themes I’ve written about both on TK and at Rolling Stone, namely that the Democratic Party’s seeming rhetorical turn on social justice issues may predate The Squad and have origins in counter-rhetoric used by Hillary Clinton against Bernie Sanders in 2016.
Ryan’s monologue came after the publication of a recent Axios article called, “Squad Politics Backfire” that essentially lays the groundwork for the Democratic Party establishment to blame a possible midterm collapse on politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. That theme is likely to be heard more and more in the coming months, if the current polling situation holds. Is there validity to that criticism? Ryan and I discuss.
We’ll also talk Loudoun County, the state of the press, and some other issues we’ve both covered. Click here to join at 4:30 EST today!
As a parent and Board member of FAIR (www.fairforall.org) in the Boston area, I am kind of gobsmacked at how uninsightful Ryan's piece was. I agree that this is not the squad's fault.. but I don't see this as an issue being driven at the Federal level so much (except where the Federal Government is providing protection to education officials who seek power over parents)
If we go back to Matt's great articles on the Loudon County debacle we will find far more reasons and reality about what's actually going on to alienate the formerly Democratic LIberal base form it's party. What happened in Loudon County, VA, is happening every where in the country, but most markedly in metro areas (read affluent areas). Activist administrators and teachers are using the teachings (tenets) of Critical Race Theory (now coined: Culturally Responsive Teaching) to offer an oppressor/oppressed dichotomy in every single class/learning opportunity in K-12 schools. If you are not aware of this, you really need to start investigating your own school district for yourself (and if you don't have kids, take a look in your town/city government) -- you will find it there.
While many parents (like me) believe in the goals of equality of outcomes, common humanity, tolerance, what is being taught is far from these goals. The word Equity is a key indicator that your school or institution has been infected with these ideas. Equity does not mean equality -- it means over-correcting for past un-equal treatment. In practice, it shows up when:
1) Freshman in high school are disallowed from taking advanced courses because it would adversely affect a child who comes from a disadvantaged household.
2) White students are told that their opinion on race or race issues does not matter in a class because they don't have the "lived experience" of some of their cohort.
3) Administrators create "safe spaces" for groups upon the announcement of current events like the Karl Rittenhouse trial outcome where kids are separated by race and color of skin and belief systems (meaning if you think the outcome was warranted, you can't commune with the kids who think it was a travesty of justice, so you must go to a room where the teacher can educate you on why you are wrong thinking)
4) Teachers and Administrators are allowing children who believe they are gender dysmorphic to present as the opposite sex and a different name at school without alerting the parent. Telling the child that this is "our secret" and falsifying documents and conversations with the parents during conferences.
5) asking Kindergartners what their sexuality and pronouns are -- showing them the Gender Giraffe and the Gender Gingerbreadman to explain gender is a construct (which is confusing for 5 yr olds and goes against much of what they have learned to date)
6) A Librarian of Elementary aged kids telling a class that he is bi-sexual and to keep that a secret between them.
all of these things have happened in the Newton MA school district in the last 3 years! And that's just one district. The Wellesley MA district just lost a lawsuit because they sponsored race based affinity group for kids in the school - which is a violation of the Civil Rights Amendment. Their sex ed curriculum is pretty risque as well.. but at least the male sex ed teacher putting the condom on a dildo was for high school kids.
And many many more.
In the end, it's not a culture war per se, it's a war against indoctrination of children. And if you think it's not happening, you are sorely mistaken. Activist Teachers in CA described why they wanted Gay Straight Alliance groups in elementary school so that they could groom kids in their "activist" ideas - and the younger they could do this the better. and they wanted to keep all of this out of the purview of the parents.
The reason that many previously liberal democrats are leaving the Democratic party in droves is that progressive liberals have overtaken all of their institutions and they are determined to grab them back -- just look at the school board elections that are and will continue to be happening in the next year. So much of this activism went on without oversight during the last decade or so. But since parents are now aware they are taking action.
And what's important to understand is that the main stream media (even Ryan himself) play this off as a "conservative" issue.. but it IS NOT> all the people in my FAIR chapter are liberals... and most of us bristle at the more conservative actions of book banning and legislation banning CRT from curriculum.. but we find ourselves working with many of the same groups not because we agree on all the topics, but because we know that hte current model is damaging to kids and needs to be eradicated immediately.
Oh, there is so much more to say, but I'll leave this here.
Hmm. At first glance, I thought you were with Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. After reading your views, I had to check into what FAIR really is. And I see it is one of those groups with the Orwellian name. If you have Abigail Shrier, Bari Weiss and Michael Schellenberger on your board, you are certainly not progressive liberals. I wouldn’t even call you liberal. They have hateful viewpoints on many issues.
I am the first one to say identity politics is dividing the left and that can lead to the Oppression Olympics. But I think you are truly overstating the case with the examples of these mendacious and nefarious teachers. I would like to see whoever told you these stories testify under oath. Because if they won’t, I’ll just view them as the scare tactics you mean them to be.
There is nothing wrong with teaching the centrality of racism in the creation of our country. And there is nothing wrong with equity. I presume you are also opposed to affirmative action to repair past wrongs? Because that was the old way of providing reparations. And there is nothing wrong with exposing small children to the idea of gender. If you in fact believe gender identity is a thing distinct from biological sex, you would know that it often presents in early childhood.
It’s not black and white like you make it seem and the Baird of FAIr is far more diverse than the three people you mention. I also don’t fear opinions that differ from my own. Because I believe I can only form my opinions if I understand all sides.
As for the stories, they are all first hand from the parents who experienced them not some second hand drivel. So I have no more to say to you as you honestly assume so much from my text that is nefarious, it’s not worth my time
If you have kids in the system be very aware of what’s going on. If you don’t you can be blind to reality but supporting the rights of transgender people has nothing to do with encouraging kids into gender dysphasia and keeping the parents out of the loop
People disagree with your assessment that their is "nothing wrong with teaching (input new social concepts that have only recently hit the public square)". Those people are speaking up. It's certainly possible that in the long term, the concepts of race essentialism and extreme gender fluidity will be shown to be an affirming way to teach children, but a responsible society debates those ideas before we start teaching them to our children, not after.
... and I would argue a free society allows those things to be taught in the home not in the schools because parents of every political POV deserve to have their children in a school that's safe from polemics. Some things are NOT society's choice to brow-beat.
Ms. Steiner. Since all of the examples listed actually did happen and DO happen, they can be documented, how do you justify (aka. “please defend”) your statement that Teri D. is overstating them? All have occurred. All are occurring in various places, though all are not occurring in all places. Teri D. did a great job of establishing the circles of efffect in the ven diagram of the things that a coalition of conservative, independent, and liberal parts are opposing.
Might I also suggest that having hateful views on one thing should not be effect one's evaluation of a different thing ... unless of course one is enforcing 'groupthink.'
PS. I think Bari Weiss is a heroine. (I normally use hero for both genders but I'm sure someone would call me to task for such a faux pas.)
"Circles of effect." Are these rotating circles on a clearly delineated plane? With mathematically verifiable trajectories? Or random free-floating circles with unfixed trajectories making uneven orbits?
They are on a piece of paper. I'm glad you were so entertained by the idea that you expaned it to be three dimentional but it's a simple pre-algebra middle school math reference. I taught middle school. (I can't tell if you were making fun of me. Let me know so if you were so I can parry and return an insult if one was intended.)
The DEI director in the county where I work unilaterally and single-handedly banned Abigail Shrier’s (popular) book from our library system. The pyramid is operating outside the universities.
Thank you for your ex cathedra pronouncements, about, well, everything, and for humbly assigning any who dare hold and pretty damn well articulate differing opinions a cubby hole of your choosing, irrespective of facts. What is particularly fascinating is your interpretation of 'liberal,' even as you so unwittingly demonstrate what it is not.
I think we need a new name for the left altogether. Their fluidity makes me woozy. Contemporary liberal means illiberal. Classical liberal now suggests conservative. Progressive means (as we are finding out) regressive, restrictive, redistributive, retaliatory. In Italian, left is "Ia sinistra" which means both left (from where the leftist coalitions sat in the Italian parliament), and sinister. Let readers decide the more appropriate usage. For me, the Sinister Wing of the Democratic Party might be a bit too obvious, but as a road map of where they want to go, it can be helpful.
Most press labels classic liberals 'conservative' or 'right-wing.' The Times will refer to anyone mildly resistant to conforming with its new cant as "right-wing." A Black Lives Matter (in my world, BLM is still Bureau of Land Management) spokesperson is not labeled, "left-wing." Gender zealots are never 'radical,' say, or 'left-wing.' This is propaganda. The violent mobs in Portland dragging motorists out of cars were never "left-wing" aggressors, but protestors working toward social justice.
Read all of our posts. We care a lot about the issues and attempt to change minds through civil discourse. I’ve read two of your posts. What effect do ou expect them to have. What positive effect can your insults possibly get? A: None. What is likely to happen? You’ll get vile, defensive, angry responses that are either posted or rooted silently in you victims souls residing there as a cancer.
However, you may feel self-aggrandizement in you attack. Do us and yourself a favor. Change your approach or please refrain from posting.
When I read number 6 I knew you had nothing useful to say. There's a million reasons why a teacher would say that in context that is completely normal for instance, "Teacher are you married?" then a completely normal conversation with kids ensues. Intentionally removing the context is textbook bullshit. Taking a single incident, in a single school, in a single classroom, and creating a mosaic of "woke overreach" is another textbook bullshit maneuver.
