My Opinions: Grab Bag Edition
Long-time readers know that I’ve always been opinionated, probably more so when I was younger. It’s my job to have opinions: I am a labor arbitrator. One thing I’ve noticed, though, is how I have opinions on fewer things as I’ve gotten older. Maybe my youthful certainty has worn off. So I thought I’d do a rapid-fire opinion post on domestic policy issues and somesuch. These topics are grabbed from the front page of the NYT but I welcome your questions about other things I can opine on.
Hunter Biden: The President’s son is in the news right now because Congress is holding a contempt vote over Hunter’s refusal to appear in a private deposition in their impeachment inquiry into the President. Hunter briefly showed up today in Congress because he’s consistently said he’ll sit for a public hearing on these issues but will not do so in private. Hunter, for whom the phrase “red hot mess” was probably coined, is obviously correct to force some transparency into the process. As a man in recovery, he probably knows the best way to clean the laundry is to air it out, and this makes the Congressional goppers look stupid, which is easy, of course, because they are.
Here’s my bigger opinion: After Billy Carter and Hugh and Tony Rodham, and to a lesser extent, Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright, the Democratic party should have a much better playbook for dealing with accusations against the friends and family of candidates and the President. Obviously, none of those incidents resulted in any long-term damage to the Presidents they plagued, so it’s not just a matter of fending off the accusations. It’s also the failure to capitalize on the gross hypocrisy of their accusers. Another NYT headline touts Trump’s philosophy: I’m Rubber, You’re Glue. He uses that tactic because it works. Every accusation against a Democrat’s family member should be answered with an example of a GOP-adjacent creep (or ten) and a constant refrain of, “we will answer your questions in public, now you answer this: Do you agree with Trump that immigrants taint our blood? Have you investigated the rape allegations against the GOP leader in Florida?” And so on. Democrats should also be throwing Bob Menendez under the bus way harder but they seem to have found a way to keep him while also denouncing him, so that they can retain their slim Senate majority.
Claudine Gay: Ms. Gay recently vacated the role of Harvard dean, and while I think she was ill-served by her lawyers for her Congressional appearance and was hounded out by racist political foes on the Harvard board, I generally do not care about this issue. The bigger question for me is: Why is Harvard allowed to sit on an endowment that is larger than the GDP of 122 countries? They have more than $50 billion in endowment; it seems like the interest alone could pay tuition not only for every Harvard student but for every other student in a college or university in Massachusetts. Only 91 countries have a larger GDP than Harvard’s endowment. Sparring over Claudine Gay detracts from considering whether this kind of wealth accumulation is morally reprehensible. Ms. Gay will land on her feet; Harvard will horde assets. That’s how they do.
The Republican presidential nomination: This is a tough one only because I hate Trump and want him gone, but if he’s not the candidate, it’ll probably be Nikki Haley, and I think she can probably beat Joe Biden.
Joe Biden: I like Joe Biden and I don’t think he’s too old. Or if he’s too old, it’s reflective of the larger problem of our sclerotic political reality, and at least he’s good at making deals and seems like a nice person even if he’s fumbling on Gaza and the border. I just hope that he course corrects on those issues soon. Also, I hope his administration denies the permit for the LNG export terminal in Louisiana.
Oakland politics: Oakland politics has been a Hunter Biden aka a red hot mess for as long as I’ve lived here so I don’t have any great solutions to fix it right now. What will not fix it, however, is these stupid recall efforts against District Attorney Pamela Price and Mayor Sheng Thao. Recalls should be limited to ousting politicians who engage in egregious misconduct, not everyone who disagrees with you politically. Elections have consequences and a lot of assholes who do not have deep ties to Oakland, or who think crime will end just because they recalled a leader they hate, need to stop wasting their money. After the SF jerks recalled progressive DA Chesa Boudin, crime went up under Brooke Jenkins. If they think they can do better, try winning an election.
Substack’s Nazi problem: A few weeks ago, the Atlantic published an article highlighting the fact that Substack (the platform on which you read this) has refused to enforce its content guidelines on newsletters than propagate Nazism and white supremacy. After a lot of back and forth from prominent writers on the platform, Substack said yesterday that they will begin moderating that content and remove Nazi newsletters. Some people were relieved, others think it’s a half-measure, and some are waiting to see IF it happens and what it will look like. Put me in that last camp. I’ll be honest: I’ve blogged on Blogger, Medium, Tiny Letters, my own website, and now Substack, and Substack is by far the easiest to use, the least annoying for readers, and the fastest way to find more readers. I haven’t heard of a reasonable alternative that offers what Substack offers without having a lot more technical knowledge than I have. I do not want to build a website, list, and payment platform. I want to write, and I want people to read what I write. If Substack does not rid itself of Nazis, then, yes, I will leave and make sure readers know where to find me. Fingers crossed, they will do this right.
Here are some quick recommendations on stuff I’ve watched, read, and listened to in the past couple of weeks:
Podcast: Murder on Sex Island by Jo Firestone. Technically, this is an audiobook released as a podcast last year, and you can read the book instead if you like. But Firestone’s embodiment of her private eye protagonist Luella Van Horn is so hilarious that I recommend listening to her read it. Hilarious but probably not safe to listen to with kids under 16 in the car (or under 18, if you think they don’t know what a rim job is).
Book: Whalefall by Daniel Kraus. A young man (and experienced diver) sets out to find his father’s remains in a dangerous ocean cove after his father’s suicide. In the process, he is swallowed by a whale. This is not a retelling of the story of Jonah (unless you really want to spend a lot of time parsing it, which I haven’t done), but a story of survival marked by the passing clicks of Jay Gardiner’s oxygen levels. I got this book for Christmas and walked around the house reading it the same day.
Movies: In the past couple of weeks, I’ve watched You Hurt My Feelings and Good Grief, respectively starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Daniel Levy. These movies have a lot in common: funny people dealing with difficult issues that arise from their spouse’s actions in gorgeous settings in, respectively, New York City, London, and Paris. Both are very funny and sweet and tackle hard adult emotions without being overwrought or relying on dumb cliches.
Send me your opinion topics or your opinions! And if you do not already:
