Success! Hope! April 19, 2024 SUCCESS! Long time readers know I’m a big fan of Success Academy charter schools. I laid the case out here, for example. Success accepts students from tough New York City neighborhoods — by lottery. No aptitude tests or interviews required. They demand serious commitment from parents — most parents welcome the chance to help their kids succeed — and they produce phenomenal results, matching or exceeding those of the wealthiest school districts in the state. The first Success Academy started with 165 students. Today, there are 53 throughout the city with more than 20,000 students. This quick video gives you a sense of what’s possible. I love teachers and I love unions; but the teachers union has fought Success every step of the way . . . just as, during COVID, they put teachers’ interests ahead of students’. There are ways to find win-win solutions; but without a “children’s union” to balance the power of the teachers’ union, those solutions are too infrequently found. Many Democrats are proponents of education reform. (Success Academy was founded by and is run by Democrats.) But our support should be less timid. On the other hand, when it comes to fighting child poverty, supporting families, and providing health care, Democrats lead the way. Not to mention women’s rights, climate, gun safety, voting rights, tax fairness, consumer protection, and — crucially this year — democracy itself. So we urgently need a giant blue wave in November (click here), and on that score there’s reason to: HOPE! Are you subscribed to The Hopium Chronicles? We’re gonna win. Have a great weekend.
Handing The Microphone To Tom Friedman April 18, 2024April 17, 2024 He writes of a “three-state solution.” For it to happen, he concludes, “it will take leadership transformations in Tehran, Ramallah and Jerusalem (and not Washington).”
White Rural Rage April 16, 2024 Kara Swisher talks with Timothy Ryback (if, like me, you don’t have time to read his book): There are a lot of Trump/Hitler comparisons being thrown around these days. So we went to the source, as chronicled by historian Timothy Ryback in his new book Takeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Power. Ryback zooms in on the final six months before Adolf Hitler dissolved the government of the Weimar Republic, revealing that Nazi Germany was not inevitable. Kara and Ryback discuss the Berlin power players that misjudged Hitler’s bankrupt party, and the (not just rhetorical) similarities between the ascendance of Hitler and Donald Trump. In his book, Ryback apparently never mentions Trump’s name. But as you’ll hear, the parallels are . . . chilling. On a related note, White Rural Rage is “a searing portrait and damning takedown of America’s proudest citizens — who are also the least likely to defend its core principles,” according to its publisher. White rural voters hold the greatest electoral sway of any demographic group in the United States, yet rural communities suffer from poor healthcare access, failing infrastructure, and severe manufacturing and farming job losses. Rural voters believe our nation has betrayed them, and to some degree, they’re right. [The authors] explore why rural Whites have failed to reap the benefits from their outsize political power and why, as a result, they are the most likely group to abandon democratic norms and traditions. Their rage—stoked daily by Republican politicians and the conservative media—now poses an existential threat to the United States. If you can help preserve the American experiment — flawed, to be sure, yet still beacon of freedom to the world — click here.
A Brilliant Solution To Third-Party Spoilers April 16, 2024April 15, 2024 But first . . . Jim Burt: “When you’re a fake Christian, you hire an AI artist. Just be sure to tell him to double check the number of fingers.” Also . . . NEW YORK WEATHER Also . . . POSSIBLE SECOND THOUGHTS And now! Paul F. deLespinasse asks: Is It Time to Start Voting AGAINST Candidates? . . . Sophisticated voters understand that unless they consider both major party candidates equally bad, they should hold their nose and vote for the one they consider less bad. That’s what I did in 2004 when, as a lifelong Republican, I voted for John Kerry. Since then I became a Democrat, and Kerry’s impressive work as green energy envoy has lifted his stock in my estimation. But that was how I saw things in 2004. Even if one candidate seems slightly less bad, voters should remember that every little bit helps. Many voters, however, cannot bring themselves to vote for the least onerous major party candidate. They support a third-party candidate or don’t vote, even if this increases the danger that the major candidate they like least will win. Case in point: Former vice president Mike Pence announced that he will not support Donald Trump in 2024. But he also said that he will not vote for Joe Biden. Despite all this, sophisticated voting apparently has been too painful for many thoughtful voters, exemplified here by Mike Pence. A simple reform, however, could allow such voters to vote as if they were sophisticated. All that’s needed is legislation allowing voters to cast their votes either for a candidate or against a candidate, with the results for each candidate being the total votes for minus the total votes against. This is not a partisan proposal. It would allow Mike Pence to cast a vote against Trump without having to vote for Biden. It would equally allow other people to cast a vote against Biden without having to vote for Trump. Admittedly, it would have the same consequences, but that is exactly my point: Voters would be able to act as if they were sophisticated without actually having to be sophisticated. . . . The good professor (your fellow reader!) goes on to cover a few more points (e.g., what to do if both candidates score below zero?), but you get the gist. It will presumably never happen — but I think it’s brilliant.
