Uncategorized

White supremacist gangsters are not and never are the answer, but Pittsburgh will keep trying them anyway

benfell

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Unauthorized violence


Fig. 1. “Ed Gainey poses with CeaseFirePA during the 2020 Women’s March in Downtown Pittsburgh.” Photograph by Megan Gloeckler, undated, via Pittsburgh City Paper,[1] fair use.

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is reportedly offering county white supremacist gangsters to supplement the Pittsburgh white supremacist gangsters in downtown.[2] This follows District Attorney Stephen Zappala making a re-election campaign issue of downtown violence.[3] Both ignore the violence in city neighborhoods. Both ignore the root causes of that violence.[4]

Mark Belko, “Fitzgerald offers county police support to help address Downtown Pittsburgh safety concerns,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 31, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2023/01/30/crime-in-pittsburgh-downtown-allegheny-county-fitzgerald-mayor-gainey-safety-shootings/stories/202301300084

Ukraine


Fig. 1. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[5] fair use.

Julia Ioffe, “Putin’s Plot Against America,” Puck, January 31, 2023, https://puck.news/putins-plot-against-america/

  1. [1]Charlie Wolfson, “Neighborhood groups try to curb shootings as Pittsburgh’s mayoral campaign puts political focus on gun violence,” Pittsburgh City Paper, October 20, 2021, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/neighborhood-groups-try-to-curb-shootings-as-pittsburghs-mayoral-campaign-puts-political-focus-on-gun-violence/Content?oid=20401296↩
  2. [2]Mark Belko, “Fitzgerald offers county police support to help address Downtown Pittsburgh safety concerns,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 31, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2023/01/30/crime-in-pittsburgh-downtown-allegheny-county-fitzgerald-mayor-gainey-safety-shootings/stories/202301300084↩
  3. [3]Paula Reed Ward, “Zappala criticizes Gainey administration, Pittsburgh police over response to city violence,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 16, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/zappala-criticizes-gainey-administration-pittsburgh-police-over-response-to-city-violence/↩
  4. [4]David Benfell, “To Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey,” Not Housebroken, October 30, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/10/30/to-pittsburgh-mayor-ed-gainey/; David Benfell, “Stephen Zappala’s resignation would be nowhere near enough,” Not Housebroken, December 17, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2021/06/03/stephen-zappalas-resignation-would-be-nowhere-near-enough/↩
  5. [5]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩

Surprise! Surprise! Cruise self-driving cars don’t do well without a mobile data connection

benfell

Self-driving cars


Fig. 1. Photograph by Mark Doliner, August 1, 2012, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

It sure looks like at least the Cruise self-driving cars don’t do so well when they lose a mobile data connection; that this might happen in hilly terrain shouldn’t even be remotely surprising. There may be other triggers for misbehavior as well, but these are not identified in Aaron Gordon’s article.[1]

Aaron Gordon, “San Franciscans Keep Calling 911 About Baffling Self-Driving Car Behavior,” Vice, January 27, 2023, https://www.vice.com/en/article/93apqv/san-franciscans-keep-calling-911-about-baffling-self-driving-car-behavior

Gilead

Gun nuttery


Fig. 1. “Rally Against Gun Control ‘Come and Take it’ flag at the Minnesota State Capitol,” photograph by Fibonacci Blue [pseud.], April 28, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Eric Lutz, “Can Illinois's Assault Weapons Ban Survive Scores of Rogue Sheriffs?” Vanity Fair, January 27, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/can-illinois-assault-weapons-ban-survive-scores-of-rogue-sheriffs

Police White supremacist gangs


Fig. 1. Photograph by Lorie Shaull, April 1, 2021, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Libor Jany, Noah Goldberg, and James Queally, “Video shows Memphis officers kicking, punching Tyre Nichols as he calls for his mother,” Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-27/tyre-nichols-family-calls-for-peaceful-protests-when-video-released

Eric Lutz, “Can Illinois's Assault Weapons Ban Survive Scores of Rogue Sheriffs?” Vanity Fair, January 27, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/can-illinois-assault-weapons-ban-survive-scores-of-rogue-sheriffs

