The Commentariat -- September 26, 2021

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here.

David Cohen of Politico: "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday defended U.S. Border Patrol agents seen charging at migrants on horseback, saying he would hire them if they fear being fired. 'You have a job in the state of Texas,' he told host Chris Wallace on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'I will hire you to help Texas secure our border.'... Abbott said the fault for any misbehavior should be placed on [President] Biden and members of his administration because they didn't keep the Haitian migrants from crossing from Mexico into Del Rio, Texas. He also said that Texas was going to assume some of the functions of border control, even though the U.S. Constitution assigns the federal government that responsibility." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: OR, Greg, you could get those agents to start patrolling the major roads between Texas & Oklahoma to whip the young women trying to travel to Oklahoma to get abortions. ~~~

Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times: "As soon as the [Texas law largely banning abortions] took effect this month, Texans started traveling elsewhere, and Oklahoma, close to Dallas, has become a major destination.... Oklahoma does not require two trips to a clinic to get an abortion in most cases, so it has been a common choice.... The effects of the new law have been profound: Texans with unwanted pregnancies have been forced to make decisions quickly, and some have opted to travel long distances for abortions. As clinics in surrounding states fill up, appointments are being scheduled for later dates, making the procedures more costly. Other women are having to carry their pregnancies to term."

Emma Brown of the Washington Post: "... events in Mesa County[, Colorado, where the county clerk, Tina Peters, who is also the elections supervisor, is an adherent to right-wing conspiracy theories & a "protectee" of the MyPillow Guy,] represent an escalation in the attacks on the nation's voting system, one in which officials who were responsible for election security allegedly took actions that undermined that security in the name of protecting it. As baseless claims about election fraud are embraced by broad swaths of the Republican Party, experts fear that people who embrace those claims could be elected or appointed to offices where they oversee voting, potentially posing new security risks.... [Donald] Trump in recent months has endorsed several proponents of the 'big lie' to become secretaries of state in key battlegrounds. And experienced election administrators at the local level have been fleeing their jobs amid skyrocketing stress and threats to their personal safety."

Germany. The New York Times' live updates of developments in Germany's elections are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. Politico has a liveblog of the election results here.

Switzerland. AP: "Switzerland voted by a wide margin to allow same-sex couples to marry in a referendum on Sunday, bringing the Alpine nation into line with many others in western Europe. Official results showed the measure passed with 64.1% of voters in favor and won a majority in all of Switzerland's 26 cantons, or states. Switzerland's parliament and the governing Federal Council supported the 'Marriage for All' measure. Switzerland has authorized same-sex civil partnerships since 2007."

Hmm. Zach Dorfman, et al., in Yahoo! News: "In 2017, as Julian Assange began his fifth year holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London, the CIA plotted to kidnap the WikiLeaks founder, spurring heated debate among Trump administration officials over the legality and practicality of such an operation. Some senior officials inside the CIA and the Trump administration even discussed killing Assange, going so far as to request 'sketches' or 'options' for how to assassinate him. Discussions over kidnapping or killing Assange occurred 'at the highest levels' of the Trump administration, said a former senior counterintelligence official. 'There seemed to be no boundaries.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I was a bit skeptical about this story -- even tho one of the co-authors is Michael Isikoff, whom I like -- until I read Marcy Wheeler's take. Now I'm really skeptical:

     ~~~ Marcy Wheeler: "When last we saw Zach Dorfman get a big scoop, he managed to present claims about Eric Swalwell appropriately cooperating with the FBI in a counterintelligence investigation so wildly out of context that the story fed false claims about Swalwell for most of a year. His big story about Mike Pompeo's vendetta against WikiLeaks -- with Sean Naylor and Michael Isikoff -- is bound to be a similar example.... In short, this is a very long story that spends thousands of words admitting that its lead overstates how seriously this line of thought was pursued."

~~~~~~~~~~

Alan Fram of the AP: "Democrats pushed a $3.5 trillion, 10-year bill strengthening social safety net and climate programs through the House Budget Committee on Saturday, but one Democrat voted 'no,' illustrating the challenges party leaders face in winning the near unanimity they'll need to push the sprawling package through Congress. The Democratic-dominated panel, meeting virtually, approved the measure on a near party-line vote, 20-17. Passage marked a necessary but minor checking of a procedural box for Democrats by edging it a step closer to debate by the full House. Under budget rules, the committee wasn't allowed to significantly amend the 2,465-page measure, the product of 13 other House committees."

How the Rich Get Richer and the Poor ... Don't. Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein in a New York Times op-ed: "According to a new report by the Institute for Policy Studies, the 27 richest American dynastic families have seen their wealth grow by a combined 1,007 percent since 1983, while the typical family has seen its wealth increase only by 93 percent over nearly the same period. This divergence has only become more pronounced with the onset of the pandemic: Since March 2020, the median growth in the net worth of the top 10 families was 25 percent.... The divergence ... [is] the result of fastidious lobbying that creates powerful dynasties with the cash to create a skewed debate." One very consequential loophole is called the "stepped-up basis" for taxing inherited assets: Here's how that works: "Say [a] stock was worth $100 when the person died. If the child sells it later for, say, $150, the child would owe taxes only on the $50 upside, instead of the entire $149 profit the family made off the stock over the course of two generations.... The longer we fail to constrain inherited wealth, the sooner the dream of a democratic society dies." There's an easy fix: Eric Kades said ['rules against perpetuities'] emerged centuries ago in England when judges noticed that inherited wealth was getting out of hand. In England, those laws are still on the books. But in America, rules against perpetuities have effectively disappeared. It's a bizarre twist in history. 'Today,' Mr. Kades said, 'we're a more feudal society than the British.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: "Downton Abbey" fans will recall how the fictional Earl of Grantham had to marry an American heiress to save the estate, and his daughter Mary had to sell off some land and open their fancy digs to the public to collect a little cash to keep the place running. This is a reflection of the real-life travails of England & Scotland's landed gentry.

Celine Castronuovo of the Hill: "During a rally Saturday evening in Perry, Ga., [Donald] Trump, while once again advancing his unsupported claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, compared his resistance to admitting defeat to [Stacey] Abrams's refusal to concede in the Georgia [gubernatorial] race, a parallel she has previously dismissed. Trump argued that unlike the reaction to his refusal to concede, 'When Stacey Abrams says I'm not going to concede, that's okay.... Of course, having her I think might be better than having your existing governor, if you want to know the truth,' he noted, prompting overwhelming boos from his crowd of mostly maskless supporters. 'Might very well be better,' he added." MB: Yes, Donald, because Abrams definitely would have found you those extra 11,780 votes.

Brandon Gage of the Hill Reporter: "... Donald Trump's multiple attempts to interfere with the 2020 election in Fulton, County Georgia have left him at 'substantial risk of state charges predicated on multiple crimes,' a panel of legal experts determined in an exhaustive report on the matter that was published on Friday. Norman Eisen, President Barack Obama's ethics czar, and Gwen Keyes Fleming, a former DeKalb County district attorney, were among the co-authors of a Brookings Institution think tank analysis of the possible consequences Trump may be facing for demanding that Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, along with GOP Governor Brian Kemp, overturn the will of the voters and award the state's 16 Electoral College votes to himself. Specifically, Trump had pressured Raffensperger and Kemp to 'find 11,780 votes.' President Joe Biden carried the Peach State by 11,779 votes." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here: "Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York is considering calling in the National Guard and recruiting medical professionals from other states to cover looming staff shortages at hospitals and other facilities as the likelihood grows that tens of thousands of health care workers will not meet the state's deadlines for mandated vaccinations."

Andrea Salcedo of the Washington Post: Matthew Trunsky, a Michigan pulmonologist & palliative care doctor, wrote a Facebook post about patients (and family members) who don't accept their Covid-19 diagnoses, sometimes up to their dying breaths. "Trunsky's post detailing his interactions with eight covid patients and their relatives highlights the resistance and mistreatment some health-care workers across the United States face while caring for patients who have put off or declined getting vaccinated.... Whatever their reasons, he told The Post, 'they are paying the price, and they are getting mad at us.'... Trunsky estimates that 9 out of every 10 covid patients he treats are unvaccinated. His post -- a plea for people to get vaccinated -- also reveals the physical and emotional toll the pandemic has had on health-care workers, who have been on the front lines for over a year and a half."

Idaho. Derek Hawkins of the Washington Post: "As covid-19 deaths reach record highs in the state of 1.8 million, hard-hit areas are struggling to keep pace with the surge in victims. Some hospitals, funeral homes and coroners say they've been pushed to the limit.... The backlog is so bad in some places that people have had to wait weeks to cremate their loved ones.... The dire situation in Idaho, one of the least vaccinated states in the country, is another grisly illustration of what happens when a state fails to contain infections.... In the state's major hospitals, the outbreak shows little sign of slowing."

New York. Donna St. George & Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "A coronavirus vaccine mandate for teachers and other employees in New York City schools, the nation's largest school district, has been temporarily halted by a federal appeals court just days before the deadline. The injunction, granted Friday by a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, comes as many school districts nationally are adopting vaccine rules in an effort to keep schools open for in-person learning amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. In New York City, 18 percent of the system's nearly 150,000 employees had not yet shown proof of vaccination but had until midnight on Monday to do so, according to school system officials. Under the judge's order, the case will now go to a three-judge panel." The AP's story is here.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Afghanistan. Everything Old Is New Again. AP: "The Taliban hanged a dead body from a crane parked in a city square in Afghanistan on Saturday in a gruesome display that signaled the hard-line movement's return to some of its brutal tactics of the past. Taliban officials initially brought four bodies to the central square in the western city of Herat, then moved three of them to other parts of the city for public display, said Wazir Ahmad Seddiqi, who runs a pharmacy on the edge of the square. Taliban officials announced that the four were caught taking part in a kidnapping earlier Saturday and were killed by police, Seddiqi said. Ziaulhaq Jalali, a Taliban-appointed district police chief in Herat, said later that Taliban members rescued a father and son who had been abducted by four kidnappers after an exchange of gunfire. He said a Taliban fighter and a civilian were wounded by the kidnappers, and that the kidnappers were killed in crossfire."

Germany. Laura Smith-Spark of CNN: "Germans are heading to the polls Sunday to vote in a closely fought federal election that will, in the coming days or weeks, result in a new chancellor taking the helm of the world's fourth-largest economy.... Polling predictions on Saturday suggested the race was too close to call, with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) holding a small but narrowing lead over Merkel's party, the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The closeness of the race coupled with Germany's complicated voting system means it could take some time before a winning coalition is formed and the ultimate victor is known." ~~~