Quick Takes April 13, 2024 The Borowitz Report: Most Innocent People Try to Delay Trials, Experts Say. What Freedom Will You Lose Next? — 30-second spot running in Arizona. Lempicka, new on Broadway, is dazzling, funny, powerful — and apt. Cabaret meets Sunday in the Park with George. Or something like that. Fascism, unimaginable at first, has a way of taking hold. About which, ex-Republican Steve Schmidt makes the urgent case that, no, actually, democracy doesn’t “die in darkness” (though, unlike Schmidt, I love that Washington Post tag line) — It Dies At High Noon. The good news: For All His Bombast, Trump Is Plummeting – Financially, Legally and Politically. And yet Mark Green paints a scenario in his forthcoming Inflection Election where — having lost the popular vote by 3 million in 2016 and 7 million in 2020 — Trump could lose by 10 million in 2024 and still regain power. And end the American experiment so many fought and died to preserve. Help with time or treasure, if you can. UPDATES III Fred C: What about KLTR? Frank A: UNIT? Still holding both.
Freedom Versus Government Control April 12, 2024 From the Economist: Britain is moving toward assisted dying. So what about here? No one should thwart the wishes of those who believe God’s plan cannot be meddled with. If they don’t want pain killers, they shouldn’t be forced to take them. If they don’t want chemotherapy or surgery, they shouldn’t be forced to endure them. If they do want these things, they should get the best treatment possible. All this — it seems to me — should be up to them. But by the same token — with appropriate safeguards — shouldn’t Americans be free to choose death with dignity according to more or less whatever exit plan they choose? Even if they choose to go sooner than you or I might? It’s about freedom as opposed to government control. After all — Whose Life Is It, Anyway? “Discuss.” UPDATES II Yesterday, I said I was still holding — with money I can truly afford to lose — CNF, HYMC, SQNS, BOREF, OPRT, ANIX and RNGE. Some of you asked, what about PRKR and VNRX? I’m still holding those, too!
Seize Versus Freeze April 11, 2024April 11, 2024 A friend asked what I thought of this opinion piece in Tuesday’s New York Times: Everyone Wants to Seize Russia’s Assets. The Repo Act Is a Terrible Idea. I think the writer is dead wrong. It’s a great idea. Monroe had a doctrine; Biden could have one too: FROZEN ASSETS CAN +NEVER+ BE SEIZED EXCEPT IN THE EVENT ONE NATION INVADES ANOTHER That would serve us in the present instance — diverting hundreds of billions of Russia’s reserves to defend and eventually help rebuild Ukraine — but also, in my view, and contrary to the writer of the opinion piece, in the long run, as well, strengthening the world order and our role in preserving it, without in any way damaging the strength of the dollar. In the meantime, we need to send Ukraine ammunition immediately. (Which, by the way, means sending cash to the American companies and their workers and shareholders who make what Ukraine needs.) It’s unconscionable how, by delaying, the Republicans have played into Putin’s murderous hands. BONUS What He Means — 60 seconds from The Lincoln Project. Willow’s Box — 60 seconds from the Biden/Harris campaign. (Help?) UPDATES Among the speculations I’m still holding with money I can truly afford to lose: CNF, HYMC, SQNS, BOREF, OPRT, ANIX, RNGE. Some nuttier than others, but none that I would sell here. If you bought SQNS, you either made 18% in two weeks (you’re welcome) or are down 75% (oh God!). The $3.03 tender offer Sequans received — which was fully funded in an escrow account and so seemed sure to go through — fell through. (A loophole involving French tax law or something.) I bought a bunch more yesterday at 55 cents because I think there’s a reasonable chance someone else may step in to buy it, if not at $3.03 then perhaps at $2 or $1, either of which would more than make me whole. But zero is also a possibility, so, clearly, OWMYCTATL!
