Daily Log

Ken Brown posted this in Facebook:

I guess no one is ever going to nominate me to list my favorite baseball players, so I will just volunteer them: 1) Derek Jeter (he is even my all time favorite athlete, Roger is second); 2) Mickey Mantle (I made myself a switch hitter because of him, and as it turns out, was much better as a lefty so stayed on that side all the time); 3) Don Mattingly (great hitter and nice, humble person); 4) Phil Rizzuto (my first favorite player and the reason I always wanted to be a New York Yankee shortstop - and the reason I always wore #10); 5) Tony Kubek (also wore #10, also shortstop for the NY Yankees). Probably next favorite would be Bucky Dent (although he wore #20). Guess my favorite player today? Didi Gregorius. As might be obvious from this list, I love shortstops for the New York Yankees (and often claim to have been one!) And just for the record, Mantle was shortstop when he played for the Independence Yankees and Don Mattingly was a right handed shortstop through high school, but switched to a left handed first baseman to make the bigs.

I added a comment:

Ken taught me to be a Yankees fan, which stood me well through 1964, despite most local kids being Cards fans, and Wichita having a Braves farm team. I remember we went to a double header and cheered the Denver Bears over the Wichita Braves -- Denver won both, and Johnny Blanchard (who had a big year for the Yankees in 1961) hit 2 or 3 home runs. My favorite Yankee from that period was probably Yogi Berra, but I wasn't as strictly partisan as Ken, and I had no ability to play shortstop (or any other position). I didn't pay much attention to baseball from 1965 until the Yankees roared back in 1976, and I moved to New York in 1977. I knew everything about the game from then up to the lockout (1994?), and never followed the game again (so I barely know Jeter from the one legendary Yankees shortstop Ken didn't mention: Frankie Crosetti).

Ken replied:

amazing the Yankees didn't retire #2 because Crosetti wore that number for years and years before Jeter

Music Week

Expanded blog post, April archive (finished).

Music: Current count 33179 [33137] rated (+42), 221 [226] unrated (-5).

Trying desperately to wrap up the month today, and don't feel like writing much anyway. I will say that the concentration of A- records in the Old Music is mostly due to opening up a stash of downloads, shared by friends and stashed away for months or maybe years. I found them while looking for some more recent jazz records. Also found a few non-product offerings that I won't bother reviewing but someday may find time to listen to. (They exist because Robert Christgau deemed them worth reviewing; e.g., Gary Giddins' post-WWII roadmap, and an Adam Schlesinger playlist. There's also something called "The Sound of the City Pt. 1" -- probably a Charlie Gillett compilation, but I don't know which one: looks chronological, 1946-1951, and I recognize most, maybe all, of the songs, from "I Wonder" to "Cry.")

In new music, Fiona Apple's Fetch the Bolt Cutters appears to be the best-reviewed new record of 2020 (so far), rating 94 (23 reviews) at AOTY, 100 (24 reviews) at Metacritic, topping both lists. It's in 2nd place in my metacritic file, behind Waxahatchee: Saint Cloud. I played it twice last week, and wasn't blown away, but I suppose I'm still open to persuasion (if I bother playing it again). At least I hear something there, which I can't say for Rina Sawayama's well-regarded Rina (far and away the second highest ranked 4/17 release).

Fewer musician deaths this week. The one I know best was disco artist Hamilton Bohannon (1942-2020). I only have one of his LPs in my database (1976's Dance Your Ass Off), but I could swear I had 4-5 at the time, so I have to wonder how much more got lost to my shabby 20th century bookkeeping. I didn't consider any of the albums great, but I did love their minimalist dance grooves. When I moved on to CDs, I picked up Deep Beats: Essential Dancefloor Artists Vol. 4 (1973-75 [1994], Castle/Deep Beats), a very solid A-.

I'm much less familiar with Detroit DJ Mike Huckaby (1966-2020), but for an expert appreciation, see Michaelangelo Matos: Remembering Mike Huckaby, a towering figure in Detroit house music. I can add that the Record Time store in Roseville, MI that Huckaby worked at was a favorite haunt of mine on my trips to Detroit, and the collection of electronic dance music there regularly boggled my mind (although I spent more time in their slightly more modest store in Ferndale, much closer to where I was staying).

Also on the list was Ian Whitcomb (1941-2020), a one-hit wonder from 1965 ("You Turn Me On!"), who wrote the first popular history of rock and roll that I read, After the Ball (1972 -- the second was Charlie Gillett's The Sound of the City). I do have Whitcomb's 1965 LP in my database at B+ (I managed to track it down in the 1970s, but it's long gone now).

PS: Haven't yet done the normal monthly accounting for the April Streamnotes file. I'll wrap that up later in the week. I should also note that I've decided to add all December 2019 releases to the 2020 Music Tracking file, and also to the Metacritic file. I had previously decided to include 2019 releases that hadn't picked up any votes in the 2019 EOY Aggregate. Since EOY lists tend to appear before the year is done, most publications are already skewed by at least a month, so I thought I should reflect that. The Jazz Critics Poll's official year-end definition is Thanksgiving, so I'm getting close to that. I use the Music Tracking file to help count JCP ballots, so this change will have some practical value.

New records reviewed this week:

• Against All Logic: 2017-2019 (2017-19 [2020], Other People): [r]: B+(***)
• Robby Ameen: Diluvio (2019 [2020], Origin): [cd]: B+(*)
• Fiona Apple: Fetch the Bolt Cutters (2020, Epic): [r]: B+(***)
• #Bloomerangs: Moments and Fragments (2020, Instru Dash Mental): [cd]: B+(*)
• The Ian Carey Quintet + 1: Fire in My Head: The Anxiety Suite (2019 [2020], Slow & Steady): [cd]: B+(**)
• Chicago Underground Quartet: Good Days (2019 [2020], Astral Spirits): [cd]: B+(***)
• Alex Cunningham & Claire Rousay: Specifically the Water (2020, Astral Spirits): [cd]: B+(*)
• Kaja Draksler Octet: Out for Stars (2019 [2020], Clean Feed): [r]: B-
• Colin Fisher Quartet: Living Midnight (2019, Astral Spirits): [cd]: B+(***)
• Nick Fraser/Kris Davis/Tony Malaby: Zoning (2019, Astral Spirits): [cd]: B+(**)
• Gordon Grdina Septet: Resist (2017 [2020], Irabbagast): [cd]: B+(*)
• Alexander Hawkins/Tomeka Reid: Shards and Constellations (2019 [2020], Intakt): [r]: B+(**)
• James Brandon Lewis/Chad Taylor: Live in Willisau (2019 [2020], Intakt): [r]: A-
• Luís Lopes Humanization 4tet: Believe, Believe (2018 [2020], Clean Feed): [r]: B+(***)
• Laura Marling: Song for Our Daughter (2020, Chrysalis/Partisan): [r]: B+(**)
• Brian Marsella: Gatos Do Sul (2020, Tzadik): [dl]: B
• Joe McPhee/Dave Rempis/Tomeka Reid/Brandon Lopez/Paal Nilssen-Love: Of Things Beyond Thule Vol. 1 (2018 [2020], Aerophonic): [r]: B+(**)
• The Mountain Goats: Songs for Pierre Chuvin (2020, Merge): [r]: B+(**)
• Simon Nabatov: Time Labyrinth (2019 [2020], Leo): [r]: B
• Simon Nabatov: Plain (2019 [2020], Clean Feed): [r]: B+(*)
• Chris Poland: Resistance (2020, Ropeadope): [cd]: B+(*)
• Quelle Chris & Chris Keys: Innocent Country 2 (2020, Mello Music Group): [r]: B+(***)
• Tom Rainey/Ingrid Laubrock: Stir Crazy (2020, self-released): [bc]: B+(**)
• Rina Sawayama: Sawayama (2020, Dirty Hit): [r]: B-
• Serengeti: Ajai (2020, Cohn): [r]: B+(**)
• Viktor Skokic Sextett: Basement Music (2020, Jazzland): [cd]: B+(***)
• Emilio Solla International Jazz Orchestra: Puertos: Music From International Waters (2019, Avantango): [r]: B+(**)
• STRFKR: Future Past Life (2020, Polyvinyl): [r]: B+(**)
• The Strokes: The New Abnormal (2020, Cult/RCA): [r]: B+(*)
• Dave Stryker With Bob Mintzer and the WDR Big Band: Blue Soul (2019 [2020], Strikezone): [cd]: B+(*) [06-05]
• Thundercat: It Is What It Is (2020, Brainfeeder): [r]: B
• Anne Waldman: Sciamachy (2020, Fast Speaking Music): [sc]: B+(**)
• Lucinda Williams: Good Souls Better Angels (2020, Highway 20): [r]: A-

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• African Head Charge: Churchical Chant of the Iyabinghi (1991-94 [2020], On-U Sound): [bc]: B+(**)

Old music:

• Blue Lu Barker: 1946-1949 (1946-49 [2000], Classics): [dl]: A-
• Lil Green: Romance in the Dark: 1940-1946 (1940-46 [1971], RCA): [r]: A-
• Orüj Güvenç & Tümata: Rivers of One (1997, Interworld): [dl]: A-
• Mike Huckaby: The Jazz Republic (1997, Cross Section, EP): [r]: B+(**)
• The Lee Konitz Quartet: Tranquility (1957, Verve): [r]: B+(***)
• Myra Melford/Zeena Parkins/Miya Masaoka: MZM (2014-16 [2017], Infrequent Seams): [r]: B+(*)
• Sarah Riedel/Carl Svensson/Viktor Skokic: Perfectly Still (2012, Footprint): [os]: B+(*)
• Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20 (2016, Highway 20, 2CD): [r]: B+(***)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Brian Andres Trio Latino: Mayan Suite (Bacalao) [05-15]
• Brian Landrus/Fred Hersch/Drew Gress/Billy Hart: For Now (BlueLand) [05-15]
• The MacroQuarktet: The Complete Night: Live at the Stone NYC (2007, Out of Your Head, 2CD) [05-01]
• Josh Nelson Trio: The Discovery Project: Live in Japan (Steel Bird) [05-01]
• Viktor Skokic Sextett: Basement Music (Jazzland)
• Michael Thomas: Event Horizon (Giant Step Arts, 2CD) [05-08]

Weekend Roundup

It's rather staggering how much stuff one can come up with to read in a week. Also how little of what follows directly concerns the 2020 elections, which should be pivotal -- especially, now that it so clear to all concerned that the stakes are critical -- yet seems way above the heads of the party leaders. There are three items below that touch on Biden: one on his PAC's worrisome China-baiting ad (Bessner); one on his ambitious stimulus proposal (Grunwald); one on his VP choices (Hasan). I suppose you might count a fourth (Kilpatrick) on Sanders' campaign and supporters, but I don't mention Biden there, and I'm pretty much done with looking at campaign post-mortems. I also saw, but didn't link to, various articles arguing that Biden needs to veer left to unify the party and/or to develop a more effective campaign (I suppose the Warren-for-VP push might count there). Actually, I don't much care who Biden picks (aside from my getting irritated by how pushy the Stacey Abrams campaign has become), or whether Biden starts giving lip service to left arguments. In some ways, the less of that he does, the less he'll wind up walking back from when/if he wins. And, quite frankly, Warren and Sanders will be more effective in Congress, outside of the Biden administration -- not that I don't wish them luck steering some patronage to people who actually do have the public interest at heart.

On the other hand, there are tons of Trump pieces below: many of the Trump is a moron/Trump is insane variety, which is probably the easiest call to make. Some align with the Trump is an autocrat/fascist meme, some going so far at to insist that he is bent on the destruction of democracy. I don't stress pieces in that vein. There's no reason to think Trump wouldn't be amenable to a right-wing putsch, I see him mostly as a front man and a diversion. It's other Republicans -- the serious ones -- who are the real threat, as should be clear from the more obscure articles below, the ones about corruption, about their relentless assault in the environment, about their efforts to skew the electorate in their favor to perpetuate their graft and their imposition of anti-democratic ideology. Personally, I wouldn't mind dispensing with the Trump show, but he does do a remarkable job of illustrating the derangement of his apparatchiki.

Some scattered links this week:

• Yasmeen Abutaleb/Josh Dawsey/Ellen Nakashima/Greg Miller: The US was beset by denial and dysfunction as the coronavirus raged: "From the Oval Office to the CDC, political and institutional failures cascaded through the system and opportunities to mitigate the pandemic were lost."

• Kate Aronoff: The world order is broken. The coronavirus proves it. "Rich countries have pushed economic policies that set poor countries up to fail."

• Zack Beauchamp: A disturbing new study suggests Sean Hannity's show helped spread the coronavirus.

• Daniel Bessner: The last thing we need is a "new cold war" with China. Looks like both Trump and Biden are taunting each other for being too close and friendly to China -- Trump's refers to "Beijing Biden," while Biden's ad charges "Trump Didn't Hold China Accountable" for Covid-19. (Trump preferred to hold the WHO responsible for China's late disclosures, if indeed that's what they were.) Both are playing a dangerous game, not because China isn't beyond reproach, but it's more than ever important to move from conflict to cooperation on the world's many problems. And also it should be admitted that the US has little if any claim to moral high ground. I also worry that Biden's efforts to come off as tougher against China and Russia might give Trump another chance to pass himself off as the anti-war candidate -- as he did with Commander-in-Chief fetishist Hillary Clinton. Related:

  • Marc Caputo/Meridith McGraw/Anita Kumar: Trump owed tens of millions to Bank of China.