God damn the right is so boring. Using the same tired formula over and over. You're not winning because you're offering something better, you're winning because there's no where else to go.
You had to read all the way to number 6, Chris Baker, to form your opinion of the writer's views? You had five previous clues, all pretty big, clear ideas, but #6 did the trick. That must make you one of the silly left's brighter lights. None of the previous five could crack that thick skull, but a male teacher announcing conspiratorially to his students that he's bi-sexual and let's keep this a secret, children, really zeroes it in for you. And before you do any more pounding on those little boxes with letters and symbols (hint: you hit them and if you get lucky you form words, and if you're really lucky you can put together a thought; but still that doesn't make it a useful thought), can you please decipher, in English, what "you're winning because there's no where else to go" actually means.
Terrrrrific! For a sold-out equivocating live imiitation of a hulking sloth. He'll do real good as a replacement for Ice Lady Psaki. You should recommend him!
It's a class thing not a content thing. That's Matt's problem too. He's closer to the upper-middle of the pyramid. Lookiing cool with the insiders is tempting. And you can turn a tidy profit (Who wouldn't?). But I do think Matt is mostly in earnest. Not Grim though. Totally bent--like AOC.
Even comedian Jimmy Dore takes him to the cleaners on a regular basis. He's one of those C-minus minds Matt talks about who rise in organizational news media. Bland as a mayonnaise sandwich and just as informative.
Jimmy as a "C-minus mind?" I guess. I cut him some slack because he's really just a stand-up comedy guy trying to make it work in politics. Maybe a solid B? Tough to say. There really is some room for growth.
Start with Pierre Omidyar. Then whoever owns "The Hill." I'll look up the 3rd one for you. It's hard to keep track of them these days. Could be Bezos. Millionaires nd billionaires are and have always invested in a doting and compliant press. Sweater Guy Gates spent $320 mil alone on his PR work last year. Now he's into The Atlantic with Steve Jobs's widow (the controlling stockholder.)
Grimm talks about various topics but I am convinced that he is an employee of the donor class. His prime directive is to keep people voting for the Democratic Party: It must be changed, it can be changed, keep voting, vote harder, grow the squad…..oblivion.
Every once in a while I tune into Rising, which has Grim as one of its hosts. I find his take on everything entirely predictable and in consonance with the mainstream Democrat narrative. The only reason to watch Rising is Kim Iverson.
I have little interest in anything that Grim has to say, but - that said - might listen to the Callin episode anyway. Who knows, he may surprise me.
Mainstream "Democratic narrative?" Like when Grim broke the Biden/ "Me Too Time's Up" scandal? Like when Grim was the leading voice reporting on the DNC screwing over Alex Morse? Like when Grim got ahold of the embarrassing audio of Biden taking a dump on civil right leaders, published it, then got the video too ... which he also published? Or like two of the final stories Grim did at Rising before Saagar and Krystal left, which were about DNC and DCCC corruption respectively? Etc., etc., etc. You mean that "mainstream Democratic narrative?" LOL. If you only listen to cherry-picked stories from a certain podcaster who clearly has a grudge against Grim, you'll get the notion that he's "an establishment shill." If you actually look at his work as a whole, you'll see that you won't always necessarily agree with him -- but that he's absolutely not pushing a "Democratic party narrative." It is sad a podcaster with a grudge has so much sway with so many. At least that podcaster is right sometimes. So glass half full? Could easily be more than that, though. Sad. Sad.
My only experience with Grim is taking him in as a host of Rising, in which capacity he has proven himself profoundly underwhelming. Most of my interest over the last couple of years has been all things Covid, both medical interventions and societal response, and so I tend to tune into those conversations. On those questions he has not strayed from the usual upper middle class Democrat correctness: masks are good, ivermectin is bad, vaccines prevent transmission, lockdowns should be tolerated, and Rogan needs to get a grip.
On the other hand, you raise some instances where he took the other side of the Democratic party line, in which case good for him. I must say in passing though that noticing DNC corruption does not, for me, constitute edge of the curve political reporting. But you are right that it is better than nothing and since I don't know as much about him as I should, I defer to your take that he may be a better observer than I credit him for being.
He's a shill for a 'progressive' synthetic liberalism. So he has to critique mainstream a little. But his loyalty is to a very non progressive status quo. That part of the progressive movement that the podcaster with a grudge rightfully eviscerates. A phony progressive is worse than no progressive at all!
I think that is how the line goes in Dungeons and Dragons. Back in those days, did not they call them Libertines? Shakespeare: "First Thing We Do, Let's Kill All The Lawyers" from Henry IV.
I watched the segment and the point was made that voters are alienated by mask mandates, CRT, and trans swimmers. Fair enough. But what about the "new breed" of DA's who are turning loose violent felons in the name of "social equity"? That doesn't even rate a mention?
Every mentally ill and criminal that could be released to the streets in California, has found their way. All have got the message now that any criminal activities, unless heinous, will be met with no consequences. This is our reality now. There is no protection for them or us. Police are expected to handle mentally ill and addicts in a revolving door, as treatment is all on a volunteer basis. Families can get no support. Of those killed by police, about 50% are mentally ill and/or addicts, a few criminally insane. Why? Schellenberger has written some good pieces that describe some of what I write here. I blame the duopoly for creating this insanity. Mark Vonnegut since 1970 has been vocal about the great de-institutional programs that were set in place. The outcome we can see on our streets 50 years later, but we are not allowed to talk about it. We are led to believe it is racist police that are the enemy and ignore our urban crisis? https://michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/san-franciscos-slow-motion-suicide?fbclid=IwAR28rxRkLIp4wdjD61eI9qbzWVg1yfrd_uE7Hf3UXWWlOtSqq4BBqZE4oF0&utm_source=url
The Anarchy 'Party' is gaining every minute. It's just a fact of life and a result of the current political climate. No one has to promote it, it needs no leaders, it's organic. Truck engines are revving up. At its base are millions of pissed-off people who I don't think Matt, and certainly not that glass of warm skim milk called Ryan Grim, have the slightest idea about. They seem to think it's still a blue vs red thing. That working people give a shit who AOC is, other than what they hear from their radio on the way to their roofing job. I understand that from Grim--he seems really really dense and was probably raised like a piece of veal--but my subscription isn't for him.
I watched that segment, and it was mainly good, but Grim does ignore the fact that the squad has largely dropped just about all vestiges of a labor/left politics in favor of extreme identity politics.
Sure, it was already happening and Clinton used it in disgusting ways when faced with Bernie, and Biden and the old guard are unfortunately using it in really stupid ways too, but I feel like the squad are indicative of the post-Bernie movement getting almost 100% away from what made Bernie so popular (across the aisle even). We've now seen everyone from the Working Families Party, the ACLU, the DSA go all-in on identity politics, and often with anti-working class rhetoric. Hell, recent rewrites of "left-wing politics" on Wikipedia have gone heavily on "all identity, no economics," although the most current rewrites seem to have rectified that.
I feel like AOC and her ilk (who I initially supported) found the slow death of incrementalism in DC stifling and found that calling everyone a "white supremacist" on their Twitter pages brought instant, massive likes, and they just went all-in with junior high politics and burnt the husk of the Bernie movement so it would never live again. They certainly didn't start it, but they likely finished it.
Both Matt and Ryan have been right much more often than most of their peers because they are actually journalists who follow the facts, try to be intellectually honest, have non-tribal, reality-based world views and have not been captured by ideology. I learn a lot from both of them even when I may disagree on some points. They are thoughtful challengers of prevailing establishment orthodoxies, don't fall for extremist simplicities and are among the few good guides I've found as our world gets more and more difficult to make sense of the current confusion and incoherence. I look forward to hearing this afternoon.
Matt's great but he is the position now of coming up with content other than his own. There's just not that much to say from where he is in New Jersey, or where Grim is in D.C. All the energy and action are elsewhere, not in the Geriatric Beltway.
Loyalty is not a virtue for journalists except when it is to the truth (and so to his or her readers, whether they like it or not). Otherwise, it tends to get in the way. This is one of the reasons why real journalism is difficult.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota in the AP piece:
While only a handful of Democrats in Congress support stripping such money from police departments, for example, conservative media popular in rural communities — particularly Fox News — amplifies such positions.
“We’re letting Republicans use the language of the far left to define the Democratic Party, and we can’t do that,” Heitkamp said. “The trend lines in rural America are very, very bad. ... Now, the brand is so toxic that people who are Democrats, the ones left, aren’t fighting for the party.”
Democrats have always looked for excuses to go further to the right, and the upcoming mid-term slaughter, expected by everyone it seems. will just generally be blamed on what are called "far left" positions like Defund the Police and whoever is being trans at the moment. These aren't far left positions, they are culture war positions. A far left position is to actually rein in the financial sector. What makes Hillary such a loathsome person here is her pretending to care about race and the other culture war stuff; she's interested in staying a Republican dressed in blue clothing, and that means taking care of the banks, like Obama did.
Conservative Democrats believe the same as Fox News viewers might believe, just to a lesser degree, that there is a left in their party, and it is the problem. There is no left in the Democratic Party. There are barely liberals, the Clintons having ousted them long ago. Chris Hedges' book documenting the death of the liberal class is several years old now. But the constant noise from--almost everyone--is that a far left consists of culture war positions. What we have now is the same old, disingenuous and fake New Left, whose woeful history is all too well known. No hope for the Dems, I don't think, but you don't need to mention the squad at all.
