I know that we are all in the midst of a moral panic about student protests, and it’s hard to focus during moral panics what with the need to focus on things like where college students buy tents and people making up nonsense about bicycle chains (and by people I mean the Mayor of New York City and New York City police leadership).
But there are some interesting, and yes, probably more important news stories that are being buried by the hysteria. Here are some examples.
Protestors are angry with the Israeli government and clashing with police, but hold on before you yell at them… – Obviously, they are anti-…no wait a minute, before you go there…these are Israelis. I have found that a lot of Americans seem to be shocked by this but many Israelis are outraged that Netanyahu seems to be much more interested in killing Palestinians than he does getting the hostages back. In fact, they are out protesting by the thousands. In fact, some are questioning whether he is prolonging the war to stay in power. PS He was hated and faced hundreds of thousands of protestors based on his attempt to take full power pre 10/7, similar to what Trump is hoping to do…just a reminder.
A right-wing mob attacked protestors at UCLA. This was reported, however many news outlets called it a “brawl” and showed images of firecrackers exploding in the middle of a crowd with no context. The firecrackers were fired into the crowd by a gang of over 100 right-wing extremists as part of an attack on peaceful protestors. The Los Angeles Times has been clearheaded about who was behind it, there’s just too much video, even if it goes against the narrative everyone has decided on. Police and administrators did nothing to stop it. To the people who are mad at the protestors: That’s fine, but do not use that anger to deny the very real threat that violent far-right thugs, including extreme Zionists, pose to peaceful protest. Letting it go will only encourage more.
Speaking of right-wing, the Time magazine Trump interview was horrifying. As Adrastos says, vote against the crook. As Cassandra says, be pragmatic. The Time magazine interview with Donald Trump, published this week, is a real horror show. I’ll let Time’s summary of what he said speak for itself.
What emerged in two interviews with Trump, and conversations with more than a dozen of his closest advisers and confidants, were the outlines of an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world. To carry out a deportation operation designed to remove more than 11 million people from the country, Trump told me, he would be willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military, both at the border and inland. He would let red states monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans. He would, at his personal discretion, withhold funds appropriated by Congress, according to top advisers. He would be willing to fire a U.S. Attorney who doesn’t carry out his order to prosecute someone, breaking with a tradition of independent law enforcement that dates from America’s founding. He is weighing pardons for every one of his supporters accused of attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, more than 800 of whom have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury. He might not come to the aid of an attacked ally in Europe or Asia if he felt that country wasn’t paying enough for its own defense. He would gut the U.S. civil service, deploy the National Guard to American cities as he sees fit, close the White House pandemic-preparedness office, and staff his Administration with acolytes who back his false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen.
No matter what you think of Biden, there is no way that they are both the same. Trump cannot win.
Biden announced initiatives for clean energy development in low-income areas. These are important initiatives that not only fight climate change and lower pollution, also helps low-income areas. These folks are the most likely to be harmed by pollution and are often forgotten when climate remediation is discussed. Biden also earmarked $7 million for industrial decarbonization. This includes decarbonizing the manufacturing of materials such as glass, concrete, and metals, which carry a huge carbon footprint. I know that it’s not as sexy as the thrill of watching hordes of New York City cops beating up college students, but it is objectively true that this will have a greater effect on our future than anything a Columbia college student does this week.
Biden announced the reclassification of marijuana. The war on drugs was full of stupidity, and one slack-jawed stupid example is listing marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug and putting it on the same level as heroin. While some might think this is not far enough and it should be fully legalized, I hear you. But this is still a big damn deal, and one step closer to closing one of the dumbest chapters in American history.
The crime rate is crashing. Okay, if you are in one of the shrinking amount of areas where crime is rising, I feel for you and you can ignore the rest. If you are in one of the many areas where it is falling and you insist it is rising, okay, have a warm glass of milk and a Twinkie, and sit down. See, that’s not real because there’s plenty of evidence that it is falling. I’m not picking on just you; in fact, the public in general had a spectacularly wrong perception of crime rates even before the pandemic crime surge. And stick with me here…you probably think crime is rising every year, right? But think about that for a while, really think about it. Wouldn’t that mean that by now, crime would be so bad that people wouldn’t be able to leave their houses? That it would be bad even in places that before had little or no crime? See what I mean?
And finally, Biden announced a $3 billion initiative to remove lead from water service lines. As part of a greater commitment to remove lead from pipes, the Biden administration announced funding to remove all lead pipes from water service lines. The EPA believes that there are 9 million lead service lines in America, something that endangers the health of people in those areas, especially children. After disasters like the Flint, Michigan water crisis, the need for such funding became evident, and this is definitely something you would never see Trump supporting.
These are some things you may have missed because most of our media has decided to focus on protestors upset over a mass killing of children. Some of this stuff is great (thanks, Biden!) and will have benefits for all Americans. Too bad we have a lot of unserious people running our media.
The last word goes to Leonard Cohen, something I hope my little blog posts helps make people say about these news items.
