You won’t need a heart

There was a shooting at the school where Niece works as a librarian. She was not on campus at the time. One injured, perpetrator in custody. That’s way too close. The single injury was why it wasn’t in the news – it wasn’t dramatic enough. My Sunday movie was Young Hearts, a movie from Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. The story is about Elias, who is 14. This is a farming community and grandfather owns a farm. This is the time of life when literature class starts talking about love. He has a girlfriend in Valerie. Alexander, also 14, moves in next door. He admits he’s been in love before, and to a boy. Alex had lived in Brussels and rural life is new to him. Elias is glad to show him around. Elias soon falls in love with Alex, but he doesn’t know what to do with the feelings. He doesn’t know any gay people in his community. Isn’t he supposed to be in love with Valerie? How will his parents react? It takes a while, and the loving grandfather, to sort it out. Thankfully, the level of homophobia is quite low. I enjoyed this little movie. The actor who played Elias, Lou Goosens, did a fine job and has a good start on an acting career. Trenz Pruca of the Daily Kos community and author of his own blog looked at average income tax rates over the last six decades. He looked at the effective tax rate for the bottom 50% and middle 40% of taxpayers, then for smaller groups in the higher income levels, so that the top two are the top 0.01% to 0.001% and those above 0.001% of taxpayers. He then discussed his conclusions. I’ll mention his major points. The tax code has become much less progressive. The tax rate of the bottom 90% is roughly unchanged over these decades. When bills are passed they are described as everyone getting a tax cut, but those at the bottom (more accurately, not at the top) see little benefit. Over this time Republican administrations have cut tax rates for those at the top by a big chunk. Democrat administrations do nothing or raise the tax rate at the top by a modest amount. Then Republicans cut them again. Each cut is lower than the time before. These tax cuts are not done because the economy needs them to recover or continue growing. These tax cuts are not “paid for” within the tax system.

The adjustment occurs elsewhere: through higher deficits, increased federal debt issuance, or pressure on non-tax mechanisms such as spending cuts. This directly links the chart to the broader fiscal debates that follow major tax cuts: debt ceilings, entitlement reform, and “tough choices” about public investment. ... For most Americans, this does not arrive as a line item labeled “tax increase.” It arrives as constraints: what government can no longer afford, what benefits must be means-tested, what investments are postponed, what risks are privatized. In that sense, the chart helps explain why debates over Social Security, Medicare, healthcare access, and public investment intensify after periods of elite tax reduction. The system has already made its choice; the argument is over who absorbs the consequences.

Last Thursday, just a day after Renee Good was murdered by ICE officer Jonathan Ross, Emily Singer of Kos discussed the various ways Republicans in the administration and elsewhere praised Ross and slandered Good. Much of what they said was lies, easily shown through the various videos of the incident. No surprise here. Lisa Needham of Kos wrote on the day of the murder that it or something like it was always going to happen. She goes into a lot of detail of how we got here – the nasty guy calling in the National Guard in various cities and courts telling him he can’t. Even so, ICE has been active and brutal, yet ICE goons are the ones claiming to be fearful.

This was a favorite lie that ICE invoked in Illinois and California—basically, if your car happens to be anywhere near an ICE agent, they become so scared that they have to shoot you.

Needham gets to the core of her argument.

Trump desperately wants to invoke the Insurrection Act, which he threatened to do in 2020 during uprisings following the police murder of George Floyd—which, of course, was also in Minneapolis. With that, it’s no surprise that this shooting occurred less than a mile away from George Floyd Square. Trump has already declared that he is allowed to invoke the Insurrection Act if the courts won’t let him send in the National Guard, and … the courts won’t let him send in the National Guard. ... What we have now is a blue city on edge, enraged, and fearful—and Trump likely has a brand-new justification for a military crackdown. And, really, that’s what he wanted all along.

Mark Sumner, Kos staff emeritus, discussed whether Ross can be charged with murder. Short answer: Yes, he can, but it could be a difficult process. Sumner cites a Supreme Court ruling that says the charge is permitted. I thought he was referring to a recent case, but this one is from 1890. In the other big distraction from the Epstein files... Alex Samuels of Kos reported that less than a week after the nasty guy kidnapped Maduro if Venezuela the Senate advanced a resolution that would block using military force there without Congressional approval. All Democrats voted for it and five Republicans did too.