So no, this video was terrible, scattered. Grim has a batting average below the Mendoza Line.
Has the term ‘Democratic Democrat’ become an oxymoron? When you cut down the tree of knowledge, you end up with a stack of dead 'idea-logs' on all sides. And speaking of sides, our Planet is a sphere, it has no Sides, only Poles that are frozen wastelands without life. DePolarize…..Come in from the Cold.
And do not worry about Climate Change. There is no Global Warming in Canada.
Thanks to Mr. Trudeau, everything is frozen, from your freedom to your funds.
Honestly, I don't care who they blame their loses on as long as they lose.
And of course the DNC establishment will blame their loses on someone. That seems to be their MO these days.
"Social justice" has always been a convenient mask the Dems wear to conceal the decay & corruption that has been the real platform of their party since Clinton was in office. The Dems have been quite adept at finding "victims" to pander to for votes.
Of course that will just leave us with Republicans and a whole new set of problems and complaints but that's the Faustian bargain America has struck with it's 2 party, either/or system.
That's the idiocy of American politics isn't it? In the consumption sphere of our society we have endless choices. Endless brands of toothpaste & deodorant & pantyliners & tissue paper & literally everything else under the sun. But in the political sphere all of that lovely choice goes out the window and all we're left with, year after year, is a choice between conniving Frick on one side of the aisle & corrupt Frack on the other side.
And let's be honest, what have the Squad done in office except Tweet & Instagram & TikTok their often erroneous social & political comments as they posture for their demographic?
AOC seems like a smart girl. I'm sure she realizes that she just has to play the game, (vote Dem always, blame Republicans & racists for every party failure and keep her social justice blather to a manageable decibel level), and she'll be wealthy before she's 40.
In other words, my sympathy for "Da Squad" is incredibly limited.
Ryan: "sports and transgender rights". Males will eliminate women's (and girl's) sports - there's simply no contest. Not much balance in Ryan's framing. Government bureaucracies lie about reality to sporting bodies across the country. The Canadian Centre for "Ethics" in Sports has a manual, which states that any misgivings about self ID (males competing as women) as being based on "myths and gender stereotypes". Watched Enola Holmes last night and could understand how a keyboard generation might think any of those fight scenes between a 16 yo girl and a full grown man - with her triumphing every time, means men and women could compete fairly together.
“The conservative censorship we saw at work this year in the battle over the arts is certainly loathsome, but I believe that liberal censorship may pose one of the biggest impediments to free speech in the future,” Hughes said.
“The ‘sensitivity police’ are out to promote the idea that no one should be allowed to say anything that might possibly offend anybody else under any circumstance that could make somebody feel like an abused minority. I think this is a deadly course to follow--one that will not only cause free speech to suffer, but will ultimately destroy the language itself.” - Robert Hughes, LA Times 1990
The world was so different in 1990 the quote fails me as analogy. I can guess what I think applies from the quotes but could you give it to use directly for the here and now?
It was not "dark money" from whomever that caused the three members of the school board to be recalled. It was their ignorance of history, their ignorance of fiscal matters, their adherence to a essentially racist agenda, and their arrogant indifference to the feelings of parents. It may make you feel good to think charter schools were an issue, but you are wrong and can empirically be shown to be wrong by listening to why the voters voted the way they did. ---- from a resident of the
I watched the segment. It's basically Ryan, in typical New York Times fashion of never directly getting to the point, saying: Please don't blame The Squad for this.
Ryan Grim: "to fend off a multiracial working class, to demand real changes to how power is structure in America. [Captured it as well as I could.]. What a complete blathering idiocy. Seriously, Taibbi, do you really think this guy is anything other than just another occupant of the leftist-intellectual class who seeks his own power? Ima gonna listen, but hope I do not retch during the Callin.
Um, it was the "infrastructure bill" that was stealing from the public. The BBB was putting money into the hands of working people. We need that. It's not hyperinflationary, it's what we used to do back when the country used to have a healthy economy back in the '50s and '60s.
If you believe Ryan Grimm is a real journalist then your a retard. Sorry no nice way to say it. Ask Jimmy dore. hes the guy who's real like Matt they dont get paid by billionaires to work they do it out love for their jobs. And I'm guessing to help this world be a better place
I threw up in less than a minute into Grim’s sales pitch for the Squad. This bit is clearly part of a long con being engineered by the DNC. Who wants to take bets on whether the DNC pivots to Squadism as the wheels fall off the Joe-lopy as a result of their political malfeasance. Right now, it seems that the number one objective is to burnish the gold plating on the Squad's plastic politics. After all, the DNC needs a Hail Mary strategy and the Grim one is the perfect person to kick it off. AOC for President or Vice President? That is the question.
Matt, why are you helping Grim prop up the utterly corrupt and collapsing DNC?
Listening to Grim talk about Loudon, by saying "the dems could have effectively misdirected regarding title IX and got one over on the GOP" was truly sad. It is hard not to see him as a partisan hack.
So just so I understand, 100% of the issues in the US revolve around the Democrats and that is why the focus of these conversations are always on them. Is that accurate Matt?
Matt got booted from Rolling Whatver D-Bags. Matt is an honest broker who has spent time in the Eastern Bloc and Russia. His father Mike was a news guy/ presenter on our local Boston TV in the 1980s-1990s. Taibbi means Christian and Lebanese for ye dumbasses out there. His mother might be very pale Boston Irish for all I know.. (I did not look at Wikipedia etc) Trump is my man but you are very honest from your perspective. You know what is going on. MATT_______________>>> Go here this summer with your loved ones
dead wrong on his first assumption- if Biden got the spending it would make zero difference in the short term and inflation would be even worse. So basically they would be telling people that they would be giving them money in the future that would be worth much less. Marvelous
WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT or THE KEY HOLE PRINCIPLE. They could be legislated out of relevance without a constitutional amendment. And, a lot of problems would be instantly solved.
My impression of AOC has always been that her future may be in political commentary - a show on MSNBC perhaps. She has the look and the style for being a media personality. Her distain for getting political power by winning elections makes me wonder about her political chops. She has no experience being in the minority in the House. It may not be long until she moves on to her next gig. She has that star quality so we can expect her to become a fixture.
Wow, where to start? I'm was so impressed that the underlying logic to every policy decision was What will win? What will give our side or the other side power? They even project that value(?) onto Republicans as if every policy decision is taken solely for to get to rule. I can't remember a place where any motive was assumed or projected to be "because it is right." Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Discuss things with Republicans and you inevitably get into details of what's fair, what's equal, what's freedom and can if be compromised. They are fundamentally discussions of applied inalienable rights.
Have Democrats completely lost their moral compass? Or maybe are Democrats so arrogant about their own self-righteousness that they just assume their own secular holiness?
"...Discuss things with Republicans and you inevitably get into details of what's fair, what's equal, what's freedom and can if be compromised. They are fundamentally discussions of applied inalienable rights..."
Pray tell good sir---on what planet doth these republicans dwell?
They are all over the country. We usually hide in safe places with other known Republicans because we have learned the hard way that when non-Repubs hear us inevitably they discriminate against us when they get the chance to punish us for not thinking like they do. This is not sarcasm. Democrats/progressives have been punishing Repubs for our thoughts for quite a few years. It's only since 2020 that they have dared to censor us on FB, demand/coerce us to take experimental medicines, or act like Justin Trudeau.
Hasn't this been their line for decades? In her recent "Requiem for a Liberal Giant" Michelle Goldberg quotes Todd Gitlin: "When Ralph Nader's Greens equated a Bush presidency with a Gore presidency, they took leave of any practical connection to America."
Al Gore lost in 2000 because the capital-D Democrats would not allow Nader into the Presidential debate. If they had, Nader would have been the intellectual on the left, Bush the ignoramus on the right, and Gore the solid everyman in the center — a winning position. With Nader excluded, Gore was the smartass sighing contemptuously at Bush, an ordinary guy who evoked sympathy for not knowing much about history, don't know much biology... Gore also would have won if he had ditched the "more research is needed" line and supported states' rights to legalize marijuana for medical use. But the Dems were in thrall to Big Pharma.
I voted for Nader in 2000. Had the democrats allowed him into the debates, thus legitimizing his candidacy, Gore would have been defeated decisively. Nader would have siphoned off even more millions of votes from Gore. It's interesting to note how little is ever said about the debt Bill Clinton, and by extension Al Gore, owe to Ross Perot from Perot's electoral performance in 1992. Third party candidates attract almost exclusively disaffected voters from one party.
Keep in mind that both Gore and Clinton both won the popular vote in 2000 and 2016. Any U.S. voter pining for a legitimate third party candidate with a realistic chance of winning the presidency, must also be unhesitatingly in favor of jettisoning the electoral college.
You all really fail to understand that we are facing a global pandemic. You are underestimating a significant issue and you are proud it. (We don't have good solutions yet but if Grim thinks asking children to mask with effective masks is a social failure, this points to lots more problems). Net impact right now: no news source is a news source; they are an opinion sources.
Is that right? More tales of leftist playground teasing from the po' po' me rep-o machine. The grievance box is on the wall to the left of the fire exit. Alarm has been disconnected.
So it’s official. It’s USA vs USSR. Which side is Trump on?
