Wednesday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Wednesday, April 5, 2023
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55 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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YouTuber prankster shot and wounded by target of practical joke
In a society as armed as ours, it was inevitable somebody was going to shoot his dumb ass.
I spent last night trying to get information on the Wisconsin Supreme court election last night but all anyone wanted to talk about is Donald Trump. But as luck would have it the Supreme Court of Wisconsin is in Democratic hands.
Sorry the link button failed me
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/a-bad-night-for-sanity-in-the-midwest/
@Rick DeMent:..but all anyone wanted to talk about is Donald Trump.
If it’s cheese or sleeze the public always takes the low road!
@Rick DeMent: I was following all the main elections last night, including the Chicago mayor race, which may not interest people as much because it was between (allegedly) two Democrats, though Paul Vallas was the more conservative of the two (he was actually endorsed by Betsy DeVos) and he was expected to win, but the more liberal candidate Brandon Johnson (let’s go Brandon!) pulled off an upset last night. I’m expecting Republicans to claim this proves Dems want to defund the cops.
The Repubs did manage to win a state senate election in WI, albeit closer than would be expected from the partisan lean of the district, and this gives the legislature enough votes that in theory they could impeach and remove the new Supreme Court justice. I don’t know what purpose it would serve, though, since she’d simply get a replacement from the Democratic governor.
@Kylopod:
Ironic considering Trump’s all-caps rant on “Truth” Social demanding Congress “DEFUND THE DOJ AND FBI.”
Of course this just means he wants to defund the cops that can hold him to account. He’s fine with robust funding for the cops who kneel on Black people’s necks.
@Kylopod:
Let’s go Brandon indeed! Man, Daddy Reynolds is gonna be so pissed. A Progressive won an election and now something something doom.
More seriously though, I think there is a strong coalition of liberal/progressive White people, pragmatic Black People, and Queers that wants actual change in the city. These are the voters that convinced Rham he was cooked, that voted for Lightfoot (and nuked her) and have now defeated the cops, the homo/transphobes and Rich Lowrys.
I think another takeaway is the Chicago is sick to death of dictators who will loot the city and then call us all assholes for complaining.
One more, my partner and I got yelled at by supporters of the Italian Cop Stereotype who was running for alderman. The fact that we’re white and didn’t take the flyers for the white guy was an affront to them. It didn’t matter though since he got blown out by the Daley bootlicker who happened to be Asian. Sorry boys, we live in an Asian majority ward. Oh, and both of them lined up to stick their heads as far up Vallas’ ass as they could. Seriously, both of their campaign signs had Vallas on them as well. Way to show right out the gate that you’re a bootlicker.
Couple of other bits of anecdata…
1. It appears that the youth (youths!!!) massively increased their turnout. Depending on how you slice it by about 30%. I suspect most of them went for Brandon.
2. I suspect every trans person voted for Brandon except for one. I know her and she’s an asshole who thinks if she’s MAGA enough they won’t murder her. She’s unpleasant. Other than that is suspect the Queer community (fuck you Rich) broke heavily for Brandon. Tom Tunney can choke on his money along with the other rich white gay men that think we should tone it down and be more respectable. Vallas played footsie with some really (in the absolute sense of that word) bad people. Awake IL is a hate group and the FOP is too. Vallas scared the crap out of us to the point that I was engaging with neighbors and other people that don’t pay attention to not vote for him.
Most of the white people I tried to educate about that only cared that Vallas stood for ORDER. Why white people value ORDER above everything else is beyond me.
@Beth: I don’t think I could care any less who wins the mayor’s race in Chicago. Indeed, did not know there was a race. The important political news yesterday was in next door Wisconsin. That has outside impact. But it points to abortion as our strongest social issue, our best wedge.
All people value order, and I suspect the love of order follows age rather than race. Older people are more vulnerable, or see themselves that way. They need order.
to follow the good day yesterday, I won’t be required to work tomorrow.
