Oh wow- I was a bit shocked to hear VIPKID mentioned on the Bulwark! They did suffer a blow back in 2019/2020, and we knew it was for both reasons mentioned in the article.
But somehow they managed to keep going. It was a slow trickle for a time after the new regulations. But I’ve been contracted with them since 2017 and have been back working for them full time for almost 2 years now. My schedule isn’t as full as it was in the first five years- back then it was 7 days a week- 13 hours a day. Now it’s about 5 hours during the week and 14 hours a day on days they don’t have school.
China seems to recognize a concern- but don’t think thoroughly about the long term impact of their immediate solution to any given problem.
Seems to have been the case with 1 child policy and with the education reforms. 🤷🏻♀️
Very beautifully said! Thank you, Bill Kristol! A healthy democracy needs legitimate and sincere voices, some conservative and some progressive, that dialogue and make compromises to arrive at balanced policies!
Thanks very much for the three specific and detail-rich accounts of ICE overreach. I think this will be important. It looks like there are going to be too many to count. Trying to keep count is going to be important.
I suspect the "thing" we had, in the not so distant past, was a vague sense of common social identity, even if it was uneven, it still existed. We can't even agree on a common morality anymore. We don't have a common idea about what it means to be an American. I have a sinking feeling.
1) Kudos to the Ukranians for their attack on Russia air bases. I can’t wait to hear what Trump says about it.
2) Nostalgia is one of the primary weapons that Trump uses to maintain his hold on his base. It’s a kind of fake nostalgia though. Trump has convinced people that things were simply better “in the old days”. And, of course, for a lot of Trump supporters that was true – particularly when it comes to their relative place in society (meaning they were higher in the pecking order than they are today).
“And as a political matter, a nostalgic conservatism is a useful check on the errors of presentism and the temptations of progressivism.” – I must confess that I can only guess what this means.
3) The “Biden-was-executed” conspiracy theory is simply a small update to an old one. In 2020, there was a conspiracy theory that the Biden we all saw “campaigning from his basement” was a holographic projection. I can’t emphasize enough – this was a real conspiracy theory, covered by the conservative media.
I succumbed to a clickbait article someone posted in the comments by someone named Rod Dreher. His premise that young white males are among the most zealous supporters of the totalitarian right is correct. However the following drivel is just that drivel.
"Think what it must be like to be a white boy growing up in a culture that tells you that you are what’s wrong with the world. You are not only demonized by cultural elites and institutions—not because of anything you believe or have done—but because of who you are. Not only that, but you will be denied opportunities for educational and professional advancement, and those power-holders who treat you that way will consider themselves virtuous for having done so. And you see women and non-whites openly embracing their identity groups, while you are told this is off-limits to you."
Just replace "white boy" with "black boy", or with "women who want an education in a non-traditional field" and it is the mid 50's through the mid 60's, and basically all the history of the US before. These genteel "Christians" never gave a crap back then, and they would certainly like to see that back now. This little paragraph I assume written to make us feel sorry for these poor persecuted white males is a load of horse hockey. All that happened was white males are losing their privileged status, they are having to compete with women and people of color for the positions that used to be theirs by "right". I'm sorry, I don't have a lot of sympathy for these poor persecuted white boys because they are not being demonized so much as women and people of color are being respected and valued for what they can do, for their willingness to work. trump promised them a world where they would once again be top of the pecking order.
I agree with the above sentiment that the change that is (was?) occurring is a balancing out of opportunities/power/etc. of various groups that have been historically discriminated against, and we must continue down that road, but let’s also not forget that the feeling of loss by the other segment of the population is real. To them, since it was all they ever knew, it is a traumatic transition. Remember, we want to be inclusive.
One of the best explanations for the value of dealing with memory, hope and time, toward the health of a society - is this essay by Mr. Kristol. How I wish our society's health was not failing. But my eyes are not yet failing and I know what I'm seeing.
High praise for Cathy Young, her sections of Morning Shots are concise and informational, today's especially. Zelensky having some cards is a great title! 👏🏻
I have to disagree with Bill, true nostalgia is held for the 1971-72 LA Lakers team that won 33 consecutive games, had a 69 and 13 win/loss season and beat the Knicks 4-1 in the Finals! 🏀
Also, I'm horrified by the attack in Boulder. You're not going to help starving children in Gaza by firebombing elderly protesters. I suspect that the perpetrator knows this. I suspect that he only wants chaos and fear.
