SATURDAY 6-PACK: April 14,2018
A weekly listing of articles, audio clips, and other tidbits I’ve encountered that seemed interesting, insightful, or otherwise useful
So after much of a week with “will he or won’t he?” speculation, fueled in large part by his reactive morning tweeting habits, the Current Occupant of the Oval Office finally announced that missiles were launched at Syria … after wiser and more sensible voices managed some level of restraint and cooperation from allies. This news overshadowed what otherwise would have been the major news story of the week … Paul Ryan’s decision not to seek re-election this fall. A number of comments and editorial pieces have praised his character, his solid intentions, his maturity. However, Ryan had plenty of flaws to offset the praise. This piece from The Atlantic seemed to be the most balanced:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/paul-ryans-sad-legacy/557774/
The launch of missiles into Syria also disrupted the looming conflict with China around tariffs and trade. Now, the Current Occupant is making noise about getting back into the TPP … after having hamstrung previous US efforts. This isn’t smart negotiating; it’s short-sighted and stupid. Here’s a quick briefing on why:
https://www.npr.org/2018/04/13/602091046/trumps-tpp-turnaround
EPA Secretary Scott Pruitt has been providing plenty of examples is why it is unwise to put predators in positions that are supposed to protect the vulnerable. But he’s far from alone in the assortment of characters trying to pass itself off as a presidential administration. Mike Mulvaney provided yet another example of how inappropriate he is as head of an agency that’s supposed to protect consumers from predatory financial dealings:
https://www.marketplace.org/2018/04/11/economy/cfpb-mick-mulvaney-payday-lending-testimony
NPR is airing occasional segments recalling influential events from 1968. The week marked the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. Here’s a brief, but thorough, accounting of how on-going housing discrimination perpetuates racial inequalities in so many ways:
https://www.npr.org/2018/04/11/601419987/50-years-ago-president-johnson-signed-the-fair-housing-act
We’re good at generating all kinds of stories to justify prejudice, policies of exclusion, and blaming the struggling for their problems. Immigration is an area that is so fraught with myth and misinformation that it’s nearly impossible to have a productive discussion of the actual problems and possible solutions. I only caught the first part of this 30+ minute conversation aimed at separating the real facts from the swirling fictions, but I will listen to the rest of it:
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/04/11/immigration-myths
And finally, a three-fer. Joshua Zeitz did a three-part series for Poltico exploring historical roots of key factors that were at work in the Current Occupant being elected to the Oval Office. All are good, but the third piece on Populism might be the most pertinent. (I’m stuck in a blizzard with nowhere to go, so I might as well read. Maybe you’re in a similar situation…)
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/31/trump-white-working-class-history-216200
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/07/trump-american-exceptionalism-history-216253
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/14/trump-populism-history-216320