  • Michelle Ye Hee Lee: Democratic super PAC launches $15 million ad blitz slamming Trump on China and coronavirus. The PAC is American Bridge.

  • Nahal Toosi: Biden ad exposes a rift over China on the left.

• Philip Bump/Ashley Parker: 13 hours of Trump: The president fills briefings with attacks and boasts, but little empathy. By "little" I think they mean "zero."

• Katelyn Burns: The Trump administration wants to use the coronavirus pandemic to push for more deregulation.

• Jane Coaston: FreedomWorks is supporting the anti-shutdown protests -- and applying for government funding.

• Jessica Corbett: Calling US Postal Service 'a joke,' Trump demands four-fold price hike for customers amid Covid-19 pandemic.

• Caleb Crain: What a white-supremacist coup looks like: Wilmington, North Carolina, 1898.

• Eleanor Cummins: Celebrity quarantine posts are inflaming tensions between the haves and the have-nots. Related: Chuck Collins: Let's stop pretending billionaires are in the same boat as us during this pandemic.

• Igor Derysh: Senate Republicans snuck $90 billion tax cut for millionaires into coronavirus relief legislation.

• Anthony Faiola/Ana Vanessa Herrero: A pandemic of corruption: $40 masks, questionable contracts, rice-stealing bureaucrats mar coronavirus response.

• Lee Fang:

  • Small business rescue money flowing to major Trump donors, disclosures show.

  • Wall Street titans finance Democratic primary challenger to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

• John A Farrell: Breaking the grip of white grievance: "The 2020 campaign is shaping up into a referendum on Trumpism."

• Susan B Glasser: Fifty thousand Americans dead from the coronavirus, and a president who refuses to mourn them. Well, now that you mention it:

  Dr. Deborah Birx, the State Department official who has been named White House coördinator for the pandemic response, often mentions the human toll of the disease and thanks the medical caregivers risking their lives. On Wednesday, Vice-President Mike Pence began his brief remarks with a nod to the "loss of more than forty-seven thousand of our countrymen." It was just the sort of thing you would expect Pence to say, and yet notable for how different it sounded compared with the President. Trump began that very same briefing by saying, "Our aggressive strategy to battle the virus is working." It is, he said, "very exciting, even today, watching and seeing what's happening." What was happening, though, was another day on which more than two thousand Americans died of the coronavirus, a fact that Trump did not mention.

  Personally, I don't mind having a president who doesn't get choked up over human tragedy. I don't think we should look to the president for emotional affirmation or even sympathy. I don't think we need to be flying flags at half-mast. And I find it hard to imagine anyone becoming president who doesn't start out with an oversized ego. But I do think that the only reason for tolerating a president who is a total jerk is if he (or someday she) at least has a staggering ability to make sense of the big picture. But Trump is not only self-centered to an embarrassing degree, he's a total fucking moron. He's insufferable at the best of times, and this doesn't even rise to the level of bad.

• Michelle Goldberg: Coronavirus and the price of Trump's delusions. The op-eds pretty much write themselves:

  • Frank Bruni: Trump is self-destructing before our eyes.

  • Martin Longman: The president is impossibly stupid.

  • Amanda Marcotte: Now that Trump has suggested we shoot up Lysol, can cable news stop airing this crap?

  • Matthew Miller: It's not just the bleach. Trump is a catalog of bad ideas that tax resources.

  • Jennifer Senior: President Trump is unfit for this crisis. Period.

• Rebecca Gordon: Strange attractors: On being addicted to Trump and his press conferences. Compares Trump's daily Covid-19 briefings to the Vietnam War "Five O'Clock Follies" -- evidently written before Trump declared that he "could see the light at the end of the tunnel" (a line Robert McNamara famously used to express his optimism about Vietnam, which speaks volumes about how clueless Trump is).

  I think what provides me (and so many others) with that nightly hit of dopamine is the sheer brazenness of the president's lies on show for all to see. Not for him the mealy-mouthed half-truth, the small evasion. No, his are, like the rest of his persona, grandiose in a way that should be beyond belief, but remains stubbornly real. . . .

  So it's no surprise that he also uses media ratings as the metric by which he judges the performance of everyone working to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. For him, governing is nothing but a performance.

• Michael Grunwald: Biden wants a new stimulus 'a hell of a lot bigger' than $2 trillion. Much of that is Green New Deal. Also note: Jon Queally: As poll show nearly 90% Democratic support, Biden told hostility to Medicare for All 'no longer tenable position for you'.

• Mehdi Hasan: Dear Joe Biden, here's why you should pick Elizabeth Warren as your running mate: Not as persuasive a case as could be made. For one, thing, I wouldn't start with the actuarial tables. And while I'd like to see Biden extend a "bridge to the left of the party," his need there is less to secure voters than to establish a better grasp on policy ideas. Warren helps him most specifically there: even when Biden appears befuddled, she can talk about issues with authority, insight, and compassion. Warren's great weakness as a presidential candidate was her inability to expand her base beyond college-educated professionals, but that (plus enthusiasm among young voters) should help shore up a conspicuous weakness of Biden's. (On the other hand, Biden already does as well as any Democrat can with white working class voters, as well as with non-whites.) Another point that should favor Warren is that she likes to present herself as a fighter, and could mount a refreshingly aggressive attack on Trump and his corrupt administration -- among other things, that would offer quite a contrast to Trump's obsequious "vice-poodle" Pence. Of course, one doubts that Biden's handlers will risk someone they perceive as a loose cannon. Even if they did, they'd pressure Warren to become a mere surrogate, which would squander her unique advantages. When Kerry picked John Edwards as his 2004 running mate, I hoped that Edwards would add a dash of Southern populist fervor to the patrician Kerry. Instead, he instantly transformed into Kerry's lawyer/mouthpiece, adding nothing, and helped lose. Very easy to see lawyer/prosecutors like Harris and Klobuchar doing just that. As for the much-touted Stacey Abrams, well, I hate to sound like Trump, but I like politicians who win. (When I did a google search for "biden vp picks" all three "top stories" pictured Abrams, as well as one of three "videos": the other two were worse: "Podesta on how Biden should pick his V.P." and "Jill Biden: I'd love for Michelle Obama to be VP pick.") As for names being bandied about, see Ella Nilsen: What we know about Joe Biden's possible vice presidential picks.

• Jon Henley/Eleanor Ainge Roy: Are female leaders more successful at managing the coronavirus crisis?

• Maia Niguel Hoskin: The whiteness of anti-lockdown protests.

• Zoë Hu: A new age of destructive austerity after the coronavirus: "The economic vultures of yesteryear are already scheming about how to head off the prospect of a better world when the pandemic ends." With Trump as president, Republicans have been exceptionally eager to prop up the economy with massive deficit spending, even if they have to cut deals to route some of that money to ordinary people, but that's not going to last. You may recall what an emergency it was to prop up the banking system in 2008, yet once the bankers got theirs (and the presidency changed from R to D), nobody else mattered enough: we got nothing more than harrangues about excessive deficits and the need for austerity. So the pain of recession spread and persisted and festered, and while profits rebounded spectacularly, all regular people got was underpaid jobs, diminished benefits, and increased risk. As noted elsewhere, McConnell has already started to sandbag "stimulus" bills that he deems overly generous to the wrong people, and with CBO making a $3.7 trillion deficit projected, the deficit scolds and austerity prophets will have a field day. Only question is why should we believe them now/again?

• John Hudson/Josh Dawsey/Souad Mekhennet: Trump expands battle with World Health Organization far beyond aid suspension.

• Sean Illing:

  • Why the government makes it hard for Americans to get unemployment benefits: "The system is dysfunctional. It was designed that way." Interview with Pamela Heard, author of Administrative Burdens: Policymaking by Other Means.

  • There is no anti-lockdown protest movement: "There are protests, but this isn't a movement, and it's not the Tea Party 2.0." Interview with Theda Skocpol, who has a couple books on Tea Party politics: The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism (2012, with Vanessa Williamson), and Upending American Politics: Polarizing Parties, Ideological Elites, and Citizen Activists from the Tea Party to the Anti-Trump Resistance (2020, ed. with Caroline Tervo).

  • Millennials are getting screwed by the economy. Again. Interview with Annie Lowrey, author of Give People Money: How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World.

• Rebecca Jennings: Nobody's buying clothes right now. So stores are filing for bankruptcy.

• Connor Kilpatrick: Why are they so mad at Bernie supporters? "We're stuck with them, but they're stuck with us, too." Related:

  • Paul Heideman/Hadas Thief: Bernie's campaign strategy wasn't the problem.

• Catherine Kim: It took a pandemic for cities to finally address homelessness: "Some cities are housing homeless people in hotels. But a long-term solution is sorely needed."

• Ezra Klein: Why we can't build: "America's inability to act is killing people." Credits Francis Fukuyama with the hideous term "vetocracy": a system designed to inhibit and frustrate change, where many special interests find themselves able to veto development while few (if any) are able to overcome other vetos. Klein details three vetocracies: the federal, the state and local, and the capitalist.

• Paul Krugman:

  • McConnell to every state: Drop dead. Related:

    • Fox's Steve Doocy suggests letting states go bankrupt to cut pensions and balance budgets.

    • Josh Barro: Why Mitch McConnell's state bankruptcy idea is so stupid.

    • David Frum: Why Mitch McConnell wants states to go bankrupt:

      McConnell seems to be following the rule "Never let a good crisis go to waste." He's realistic enough to recognize that the pandemic probably means the end not only of the Trump presidency, but of his own majority leadership. He's got until January to refashion the federal government in ways that will constrain his successors. That's what the state-bankruptcy plan is all about.

  • The right sends in the quacks: "Covid-19 highlights the conservative reliance on fake experts."

    All of these factors making modern conservatism a happy hunting ground for fake experts have reached a kind of apotheosis under Donald Trump, a grifter president whose whole political strategy is based on catering to white male grievance, and who both disdains expertise and always values loyalty above competence.

• Dan Lamothe: Pentagon plans to dispatch Blue Angels and Thunderbirds in coronavirus tribute: Well, they mean "tribute to health-care workers and first responders" rather than to the virus itself, but that doesn't begin to resolve the cognitive disconnect. This really just shows that in the gravest national security crisis to hit America in many decades, the lavishly funded, much vaunted US military has absolutely nothing to offer or even reassure us.

• Jim Lardner: Mapping corruption: Donald Trump's executive branch.

• Ernesto Londoño/Leticia Casado/Manuela Andreoni: 'A perfect storm' in Brazil as troubles multiply for Bolsonaro: Possibly the world's foremost coronavirus denier -- Brazil is up to 53,000 confirmed cases and 3,670 deaths -- on top of many other offenses, including resignation of "a star cabinet member," several criminal investigations, and talk of impeachment -- couldn't happen to a nastier piece of work. Also note: Boeing terminates $4.2 billion deal to buy stake in Embraer unit. Not the sort of monopoly-girding investment a company makes when its own business is in free fall.

• Dylan Matthews: Trump's new bailout program for farmers and ranchers, explained.

• Laura McGann: America doesn't want another Tea Party: "Don't let Fox News fool you. 81 percent of Americans do not share the views of anti-quarantine protesters."

• Ian Millhiser: Justice Alito's jurisprudence of white racial innocence: "Alito gets very upset if you suggest that racism exists."

• Luke Mogelson: America's abandonment of Syria: "Many Syrians thought the U.S. cared about them. Now they know better." Stupid mistake. I can't even imagine where they could have gotten that idea. From America's utterly reflexive support of Israel? From America's long-standing but limited military alliances with Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia? From the long siege of Iraq, followed by invasion, occupation, and cynical orchestration of civil war to divide the opposition. From America's even longer-running devastation of Afghanistan? From 40+ years of sanctions and worse in Iran? From overthrowing Ghaddafi in Libya and leaving the country in chaos? From arming the Saudis for their assault on Yemen? From all those drones flying hither and yon, taking potshots as supposed jihadis? Is there anything in US policy toward the Middle East that even remotely suggests we care about anyone who lives there? Hell, the US government can barely be bothered to care about Americans in America.

• Nicole Narea: Trump's executive order to stop issuing green cards temporarily, explained.

• Ella Nilsen: Getting unemployment has been a nightmare for millions of people across the country.

• Kee B Park/Christine Ahn: South Korea is a model for combatting Covid-19, it should now take the lead in diplomacy with North Korea. Not sure that the two points follow, but Trump (and his hawks) has bungled his opportunity to work out a deal with Kim Jong Un. And frankly, why should the US be able to veto whatever deal the Koreans work out?

• David Roberts: Coronavirus stimulus money will be wasted on fossil fuels: "Oil and gas companies were already facing structural problems before Covid-19 and are in long-term decline."

• David Rogers: Trump administration ducks and dodges to justify wall spending.

• Aaron Rupar:

  • Why Pence's favorite talking point about coronavirus testing is misleading.