Enjoyable History April 10, 2024April 10, 2024 I’m in the midst of Jared Cohen’s Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House. A thoroughly engrossing — fun! — way to learn about the increasingly short* history of our fragile democracy. Jefferson (lots I didn’t know) . . . John Quincy Adams (an ineffective president who nearly drowned skinny dipping in the Potomac before dawn one morning, but an amazing Congressman and leader in his later years) . . . Grover Cleveland . . . William Howard Taft . . . Herbert Hoover . . . Jimmy Carter . . . George W. Bush . . . with some life lessons and inspiration thrown in. I need three more power walks at 1.3X speed to finish — and can’t wait. *Relatively speaking. When, at six, I was taught the legend of Washington chopping down a cherry tree (and the importance of honesty) when he was six, our democracy was nearly 30 times as old as I was. Today, it’s barely 3 times as old — and we have an increasingly demented ex-president out on bail running for president who cannot not tell a lie. In case you can help, you know what to do.
Hey, Kids April 9, 2024April 9, 2024 You have to admire college kids’ empathy for the horror that innocent Palestinians have suffered and are suffering . . . though I’d give anything for them to read Palestinian-sympathizer Noa Tishby’s Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth. I’ve been railing against Netanyahu for some time (putting him on this list a year ago, for example). That said, had the Gazans chosen to build a prosperous country after the Israelis voluntarily pulled out in 2005, and chosen to live in peace instead of building a 300-mile underground war machine with the stated goal of destroying its neighbor, none of this would have happened. Indeed, it’s likely that because Israel and Saudi Arabia were close to a historic deal that would have included statehood for Palestine that Hamas chose to slaughter, rape, and kidnap more than 1,000 Israelis when it did, to derail that deal. What must come out of this tragedy for the Israelis and Palestinians is an overarching peace deal, complete with the long-sought, long-offered two-state solution, internationally policed, and — someday — a couple of highspeed non-stop rail lines connecting Gaza to the West Bank, which would be about a 20-minute ride. There is some hope that a deal will be made, with massive aid to help rebuild a prosperous Palestine. But what do the kids who support the Palestinians think about Ukraine? About Putin’s unprovoked invasion . . . its bombing of schools and hospitals . . . its planting of millions of land mines? Surely they know Ukraine did not attack Russia as Hamas attacked Israel. Yet if they support Trump (or some third-party candidate) in protest of Biden’s support for Israel, they are allying themselves with Putin against the innocent civilians of Ukraine. Do they know that the only thing Trump touched in the 2016 Republican platform — the only thing that mattered to him — was the provision expressing military support for Ukraine. Isn’t that odd? Trump disclaimed any knowledge of that, blaming it on his campaign manager, Paul Manafort. But even if that were true (the way it was true, say, that E. Jean Carroll was not his type), isn’t it odd that Manafort, with his ties to Russia, was selected as his campaign manager? Or that, even after having been convicted and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, Manafort would again be under consideration for a role in Trump’s campaign? Do the kids who support Trump think, just because they won’t read the 199 pages of the Mueller report connecting Trump to Russia, or the subsequent 182 pages detailing his multiple indictable obstructions of justice that prevented even more damning information from coming out . . . that Trump isn’t a Putin ally? If they care about the plight of the Palestinians — as we all should (and as Biden and his team do) — should they not be at least as concerned about the plight of the Ukrainians? And protesting the Republicans in Congress who, at Trump’s insistence, have blocked desperately needed assistance for so many months? Just as, at Trump’s insistence, they have blocked the solution to the border crisis? Iran’s Supreme Leader, who, along with North Korea’s dictator, are supplying Russia with weapons to kill Ukrainians . . . and Putin . . . are thrilled so many well-intentioned American college kids are on Trump’s side, or Jill Stein’s side, or Cornell West’s side, or RFK Jr.’s side. But if those students really care about the Palestinians or the Ukrainians (or the cost of college or the climate crisis or gun safety or reproductive rights or their LGBT friends or tax fairness or voting rights or continued prosperity*), they should be working to turn out a huge blue wave in November — and should be part of it themselves. Volunteer! Dip into your trust fund! * Although last updated in 2016, it comes from Fox Business News. And remains true today.
