Idle Thoughts: From "Never Again" to "I can't believe it's happening here."

Tweets from July, 2019:

• 2019-07-01: "How did we go from 'Never Again' to 'I can't believe it's happening here.'" -- Christopher Weyant"
• 2019-07-01: Richardson, give me one good reason not to follow Portland's lead here. (Link)
• 2019-07-01: @RepLanceGooden Thanks for noticing, at long last, that the economy was in a "boom" under Obama, in fact about twice as long as under the current Republican administration.

After the jump, more idle thoughts.

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• 2019-07-01: 1. In 1972 China was a recent nuclear power. Nixon's opening towards China effectively ended any hope of denuclearization, if there had been any in the first place. Should we interpret Trump's opening towards NK the same way?
• 2019-07-01: 2. China was world's most populous country in 1972. That gave it strength. Engagement rather than isolation was a logical strategy. NK is still today a tiny, weak country. Isolation and strategic patience might still lead to denuclearization. Trump is giving up on that.
• 2019-07-02: RT @Eden_Eats: "Your campaign slogan is your last name + ":" + the last text you sent."
  Steger: We have no plans.
• 2019-07-03: Murder Mystery (2019): Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston in a Netflix movie says all you need to know about this comedy/mystery. The jokes are bad, then explained to the audience ("eggplant donut emoji"). Skip this one and rewatch any version of "Murder on the Orient Express. C-"
• 2019-07-03: On what day are the Fourth of July fireworks?
  There's a joke in that somewhere, but I just can't get it out.
• 2019-07-03: @RepLanceGooden, reunite the children with their parents. Without that everything else you say is just crocodile tears.
• 2019-07-04: Requesting asylum is not against the law.
  There's no legal requirement to jail them.
  Requesting asylum is not against the law.
  There's no legal requirement to jail them.
  Requesting asylum is not against the law.
  There's no legal requirement to jail them.
• 2019-07-04: I don't get the joke. Looks like what the newspaper has looked like for years. Rehire the reporters. (Link)
• 2019-07-04: You tell me. Was this tweet by me yesterday in response to a @mWilstory tweet deserving of getting blocked by him? (Link)
• 2019-07-04: Yesterday (2019): Beatles music alone would be worth it, but the whole is a perfect blend of that with a sci-fi premise and a bittersweet love story, with each component leaving you wanting more, as it should be. Comic elements are a bonus. Maybe you have to be Baby Boomer. A-
• 2019-07-05: Requesting asylum is not against the law.
  There's no legal requirement to jail them.
  Asylum seekers deserve hearings.
  Instead of money for cages, hire more immigration judges.
  Give aid to Central America so refugees don't leave.
  Short of that, the "crisis" is manufactured. (Link)
• 2019-07-05: "Until the Industrial Revolution, stable kleptocracy was pretty much what "civilization" meant." Thread... (Link)
• 2019-07-05: Trump's speech reminds me of a comedy routine from the 1970s (sorry, I can't remember exactly who) that asked historical what-if questions. One was "What if Robert E. Lee had had air support at Gettysburg?" At least we all thought it was comedy at the time. (Link)
• 2019-07-07: After this year's NBA free agency, I suddenly realized I like the business of basketball much more than I like the game itself.
• 2019-07-08: This pyramid is upside-down. After 2,000 years of Christianity, why would the religiously unaffiliated have more Christian values towards refugees than Christians do? What am I missing? (Link)
• 2019-07-08: Julian Castro folded in Dallas when he ran HUD. I always thought that if Castro's presidential campaign ever took off, it would be this story that would bring him down, if the national, leftwing press ever latched onto it. Lots of if's in that. (Link)
• 2019-07-11: I'm old enough to remember that John McCain was written off in 2007, only to storm back and win the GOP nomination in 2008. If 2016 taught us anything, it's that something being unlikely is not the same as something being impossible.