I’m actually being serious and with as much as the guy has blasted every local, state and federal branch of our government (don’t forget our military and he’s a draft dodger), if I was a betting man, he’s riding with Putin, who just so happens to lead a country Trump has never once criticized.
Dear humans, not everything anyone says is garbage or gospel. Grim’s argument in this case is sound, based on facts, and is appropriately giving fair warning people interested in calling bull shit on the “DNC Democrats” blaming ONLY the squad in November. He is merely saying the Axios article is shallow.
Well, I've been thinking about this and where I think you are coming from all the time. Am guessing you are kind of a Bernie guy. I actually can see why some people who supported some of those social programs think that Hillary Clinton and this corporate Democratic machine are the problem -- while not going for conservative ideas. Especially when you see what they did to Bernie AND to Donald Trump!! And plan to again (got away with it with Biden as well). And I'd almost be persuaded to your position if you heard Bernie Sanders of AOC complaining about these authoritarian tactics, but you DON'T. Because some of the social programs are ones they agree with, they say nothing about this totalitarian regime. Ends justify means people still. So I don't believe they, big government people, wouldn't do exactly what these people are doing. You don't hear them talking about freedom or censorship or mandates. Not a word.
How about comparing Loudoun county and the San Francisco school board recall?There is dark money behind the SF recall, now the mayor gets to pick 3 seats on the school board which will surely be pro charter.Lee Fang wrote an article saying it was anti-woke pushback, ignoring all the other factors in play.The most recent West Wing Thing podcast has a good breakdown of what is going on, it's covered in the first 15 minutes.-
Only 9 % of San Francisco's voters are GOP. Dark money behind the recall!? The recall of the most ignorant school board in the history of the City was supported by sane decent people. Only grifters were against the recall, only grifters and racist anti white and anti Asian Fascists.
Dark money as in charter school lobbyists.Why don't you look up why Bill Gates and the Walton family are donating millions to the charter school movement.
Why?because I believe in public education,charter schools screws over poor people.
There must be a reason Bill Gates and the Waltons are pouring tons of money in charter school lobbying and it's not because they are trying to make the world better,I wonder what it could be?
Bad schools, teachers, parents and guardians screw over children regardless of the $'s involved. I believe in accountability for all, and my eyes have seen how some public schools and teachers are buffered from that.
What's good about the current school system at all, public or charter or private? What we need today are people like anarchist writer Paul Goodman from the Sixties, who wrote eloquently on building systems that actually educate children instead of training them to be malleable to authority. The point isn't that he is right, it's that there used to be a much much wider discussion of politics and society.
Once again, we don't want anyone to point out the staggering income inequality that is at the root of all the issues. Way too many Democrats have gone the way of the Clinton gang which is to take the money and run. Even Bernie got a book deal that made him a minor millionaire. All it takes is financial security to make anyone more conservative. What if we all had some kind of financial security? Would everyone calm down and start loving their neighbor? Or would be all want to rule the world, like Vlad and Joe and Joe and Kyrsten?
The Democrats are a party comprised of the wealthy and the upper middle class and a ragtag collection of other groups that have little in common with the first two: people of color, LGBT, immigrants, the woke young, etc. The balancing act consists of the first two groups managing to convince the others that they are all in the same boat and rowing in the same direction, their obvious economic differences notwithstanding.
Pulling off this feat of legerdemain depends upon a compliant and uncritical media which can be relied upon to demonize Republicans on cultural issues while not asking too many economic questions of the Democrats. Hence CNN good, Rogan bad.
TSMC's $12 billion Chip Making Factory Moves to US (Trump administration is in talks with Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) to ramp up chip production in the US)
Mr. Trump is correct that since he took office, the United States has added more than 10,000 new manufacturing establishments, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. They are mostly small businesses (NYT Retraction)
Middle-class incomes, after adjusting for inflation, have surged by $5,003 since Donald Trump became president in January 2017. Median household income has now reached $65,976 – an all-time high and up more than 8% in 2019 dollars under the Trump presidency.
Trump fought to lower interest rates - US housing starts soared nearly 17% in December to a 13-year high, according to a Friday release from the Census
I just made the same point about crime! I love Matt, but the NE Corridor types stay at least six months behind the concerns of the rest of the nation. Even SF is primed to boot Chesa Boudin. Meanwhile, the Krystal Ball crowd are still "Nothing to see here, move along."
The U.S. violent crime rate fell by more than 1/3 from 1999 to 2019. The 2020 rate rose noticeably---some researchers attribute the upswing to the pandemic, but other researchers say more research is needed. But crime rates fluctuate over time, and even researchers have difficulty attributing any significant rise or fall to any one factor.
Suicide among older white men is WAY up. See Chris Hedges on "anomie." Neo-liberals like the Clintons shipped their jobs overseas, and the drug companies shipped oxycontin to Appalachia. All neat and tidy.
As a parent and Board member of FAIR (www.fairforall.org) in the Boston area, I am kind of gobsmacked at how uninsightful Ryan's piece was. I agree that this is not the squad's fault.. but I don't see this as an issue being driven at the Federal level so much (except where the Federal Government is providing protection to education officials who seek power over parents)
If we go back to Matt's great articles on the Loudon County debacle we will find far more reasons and reality about what's actually going on to alienate the formerly Democratic LIberal base form it's party. What happened in Loudon County, VA, is happening every where in the country, but most markedly in metro areas (read affluent areas). Activist administrators and teachers are using the teachings (tenets) of Critical Race Theory (now coined: Culturally Responsive Teaching) to offer an oppressor/oppressed dichotomy in every single class/learning opportunity in K-12 schools. If you are not aware of this, you really need to start investigating your own school district for yourself (and if you don't have kids, take a look in your town/city government) -- you will find it there.
While many parents (like me) believe in the goals of equality of outcomes, common humanity, tolerance, what is being taught is far from these goals. The word Equity is a key indicator that your school or institution has been infected with these ideas. Equity does not mean equality -- it means over-correcting for past un-equal treatment. In practice, it shows up when:
1) Freshman in high school are disallowed from taking advanced courses because it would adversely affect a child who comes from a disadvantaged household.
2) White students are told that their opinion on race or race issues does not matter in a class because they don't have the "lived experience" of some of their cohort.
3) Administrators create "safe spaces" for groups upon the announcement of current events like the Karl Rittenhouse trial outcome where kids are separated by race and color of skin and belief systems (meaning if you think the outcome was warranted, you can't commune with the kids who think it was a travesty of justice, so you must go to a room where the teacher can educate you on why you are wrong thinking)
4) Teachers and Administrators are allowing children who believe they are gender dysmorphic to present as the opposite sex and a different name at school without alerting the parent. Telling the child that this is "our secret" and falsifying documents and conversations with the parents during conferences.
5) asking Kindergartners what their sexuality and pronouns are -- showing them the Gender Giraffe and the Gender Gingerbreadman to explain gender is a construct (which is confusing for 5 yr olds and goes against much of what they have learned to date)
6) A Librarian of Elementary aged kids telling a class that he is bi-sexual and to keep that a secret between them.
all of these things have happened in the Newton MA school district in the last 3 years! And that's just one district. The Wellesley MA district just lost a lawsuit because they sponsored race based affinity group for kids in the school - which is a violation of the Civil Rights Amendment. Their sex ed curriculum is pretty risque as well.. but at least the male sex ed teacher putting the condom on a dildo was for high school kids.
And many many more.
In the end, it's not a culture war per se, it's a war against indoctrination of children. And if you think it's not happening, you are sorely mistaken. Activist Teachers in CA described why they wanted Gay Straight Alliance groups in elementary school so that they could groom kids in their "activist" ideas - and the younger they could do this the better. and they wanted to keep all of this out of the purview of the parents.
The reason that many previously liberal democrats are leaving the Democratic party in droves is that progressive liberals have overtaken all of their institutions and they are determined to grab them back -- just look at the school board elections that are and will continue to be happening in the next year. So much of this activism went on without oversight during the last decade or so. But since parents are now aware they are taking action.
And what's important to understand is that the main stream media (even Ryan himself) play this off as a "conservative" issue.. but it IS NOT> all the people in my FAIR chapter are liberals... and most of us bristle at the more conservative actions of book banning and legislation banning CRT from curriculum.. but we find ourselves working with many of the same groups not because we agree on all the topics, but because we know that hte current model is damaging to kids and needs to be eradicated immediately.
Oh, there is so much more to say, but I'll leave this here.
Hmm. At first glance, I thought you were with Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. After reading your views, I had to check into what FAIR really is. And I see it is one of those groups with the Orwellian name. If you have Abigail Shrier, Bari Weiss and Michael Schellenberger on your board, you are certainly not progressive liberals. I wouldn’t even call you liberal. They have hateful viewpoints on many issues.
I am the first one to say identity politics is dividing the left and that can lead to the Oppression Olympics. But I think you are truly overstating the case with the examples of these mendacious and nefarious teachers. I would like to see whoever told you these stories testify under oath. Because if they won’t, I’ll just view them as the scare tactics you mean them to be.
There is nothing wrong with teaching the centrality of racism in the creation of our country. And there is nothing wrong with equity. I presume you are also opposed to affirmative action to repair past wrongs? Because that was the old way of providing reparations. And there is nothing wrong with exposing small children to the idea of gender. If you in fact believe gender identity is a thing distinct from biological sex, you would know that it often presents in early childhood.
It’s not black and white like you make it seem and the Baird of FAIr is far more diverse than the three people you mention. I also don’t fear opinions that differ from my own. Because I believe I can only form my opinions if I understand all sides.