Assuming, that is, nothing urgent or important suddenly turns up. You’d think nothing will, as the government also takes part or all of Easter week off. But it’s also a good opportunity to spring something up on unexpecting, tired people anxious for a break.
Some years ago, one of Mexico City’s big welfare agencies published a request for proposals on an easter Thursday. This required us to forego not just the half day off, but also the whole day off on Friday. Worse yer, we had to get the operations area onboard, and they really didn’t want to.
That was the first time I threatened a coworker. After first trying unsuccessfully for several minutes to be sympathetic and get him to bow to the inevitable, he left me no choice. I said, “Ok. That’s fine. I’ll call Mr. A.P. (the bad-tempered major owner of the company*) and tell him we have to forego this big project because you don’t want to be bothered with it.”
I’d never witnessed anyone do a 180 so fast.
This year seems ok so far. Actually, few things like the above ever happen. But when they do, they leave a long-lasting wake of trauma behind them.
*Not his real name.
@Beth:
It’s not that they value order, it’s that they respond in Pavlovian fashion to the phrase “law and order.” Just like a lot of political buzzwords, it’s less about literal meaning than what it signals. And this particular phrase has such a racist legacy (popularized by that beacon of lawfulness, Dick Nixon) that even if it were being used sincerely today, good luck trying to convince black and brown Americans that it is. Of course, I’m being overly charitable in suggesting that anyone who does so has innocent intentions. The pols who still use it know exactly what it really means, and so do most voters.
I didn’t follow the Chicago election all that much, but there’s something insane about taking a guy who is a teacher and calling him a radical leftist who loves crime. Right now, being woke polls at like 55%. Trans rights for kids is even higher, I think. Most Americans think highly of teachers and schools. And why shouldn’t they? Being dumb and insensitive is not positive. Being bigoted is not something one desires. Being terrified about stuff that not’s true is not good.
I hope Biden figures this out. That stupid attempt to placate the morons by vetoing the ‘radical’ overhaul of DC’s crime laws should not happen again.
Trump held an “emergency prayer call” with Paula White last night to seek “supernatural wisdom.”
@Kylopod:
It’s not quite that simple, unless you think Black and Brown people are almost, as racist as Whites. Pew research: Between June 2020 and September 2021 on the question of whether there should be a net increase in police funding, Whites moved from 33 to 49%, Blacks from 22 to 38%, and Hispanics from 37 to 46%. This despite some exceedingly disturbing police behavior.
@Michael Reynolds:
Don’t worry, somewhere someone will lose an election after Brandon says something stupid and you’ll jump all over it as proof that Progressives and dooooooom.
Not me. Maybe it’s the childhood abuse and trauma, or maybe it’s the therapy, but I know that Order is an illusion.
@Kylopod:
One of the people I talked to was a dad of a kid in my kid’s class. He’s a great guy. He’s treated my transition with warmth and respect. He was my son’s coach and he was able to put aside his own competitiveness to help my kid with his anxiety (and that he sucked at baseball). He told me his NUMBER 1! concern was car jackings. As if, 1. people are routinely and constantly carjacked in our neighborhood, and 2. the imposition of a massive Fallujah-esque police response would somehow solve the problem. I stared at him dumbfounded. The CPD has intentionally failed to do it’s job for years. Giving them more power isn’t going to solve any problem.
@Kathy:
The first time?!
@Beth:
Such as…when? Which election did I say we lost because Biden said something progressive? On which issue do you imagine I’d react by blaming Biden for saying something stupid? On what issue do you even think you and I disagree on? Trans athletes? That’s it?
This heretic-hunting paranoia by people like you and @Stormy is tedious, juvenile and counter-productive.
@Michael Reynolds:
I don’t have time to go dig for it, if it even exists, but I suspect that if polling were done, White people would value ORDER above everything else. Even if it meant that people had to give up their lives or rights. There must be ORDER. It’s the whole hierarchy of the neo-confederacy. It’s the dad in my comment above.
