Ads that avoid explicit use of sexual terms

It is odd how the mainstream media, awash in violence and sexual innuendo, is so squeamish about using accurate terms such as penis and vagina for bodily features. There has been an effort to remove the hesitancy about vaginas by means such as The Vagina Monologues but there seems to still be some hesitancy with regard to penises.

This hesitancy can produce strange results. I was watching an ad on TV that was discussing how to deal with Peyronie’s Disease that affects the shape of penises. Instead of using the word at all or describing the problem in a matter-of-fact way, they used vegetables of different shapes and sizes to make the point

It reminded me of the comic strip The Boondocks some years ago where the grandfather was watching an ad on TV for erectile dysfunction. But instead of saying so, the ad was coy and resorted to circumlocutions such as urging men to use their product so that they could ‘get in the game’. This caused much frustration for the oblivious grandfather who kept asking his world-wise grandson Huey (who knew exactly what was being promoted and why) what the game being played was and being mystified about why the advertisers were not telling him.

How even lousy political books can become best sellers

I think it is safe to say that Donald Trump Jr., the grifter son in a grifter family, would not be considered a deep thinker or a literary genius. So how did it come to be that the book he purportedly wrote rose to #1 on the New York Times non-fiction best-seller list? In fact, it is surprising how so many political books by hack politicians are advertised as ‘best sellers’ according to this or that publication.
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Slumlord billionaires

In yesterday’s post about the book Moneyland that exposes how the ultra-wealthy who want to find a safe haven for the money they laundered frequently choose the option of buying mansions in the most pricey cities, not to live in but as investments. This article looks at Bishops Avenue, an exclusive street in London known as ‘Billionaires’ Row’, that now features multi-million dollar homes that have been bought and remain unoccupied so that they are falling apart, creating what is effectively one of the world’s priciest slums.

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How unethical do you have to be to resign from the Trump administration?

We now have an answer. Remember Mina Chang, deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stability Operations, who was found to have several whoppers in her resume? It looked like she was going to grit it out, in typical Trump style, and stay on in her job. But it appears that there were even more dubious things that she had done and when she was confronted with them today, she finally resigned.
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Book review: Moneyland (2019)

The subtitle of this book by investigative journalist Oliver Bullough pretty much says it all: The inside story of the crooks and kleptocrats who rule the world. If you recall, my review of the film The Laundromat (2019) dealt with how the firm Mossack Fonseca specialized in creating shell companies for people to hide their ill-gotten gains from their victims and governments. This book lays bare how the corrupt system works, providing multiple detailed examples from all over the world.
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Democrat wins governorship in Louisiana

Dealing another blow to Donald Trump who had held rallies and campaigned for the Republican nominee who had run on a platform of loyalty to Trump, Democrat John Bel Edwards was re-elected a governor of Louisiana, defeating Eddie Rispone.

I wonder how long it will take before Trump bad mouths Rispone as being a terrible candidate which was why he lost, since nothing is ever Trump’s fault.

Even though Trump campaigned personally in Louisiana and in Kentucky, both red states, and visited them on behalf of the candidates, it was not enough to have Republicans win. In next year’s election, Trump cannot possibly pay that much attention to all the congressional races and Republicans will gave to campaign on their own. This must be making them nervous and it would not surprise me to find even more of them who are in toss-up districts deciding to retire.

Demographic changes as a threat to democracy

Yoni Appelbaum has a long article arguing that demographic changes are going to threaten the very fabric of democracy in the US as one side consisting of conservatives, Republicans, and white Christians seems to be concluding that the power they traditionally held is slipping away and a day is coming fairly soon after which they may never win elections again. What choices they make to deal with this future will define what kind of democracy will remain.

But now many conservatives, surveying demographic trends, have concluded that Teixeira wasn’t wrong—merely premature. They can see the GOP’s sinking fortunes among younger voters, and feel the culture turning against them, condemning them today for views that were commonplace only yesterday. They are losing faith that they can win elections in the future. With this comes dark possibilities.
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Corbyn’s bold broadband plan

Jeremy Corbyn has proposed a bold plan to provide free broadband internet access to everyone in the UK.

Labour believes the plan, part-funded by a tax on internet giants such as Facebook and Google, is a vote winner, combining a consumer-friendly pledge to cut bills with a commitment to taking on powerful corporations.
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Outlining the proposal in Lancaster, however, Corbyn said it would guarantee what was now a basic utility, encourage social cohesion, bolster the economy and help the environment.
He said the service would become “our treasured public institution for the 21st century”.

“What was once a luxury is now an essential utility,” the Labour leader told an audience at Lancaster University. “I think it’s too important to be left to the corporations. Only the government has the planning ability, economies of scale and ambition to take this on.”

The plan would involve nationalising elements of BT connected to broadband provision, forming a new company called British Broadband. Labour says it would cost about £20bn to roll out universal full-fibre broadband by 2030.

Corbyn portrayed the idea as a central element of “the most radical and exciting plan for real change the British public has ever seen” in the Labour manifesto, being launched next week, saying: “It’s going to knock your socks off – you’re going to love it.”
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In his speech, Corbyn said universal rapid broadband “must be a public service, bringing communities together with equal access in an inclusive and connected society”.

He said: “Fast and free broadband for all will fire up our economy, deliver a massive boost to productivity and bring half a million people back into the workforce. It will help our environment and tackle the climate emergency by reducing the need to commute.”

The internet now has become an essential tool for people. Corbyn is right that the internet is now an essential utility and I applaud his move.

In the US private companies have carved out the market to create quasi-monopolies in many areas so that they can make big profits while providing sub-par service at high prices. They have fought tooth and nail those local communities that seek to provide broadband access to everyone.