While largely symbolic, Thursday’s vote is a rare bipartisan check on Trump, signaling that even in a polarized Senate, some lawmakers are willing to challenge his lawlessness.

David Horsey posted a cartoon on Kos. It has a caption saying, “Since the precedent has been set...” It shows a Danish news reporter saying, “In response to threats against Greenland, elite Danish forces have raided the White House and taken into custody the corrupt, authoritarian leader of the United States.” Last Wednesday Emily Singer reported:

The Trump team released a new food pyramid Wednesday, and it’s as confusing and completely out-of-touch with reality as the rest of the administration’s actions. The new pyramid is an inverted triangle that features protein, dairy, healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables at the top and whole grains at the bottom. But its guidelines are difficult to understand and fail to address how the Trump administration has been making those foods more expensive and harder to access. ... If the administration actually cared about health, it would be advocating for more assistance for poor communities to be able to access fresh fruits and vegetables, not crusading against them by vilifying food stamps. More than anything, it’s infuriating to watch the Trump administration embrace the very same idea that former first lady Michelle Obama promoted when Barack Obama was president—an idea that the right screamed about, accusing her of trying to create a “nanny state."

The next day Alix Breeden of Kos said the new guidelines “smell a little rotten.” At the news conference unveiling the new diet guidelines there was a lot of declaring these guidelines were free of conflicts of interest from food corporations. Well, that’s good. But then the actual guidelines seem to be the result of conflicts of interest – or maybe the people who put it together are a bunch of quacks. The top example is the recommendation for meat and dairy has been pushed to the top of the chart (meaning we should eat a lot of it), “despite that scientific research says these foods contribute to worsening heart health.” Robert Kennedy Jr. wants to end the “war on saturated fats.” There is some good in his efforts. He wants people to eat less processed foods and more whole foods. But his other weird efforts mean people will be skeptical of the rare good ideas he is promoting. In the comments of Friday’s pundit roundup for Kos are some good cartoons and memes. The Wolfpack posted a cartoon by BabylonBros of the nasty guy interviewing the Tin Man for a job. The nasty guy says, “You won’t need a heart. We’ll start you off working for ICE!” Adam Cochran tweeted about the way the vice nasty defended the Minneapolis killing:

The most insane thing about all this, is just that: -There is no reason to defend this. It’s not political. You could just say: “Officer didn’t follow protocol. Doesn’t reflect our values. Will be held accountable” There is NOTHING to gain from defending this UNLESS you *want* for ICE to have the freedom to kill US citizens for disagreeing with you!

Tom Gauld posted a cartoon for New Scientist marking going back to work after the break. Two scientists are talking:

First: I am a scientist, Martin. My observations must be meticulously documented rigorously analysed and objectively verified. Haste is the enemy of wisdom! Second: But could you share a preliminary appraisal of your general thinking? First: Well, if you insist on a crudely reductive answer, then, yes, I had a nice Christmas.

In Saturday’s pundit roundup Greg Dworkin quoted Lawrence Willerman of Blue Amp asking us whether the country is more like Charlie Kirk or Renee Good.

Renee Good was a queer mother of three. A poet. A neighbor. A human being who cared about her community and the people in it—especially the ones with less power, less safety, and fewer voices. She lived compassion in a way that didn’t require a microphone or a donor list. And that compassion is almost certainly what put her in the path of federal agents who never should have been there, doing a job they were wildly unqualified to do. She did not die because she was reckless. She did not die because she was violent. She did not die because she was dangerous. She died because she cared. She died because she believed that warning her neighbors—her fellow Minneapolis residents—that ICE was conducting raids was the right thing to do. Because she believed community mattered. Because she believed people deserved to know when armed agents of the federal government were sweeping through their lives.

In the comments The Literate Lizard posted a quote by Margaret Atwood:

Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.

A cartoon posted by paulpro and created by Jonesy shows Jesus saying to a crowd, “Blessed are the meek. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. Love your enemies. Blessed are the peacemakers.” In the crows is a guy with a MAGA hat saying, “What the hell kind of Christian is this guy anyway?”