And I'm worried that this violence may lead to more violence as Pride celebrations begin and anti-Trumpism protests spread.
I am nostalgic for the era where men and women alike went about wearing badass hats. My nostalgia for badass hats doesn't translate into nostalgia for a time before civil rights.
Cruelty is relished and celebrated by this administration. Today we had a gentleman do some drywall repair at our home. His English was a bit limited with a strong accent. He did a great job. We exchanged a few pleasantries before he left. A nice, hard working man. I thought about what I would do if ICE was waiting for him outside. My anger is so deep, I clearly envisioned putting up a fight. I believe we all must envision that.
Even when I was more hardcore about illegal immigration, I could not think badly of the actual people I saw doing yardwork etc. who may very well have been undocumented or wish them any harm (unless they were out criming after-hours - which they probably weren't).
Agreed. I always reminded myself that they had these jobs because we here in the United States were ready, willing and able to hire them and derived benefit from them being here.
I have more to add on nostalgia. Nostalgia about the good old days is mostly for white “Christian” men. My mother, God rest her soul, could not get an abortion until after she had all her children. I’m not saying I’d want to be aborted, but I almost killed her. She already had 5 children (and a stillbirth) by the time I came along. If I had killed her, 4 of my siblings would’ve been robbed of their mother, and if I had survived, my dad would have been saddled with a 5th mouth to feed, without his wife. Wouldn’t it have been great if my mother could’ve had adequate medical care and made her own decisions? She also was not legally allowed to have a private checking account until after she had all her children…do you realize how insane that is? Oh, and spousal rape was also legal until after she had all her children. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling my father a rapist, but the good old days (before the mid-to-late 70’)weren’t so good for women.
Oh my god. First, Trump did not write the post on China. Second, who ever did write it, expects Americans to be unable to figure out that the writer's effort shows 'Donny two dolls' as being far more concerned with the effect of his tariff insanity on China than on his supporters.
For me it's sometimes the little details that drive me round the bend more than the expected big details like ICE becoming a clone of the Gestapo. Sometimes it's the little details that shine a light on the true nature of how far down the toilet the Trump led GOP is swirling. See Joni Ernst.
Love Mona's article - she is the best.
Where are they putting the 1,000s immigrants they are arresting?
Oh wow- I was a bit shocked to hear VIPKID mentioned on the Bulwark! They did suffer a blow back in 2019/2020, and we knew it was for both reasons mentioned in the article.
But somehow they managed to keep going. It was a slow trickle for a time after the new regulations. But I’ve been contracted with them since 2017 and have been back working for them full time for almost 2 years now. My schedule isn’t as full as it was in the first five years- back then it was 7 days a week- 13 hours a day. Now it’s about 5 hours during the week and 14 hours a day on days they don’t have school.
China seems to recognize a concern- but don’t think thoroughly about the long term impact of their immediate solution to any given problem.
Seems to have been the case with 1 child policy and with the education reforms. 🤷🏻♀️
Very beautifully said! Thank you, Bill Kristol! A healthy democracy needs legitimate and sincere voices, some conservative and some progressive, that dialogue and make compromises to arrive at balanced policies!
Thanks very much for the three specific and detail-rich accounts of ICE overreach. I think this will be important. It looks like there are going to be too many to count. Trying to keep count is going to be important.
I suspect the "thing" we had, in the not so distant past, was a vague sense of common social identity, even if it was uneven, it still existed. We can't even agree on a common morality anymore. We don't have a common idea about what it means to be an American. I have a sinking feeling.
A few comments...
1) Kudos to the Ukranians for their attack on Russia air bases. I can’t wait to hear what Trump says about it.
2) Nostalgia is one of the primary weapons that Trump uses to maintain his hold on his base. It’s a kind of fake nostalgia though. Trump has convinced people that things were simply better “in the old days”. And, of course, for a lot of Trump supporters that was true – particularly when it comes to their relative place in society (meaning they were higher in the pecking order than they are today).
“And as a political matter, a nostalgic conservatism is a useful check on the errors of presentism and the temptations of progressivism.” – I must confess that I can only guess what this means.
3) The “Biden-was-executed” conspiracy theory is simply a small update to an old one. In 2020, there was a conspiracy theory that the Biden we all saw “campaigning from his basement” was a holographic projection. I can’t emphasize enough – this was a real conspiracy theory, covered by the conservative media.
I succumbed to a clickbait article someone posted in the comments by someone named Rod Dreher. His premise that young white males are among the most zealous supporters of the totalitarian right is correct. However the following drivel is just that drivel.
