Squeezing prisoners for profit

I have written before about how US prison systems are being used to squeeze prisoners and their families for money, by forcing them to use services provided by private for-profit companies for things that could be done far more cheaply using standard methods. One system is to force families to send letters and cards and photographs to prisoners only through dedicated electronic means that are far more expensive than the postal service. Another is forcing prisoners to buy music only through their expensive dedicated systems and players. The prisons get a cut of the revenues.
[Read more…]

‘All politics is local’ comes to Amish country

The Amish people are known for having a lifestyle that is simple without many modern amenities, such as shunning electricity and using horse-drawn carriages instead of cars, though that is slowly changing as the pressure of modernity presses in on them and draws young people away. They are also known for having a strong sense of community, valuing personal relationships and trust. I recall how a long time ago, we went for the first time to an Amish furniture store in rural Ohio (the Amish produce extremely well-crafted wood furniture) and bought several items. When it came time to paying for them, we discovered that they did not take credit cards. But the owner said that that was not a problem, just to take all the stuff and send him a check later.
[Read more…]

The ugliness of New York politics

Both the state and city of New York, despite being seen as ‘liberal’ and dominated by the Democratic party, have long had a reputation for ugly politics, where backroom deals are cut between powerful politicians and business and other interests at the expense of the welfare of the people in general. The current governor Andrew Cuomo is emblematic of this kind of machine politics and it was hoped that the current insurgent uprising within the Democratic party would result in both him and other statewide office-holders being replaced by more progressive voices.
[Read more…]

The myth of scientific manipulation of data

America has this curious strain of anti-intellectualism that sees expert opinion on any topic as somehow suspect. While skepticism is a good quality when practiced in moderation, what Bertrand Russell referred to as ‘heroic skepticism’ that takes a stance in direct opposition to expert opinion, such as that human-caused global warming is not happening and that hence climate change is a fiction, is foolish.
[Read more…]

To engage or not to engage with racists?

If you blinked, you might have missed the media flutter about the New Yorker magazine reversing its decision to invite Stephen Bannon, one-time Svengali to Donald Trump, to be interviewed at its festival. The reversal was caused because editor David Remnick received a lot of criticism and pressure, with other invited celebrities such as Judd Apatow and Jim Carrey saying they would not attend if Bannon was there. Of course, this has resulted in the usual right-wing whining about the ‘intolerant left’, that they are being ‘de-platformed’ and denied the chance to voice their views.
[Read more…]

The mystery of the purloined letters

One of the strange stories to come out of the new Bob Woodward book about the Donald Trump administration is the story of how advisors to Trump would swipe documents from his desk that they thought he should not see or sign. A specific case that was cited was former economic advisor Gary Cohn seeing a letter on Trump’s desk that was awaiting his signature calling for an end to a long standing trade agreement with South Korea. Cohn took the letter away and apparently that was the end of the story. Cohn apparently did something similar with a letter about NAFTA.
[Read more…]

People of color associating with white nationalists

The presidency of Donald Trump has given white nationalists and other xenophobic and racist groups in the US a sense of validation and suddenly we are hearing of organizations holding rallies openly. What has been less noticed is that these groups are even attracting members from an unlikely demographic: young men of color As Arun Gupta writes:
[Read more…]

Explain again why everyone is so horrified by outside meddling in US elections?

Jon Schwarz highlights a Washington Post excerpt from the latest book by Bob Woodward on the Trump administration.

After Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched a chemical attack on civilians in April 2017, Trump called [Defense Secretary James] Mattis and said he wanted to assassinate the dictator. “Let’s fucking kill him! Let’s go in. Let’s kill the fucking lot of them,” Trump said, according to Woodward.

Mattis told the president that he would get right on it. But after hanging up the phone, he told a senior aide: “We’re not going to do any of that. We’re going to be much more measured.” The national security team developed options for the more conventional airstrike that Trump ultimately ordered.

[Read more…]