My wife has been making cold-brewed coffee lately. At first I, a confirmed Mr. Coffee drip coffee lover, was skeptical. But it didn't take long for me to become a convert. To riff off a previous Facebook discussion on the merits of whisky and whiskey, the cold-brewed coffee (which I heat before drinking), is the scotch to the drip coffee's bourbon. Starting with the same whole beans, the cold-brew comes out with a slightly more refined complex flavor. The drip is slightly stronger and bolder. Both are great.
The NYT's undue focus on the rich and famous in its style and real estate sections lauds some very unsavory people and normalizes behavior only a tiny sliver of the country - let alone the world - can enjoy. But this Rachel Sherman quote almost makes it all okay:
For individual people to admit that they are privileged is not necessarily going to change an unequal system of accumulation and distribution of resources.
The Democrats have a great chance to win back many of the working class Midwesterners who were pivotal in last year’s election even if some Trump voters are deplorableracists who cannot be reached through rational argument. A study by professors from the University of Minnesota and Boston University concludes that Hillary Clinton’s narrow loss may be attributed to her relative hawkishness. For example, Trump came out in opposition to the Iraq War far earlier than Clinton grudgingly admitted it was a mistake. Likewise, analyses from such disparate and credible sources as Scientific American, CNN, and Fortune Magazine see Trump’s opposition to free trade as an important factor in his victory.
Republican Governor Scott Walker is ecstatic over deal to bring Foxconn to Wisconsin. Sweeteners necessary to entice the Asian labor exploiter include environmental regulation waivers and massive tax credits. Perhaps, the costs are worth it in this particular case but if the US still had a pro-worker trade policy that included very high tariffs, Foxconn would have to manufacture in the United States or lose access to the world's most lucrative market. Under such circumstances, there would almost certainly be a number of other companies happy to fill the void.
Maryland, particularly Montgomery County, has become a bright spot in the national health-care picture. From 2012 to 2015, subsidies to health insurance purchasers and the expansion of Maryland’s Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act caused the percentage of uninsured Marylanders to fall from 10.1 percent to 6.7 percent. The national average is 9.4 percent. . .
"We do know, according to the state's reported results, that Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated Republican Karen Handel in GA-06 by a nearly 2 to 1 on the only verifiable ballots used in the race, the paper absentee mail-in ballots."
Two nooses in the District of Columbia and one in suburban Maryland have been found over the past three weeks. Thursday, a noose was found hanging from a tree in an integrated Montgomery Village, MD, neighborhood. On May 31, one was left in the Segregation Gallery at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Less than a week earlier, a noose had been discovered on the grounds of the Hirshhorn Museum.
For me, a white man living in Kensington, these are deeply disturbing reminders of an angry and divided world. A world in which racism remains a strong presence, even in the cosmopolitan DMV, and overtly hostile acts seem only to have grown in frequency since the beginning of the last year’s election cycle.
Democrats should be disappointed by Republican Greg Gianforte’s win over Rob Quist in the recently-concluded Montana special election. The concept of moral victories in winner-take-all political races is unpersuasive and particularly so in this case. Yes, Quist got a much higher percentage of the vote than Hillary Clinton did in November. But part of that improvement likely came courtesy of Gianforte's assault on a reporter on the eve of the election. Simply put, one cannot discern a Democratic wave on the horizon in the wake of an over 6 point loss to a ruffian in a state with a Democratic governor and senator.
For progressive activists, Quist's loss is particularly troubling. Quist followed the script that we on the left edge of the Democratic Party have been writing. He held rallies with Bernie Sanders. He supports Medicare-for-all.
White Bill Maher used the n-word on a live HBO Show Friday night in what smacks of a ugly effort to bond with Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska. Because Maher’s proffered apology came after a day of dithering, it reeks of insincerity. At this point, I'm vacillating between calling for his head for expressing an overtly racist sentiment in the worst possible way and thinking a long suspension might be sufficient.
Last week CNN fired Kathy Griffin for staging a photograph showing her holding Trump’s bloody severed head. Given that Griffin’s primary CNN gig is co-host with Anderson Cooper of the apolitical New Year’s Eve Live, her dismissal for being crude, gruesome, and offensive to much of the nation is understandable. Nevertheless, there’s no doubt that the arty, albeit gory, photograph has real value. Griffin was depicting a fantasy that millions share - a brutal end to America’s destructive bully-in-chief.
"RoseAnn DeMoro, the leader of the nurses, said something in her speech during the convention that I think is worth noting. What she said was, there is not going to be consensus or unity for the sake of unity; that the Democrats have to show that they really are the party of the people. "
Opponents of Bernie Sanders have been having a field day. Over the past couple of weeks, the Vermont Senator has taken a number of shots. A writer at Slate rather absurdly knocks him for 1) hosting a popular podcast allegedly characterized by shoddy production values and softball questions.
"[E]conomic stratification may [cause civilization] to collapse on its own [when] elites push society toward instability and eventual collapse by hoarding huge quantities of wealth and resources, and leaving little or none for commoners who vastly outnumber them yet support them with labour." http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170418-how-western-civilisation-could-...
Pro-choice Nebraskans view Heath Mello as a "strong ally." That didn't stop centrist dems from attacking Bernie Sanders as regressive and insensitive to the needs of women for endorsing Mello.