  • Trump just mused about whether disinfectant injections could treat coronavirus. Really. You know, I've been in meetings where someone would get up and remind us that "there are no dumb questions," but some questions are just really dumb. [PS: Here's a meme that's been going around: "Just to clarity the medical term for injecting disinfectants into the body is called embalming."]

  • Trump and Fox News want to send their hydroxycloroquine hype down the memory hole: "They've suddenly stopped talking about an unproven drug they touted as a possible miracle cure. It's not an accident."

  • Trump just said the US has done more coronavirus testing than the rest of the world. Not even close.

  • Why Trump's efforts to blame Obama for the coronavirus make absolutely no sense.

• Dylan Scott: How the Covid-19 pandemic will leave its mark on US health care. Five subheds:

  • Some hospitals will probably close. A lot of primary care doctors could also be in trouble.
  • Telemedicine will finally go mainstream.
  • We'll invest more in public health preparedness and surveillance.
  • We could rethink how drugmakers and the federal government handle urgent needs.
  • There will be a push to expand health coverage.

• Geoffrey Skelley: Americans are largely unimpressed with Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. His approval ratings did get a break early in the crisis, but he's been sinking for a few weeks, now negative 9% on the generic approval question, below water on handling the pandemic, with very/somewhat worried about the economy adding up to 86.5%. Of course, lots of people still have a blind spot where it comes to him, hence the very cushy "largely unimpressed" in the title.

• Michael Specter: Trump's firing of a top infectious-disease expert endangers us all.

• Emily Stewart: Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown's plan to protect consumers from financial ruin.

• Taylor Telford/Kimberly Kindy: As they rushed to maintain US meat supply, big processors saw plants become covid-19 hot spots, worker illnesses spike. Map doesn't include any spots in western Kansas, but I noticed a concentration of cases in Ford County (Dodge City), which has 38% more cases than Sedgwick (Wichita), despite having only 6.5% of the population. Finney County (Garden City) has a population similar to Ford, with about 30% as many cases, which still is a much higher infection rate than Sedgwick. Ford and Finney counties are probably the two largest beef feedlot and packing counties in the state.

• Nick Turse: US airstrikes hit all-time high as coronavirus spreads in Somalia.

• Anya van Wagtendonk:

  • 71 percent of jobless Americans did not receive their March unemployment benefits.

  • Trump dismisses his daily coronavirus press briefings as "not worth the time & effort". I don't think I've ever been moved to quote a Trump tweet before, but this one is revealing:

    What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!

    I get that "Lamestream" is meant as an insult, a catchy play on "mainstream" that has become reflexively automatic among those so disposed, but if you think a bit, it's pretty lame as insults go, especially given that the highest aspiration of mainstream media is to be so fairly balanced the stories speak for themselves. Singling out lameness is Trump's way of asserting that should entertain rather than merely report. So does his point about "record ratings." Given that Trump is incapable of reporting information or even conveying reassuring emotion, the only reason for anyone to watch him is that the briefings are somehow inadvertently entertaining. Maybe that's where the "hostile questions" come in? I mean, Trump knows better than most that hostility is entertaining -- isn't that why his campaign events are so full of hostile rants? Why shouldn't the media put its inherent lameness aside for an occasion with no other merit and feed off Trump's hostility? Why not prod him along a bit, and give the Trump haters as well as the Trump adorers a cheering interest? As for "Fake News," nowadays that's nothing but Trumpspeak for reports that are insufficiently flattering. That "Fake News" has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 3-4 years is the inevitable result of its only subject appearing as an embarrassing moron in his every public appearance.

• Robert Wright: Let's kill the aiding-and-abetting meme once and for all! His examples are attacks on political figures for aiding, abetting, giving comfort, or just showing a modicum of respect for foreign leaders or nations, especially those that Americans have long been trained to suspect or despise (like Russia and China, Iran and Syria, Cuba and Venezuela, but anti-Arab prejudice is strong enough that Saudi Arabia could also work, but never Israel). The recent rivalry between Biden and Trump to see who is most negative on China is an example. One example Wright cites is George Packer: We are living in a failed state, where Packer likens Trump to French general and Vichy collaboration leader Philippe Pétain: "Like Pétain, Trump collaborated with the invader and abandoned his country to a prolonged disaster." I agree that Trump has done (and continues to do, scarcely losing a step to the pandemic) a lot of things that spell disaster for most Americans, but none of them even remotely resemble what Pétain did to France and (much more to the point) for Nazi Germany.

• Matthew Yglesias:

  • President Trump's dangerous suggestion that the coronavirus be treated with bleach injections, explained.

  • Opening up the economy won't save the economy

  • Will the worst downturn since the Great Depression last as long?

  • Prolonged school closures could be very costly for America's students.

• Li Zhou: How the coronavirus is surfacing America's deep-seated anti-Asian biases. I'm skeptical here, not that Trump isn't riling up the indiscriminate haters in his fan base, but that the relatively few who attack and the more who slur Asian-Americans know anything of the history of anti-Asian racism in America. Granted, it's not so ancient that I can't remember it in my lifetime (and Trump's older than I am), but by then the old prejudices had been transformed by wars which counted at least some Asians as allies.

Music Week

Expanded blog post, April archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 33137 [33094] rated (+43), 226 [216] unrated (+10).

Late getting this out, mostly because I got caught up in updating the Metacritic file, or maybe I was just putting off the task of writing about dead musicians. I did find that several lines had gotten dropped from the file, so I've started to patch them up again, but I may have lost information along the way (the most prominent contenders I'm aware of were Grimes and US Girls). Aside from consulting AOTY and Metacritic, I brought most of the jazz sources up to date.

When I wrote up a list with 12 musicians last week, I forgot to mention Hal Willner. Some obituaries emphasize his association with Saturday Night Live, but I credit him with a series of brilliantly eclectic tribute albums, the best being his 1985 Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill.

Some more recent deaths of note here:

• Henry Grimes (1935-2020): bassist, played on many of the most important avant-jazz albums of the 1960s, then disappeared for 30+ years before making a remarkable comeback.

• Lee Konitz (1927-2020): alto saxophonist, an all-time great. Some links:

  • John Fordham: Lee Konitz obituary.
  • Ethan Iverson: Ice Cream Konitz.
  • Cream of the Konitz (1927-2020): An Uncivilized Mixtape.

• Giuseppi Logan (1935-2020): alto saxophonist, recorded a couple memorable avant-garde albums in the mid-1960s.

  • Giovanni Russonello: Henry Grimes and Giuseppi Logan, lost and found jazz stars, are both gone.

• Richard Teitelbaum (1939-2020): electronic music pioneer, worked with Anthony Braxton.

Tidal has an April 20 survey of Remembering the musicians felled by Covid-19, including Grimes, Logan, Konitz, and Willner, others I reported on last week, plus a few I had missed, like avant-disco chanteuse Cristina Monet (went by first name, I have her down for 3 A-list albums 1980-84, so I was a pretty big fan). Two more I'm less familiar with are: Marcelo Peralta and Moraes Moreira.

I wound up spending much of the week playing to Lee Konitz records I had missed. The collected grade list is here. The new finds didn't match the previous peaks, but some are quite remarkable, and some high B+ records below could grow on me if given the chance -- one thing you can count on with Konitz is that he's thinking ahead of you. Aside from the records reviewed below, his list includes the following (all A- except as noted):

• Lee Konitz: Subconscious-Lee (1949-1950 [1991], Prestige OJC) A
• Lee Konitz/Gerry Mulligan: Konitz Meets Mulligan (1953, Pacific Jazz)
• Lee Konitz/Warne Marsh: Lee Konitz With Warne Marsh (1955 [2006], Atlantic/Rhino)
• Lee Konitz: Live at the Half Note (1959, Verve)
• Lee Konitz: Motion (1961 [2003], Verve) A
• Lee Konitz: Motion (1961 [1998], Verve, 3CD)
• Lee Konitz: I Concentrate on You (1974, SteepleChase)
• Lee Konitz: Jazz à Juan (1974, SteepleChase)
• Warne Marsh/Lee Konitz: Two Not One (1975 [2009], Storyville, 4CD)
• Art Pepper Presets "West Coast Sessions!" Volume 3: Lee Konitz (1980 [2017], Omnivore)
• Lee Konitz/Martial Solal: Star Eyes 1983 (1983 [2009], Hatology)
• Lee Konitz/Harold Danko: Wild as Springtime (1984 [1997], Candid)
• Lee Konitz/Barry Harris: Lullaby of Birdland (1991, Candid)
• Lee Konitz: Jazz Nocturne (1992, Evidence) A
• Lee Konitz: Another Shade of Blue (1997 [1999], Blue Note)
• Lee Konitz: Sound of Surprise (1999, RCA)

Konitz continued producing excellent records well into his 80s, even past his 90th birthday: the last four I have under his name I have at B+(***), including last year's Nonet album Old Songs New (as good as any of his 1970s Nonets). Another B+(***) not on the grade list is Dan Tepfer's Duos With Lee (2008). Another is Grace Kelly's GraceFulLee (2007). Yet another is Ethan Iverson's Costumers Are Mandatory (2013).

Looks like Napster has another 75-80 Konitz albums I haven't heard, but they are getting hard to place, and I could use a break. In fact, I'm thinking I'll slow down this week, and do some house cleaning. I started pitching old music magazines, which no one seems to have any interest in. I thought about donating CDs to a library somewhere, but dropped the ball on that. Laura's nagging me about books, too. I don't see that as much of a problem, but in general it would be good to lighten the load and open up some space. Maybe clear my head a bit, then figure out what to really work on next. I'm at wit's end now.

New records reviewed this week:

• Omer Avital Qantar: New York Paradox (2019 [2020], Jazz & People): [r]: B+(*)
• The Chats: High Risk Behaviour (2020, Bargain Bin): [r]: B+(*)
• Chris Dingman: Embrace (2020, Inner Arts Initiative): [bc]: B+(*)
• Jimmy Greene: While Looking Up (2020, Mack Avenue): [r]: B+(***)
• Jeff Hamilton Trio: Catch Me If You Can (2019 [2020], Capri): [cd]: B+(*) [07-17]
• Hailu Mergia: Yene Mircha (2020, Awesome Tapes From Africa): [r]: B+(**)
• Ras Michael: Live by the Spirit (2020, Hen House Studios): [r]: B+(**)
• Mono: Before the Past: Live From Electrical Audio (2019, Temporary Residence): [bc]: B+(*)
• Farnell Newton: Rippin' & Rumblin' (2020, Posi-Tone): [r]: B+(**)
• Porridge Radio: Every Bad (2020, Secretly Canadian): [r]: B+(*)
• Samo Salamon/Igor Matkovic/Kristijan Krajncan: Common Flow (2019 [2020], Sazas): [cd]: A-
• Samo Salamon/Igor Matkovic/Kristijan Krajncan: Rare Ebb (2019 [2020], Sazas): [cd]: B+(**)
• Diane Schuur: Running on Faith (2020, Jazzheads): [cd]: B+(***)
• Yves Tumor: Heaven to a Tortured Mind (2020, Warp): [r]: B+(**)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• Noah Howard: Live in Europe Vol. 1 (1975 [2020], Sconsolato): [bc]: B+(**)

Old music:

• Miles Davis/Stan Getz/Gerry Mulligan/Lee Konitz/Sonny Rollins/Zoot Sims: Conception (1949-51 [1956], Prestige): [r]: B+(**)
• Bill Evans Trio With Lee Konitz & Warne Marsh: Crosscurrents (1977 [1992], Fantasy/OJC): [r]: B+(***)
• Jasper Høiby: Fellow Creatures (2016, Edition): [bc]: B+(***)
• Illinois Jacquet Quartet: Live at Schaffhausen, Switzerland March 18, 1978 (1978 [2015], Storyville): [bc]: B+(***)
• Lee Konitz: At Storyville (1954 [1988], Black Lion): [r]: A-
• Lee Konitz: Konitz (1954 [1988], Black Lion): [r]: B+(**)
• Lee Konitz: Body and Soul (1954 [2003], Black Lion): [r]: B+(***)
• Lee Konitz: In Harvard Square (1954-55 [1996], Black Lion): [r]: B+(**)
• Lee Konitz: Inside Hi-Fi (1956, Atlantic): [r]: B+(***)
• Lee Konitz: The Real Lee Konitz (1957, Atlantic): [r]: A-
• Lee Konitz: Very Cool (1957, Verve): [r]: B+(*)
• Lee Konitz: An Image: Lee Konitz With Strings (1958, Verve): [r]: B
• Lee Konitz: You and Lee (1959 [1960], Verve): [r]: B
• Lee Konitz Quintet: Peacemeal (1969 [1970], Milestone): [r]: B+(*)
• Lee Konitz: Spirits (1971 [1972], Milestone): [r]: B+(***)
• Lee Konitz: Lone-Lee (1974 [1987], SteepleChase): [r]: B+(**)
• Lee Konitz: Lee Konitz Nonet (1977, Chiaroscuro): [r]: B+(***)
• Lee Konitz: Tenorlee (1977 [1978], Candid): [r]: B+(*)
• Lee Konitz Nonet: Yes, Yes, Nonet (1979 [1986], SteepleChase): [r]: B+(**)
• Lee Konitz Quartet: New York Album (1987 [1988], Soul Note): [r]: B+(***)
• Lee Konitz: Zounds (1990 [1992], Soul Note): [r]: B+(**)
• Lee Konitz Trio: Free With Lee (1993, Philology): [r]: B+(**)
• Lee Konitz/Renato Sellani: Speakin' Lowly (1993 [1994], Philology): [r]: A-
• Lee Konitz: It's You (1996, SteepleChase): [r]: B+(***)
• Lee Konitz: Dearly Beloved (1996 [1997], SteepleChase): [r]: A-
• Lee Konitz: Pride (1999 [2000], SteepleChase): [r]: B+(***)
• Lee Konitz: Parallels (2001, Chesky): [r]: B+(**)
• Giuseppi Logan: More (1965 [1966], ESP-Disk): [r]: B+(***)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Tetuzi Akiyama/Nicolas Field/Gregor Vidic: Interpersonal Subjectivities (Astral Spirits -19)
• Robby Ameen: Diluvio (Origin)
• Josh Berman/Paul Lytton/Jason Roebke: Trio Discrepancies (Astral Spirits -19)
• Chicago Underground Quartet: Good Days (Astral Spirits)
• Chris Cogburn/Juan García/Ignaz Schick: Anáhuac (Astral Spirits)
• Alex Cunningham & Claire Rousay: Specifically the Water (Astral Spirits)
• Colin Fisher Quartet: Living Midnight (Astral Spirits -19)
• Nick Fraser/Kris Davis/Tony Malaby: Zoning (Astral Spirits -19)
• Dylan Hayes Electric Band: Songs for Rooms and People (Blujazz)
• KVL: Volume 1 (Astral Spirits -19)
• LP and the Vinyl: Heard and Seen (OA2)
• Chris Poland: Resistance (Ropeadope)
• Charles Rumback: June Holiday (Astral Spirits)

