End of April

• Lots of businesses will be saved by the Coronavirus stimulus bill(s), but there will be thousands homeowners who will lose their homes. These bills were done with full knowledge--of both parties--that this would happen. Just like the bailouts in 08 and 09, these bills are trickle-down and top-heavy.
• I have tried my best to be optimistic about Pelosi's leadership in the House. Occasionally she has shown flashes of promise. And she is good at trolling Trump. But legislatively, there has been a lot of disappointment. I know the Dems only have one-half of one branch, but--especially in the Coved-19 crisis--that body has a tremendous amount of leverage which hasn't been used to its fullest. No state aid, inadequate help for individuals, the post office has been left vulnerable, and Trump can't be trusted (cf. signing statements). I could still be proven wrong, and I hope I am, but I am not very optimistic.
• I say this any chance I get: I am astounded at the disrespect and vitriol directed at the left flank of the party by the Neera Tandens and James Carvilles of the world. In my anecdotal experience on social media, it's at least as bad as anything the so-called Bernie Bros are accused of.
• Having said that, I think that Biden himself is doing a good job of reaching out to that wing of the party.

Podcasts

I should be the ideal customer for podcasts.  I love politics and ideas and arguments and discussions. I am retired and have quite a bit of time on my hands. I love folks like Chris Hayes and Ezra Klein. I have a laptop which I use a lot and an Iphone.

But it's fair to say that I rarely listen to podcasts. The primary reason? Most of them are too long. I am in my early 70s. I try to spend a decent chunk of time reading books every day, usually one fiction and one nonfiction. I read The New Yorker, The Nation (online), Dissent, Jacobin, n+1, The Paris Review. Also The Washington Post (digital). Sprinkle in a little TV time on cable and Netflix (not that much really), and it is just hard to justify an hour and a half listening to "Know Your Enemy", as much as I really like those guys.

Part of it is that I have my own idea of how a podcast should be. Most importantly, it should be listened to in one sitting. I am okay reading an article in The New Yorker or Dissent over a couple of days, but not a podcast.

I know I am not the target demographic. I am old and I don't commute or anything like that. I have accepted that fact a long time ago. On a rare occasion I will put on headphones and listen (so as not to totally bore my wife). But unless I am on a trans-Atlantic flight or something, I pretty much forego all those interesting people. How about forty-five minutes? Please?