Below is a series of tweets I made responding to the many people on Twitter engaging in ableism after Joe Biden’s fall.
I have only edited the tweets for the web format. Each tweet is the start of a new paragraph.
politics
Reviewing the Nazzi Menace
Benjamin Carter Hett’s The Nazi Menace: Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin and the road to war paints interesting pictures of what was happening in all four nations in the years leading ups to World War II.
Reviewing a Game as Old as Empire
A Game as Old as Empire builds on Confessions of an Economic Hitman. Edited by Stephen Hiatt, A Game as Old as Empire is a collection of essays by people who are confessing their participation in the abuse of people around the world committed by governments and corporations working together.
Over a decade old, some of the data presented in A Game as Old as Empire is no longer accurate. Some of the programs described have been changed or deleted. But the book is a critical contribution to our understanding of the ways governments, especially the United States, abuse and exploit people at the behest of multinational corporations.
Reviewing The Death of Democracy
Benjamin Carter Hett’s The Death of Democracy: Hitler’s Rise and the Downfall of the Weimar Republic isn’t the first book I have read trying to explain how Hitler came to power, but it’s the best. Reading it as too many Americans pretend that Biden’s victory saved American democracy was particularly sobering.
Reviewing the Edge of Anarchy
Jack Kelly’s The Edge of Anarchy: the Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age, and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America tell the story of the Pullman strike of 1894. This is another of those books that shows exactly how little progress has been made in America over the last 127 years. Reading it in the context of the wealth gap increasing during a pandemic also struck a cord. Still,Kelly did a great job telling a critical story.
If you like history and/or you want to learn more about the real America, The Edge of Anarchy will not disappoint. It will upset you though.
Politicians Don’t Care About Their Grandchildren
The verdict for this episode is: the deficit of the United States doesn’t matter.
I discuss how each president for the last 92 years with the exception of Clinton has added to the deficit. I also show how the drivers of deficits are military spending and tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.
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AOC Represents her District
This post is a follow-up post to the one I wrote about Pelosi representing her district. As you will see, the demographics of AOC’s district make it an excellent one for her.
My hope is that by sharing posts like these, I can demonstrate that there is data to support what Congress does–even if it’s terrible–and that we could use that data to understand how to replace a number of those not adequately serving us.
Pelosi Represents her District
As you will see, Pelosi represents a very wealthy district. With that wealth, comes very few people living without insurance and a poverty level far below the national average.
The reality that Pelosi represents a district with a demographic profile much more befitting of a Republican is why she governs from the right.
The speaker of the House in a Democratic Congress must represent a district that looks like the Democratic Party. By installing a speaker representing a conservative district, the Democratic Party is prevented from doing anything progressive.
As the data shows, Pelosi should be removed as speaker.
House Progressives Could Choose the Speaker
The verdict for this episode is: since they are Democrats, House progressives will not use the power they have.
In this episode, I discuss how House progressives could remove Pelosi choose the next speaker, and get real benefits for using their power to choose the next speaker.
I also discuss why this option is much better than forcing a vote on Medicare for All.
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The Left Needs a McConnell
The verdict for this episode is: no one in Congress is really fighting for the people.
In this episode, I discuss how no one on the left fights with the skill and determination as McConnell. Yes, he is unethical and immoral. But he delivers for the wealthy and corporations way better than anyone thinks of delivering for the people.
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