As for the stories, they are all first hand from the parents who experienced them not some second hand drivel. So I have no more to say to you as you honestly assume so much from my text that is nefarious, it’s not worth my time
If you have kids in the system be very aware of what’s going on. If you don’t you can be blind to reality but supporting the rights of transgender people has nothing to do with encouraging kids into gender dysphasia and keeping the parents out of the loop
I almost got coerced into species dysphasia but luckily they kept the NSA out of the loop.
https://tumbleweedwords.substack.com/p/russia-is-being-erased-the-rejection?s=w
Eat me.
Eat me.
Eat me.
Closer to borderline psychotic.
Eat me.
People disagree with your assessment that their is "nothing wrong with teaching (input new social concepts that have only recently hit the public square)". Those people are speaking up. It's certainly possible that in the long term, the concepts of race essentialism and extreme gender fluidity will be shown to be an affirming way to teach children, but a responsible society debates those ideas before we start teaching them to our children, not after.
... and I would argue a free society allows those things to be taught in the home not in the schools because parents of every political POV deserve to have their children in a school that's safe from polemics. Some things are NOT society's choice to brow-beat.
You are not being a good progressive. No more wrong think from you
LMAO!
Ms. Steiner. Since all of the examples listed actually did happen and DO happen, they can be documented, how do you justify (aka. “please defend”) your statement that Teri D. is overstating them? All have occurred. All are occurring in various places, though all are not occurring in all places. Teri D. did a great job of establishing the circles of efffect in the ven diagram of the things that a coalition of conservative, independent, and liberal parts are opposing.
Might I also suggest that having hateful views on one thing should not be effect one's evaluation of a different thing ... unless of course one is enforcing 'groupthink.'
PS. I think Bari Weiss is a heroine. (I normally use hero for both genders but I'm sure someone would call me to task for such a faux pas.)
"Circles of effect." Are these rotating circles on a clearly delineated plane? With mathematically verifiable trajectories? Or random free-floating circles with unfixed trajectories making uneven orbits?
They are on a piece of paper. I'm glad you were so entertained by the idea that you expaned it to be three dimentional but it's a simple pre-algebra middle school math reference. I taught middle school. (I can't tell if you were making fun of me. Let me know so if you were so I can parry and return an insult if one was intended.)
The DEI director in the county where I work unilaterally and single-handedly banned Abigail Shrier’s (popular) book from our library system. The pyramid is operating outside the universities.
Bari Weiss has "hateful" views? An astonishing comment, Lauren Steiner. Change your diapers.
I agree. Weiss is just plain stupid. Elevated to a position past her capability at the New York Times, and now slutting it up on this platform.
And clearly not as eloquent as you.
Thank you for your ex cathedra pronouncements, about, well, everything, and for humbly assigning any who dare hold and pretty damn well articulate differing opinions a cubby hole of your choosing, irrespective of facts. What is particularly fascinating is your interpretation of 'liberal,' even as you so unwittingly demonstrate what it is not.
I think we need a new name for the left altogether. Their fluidity makes me woozy. Contemporary liberal means illiberal. Classical liberal now suggests conservative. Progressive means (as we are finding out) regressive, restrictive, redistributive, retaliatory. In Italian, left is "Ia sinistra" which means both left (from where the leftist coalitions sat in the Italian parliament), and sinister. Let readers decide the more appropriate usage. For me, the Sinister Wing of the Democratic Party might be a bit too obvious, but as a road map of where they want to go, it can be helpful.
Most press labels classic liberals 'conservative' or 'right-wing.' The Times will refer to anyone mildly resistant to conforming with its new cant as "right-wing." A Black Lives Matter (in my world, BLM is still Bureau of Land Management) spokesperson is not labeled, "left-wing." Gender zealots are never 'radical,' say, or 'left-wing.' This is propaganda. The violent mobs in Portland dragging motorists out of cars were never "left-wing" aggressors, but protestors working toward social justice.
You are mentally deranged. You are a cult member. You have made a sharp break with reality. Get hold of yourself while you still can.
I strongly disagree with Ms. Steiner but your response is useless, mean, rude, and disrespectful.
Fuck your manners. It’s all you people care about.
Read all of our posts. We care a lot about the issues and attempt to change minds through civil discourse. I’ve read two of your posts. What effect do ou expect them to have. What positive effect can your insults possibly get? A: None. What is likely to happen? You’ll get vile, defensive, angry responses that are either posted or rooted silently in you victims souls residing there as a cancer.
However, you may feel self-aggrandizement in you attack. Do us and yourself a favor. Change your approach or please refrain from posting.
Up your cunt.
Are you defending the Faux and Regressive left who sold out to the Neolibs and now promotes the same censorship that makes sane dialog impossible?
https://tumbleweedwords.substack.com/p/russia-is-being-erased-the-rejection?s=w
I support FAIR. The far right or far left may not but I think the rest of us can.
Yes. I dont know why they are pursing a gender-centered indoctrination of children. Why? Thank you for any ideas.
Thank you, Erin. You have given me a lot to think about. This is helping me comprehend the world better. Seriously, thank you.
I do not know why I thought you were Erin. Weird. My brain is broken. I am barely coping at this moment.
Who wants to sit through a sex education module that isn't risque? Jeesh.
https://tumbleweedwords.substack.com/p/russia-is-being-erased-the-rejection?s=w
My "gender girraffe" was fairly long, even at an early age.
When I read number 6 I knew you had nothing useful to say. There's a million reasons why a teacher would say that in context that is completely normal for instance, "Teacher are you married?" then a completely normal conversation with kids ensues. Intentionally removing the context is textbook bullshit. Taking a single incident, in a single school, in a single classroom, and creating a mosaic of "woke overreach" is another textbook bullshit maneuver.
God damn the right is so boring. Using the same tired formula over and over. You're not winning because you're offering something better, you're winning because there's no where else to go.
You had to read all the way to number 6, Chris Baker, to form your opinion of the writer's views? You had five previous clues, all pretty big, clear ideas, but #6 did the trick. That must make you one of the silly left's brighter lights. None of the previous five could crack that thick skull, but a male teacher announcing conspiratorially to his students that he's bi-sexual and let's keep this a secret, children, really zeroes it in for you. And before you do any more pounding on those little boxes with letters and symbols (hint: you hit them and if you get lucky you form words, and if you're really lucky you can put together a thought; but still that doesn't make it a useful thought), can you please decipher, in English, what "you're winning because there's no where else to go" actually means.
Let's keep it civil please.
You are right. I apologize. Chris Baker, sorry if that upset you.
You’re begging for it.
Oh for puke's sake. Ryan Grim eructating the sounds of his billionaire (3 of 'em) masters' voices. Why, Matt, why?
Because Grim is a terrific journalist, as is Matt.
journalist? hes a gack for the establishment. Getta grip
Terrrrrific! For a sold-out equivocating live imiitation of a hulking sloth. He'll do real good as a replacement for Ice Lady Psaki. You should recommend him!
It's a class thing not a content thing. That's Matt's problem too. He's closer to the upper-middle of the pyramid. Lookiing cool with the insiders is tempting. And you can turn a tidy profit (Who wouldn't?). But I do think Matt is mostly in earnest. Not Grim though. Totally bent--like AOC.
Even comedian Jimmy Dore takes him to the cleaners on a regular basis. He's one of those C-minus minds Matt talks about who rise in organizational news media. Bland as a mayonnaise sandwich and just as informative.
Jimmy as a "C-minus mind?" I guess. I cut him some slack because he's really just a stand-up comedy guy trying to make it work in politics. Maybe a solid B? Tough to say. There really is some room for growth.
No, my impression is he meant Grimm and not Jimmy Dore
Doesn’t make sense otherwise.
My initial impulse. However, I'm going to give Matt the benefit of the doubt and check it out.
Do so. I found it revealing about Dems POV. I'm not longer one of them and didn't realize how they have lost their "soul."
Never heard of Ryan Grim before but he does seem like a tool. As a “media personality” he has even less charisma than Chelsea Clinton.
Who are these billionaires and what makes you say he answers to them?
Start with Pierre Omidyar. Then whoever owns "The Hill." I'll look up the 3rd one for you. It's hard to keep track of them these days. Could be Bezos. Millionaires nd billionaires are and have always invested in a doting and compliant press. Sweater Guy Gates spent $320 mil alone on his PR work last year. Now he's into The Atlantic with Steve Jobs's widow (the controlling stockholder.)
I don't believe you are authorized to disclose this information about the oligarchy. Your funds are frozen until you repent.
Jeffrey Katzenberg---the Hollywood mogul who gave the Young Turks $24 million a couple of years back is Billionaire #3.
JDore rips Ryan's ass herein:
https://www.rokfin.com/post/72819/Corporate-Shill-Smears-Canadian-Truckers--Gets-Owned-By-CoHost
As Rogan said in a recent podcast, "Jimmy Dore is killing it." Yes he is, as is Russell Brand.
Matt really ought to be having Ryan's co-host on who cleans his clock on a regular.
Grimm talks about various topics but I am convinced that he is an employee of the donor class. His prime directive is to keep people voting for the Democratic Party: It must be changed, it can be changed, keep voting, vote harder, grow the squad…..oblivion.
Anybody who votes for democrats after covid is an idiot.
anyone who votes republican or third party is an idiot AND a fool
No.
YES.
