President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

Great stuff. More, please!

Ivanka Trump is never going to come through. Coming through isn’t her function. She is more a logo than a person, a scarecrow stuffed with branding, an heiress-turned-model-turned-multimillionaire’s-wife playacting as an authority on the challenges facing working women so that she can sell more pastel sheath dresses. ...

Stop wondering which of these people will save us and when. There is not going to be a surprise silver lining to the Trump presidency — not from Ivanka Trump, not from Jared Kushner, not from Rex Tillerson, not from John Kelly. This is it. The Trump Doctrine is to say whatever makes you feel good and do whatever makes you the most money. And Ms. Trump isn’t anomalous; she’s emblematic. Don’t waste your time parsing what they say; spend it fighting what they do.

 

@YankeeFan is pointing at the speck/plank ... Ostensibly "progressive" or "benevolent" businesses get a pass for straightforward practices that draw outrage if done by less enlightened sorts.

 

Then he should compare the businesses to other businesses that draw outrage rather than a malevolent and unqualified head of a government agency.

 

The high tech industry, specifically Apple and Google, has been the subject of criticism from "the left" for a long time.

 

And even today! Silicon Valley’s Politics: Liberal, With One Big Exception

 

Perspective | Houston spent massively on new stadiums, not its aging dams. As Harvey proved, that was a very bad choice.

Not sure where to post this, but I'll make it political. The everyday, regular people of Houston (and of America) almost don't deserve whats happening to them. BUt when they chose, through apathy or elections, to allow billions of dollars to go to build sports arenas with public money and then demand federal bailouts when tough times come along, maybe they are responsible for their own problems.
Like Blackistone wrote, who knows if anything could have prevented the damage from this biblical storm, but the Red State ethos of Texas, the hard working hard partying Texans who dont need no government sure asked for it before the 3rd raindrop fell. Who knows how much money Houston would have had on hand to deal with their own problems if they hadn't contributed hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to the Astros, Rockets, Dynamos and Texans. Maybe those industries form a large employment pool and tax base and without them Houston would be Des Moines on the Gulf. But Houston's poor civic planning and prioritising pro sports didnt help them this week. And they have no on to blame but themselves, to the extent they are blameworthy. So the Feds will bail them out. And when Irma rakes Florida, Georgia and Carolina coasts and all those Red State 1%ers with beach homes getting subsidized flood insurance will the rest of the country wake up and finally get our priorities in order?

Some elected Republicans want drug testing for welfare recipients, should that include those receiving bank bailouts, stadium money and subsidized flood insurance?

 

Oh, it's ridiculous, there's no doubt.

Sort-of-related anecdote: My first university gig was in an area known for its pretty high (relatively speaking) cost of living. The school had no engineering or medical faculty, so B-school faculty were public enemy No. 1 among the lesser-paid disciplines, even though pretty much everyone was paid in line with market norms (for a school of our type/size). But your run-of-the-mill History professor (e.g.) would hear none of this "market" nonsense.

Then one year our chancellor -- a flautist by background -- was handed a one-time special allocation to adjust salaries upwards across the university. The average person was going to get, I don't know, something like an 8% bump. He suggested that, as the university's physical plant/custodial staff was paid so lowly, relative to the faculty, that they would get the bulk of the allocation. I have never heard a bunch of "Forget the market!" types change their tune as quickly or unanimously!

 

Yup, this whole tangent is a dumb exercise.

The fact is that there are (and always have been!) those on the capital side of the equation who are relatively "progressive" or "benevolent" on any number of issues compared with generally more conservative peers.

None of this has anything to do with born-wealthy, married-wealthier DeVos, whose pet cause has been helping ultra-rich friends siphon tax dollars and privatize education.

She is better suited for the garden club.

 

Somone has this Michael Bennett thing figured out.

 

Clay Travis fits a description ...

 

I used to wonder what he'd transition to as he aged out of the frat mindset. Never would have guessed he'd go this route.