Jason Hanna and Elizabeth Hartfield, “Video shows Tyre Nichols calling for his mother, beaten by officers now charged in his death,” CNN, January 28, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/27/us/tyre-nichols-memphis-friday/index.html

Megan Guza, “Activists seek Pittsburgh police changes after Tyre Nichols’ death in Memphis,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 30, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2023/01/30/pittsburgh-police-tyre-nichols-stop-and-frisk-pretext-traffic-stops-tim-stevens-black-political-empowerment-project-bpep/stories/202301300065

Housekeeping

I have deleted my Discord server and account. I am attempting to delete my Tribel account. I’m keeping my Post account for now. None of these offers the quality of interaction I seek and mostly find on Mastodon (profile here).

I have not yet decided what to do about Twitter and Facebook.

  1. [1]Aaron Gordon, “San Franciscans Keep Calling 911 About Baffling Self-Driving Car Behavior,” Vice, January 27, 2023, https://www.vice.com/en/article/93apqv/san-franciscans-keep-calling-911-about-baffling-self-driving-car-behavior↩

Frank Luntz thinks Donald Trump is ‘all washed up’

benfell

Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

I happen to agree,[1] but we shouldn’t make more of the Alternet story (republished from the Raw Story)[2] than there is: It’s really mostly stenographically reporting Frank Luntz’ opinion. Luntz is a widely respected Republican pollster; his views aren’t merely pulled from his ass. But it’s one perspective.

We’re still a year out, and obviously, a lot can happen between now and then, but assuming Luntz is right about Donald Trump being “all washed up”[3]—and yes, I think he is—I have to expect that there will be a damaging rift in the Republican Party between Trump’s loyalists and the rest of the Republican Party, which may well fall into line with Ron DeSantis.

[Ron] DeSantis is happy to use brash rhetoric and even cruel stunts to make his point. He has flown Venezeulean migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in a bid to own liberals and battled with Disney over gay rights — breaking with Republican orthodoxy to complain about corporate power. He has said France would fold if Russia invaded and sided with Elon Musk over Ukrainian leaders after the U.S. billionaire suggested Kyiv needed to negotiate a peace deal with Russia.[4]

How damaging remains to be seen and my questions would be 1) how this affects enthusiasm and turnout in the general election, and 2) whether, in light of Doug Mastriano’s double-digit failure in Pennsylvania,[5] an extremist DeSantis, who can easily be tarred as “extremist,”[6] can draw support from a broader electorate.

Tom Boggioniand, “‘Thank you for your service’: GOP insiders say Donald Trump is ‘all washed up’ with ‘too much drama’ for 2024,” Alternet, January 29, 2023, https://www.alternet.org/donald-trump-all-washed-up/

Ukraine


Fig. 1. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[7] fair use.

This is the only substance I’ve seen so far to reports I’d seen on social media that Israel had struck multiple Iranian cities. Here it looks far more limited (both in scope and effect) and much more in collaboration with the U.S. and, less overtly, Ukraine.[8] But it would also divert from Binyamin Netanyahu’s domestic problems if—and a surprising bit for me is that it isn’t—it was getting more coverage.

Dion Nissenbaum, Benoit Faucon, and Gordon Lubold, “Israel Strikes Iran Amid New International Push to Contain Tehran,” Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-strikes-iran-amid-new-international-push-to-contain-tehran-11675004979