Weekend Roundup

Covid-19 continues to dominate the news, as it will for months (or maybe years) to come. You can subdivide the pandemic into two essential topics: public health issues, and economic consequences of fighting the pandemic by shutting down a big part of the economy. Unemployment in the US has surged to about 20%, and despite wild talk about reopening businesses, it looks like those numbers have yet to peak -- not least because infections and deaths continue to rise. The US has more deaths than any other country in the world, and the number of deaths has blown past previous markers like the number killed on 9/11 and the larger number of Americans sacrificed in the post-9/11 Bush Wars (sure, Obama and Trump have extended them, but the initial decision rests clearly with GW and his "Vulcans").

A third dimension has started to appear: the struggle for control of the political narrative around the pandemic. The Democratic Party primary campaign has ended with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren endorsing Joe Biden, who won Wisconsin 62.93% to 31.78% over Sanders, and Wyoming 72.18% to 27.82% -- both states that had favored Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016. Still, Biden has been all but invisible during the crisis, so virtually all of the political maneuvering has been by Republicans: Trump denies any responsibility for mishandling the crisis, and vows to re-open the economy real soon now; supporting him are the "protesters" who have turned out for various photo-ops demanding an end to state lockdowns. (The Michigan protest has been clearly identified as funded by the De Vos family, and I expect the others will be linked to other billionaire donors. The placards are blatantly tied to Trump, some so extreme you have to doubt it's been officially sanctioned -- although with Trump it could be.)

Some Democrats would like to blame Trump for the whole crisis -- at least one article below refers to the "Trump plague," and many point out various failures to recognize the pandemic early and act decisively to stop or at least mitigate it. I don't see much point in singling Trump out -- I doubt any president would have grasped what was happening much faster or moved much more decisively, as most of the problems I've seen look to me like they have much more systemic roots. Of course, it is fair to note that Trump and his minions have made the system more fragile and inept than it already was. The desire to wring every ounce of profit out of the economy has left us with fragile supply chains and woefully inadequate public support. (I'm surprised not that the "national stockpile" is inadequate but that such a thing exists at all.) Then there's the fact that we don't have universal health care, and that private insurance is tied to employment. And there's a dozen other things, most tied back to a system designed not to do what people need but to make money off those needs, dumping waste as it goes.

What you're welcome to blame Trump for is having a blathering, careless idiot at the helm of the federal government. If you weren't embarrassed by that before, you certainly should be now. He may not be to blame for the economy collapsing, but he's petty enough to want credit for attaching his name to relief checks. He may not be to blame for thousands of people dying, but he still wants credit and praise for . . . well, beats me, but you better be nice to him. I'm not sure when or why the media decided we need to hear from the president every time a news story breaks, but Trump is one president who never has anything enlightening or comforting to say.

Another thing: Laura suggests you watch Vic DiBitetto, the man with a plan.

Also: I've cut way back on links to New York Intelligencer after running into a paywall. I saw my first warning a few weeks back, and decided at that point to stop clicking on articles by Jonathan Chait and Ed Kilgore, as I usually wound up arguing with them anyway. Missing Eric Levitz and Sarah Jones, but still seems pricey for my taste. I cut way back on The Atlantic a few months ago, and Foreign Policy a year or two back (no link handy; as I recall, even more expensive for even less value). At this point, I don't know what I would do if Vox starts to tighten the screws: they're my first go-to each week, and far and away my most valuable source. I should also note that while I don't spend for web access, my wife subscribes to a bunch of things, and I sometimes piggyback on her accounts. She's the true news junkie in the family. Without her, I doubt I'd bother finding any of this.

Some scattered links this week:

• Eric Alterman: Describing Trump strains the imagination: "Hence the need for metaphor. And yet, here again, nothing really works." Maybe you're trying too hard to pin too much on Trump personally. Sure, it's hard to express how hideous he is in person, but nearly every appearance offers graphic examples. If you must reach for words, how about the late John Prine's line: "some humans aren't human"? Still, Trump does virtually nothing by himself, beyond signing papers put in front of him, speaking and tweeting blather, and occasionally barking out an order or plea that some underling may act on if it suits them. Trump doesn't lead his administration so much as, having staffed it with the usual array of hacks, flacks, and lobbyists, he simply averts his gaze as it rots away, entertaining graft at every level, because that's the American (or at least the Republican) way. Sure, in some sense Trump is ultimately responsible for the bad things done in his name, but it's not like he's capable of understanding or caring about the people affected. The problem with focusing so much on Trump is that any other Republican president would be overseeing pretty much the same administration, because the contempt and corruption pervades the party and is celebrated by its propaganda network. Some people may desire having a front man who is better at faking competence and concern, but Trump at least is true to his own lies.

• Michael Arria: Here are 10 books on Palestine to read while social distancing:

  • Rashid Khalidi: The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 (2020, Metropolitan)
  • James J Zogby: Palestinians: The Invisible Victims (2018, Mondoweiss/AAI)
  • Ali Abunimah: The Battle for Justice in Palestine (2014, Haymarket,)
  • Noura Erakat: Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine (2019, Stanford University Press)
  • Edward W Said: The Question of Palestine (1992, Vintage)
  • Marilyn Garson: Reading Maimonides in Gaza (2018, Mondoweiss)
  • Josh Ruebner: Shattered Hopes: Obama's Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace (2013, Verso)
  • Steven Salaita: Uncivil Rites: Palestine and the Limits of Academic Freedom (2015, Haymarket)
  • Howard Friel/Richard Falk: Israel-Palestine on Record: How the New York Times Misreports Conflict in the Middle East (2007, Verso)
  • Omar Barghouti: Boycott, Divestment, Sanction: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights (2011, Haymarket)

  Arria added a second list: Here are 10 more books to read on Israel/Palestine while social distancing:

  • Ilan Pappe: Ten Myths About Israel (2017, Verso)
  • Mohammed Omer: Shell Shocked: On the Ground Under Israel's Gaza Assault (2015, OR)
  • Noam Chomsky: Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians (updated edition, 2015, Haymarket)
  • Sean Jacobs/Jon Soske, eds: Apartheid Israel: The Politics of an Analogy (2015, Haymarket)
  • Gideon Levy: The Punishment of Gaza (Verso, 2010)
  • Ben Ehrenreich: The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine (2017, Penguin)
  • Audrea Lim, ed: The Case for Sanctions Against Israel (2012, Verso)
  • Susan Abulhawa: Mornings in Jenin (2010, Bloomsbury USA)
  • Edward W Said: Out of Place: A Memoir (2000, Vintage)
  • Max Blumenthal: Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel (2014, Bold Type Books)

  I haven't read much on Israel recently, at least in book form -- looks like the most recent book in my Recent Reading is Gregg Carlstrom: How Long Will Israel Survive? (Oxford University Press, 2017), at -45, although I've read several dozen over the last 20 years (I identified 68 from my list, excluding a probably larger number of books on the Middle East, Islam, and US wars and business there). Of the twenty above, I've read 4 (Josh Ruebner: Shattered Hopes; Ilan Pappe: Ten Myths About Israel; Max Blumenthal: Goliath; and a previous edition of Noam Chomsky: Fateful Triangle. I've read other books by Rashid Khalidi, James J Zogby, Edward W Said; also Pappe, Chomsky, Blumenthal. I should point out that the main reason my readings diverge from lists like this is that I've focused much more on Zionism and the Israelis, on America's deeply troubling relationship with Israel, and on what (if anything) can be done to end the conflict. Scanning through my list, here are twelve books I recommend:

  • Ariella Azoulay/Adi Ophir: The One-State Condition: Occupation and Democracy in Israel/Palestine (2012, Stanford University Press)
  • Max Blumenthal: Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel (2013, Nation Books)
  • Richard Ben Cramer: How Israel Lost: The Four Questions (2004, Simon & Schuster)
  • Robert Fisk: Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon (1990 [2002], Nation Books)
  • John B Judis: Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and the Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict (2014, Farrar Straus and Giroux)
  • Ilan Pappe: The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (2006, One World)
  • Trita Parsi: Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States (2007, Yale University Press)
  • Avi Raz: The Bride and the Dowry: |Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians in the Aftermath of the June 1967 War (2013, Yale University Press)
  • Shira Robinson: Citizen Strangers: Palestinians and the Birth of Israel's Liberal Settler State (2013, Stanford University Press)
  • Tom Segev: One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate (2001, Picador)
  • Sandy Tolan: The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East (2007, Bloomsbury)
  • Idith Zertal/Akiva Eldar: Lords of the Land: The War for Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007 (2007, Nation Books)

  I tried just listing ten books, then thought I had to add Pity the Nation (which, being on Lebanon, I had excluded from my 68). One can make a good case that Zionism was rotten from the start, but for me the eye-opener was the 1982 invasion and long-term occupation of Lebanon, which is much (but not all) of what Fisk covers. Another book that is not specifically on Israel/Palestine but provides essential background is David Fromkin's A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East (1989). I read Maxime Rodinson's Israel and the Arabs (1970) and Anouar Abdel-Malek's Egypt: A Military Society (1968) when they were fairly new, but didn't get serious about Israel until around 2000, when I started with general histories: Benny Morris: Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict (2001), Avi Shlaim: The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (2000), and the Tom Segev book above. The above list, and much more, followed. I omitted a few books that especially influenced me on the suspicion that they're dated, such as: Norman Finkelstein: Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict (1995); Tanya Reinhart: Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948 (2002); Baruch Kimmerling: Politicide (2003).

  Also on Israel:

  • Jonathan Cook: If coronavirus overwhelms Gaza, Israel alone is to blame.

  • Philip Weiss: Israel lobby 'killed' rational US policy, and turned Israel to the right -- Lustick.

• Matt Bai: Here's what we all have in common with Trump: As near as I can tell, a tendency to blame someone else. But isn't Trump the President? Doesn't "the buck stop here"?

  Trump's been searching, mightily, for a suitable nemesis. For weeks now, our entertainer-president has been auditioning various characters for the role of pandemic super-villain, veering from one to the other and back again. He's tried China. He's tried the governors. He's tried, of course, the media.

  Want to know what desperation looks like? Trump has even tried inciting a popular rebellion against the World Health Organization (WHO) . . .

  Trump is a guy who needs to blame somebody for everything, in good times or in bad. "I don't take responsibility at all," Trump famously told reporters in one of his first pandemic briefings. Those words should one day be chiseled into the gaudy marble lobby of the Trump Presidential Library. It's the family crest.

• Ramon Blecua: The rise of digital feudalism in a multipolar, unstable world.

• Katelyn Burns:

  • Trump wants his name on millions of stimulus checks, even if it delays them. [PS: Looks like Steve Mnuchin is taking the fall for this, as if Trump has no influence over what his sycophants do: 'A terrific symbol': Mnuchin claims it was actually his idea to put Trump's name on stimulus checks.]

  • Most Americans won't immediately venture out when social distancing ends: "A new poll shows why Trump is not in charge of when people -- and the economy -- will go back to normal."

• Jane Coaston: Why coronavirus conspiracy theories have spread to quickly.

• Patricia Cohen: Straggling in a good economy, and now struggling in a crisis. Includes quotes from Joseph Stiglitz, like "We built an economy with no shock absorbers. We made a system that looked like it was maximizing profits but had higher risks and lower resiliency."

• Sean Collins: Fauci acknowledged a delay in the US coronavirus response. Trump then retweeted a call to fire him.