Ridiculously Simple Or Simply Ridiculous? April 8, 2024April 7, 2024 Re yesterday’s Ridiculously Simple Way To Save Half A Trillion Plastic Bags, a brilliant CEO me-mailed: Your post got me wondering: what would the impact be of not throwing out all our plastic bags? According to my half-assed calculations, 100 billion plastic bags weigh about 55,000 tons. Sounds like a lot until you realize that we throw out 268 MILLION tons a year. So, how much should we be willing to spend to reduce garbage by 0.2%? How much inconvenience and economic inefficiency should we bear for that goal? But I guess we no longer believe in math when it comes to religious questions? I replied: I see virtually no cost in putting up a hook, and virtually no inconvenience in bringing a tote bag to the supermarket. But I asked Alexa: “How much do 100 plastic bags weigh” (planning to multiply the answer by a billion). She said (I kid you not): “A hundred plastic bags weigh approximately 600,000 metric tons.” She also told me that each bag weighs 6 grams. So then I asked her to convert 600 billion grams into tons. “Six hundred billion grams is about 661,400 short tons.” Which is about 330,000 “real” tons — admittedly –still trivial compared to 268 MILLION TONS a year. So then I asked her how much plastic we throw away each year. She said: about 35 million tons. My conclusion? We are way overdue for lunch. When are you free? Over lunch, I will presumably ask my friend to help save democracy — this will come as no surprise to you or to him — and he, being a libertarian who hates Trump but has little patience for what he views as wrong-headed liberal economics, may or may not chip something in out of friendship. It will be a stimulating lunch either way. In the meantime, I have little doubt, one or two of you will put some real effort into getting numbers we can rely on. Alexa is a great resource (“Alexa: what time is the eclipse tomorrow?” “2:18pm”), but you guys are even better. BONUS: FROZEN SPINACH While we’re wandering through the WASTE NOT / WANT NOT aisle, tote bag in hand, I wanted to tell you that my ancient side-by-side refrigerator had an aneurism in December just as I was heading south for the winter. The freezer side was not cold enough to freeze things; the refrigerator side, barely below room temperature. I hate throwing things out — shopping bags, for example — but because today’s refrigerators are so much more efficient, and because the refrigerator repair estimate was “$575-per-hour plus parts” — if they could fix it at all — I figured: what the hell? You only live once. But it turned out the $1,199 replacement I coveted wouldn’t fit; and that even if I could find one that did, the current fridge is too big to remove. Even with the doors off, it’s too wide to squeeze through the kitchen door. “Well, how did they get it in there in the first place?” you ask. It is a mystery. Best guess: it was there before the kitchen was remodeled with a narrower door. Who knows? So here I was four months later, back north, ready to confront the problem head on, which meant approving the $575-an-hour estimate, hoping for the best, and taking everything out of the freezer in preparation. And that’s when I found three bags of Seabrook Farms microwaveable once-frozen creamed spinach stamped “sell by October 27, 2007.” As long-time readers know, this is just the sort of thing I love. Though no longer frozen, each pouch was still vacuum sealed. I ate them over three successive days while we waited for the GE replacement parts to arrive. Delicious. Nine hundred forty-seven dollars and twenty-one cents later, frozen is once again frozen, cold is once again cold, and all is right with the world. Have a nifty, thrifty week. Waste not, want not. Waste impoverishes us all.