  1. [1]David Benfell, “More questions than answers as Donald Trump flags come down,” Not Housebroken, December 3, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/08/28/more-questions-than-answers-as-donald-trump-flags-come-down/↩
  2. [2]Tom Boggioniand, “‘Thank you for your service’: GOP insiders say Donald Trump is ‘all washed up’ with ‘too much drama’ for 2024,” Alternet, January 29, 2023, https://www.alternet.org/donald-trump-all-washed-up/↩
  3. [3]Tom Boggioniand, “‘Thank you for your service’: GOP insiders say Donald Trump is ‘all washed up’ with ‘too much drama’ for 2024,” Alternet, January 29, 2023, https://www.alternet.org/donald-trump-all-washed-up/↩
  4. [4]Adam Taylor, “Is the world ready for President DeSantis and a Floridian foreign policy?” Washington Post, November 10, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2022/11/10/desanntis-foreign-policy-florida/↩
  5. [5]Kris Maher, “Democrat Josh Shapiro Wins Pennsylvania Governor Race Over Doug Mastriano,” Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/election-midterms-2022/card/democrat-josh-shapiro-wins-pennsylvania-governor-race-over-doug-mastriano-rdDSLqwHlckU7Q5yZYF2; Jonathan Tamari, William Bender, and Chris Brennan, “The Pa. GOP’s no good, very bad, terrible election is forcing a reckoning in the state party,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 13, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pa-gop-losses-mastriano-2022-20221113.html; Mike Wereschagen, “What went wrong? How the GOP’s hope for a red wave in Pennsylvania crumbled,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 13, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/election2022/2022/11/13/pennsylvania-republicans-election-control-congress-legislature/stories/202211110116↩
  6. [6]Adam Taylor, “Is the world ready for President DeSantis and a Floridian foreign policy?” Washington Post, November 10, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2022/11/10/desanntis-foreign-policy-florida/↩
  7. [7]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩
  8. [8]Dion Nissenbaum, Benoit Faucon, and Gordon Lubold, “Israel Strikes Iran Amid New International Push to Contain Tehran,” Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-strikes-iran-amid-new-international-push-to-contain-tehran-11675004979↩

I don’t know when I’m leaving Pittsburgh or how. But I’m almost certainly leaving.

benfell

Update: I am seeing reports on social media that Israel has attacked several Iranian cities. I have not confirmed these reports.

Pennsylvania

Traffic non-enforcement


Fig. 1. Obviously, nowhere near Pittsburgh: “A Pennsylvania state trooper checks motorists’ speed using a radar gun.” Unattributed photograph credited only to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.[1]

My patience with the driving in Pittsburgh is growing very, very short.

Today, I was on unfamiliar ground in a rural area either of Allegheny County or Washington County, looking for a street. I guess I took too long. Some asshole in a pickup truck honked at me as I finally found the street and made the turn. I mean, come on, none of these people have ever had to look for an unfamiliar address before?

I decided to make that the last ride of the night as it was apparent there was a Penguins game, and I was in no mood to be sucked into everybody wanting to get me stuck in traffic trying to get to PPG Arena. Even as I dropped that ride off in the Strip District (I’m guessing it’s named for its geographic shape but there’s only one “strip club” there, at least that I know of), I was deluged with ride requests for small amounts, like I’m gonna take under five bucks to go get stuck for a half hour in PPG Arena traffic.

So I headed home along my usual routine, stopping for a car wash, adding a stop at Whole Foods Market (pretty much indispensable for vegans), and then finally stopping for gas. But as I was walking out of the Whole Foods, you know, where people are supposed to be nice, I noticed one lady backing out of a parking space. There was a guy, who had backed into his space, in a monster pickup truck on the other side of the lane, pulling out forward. He couldn’t even wait for her to finish pulling out to start encroaching her from behind. Of course, she saw him edging out and turned more sharply to leave some room, but she had cars on both sides, so this would have (I didn’t actually see this) slowed her down considerably. No matter, he just couldn’t wait to get moving, even when there was no way he was getting there faster for being an asshole.

It’s this senseless aggression that really gets to me. Because if these people are that aggressive, they’re guaranteed to get into a collision. Possibly with me.

I like my car. I want to keep it. I don’t want Pittsburgh roads destroying it. I don’t want Pittsburgh drivers destroying it.

But oh yeah, in one of their stupid driver surveys, Uber wanted to know if I feel safe driving for them today. They don’t ask why I feel threatened, though it’s a combination of asshole drivers, a complete lack of traffic enforcement,[2] and, of course, an awful lot of people fucking shooting at each other because they can’t tell their guns apart from their penises, which is to say that Uber is really just wondering if it’s time to gaslight us on safety again.[3]

And yeah, it would be real nice if my car didn’t get shot at.

