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Paul Krugman on the China-US tariffs deal: When an Arsonist Poses as a Firefighter
“What the hell just happened”:
This retreat probably hasn’t come soon enough to avoid high prices and empty shelves. Even if shipments from Shanghai to Los Angeles — which had come to a virtual halt — were to resume tomorrow, stuff wouldn’t arrive in time to avoid exhaustion of current inventories.
I guess it’s good news that Trump slammed on the brakes before driving completely off the cliff. But if you think that rationality has returned to the policy process, that the days of government by ignorant whim are now behind us, you’ll be sorely disappointed.
The New York Times' Ask Vanessa answers a reader question: Can I Wear a Sheath Dress Without Looking Like a MAGA Woman?
There is a very specific look associated with women who subscribe to the Trump worldview, one that is sort of a cross between a Fox newscaster and Miss Universe. It generally involves flowing tresses that are at least shoulder length, false eyelashes, plumped-up cheeks and lips, high heels and, as you say, a sheath dress. The effect underscores an almost cartoonish femininity that speaks to a relatively old-fashioned gender stereotype; the counterpart to this woman is the square-jawed, besuited guy with a side part.
I’ve been wearing suits and ties more often, when it seems appropriate, so I can relate to this woman’s style predicament. But I don’t have a side part. I don’t have enough hair to have a side part.
Enough with the Boomer-bashing
I’ve been a fan of Wil Wheaton for nearly 40 years, since “Stand By Me.” I’ve enjoyed his social media posts, writing and enthusiasm for Star Trek and nerdery in general. We have a parasocial relationship — I relate to him as a friend in my imagination, even though I am a rational person and know that he does not know me and I don’t know him in real life.
He recently made a couple of angry posts about how much he hated Boomers. As a Boomer myself, I was taken aback. “What the hell did I do?”
He blamed Boomers for multiple sins, none of which I have committed: I did not vote for Nixon, Reagan or either Bush, I am anti-anti-political correctness and wokeness, and I oppose racism of all types. I campaigned for Biden and Kamala.
I’ve decided to unfollow Wheaton and move on.
I’m posting this primarily to get it off my chest, but also in the hopes that maybe he, and anybody else born after 1964, will think twice before blaming the Boomers for today’s ills. Because, as a great Boomer said, we didn’t start the fire. Nearly all of the current round of arsonists (J.D. Vance, Elon Musk, Laura Loomer, Pete Hegseth and the rest of the MAGA clown car) — aren’t boomers. It’s wrong to blame a group of tens of millions of people for sins they did not partake of.
Wheaton has talked elsewhere about how much he loves his Star Trek: TNG colleagues, particularly Jonathan Frakes, born 1952, and LeVar Burton, born 1957 — both Boomers.
I don’t even think of myself as a Boomer. I’m not trying to deny my identity. I was born during the Boom, so of course I’m a Boomer. But I was born near the end of the Boom, and I’ve always felt I had more in common with Gen X and Millennials. But all this generational talk is just stereotyping. There are plenty of other tribes that I identify with far more strongly.