• Ryan Cooper: Into the maw: "How Obama-era economics failed us." Review of Reed Hundt's A Crisis Wasted: Barack Obama's Defining Decisions, by a minor member of Obama's transition team, and Firefighting: The Financial Crisis and Its Lessons, by the troika that sought to save the banks (while throwing out the economy) in 2008-09, initially under GW Bush (Ben S Bernanke, Timothy F Geithner, Henry M Paulson Jr).

• Daily Kos: Florida's economy is collapsing under COVID-19, and only Republicans are to blame: Explains how Rick Scott, when he was governor, gutted the state unemployment system to make it the least generous in the nation, a legacy which continues to make unemployment insurance near worthless, even when it's never been more essential.

• Coral Davenport: 'Unbelievable' timing: As coronavirus rages, Trump disregards advice to tighten clean air rules.

• Igor Derysh: Trump donors get $569 million contract to build 17 miles of border wall.

• Belén Fernández: The plague of Jared Kushner. "The problem is, he doesn't know anything about COVID-19, just like he doesn't know anything about immigration reform or Middle East peace."

• Emran Feroz/Mohammad Zaman: The coronavirus pandemic hasn't stopped the war in Afghanistan.

• Lisa Friedman/Coral Davenport: EPA weakens controls on mercury.

• Amy Goldstein: First, the coronavirus pandemic took their jobs. Then, it wiped out their health insurance. If only one could come up with a system that didn't tie health care to people's employment!

• Carolyn Gramling: The largest Arctic ozone hole ever measured is hovering over the North Pole.

• Murtaza Hussain: Coronavirus is exposing how foreign crusades bled America's domestic resources dry.

• Sean Illing:

  • How the coronavirus might upend the November election: Interview with gerrymandering expert David Daley, author of Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America's Democracy (2016), and a new book, Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy.

  • Why the national stockpile wasn't prepared for this pandemic. Interview with Andre Lakoff, author of Unprepared: Global Health in a Time of Emergency (2017).

• Umair Irfan: No country has beaten the coronavirus yet. Asking people "how are you doing compared to your parents?" Some better, many not so well.

• Peter Kafka: Trump's denial of his coronavirus failings will be "one of the biggest propaganda battles in American history."

• Lora Kelley: 'I am the portrait of downward mobility': "Today's 40-year-olds on the lives they've led, and now this."

• Sarah Kendzior: The plague of Donald Trump.

• Ed Kilgore:

  • Virginia shows that centrist Democrats can move a state left.

  • Kelly Loeffler's money is her biggest problem and her only hope.

• Catherine Kim: If the US Postal Service fails, rural America will suffer the most.

• Ezra Klein: Why Bernie Sanders lost and how progressives can still win: "7 takeaways from a conversation with progressive data expert Stan McElwee." A fair muddle of ideas, some sensible, some less convincing -- I'm not opposed to "the trifecta of progressive policy issues that resonate most with these voters (and voters in general)" -- aggressive pharmaceutical reform; a job-creating clean; ambitious paid family leave -- but that sounds like small potatoes to me. My own theory why Sanders lost is that he should have moved to the center, putting more emphasis on his personal integrity and commitment, but instead, with most other Democrats moving left, he felt the need to stake out ground even further left. He was mostly successful in claiming the left, as was clear when he pulled decisively ahead of Warren, but that made it hard to pivot center (in part because Warren hung in until it was too late). Second, he didn't bother to expose how weak his opponents were (especially Biden, who epitomized forty years of Democrats selling their base out for political expediency). Perhaps Sanders expected them to stalemate and/or collapse while he gradually built his lead and claimed the nomination (not unlike Trump's path in 2016), or maybe he just eschewed that "killer instinct." Either way, Mike Bloomberg's $500 million ad blitz wrecked any chance Buttigieg and Klobuchar might have had, as well as his own candidacy (and that of fellow billionaire Tom Steyer), leaving Biden (who had failed in Iowa and New Hampshire) as the default choice for everyone who still doubted Sanders/Warren. Then coronavirus hit, further campaigns and elections became unviable, and Biden locked up the nomination without getting tested head-to-head.

  One McElwee point I'd like to quote:

  Running on a maximalist policy agenda creates a massive expectation gap between what you can achieve and what you say you can achieve. When you promise something and deliver, you build power. When you promise something and bring home half or a quarter, you deflate hope and create cynicism.

  My greatest fear about a Sanders presidency is that he'd find that what he really could deliver, given that we would still be stuck in a profoundly corrupt and crippled political system, would turn out to be very small compared to what he clearly saw the need for. Still, I didn't consider that a fatal flaw, because I expected him to continue to fight for things he believed in, and to make clear that shortfalls are not for lack of effort in his part. As long as people respect his effort and integrity -- and with Sanders' track record, you clearly should -- I think he'll come out stronger. Especially compared to a "moderate" who aims for half-assed compromises and can't even deliver them. Some more "post-Bernie" links:

  • Chauncey DeVega: Political savant Rachel Bitecofer: Democrats face "major disadvantage" going with Biden: This interview is old (March 12) and dated, and I don't really buy her argument that Biden cannot appeal to Obama/Trump voters (sure, he doesn't have Sanders' populist pitch, but he's a lot more "like them" than Hillary was, or Trump is, and I think that's been proven by the margins he's racked up in states where Sanders handily beat Clinton in 2016). Still, worth scanning for other insights, most not very complimentary to the voters she studies. E.g.:

    Donald Trump is basically doing what Democrats are incapable of. Donald Trump understands that the American voter is disengaged, disinterested, thinks about images and stories and not about policy in a serious way, and is highly subject to emotion. Donald Trump and his team feed that dynamic.

  • Harold Meyerson: Bernie-izing Biden: "Now that Sanders has endorsed Biden, here's a realistic plan for moving America to the left."

  • Bernie Sanders: The foundations of American society are failing us: "The unequal impact of the pandemic and economic collapse are forcing us to rethink the assumptions of our system."

  • David Sirota: The tyranny of decorum hurt Bernie Sanders's 2020 prospects.

  • An open letter from to the new new left from the old new left: By former leaders (1960-69) of Students for a Democratic Society, concluding "we who now write this open letter all know that we must work hard to elect [Joe Biden]. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment." At least one "new new leftist" pushed back: Daniel Finn: An open letter from SDS veterans haranguing young socialists to back Biden was a bad idea. One thing I didn't like about the SDS letter was their willingness to relitigate voting for Humphrey against Nixon in 1968. In retrospect, Nixon looks pretty awful, but at the time HHH was an integral cog in LBJ's war machine, and had given us no reason to think he might change course. On other issues, there was still a lot of overlap between the parties, even if you recognized that they were not equally bad. I was too young to vote in 1968, and I don't recall having a preference. In 1972, when we finally did have a clear choice, it was the hawkish/conservative/mainstream Democrats who made sure McGovern lost to Nixon (even post-Watergate). Parties have become much more polarized since then, so much so that it makes sense for me to vote for someone like Joe Manchin over someone like Susan Collins in party labels alone. So I have no qualms about voting for Biden over any Republican (not just Trump), and would advise any "new new leftist" to do the same. On the other hand, I'm too old to worry much about climate change much less building a truly equitable socialist polity and economy, so maybe I'm not the best person to be lecturing young people on the world they hope to reform.

• Paul Krugman:

  • Starve the beast, feed the depression: "Anti-government ideology is crippling pandemic policy."

  • Economists aren't the ones pushing to reopen the economy.

  • Republicans don't want to save jobs: "Billions for oil, nothing for nurses and teachers."

• Anita Kumar: Trump's unspoken factor on reopening the economy: Politics: May be "unspoken," but he's not very subtle about it. Not sure he even does want to reopen, but if he gets the Democrats to stop him, he can blame them later, and if slowing him down saves lives, he'll never concede that. Lots of people see lots of things through the lens of their politics, but few more obsessively than Trump.

• German Lopez:

  • The 4 plans to end social distancing, explained: "The plans all say the US needs more testing. But they differ on how much more."

  • Virginia just decriminalized marijuana.

• Branko Marcetic: I literally wrote The Case Against Joe Biden. But I've got some free advice for him.

• Megan McArdle: Rural areas think they're the coronavirus exception. They're not.

• Kathryn McKinley: How the rich reacted to the bubonic plague has eerie similarities to today's pandemic: Especially the ones who think of themselves as the modern incarnations of feudal lords?

• Theodoric Meyer/Elena Schneider: K Street is booming. But there's a creeping sense of dread. As Congress is anxious to spend money to float the economy (for R's to re-elect the president, for D's to help those most in need), lobbyists are trying hard to steer that money toward their clients.

• Ian Millhiser:

  • Trump's threat to adjourn Congress and make recess appointments, explained: "Trump wants to do something that literally no president has done before."

  • Kentucky just made it harder to vote during a pandemic.

  • The 10th Amendment, explained for Trump: "No, the president doesn't have 'total authority' to order states to reopen."

• Tina Nguyen: MAGA world finds its coronavirus scapegoats.

• Osita Nwanevu: Don't fear the anti-Biden socialist: "A wave of concern over the DSA's refusal to endorse the Democratic nominee reveals a substantial ignorance about who does and does not vote -- and why."

• Andrew O'Hehir: What we've lost in the plague -- and what we've gained: A chance to remake America.

• Nick Paumgarten: The price of the coronavirus pandemic: "When COVID-19 recedes, it will leave behind a severe economic crisis. But, as always, some people will profit."

• David Remnick: The preëxisting condition in the oval office: "From the start, the Trump Administration has waged war on science and expertise, making a great nation peculiarly vulnerable to the foreseeable public-health calamity of the coronavirus."

• David Roberts: As Trump and McConnell mock clean energy, the industry could soon lose a half-million jobs.

• David Roth: Trump finds his own dumb endless war.

• Aaron Rupar:

  • Trump's dangerous "LIBERIATE" tweets represents the view of a small minority. Some more links on anti-shutdown protests:

    • Riley Beggin: Protests against stay-at-home orders are spreading despite most Americans' fear of reopening.

    • Philip Bump: A caravan of angry Michiganders exposes the complicated politics of the coronavirus shutdown.

    • Jane Coaston: What the anti-stay-at-home protests are really about: "They're part of a Trumpian strategy from some conservative groups to reshape public opinion."

    • Quint Forgey: Trump breaks with his own guidelines to back conservative anti-quarantine protesters.

    • Marissa Higgins: Trump adviser calls anti-lockdown protesters 'modern-day Rosa Parks' as nation faces pandemic.

    • Amanda Marcotte: Michigan manbaby protest: Wait, we thought conservatives were "rugged individuals": "Right-wingers are a bunch of spoiled brats who start whining over the slightest inconvenience."

      On Wednesday, a crowd of right-wing nuts -- complete with their oversized but underworked utility vehicles, Confederate flags, guns and other such overcompensation accoutrements -- descended on the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, to whine about the temporary pause to dinners at Applebee's and accidental brushfires at gender-reveal parties. The deep fear of emasculation driving the protest was not particularly subtle at this protest, as the crowd chanted "Lock her up" at Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat who is accused of no other crime other than making deeply insecure men fuss about a woman in power.

    • Josh Marshall: Seeing the "open the economy" protests in their proper light.

    • Mary McCord: Trump's 'LIBERATE MICHIGAN!' tweets incite insurrection. That's illegal.

    • Osita Nwanevu: Donald Trump's coronavirus death cult takes to the streets.

    • Toluse Olorunnipa/Shawn Boburg/Arelis R Hernandez: Rallies against stay-at-home orders grow as Trump sides with protesters.

    • Alexandra Petri: Give me liberty and give me death!

    • Isaac Stanley-Becker/Toluse Olorunnipa/Seung Min Kim: Trump foments resistance to Democratic-imposed shutdowns, but some Republican governors are also wary of moving too fast.

  • Trump wants to talk about anything but his coronavirus response. His attacks on the WHO show it. More on Trump vs. WHO:

    • Quint Forgey/Nahal Toosi: Trump's WHO cutoff sends officials, allies scrambling.

    • Jen Kirby: How to fix the WHO, according to an expert: Interview with Kelly Lee.

    • Lois Parshley: The WHO isn't to blame for Trump's disastrous coronavirus response.

    • Elizabeth Shackelford: How Donald Trump is dismantling hope. Could be a very general article, but this one's specifically about defunding WHO, in the context of repeated US efforts to criple international institutions.

  • Trump just declared victory over the coronavirus. Here's why that's premature.

  • Florida Gov. DeSantis declared WWE an "essential service." His explanation doesn't make much sense. Rather than torture the concept of "essential" by trying to apply it to WWE, maybe there should be a second axis where activities are evaluated as dangerous/harmless regardless of how frivolous they are. The two axes are pretty independent: there are some things that are so essential that we're willing to accept (while trying to mitigate) danger, like hospital care; on the other hand, why try to prohibit things that can be done safely, just because they seem silly? Personally, I never noticed that WWE went away, and have no interest in it ever coming back, but as long as I never have to watch it, there's no reason I should keep other people from enjoying it (if, indeed, that's what they do). On the other hand, I can think of other "inessential" services that I'd like to see re-open, assuming they can be done safely. Dog grooming, for one.