Ha!
Every once in a while I tune into Rising, which has Grim as one of its hosts. I find his take on everything entirely predictable and in consonance with the mainstream Democrat narrative. The only reason to watch Rising is Kim Iverson.
I have little interest in anything that Grim has to say, but - that said - might listen to the Callin episode anyway. Who knows, he may surprise me.
Mainstream "Democratic narrative?" Like when Grim broke the Biden/ "Me Too Time's Up" scandal? Like when Grim was the leading voice reporting on the DNC screwing over Alex Morse? Like when Grim got ahold of the embarrassing audio of Biden taking a dump on civil right leaders, published it, then got the video too ... which he also published? Or like two of the final stories Grim did at Rising before Saagar and Krystal left, which were about DNC and DCCC corruption respectively? Etc., etc., etc. You mean that "mainstream Democratic narrative?" LOL. If you only listen to cherry-picked stories from a certain podcaster who clearly has a grudge against Grim, you'll get the notion that he's "an establishment shill." If you actually look at his work as a whole, you'll see that you won't always necessarily agree with him -- but that he's absolutely not pushing a "Democratic party narrative." It is sad a podcaster with a grudge has so much sway with so many. At least that podcaster is right sometimes. So glass half full? Could easily be more than that, though. Sad. Sad.
My only experience with Grim is taking him in as a host of Rising, in which capacity he has proven himself profoundly underwhelming. Most of my interest over the last couple of years has been all things Covid, both medical interventions and societal response, and so I tend to tune into those conversations. On those questions he has not strayed from the usual upper middle class Democrat correctness: masks are good, ivermectin is bad, vaccines prevent transmission, lockdowns should be tolerated, and Rogan needs to get a grip.
On the other hand, you raise some instances where he took the other side of the Democratic party line, in which case good for him. I must say in passing though that noticing DNC corruption does not, for me, constitute edge of the curve political reporting. But you are right that it is better than nothing and since I don't know as much about him as I should, I defer to your take that he may be a better observer than I credit him for being.
"Your all" previews have been more entertaining than the main event...I was told there were no more true journalists...
He's a shill for a 'progressive' synthetic liberalism. So he has to critique mainstream a little. But his loyalty is to a very non progressive status quo. That part of the progressive movement that the podcaster with a grudge rightfully eviscerates. A phony progressive is worse than no progressive at all!
"A phony progressive is worse than no progressive at all!" Yes, but when your revolution finally arrives, which one do you execute first?
"First thing we do, let's kill all the libertarians."
---Dick the butcher, Henry vi
Gosh, all these years I thought it said "librarians."
I think that is how the line goes in Dungeons and Dragons. Back in those days, did not they call them Libertines? Shakespeare: "First Thing We Do, Let's Kill All The Lawyers" from Henry IV.
https://www.dailyherald.com/submitted/20200828/x201cthe-first-thing-we-do-lets-kill-all-the-lawyersx201d--dick-the-butchers-famous-quote-from-shakespeares-henry-vi-part-2-act-iv-scene-2-is-known-by-almost-everyone-
Grim-Bashing is getting old. It is some sort of fall-out from Greenwald leaving Intercept, and Krystal and Saagar leaving The Rising.
Exactly right.
I watched the segment and the point was made that voters are alienated by mask mandates, CRT, and trans swimmers. Fair enough. But what about the "new breed" of DA's who are turning loose violent felons in the name of "social equity"? That doesn't even rate a mention?
Every mentally ill and criminal that could be released to the streets in California, has found their way. All have got the message now that any criminal activities, unless heinous, will be met with no consequences. This is our reality now. There is no protection for them or us. Police are expected to handle mentally ill and addicts in a revolving door, as treatment is all on a volunteer basis. Families can get no support. Of those killed by police, about 50% are mentally ill and/or addicts, a few criminally insane. Why? Schellenberger has written some good pieces that describe some of what I write here. I blame the duopoly for creating this insanity. Mark Vonnegut since 1970 has been vocal about the great de-institutional programs that were set in place. The outcome we can see on our streets 50 years later, but we are not allowed to talk about it. We are led to believe it is racist police that are the enemy and ignore our urban crisis? https://michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/san-franciscos-slow-motion-suicide?fbclid=IwAR28rxRkLIp4wdjD61eI9qbzWVg1yfrd_uE7Hf3UXWWlOtSqq4BBqZE4oF0&utm_source=url
The Anarchy 'Party' is gaining every minute. It's just a fact of life and a result of the current political climate. No one has to promote it, it needs no leaders, it's organic. Truck engines are revving up. At its base are millions of pissed-off people who I don't think Matt, and certainly not that glass of warm skim milk called Ryan Grim, have the slightest idea about. They seem to think it's still a blue vs red thing. That working people give a shit who AOC is, other than what they hear from their radio on the way to their roofing job. I understand that from Grim--he seems really really dense and was probably raised like a piece of veal--but my subscription isn't for him.
Haha, we had the same reaction to each other's comment! I don't think Matt understands how concerned people are about this matter.
This has never happened before?
Eat me.
I watched that segment, and it was mainly good, but Grim does ignore the fact that the squad has largely dropped just about all vestiges of a labor/left politics in favor of extreme identity politics.
Sure, it was already happening and Clinton used it in disgusting ways when faced with Bernie, and Biden and the old guard are unfortunately using it in really stupid ways too, but I feel like the squad are indicative of the post-Bernie movement getting almost 100% away from what made Bernie so popular (across the aisle even). We've now seen everyone from the Working Families Party, the ACLU, the DSA go all-in on identity politics, and often with anti-working class rhetoric. Hell, recent rewrites of "left-wing politics" on Wikipedia have gone heavily on "all identity, no economics," although the most current rewrites seem to have rectified that.
I feel like AOC and her ilk (who I initially supported) found the slow death of incrementalism in DC stifling and found that calling everyone a "white supremacist" on their Twitter pages brought instant, massive likes, and they just went all-in with junior high politics and burnt the husk of the Bernie movement so it would never live again. They certainly didn't start it, but they likely finished it.
She's Latina Hillary now.
LatinX!
Both Matt and Ryan have been right much more often than most of their peers because they are actually journalists who follow the facts, try to be intellectually honest, have non-tribal, reality-based world views and have not been captured by ideology. I learn a lot from both of them even when I may disagree on some points. They are thoughtful challengers of prevailing establishment orthodoxies, don't fall for extremist simplicities and are among the few good guides I've found as our world gets more and more difficult to make sense of the current confusion and incoherence. I look forward to hearing this afternoon.
Matt's great but he is the position now of coming up with content other than his own. There's just not that much to say from where he is in New Jersey, or where Grim is in D.C. All the energy and action are elsewhere, not in the Geriatric Beltway.
What kind of loyalty does a chameleon have?
Loyalty is not a virtue for journalists except when it is to the truth (and so to his or her readers, whether they like it or not). Otherwise, it tends to get in the way. This is one of the reasons why real journalism is difficult.
Is Ryan Grim the latest version of David Brooks?
basically, yes.
The focus on the squad isn't it.
A better piece on the subject was from the AP, titled: ‘The brand is so toxic’: Dems fear extinction in rural US
Most political writers don't know where that is, so they twist themselves into thinking it's about someone in D.C.
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-elections-pennsylvania-lifestyle-election-2020-fc79679ef54d850c0245f96dac37456c
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota in the AP piece:
While only a handful of Democrats in Congress support stripping such money from police departments, for example, conservative media popular in rural communities — particularly Fox News — amplifies such positions.
“We’re letting Republicans use the language of the far left to define the Democratic Party, and we can’t do that,” Heitkamp said. “The trend lines in rural America are very, very bad. ... Now, the brand is so toxic that people who are Democrats, the ones left, aren’t fighting for the party.”
Democrats have always looked for excuses to go further to the right, and the upcoming mid-term slaughter, expected by everyone it seems. will just generally be blamed on what are called "far left" positions like Defund the Police and whoever is being trans at the moment. These aren't far left positions, they are culture war positions. A far left position is to actually rein in the financial sector. What makes Hillary such a loathsome person here is her pretending to care about race and the other culture war stuff; she's interested in staying a Republican dressed in blue clothing, and that means taking care of the banks, like Obama did.
Conservative Democrats believe the same as Fox News viewers might believe, just to a lesser degree, that there is a left in their party, and it is the problem. There is no left in the Democratic Party. There are barely liberals, the Clintons having ousted them long ago. Chris Hedges' book documenting the death of the liberal class is several years old now. But the constant noise from--almost everyone--is that a far left consists of culture war positions. What we have now is the same old, disingenuous and fake New Left, whose woeful history is all too well known. No hope for the Dems, I don't think, but you don't need to mention the squad at all.
So no, this video was terrible, scattered. Grim has a batting average below the Mendoza Line.
Grim is a boob, a willing distorter of objective facts, and a seriously minor mind. What’s not to like?
Has the term ‘Democratic Democrat’ become an oxymoron? When you cut down the tree of knowledge, you end up with a stack of dead 'idea-logs' on all sides. And speaking of sides, our Planet is a sphere, it has no Sides, only Poles that are frozen wastelands without life. DePolarize…..Come in from the Cold.
And do not worry about Climate Change. There is no Global Warming in Canada.
Thanks to Mr. Trudeau, everything is frozen, from your freedom to your funds.
Honestly, I don't care who they blame their loses on as long as they lose.