• 2019-07-12: The Soul of America: History of all the failings of America and how we managed to survive. Native American removal, slavery, Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow, Red Scare. Meacham suggests we'll survive this time, too. I'm not so sure. Nevertheless, we have no choice but to resist. B-
• 2019-07-12: I suspect that as long as China continues to suppress political rights in Hong Kong, human rights for Uigher Muslims, etc., etc., US hostility will remain, no matter what happens to Trump and his misconceived tariff war. (Link)
• 2019-07-12: I keep getting the same junk call, every few days, trying to sell me an extended warranty on my car. Each calls contains, "This is the final call before we close the file." They make it sound like a threat instead of the blessed relief it would be.
• 2019-07-12: @RepLanceGooden, the House passed a $733 billion defense bill. Some on the left thought that's too much, but enough Dems supported it to pass it. You and all the other Republicans voted no because you wanted money for Trump's wall. And you say it's Dems putting politics above our troops? Really?!
• 2019-07-15: @RepLanceGooden, defending racism is not a good look.
• 2019-07-16: @RepLanceGooden, "Months of public vilification and calls to abolish @ICEgov" (your words) ought to be a sign that ICE needs reform. Maybe instead of defending racists, you ought to be looking for legislative fixes.
• 2019-07-16: Front page of DMN, above the fold: "O'Rourke's personal ties to slavery cloud chances."
  SMH. "The sins of the [great-great-great grand]father are to be laid upon the children." - Shakespeare, "The Merchant of Venice"
• 2019-07-16: RISD's Lloyd V Berkner High School was founded 50 years ago this year. It is named after a member of President Eisenhower's Scientific Advisory Committee (PSAC), which was created in response to Sputnik. Today, there is a lunar crater named Berkner. It's a great time to be a Ram! (Link)
• 2019-07-16: @RepLanceGooden, minimum wage hikes have been shown again and again not to cost jobs. GOP economic policies haven't accelerated the economic growth started under Obama.
• 2019-07-17: Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019): Our hero saves Europe from evil Elementals...or someone else. European city backgrounds were my favorite part of movie. Also, the usual Marvel humor. And I guess the teen love story adds human interest. Full of plot holes. Overdone CGI. C+
• 2019-07-19: How is Stephen Colbert mocking Eric Trump's teeth acceptable? Trump was condemned for mocking a reporter's disability.
• 2019-07-20: @RepLanceGooden, reflexive saber rattling is usually a bad response. I want to learn more about the Iranian tanker seized by the British in the Mediterranean.
• 2019-07-20: @RepLanceGooden, do you know how many workers are holding down two or three jobs because wages aren't keeping up? The Minimum Wage hasn't risen in over ten years, due to opposition by Congresspersons like you. That part of the story is not so great.
• 2019-07-20: The icon that history books will show is an authoritarian leader wearing a red baseball cap and literally hugging an American flag.
• 2019-07-20: 50 years ago we were transfixed by humans on the moon. Something else we were paralyzed by? Chants of "America: Love it or Leave it" encouraged by our President. (Link)
• 2019-07-20: Did you know that Fox TV bragged that doubts by Americans about whether moon landing actually happened doubled after Fox's 2001 special 'Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?' (Link)
• 2019-07-20: The Electoral College's purpose was to give more power to slave states than their white population justified, and transfer power from voters to an elite to prevent an unqualified populist from becoming president. In 2016, the former slave states elected an unqualified populist.
• 2019-07-20: The Electoral College accomplished one of its two goals. The wrong one. (Link)
• 2019-07-20: How are we letting "Never again" morph into "I can't believe it's happening here"? (Link)
• 2019-07-22: Ever attended a perfect game? Yes, Kenny Rogers, 1994. I'm done here.
• 2019-07-22: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018): Oscar winner for animated feature. Origin story for super hero; coming-of-age tale for everyone. A door to the multiverse brings variants of Spider-Man together. New hero has to save the world. Too much action. Never enough humor. C+
• 2019-07-22: In my youth, I learned that society itself had learned that punishment was ineffective in reducing crime. That rehabilitation was a better approach. Sometime between then and now, punishment came roaring back, along with recidivism. Time for a rethink, again?
• 2019-07-22: Headline: "Trump talked about Mueller's testimony for around 90 seconds. He packed in 6 lies."
  It's good to see the news media start to get it. Now if they could figure out a way to point out the lies in real time, there'd be a little less incentive to lie in the first place.
