And it’s right wing Via Salon: Domestic extremists killed at least 25 people in the United States last year and all of them had ties to forms of right-wing extremism, including white supremacy, anti-government extremism and right-wing conspiracy theorists, according to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League. Domestic extremist-related mass killings have increased in the past 12 years with most of them being tied to right-wing extremists, the ADL found. Researchers say the most concerning incidents are shootings inspired by white supremacist “accelerationist” propaganda urging such attacks. “White supremacists who consider themselves accelerationist believe that there’s no way they will ever be able to reform or change society to reflect what white supremacists want [and] the only option really is to actually destroy society and from the ashes, build a new white-dominated or white only society,” said Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow at the ADL.
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I was asked to contribute to an Italian online publication‘s tribute to John Kenneth Galbraith, by answering some questions about the relevance of his major work The New Industrial State (Galbraith and Galbraith 1967) six decades later. These were my responses. About sixty years later, how relevant and actual is the vision of the American … Continue reading "How does JK Galbraith’s The New Industrial Estate hold up after 6 decades?"
NC Republicans announce Medicaid expansion The vote is not planned until later this month. Until then anything can happen. On Thursday, however, Tar Heel State Republicans in firm control of the state legislature announced a deal for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. North Carolina would be the 40th state to expand Medicaid after a decade of Republican resistance. The Washington Post reports: The deal marks a stark turnaround for Republican leaders that played out over years in North Carolina and in states across the country, as more and more governors and legislatures expanded Medicaid to low-income residents. When that stopped working years ago, advocates put the measures on the ballot in seven conservative-leaning states, and voters approved expansion in every one. Associated Press: “This is something that we can all be very proud of,” House Speaker Tim Moore said at a Legislative Building news conference with Senate leader Phil Berger. “What a huge announcement this is for North Carolina.
It’s time for CPAC again, the annual gathering of the most committed members of the right wing in America to catch up with their fellow travelers and own them some libs. Lately they’ve been holding their little convention several times a year in different places like Hungary and Texas but this weekend they’re back on their favorite stomping grounds in DC. There’s a bit of controversy over the fact that certain probable presidential candidates aren’t bothering to show up this year, something that would have been unheard of in years past. Instead of attending the traditional hate-fest they’ve decided to go to a big donor confab hosted by the Club for Growth. Why? Because CPAC has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the MAGA movement with Donald Trump topping the bill as keynote speaker. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis decided to attend the donor meeting rather than go mano a mano with the former president, taking refuge with the group that has said it’s dedicated to depriving Trump of another term. DeSantis isn’t the only one. Former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, South Dakota Gov.
Ain’t she sweet? Remember, she bought Kevin McCarthy’s soul and keeps in her pocket.
They suck so hard: IN EARLY FEBRUARY, Republicans brought an FBI veteran to Capitol Hill whom they hoped would expose a “deep state conspiracy” among Democrats and their accomplices in the intelligence community. The GOP witness was part of a network of “whistleblowers” — funneled to congressional Republicans’ new Weaponization of Government panel by allies of Donald Trump — to reveal covert attacks on the former president and broad, anti-conservative discrimination. But before the interview was over, it was the GOP witness who was failing to answer difficult questions — and Democratic committee staff doing the asking. In the interview, the witness, former FBI supervisory intelligence analyst George Hill, had admitted he had little or no firsthand knowledge of alleged “deep state” scandals. Instead, he brought baggage of his own: a history of inflammatory commentary on social media.
Here they go again: When President Joe Biden called out Republicans recently during his State of the Union for trying to cut Social Security, GOP lawmakers were so offended they literally booed and jeered the president, challenging him to name a single Republican who was targeting Social Security. Even when the White House later enumerated many such Republicans, the GOP made a big show that Biden was unduly vilifying Republicans for proposals coming from an unserious corner of their party. But less than a month later, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are suddenly having very serious conversations that would, in fact, cut Social Security—with a bipartisan group of senators quietly looking at raising the target retirement age for most Americans from 67 to 70. While lawmakers caution everything is preliminary, the mere idea of raising the retirement age is already sounding alarms in the Capitol. The news, which was first reported by Semafor, comes amid heightening tensions over Social Security, as Republicans seek ways to cut government spending.
Gov. Wokety-woke DeWoke: Selling America by the pound Death by a thousand cuts is too euphemistic a phrase to describe what Gov. Wokety-woke DeWoke and his Florida GOP accomplices are doing there: Florida Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Lake Mary) wants bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and other members of the Florida executive cabinet or legislature to register with the state or face fines. Brodeur’s proposal, Senate Bill 1316: Information Dissemination, would require any blogger writing about government officials to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.Florida bill targets union due collections for public school teachers In the bill, Brodeur wrote that those who write “an article, a story, or a series of stories,” about “the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature,” and receives or will receive payment for doing so, must register with state offices within five days after the publication of an article that mentions an elected state official.
And is it too early to start drinking? You might want to put off watching this Jon Stewart clip until after noon. Firearm death stats for kids here. This tweet featuring lies and lying liars is easier to take somehow. After my post below, I’m a bit wrung out. We have a lot to worry about. OTOH, rewatching this clip helps: We have won victory after victory after victory to get here.
This is not a joke, unfortunately: Donald Trump and a group of individuals incarcerated for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 riot have collaborated on a song called “Justice for All.” It will debut Thursday at midnight on streaming services, including Apple Music and Spotify, according to a person with knowledge of the project. The track interpolates Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance into “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which is performed by a group of about 20 inmates, called the J6 Prison Choir, housed at the Washington, D.C. jail. The song ends with the inmates chanting, “USA!” Profits are slated to benefit the families of people imprisoned for their alleged roles in the Capitol riots that left five people dead. A music video featuring footage of Trump performing patriotic acts during his presidency and shots of the riots, including police firing tear gas, will debut later Friday morning on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast. Trump recorded the Pledge of Allegiance at Mar-a-Lago a couple of weeks ago, specifically for this track.