I suspect, that Black people (with a notable exception) would not be interested in ORDER as much as safety. The notable exception would be the Lowry/Thomas/Willie Wilson crowd that yells about “personal responsibility” and pants height as if that’s a solution to any problems. I suspect that most Black People, even very conservative Black People are much more pragmatic about things.
I think the thing is that most White people believe/are taught that ORDER brings safety. When in reality, safety brings order.
I should also add, as a Chaos Goblin, I find order boring and oppressive in addition to being an illusion.
@Beth:
It was many years ago.
Overall I tend more toward polite persuasion and sympathy. We deal a lot with other departments, and often need complex stuff in a hurry. I rarely have a problem obtaining such things, even when we make outrageous requests (like that certified check for a huge amount just last week).
@Michael Reynolds:
Darling, I’m not “heretic hunting”, I’m needling you because I’m juvenile and I find it hilarious. You have a long history here of punching left. While you and I don’t have a lot of disagreement on substance, we have some deep disagreement on philosophy and tactics.
@Michael Reynolds:
The issue is not that I consider you a heretic, it’s that I consider myself an apostate.
@Beth:
Perhaps you’ve never been in a place where order was seriously threatened. Absence of order may outrage the ruling class, but it always harms the weakest most. The question is the balance, how much order, how much liberty.
As for boring, I’m sure you’ve heard the old saw about the ancient Chinese curse? May you live in interesting times?
@Stormy Dragon:
Yes, I’m aware that you’re a convert and as is often the case with converts, they out-zeal the most zealous. I’m not a convert, I was raised liberal if pro-military, attended my first anti-war demo when I was fifteen, anti-Nixon demos at age 19. There was a couple year interlude of adolescent libertarianism, but I’ve been a man of the Left since about age 21, since I outgrew libertarianism. (Although TBH, politics took a back seat for a few years there in my twenties as I focused on getting laid and committing crimes).
Things keep working out.
Just a few minutes ago there was this request for proposals which got published late. Fortunately there’s no interest in taking it.
I planned on making Lightyear sandwiches tomorrow for breakfast, to celebrate the long weekend. So much better now that I stumbled on the fact that Passover begins today, and religious law and custom forbid eating leavened bread. My non-religious custom is to defy such nonsense.
I do like matzo, especially the kind with egg in it, but it’s not good for open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches.
My one big worry is what to cook to go after the tomato soup. I wanted something with rice, but I have my tomato soup with rice, corn, and lime. So that’s out. I thought of stew, but soup and stew is a bit repetitive texturally.
So I’m inching towards chicken milanesas with oven roasted potato slices, and a side of stir fried sprouts, onions, celery*, snow peas, and shredded carrots.
Also a second try at the apple-filled puff pastries.
*They sell pre-washed piece of celery stalks now. It’s far less than a whole piece of celery, and easier to consume it all without fear it will go bad.
@Rick DeMent: That quote had me wondering – it seems to enshrine Act 10 as the absolute best thing in Wisconsin polity. Better than the gerrymandering, better than overturning abortion rights. So what does it do? I had to look it up.
Act 10 repeals the authority of family child care workers to collectively bargain with the State. University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (UWHC) Board and Authority: The law removes language mandating collective bargaining for UWHC employees.
So, this is the final threat? The ultimate badness? It is Scott Walker’s “signature accomplishment”. Really? Collective bargaining is the worst, apparently. I mean, you can question these priorities from several angles, not just the left.
On a completely different topic, I come to sing the praises of Big Pharma.
I’ve been taking Mounjaro for a couple of months and I’ve lost, as of this morning’s official weigh-in, 30 pounds. It’s an auto-injector in the ass once a week and as a person with a needle phobia* that’s not fun. Was 240, now 210.
Something about this drug works in mysterious ways. Appetite suppressant? Yeah, but it does something else, it changes my emotional relationship to food. No one gets fat because of hunger, it’s an emotional need, a weakness, a self-soothing drug. I’ve said before that you could absolutely trust me with your cocaine, but do not leave a pie within reach. It’s as if I’ve been an alcoholic all my life and now I can quite easily be a social drinker. It’s fukkin amazing.
