Welcome to The Now

 Here are some of the factors that played into Trump's 2016 victory: Trump invoked economic populism : He spoke on trade and job creation in states that Hillary Clinton ignored. Sure half of his speeches on the matter were lies and the other half were hype, but speaking to the concerns of blue-collar workers was enough to get votes. Voters still wanted change : There were quite of number of 2012 Obama voters who voted for Trump. It's hard to believe that these people because racist or misogynistic over an election cycle. It's more likely that after witnessing Obama bailing out banks, escalating drone strikes and ignoring the needs to working class protesters voters realized that the only change Obama represented was his appearance.  Trump was willing to attack members and ideas of his own party : Calling out the Iraq War to Jeb Bush's face, bullying Marc Rubio and making Ted Cruz look like a untrustworthy moron gave Trump the "maverick" label he needed to conv

  Police around America are abusing their authority and power, and that abuse has disproportionately impacted Black Americans.  That's it; that's the argument. Of course, it's too simple an argument for American politics and media. It's easier for American media to focus on any violence that comes out of people protesting police brutality. It's easier for American politicians to pick sides and argue how their tribe, er, party can best resolve the problem.  And very few people want to talk about how economics come into play. For example: prisoners make for excellent cheap labor.  There's little talk about how police are being armed and trained in those arms as if they are soldiers, without the conditioning that soldiers typically get.  You won't hear much about how police typically face no consequences for taking evidence, destroying property (like breaking down the door to the wrong house) and yes, shooting/choking/killing people. One of the first things I l

 Notes/Comments/Opinions on American Politics as We Enter the Endgame: Everyone who is praising Kamala Harris is talking about who she is (a WOC, a former prosecutor, a Senator) and saying very little about what she has done . I may be in the minority here, but shouldn't the 2nd most powerful person in the country be evaluated on their accomplishments and their policies?  Joe Biden needs to do two things to convince enough people to vote him into office: (1) make it through at least one debate looking like a competent politician , and (2) control his temper . I'm not confident that he can do either. The GOP claiming that Biden and Harris -who crossed political swords with Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard, respectively- are being controlled by the "Radical Left" is laughable to anyone who watched the Democratic Primary. Neither Biden nor Harris support Medicare For All. Neither Biden nor Harris have plans to change the nature of criminal justice system ( especially