"Think what it must be like to be a white boy growing up in a culture that tells you that you are what’s wrong with the world. You are not only demonized by cultural elites and institutions—not because of anything you believe or have done—but because of who you are. Not only that, but you will be denied opportunities for educational and professional advancement, and those power-holders who treat you that way will consider themselves virtuous for having done so. And you see women and non-whites openly embracing their identity groups, while you are told this is off-limits to you."
Just replace "white boy" with "black boy", or with "women who want an education in a non-traditional field" and it is the mid 50's through the mid 60's, and basically all the history of the US before. These genteel "Christians" never gave a crap back then, and they would certainly like to see that back now. This little paragraph I assume written to make us feel sorry for these poor persecuted white males is a load of horse hockey. All that happened was white males are losing their privileged status, they are having to compete with women and people of color for the positions that used to be theirs by "right". I'm sorry, I don't have a lot of sympathy for these poor persecuted white boys because they are not being demonized so much as women and people of color are being respected and valued for what they can do, for their willingness to work. trump promised them a world where they would once again be top of the pecking order.
I agree with the above sentiment that the change that is (was?) occurring is a balancing out of opportunities/power/etc. of various groups that have been historically discriminated against, and we must continue down that road, but let’s also not forget that the feeling of loss by the other segment of the population is real. To them, since it was all they ever knew, it is a traumatic transition. Remember, we want to be inclusive.
One of the best explanations for the value of dealing with memory, hope and time, toward the health of a society - is this essay by Mr. Kristol. How I wish our society's health was not failing. But my eyes are not yet failing and I know what I'm seeing.
High praise for Cathy Young, her sections of Morning Shots are concise and informational, today's especially. Zelensky having some cards is a great title! 👏🏻
I have to disagree with Bill, true nostalgia is held for the 1971-72 LA Lakers team that won 33 consecutive games, had a 69 and 13 win/loss season and beat the Knicks 4-1 in the Finals! 🏀
William Kristol is one brilliant right leaning intellectual.
As a traditional liberal he’s the only conservative who prompts me to think rather than just piss me off.
Thanks Bill.
Also, I'm horrified by the attack in Boulder. You're not going to help starving children in Gaza by firebombing elderly protesters. I suspect that the perpetrator knows this. I suspect that he only wants chaos and fear.
And I'm worried that this violence may lead to more violence as Pride celebrations begin and anti-Trumpism protests spread.
I am nostalgic for the era where men and women alike went about wearing badass hats. My nostalgia for badass hats doesn't translate into nostalgia for a time before civil rights.
Cruelty is relished and celebrated by this administration. Today we had a gentleman do some drywall repair at our home. His English was a bit limited with a strong accent. He did a great job. We exchanged a few pleasantries before he left. A nice, hard working man. I thought about what I would do if ICE was waiting for him outside. My anger is so deep, I clearly envisioned putting up a fight. I believe we all must envision that.
Even when I was more hardcore about illegal immigration, I could not think badly of the actual people I saw doing yardwork etc. who may very well have been undocumented or wish them any harm (unless they were out criming after-hours - which they probably weren't).
Agreed. I always reminded myself that they had these jobs because we here in the United States were ready, willing and able to hire them and derived benefit from them being here.
I have more to add on nostalgia. Nostalgia about the good old days is mostly for white “Christian” men. My mother, God rest her soul, could not get an abortion until after she had all her children. I’m not saying I’d want to be aborted, but I almost killed her. She already had 5 children (and a stillbirth) by the time I came along. If I had killed her, 4 of my siblings would’ve been robbed of their mother, and if I had survived, my dad would have been saddled with a 5th mouth to feed, without his wife. Wouldn’t it have been great if my mother could’ve had adequate medical care and made her own decisions? She also was not legally allowed to have a private checking account until after she had all her children…do you realize how insane that is? Oh, and spousal rape was also legal until after she had all her children. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling my father a rapist, but the good old days (before the mid-to-late 70’)weren’t so good for women.
Oh my god. First, Trump did not write the post on China. Second, who ever did write it, expects Americans to be unable to figure out that the writer's effort shows 'Donny two dolls' as being far more concerned with the effect of his tariff insanity on China than on his supporters.
For me it's sometimes the little details that drive me round the bend more than the expected big details like ICE becoming a clone of the Gestapo. Sometimes it's the little details that shine a light on the true nature of how far down the toilet the Trump led GOP is swirling. See Joni Ernst.