Doom Report (Week 15: Snippets the Fourth)

This week marks the end of Trump’s first 100 days, which of course is a completely arbitrary landmark, but one that we’ve started making a big deal out of ever since FDR.  If you want a good summary of how Trump’s done during this period, I highly recommend Robert Reich’s video on the topic.  Reich is at his best when doing simple explainer videos such as this one.  His style is clear, his rhetoric is down-to-earth, and his facts are presented simply and without spin.  There’s bias, of course, but (in my opinion) no spin.

For a more amusing take on our current situation, I’ll refer you to Seth Meyer’s “A Closer Look” from Monday.  He’s coming off a two-week break, so he has to cover a lot of ground, and he does it with his usual panache.  When pointing out that Democrats need to do a better job of grabbing attention, he notes:

And, unlike Trump, Democrats have the benefit of not having to make shit up to get attention.  You can just shock people by reading actual headlines.  Like: “Two-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Appears to have been Deported with no Meaningful Process.”  Or: “Trump Cuts Threaten Agency Running Meals on Wheels.”  Or: “FDA Making Plans to End its Routine Food Safety Inspections.”

And that’s sort of a perfect summary within the summary.

One of the biggest new stories this week was that the US economy shrank this past quarter for the first time in 3 years.  If it does so again this current quarter, we’ll be in a recession.  And, in response to the looming consequences of his trade war with China (i.e. potentially bare shelves around Christmastime), Trump actually said “well, maybe the children will have 2 dolls instead of 30 dolls.”  And, while I watched many people this week make fun of that quote, not one of them responded as I immediately did: what about the families that can’t afford even one doll?  This was so utterly tone-deaf that it forcibly reminded me of Lucille Bluth talking about bananas.  So, if it bothers you that President Musk and his sidekick Trumpy have fired over a quarter of a million governement workers—so far—and you wish you could do something about it, there’s a charity that offers legal defense to illegally fired government workers.  Worth checking out.

Good shows this week:

• The second episode of Bowman and Bush, the showcase of Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, two former Representatives who were defeated for re-election last year by critics of their stance on the Palestinian genocide.  I’m sure it’s just coincidence that the two primaries in which they were defeated just happened to be the two most expensive primary races in US history.  They provide, as always, an excellent breakdown of what’s gone wrong with the Democratic party.

• On The Weekly Show, Jon Stewart interviews Andy Bashear, the Democratic governor of very red Kentucky.  Top quote: “Well, I think what the people of Kentucky want is what the people of America want.  They want a better life. And if you can convince them that you are working your hardest to create that better life, then they’ll give you that opportunity.”  Hopefully more Democrats learn this soon.

• Don’t miss Desi Lydic’s interview with Jon Meacham on The Daily Show.  You may recall that I talked about Jon Stewart’s interview with this historian back in Week -1, and he continues to not disappoint.  With brilliant and inspiriing quotes like “to cut mindlessly is just mindless”, it’s a great watch.  His best quote, though, was this one:

But to fight fear, you need courage.  And courage is one of the most contagious things you can imagine.

And, just in case that wasn’t quite uplifting enough—or perhaps not quite enough of the uplifting—I’ll leave you with the words of J.B. Pritzker, as highlighted on the final episode of America Unhinged, as he inspires his constituents to make their voices heard:

These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace.  They have to understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have.  We must castigate them on the soap box, and then punish them at the ballot box.

Let us hope so.