Friday Evening

enjoy

Maybe They Should Guess How Many Jelly Beans Are In The Big Jar

With all these candidates, how are we supposed to choose?

What What Now

Politicians is weird.

Mayor de Blasio is expected to announce he’s running for president next week, according to three sources with knowledge of the plans.

And Claire McCaskill Tweeted It Out

The job of Wittes is to make people think everything's ok until it's too late.

Why nominal liberals are always looking to these types for wisdom is... puzzling.

NAIRU

Economists have been obsessed for years with the unemployment/inflation tradeoff. Also the inequality/growth tradeoff. The former was basically as sophisticated as saying "um, I think if unemployment gets below....umm... 6%? maybe that would bad." The latter was as sophisticated as posing the question and then never answering it but still believing it. That maybe higher inequality could be *bad* for growth, just thinking out loud here, was never really seriously considered. Both of these things have been excuses for really horrible policies which have caused so much suffering.

Morning Thread

Some Call Him The Space Cowboy

Dems we talked to believe the Trump-as-deplorable message could work better for Joe than it did for Hillary. The reasons vary, but some boil down to a simple judgment: It was the singer not the song. https://t.co/UpZEPVGmDM

— Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) May 3, 2019

There are two criticisms of the Clinton campaign (these are separate from press coverage of that campaign). One is that Clinton was, despite her backing of the entire D establishment, a bad candidate who could not overcome her reputation. The other was that Robby Mook ran a dumb campaign because Clinton hires morons. I think even most Bernie Bros side with the latter, mostly, even though Bernie Bros are not her biggest fans by definition. The criticism of the Dem establishment, that they themselves are making, is that they cannot choose the singer. This is weird. Our judgment was wrong last time we're gonna get it right this time!

The black guy from Kenya, whatever his flaws (he was black and Muslim and from Kenya and hung out with angry black communist preachers which dominated media coverage for months), ran good campaigns. Pretty sure it's the song and the dumbasses you hire.

There Are No Good Republicans

Most people don't pay much attention to politics - they have better hobbies like eating glass! - so I don't mean no people who pull the R lever, but nobody who is actively engaged in politics, even ones who just annoy you on facebook, are good. Any Nevertrumper who won't say "I will vote for the exhumed corpse of Karl Marx if he is the Democratic nominee and also in every other federal election" is just a grifter.

The Wack Pack

I think actual liberals are somewhat to blame, but it's quite amazing how many random weirdo conservatives have their every move documented. Candace Owens! Ben Shapiro! That Erick Guy!

I can't think of anything equivalent on the Left.

Afternoon Thread

enjoy

Into Space!

I know I often sound like a bit of a Luddite - and fair enough - but the idea that we are going to colonize Mars is bugshit crazy. Maybe there should be manned trips there. A bit above my pay grade to know. But no we are not going to settle a new planet. It's a bit cold and lacks, well, most things we need to exist.

The United States’ eyes — and our unified commitment — should focus on opening the door, in our time, to the great migration of humankind to Mars. Books aplenty have been written about how to do this, and they have inspired government and non-government leaders to make lofty plans. But plans without a detailed architecture, and without that “next step” into the future, are just fantasy.

We can't even build a supertrain.

What To Do

I don't know, really. I am dumb. But "Trump is uniquely bad and also we, the House Democrats, are powerless" is not an especially winning message. "We'll fix it when we win the next election" is not a compelling message when...you just won an election.

At some point they're going to have to fight. They're gonna have to threaten someone with jail. Maybe they will lose that fight, but...

Morning, Morning

Late Night

Rock on.

Does Anybody Remember Laughter?

I am humorless now, apparently, but I just witnessed a discussion on the internet about who should play Barr on SNL and... no. Stop it.

Wednesday Evening

Enjoy

Meritocracy

I admit I don't entirely understand these prosecutions, but every black kid in higher ed who had a peer or professor think he/she get in because of some sort of affirmative action lol.

LOS ANGELES — Federal prosecutors are pursuing a new set of parents in the college admissions fraud scandal, sending ripples of fear through elite circles in Southern California and stirring speculation about which well-heeled executive or celebrity might be the next to be charged.

We Are All Pundits Now

Pareene.

Watching Joe Biden, a man who was already too out-of-step with the party and the country to win the nomination 12 years ago, claim the “electability” mantle only strengthens that feeling. No one really wants President Biden. It’s just that the “better things aren’t possible” caucus accidentally managed to convince some large portion of the Democratic electorate that they must hold their noses and vote for actively worse things.

Expecting voters to behave like pundits—asking people to vote for what expensive consultants and Sunday show guests imagine people like them might want instead of what they actually want—would be perverse even if it worked. But unless and until the Democratic electorate can be given license to support what it supports, each failure of the “electability” paradigm will only be taken as proof of the need to retreat further into learned helplessness.

If you’re not that excited to vote for Joe Biden, I promise you, your neighbor isn’t, either.

Crimes Are Good

I get why the first round of people went to work for Trump. They figured they could control him. Dumbass president, needs some smart responsible people to take care of him. Not that all these people were smart, but they thought they were because they are people.

I don't think the first round were a bunch of dedicated public servants or anything, but maybe they didn't precisely go in it for the crimes. Now why are you there? There's no other reason.

Morning Thread