DL Open Thread Wednesday May 11 2022
Pelosi/Coons Elitism – Can the “good” republicans please come back?
Coons and Pelosi share a kind of delusional vision of the world where “good” Republicans exists somewhere and they need to return to pubic life.
By “a strong Republican Party” she of course means a party run by her social peers – not by the unwashed rabble.
You may recall that Coons expressed similar nostalgia for the more elite Democratic Party when asked about the fact that in the “good old days” of bipartisanship “Congress was a lot more homogenous”
I want to believe of our country and ourselves that a more diverse Senate that includes women’s voices, and voices of people of color, and voices of people who were not professionals but, you know, who grew up working class and were the first in their family to go to school and so forth, that we can engage those voices and that they can be part of the debate, and that that doesn’t produce irreconcilable discord.
I think history may judge otherwise, but I appreciate your raising both points.
There are two parties in the United States, but when the mask slips we see that those parties aren’t “Democrats and Republicans” or even “left and right” but “Ideologically Aloof (because they are rarely impacted by policy changes) and The Rest (of us poor suckers down here in the muck).”
Monopolies and the Baby Formula Shortage
As of 2018, four companies—Abbott (which makes Similac), Reckitt Benckiser (Enfamil), Nestlé (Gerber), and Perrigo (which makes store-brand formula)—control about 89 percent of the U.S. market. Any disruption to one of their products will be magnified, whether it’s a recall for Similac or inability to source ingredients. A few companies in the market relying on the same sources creates a much more fragile supply chain.
Keep in mind that baby formula consists mostly of dehydrated cow’s milk, vitamins, and a ton of sugar. Yet it somehow costs at least $150 and as much as $428 a month, high enough to sustain a mass crime ring even before the price jumped 18 percent over the past year. This is probably not as distressing to the oligopolistic companies selling the stuff as it is for families.
Today’s flag is Switzerland, the home to one of the worst, most ethically bankrupt companies in the history of capitalism – Nestle.
With sales people dressed as nurses, Nestle gave out free formula to mothers of new borns in developing countries throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. Many of the mothers could not read the instructions regarding sterilization. These mothers took their babies home to homes without clean water or facilities to bottle feed, they were also unable afford to buy the amount of baby formula needed for the following 6 months so watered down the bottles with unsafe water. Babies died by the boatload, but ooh mama…those quarterly profits!!
The Swiss flag is one of only two square sovereign-state flags, the other being the flag of Vatican City.
Well at least the MAGA candidate didn’t win in Red Clay, but not for want of trying by DSEA.
The DSEA candidate came within 100 votes of tipping the election to the “Patriots for Delaware” candidate, but managed to win in a low-turnout election.
https://elections.delaware.gov/results/html/index.shtml?electionId=SCRC22
The DSEA machine successfully engineered a “low turnout” strategy by keeping their (usually voluble) supporters mum, thus keeping the race low profile and ensuring their members dominated the vote. (3303 total vote, vs. 5762 in last year’s three-way election. But at least scores were settled.
You seem a little–bitter.
FWIW, what tilted it toward the DSEA guy for me was seeing a lot of signs for the incumbent in the pricier sections of the Highlands when I drove through. I added that to my calculation that the guy with guaranteed votes behind him might be the smarter place to put my vote if we wanted to defeat Casper.
Also FWIW, I got a Casper door hanger out in Hockessin (thankfully I was out), no messaging from either of the other two.
Had I lived in Red Clay (my daughter teaches in Red Clay), it would have been the Delcollo endorsement for Sabo.
DSEA needs to do some introspective evaluation. They came to about 100 votes from disaster while the folks voted nearly 2 to 1 for sanity!
That Del State lacrosse story is finally breaking through nationally. Nearly every national outlet has covered it by now, and there were interesting twists and turns today: https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2022/05/11/body-camera-footage-contradicts-sheriffs-account-georgia-bus-stop/9729651002/
The body cam footage certainly rewards a close watching.
The very tediousness of it is chilling, the armed functionaries calmly going through their prescribed routine.
All punctiliously polite, but with the unmistakable air of accusation and coercion throughout.
Jason – Interesting insight about there being no real left and right or republican and democrat but only those who are “ideologically aloof” and those who are not. But I think it’s good to emphasize that ideological zeal can produce bad results.Trump Republicans, for example, are ideological as hell but I’d be a lot more comfortable if they were less engaged. When ideological enthusiasm gets crazy, ideological aloofness looks pretty good and I wish, like Pelosi, that more republicans had it.
And some candidates are starting to question their opponent’s positions with regard to police accountability.
https://www.facebook.com/movedelawareforward