Friday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Friday, February 25, 2022
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66 comments
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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Over 1700 people have been arrested in Russia for protesting the invasion of Ukraine. The culture department has warned that “negative comments will be treated as treason.”
For some people, too much is never enough.
‘War criminal’ or ‘savvy strongman’? Putin invasion deepens GOP divide
Because of course they do, they have no soul.
Gee, I wonder. Whatever could the reason be?
From NPR yesterday (the whole thing is worth a listen)
[Emphasis added]
I desperately want to see protest signs that say “For Nafanya!”
@OzarkHillbilly:
Well, as the legends on their t-shirts read, I’D RATHER BE RUSSIAN THAN A DEMOCRAT.
And there’s this:
http://www.thebulwark.com/trumps-despicable-disgraceful-and-un-american-response-to-putins-evil/
Just some data on relative strength of Russian and Ukrainian forces. In graphical form so I couldn’t cut and paste.
A graphical comparison of Russian and Ukrainian military forces
One Ukrainian story:
Ukrainian woman says Russian troops should carry seeds so flowers grow where they die
@CSK: They are welcome to move there. I’m sure Vlad would welcome them with open cell doors.
@OzarkHillbilly:
Russian television is broadcasting Trump’s praise of Putin to justify invading Ukraine.
Well, of course they are.
Remarkable. Sounds like something from a movie, TBH:
Via WaPo
I believe the suggestion has already been made here, but since Putin is intent on overturning the post-Cold War security order, I suggest a total land, sea, and air blockade of Kaliningrad. After all, it was historically a German city.
The way the people of Ukraine have collectively risen up to defend their nation has been really inspiring.
It also makes me think of the collapse of Afghanistan and how much that was due to the people of Afghanistan being shockingly passive in the face of the Taliban
@Stormy Dragon: I was thinking of Afghanistan as well, but from a different time period.
Who is the Charlie Wilson in the current Congress who will help get weapons to Ukraine?
@Scott:
When it looked certain the Soviets would invade Finland, a joke circulated: The Soviets are so many and our country is so small. Where will we bury them all?
The Soviets won, but suffered man more dead and wounded than the Fins. That may be the best Ukraine can hope for.
HarvardLaw92 must be pleased!
Biden names Ketanji Brown Jackson, DC appeals court judge, to Supreme Court
@Jen:
Jackson’s husband is the twin brother of Paul Ryan’s brother-in-law.
If you haven’t heard the story of Snake Island in the Black Sea…
As Russians approached Snake Island a Russian officer says:
A Ukrainian soldier responds:
Those were the final known words heard from the island.
All 13 Ukrainians were killed.
In a world full of Donald Trumps and Tucker Carlsons…be more like the Snake Island 13.
@Jen:
Darn it…saw this too late…
@Stormy Dragon:
All you need to know about the difference between Ukraine and Afghanistan is that Ashraf Ghani fled days before the collapse and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Kiev as the Russians advance.
The largest public power utility in Indiana–AES–just announced they will be retiring all coal-powered plants by 2025, which, if my math is correct, is in 34 months and one week.
Summer of last year, the third largest public utility–NIPSCO, northern Indiana around Chicago–announced a complete switch to renewables by 2030.
This in a state that had 100,000+ coal mining jobs at the end of last century, and whose state legislature has tried repeatedly in recent years to mandate new coal plants.
Indiana is just a couple of tiers below West Virginia as a coal producing state, or was. The era of coal is officially over.
I’ve really been enjoying this tune. It’s not just that it’s a good song, and a good arrangement of it with some high quality performers. It’s that at 2:05 we see a performer named “Hutch Hutchison” who makes me think @Michael Reynolds has a secret life as a bass player in Hawaii. Michael, your photo in your avatar here is small, but man that gives me the right vibe.
When I worked for the United Telephone Company of Indiana in the northern part of the state in 1980 I would run into employees of Northern Indiana Public Service Company at jobsites common to both utilities. There was mixed sentiment among those workers about NIPSCO’s abandonment of the Bailly Nuclear Power Plant that was in planning since 1967 and started started construction in 1971.
Looks like NIPSCO management was prescient at the time.
Don’t know if there is any way to calculate how much less coal would have been burned if that plant was completed. Don’t know if there is any way to calculate how much damage would have occurred to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Lake Michigan by Bailly.
“The Dunes” was a favorite summer road trip when I lived in the South ‘Burbs of Chicago. (1964-’68)
@CSK: @CSK: I don’t know, but if he intends for his work to be approved by the Senate, he probably needs to be a Republican.
I don’t know why, but when I replied to Jen in my last comment, it linked to CSK 3 or 4 stops downline.
Zelensky to EU leaders: “This might be the last time you see me alive”
Imagine how fast one Donald J. Trump would have skedaddled if he were in that position.
@just nutha:
It’s my magnetic appeal.
@Sleeping Dog:
Cadet Bonespurs has never been known for his courage.