And of course the DNC establishment will blame their loses on someone. That seems to be their MO these days.
"Social justice" has always been a convenient mask the Dems wear to conceal the decay & corruption that has been the real platform of their party since Clinton was in office. The Dems have been quite adept at finding "victims" to pander to for votes.
Of course that will just leave us with Republicans and a whole new set of problems and complaints but that's the Faustian bargain America has struck with it's 2 party, either/or system.
That's the idiocy of American politics isn't it? In the consumption sphere of our society we have endless choices. Endless brands of toothpaste & deodorant & pantyliners & tissue paper & literally everything else under the sun. But in the political sphere all of that lovely choice goes out the window and all we're left with, year after year, is a choice between conniving Frick on one side of the aisle & corrupt Frack on the other side.
And let's be honest, what have the Squad done in office except Tweet & Instagram & TikTok their often erroneous social & political comments as they posture for their demographic?
AOC seems like a smart girl. I'm sure she realizes that she just has to play the game, (vote Dem always, blame Republicans & racists for every party failure and keep her social justice blather to a manageable decibel level), and she'll be wealthy before she's 40.
In other words, my sympathy for "Da Squad" is incredibly limited.
Ryan: "sports and transgender rights". Males will eliminate women's (and girl's) sports - there's simply no contest. Not much balance in Ryan's framing. Government bureaucracies lie about reality to sporting bodies across the country. The Canadian Centre for "Ethics" in Sports has a manual, which states that any misgivings about self ID (males competing as women) as being based on "myths and gender stereotypes". Watched Enola Holmes last night and could understand how a keyboard generation might think any of those fight scenes between a 16 yo girl and a full grown man - with her triumphing every time, means men and women could compete fairly together.
It was disheartening to find Greenwald part of the transmania, that he does not see the media and pharma promotion profitable.
“The conservative censorship we saw at work this year in the battle over the arts is certainly loathsome, but I believe that liberal censorship may pose one of the biggest impediments to free speech in the future,” Hughes said.
“The ‘sensitivity police’ are out to promote the idea that no one should be allowed to say anything that might possibly offend anybody else under any circumstance that could make somebody feel like an abused minority. I think this is a deadly course to follow--one that will not only cause free speech to suffer, but will ultimately destroy the language itself.” - Robert Hughes, LA Times 1990
That was written in 1990
What have Conservatives censored? (like the rest of your comment).
The world was so different in 1990 the quote fails me as analogy. I can guess what I think applies from the quotes but could you give it to use directly for the here and now?
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-26-ca-6655-story.html
It was not "dark money" from whomever that caused the three members of the school board to be recalled. It was their ignorance of history, their ignorance of fiscal matters, their adherence to a essentially racist agenda, and their arrogant indifference to the feelings of parents. It may make you feel good to think charter schools were an issue, but you are wrong and can empirically be shown to be wrong by listening to why the voters voted the way they did. ---- from a resident of the
"...from a resident of the..." Ya big tease you. Must have been a knock at the door from the Dark Money.
I watched the segment. It's basically Ryan, in typical New York Times fashion of never directly getting to the point, saying: Please don't blame The Squad for this.
Ryan Grim: "to fend off a multiracial working class, to demand real changes to how power is structure in America. [Captured it as well as I could.]. What a complete blathering idiocy. Seriously, Taibbi, do you really think this guy is anything other than just another occupant of the leftist-intellectual class who seeks his own power? Ima gonna listen, but hope I do not retch during the Callin.
Um, it was the "infrastructure bill" that was stealing from the public. The BBB was putting money into the hands of working people. We need that. It's not hyperinflationary, it's what we used to do back when the country used to have a healthy economy back in the '50s and '60s.
If you believe Ryan Grimm is a real journalist then your a retard. Sorry no nice way to say it. Ask Jimmy dore. hes the guy who's real like Matt they dont get paid by billionaires to work they do it out love for their jobs. And I'm guessing to help this world be a better place
Grim cried about it on Twitter, which made it worse for him. His kids call Jimmy "daddy" now.
Taibbi was once all set to punch away on the keyboard for billionaire Omi, until they started arguing over place settings.
I threw up in less than a minute into Grim’s sales pitch for the Squad. This bit is clearly part of a long con being engineered by the DNC. Who wants to take bets on whether the DNC pivots to Squadism as the wheels fall off the Joe-lopy as a result of their political malfeasance. Right now, it seems that the number one objective is to burnish the gold plating on the Squad's plastic politics. After all, the DNC needs a Hail Mary strategy and the Grim one is the perfect person to kick it off. AOC for President or Vice President? That is the question.
Matt, why are you helping Grim prop up the utterly corrupt and collapsing DNC?
I am now officially skeptical.
I'm guessing Matt appreciates all the critical reporting Grim has done on the Dems, the DNC, the DCCC, and Biden.
Controlled opposition.
Matt's not propping Grim up. Matt is brilliant in providing a piece over which both sides can argue. Touche' Matt.
AOC's long goal is speaker.. she's being groomed!
Fashion model. Her screechy, plaintive, little-girl voice can curdle milk at 50 yards.
Madison Cawthorn?
This is hot breaking news? What else would a high profile member of Congress be groomed for. Chief of Trump's massage "therapy" team in 2025?
Listening to Grim talk about Loudon, by saying "the dems could have effectively misdirected regarding title IX and got one over on the GOP" was truly sad. It is hard not to see him as a partisan hack.
So just so I understand, 100% of the issues in the US revolve around the Democrats and that is why the focus of these conversations are always on them. Is that accurate Matt?
If you were a writer taking a meeting with a roomful of soap opera producers, you'd be pitching soap opera stories and scenarios. Is this helpful?
I think it was
Matt got booted from Rolling Whatver D-Bags. Matt is an honest broker who has spent time in the Eastern Bloc and Russia. His father Mike was a news guy/ presenter on our local Boston TV in the 1980s-1990s. Taibbi means Christian and Lebanese for ye dumbasses out there. His mother might be very pale Boston Irish for all I know.. (I did not look at Wikipedia etc) Trump is my man but you are very honest from your perspective. You know what is going on. MATT_______________>>> Go here this summer with your loved ones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTHGIifvqf4
dead wrong on his first assumption- if Biden got the spending it would make zero difference in the short term and inflation would be even worse. So basically they would be telling people that they would be giving them money in the future that would be worth much less. Marvelous
Holy fuck that first caller was annoying.
WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT or THE KEY HOLE PRINCIPLE. They could be legislated out of relevance without a constitutional amendment. And, a lot of problems would be instantly solved.
My impression of AOC has always been that her future may be in political commentary - a show on MSNBC perhaps. She has the look and the style for being a media personality. Her distain for getting political power by winning elections makes me wonder about her political chops. She has no experience being in the minority in the House. It may not be long until she moves on to her next gig. She has that star quality so we can expect her to become a fixture.
In a post-apocalyptic world her job title would be "Radiation Canary," in other words, useless.
Wow, where to start? I'm was so impressed that the underlying logic to every policy decision was What will win? What will give our side or the other side power? They even project that value(?) onto Republicans as if every policy decision is taken solely for to get to rule. I can't remember a place where any motive was assumed or projected to be "because it is right." Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Discuss things with Republicans and you inevitably get into details of what's fair, what's equal, what's freedom and can if be compromised. They are fundamentally discussions of applied inalienable rights.
Have Democrats completely lost their moral compass? Or maybe are Democrats so arrogant about their own self-righteousness that they just assume their own secular holiness?
"...Discuss things with Republicans and you inevitably get into details of what's fair, what's equal, what's freedom and can if be compromised. They are fundamentally discussions of applied inalienable rights..."
Pray tell good sir---on what planet doth these republicans dwell?
They are all over the country. We usually hide in safe places with other known Republicans because we have learned the hard way that when non-Repubs hear us inevitably they discriminate against us when they get the chance to punish us for not thinking like they do. This is not sarcasm. Democrats/progressives have been punishing Repubs for our thoughts for quite a few years. It's only since 2020 that they have dared to censor us on FB, demand/coerce us to take experimental medicines, or act like Justin Trudeau.
Hasn't this been their line for decades? In her recent "Requiem for a Liberal Giant" Michelle Goldberg quotes Todd Gitlin: "When Ralph Nader's Greens equated a Bush presidency with a Gore presidency, they took leave of any practical connection to America."
Al Gore lost in 2000 because the capital-D Democrats would not allow Nader into the Presidential debate. If they had, Nader would have been the intellectual on the left, Bush the ignoramus on the right, and Gore the solid everyman in the center — a winning position. With Nader excluded, Gore was the smartass sighing contemptuously at Bush, an ordinary guy who evoked sympathy for not knowing much about history, don't know much biology... Gore also would have won if he had ditched the "more research is needed" line and supported states' rights to legalize marijuana for medical use. But the Dems were in thrall to Big Pharma.
I voted for Nader in 2000. Had the democrats allowed him into the debates, thus legitimizing his candidacy, Gore would have been defeated decisively. Nader would have siphoned off even more millions of votes from Gore. It's interesting to note how little is ever said about the debt Bill Clinton, and by extension Al Gore, owe to Ross Perot from Perot's electoral performance in 1992. Third party candidates attract almost exclusively disaffected voters from one party.
Keep in mind that both Gore and Clinton both won the popular vote in 2000 and 2016. Any U.S. voter pining for a legitimate third party candidate with a realistic chance of winning the presidency, must also be unhesitatingly in favor of jettisoning the electoral college.