  1. [1]Associated Press, “Senate OKs local police using radar for speed enforcement,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 23, 2021, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/senate-oks-local-police-using-radar-for-speed-enforcement/↩
  2. [2]David Benfell, “Reckless driving as routine,” Not Housebroken, January 27, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2023/01/25/reckless-driving-as-routine/↩
  3. [3]David Benfell, “Gaslighting Uber drivers on safety,” Not Housebroken, January 6, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/04/28/gaslighting-uber-drivers-on-safety/↩

Cry for your mother if you like. Worship the bully. Or else. And maybe anyway.

benfell

Gilead

Police White supremacist gangs


Fig. 1. Photograph by Lorie Shaull, April 1, 2021, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

I have read descriptions of the white supremacist gang murder of Tyre Nichols[1] They are, of course, horrifying.

Nichols’ murderers are Black[2] but this does not matter. They participated in a white supremacist organization and they conducted themselves accordingly. Because this is what white supremacist gangsters do.

The only thing new here is the clarity of the video from multiple cameras[3] and, of course, the violence these recordings depict is inexcusable. But this is what white supremacist gangsters do. Again and again and again.

And we invariably treat these events as exceptions.[4] Again and again and again.

It’s just like what we do with mass shootings and gun violence generally. It keeps happening. Again and again and again.

But sacred cows are clearly involved. We won’t do anything about capitalism. We won’t do anything about white supremacist gang violence. We won’t do anything about gun violence.

Because no matter what politicians or corporate executives or white Christian nationalists tell you, our real god is the bully, in whatever garb, in whatever form, and “thoughts and prayers” and ritualistic but empty condemnations are our most sacred rite.

Libor Jany, Noah Goldberg, and James Queally, “Video shows Memphis officers kicking, punching Tyre Nichols as he calls for his mother,” Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-27/tyre-nichols-family-calls-for-peaceful-protests-when-video-released

Jason Hanna and Elizabeth Hartfield, “Video shows Tyre Nichols calling for his mother, beaten by officers now charged in his death,” CNN, January 28, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/27/us/tyre-nichols-memphis-friday/index.html

  1. [1]Jason Hanna and Elizabeth Hartfield, “Video shows Tyre Nichols calling for his mother, beaten by officers now charged in his death,” CNN, January 28, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/27/us/tyre-nichols-memphis-friday/index.html; Libor Jany, Noah Goldberg, and James Queally, “Video shows Memphis officers kicking, punching Tyre Nichols as he calls for his mother,” Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-27/tyre-nichols-family-calls-for-peaceful-protests-when-video-released↩
  2. [2]Jason Hanna and Elizabeth Hartfield, “Video shows Tyre Nichols calling for his mother, beaten by officers now charged in his death,” CNN, January 28, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/27/us/tyre-nichols-memphis-friday/index.html↩
  3. [3]Libor Jany, Noah Goldberg, and James Queally, “Video shows Memphis officers kicking, punching Tyre Nichols as he calls for his mother,” Los Angeles Times, January 27, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-27/tyre-nichols-family-calls-for-peaceful-protests-when-video-released↩
  4. [4]James Downie, “Time to toss the ‘bad apples’ excuse,” Washington Post, May 31, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/31/time-toss-bad-apples-excuse/↩

When a headline says it all: Even after Fern Hollow, Pittsburgh still isn’t fixing bridges

benfell

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Infrastructure


Fig. 1. Post-collapse scene at the Fern Hollow Bridge, photograph by National Transportation Safety Board, January 29, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Mike Wereschagin, “There’s been almost no progress fixing Pittsburgh-owned bridges a year after Fern Hollow collapsed,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 27, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2023/01/27/fern-hollow-collapse-anniversary-pittsburgh-bridge-repairs/stories/202301270078

Traffic non-enforcement


Fig. 1. Obviously, nowhere near Pittsburgh: “A Pennsylvania state trooper checks motorists’ speed using a radar gun.” Unattributed photograph credited only to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.[1]

No sooner had I written my last blog post, when I started noticing something new in the annals of Pittsburgh aggressive driving.

It seems that when folks stop for a red light, the thing to do now is to steer around those folks and run the red light yourself. I’ve seen this on three separate occasions since writing that post. This afternoon, a dark blue Maserati pulled from behind me to do this, as opposing traffic had already started doing left turns. They all managed to avoid a wreck.

Also this afternoon (January 27), a pickup truck driver had me roll down my window to chastise me and call me names for driving slowly on a rutted brick road.