Why Israel is having trouble picking sides in Russia’s war on Ukraine
Sharansky is a former political prisoner of the Soviet Union. “Court Jew” comes directly from numerous Anti-Semitic tropes and coming from a Jew who has a life history that Sharansky has, can be seen as a extreme attack on his partners in the Israeli government.
@Neil Hudelson:
This cannot possibly be true.
I distinctly remember TFG saying he was going to save the coal industry.
@Daryl and his brother Darryl:
You misheard. It was actually “We’re going to put our minors back to work”
@Jay L Gischer:
Hutch Hutchinson is so much better than my other doppelgänger. Someone sent me a link to a porn video featuring a guy who looks disturbingly like me. So like me I had to squint to see differences.
@OzarkHillbilly: Eric Boehlert in his Press Run newsletter commented about this article today:
@Jay L Gischer: That’s really great! I’ve heard a little from “The Marcus King Band” before. I should listen to a little more.
Mavis Staples, Nick Lowe and Wilco sang The Weight released a version … Sweet jesus, 10 years ago. Time flies. Anyways, if you want to give it a listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WmlUXsjSv8
Adam Johnson, the grinning dullard who waved to the camera when he was photographed strolling out of the Capitol with the Speaker’s podium on January 6, 2021, has been sentenced to 75 days in jail.
@Mu Yixiao: that sounds more like Matt Gaetz, tbh.
I know I have an odd obsession with the SorryAntivaxxer website, but I have to admit, if I weren’t already pro-vaccine, I would certainly become so by reading it.
When Omicron swept through my family in late December/early January, all of us had nothing more than cold symptoms, despite several members having numerous comorbidities including cancer, diabetes, asthma, and high blood pressure.
A good friend of mine who is asthmatic and obese also had Covid, and one night had trouble breathing. She went to the ER, was given oxygen for a few hours, and was sent home. A few days later, her Covid symptoms were gone. She, like my family, is vaxxed and boosted.
The trajectory is very different for the folks featured on the SAV website. After railing against vaccines and masks for months or a year or more, they come down with Covid (despite their ivermectin/hydroxychloriquine/vitamins C & D/zinc prophylactics). The first few days are like a cold, and they say, “Pfft! I knew this was no big deal!”
But then it gets worse, with hacking coughs, high fevers and extreme fatigue. Then they have trouble breathing and head to the ER, where they are given oxygen. Unlike my friend, however, their breathing doesn’t get better after a few hours. After days on oxygen, they are switched to a BIPAP machine, and then eventually a ventilator.
At this point, a relative usually takes over the person’s social media account. Most of these relatives give very detailed descriptions of the person’s health condition as they ask for ongoing prayers.
After being on the ventilator and stuck in a hospital bed for a few weeks, the person begins to get blood clots. They are given blood thinners, but because they have so many things inserted into their body–the vent, IVs, other blood lines–they start bleeding out around all the incisions. So it becomes a dance where the doctors stop the blood thinners, then restart them when the clots reform, then have to stop them again.
After about a month, other things happen. The person’s kidney’s fail, and they go on dialysis. Their lungs might collapse, or their liver might fail. They might have a stroke or heart attack due to inability to control the clots. They develop bed sores. Because the ventilator is no longer working well, they may be given a tracheotomy or placed on an ECMO machine.
Many of these folks die soon after this stage, but some of them hang on for months and months of suffering. The rare ones who survive long enough to be sent home now have to relearn how to walk, talk, and pretty much do anything for themselves.
After reading enough of these oh so similar stories, all I can think is, “Why? WHY??!! Why in the world would you want to go through all this when a vaccine could have prevented it?”
@Mike in Arlington:
@Jay L Gischer:
Since we’re talking covers, here’s Marcus King and Billy Strings doing Summertime.
For the last 1.5 years, a number of Twitter leftists have been advocating for more extreme and long-lasting shutdowns to fight Covid, with payments for all Americans of $2000 a month. They have the incorrect perception that that’s what happened in other countries. During this time, they’ve gotten a lot of criticism for this view from Twitter mainstream Democrats, e.g., “who is going to produce your food if everything is shut down?”
Now those same Twitter leftists are saying that no one should be working right now due to the crisis in Ukraine. And now it’s not just mainstream Dems, but more authentic leftists, who are telling them to shut up, for two reasons:
1) It’s pretty offensive to think that you’re suffering from the crisis in Ukraine here in the US. It’s the Ukrainian people who are suffering.
2) One guy, an anti-wage theft activist, expressed it well. He said that while there are tons of issues in our economy–wage theft, exploitation of workers, financialization of markets, etc.–too many leftists act as if the economy isn’t real, that work and economic activity are merely capitalist concepts created to harm ordinary people so the wealthy can prosper. He tried to impress upon the “shut it all down” folks that the economy is real, goods and services are real, and most jobs are necessary. We can’t shut down most or all economic activity unless we want people to starve.
@Mimai: Thanks! What a great way to slide into the weekend!
@Monala:
I wonder the same thing.