  • Trump's video of coronavirus actions accidentally reveals how he mishandled things in February: "The propaganda package basically skips from January to March. That's not an accident."

  • Trump's latest coronavirus press briefing featured one of his most memorable meltdowns yet.

  • Trump sent Arizona a fraction of the ventilators it sought. Republicans still framed it as a big win. I got an email from my Republican Congressman taking credit for the "stimulus" checks the government will send out once Trump gets them branded to his satisfaction. Democrats are probably trying to claim credit too, but the hypocrisy is all the more glaring when Republicans hog the credit.

• Jennifer Senior:

  • Trump's brain: A guided tour: "Why did it take so long to do the right thing?" And why can't he remember what it was? Or why he finally did it? Maybe because he always thinks the wrong thing is right? So why isn't the right thing wrong? It's all so mind-boggling.

  • This is what happens when a narcissist runs a crisis.

• Khushbu Shah: The pandemic has exposed America's clean water crisis.

• Roger Sollenberger:

  • Former Trump "fixer" Michael Cohen granted early release from prison amid coronavirus pandemic: "Michael Avenatti will also be released for 90 days, but underprivileged populations at Rikers Island must remain."

  • 90% of US COVID-19 deaths may have been prevented if social distancing began sooner: epidemiologists.

• Michael Specter: How Anthony Fauci became America's doctor.

• Emily Stewart: Joe Biden racks up another big endorsement: Elizabeth Warren: One day after Obama, several after Sanders, making her one of the last prominent Democrats to come around and kiss the ring.

• Matt Stieb: McKinsey to work on Trump's coronavirus plan and New York's 'Trump-proof' plan: "The NY and NJ governors hired McKinsey to 'Trump-proof' their coronavirus plan, which may prove difficult as the firm is also working for Trump."

• Jon Stone: Anti-Corbyn Labour officials worked to lose general election to oust leader, leaked dossier finds. Curiously, this seems to be about the 2017 election, where Labour did better than expected, rather than the 2018 election which ultimately forced Corbyn to resign.

• Nahal Toosi: Trump hobbles foreign aid as coronavirus rips around the world.

• Nick Turse: FEMA's coronavirus rumor control webpage sidesteps Trump's lies.

• David Wallace-Wells: We are probably only one-tenth of the way through this pandemic.

• Alex Ward:

  • Why France has 4 times as many coronavirus deaths as Germany: "Germany followed the playbook for saving lives. France didn't." Germany did a lot more testing and contact tracking, and were also much quicker to move patients to hospitals instead of waiting for symptoms to become severe.

  • 12 experts on how the US should hold China accountable for the coronavirus: Why is this even a discussion? And what makes Americans think they have the right to pass judgment on China? Not everyone here is stupid. For instance, Jacob Stokes says, "The US response should focus on establishing the facts surrounding the virus's origins and China's early missteps in a credible, impartial, and scientific manner." But he also says, "I generally favor taking a tougher line toward China on a range of policy issues, from its assertive military behavior to its human rights crackdown and abusive trade practices." That helps explain why he's directing his "credible, impartial, and scientific" study at China, and not proposing a broader framework, which would look at early missteps in the United States, Italy, Iran, Spain, and everywhere. After all, the objections he has to China are points that can objectively be directed against the US. Most of the other "experts" fall into line with US hostility toward China, taking the pandemic as an excuse to flout long-standing prejudices against Chinese government and industry. It is sad that American regard for international institutions like the UN is so low (even among Democrats) that hardly any "expert" takes seriously the possibility of addressing worldwide problems collectively.

  • How President Emmanuel Macron bungled France's coronavirus response.

• Laura Weiss: The Democrats' terrible health care solution for the newly unemployed. Democrats are pushing for an expansion of COBRA, which saddles the newly unemployed with a high-priced continuation of their previous employer's (generally lousy) plan.

• Alissa Wilkinson:

  • What Trump's bizarre love of Mutiny on the Bounty actually reveals about him: "The president is the archetypal 'bad fan.'"

  • Pandemics are not wars: "There are better metaphors to describe what's happening right now."

• Griff Witte: South Dakota's governor resisted ordering people to stay home. Now it has one of the nation's largest coronavirus hot spots.

• Matthew Yglesias:

  • The "experts" don't know everything. They can't. Given that Republicans in general (and Trump most of all) have a long record of disparaging and discrediting science, it's almost a given that Democrats would respond to a pandemic crisis by declaring their unbounded faith in science. However, scientists are only beginning to figure out this particular virus, and have lots of unanswered questions, as this piece points out. One point I'd like to add is that the fact that Trump is willing to share the mic with Anthony Fauci suggests that even he (or at least his staff) hasn't totally given up on science -- it's just taken an exceptionally immediate threat to personal safety to force that concession. (Of course, as the anti-lockdown demonstrations have proven, the right still has its share of anti-science cranks, who continue to insist that their deep-seated political beliefs are the only things that matter. Trump's tweets show that he's with them in spirit, even as he is forced to appear somewhat more rational in his daily briefings.)

  • New unemployment filings are so high only the Great Depression compares. There were 5.2 million new unemployment filings for the week, down from 6.6 million last week and 6.9 million for the previous week. As nobody is finding new work, the effect is cumulative: the total since the depression started is 22 million. I haven't seen anyone recast these figures as a percent of employed. One employment figure I've seen is 158 million (not clear exactly when in 2020). Take 22 million from that and it looks like unemployment has risen 14.9% over 4 weeks. Add the previous unemployment rate of 4.3% and you get 19.2%. Yglesias says "experts believe somewhere in the range of 12-15 percent" unemployment, but also thinks everyone is undercounting. My weekly calculations of filings against dwindling employment work out to be: 2.2%, 4.4%, 4.4%, 3.6%.

  • The PPE shortage is America in a crisis -- here's a realistic plan to solve it.

  • March's record-breaking collapse in retail sales, explained. "Retail sales fell 8.7 percent in March, the largest-ever decline on record."

  • Three theories for why the stock market soared along with unemployment news.

  • Eleven concrete steps the government can take to avert economic disaster.

• Li Zhou/Ella Nilsen: Liberal challenger Jill Karofsky wins a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court: "She won despite the voter suppression marring Wisconsin's recent election."

Music Week

Expanded blog post, April archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 33094 [33056] rated (+38, 216 [216] unrated (-0).

Bernie Sanders endorsed Joe Biden today. I don't think he needed to do so this early, but he seems to be building a personal relationship which will make him more influential as the campaign progresses, and hopefully after Biden wins. Those of us who don't know Biden personally still have some distance to go to embrace the idea. But one thing that's long been clear to me is that even the worst Democrats are open to discussion of progressive ideas, while Republicans are not, locked into their right-wing echo chamber. I'd also add that Biden, unlike ideological centrists like Schumer and the Clintons, is a guy who is happy to roll with the waves. He's never been a principled defender of working people, of civil rights, of peace and justice, and that's left him with a very shoddy record to run on. But he's not a steady opponent either, and when reality shifts he tries to stick with it. That may not be what we want, but it could be what we need.

Worth reading here (and I'm sure there'll be more by the weekend):

• Ezra Klein: How Joe Biden won over Bernie Sanders -- and the Democratic Party. I do wonder why he described Sanders' endorsement as "fulsome" -- a word which has multiple and even contradictory meanings, striking me as inappropriate here.

I filled out my DownBeat Critics Poll ballot last week, the evening before the deadline. I started quite late, and quickly grew exhausted, so I wound up racing through the 20-odd pages of the ballot. Normally I take notes as I go along (this year's are here), but I wound up referring to them more than revising them. To rush things along, I wound up simply repeating last year's picks in most categories. I haven't even sorted out the jazz albums lists, and didn't bother even copying the blues and "beyond" album lists -- safe to say I've heard virtually none of the blues albums (I wound up writing in Al Gold's Paradise, the only A-list blues album I've heard all year long). Maybe I'll return to the file and clean it up a bit later -- or just try to forget this year. I've noticed that my votes rarely register in the published totals anyway, and I've never been very keen on ranking musicians, so maybe it's best not to put much effort in.

More old records this week than new ones. Not my intent, but Storyville Records keeps adding to their Bandcamp page (207 records at the moment), and I found a Buddy Tate record that tempted me. That led me into a deeper dive into Tate and his fellow Texas Tenor Arnett Cobb. Nothing I found this week quite matches their Very Saxy (with Coleman Hawkins and Lockjaw Davis), Cobb's Part Time, or Tate's two Buck & Buddy albums (with Buck Clayton), but Cobb's lesser Prestiges are pretty consistent, and Tate is often terrific (even when his bands aren't). I didn't exhaust their later European live dates, but did look out for records on France's Black & Blue label -- most were reissued c. 2000 in their Definitive series, and I've found a lot of great records there.

Some of the records below were recommended in Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide: April, 2020 (subscribers only). He also reviewed a non-album, attributed as Adam Schlesinger: The End of the Movie (Carl Wilson Spotify playlist), collecting scattered works by the late Fountains of Wayne singer-songwriter. If you're interested, you can find it in the Carl Wilson article linked below. [PS: OK, tried it, doesn't work. The playlist widget in the Consumer Guide file only gives you short fragments of each song, so it's worse than useless. Maybe if you subscribe to Spotify, you'll have better luck] I don't see any point in reviewing non-product. I saw FOW once and was bored out of my skull, although I eventually heard a couple of albums that I rather liked (in the comfort of my home): Welcome Interstate Managers (2003), and Out-of-State Plates (2005).

Of more concern, to me at least, is Christgau's dive into John Coltrane's recorded work. This is what he came up with (including a related extra; I'm adding recording dates and, in brackets, my own grades, and footnote numbers):

• John Coltrane: The Best of John Coltrane (1956-58, Prestige) A- [B+] (1)
• John Coltrane: Ken Burns Jazz (1956-67, Verve) *** [A-] (2)
• John Coltrane: The Africa Brass Sessions, Vol. 2 (1961, Impulse!) A [A] (3)
• John Coltrane: "Live" at the Village Vanguard (1961, Hallmark) A [A-] (4)
• John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (1964, Impulse!) A- [A+] (5)
• Pharoah Sanders: The Impulse Story (1966-73, Impulse!) *** [A-] (6)

Footnotes, before going further:

1. Review doesn't specify release date (mine is 2004), but notes that "it does seem to be the first disc of Prestige Profiles: John Coltrane" (2005), which I also have at B+. On the other hand, I gave an A- to the 6-CD Fearless Leader box, which covers the same 1956-58 span. I don't usually upgrade boxes, but I probably got lost in sheer breadth and depth, but I seriously doubt that he did much on Prestige that rivals his early Impulse! period. Also, I don't particularly care for jazz best-ofs. Replaying this one tonight, I haven't heard anything that blows me away, or that I don't like. I'll also note that I was warned off the 16-CD The Prestige Recordings, which expands to include all of Coltrane's sideman dates. Some, of course, are important (like "Tenor Madness" with Sonny Rollins and the quickies Miles Davis cut to break his contract), but you also get a lot of him playing second fiddle to Red Garland, Kenny Burrell, and lesser lights (not that I don't like Paul Quinichette).

2. My grade based on the 1995 2-CD release of The Complete Africa/Brass Sessions, graded A -- although note that I had previously graded Africa Brass Volumes 1 & 2 (a 1988 single-CD release which had the two albums in original order) at A-. [PS: I managed to build a playlist matching the album, and gave it a spin; could be A or A-. By the way, even though the first Africa/Brass album was credited to the Quartet, all tracks have 15-18 musicians, mostly extra brass but Eric Dolphy is hard to miss.]

3. Coltrane barely got mentioned in Burns' Jazz documentary, but the product tie-ins were more sensibly distributed. I'm not a big "Giant Steps" fan, so I wouldn't single out that omission (among dozens of others -- especially since the Giant Steps album yields two other equally famous songs), but damn near everything that did make the cut is not just good but iconic, and the Miles Davis Quintet opener and the Rashied Ali duo closer stretch the timeline as far as one can imagine. 13:40 of "My Favorite Things" makes the point (that all future tenor saxophonists will also have to learn to play soprano), and A Love Supreme is represented with a 7:46 taste.

4. The Hallmark release is a straight reissue of the 1962 Impulse! album (3 tracks, 35:50), which has been reissued many times (Discogs lists 90 editions, 80 on Impulse!, 1 on Verve [which owns Impulse!]; the rest are European reissue labels which picked the record up after the EU's 50-year copyright limit lapsed). Hallmark's appeared in 2014, but since it's identical to Impulse!'s original, why cite it? My A- grade came from a quick Rhapsody stream. I previously graded the expanded Live at the Village Vanguard: The Master Takes (1998) and the 4-CD The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (1997) at A, and no doubt would have done the same with the original had I not seen it as inferior value.

5. I also gave an A to A Love Supreme [Deluxe Edition] (2002), which adds a second CD with a longer live version from Paris. By the way, I never gave much thought to this record as being spiritual. It just struck me as the most perfectly plotted single piece of jazz ever recorded.

6. After his debut in ESP-Disk, Sanders recorded a dozen albums for Impulse, my favorites Tauhid (1966) and Village of the Pharoahs (1973), but he was less consistent than Coltrane, so I considered the survey more useful. Of course, there is also a Coltrane The Impulse Story, another solid A-.

Christgau mentions favorably Giant Steps and My Favorite Things -- two 1959-61 Atlantic albums which were eventually boxed as The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (1995, 7-CD once you pack all the extra takes in). Coltrane was a good saxophonist at Prestige (1956-58), during which time he played in important groups with Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, but he didn't become special until he figured out how to exploit modes and turn them into expansive sheets of sound. The classic formulation of that was on Davis's Kind of Blue (1959), one of the most beloved of all jazz records. Coltrane's Atlantics expanded on that discovery -- my favorite album there is the last, Olé. He put his Quartet together when he moved on to Impulse! (which later issued a box called The House That Trane Built: The Best of Impulse Records), and from 1961-64 it's hard to think of anything he did wrong (well, aside from the Johnny Hartman album, though even it has fans) -- Crescent is a good example, like one of the second tier Himalayan peaks, overshadowed by Everest and K2 but still massive and 25,000 feet high.

From 1965-67 he kind of freaked out, inventing (or maybe just radicalizing) the squawkiest strain of the avant-garde. I hated Ascension (1965) for the longest time before I kind of got into it, and still have Sun Ship graded C+, but his Rashied Ali duo on Interstellar Space (1967) is marvelous. Since his death, Coltrane has become the most influential tenor saxophonist since Hawkins and Young, or saxophonist period since Parker. By the 1990s, it seemed like everyone was trying to play like him (at bit less so now). Pharoah Sanders had the most direct claim -- in his trinity, he was the son, Coltrane the father, and Albert Ayler the holy ghost -- and it's tempting to say that the very best posthumous Coltrane records are Welcome to Love (1990) and Crescent With Love (1992). More recently, Nat Birchall has the sound down cold.

You can find my Coltrane grade list here. I've written much of this before, now collected in Recorded Jazz in the 20th Century, which you'd have to download all of to pick out the Coltrane pages.

Looking forward, I have some downloads that look promising, especially from Astral Spirits, but I haven't listened to them yet because they're a pain in the ass. Also got some vinyl I've been too lazy to check out, again a bunch of extra work (assuming the gear still works).

People have been dying recently, including musicians. Without looking hard, here are a few of the obituaries and tributes I've noticed:

• Manu Dibango: Jon Pareles: Manu Dibango, soulful ambassador of African music, dies at 86.

• Andy González: Neil Genzlinger: Andy González, prolific Latin jazz bassist, is dead at 69.

• Onaje Allan Gumbs: Onaje Allan Gumbs, ecumenical pianist, is dead at 70.

• Mike Longo: Steve Smith: Mike Longo, jazz pianist, composer and educator, dies at 83.

• Aurlus Mabele: Abdi Latif Dahir: Aurlus Mabele, Congolese king of soukous music, dies at 66.

• Ray Mantilla: Giovanni Russonello: Ray Mantilla, percussionist who transcended genres, dies at 85.

• Ellis Marsalis: Giovanni Russonello/Michael Levenson: Ellis Marsalis, jazz pianist and music family patriarch, dies at 85.

• John Prine:

  • Jonathan Bernstein: Todd Snider on John Prine: 'I couldn't believe I knew him'
  • Stephen L Betts/Patrick Doyle: John Prine, one of America's greatest songwriters, dead at 73.
  • Patrick Doyle: John Prine: The last days and beautiful life of an American original.
  • Jon Bream: Remembering John Prine: The songwriting great who invented East St. Paul.
  • William Grimes: John Prine, who chronicled the human condition in song, dies at 73.
  • Amanda Petrusich: John Prine's perfect songs.
  • By the way, let me also offer a link to my 2005 review of Prine's album Fair & Square: Back From Fishing.

• Bucky Pizzarelli: Peter Keepnews: Bucky Pizzarelli, master of the jazz guitar, is dead at 94.

• Wallace Roney: Giovanni Russonello: Wallace Roney, jazz trumpet virtuoso, is dead at 59.

• Adam Schlesinger:

  • Robbie Fulks: Here's how Adam Schlesinger did that thing he did.
  • Carl Wilson: Adam Schlesinger was a hit-maker for an alternate reality.

• Bill Withers:

  • Neil Genzlinger: Bill Withers, who sang 'Lean on Me' and 'Ain't No Sunshine,' dies at 81.
  • David Hajdu: The magic of Bill Withers.
  • Hua Hsu: Bill Withers was always there if you needed him.

Some of these pieces came from a longer list published by the New York Times. I noticed today that legendary Formula One driver Stirling Moss has died, age 90, evidently of something else. I was a big F1 fan as a teenager, and he was already long retired. I remember him as a very astute writer, covering the circuit for Road & Track (which I thought at the time was the best edited magazine in the world). Another prominent figure of my youth died, at 85: Al Kaline. I don't recall being conscious of baseball before 1957, but can still recite the 1957 all-star teams (that was the year Cincinnati stuffed the ballot boxes -- the NL ordered that several Reds be dropped in favor of players they beat, like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron; it was also a year when the AL picked a bunch of Tigers, including starting pitcher Jim Bunning; no one doubted that Kaline belonged in right-field, next to Mickey Mantle in center and Ted Williams in left -- nor did the NL have a problem with Frank Robinson joining Mays and Aaron).

New records reviewed this week:

• John Anderson: Years (2020, Easy Eye Sound): [r]: B+(**)
• Thomas Anderson: Analog Summer (Four-Tracks and Then Some) (2020, Out There): [r]: B+(**)
• Erlend Apneseth: Fragmentarium (2019 [2020], Hubro): [r]: B+(***)
• The Exbats: Kicks, Hits and Fits (2020, Burger): [r]: B+(***)
• Grrrl Gang: Here to Stay (2017-18 [2020], Damnably, EP): [r]: B+(**)
• Kirby Heard: Mama's Biscuits (2019, self-released): [r]: B+(**)
• Heroes Are Gang Leaders: Artificial Happiness Button (2020, Ropeadope): [cd]: A-
• Jasper Høiby: Planet B (2019 [2020], Edition): [r]: A-
• Large Unit/Fendika: EthioBraz (2018 [2019], PNL): [bc]: A-
• Ashley McBryde: Never Will (2020, Warner Nashville): [r]: B+(**)
• Grant Peeples: Bad Wife (2020, Rootball): [r]: B+(*)
• Matthew Shipp/Mark Helias/Gordon Grdina: Skin and Bones (2018 [2019], Not Two): [r]: B+(***)
• Lou Volpe: Before & After (2020, Jazz Guitar): [cd]: B+(**)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• Future/Zaytoven: Beast Mode (2015 [2020], Epic/Freebandz): [r]: B+(**)
• Lennie Tristano: The Duo Sessions (1968 [2020], Dot Time): [r]: B+(**)

Old music:

• Arnett Cobb and His Orchestra: 1946-1947 (1946-47 [1999], Classics): [r]: B+(***)
• Arnett Cobb: Smooth Sailing (1959, Prestige): [r]: A-
• Arnett Cobb: Movin' Right Along (1960, Prestige): [r]: A-
• Arnett Cobb With the Red Garland Trio: Blue and Sentimental (1960 [1993], Prestige): [r]: B+(***)
• Arnett Cobb: Deep Purple [The Defnitive Black & Blue Sessions] (1973 [1995], Black & Blue): [r]: B+(***)
• Arnett Cobb: Jumpin' at the Woodside [The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions] (1974 [2001], Black & Blue): [r]: A-
• Arnett Cobb: The Wild Man From Texas [The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions] (1976 [1997], Black & Blue): [r]: B+(***)
• Arnett Cobb/Jimmy Heath/Joe Henderson: Tenor Tribute Vol. 2 (1988 [1993], Soul Note): [r]: B+(***)
• Duke Ellington: At the Hollywood Empire (1949 [2004], Storyville): [bc]: B+(***)
• Dexter Gordon: Jazz at Highschool (1967 [2002], Storyville): [bc]: B+(***)
• Al Grey/Arnett Cobb: Ain't That Funk for You (1977 [2002], Black & Blue): [r]: B+(***)
• Sun Ra: Celestial Love (1982 [2015], Enterplanetary Koncepts): [r]: B+(*)
• Buddy Tate: Celebrity Club Orchestra (1954 [2016], Black & Blue): [r]: A-
• Buddy Tate/Claude Hopkins: Buddy and Claude (1960 [1999], Prestige): [r]: B+(**)
• Buddy Tate/Milton Buckner: When I'm Blue (1967 [1995], Black & Blue): [r]: B+(*)
• Buddy Tate: Buddy Tate & His Celebrity Club Orchestra [The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions] (1968 [2002], Black & Blue): [r]: A-
• Buddy Tate: Buddy Tate and His Buddies (1973, Chiaroscuro): [r]: B+(***)
• Buddy Tate: The Texas Twister (1975 [1987], New World): [r]: B+(***)
• Buddy Tate: The Texas Tenor (1975 [2004], Storyville, 2CD): [r]: B+(**)
• Buddy Tate: Body and Soul: Live in Dublin 1976 (1976 [2008], Nagel Heyer): [r]: B+(**)
• Buddy Tate/Abdullah Ibrahim: Buddy Tate Meets Abdullah Ibrahim: The Legendary 1977 Encounter (1977 [1996], Chiaroscuro): [r]: B+(**)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• #Bloomerangs: Moments and Fragments (Instru Dash Mental)
• Gordon Grdina Septet: Resist (Irabbagast)
• Heroes Are Gang Leaders: Artificial Happiness Button (Ropeadope)

Weekend Roundup

I have little to add to the comments below, and frankly am exhausted and want to put this week behind me. Seems like I could have found more on Bernie Sanders, the end of his campaign, and the consolidation behind Joe Biden. Still seems premature for that, not least as Biden continues to be such an underwhelming front-runner. I watched only a few minutes of Steven Colbert's interview with the Pod Saves America crew last week. They're usually sharp guys, but their "ecstasy" over Biden's win seemed awfully rehearsed and forced. They all previously worked in the Obama White House, and one couldn't help but think they're lining up for new jobs under Biden.

Looks like Joe Biden won the Alaska Democratic primary, 55.31% to 44.69% for Bernie Sanders. The primary was conducted by mail. No results yet in last week's messy Wisconsin primary. Biden was averaging about 53% in polls there. We've voted by mail in Kansas, where the primary is run by the party, not by the state. Ballots here are due May 4. We voted for Sanders. Ranked choice was an option here, but in a two-person race, I didn't see any point in offering a second choice (which could only have been Elizabeth Warren; with five names on the ballot, had I ranked them all Biden would have come in fifth).

I've seen some tweets touting Warren as a VP choice, and I wouldn't object. Indeed, I think she would be very effective in the role. I'm reminded of a business maxim I associate with David Ogilvy, who passed it on to his middle management: if we always hire people greater than ourselves, we will become a company of giants; if we hire people lesser than ourselves, we will be a company of midgets. Biden would probably prefer a safe, mediocre pick like Tim Kaine (or Joe Biden), but this is one chance to rewrite his story (assuming his handlers let him).

Some scattered links this week:

• Kate Aronoff: An airline bailout should have more strings attached than a harp: "The industry was a hot mess before the coronavirus. Cash plus more deregulation will only make it worse."

• Dean Baker (also see blog): Why do economists have such a hard time imagining open source biomedical research?

• Zack Beauchamp: Why Bernie Sanders failed: "The Sanders campaign and his supporters bet on a theory of class politics that turned out to be wrong." Did it? Until Super Tuesday, Sanders had made significant gains among white and Latin working class voters, even while losing most of his professional class support to Elizabeth Warren. As for blacks, South Carolina isn't a very representative measure. Sanders had won the first three hard-fought primaries, and continued to gain support through Super Tuesday. What hurt him there (and in South Carolina three days earlier) was the blind-sided convergence of all "moderate" voters behind Biden, on top of $500 million of saturation advertising by Michael Bloomberg (who entered the campaign expressly to stop Sanders). Then it became impossible to campaign as the coronavirus pandemic shut much of everything down (including voting). I suppose it is true that focus on class has been temporarily suspended with the entire economy in free fall, but when we assay the damage, I expect class schisms to bounce back sharper than ever. Not soon enough for Sanders to ride a wave to the White House, but that doesn't mean his strategy failed -- more like it was more necessary, and more promising, than most people realized. Other postmortems and testaments on the Sanders campaign:

  • Jedediah Britton-Purdy: Bernie Sanders's campaign was trying to save American democracy.

    It was astonishing to hear the Sanders campaign described, as it routinely was in the mainstream press, as angry, bellicose, even a Trumpism for the Left. To be anywhere near the campaign -- to know any of the people going door to door and making regular small donations -- was to understand that it was idealistic in spirit, hopeful in tone, generous in its sense of possibility. It modeled what you might call patriotism for adults, disillusioned patriotism without exceptionalist bullshit. . . .

    [W]hat stopped Sanders from taking control of the party was voters' doubt that American democracy could build a bridge to a better world. For decades, the Right has attacked and denuded the state, while liberals have fought for half-measures, accepting the premises and quarreling over specific applications and results. Pundits and party leaders identify political wisdom as world-weary acceptance that you don't hope for too much, that politics is all small increments and ideological compromise.