It’s bad enough being bullied by the job market and by Uber. In Pittsburgh, I’m routinely bullied by fellow drivers. I need out. Now.[2]

Gilead

Twitter


Fig. 1. “Elon Musk shared a video of his entrance on his Twitter account.” Photograph attributed to Elon Musk, October 26, 2022, via the New York Post,[3] fair use.

I have Twitter poll up on my private account, intentionally for followers only. I’m wondering first if any of my followers are still on Twitter (so far, six have checked in), and second, what their plans are for the platform (all six indicated they intend to stay).

In general, I’m reevaluating my social media presence and thinking it may be time to terminate both by Twitter and Facebook accounts. I can’t even stand to log in to Facebook and I’m not seeing any engagement on Twitter. Getting rid of the plugin that posts to both would probably improve my sites’ performance a bit.

So-called ‘ridesharing’

Drivers


Fig. 1. Yeah, this is me. The sign says, “If you’re whining about a labor shortage, STOP ignoring my job applications!” And the QR-code leads here. Photograph by author, January 16, 2023.

About 30 years ago, in Graton, a small, unincorporated town north of Sebastopol, California, long before it got gentrified, there was an old lady who occasionally opened up her restaurant on Graton Road. It was something she clearly did when she felt like it and only when she felt like it.

I was still an omnivore and she cooked a fine breakfast for not a whole lot of money, so I made it a point to stop in when I could.

One day, she imparted some advice that’s stuck with me. The fastest way to go out of business, she warned, is to charge too much. The second fastest way to go out of business, she continued, is to charge too little.

One of the points of contention about Uber driver worker misclassification is that Uber drivers do not set their own rates. They work for whatever Uber chooses to pay them.

I previously wrote of Uber’s latest pay cut that “I’m sure it’s at least a quarter or a third of what they pay us after their commission; it feels like 40 percent.”[4] Today, I was flabbergasted all afternoon by how little I was being paid for rides. I’m sure now that the cut is fully 40 percent.

By that old lady’s reckoning, Uber is choosing to put its drivers out of business.

I explained in that post that this situation is not sustainable.[5] It is now a full crisis. This cannot continue for any length of time whatsoever. It must end now.

But nothing has come through. And the message I’m getting is that death is the only way out.

  1. [1]Associated Press, “Senate OKs local police using radar for speed enforcement,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 23, 2021, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/senate-oks-local-police-using-radar-for-speed-enforcement/↩
  2. [2]David Benfell, “A life worth living,” Not Housebroken, January 27, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/27/a-life-worth-living/↩
  3. [3]Thomas Barrabi, “Elon Musk barges into Twitter HQ as deal nears: ‘Let that sink in,’” New York Post, October 26, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/10/26/elon-musk-barges-into-twitter-headquarters-as-deal-nears/↩
  4. [4]David Benfell, “A life worth living,” Not Housebroken, January 27, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/27/a-life-worth-living/↩
  5. [5]David Benfell, “A life worth living,” Not Housebroken, January 27, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/12/27/a-life-worth-living/↩

When do I get to start shooting assholes whining about a ‘labor shortage?’

benfell

So-called ‘ridesharing’

Drivers


Fig. 1. Yeah, this is me. The sign says, “If you’re whining about a labor shortage, STOP ignoring my job applications!” And the QR-code leads here. Photograph by author, January 16, 2023.

I just got my 2022 tax forms from Uber. They admit to taking around 43 percent cut of my gross receipts in November and December 2022 and just under 39 percent for the entire year. I’m not an accountant and I don’t know what other fuckery might account for the difference between these numbers and the 60 percent I believe they’re taking, based on what passengers are telling me, versus what Uber is paying me.

Supposedly, I grossed over $100,000 last year. It definitely doesn’t feel like it; indeed, while my tax preparer will have the final word, it looks like my net out of that was a little over $23,000.

Work


Fig. 2. The spectre of Death, in the form of a large skeleton, rises with the smoke and flames of the burning Asch Building during the Triangle fire, as people jump and fall to their death. Artist unknown, from International Ladies Garment Workers Union Photographs (1885-1985) at The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

And, sure enough, they’re still whining about a “labor shortage.”[1] When do I get to start shooting these assholes?