~~~ U.S. Now Exports Right-Wing Extremism to Germany. Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "... apocalyptic messages -- posted in the run-up to German elections on Sunday -- import conspiratorial, anti-government rhetoric broadcast in the U.S., according to screenshots of the since-deleted chatroom.... This dynamic is accelerating in the anarchic online channels of extremist communities, whose members number anywhere from 1,500 in the deleted 'Day X' group to 150,000 in German-language QAnon groups. The development marks a radical reversal from the years after World War II, when the U.S. helped export principles of constitutional democracy to West Germany. Now, American influence animates far-right activity, including the rise of the militant Reichsbürger movement, whose members -- 'Citizens of the Reich' -- reject the modern German state." ~~~

~~~ Katrin Bennhold of the New York Times: "As Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to leave office after 16 years, her country is among the richest in the world. A broad and contented middle class is one facet of Ms. Merkel's Germany that has been central to her longevity and her ability to deliver on a core promise of stability. But her impact has been far greater. To travel the country she leaves behind is to see it profoundly transformed.... As Ms. Merkel steered her country through successive crises and left others unattended, there was change that she led and change that she allowed. She decided to phase out nuclear power in Germany. She ended compulsory military service. She was the first chancellor to assert that Islam 'belongs' to Germany. When it came to breaking down her country's and party's conservative family values, she was more timid but ultimately did not stand in the way.... No other democratic leader in Europe has lasted longer. And Ms. Merkel is walking out of office as the most popular politician in Germany." ~~~

~~~ The Birds. David Mack at BuzzFeed News: While out campaigning Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a surprise stop at the Marlow Bird Park in northern Germany. Here the Australian rainbow lorikeets had a surprise for her: they pecked her. "Merkel let out a screech...." MB: Probably not the photo I would have chosen as what is likely to be one of the most memorable of a 16-year career as head of state (although her reaction to Dubya's sexual assault is likely to stand the test of time also).

News Lede

New York Times: "At least three people were killed and 50 others were injured after an Amtrak train derailed in Montana on Saturday afternoon, setting off a frantic response by rescuers who scrambled to extricate passengers from cars, the authorities said. Amtrak said that eight cars on an Empire Builder train had derailed at about 4 p.m. local time near Joplin, Mont., which is about 200 miles north of Helena.... Amanda Frickel, the disaster and emergency services coordinator for Hill County, Mont., said in an interview that 'well over' 50 people had been injured. The train was heading west when it derailed, she said. She said that rescuers from six counties were responding to the scene and that as many as five hospitals were on standby to receive injured passengers. There were also a number of medical helicopters standing by, she said. 'Everybody who is alive has been extricated from the wreck,' Ms. Frickel said." An ABC News story is here.

Comments

[citizen625]

https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-19/vaccine-tracker. It's sort of interesting to compare Mainers with Idahoans and Floridians versus Minnesotans. This is a good lesson in statistics don't tell the whole story.

[Ken Winkes]

On How the Rich get Richer...

A sort of sermon:

"Last Friday morning’s fantasy took me to the Herald’s real estate insert. I thought I’d buy a house.

I saw I could get a nice home in La Conner (three bedrooms, sauna) for only three quarters of a million dollars. A home and acreage near Little Mountain would cost a little less.

More in my price range were a couple of small homes in Sedro Woolley, Stanwood, and Burlington. The cheapest was “cozy” and a “work in progress.” I took those words as a gentle warning.

Overall, the pickings were slim.

The insert’s report on “The Hot Million Dollar Market” implied there is a ton of money at the top of the real estate pyramid, but little for the average American.

Recent reports bear out this impression.