One thing it does is change the self-defeating sense that all dieters have that any progress is temporary. It doesn’t feel temporary. It feels like I have control.
*I’ve done it four times myself, just to prove that I can, but normally I make my wife do it while I wince and suck on a bottle of whiskey.
Because the order they value has them above the others.
@CSK: Shows how little either of them know. The correct term is divine wisdom. (And watch, it’ll turn out that I misspelled it. 🙁 )
For years I have hung up or refused to answer surveys. One or two experiences I had 30-40 years ago where the survey asker questioned me way too many times and repetitively also (Just re-wording something asked already) made me this way.
Today I get a email from HBOMax which I subscribe to. I stupidly started to do the survey.
My past experiences were reinforced. The same BS over and over again. On top of that, they began asking me what opinions were of other streaming services I have after I admitted I have Peacock, Paramount+, Netflix, and Amazon. The survey is supposed to be about HBO Max. That’s why the email from that provider said and what name is at the top of the endless survey question pages.
What the bleep does HBOMAX need to know how I feel Peacock ‘The design feels immersive and engaging’ is.
I’m going back to not answering surveys ever again
@Beth: You and @Michael like mixing it up, so have at it. Don’t let me interfere. I would note though, that while order may well be an illusion, so is liberty.
@Beth: Betcha a dollar that son’s coach’s statement translates to “My Number 1! concern is *something that actually happened to me or a neighbor*” from rwnj-ese. (Just a guess, you understand.)
@Beth: Of course they value “order” more. “Order” defines as keeping you in the closet and keeping the nKKKLAAAAAANGS out of “decent people’s neighborhoods.
What’s not to like about order? Think MR wants ME to be able to live in Silver Lake? Guess again.
@Just nutha:
I wonder if White speaks in tongues when she and Trump are together.
@Kathy: Yes! Loose stalks of celery, even unwashed, is a great leap forward for singles/small families.
@Lost in Quebec:
I recall from one semester of statistics, the intent of repeating or rewording questions is to check the answers given. I forget how that is supposed to work. I suppose it goes to weigh the answers. It may work for the data, but not for the respondents.
I ignore all survey requests online, except sometimes when there’s some payoff involved (and that’s rare).
@Just nutha:
What an odd thing to say. Why on earth would I care, unless you had loud parties next door, or too many visitors taking up too much street parking? My neighborhood is middle-aged people walking dogs, and some young musicians sharing places. Not quite sure what you’re imagining.
@CSK: Other than gibberish, I don’t think so. My recollection is that White is more from the “think/believe and grow rich” school than the slain in the spirit camp. More Napoleon Hill than ecstatic gospel choir.
@Just nutha:
There are videos of White speaking in tongues, though. They’re scary: she rolls her eyes up, shakes back and forth, and babbles in no known language.
@Michael Reynolds: You’re really okay with several relatively tall apartment buildings housing Section 8 clients, people transitioning from halfway houses, and retired people completely dependent on food banks and community health visiting nurses to keep body and soul (providing you believe that people have souls, of course) together? I guess I’ve really misjudged you. If only the rest of LA were as enlightened as you.
@CSK: Accounts such as what you describe are outside my limited Paula White experience. I only have watched short bursts of the televangelist show and read a couple of book reviews (not even the books themselves).
@Michael Reynolds:
I had to read this a couple of times to realize that you were talking about the injections and not forcing your wife to do cocaine while you watched. For a second there I thought things took a real wild turn.
@Beth:
That’s not a white people thing. Mr. Reynolds provided the statistics, and they tend to bear out in general.
Street crime affects poor communities and communities of color most. And with a greater certainty than police violence.
I suspect you want creative disorder (people free to protest, be mildly annoying in a joyful rather than threatening way), rather than muggings and vandalism. Unless you have a surprising hobby.