• 2019-07-22: Trump: India Asked Me to Mediate Kashmir Conflict. India: No, We Didn't."
  Another quick fact check, this time by one of the two nuclear powers involved in an international standoff. What could go wrong?
• 2019-07-23: I just wish we had more road narrowing projects (i.e. road diets). (Link)
• 2019-07-23: Exactly who makes the decision on what to vote on? (Link)
• 2019-07-23: Headline: "A Dallas-born citizen picked up by the Border Patrol has been detained for three weeks."
  I think this was one of the complaints the colonies had against King George. (Link) "
• 2019-07-23: @RepLanceGooden, as long as you support caging children, I have a hard time believing you have children's best interests at heart in your bill.
• 2019-07-23: There could be something or someone in common. Think, Mark. Think. (Link)
• 2019-07-24: @RepLanceGooden, your refusal to join Dems in ending the separation of children and putting them in cages shows *you* aren't serious about protecting children.
• 2019-07-24: The arc of urban history is long, but it bends toward Asian-fusion fast casual with a drive thru.
  H/T A.L.
• 2019-07-24: @RepLanceGooden, You're doing a good job trying to distract attention from the fact that you're doing nothing stop separating children from their parents and locking them up in cages. You even make it sound like you're a good guy.
• 2019-07-24: Repeat after me. Including and since Reagan, the deficit has grown under every Republican president and shrunk under every Democratic president. It's mind-boggling that conventional wisdom gets this so wrong.
• 2019-07-25: How did "Never again" become "I can't believe this is happening here"? Seriously, what line do you have to cross before what USA is doing at the border becomes #NeverAgain? (Link)
• 2019-07-25: @RepLanceGooden, We know Russia is still attempting to influence our elections and Republicans in Congress are resisting any attempts to do something about it. Trump doesn't mind Russian interference and @RepLanceGooden is complicit in that.
• 2019-07-25: @RobertWilonsky argues to use the profits from the sale of the Robert E Lee statue to restore the Juanita Craft house: "I mean, since we're all about not wanting to erase history."
  Great subtext. Kudos.
• 2019-07-26: Mitch McConnell alone has done as much damage to our democracy as Trump has. And the Roberts Court, with its Citizens United and partisan gerrymandering rulings, is close behind. They will still be there in 2021 (very likely), so our democracy won't be on the road to fixing.
• 2019-07-27: Rolling Thunder Revue (2019): Martin Scorsese's mostly non-fictional documentary of chaotic 1975 tour by Bob Dylan and friends. Some glimpses into Dylan's psyche. Lots of intimate concert footage. Fascinating behind-the-scenes looks at Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez. B+
• 2019-07-27: Dallas Morning News frontpage headline: "Death penalty can be tough call." Not exactly what I'd call news.
• 2019-07-29: Period. End of Sentence (2018): Documentary short about how menstruation is a taboo subject in India even today that suppresses girls and women. And how one village's women fight back by creating a business of making and selling sanitary pads. Inspiring. A-
• 2019-07-29: Racist appeals worked for Trump in 2016. Trump is doubling down on racism for 2020. There's no room for denial anymore. We'll see if the majority of the American electorate will support an open racist. (Link)
• 2019-07-29: Mueller: Russia interfered. Trump welcomed it. Russians contacted Trump campaign. Trump campaign never reported it to FBI. Trump campaign lied about it to Mueller.
  Trump: No collusion. No obstruction. Total exoneration.
  Me: [checks dictionary for gaslighting]"
• 2019-07-29: @RepLanceGooden, anyone who arrives at our border seeking asylum should be treated humanely. Children should not be separated from parents and caged.
• 2019-07-29: @RepLanceGooden, how about telling Mitch McConnell to let the Senate vote on many, many bills passed by the House this session?
• 2019-07-30: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019): Quentin Tarantino's take on Manson cult and Sharon Tate murders, with a twist. QT's homage to vintage music, movies, and Hollywood streets. Slow buildup to violence. Brad and Leo (Bradnardo?) make a comfortable pair. Women fare worse. B+
• 2019-07-30: @RepLanceGooden, all reproductive health bills should be bipartisan. But, thanks to politicking by you and others who care more about driving wedges than in reproductive health, here we are.