The easy answer is “Because they don’t believe COVID is that bad, while they do believe the vaccine is nefarious or deadly or both.” This just pushes the question to “why do they believe this?” And that’s a more complex answer, which would include exploring questions like “Why is there so much misinformation about COVID and vaccines?”
Part of the latter question can be answered by trump’s initial response to the trump virus. he said it’s no big deal, therefore it’s no big deal.
But then that begs the question “why are so many so eager to believe Benito and not the evidence all around them?”
At this point I despair and conclude human stupidity is boundless.
@Monala:
Do any of these proponents of shut-it-all-down actually work for pay, or do they make a career of freeloading?
@Monala:
Periodically I wander over to Naked Capitalism. Often the top line articles are good. The analysis is from a leftist perspective, but usually objective. The comment section is another matter entirely, the “economy isn’t real” attitude flows like a geyser. I often wonder what these people do and where do they think jobs come from? As the person you quoted notes, there are real issues, but the economy is real and necessary.
@CSK:
Probably belong to the Thanks Dad class of trustfundtarians, doing esoteric post graduate, but non degree terminal studies.
NATO activates a response force for the first time in the alliance’s history, moving 40,000 more troops into central Europe:
NATO Response Force activated for first time
@Mike in Arlington: @Mimai: Thanx for both of those.
@Michael Reynolds:
Mr Modest.
🙂
Gas Buddy is showing that one of the two gas stations in town that jumped in price from $3.799/gal. to $3.999/gal. yesterday has dropped back to $3.799/gal. In the meantime 2 of the 7 other gas stations in town have held their price at $3.799/gal. and the 5 other outlets are still at $3.699/gal.
Disclaimer: Most times Gas Buddy is accurate.
Oil Prices Fall As Russia’s Energy Industry Avoids Sanctions
@Mister Bluster:
Noticed something similar when I went out last night. Obviously some profiteering going on.
@Monala: “who’s going to produce your food…?”
Wait… aren’t grocery stores stocked by robots and elves and the like?
Speaking of “gas” prices (yes, I know gas in US means petrol, ye heathen):
UK natural gas prices.
Person at work currently paying £180/month for gas bill.
Checked last week latest renewal quote for 6 month fixed price (IIRC): £260
Will probably rise still more in the near future.
Petrol (LOL) now at 149p/litre ; I think that works out about $7.5 per gallon.
And rising. Probably 160 by end of next week.
Hard times ahead.
Tax rises looming also; and there’s only going to more of those.
At CPAC today, Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed that she knows the 2020 election was stolen.
But she doesn’t know how it was stolen.
@JohnSF:
at least we drive on the right side of the road.
@Sleeping Dog:
Anything to be different, eh?
🙂
@CSK:
I’m betting it was by the elves and robots from the grocery store, moonlighting for extra $$$.
@Monala:
@just nutha:
@Sleeping Dog:
Maybe I can dig up some Labour Party publications from the 1950’s to explain things in simple, but definitely Left, terms about the importance of materialist realism in economic policy, social welfare and workers rights.
Or perhaps I can summon the spirits of Clement Attlee and Nye Bevan to just slap their silly heads.
@Flat Earth Luddite:
I think you may well be right about that. By gum, it’s gotta be elves and robots.
Ukrainian leadership–this choked me up. These are brave, brave people.
Between this and the soldiers on Snake Island–I’m impressed. These people have courage. I hope Putin gets his backside handed back to him.
@Jen: I keep hoping we’ll hear there’s a Russian coup and Putin gets the Gaddafi treatment.
@Jax: I keep hoping we’ll hear there’s a Russian coup and Putin gets the Putin treatment: Dropped out of a 10th floor window.
“Ohhhh! What a tragic accident! How ever could that have happened????”
@OzarkHillbilly: 😛 😛
Drastic times call for creative measures.
‘Bout damn time.
I guess he didn’t appreciate being shown for the racist(?) piece of trash he is.
Because of course, they would never make a mistake. I wonder how it is that it never occurs to these people that their insistence of never having made a mistake, means they did it on purpose.
May I just take a few moments of your time to shriek in pure rage?
UK Home Office publication today explains why Ukrainian refugees are not eligible as they have passed through other “safe third countries” en route.
I would say their shriveled bureaucratic bastard souls are condemned to the deepest pits of Dis, but I suspect Satan has higher sodding standards.
The Home Office needs reorganizing with a fecking flamethrower!
Shriek ends.
Thank you for your time.
This is really, really damn serious shit:
NATO Secretary General press conference at extraordinary virtual NATO Summit, 25 FEB 2022
@JohnSF:
It is.
@JohnSF: As I noted to Luddite a few day ago about another similar ruling (this one about relief to students who borrowed to go to for-profit vocational schools that didn’t offer programs that qualify people for employment–it seems that only students who defauted qualify; students who stayed current are on the hook for the whole nut), we’re not even going to have enough entrails, let alone rope and lampposts/tree limbs.
Yikes. It just keeps getting more absurd. (And Biden is still using FG’s policies and excuses at the border, too. 🙁 )