Mitch Trachtenberg1
Member since Oct 5, 2009
Recent Comments
Re: “Correction”
$0.35/hr in 1935 equates to $7 per hour today. The minimum wage in parts of the United States is now $7.25.
Has there been progress? Yes, certainly, especially for those who are able to be part of a union.
Has it been as substantial as is often claimed? Probably not. The huge increase in wealth that technology has brought about has gone mostly to a tiny minority at the top. Unions are struggling, police are still breaking heads, and the greediest are still celebrated.
Re: “What the Seven Stages of Severe COVID-19 Look Like Up Close”
It amazes me that anyone can read this horrifying essay by a respiratory therapist and respond the way "America First" has.
At least a million people in the US have now died from this pandemic (the official figures are low; see http://www.healthdata.org/special-analysis… ). Maybe a million excess deaths doesn't seem believable, or maybe it seems low to "America First," since it's from a population over 300 million. But it's more deaths than there have been combat deaths in *all* the wars the US has fought since it was born, put together.
There are plenty of stories out there like this one: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-5…
But "America First" still thinks they know better. If nothing else, I'd have expected "America First" would acknowledge the work of the essay's author, Karen Gallardo, who is risking her life on a daily basis to help those infected in the pandemic. Not to mention her sanity. But maybe there's something even firster than America for "America First."
Re: “'Policing our Own'”
Thanks, this was very informative. It looks like S.B. 2 is a start. Police officers need to be at least as accountable as everyone else.
Re: “Supes Approve Investigation of Auditor-Controller Allegations”
Assuming the independent report simply confirms what the elected Auditor Controller has been saying for a very long time now, I'd like to suggest that the four Supervisors who decided the independent report was needed should pay for it from their own salaries.
Re: “'Humane Officers'”
Cops do what those in power want them to do. The business community wants "bums" and "undesirables" moved along, and many cops are just thugs who decided to be bullies for the law instead of burglars. Better pensions. Yes, we need more honorable cops calling out the ones who are most dangerous, but the entire profession exists to serve its masters and ours. If the society is just, the cops will be too. If not, we get what we've seen. They are just the vanity screen over the chamber of commerce and other "respectable" folk.
Re: “'A Big Thanks'”
I realize this was just bait, but perhaps spare some gratitude for the scientists, too: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020…
Re: “HumCo Records 100th COVID Death, 35 New Cases Confirmed”
We will never know how many of these 100 deaths could have been avoided had county residents been united in reducing the spread of this virus by simply wearing masks and accepting vaccinations. We do not know how many of the 9,000 residents of Humboldt who have had COVID will now suffer from "long COVID," or how many fewer would face that risk had county residents been united in reducing the spread of this virus by simply wearing masks and accepting vaccinations.
But those who, for whatever reason, have been convinced of an alternate reality? They're still largely convinced. The truth may win out, but it's sure taking its time.