I have a new page up on Not Housebroken, “About my job hunt.” It is a page, not a post, because I might revise it in the future. It takes on urgency as it becomes increasingly clear that even moving to Pittsburgh, for a lower cost of living, is not making my situation sustainable. But as this page makes clear, the traditional means of finding work are an abject failure for me. I need something that will actually work for me and I absolutely don’t have it.


Socialism

The trouble with the term ‘socialism’ is that many people understand it as what is actually authoritarian socialism, the kind of socialism that centralizes authority over the means of production. Democratic socialists mean, in essence, a revival and fortification of the New Deal.

John Cassidy, “Why Socialism Is Back,” New Yorker, June 18, 2019, https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/why-socialism-is-back


Pittsburgh

U.S. Steel had barely gotten its pollution controls on line,[1] after months of pumping out air pollution,[2] when another fire knocked them out again.[3] The Allegheny County Health Department sought to join a federal lawsuit against U.S. Steel prior to this latest fire and the judge has approved that motion,[4] but with the latest fire, surely enough is enough.

KDKA, “Allegheny Co. Health Department Joins Federal Suit Against U.S. Steel,” June 18, 2019, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/06/18/allegheny-county-health-department-suit-against-us-steel/


  1. [1]Kris Maher, “Pittsburgh Breathes Easier After Repairs at U.S. Steel Coke Plant,” Wall Street Journal, May 26, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/pittsburgh-breathes-easier-after-repairs-at-u-s-steel-coke-plant-11558872000
  2. [2]Jessi Quinn Alperin, “Clairton, PA, wants to be clear: Residents demand accountability from U.S. Steel,” Environmental Health Network, May 13, 2019, https://www.ehn.org/clairton-coke-works-air-pollution-2636784943.html; Kristina Marusic, “Pittsburgh’s air quality continues to decline, new report finds,” Environmental Health Network, April 24, 2019, https://www.ehn.org/pittsburghs-air-quality-continues-to-decline-new-report-finds-2635280543.html
  3. [3]Kris Maher, “U.S. Steel Suffers New Fire Knocking Out Pollution Controls in Plant Near Pittsburgh,” Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-steel-suffers-new-fire-knocking-out-pollution-controls-in-plant-near-pittsburgh-11560795102
  4. [4]KDKA, “Allegheny Co. Health Department Joins Federal Suit Against U.S. Steel,” June 18, 2019, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/06/18/allegheny-county-health-department-suit-against-us-steel/