Justin Lahart, “Don’t Blame Covid for the Worker Shortage,” Wall Street Journal, January 27, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/labor-participation-factors-economy-11674780877

  1. [1]Justin Lahart, “Don’t Blame Covid for the Worker Shortage,” Wall Street Journal, January 27, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/labor-participation-factors-economy-11674780877↩

Why is no one talking about the proposed constitutional amendment on abortion in Pennsylvania?

benfell

Gilead

Abortion


Fig. 1. Sign at demonstration in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, May 3, 2022. Janni Rye, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

It’s more than a bit curious that the media now focus on Pennsylvania’s proposed voter identification amendment, omitting entirely any mention of the abortion amendment, that must be ratified by the legislature again this year to make it onto the ballot. The story today is that Pennsylvania Speaker of the House of Representatives Mark Rozzi has effectively shut down the House until after a special election on February 7 to fill three vacant seats, almost certainly with Democrats.[1]

Rozzi, who was raped by a Catholic priest at age 13, wants to increase the “window” of time for victims of such crimes to sue. Republicans are trying to tie that to their package of constitutional amendments[2] which would require voter identification and assert that the Pennsylvania constitution does not protect abortion rights.[3] The addition of three Democrats would improve Rozzi’s leverage to keep the matters separate.[4]

Adam Smeltz, “Pa. House Speaker Mark Rozzi kicks off ‘listening tour’ in Pittsburgh as Harrisburg remains gridlocked,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 26, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2023/01/25/mark-rozzi-pa-house-speaker-listening-tour-pittsburgh-cmu/stories/202301250101

Competitive authoritarian regime project


Fig. 1. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Clarence Mitchell during signing ceremony of the voting rights act. Yoichi Okamoto, August 6, 1965, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Adam Smeltz, “Pa. House Speaker Mark Rozzi kicks off ‘listening tour’ in Pittsburgh as Harrisburg remains gridlocked,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 26, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2023/01/25/mark-rozzi-pa-house-speaker-listening-tour-pittsburgh-cmu/stories/202301250101

  1. [1]Adam Smeltz, “Pa. House Speaker Mark Rozzi kicks off ‘listening tour’ in Pittsburgh as Harrisburg remains gridlocked,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 26, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2023/01/25/mark-rozzi-pa-house-speaker-listening-tour-pittsburgh-cmu/stories/202301250101↩
  2. [2]Adam Smeltz, “Pa. House Speaker Mark Rozzi kicks off ‘listening tour’ in Pittsburgh as Harrisburg remains gridlocked,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 26, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2023/01/25/mark-rozzi-pa-house-speaker-listening-tour-pittsburgh-cmu/stories/202301250101↩
  3. [3]Stephen Caruso, “Pa. Republicans fight to prolong House majority and pass far-reaching constitutional amendments,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 17, 2022, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/pa-republicans-fight-to-prolong-house-majority-and-pass-far-reaching-constitutional-amendments/; Gillian McGoldrick, “Pa. Legislature approves constitutional amendments to declare residents don’t have the right to an abortion, to require voter ID,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 8, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2022/07/08/pennsylvania-senate-advances-constitutional-amendments-residents-rights-relating-abortion-require-voter-id/stories/202207080102; Gillian McGoldrick, “Pa. Senate GOP committee advances late-night amendment to restrict abortion, require voter ID,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 8, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2022/07/08/pennsylvania-senate-republicans-advance-constitutional-amendment-to-restrict-abortion-and-call-for-voter-ids-roe-v-wade/stories/202207080073; Katie Meyer, “Fight gears up over Pa. constitutional amendment to protect ‘every unborn child,’” WHYY, July 1, 2022, https://whyy.org/articles/pennsylvania-abortion-rights-constitutional-amendment-fight/; Rodrigo Torrejón, “What the Pa. constitutional amendment package could mean for abortion and elections,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 8, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/pa-senate-constitutional-amendments-abortion-elections-voting-20220708.html↩
  4. [4]Adam Smeltz, “Pa. House Speaker Mark Rozzi kicks off ‘listening tour’ in Pittsburgh as Harrisburg remains gridlocked,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 26, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2023/01/25/mark-rozzi-pa-house-speaker-listening-tour-pittsburgh-cmu/stories/202301250101↩

A drug bust, you say? (yawn) Of the Greensburg white supremacist gang chief, you say? Sounds just about right.

benfell

Gilead

Police White supremacist gangs


Fig. 1. Image credited to Darnella Frazier, made from a video posted to Facebook, of Minneapolis white supremacist gangster Derek Chauvin’s knee on George Floyd’s neck, May 25, 2020, via ABC News,[1] fair use.

