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Open thread June 29, 2021

Dan Crawford | June 29, 2021 6:26 am

Comments (26) | Digg Facebook Twitter |
26 Comments
  • run75441 says:
    June 29, 2021 at 7:31 am

    “By January 1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations had upended lives and destroyed careers, all in an effort to expose a fantastic conspiracy inside American government and society. That month, the committee was up for reauthorization. When senators’ names were called to approve a motion to keep it going, only one nay came from the floor: that of the junior Democratic senator from Arkansas, J. William Fulbright. “I realized that there was just no limit to what he’d say and insinuate,” Fulbright later said of McCarthy. “As the hearings proceeded, it suddenly occurred to me that this fellow would do anything to deceive you to get his way.” Within a year, Fulbright had helped persuade 66 other senators to join him in censuring McCarthy and ending his demagogic run. By the spring of 1957, McCarthy was gone for good, dead of hepatitis exacerbated by drink.”

    Foreign Affairs: The Fulbright Paradox

    Race and the Road to a New American Internationalism

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    June 29, 2021 at 10:52 am


    Toyota tops list of corporate donors to anti-election-certification Republicans in Congress after Capitol insurrection

    Nathan Bomey – USA TODAY – June 28

    Toyota has donated more than any other company to support members of Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results, according to a report on political giving.

    The Japanese automaker’s political arm has given $55,000 since the Capitol insurrection Jan. 6 to anti-certification Republicans or their leadership political action committees (PACs). That’s more than three times as much as the next biggest donor, according to data released by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

    Nearly 200 companies and industry groups initially announced plans to halt giving to the 147 members of Congress, all Republicans, who voted not to certify the election results in response to President Donald Trump’s unfounded accusations of fraud.

    “In the months since, corporate and industry interests have had to choose whether to do their part to uphold our democracy by turning off the flow of corporate donations to these members, also known as the Sedition Caucus, or to continue to support them in order to seek political influence,” CREW reported. “Many have failed this test, some reneging on a promise to change their giving while others made no commitment and are giving like nothing ever happened.” …

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    June 29, 2021 at 10:55 am

    … Toyota never completely stopped supporting anti-certification Republicans or their leadership PACs.

    “Toyota supports candidates based on their position on issues that are important to the auto industry and the company,” the automaker said in a statement. “We do not believe it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification.”

    It said, “We decided against giving to some members who, through their statements and actions, undermine the legitimacy of our elections and institutions.” …

  • EMichael says:
    June 29, 2021 at 10:57 am

    Mystery of life.

     

     

    Why Toyota would take this stance in order to give an average of $1486 per Congressperson.

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    June 29, 2021 at 1:31 pm

    According to Wikipedia, Toyota has about a dozen plants in the US, all except one in red states. One, by far the smallest, is in Long Beach CA. They choose to support the congressmen who represent the districts/states where those plants are presumably.

  • Michael Smith says:
    June 29, 2021 at 5:37 pm

    Having farmers/ranchers convert to capture carbon is complex. Here is an ok article detailing some of the issues. There are also some knock ons and a few other questions I have about the governments abilities to actually do anything regarding this, but it is a step in the right direction. 

    https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/29/biden-climate-farmers-carbon-496843

     

    • run75441 says:
      June 29, 2021 at 8:08 pm

      added this to a post which will be up tomorrow and mentioned you.

      • Michael Smith says:
        June 30, 2021 at 8:55 am

        Thank ya sir. Looking forward to your piece. You always do great work.

        • run75441 says:
          July 1, 2021 at 7:27 am

          Mike:

          I do ok. There are those who exceed my abilities. I just added your comment to the series.

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    June 30, 2021 at 6:12 am

    Christopher Rufo, a clever propagandist who has done more than anyone else to whip up the national uproar over critical race theory, tweeted out in March an explanation of how he was redefining the term.

    “The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think ‘critical race theory.’ We have decodified the term and will recodify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans,” he wrote.

    Credit where due: Rufo has pretty much succeeded. The debate about critical race theory has become circular and maddening because the phrase itself has been unmoored from any fixed meaning. Progressives argue, correctly, that teachers aren’t instructing young kids in law school scholarship about structural racism. But even some people who oppose bans on critical race theory insist that this misses the point.

    In a recent piece in The Week, Damon Linker criticized the left for being what he called “anti-anti-critical race theory,” sidestepping legitimate objections to what he described as a “pernicious” phenomenon. 

     

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/28/opinion/critical-race-theory.html

     

    The Maddening Critical Race Theory Debate 

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    June 30, 2021 at 6:22 am

    (Wikipedia) Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic movement of civil-rights scholars and activists in the United States who seek to critically examine U.S. law as it intersects with issues of race in the U.S. and to challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice. CRT examines social, cultural and legal issues as they relate to race and racism in the United States and, more recently, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

    CRT originated in the mid 1970s in the writings of several American legal scholars, … It emerged as a movement by the 1980s, reworking theories of critical legal studies (CLS) with more focus on race. CRT is grounded in critical theory and draws from thinkers such as Antonio Gramsci, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, and W. E. B. DuBois, as well as the Black Power, Chicano, and radical feminist movements from the 1960s and 1970s.

