Briefly Noted

“Why Did Racial Progress Stall in America?”

The 12/4/2020 NYTimes ran a very interesting opinion piece, “Why Did Racial Progress Stall in America?” by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett. This is a great summary of why, despite appearances, actual progress towards racial equity stalled after the surge of the post-WWII era.

Politics

Trump and Republicans bring us a 9/11 every day

As noted earlier, back in February and March of this year one could just say that the pandemic was an act of nature. But after 9 months of active deception and no leadership by the President and the Republican Party, we need to be clear that this pandemic is Trump’s Pandemic. With just 4.5% of the world’s population the US has 21% of the world cases and 15% of the deaths……to be sure this will get much worse over the coming months. —>> read more –>>

Justice/Jails

Video Post – The American Justice System – the delusion and the realities

Our justice system is prominently featured in our culture as a source of fair-handed justice. Everyone stands before the law on an equal footing. The justice system in reality is a gigantic fraud of inequality and lifelong punishment. Our police lead the world in the rate at which they kill civilians. The promise of a fair trial before a jury of our peers is denied over 90% of the time. Coerced plea bargaining with the prosecutors holding all the cards after they have staked the deck is the norm. —>> read more –>>

Capitalism

Video Post – Externalities – getting somebody else to pay for my production costs – the In Depth Capitalism series

Capitalism features a structural drive to create and use external costs to increase profits. Pollution of the earth is the most obvious and visible; there are many others including injuries and death for workers. —>> read more –>>

Healthcare

Video Post – Trump’s Pandemic

Trump and his Republican enablers – the Trumplicans –  are responsible for the pandemic in the US and the nearly 200k deaths that have occurred to date. Comparing the US response with the rest of the world makes it clear that this catastrophe is the direct result of Trumplican policies. —>> read more –>>

Racism/White Supremacy

Structural White Supremacy In Action – the real estate market

Wondering What White Supremacy Looks Like? The Boston Globe reported on July 1, 2020 on the results of a study by Suffolk University Law School, “Qualified Renters Need Not Apply” (link downloads the PDF of the study) from the Globe report: An undercover investigation released Wednesday found that Black people —>> read more –>>

Healthcare

The Trumplican Pandemic

It is absolutely clear that Trump and Republicans (Trumplicans) are to blame for the state we find ourselves in. Trump and Republicans can talk all they want about “Wuhan virus” and other racist slurs. There is no other explanation for the tremendous surge in COVID-19 cases across the southern belt —>> read more –>>