There’s a balance. We can see it being overstepped and becoming authoritarian in places like Florida (they recently arrested a bunch of pro-choice protesters), but conversely only muggers and thieves don’t like a modest level of imposed order.
@Rick DeMent:
Thanks for the update on the WI election. I hadn’t paid attention to the timing and didn’t get my absentee ballot in time, so I missed this one.
Glad to hear the Dems took WISC back.
@Jay L Gischer:
I’m guessing you didn’t pay attention a few years back when Walker eliminated public unions (not being snide, just guessing it wasn’t on your radar). That move essentially turned all state and municipal employees into serfs–only allowed what their legislative masters allow them to have.
I have a friend who is a 911 dispatcher for Dane County (where Madison is). The south side of Chicago has slowly been migrating into Dane County, and bringing the crime with them. Before moving to a supervisory role (where OT is prohibited), she was working the phones 50-60 hours every week, because they’ve understaffed, and unable to negotiate for more positions (or even increased pay for those working the long hours).
All their reps can do is “advise and request” (please, sir! May I have some more?)
I prefer not to be part of a union (was in them–and worked with them–for about 20 years, some good, some terrible), but that’s a personal choice. Nobody should be forbidden from unionizing and having the leverage of collective bargaining.
So… Yeah. Walker’s greatest legacy is literally* creating a server class that y’all keep insisting is “going to happen”.
======
* Actually, really, literally. 🙂
NY Times goes full on with both-siderism.
The 4th Estate has become a parody of itself.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/02/us/politics/trump-indictment.html?smid=tw-share
@Just nutha: I think he wants you to be middle class and colorful.
I have a halfway house next door, for people with emotional problems that require some supervision rather than constant care. I think you would fit in just fine!
We do regularly have problems as residents start needing more care, or a new resident does not do well, though, and one of my neighbors is quick to call the cops when it goes from colorful disorder to property damage or 3am screaming fits, so watch yourself.
(The officer who explained to Mr. Tourette’s that he should turn on sports loudly when he is having a fit was kind of a genius. It no longer sounds like Mr. Tourette’s is screaming obscenities at a person he’s about to kill, and now he just sounds like he’s mad about the game — annoying rather than scary)
We used to have a motel filled with prostitutes, but that amenity was shut down as a public nuisance. They had both hourly and monthly rates. Classy place.
@Just nutha:
It’s the greatest thing since sliced bread 😀
@Mu Yixiao: I take it you found a PC room? If so, congratulations. I lived in Seoul for 6 months and only found one.
@Gustopher: Except that I’m not middle class; it’s only a pretense. As to colorful, depends on what color you want, but probably not.
@Just nutha ignint cracker: And alas, even though I am on record as a person with anger management problems (for example, yes, I have felt the cathartic rush that comes from throwing a desk at a classmate, and Luddite’s story about the customer, the longshoring hook, and leaving someone for dead in the wet cooler is essentially accurate), I’ve never been determined to need supervision because of it, so I probably don’t qualify to live next door to you. 🙁
@Just nutha ignint cracker:
What’s a PC room?
And you and Michael are making the all too common mistake of painting people with the same brush even tho they are using entirely different colors.
Put another way, they can end up at the exact same destination by entirely different routes. More simply, never underestimate how low the avg white person will go to end up at the top of the heap.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has decided to challenge Biden for the nomination in 2024.
@CSK:
The order of my preference for the Dem prez nomination based on announced and anticipated candidates. 1. Biden, 2. Marianne Williamson, 3. RFK Jr.
He’s better than Don Jr, but that’s not saying much.
@Gustopher:
So, Skyway, Marginal Way, or Aurora Ave north of Green Lake? Curse you, gentrification!
@Flat Earth Luddite: Aurora south of Green Lake. I don’t think they shut down the others.
We had the classy, upscale street prostitutes. They would take their kids out trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.
@Gustopher:
Well, that may give “trick or treat” a whole new meaning. :0