The constitutional oligarchy creaks (update #3)

benfell

Updates

  1. Originally published, June 1, 2021, 11:19 pm.

  2. June 2, 2021, 9:04 am:

    • Bess Levin has a run-down on all the worrying developments in the crusade to restore Donald Trump to the presidency. It’s not that any of them will succeed. It’s that, yes, people are still trying.[1] I have updated the relevant blog post.

    • My Toyota Camry Hybrid has taken its last Uber/Lyft passenger. The dealer informed me it would cost $1,800 to repair it and, no, I absolutely cannot see sinking that kind of money into that car. I would get likely get less in trade.

      I can drive the car reasonably safely. The hydraulic brake system is fine. But there are bright warning indications on the instrument display that passengers can see. It’s just not okay to drive for Uber or Lyft like this.

  3. June 2, 2021, 9:35 pm:

    • Alex Shephard supplements and largely confirms Bess Levin’s article.[2] The bottom line here is that an awful lot of people, possibly including Donald Trump himself, want a coup along the lines that Michael Flynn endorsed.[3] Which of course increases the probability that such an attempt might occur. I have significantly updated both the original text and the update in the relevant blog post.

    • I have checked with my Toyota dealership’s finance manager. Actually, she’s an interesting woman: It’s clear she sees a lot of shit, including a lot that makes mine smell relatively rosy. We ran the application and I was approved. All that’s needed is the car itself, oh yeah, and my mother’s advance for the down payment.

      But unless I can overcome the rental car shortage,[4] I’m probably not going to be working until that car arrives.

      The current build date is projected as June 15-25.

    • Y’all know I was among the pessimists when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that fully vaccinated folks could go without masks in many situations.[5] And with a growing fake certificate market,[6] there certainly was cause for concern.

      I missed it when this first came out, but it looks like the optimists were right. People appear to be responding to the CDC guidance by getting vaccinated.[7]

      I don’t know how far you can take this, but it appears a carrot does indeed still work, even with an issue as badly politically polarized as the pandemic.

There is a new blog post entitled, “Against vegan absolutism.”

Constitutional oligarchy

There is another new blog post entitled, “Slip, slip, slipping away, down that fascist slippery slope.”

Stephen Collinson, “Revolt by Texas Democrats heaps pressure on Washington to act on voting reform,” CNN, June 1, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/01/politics/texas-democrats-voting-reform-pressure/index.html

Fred Kaplan, “How the Military Should Deal With Its Michael Flynn Problem,” Slate, June 1, 2021, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/06/michael-flynn-coup-court-martial.html

Bess Levin, “Trump Has Reportedly Been Telling People He’s Going to Be President Again by August, Which Would Suggest He’s Planning a Coup (Or Has Fully Descended Into Madness),” Vanity Fair, June 1, 2021, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/06/donald-trump-august-reinstatement

Gig economy

It’s pretty clear that Mariella Moon just wants her Uber and Lyft back. There isn’t even lip service to the drivers’ side of the story here.[8]

Mariella Moon, “Uber and Lyft rides are pricier due to a lack of drivers (and the waits are longer, too),” Engadget, June 1, 2021, https://www.engadget.com/uber-lyft-surge-pricing-lack-of-drivers-035835230.html

Pandemic

Elizabeth Cohen, “Interest in vaccinations increased after CDC announced new mask guidance,” CNN, May 27, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/27/health/vaccination-interest-cdc-mask-guidance/index.html

  1. [1]Bess Levin, “Trump Has Reportedly Been Telling People He’s Going to Be President Again by August, Which Would Suggest He’s Planning a Coup (Or Has Fully Descended Into Madness),” Vanity Fair, June 1, 2021, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/06/donald-trump-august-reinstatement↩
  2. [2]Alex Shephard, “Trump’s Republicans Want a Coup,” New Republic, June 1, 2021, https://newrepublic.com/article/162586/michael-flynn-trump-myanmar-coup↩
  3. [3]Fred Kaplan, “How the Military Should Deal With Its Michael Flynn Problem,” Slate, June 1, 2021, https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/06/michael-flynn-coup-court-martial.html; Bess Levin, “Trump Has Reportedly Been Telling People He’s Going to Be President Again by August, Which Would Suggest He’s Planning a Coup (Or Has Fully Descended Into Madness),” Vanity Fair, June 1, 2021, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/06/donald-trump-august-reinstatement; Alex Shephard, “Trump’s Republicans Want a Coup,” New Republic, June 1, 2021, https://newrepublic.com/article/162586/michael-flynn-trump-myanmar-coup↩
  4. [4]Scott McCartney, “Wait, Where Did All the Rental Cars Go?” Wall Street Journal, April 14, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/hertz-avis-enterprise-rental-car-shortage-11618335385↩
  5. [5]Zeke Miller and Michael Balsamo, “‘Great day for America’: Vaccinated can largely ditch masks,” Associated Press, May 13, 2021, copy in possession of author; Leana S. Wen, “The CDC shouldn’t have removed restrictions without requiring proof of vaccination,” Washington Post, May 13, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/13/cdc-mask-rules-vaccination-leana-wen/↩
  6. [6]Jamie Grierson, “Fake Covid vaccine and test certificate market is growing, researchers say,” Guardian, May 16, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/16/fake-covid-vaccine-and-test-certificate-market-is-growing-researchers-say↩
  7. [7]Elizabeth Cohen, “Interest in vaccinations increased after CDC announced new mask guidance,” CNN, May 27, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/27/health/vaccination-interest-cdc-mask-guidance/index.html↩
  8. [8]Mariella Moon, “Uber and Lyft rides are pricier due to a lack of drivers (and the waits are longer, too),” Engadget, June 1, 2021, https://www.engadget.com/uber-lyft-surge-pricing-lack-of-drivers-035835230.html↩

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