CSotD: Everything Is Someone Else’s Fault
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Joe Heller explains how we have responded to the collision of a passenger plane with a military helicopter. We’re not waiting for investigators to sort through what happened, because we know who is at fault.
Liberals believe it’s because 10 days ago changes were made in the top ranks of the FAA which immediately filtered down to the personnel in the towers all across America, while conservatives say it was caused by the FAA employing women and minorities.
This photo from the Washington Post shows how the FBI is covering up any commitment to civil rights at its training facility in Quantico, but I doubt our shift in priorities had already effected the tower at Reagan.
Morten Morland explains the importance of having someone on the scene, ready to begin the process of finger-pointing and blame-casting in order to help the nation understand that it was all Joe Biden’s fault.
Bob Englehart suggests that there might be too much air traffic around the airport in DC, and there were already complaints of a shortage of air traffic controllers not just there but nationally. Which could be the fault of the Biden administration, but I doubt the current hiring freeze will solve the problem.
John Darkow points out that, while the NFL seems to hire people based on how fast, strong and coordinated they are, a bigot programmed against DIE could conceivably find grievances in the number of POCs on the field. It wasn’t long ago that “we” understood you couldn’t have a black quarterback because (A) he wouldn’t be smart enough and (B) the other players wouldn’t put up with it.
Today we not only see diversity on the field but to some extent, finally, on the sideline.
Still, you don’t have to paint over pledges of fairness to cover up the fact that “we” aren’t offering all that much of it elsewhere. Though if the paint isn’t transparent, at least our new government is, and, as the man said, you don’t need a weatherman to know the way the wind blows.
And speaking of Weathermen:
First Dog on the Moon points out that an old WWII manual on monkeywrenching has suddenly become very popular at Project Gutenberg, as people download instructions from the government on how to disrupt fascism.
But remember, this is only a cartoon from Australia, and not tsk-tsk something real 3D American people should be doing.
Though the rest of the world, or at least First Dog and Patrick Chappatte, seems to think the American government is at war with itself and its people.
I saw reports on social media saying that Dear Leader had issued an executive order blaming the Biden Administration for the crash, but I’ve become leery of claims by either side, particularly since people often fail to back up their accusations with evidence.
But I know how to reach the White House press room and, by yompin’ yiminy, here’s the smoking gun.
If you want to see whether you agree with Chappatte that Dear Leader is at war with our own government, check out what else he’s been signing.
Who’s the saboteur?
Thing is, as Jeff Stahler (AMS) points out, we’ve seen some silly word games in the past, and “Freedom Fries” was too foolish to catch on, but “Gulf of America” has been officially proclaimed, and it’s not the most jaw-dropping thing Dear Leader has put forth.
In his first administration, his staff would sneak the more looney stuff off his desk and get rid of it, but I don’t think that’s happening this time around.
As Tom the Dancing Bug points out, half the country seems willing to accept everything that’s happening as perfectly okay and reasonable, and if that thing about frogs in a slowly boiling pot is untrue, perhaps we can hope that people will also begin to feel the heat, and preferably in time for the midterms.
The Cost of Tariffs
One factor that could provide a breakthrough for loyalists is tariffs, which Dear Leader continues to pretend are imposed on foreign countries. Tim Campbell (Counterpoint) portrays Trump as a tough guy, albeit one on a stick horse, as Colombia backed away from a casual “Nice coffee industry you got here. Be a shame if anything was to happen to it.”
It’s more complex. Colombia countered with a tariff, there was pushback from coffee drinkers in this country, such that Trump and Colombia both backed off. Now Dear Leader is announcing 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
Not only does he continue to pretend tariffs are paid by exporters rather than importers, but the press sanewashes his proposal, saying companies might raise prices, as if there’s a chance they’d simply swallow increased costs rather than passing them on.
Greg Kearney points out that farmers have always taken a hit from tariffs. It was true in the Gilded Age Dear Leader cites as his model, and it was true when Trump touched off a trade war with China in his first term.
By raising the price of American soybeans through a tariff, he motivated China to seek other sources, so that, when the trade war ended, they had established deals with Brazilian soybean producers, as Kearney notes.
American farmers lost billions at the time and soybean production never fully recovered.
Despite the bruises from that encounter, Dear Leader continues to claim that money from tariffs is coming into the country rather than being paid by American importers. If he does compensate farmers for their losses, it will come from the additional money they, and other American consumers, pay for imported goods, including tractor parts, fertilizer, cell phones and Chinese-made MAGA ballcaps.
Juxtaposition of the Produce
Lester makes a reasonable point, though he could make a better argument about tomatoes or lettuce. Since 90% of our avocados are imported from Mexico, tariffs would, as Whamond says, raise their price, but that’s without raising anybody’s wages.
But if Lester’s declaring his solidarity with the United Farm Workers, more power to him. I’d be happy to see all migrant ag workers given H2-A visas and to have both migrant and resident workers get fair wages, though produce then would cost more.
Oh, and, BTW, you can’t dodge Dear Leader’s trade wars by claiming heel spurs.
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