Over the last decade, home prices skyrocketed. Prices are now 41% higher than they were preceding the Crash of 2006, rising over sixteen percent between 2020 and 2021 (cnbc.com).

In that period, the average American family’s income did not nearly keep pace. In fact, in 2020 median household income decreased for the first time in five years to $67,521 (statisca.com).


Largely as a result, the proportion of renters to homeowners in the United States grew markedly since 2000, accelerating a trend which began in the 1960’s (urban.org). In Seattle, half now rent (seattletimes.com).


Accompanying the growth in renting over homeownership has been an increase in single and multi-family rental units purchased by institutional investors rather than individuals (reuters.com), pumping more wealth to the investor class instead of rewarding America’s workers (fatherly.com).

One more trend: nationwide, the homelessness rate is climbing again. Washington State now has the nation’s sixth highest, 299/100,000 (security.org).

Though poverty is not the sole cause of homelessness, that’s 23,000 more Washingtonians who won’t be buying a home any time soon."

[Forrest Morris]

Here along the coast of Lake Michigan we have an influx of people
from places like Chicago, NYC, etc. who sold their homes there for
lots of money. They come here and buy one of those $1million
places on the river and tear it down and build another $1million
house. They don't buy on Lake Michigan because that's about
$10 million and they seldom come up for sale (the dynasty effect).
Being surrounded by these high priced houses tends to make our
evaluation rise, hence higher property taxes.
We could sell for lots of money, but then would have to move away
from the lake, which is the reason we came here in the first place.
Tough choices for oldsters who didn't inherit tons of money.

[Victoria]

Just as you have noticed, Forrest, people from "away" are buying up land where I live at an astonishing pace, driving ordinary people away and raising the RE taxes. They're building 2-4 million dollar houses in an area where the houses used to be $200K. I was astonished to find that the piece of land I sold to one of my siblings years ago, and which has changed hands twice without having been developed, is now on the market for 27 times the amount I got from selling it. Amazing.

[Marie Burns]

@Forrest: Yes, but if you make lots of money on those excellent elixirs you've been coming up with lately -- like "Forrest & Mike's Covid-19 Cure & Dewormer" -- you can pass your riches on to your lucky heirs. And maybe they can buy a nice place directly on the lake.

@Ken Winkes: The NYT has been annoying me by running an article every week featuring houses you can buy for $750K or $1MM -- or more. Why not feature the $125K houses that real people can afford to buy (with a little help from the crooks at the Bank of America's mortgage branch)? Those cheaper houses do still exist in small, sometimes dying towns -- though I suppose the houses need work. One thing is certain: people are going to have to get over their love for McMansions & learn to live in small houses like the one I grew up in. I sometimes watch at least parts of what I call "Whining Househunters," which feature (usually) young couples walking around houses for sale and complaining that the "master" bedroom isn't big enough and they need four bedroom and two offices and to be closer to downtown and better schools and and and. I do sort of want to punch the greedy little bastards in the nose. Not that I'm a mean person or anything.

[Anonymous]

Marie's Downton Abbey reference about opening manor houses to the public to support the estate reminded me of a couple programs I've seen lately. I watch a lot of British stuff and have lately been watching a series on Britbox (thru Amazon Prime) "Great British Menu". Its a regional chef competition to win a spot to cook at a different honorific banquet each year. Series #5 was a competition using only regionally produced vegetables, meat, etc for a banquet celebrating British producers. Prince Charles is a big supporter of the National Trust properties. Most of the Trust properties are managed by non family members. A few are still in the family, but all rely on their products to support the estate. Also the BBC version of "Antique Roadshow" (Britbox), are held at many of the large estates around the UK. A few are still in family hands but rely on opening to the public for support.

[P.D. Pepe]

Late to the party but I bring my own booze.

The mister and I travel to the Wallingford dump to dump our garbage. It's a well run, attractive place with attendants who help little old ladies and gents with their bags of debris. We, the mister and I, don't need that kind of assistance since we are still fit, not feeble. We get to dump for five dollars a year because we are senior citizens. The location of this site is way on the edge of town over yonder near the railroad tracks. Within this area is the following:

Amazon headquarters and space for all their trucks along with dozens of acreage of solar panels on the hillside; an electrical factory; a facility for food distribution for folks who need to eat and don't have the money to buy their own food; a dog pound; and last is a church with a wee white steeple–--as a last resort, I imagine. As you leave this area, pass the tracks, get off the highway into neighborhoods, you first encounter modest homes but as you venture further on suddenly the real estate takes a turn and you are in a whole different territory.

I have lived in many places in different states and this scenario is repeated. And Forest –-my parents bought their home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin for $7,000 cash, two blocks from Lake Michigan, in 1935. All the homes now in that area near the lake are for those who are not the same as the kind that lived there those many years before. Once upon a time in America there was more of a mingling––-times change as do people in the Real Estate market in the good ole U s of A.