    While critical race theorists do not all share the same beliefs, the basic tenets of CRT include that racism and disparate racial outcomes are the result of complex, changing and often subtle social and institutional dynamics rather than explicit and intentional prejudices on the part of individuals. … 

    Academic critics of CRT argue that it relies on social constructionism, elevates storytelling over evidence and reason, rejects the concepts of truth and merit, and opposes liberalism. Since 2020, conservative lawmakers in the United States have sought to ban or restrict critical race theory instruction along with other anti-racism programs. Critics of these efforts say the lawmakers have poorly defined or misrepresented the tenets and importance of CRT and that the goal of the laws is to silence broader discussions of racism, equality, social justice, and the history of race. … 

    • Ron (RC) Weakley (A.K.A., Darryl For A While At EV) says:
      June 30, 2021 at 9:47 am

      Fred,

       

      One problem with critical race theory is that it presupposes some ability to perform critical thinking about anything.  Another problem is that in America we celebrate our right to have our own opinion and criticize any idea that demands one should do the studious work to acquire any kind of knowledge.  So, at best then the majority of individual thought is some blend of feels good and groupthink.   I just do not believe that to be solid foundation for learning about critical race theory.

       

      This is to say that what we have encountered at EV and now AB is among the cream of the crop (Matt Young notwithstanding) among enthusiasts regarding the political economy.  Thinking goes all down hill from here.

  • EMichael says:
    June 30, 2021 at 9:32 am

    Anyone else having some discomfort with the bright blue colors?

    • run75441 says:
      June 30, 2021 at 5:24 pm

      EM:

      I am not seeing them. Can you give me a direction please?

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    June 30, 2021 at 7:09 pm

    One problem with critical race theory is that it presupposes some ability to perform critical thinking about anything.

    Of course this is true. However, this particular phrase (CRT) will mainly be used as a ‘hot button’ wedge issue to be used to challenge progressives and energize the GOP base.

     

    It might still be useful to have a clear understanding of what CRT actually is.

  • J.P. McJefferson says:
    July 1, 2021 at 6:45 am

    FWIW (For What It’s Worth). Just posted updated information on the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress and it’s 295 page final report issued last year. The Committee continues to meet and ironically just held a hearing to examine ways to foster civility and collaboration in Congress to combat the high levels of polarization. Links to updated information are posted as “Comment #2” to the original January 5, 2019 blog post on the “Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress”

  • J.P. McJefferson says:
    July 1, 2021 at 6:48 am

    Woops! Link to the original post: https://tinyurl.com/2rahjwm7

  • EMichael says:
    July 1, 2021 at 6:58 am

    Run,

     

    When I first open AB, all of the titles of the different posts are in that bright blue. When I click on an individual post, the bright blue is restricted to  the “reply” button and links. Not as aggravating, but still annoying.

     

    Strangely, J. P. McJefferserson’s name is in bright blue, perhaps because it is a link.

    • run75441 says:
      July 1, 2021 at 7:24 am

      EM:

      Thank you. Links do appear in blue. It there are no link in the words, they should be black. I will report it and see if we can change the color also. I will also try to duplicate it.

      We shed our present home as of the 17th. We will leave the home a day or two earlier. It is strange after 27 years. We will move to a new smaller home in Pinal county. We have son-in-law’s relatives there so it will not be completely strange. We have visited Phoenix multiple times before. I have been very busy the last few weeks and tired from the effort.

      First stop will be Park Ridge for 5-6 weeks staying with my son, then off to Denver to stay with my daughter. The home is scheduled to be finished in October due to internal home accessories supply chain issues.

      Thank you again.

      Bill

  • run75441 says:
    July 1, 2021 at 8:10 am

    Question:

    How bad are the ads on Angry Bear? I expect a few that “should be targeted.  Please advise.

  • Daniel Crawford says:
    July 1, 2021 at 8:35 am

    The ads were not part of our doing nor Strategy’s.   I was not notified of changes by Investingchannel.  There absolutely should not be any ads in the posts, and the sizes of ads under the masthead should be smaller after the read more.  I will start there then see what else to tackle.  

  • EMichael says:
    July 1, 2021 at 10:17 am

    Thanks for removing the blue.  In terms of ads, I was getting a response from an ad like I hit the link just by hitting a thread.  That seems to have stopped.

    • Dan Crawford says:
      July 1, 2021 at 10:56 am

      EMichael,
      Clearing your cache from time to time will help changes show up more accurately as well…if we all do then we stay on the same page. My title links were black.

    • run75441 says:
      July 6, 2021 at 6:53 am

      EM:

      You know where I am and I am accessible for issues concerning AB. You never know what you are getting in systems until you try it out. The feedback is important to us. Thank you.

    • run75441 says:
      July 6, 2021 at 7:31 am

      One other thing EM:

      I over stayed my welcome asking questions about Medicare costs/prices. There was a reason behind it. The costs/prices (perspective) are too high to translate into Medicare4All. It can be a model for something better

  • Fred C. Dobbs says:
    July 1, 2021 at 11:07 am

    On Wednesday, C-SPAN issued a report card of past presidents, its fourth since 2000 — and the first to include Donald Trump. James Buchanan has held a lock on the bottom spot as the worst president. Would Mr. Trump change that?

    No — though he has very little to brag about. Historians deemed him the fourth worst of the 44 former presidents (Andrew Johnson and Franklin Pierce were also rated below him). 

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/opinion/trump-worst-presidents.html?smid=tw-share

    Maybe Trump Wasn’t the Worst President Ever? 

    (Certainly the worst in living memory, without question. Makes Bush Jr look pretty good. 

    If your idea of a good president is someone who makes the job look horrible, Trump is your man.)

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