Well the time is past now for practical connections.
Interesting-just read a piece on Vox from 4/21 admitting the same thing about wokeness but realizing that it may be a strategy
https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/22338417/james-carville-democratic-party-biden-100-days
Please check out my work Matt! https://tumbleweedwords.substack.com/p/russia-is-being-erased-the-rejection?s=w
You all really fail to understand that we are facing a global pandemic. You are underestimating a significant issue and you are proud it. (We don't have good solutions yet but if Grim thinks asking children to mask with effective masks is a social failure, this points to lots more problems). Net impact right now: no news source is a news source; they are an opinion sources.
It was painful to try to listen to Ryan Grimm, please don’t waste my time with him again., Matt. Branch out, meet new people.
all you woke trolls out there, go cram it.
Is that right? More tales of leftist playground teasing from the po' po' me rep-o machine. The grievance box is on the wall to the left of the fire exit. Alarm has been disconnected.
I believe it. I knew his father fromNYC news man. Are you saying this to
minimize how much of a hack bullshitter Ryan Grimm is? or just making the comparison?
So it’s official. It’s USA vs USSR. Which side is Trump on?
I’m actually being serious and with as much as the guy has blasted every local, state and federal branch of our government (don’t forget our military and he’s a draft dodger), if I was a betting man, he’s riding with Putin, who just so happens to lead a country Trump has never once criticized.
You are area delusional over self loving fool. Take your hate and shove it.
Of course it was not. Stop believing in unicorns.
ukrainegate.info nice summary of Bidens' corrupt rule in Ukraine (found the link in Comments – never seen it before)
https://ukrainegate.info/short-part-1-a-not-so-solid-prosecutor/
Dear humans, not everything anyone says is garbage or gospel. Grim’s argument in this case is sound, based on facts, and is appropriately giving fair warning people interested in calling bull shit on the “DNC Democrats” blaming ONLY the squad in November. He is merely saying the Axios article is shallow.
Not everything is "garbage or gospel," but some of it is "bull shit." Got it.
Nuance is dealt with harshly here.
Ryan Grimm :)
Has anyone mentioned today's FAIR discussion about press propaganda by omission?
Ryan's report, excellent.
Well, I've been thinking about this and where I think you are coming from all the time. Am guessing you are kind of a Bernie guy. I actually can see why some people who supported some of those social programs think that Hillary Clinton and this corporate Democratic machine are the problem -- while not going for conservative ideas. Especially when you see what they did to Bernie AND to Donald Trump!! And plan to again (got away with it with Biden as well). And I'd almost be persuaded to your position if you heard Bernie Sanders of AOC complaining about these authoritarian tactics, but you DON'T. Because some of the social programs are ones they agree with, they say nothing about this totalitarian regime. Ends justify means people still. So I don't believe they, big government people, wouldn't do exactly what these people are doing. You don't hear them talking about freedom or censorship or mandates. Not a word.
How many democrats (politicians) pay attention to the middle class? The squeaky wheel gets the oil.
How about comparing Loudoun county and the San Francisco school board recall?There is dark money behind the SF recall, now the mayor gets to pick 3 seats on the school board which will surely be pro charter.Lee Fang wrote an article saying it was anti-woke pushback, ignoring all the other factors in play.The most recent West Wing Thing podcast has a good breakdown of what is going on, it's covered in the first 15 minutes.-
https://westwingthing.libsyn.com/the-hillary-clinton-master-class-part-3-wspecial-guests-tom-sexton-aaron-thorpe
Only 9 % of San Francisco's voters are GOP. Dark money behind the recall!? The recall of the most ignorant school board in the history of the City was supported by sane decent people. Only grifters were against the recall, only grifters and racist anti white and anti Asian Fascists.
Dark money as in charter school lobbyists.Why don't you look up why Bill Gates and the Walton family are donating millions to the charter school movement.
It was not the issue of charter schools. You are pushing YOUR agenda, not that of the vast majority of the voters.
It was ALL about charter schools.
https://48hills.org/2022/01/what-the-big-money-behind-the-school-board-recall-means/#:~:text=The%20current%20members%20of%20the%20SF%20School%20Board,whether%20Lincoln%20High%20School%20gets%20a%20new%20name.
My agenda is...that I like public education and support a public education system-Thats some agenda.
Unquestionably one of the most retrograde comments I've read here.
Why?because I believe in public education,charter schools screws over poor people.
There must be a reason Bill Gates and the Waltons are pouring tons of money in charter school lobbying and it's not because they are trying to make the world better,I wonder what it could be?
The Walton's and Gates won't use charter or public schools. Their motives lie elsewhere....
Bad schools, teachers, parents and guardians screw over children regardless of the $'s involved. I believe in accountability for all, and my eyes have seen how some public schools and teachers are buffered from that.
If this is your belief, what's your solution?
I guess it is wrong because authoritarians want to control others from birth. It is not wrong
What's good about the current school system at all, public or charter or private? What we need today are people like anarchist writer Paul Goodman from the Sixties, who wrote eloquently on building systems that actually educate children instead of training them to be malleable to authority. The point isn't that he is right, it's that there used to be a much much wider discussion of politics and society.
Once again, we don't want anyone to point out the staggering income inequality that is at the root of all the issues. Way too many Democrats have gone the way of the Clinton gang which is to take the money and run. Even Bernie got a book deal that made him a minor millionaire. All it takes is financial security to make anyone more conservative. What if we all had some kind of financial security? Would everyone calm down and start loving their neighbor? Or would be all want to rule the world, like Vlad and Joe and Joe and Kyrsten?
The Democrats are a party comprised of the wealthy and the upper middle class and a ragtag collection of other groups that have little in common with the first two: people of color, LGBT, immigrants, the woke young, etc. The balancing act consists of the first two groups managing to convince the others that they are all in the same boat and rowing in the same direction, their obvious economic differences notwithstanding.
Pulling off this feat of legerdemain depends upon a compliant and uncritical media which can be relied upon to demonize Republicans on cultural issues while not asking too many economic questions of the Democrats. Hence CNN good, Rogan bad.
What you been huffin' to come up with this?
This is how the President snubs Welfare:
TSMC's $12 billion Chip Making Factory Moves to US (Trump administration is in talks with Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TSM) to ramp up chip production in the US)
Fix Chip Supply Line
Get more jobs.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/tsmc-says-construction-has-started-arizona-chip-factory-2021-06-01/
Mr. Trump is correct that since he took office, the United States has added more than 10,000 new manufacturing establishments, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. They are mostly small businesses (NYT Retraction)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/us/politics/fact-check-trump-economy.html
Wages naturally increase:
Middle-class incomes, after adjusting for inflation, have surged by $5,003 since Donald Trump became president in January 2017. Median household income has now reached $65,976 – an all-time high and up more than 8% in 2019 dollars under the Trump presidency.
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/467328-its-joe-biden-versus-the-trump-economy
Trump fought to lower interest rates - US housing starts soared nearly 17% in December to a 13-year high, according to a Friday release from the Census
https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/us-housing-starts-reach-highest-level-in-13-years-after-spectacular-december-surge/articleshow/73337174.cms
Trump Trade WINS:
U.S. Wins $7.5 Billion Award in Airbus Subsidies Case
US wins end of EU lobster tariffs in mini trade deal
Trade wins for U.S. pork producers
Montana beef declared winner in U.S.-Japan trade deal
Long-outlawed U.S. trade policy wins WTO approval in Canada lumber dispute
Taking money out of one pocked a putting it in another is called STEALING!
The government has to get out of the STEALING BUSINESS.
An outstanding book:
The Plot to Scapegoat Russia: How the CIA and the Deep State Have Conspired to Vilify Putin
by Dan Kovalik Esq., Alex Hyde-White, et al
https://www.amazon.com/Plot-Scapegoat-Russia-Conspired-Vilify/dp/B07771BMV8/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1645575140&sr=1-1-ef9bfdb7-b507-43a0-b887-27e2a8414df0
---------------------------------------------------
A must see: Tucker Carlson Today – interview with Dan Kovalik: “Russia, Russia, Russia” (Feb. 4, 2022)
This and Tucker-Tonight should be available on Rumble and elsewhere
An outstanding 4-part Fox-Nation video – “Who is Hunter Biden”
Here you are again, pushing the same stuff that has no bearing on this topic. What's wrong with you?
I just made the same point about crime! I love Matt, but the NE Corridor types stay at least six months behind the concerns of the rest of the nation. Even SF is primed to boot Chesa Boudin. Meanwhile, the Krystal Ball crowd are still "Nothing to see here, move along."
It’s like watching a rope line where Kyle Kulinski pulled her off the mountain and now Saagar Enjeti is swearing and praying at his carabiner.
The U.S. violent crime rate fell by more than 1/3 from 1999 to 2019. The 2020 rate rose noticeably---some researchers attribute the upswing to the pandemic, but other researchers say more research is needed. But crime rates fluctuate over time, and even researchers have difficulty attributing any significant rise or fall to any one factor.
See my post below. Not to mention the riots invited every pyro, psychopath, looter, and other miscreants to the party. Idle time, opportunity, etc.
Suicide among older white men is WAY up. See Chris Hedges on "anomie." Neo-liberals like the Clintons shipped their jobs overseas, and the drug companies shipped oxycontin to Appalachia. All neat and tidy.
So are the price of bananas in Brazil. Not to mention most of the tea in China.