Um, yeah, Greensburg’s finest here:

[Greensburg Police Chief Shawn] Denning is charged with two counts of aiding and abetting the distribution of cocaine and three counts of aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Pittsburgh by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Denning, 41, of Delmont also is charged with conspiring to distribute controlled drugs from about June 2021 through October 2022, according to the complaint that was unsealed on Tuesday.[2]

Greensburg is in Westmoreland County but is relatively cosmopolitan for that county. At one point, it even had a vegan restaurant that I never made it to because it was a breakfast and lunch only place.

But because it’s in Westmoreland County, which is very conservative, Greensburg is also where prominent conservatives, including Donald Trump, have gone to hold rallies.

Shawn Denning was promoted to police chief in March 2022 even as the Drug Enforcement Agency was already investigating him.[3]

Jeff Himler, “Greensburg police chief out, charged with drug distribution,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 25, 2023, https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/greensburg-police-chief-charged-in-federal-court-with-conspiring-to-distribute-drugs/

Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Elon Musk had already restored Donald Trump’s account on Twitter.[4] Now Trump will be getting his Facebook and Instagram accounts back.[5] There is, I suppose, still the matter of YouTube,[6] but otherwise, Trump very nearly has his previous social media presence restored.

That said, Trump will supposedly face increased penalties should he repeat his stunt of using Facebook or Instagram to attempt to delegitimize an election in the future.[7] Musk has imposed no similar restriction.

Rachel Weiner, “Four other Oath Keepers found guilty of Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy,” Washington Post, January 23, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/01/23/oathkeepers-verdict-seditious-conspiracy-jan6-guilty/

Maggie Haberman, “Classified Documents Found at Pence’s Home in Indiana,” New York Times, January 24, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/us/politics/mike-pence-classified-documents.html

Clare Duffy, “Meta says it will restore Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts,” CNN, January 25, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/25/tech/meta-facebook-trump-decision/index.html

  1. [1]Catherine Thorbecke, “Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes, complaint says,” ABC News, May 29, 2020, https://abcnews.go.com/US/derek-chauvin-knee-george-floyds-neck-minutes-complaint/story?id=70961042↩
  2. [2]Jeff Himler, “Greensburg police chief out, charged with drug distribution,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 25, 2023, https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/greensburg-police-chief-charged-in-federal-court-with-conspiring-to-distribute-drugs/↩
  3. [3]Jeff Himler, “Greensburg police chief out, charged with drug distribution,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 25, 2023, https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/greensburg-police-chief-charged-in-federal-court-with-conspiring-to-distribute-drugs/↩
  4. [4]Liz Moyer, “Elon Musk Reinstates Trump on Twitter. Trump Shrugs,” Barron’s, November 20, 2022, https://www.barrons.com/articles/elon-musk-reinstates-trump-on-twitter-trump-shrugs-51668964354; Kelly Rissman, “Donald Trump’s Twitter Account Has Been Reactivated But Will He Return?” Vanity Fair, November 20, 2022, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/11/donald-trump-twitter-account-has-been-reactivated; Vlad Savov, “Musk Welcomes Ye Back to Twitter After Inviting Trump’s Return,” Bloomberg, November 20, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-21/musk-welcomes-ye-back-to-twitter-after-inviting-trump-s-return↩
  5. [5]Clare Duffy, “Meta says it will restore Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts,” CNN, January 25, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/25/tech/meta-facebook-trump-decision/index.html↩
  6. [6]Rachel Lerman, “Trump has been suspended from YouTube,” Washington Post, January 13, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/12/trump-youtube-ban/↩
  7. [7]Clare Duffy, “Meta says it will restore Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts,” CNN, January 25, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/25/tech/meta-facebook-trump-decision/index.html↩

After much drama, Ukraine will get tanks

benfell

Ukraine


Fig. 1. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[1] fair use.

