It's not just a white young male problem, it's a young male problem, period. Part of the answer is progressive elites dramatically overvalue civility and order, and thus disdain much of the cultural stuff that young guys enjoy.
I once attended a Young Dems conference, and there was an hour when all the different caucuses met. Disability caucus, black caucus, women's caucus, LGBT caucus, et al.
What was left were a group of straight white guys just standing around, awkwardly. What kind of shit is that?
How many Democratic activist-types actually listen to Joe Rogan? He's funny and weird and not at all how he's portrayed. Think about the angry reaction to Rogan endorsing Bernie.
That's just Dems being annoying mean weirdos.
Of course it is. The civility tone policy is extremely irritating to everyone.
1. Since 2008, Google has systemically destroyed evidence relevant to antitrust investigations. And judges are beginning to hold Google accountable. Today I was a courtroom to watch Judge Leonie Brinkema, the latest judge, who is presiding over Google's third antitrust trial.
2. Why so many trials? Well Google has many lines of business! One trial was on its control of app stores. Another trial was about search. This one's on its power over online ad software that manages publishing sites and ad buying. All involve Google's document destruction.
3. In the app store trial, Judge Donato gave jury instructions known as 'adverse inference' meaning that the jury should consider Google operating in bad faith for destroying evidence. Google lost. In the search trial, Judge Mehta was scornful of Google, and ruled against them.
"Our tool ensures that [landlords] are driving every possible opportunity to increase price even in the most downward trending or unexpected conditions.”
BOOM. That's illegal, and antitrust enforcer Jonathan Kanter just dropped the hammer.
"In its pitch to prospective clients, RealPage describes AIRM’s and YieldStar’s access to competitors’ granular, transactional data as a meaningful tool that it claims enables landlords to outperform their properties’ competitors by 2–7%."
Interesting.
Price-fixing clip art!
(This is from a landlord's internal training presentation.)
1. Ok why is Kamala Harris talking about price-fixing, gouging, mergers, and general pricing bullshit? Obviously it polls well. But why? Let's go over the *evidence* for why Americans are mad at big business over pricing. Let's start with rent. propublica.org/article/yields…
2. A company called RealPage works with the biggest corporate landlords to hold apartments empty so they can increase prices. That's illegal. How important is this conspiracy to increased rents? “I think it’s driving it, quite honestly,” said Andrew Bowen, a RealPage executive.
3. There are private antitrust cases against RealPage. The Biden-Harris administration is investigating and will probably bring an antitrust suit soon. The FBI already raided one of America's biggest corporate landlords. finance.yahoo.com/news/fbi-searc…
Chuck Schumer probably experienced a bit of antisemitism as a kid. But seriously stop it. Jews are super-empowered in America in virtually every way, which he knows when he talks to the disproportionate number of Jewish Senators. We aren't defined by our grievances.
There are anti-semites in America, but that's just because we're a big country so of course there are jerks. Some of them are even violent because we're a violent country.
1. Here are some possible policy ideas for Harris to go at prices in food, rent, medicine, and general costs. Call it the "Break Up Ticketmaster Agenda" since everyone hates Ticketmaster and the Biden-Harris administration is suing that corporation.
2. First, sign onto Ron Wyden's bill to stop corporate landlords from colluding to jack up rent prices. Antitrust enforcer Jonathan Kanter is already going at RealPage software, the hub of the conspiracy. People will get it. wyden.senate.gov/news/press-rel… theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
3. Pledge to block the Kroger-Albertsons supermarket merger. Both Nevada and Arizona will be hit by this merger with higher food prices and lower wages, as Senator Jacky Rosen notes.
1. Where is Tim Walz on monopoly power? Well, his track record is excellent, with a few blemishes. Let's start with a law he signed to block hospital mergers, which killed the $14B Sanford/Fairview combination. Hospitals drive a third of health care costs. boondoggle.substack.com/p/how-minnesot…
2. In 2023, Minnesota passed the broadest law enabling the right-to-repair of devices, though it exempted "farm and construction equipment, video game consoles, specialized cybersecurity tools, motor vehicles and medical devices." Still very good. pirg.org/media-center/r…
3. Walz signed a law to ban junk fees. "Beginning next year, Minnesota businesses can no longer add service fees, health and wellness surcharges or other mandatory charges to customers’ bills at the end of a transaction."