Julia Ioffe notes that a number of Vladimir Putin’s gambles in launching his war on Ukraine have gone wrong, including, somewhat surprisingly, his gamble that winter and Europe’s need for Russian natural gas would force a capitulation. She focuses on the latter, as it’s newsworthy and covers ground she hasn’t much done before,[2] but I’m thinking more attention needs to be paid to the larger picture. Putin just isn’t getting anything right with this war and, for a man with imperial delusions,[3] that seems like a rather striking failure that doesn’t look to get any better with Europe and the U.S. sending tanks that are far superior to their Russian counterparts to bolster Ukraine’s military.[4]

Rachel Koning Beals, “Russia-Ukraine war leaves Doomsday Clock closest to ‘crisis’ hour of midnight in report’s 76-year history,” Bloomberg, January 24, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/russia-ukraine-war-leaves-doomsday-clock-the-closest-to-crisis-midnight-in-reports-76-year-history-11674573997

Michael R. Gordon and Gordon Lubold, “U.S. Leans Toward Providing Abrams Tanks to Ukraine,” Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/poland-formally-requests-german-permission-to-send-tanks-to-ukraine-11674558492

Julia Ioffe, “The Putin Super Power Myth,” Puck, January 24, 2023, https://puck.news/the-putin-super-power-myth/

John Mecklin, “A time of unprecedented danger: It is 90 seconds to midnight,” Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, January 24, 2023, https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/

Karen DeYoung, “U.S. will supply M1 tanks to Ukraine, as Germany approves Leopards,” Washington Post, January 25, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/01/25/germany-leopard-tanks-abrams-ukraine/

Bojan Pancevski and Bertrand Benoit, “Germany to Send Tanks to Ukraine, With U.S. Set to Follow,” Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/germany-agrees-to-send-tanks-to-ukraine-11674643787

Illiberalism


Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.

Ishaan Tharoor, “Netanyahu drags Israeli democracy into the illiberal mire,” Washington Post, January 25, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2023/01/25/israel-illiberal-democracy-right-netanyahu/

Pennsylvania

Speed limit enforcement


Fig. 1. “A Pennsylvania state trooper checks motorists’ speed using a radar gun.” Unattributed photograph credited only to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.[5]

There is a new blog post entitled, “Reckless driving as routine.”

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Harrisburg, let cops have tools to enforce speed limit,” January 25, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2023/01/25/speed-limit-enforcement-radar-local-police-pennsylvania/stories/202301240114

So-called ‘ridesharing’

Drivers


Fig. 1. Yeah, this is me. The sign says, “If you’re whining about a labor shortage, STOP ignoring my job applications!” And the QR-code leads here. Photograph by author, January 16, 2023.

David Benfell, “I have only spoken with a few passengers, but it looks like . . .,” Twitter, January 24, 2023, https://twitter.com/BenfellPhD/status/1617976960344547328

David Benfell, “So what do @Uber drivers get . . .,” Twitter, January 25, 2023, https://twitter.com/BenfellPhD/status/1618179699913678850

  1. [1]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q↩
  2. [2]Julia Ioffe, “The Putin Super Power Myth,” Puck, January 24, 2023, https://puck.news/the-putin-super-power-myth/↩
  3. [3]Julian O’Shaughnessy, “I’m reconquering just like Peter the Great, insists Vladimir Putin,” Times, June 10, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/president-putin-creates-police-department-to-impose-martial-law-xqhlt79fn; Reuters, “Hailing Peter the Great, Putin draws parallel with mission to ‘return’ Russian lands,” June 9, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hailing-peter-great-putin-draws-parallel-with-mission-return-russian-lands-2022-06-09/↩
  4. [4]Bojan Pancevski and Bertrand Benoit, “Germany to Send Tanks to Ukraine, With U.S. Set to Follow,” Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/germany-agrees-to-send-tanks-to-ukraine-11674643787↩
  5. [5]Associated Press, “Senate OKs local police using radar for speed enforcement,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 23, 2021, https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/senate-oks-local-police-using-radar-for-speed-enforcement/↩