    It is hard to ask people to vault over everything they've been old stands between them and the life they would like to believe is possible. It is especially hard when Donald Trump's destructive presidency has made #Resistance, rather than transformation, the essentially defensive posture of the American center and center-left.

  • Elizabeth Bruenig: Bernie Sanders was right: "Goodbye to an honest man's campaign."

  • Holly Otterbein: 'No one went for a knockout blow': Inside Bernie's campaign nosedive: "Many of Sanders' aides and top allies are convinced they should have gone for Biden's jugular."

  • Nate Silver: Sanders -- and the media -- learned the wrong lessons from Trump in 2016.

  • JC Pan: The profound simplicity of Bernie Sanders's vision:

    At best, that contention -- that Sanders's vision of a less apocalyptic future for everyone required to work for a living was so far-fetched that Democrats shouldn't pursue it -- was a profound failure of imagination and a cowardly preemptive compromise in a political landscape already defined by so much senseless inequality and despair. At worst, it was the logical rejoinder of the same wing of the Democratic Party that engineered ugly schemes like welfare reform and rushed to deregulate Wall Street in the 1990s. Though neither of Sanders's bids for the presidency succeeded, they exposed in their course the smallness and callousness of that Democratic elite, and broke their chokehold on the party, even if only for fleeting moments.

  • Derecka Purnell: Bernie Sanders' political outsider savviness was his strength -- and weakness.

  • Bhaskar Sundara: Bernie Sanders' political revolution is not over.

• Julian Borger: Peter Navarro: what Trump's Covid-19 tsar lacks in expertise, he makes up.

• Philip Bump: Trump is entering the 2020 general-election season with key demographics moving away from him. If all these groups are moving against him, who's moving for him? Nonwhite R+6 (but still more D than any other line), $50-100,000 R+3 (richer are D+5, poorer D+2 but much more D). White, no degree is still heavily R, but relative shift is D+17. Age 65+ is D+16, flipping from R to D. Biggest shift is white, college at D+25, so maybe presenting yourself as a moron isn't working so well.

• Susie Cagle: 'A disastrous situation': mountains of food wasted as coronavirus scrambles supply chain.

• Ryan Grim: Mike Bloomberg's firm that ran his presidential campaign is bidding to take over Joe Biden's. So Bloomberg couldn't buy the election from the voters, but maybe he can control it anyway? Maybe Hawkfish isn't directly controlled by Bloomberg, although their business relationship isn't very reassuring -- nor for that matter is their track record. I thought one of the great strengths of the Warren campaign was their home-grown organization, free from the corporate angles that plagued Hillary Clinton's campaign, and that failed Bloomberg so badly. If I were advising Biden, I'd start by looking at how he could pick up as much organization support from Warren and Sanders as possible.

• Fabrizio Hochschild: To fight Covid-19, cyberattacks worldwide must stop immediately: Author is UN Under Secretary, and he has a point. I've long thought we need an international crackdown on cyberwarfare and cybercrime, but the major players seem to think they're winning, or deterring enemies, or at least can't get hurt much. On the other hand, one big thing the pandemic is forcing us to do is to do more work through networking, and that's likely to continue to increase even if it becomes possible to relax social distancing rules.

• Sean Illing: Can a pandemic remake society? A historian explains.: Interview with Walter Scheidel, author of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality From the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century.

• Kalewold H Kalewold: Biden's first concessions to the left are pathetic.

• Roge Karma:

  • Coronavirus is not just a tragedy. It's an opportunity to build a better world. Interview with Frank Sowden, author of Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present, and previous books on malaria and cholera in Italy.

  • Michael Lewis explains how the Trump administration puts us all at risk of catastrophe. Lewis's book The Fifth Risk goes into various federal government agencies and finds dilligent people there working hard and smart to manage various kinds of risks -- if you're lucky, you'll never hear about those people, because they're doing their jobs. But he waited until Trump got elected to go looking, so it's more like a tour of endangered species and habitats, as Trump systematically installed hacks and lobbyists, spreading graft and incompetence everywhere. Lewis describes Trump as a "destroyer of trust." I never really appreciated the importance of trust until I read George P Brockway's brilliant The End of Economic Man: Principles of Any Future Economics, where the first thing he wrote about was how everything else depends on trust.

• Alex Keyssar: Activists have been trying to change the electoral college for more than 200 years.

• Ezra Klein: I've read plans to reopen the economy. They're scary. "There is no plan to return to normal."

• Sheelah Kolhatkar: How private-equity firms squeeze hospital patients for profits.

• Markos Kounalakis: How Viktor Orbán is taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis.

• Paul Krugman:

  • American democracy may be dying: "Authoritarian rule may be just around the corner."

    Yet the scariest news of the past week didn't involve either epidemiology or economics; it was the travesty of an election in Wisconsin, where the Supreme Court required that in-person voting proceed despite the health risks and the fact that many who requested absentee ballots never got them.

    Why was this so scary? Because it shows that America as we know it may not survive much longer. The pandemic will eventually end; the economy will eventually recover. But democracy, once lost, may never come back. And we're much closer to losing our democracy than many people realize.

    Krugman offers Hungary as an example, where an elected leader and party used their power to make it virtually impossible for any other party to regain power, then used the pandemic as an excuse to award itself even more extraordinary powers. Republicans have clearly shown the same contempt for democracy, most obviously in their gerrymanders, their voter suppression laws, and their court packing. But you have to also cite the Democrats of the DNC and Congressional leadership, who have repeatedly nudged the levers of power to get their favored candidates nominated. Moreover, both parties have refused to lift a finger to reduce the influence of money in elections. Perhaps the most flagrant flouting of money ever was Bloomberg's $500 million -- not enough to buy election for one of the most contemptible politicians in America, but instrumental in prodding the Democratic Party to go for Biden. Related here:

    • Jamelle Bouie: Trump wants 50 Wisconsins on election day: "The GOP has turned voting in person into a death threat."

    • Gail Collins: Trump hates having too many voters.

    • David Daley: Wisconsin proves it: Republicans will sacrifice voters' health to keep power.

  • Will we flunk pandemic economics? "Our government suffers from learned helplessness."

• Robert Kuttner/Katherine V Stone: The rise of neo-feudalism: "The private capture of entire legal systems by corporate America goes far beyond neoliberalism. It evokes the private fiefdoms of the Middle Ages." Reminds me that Michael Lind came up with the equation, noting that libertarianism had indeed been tried, but at the time was called feudalism.

  American democracy today is under assault on multiple fronts. The autocratic incursions of the Trump administration are only the most urgent and immediate. But the private capture of public regulatory law is more long-term and more insidious. If we are to get our democracy back, once we oust Trump we need to begin to reclaim public law from neo-feudalism.

• Lauren Leatherby/David Gelles: How the virus transformed the way Americans spend their money. Big bump for groceries around mid-March, as everything else falls off -- travel, most of all.

• Eric Levitz: Trump's Labor Department fights to protect workers from benefits.

• Eric Lipton, et al: He could have seen what was coming: Behind Trump's failure on the virus: "An examination reveals the president was warned about the potential for a pandemic but that internal divisions, lack of planning and his faith in his own instincts led to a halting response."

• Jonathan Martin/Maggie Haberman: Trump keeps talking. Some Republicans don't like what they're hearing. "Aides and allies increasingly believe the president's daily briefings are hurting him more than helping, and are urging him to let his medical experts take center stage." Related:

  • Peter Baker: In Trump's marathon briefings, the answers and the message are often contradictory: "The president does not need adversaries to dispute his statements. He does that all by himself.".

  • Robert Mackey: Trump's ridiculous behavior at pandemic briefings baffles a watching world.

  • Tom Nichols: With each briefing, Trump is making us worse people: "He is draining the last reserves of decency among us at a time when we need it most."

    Daily, Trump's opponents are enraged by yet another assault on the truth and basic human decency. His followers are delighted by yet more vulgar attacks on the media and the Democrats. And all of us, angry or pleased, become more like Trump, because just like the president, we end up thinking about only Trump, instead of our families, our fellow citizens, our health-care workers, or the future of our country. We are all forced to take sides every day, and those two sides are always "Trump" and "everyone else."

  • Jennifer Senior: Call Trump's news conferences what they are: propaganda.

    Sometimes, I stare at Deborah Birx during these briefings and I wonder if she understands that this is the footage historians will be looking at 100 years from now -- the president rambling on incoherently, vainly, angrily, deceitfully, while she watches, her face stiff with the strangled horror of a bride enduring an inappropriate toast.

• Dylan Matthews: 9 ideas Joe Biden should steal from his Democratic rivals. The big one is Bernie Sanders' coronavirus plan (which includes a temp draft of Medicare for All), but casting a wide net comes up with generally good ideas from all over (like two from Michael Bennett). Only one I have reservations about is "Cory Booker's plan to ban factory farms" -- I'm not opposed but not convinced either. But I should note that a Tyson plan last year to open a chicken factory near Wichita got killed by public opposition.

• Jane Mayer: How Mitch McConnell became Trump's enabler-in-chief.

• Bill McKibben: Will the coronavirus kill the oil industry? Well, not if Trump has anything to say about it: Oil nations, prodded by Trump, reach deal to slash production.

• Sean Moorhead: I'm a Bernie volunteer. Here's how Joe Biden can win Bernie voters.

• Sohale Andrus Mortazavi: American politics is broken. Liberalism can't fix it. Review of Ezra Klein's new book, Why We're Polarized. A friend recommended that book to me, and I've just cracked it open, so I'll have more to say on it later.

• Bob Moser:

  • Welcome to the Trumpocalypse: "Maybe the administration would take a bit more care with the coronavirus pandemic if it weren't loaded with folks who are looking forward to the end of the world."

  • Power to the person: Chuck Shumer, who's almost as big a threat to democracy as Donald Trump.

• Anna North:

  • Every aspect of the coronavirus pandemic exposes America's devastating inequalities.

  • The shift to online learning could worsen educational inequality. Or more to the point, economic inequality will affect the quality of online learning, increasing economic inequality.

• Rae Nudson: When targeted ads feel a little too targeted: "How do you outrun something that's designed to follow you everywhere?"

• Alex Pareene: Democrats decide, again, not to try anything new.

• Mitchell Plitnick:

  • Gantz agrees to join Netanyahu in unity government -- what does it mean?

  • How racism is fueling Israel's political paralysis.

• Gareth Porter: How generals fueled 1918 flu pandemic to win their World War: "Just like today, brass and bureaucrats ignored warnings, and sent troops overseas despite the consequences."

• Andrew Prokop: Why Sanders didn't replicate Trump's upset primary victory. Focuses on minor technical issues, like "Trump won the last early state before Super Tuesday. Sanders didn't." The real difference was that Sanders was a threat to the cozy coterie of Party leaders and donors, one that aimed to change the focus and strategy of the party (while making them expendable), whereas Trump never threatened elite Republicans. They may have doubted that his tactics would work, but the more he won, the more they acquiesced -- and in victory they got the same spoils any other Republican candidate would have delivered.

• Nathaniel Rakich: Here's what voters told us about voting in Wisconsin's primary.

• Robert Reich: American billionaires are giving to charity -- but much of it is self-serving rubbish.

• Brian Resnick: Why it's so hard to see into the future of Covid-19.

• James Risen: Under cover of Covid-19, Donald Trump ramps up his war on truth-tellers.

• Aaron Rupar:

  • How Trump turned ventilators into a form of patronage.

  • Trump is woefully confused about why more coronavirus testing is vital. He's also woefully stupid, and utterly indifferent to how his actions affect anyone other than himself, but you already knew that.

• Katharine Q Seelye: William R Polk, historian and middle east envoy, dies at 91. I read, and recommend, his 2007 book, Violent Politics: A History of Insurgency, Terrorism, and Guerrilla War, From the American Revolution to Iraq -- the point he tried to make obvious was that Iraq's revolt against American occupation wasn't fundamentally different from the American revolt against Britain in 1776.

• Jack Shafer: Behind Trump's strange 'invisible enemy' rhetoric: "By branding coronavirus as a hidden menace, he deftly absolves himself of responsibility for its spread." Some kind of branding campaign? It also builds on a long tradition of paranoid fantasies, which have often proved useful for those who would trample rights to privacy and such.

• Patrick Sharkey: The US has a collective action problem that's larger than the coronavirus crisis: "Data show one of the strongest predictors of social distancing behavior is attitudes toward climate change."

• Barbara Slavin: Trump administration piles on sanctions as the rest of the world helps Iran confront COVID-19.

• Danny Sjursen: Trump's own military mafia. Notes that both the Secretaries of State and Defense (Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper) graduated from West Point, class of 1986, and finds many more of their classmates in positions of power.

• Joseph E Stiglitz: A lasting remedy for the Covid-19 pandemic's economic crisis. Also of interest in the NY Times Book Review interview with Stiglitz: The Nobel-winning economist who wants you to read more fiction.

• Marina Villeneuve/Lori Hinnant: NYC death toll eclipses number killed in World Trade Center on 9/11.

• Alex Ward: 3 European countries are about to lift their lockdowns: "Is it too soon?" The countries are Austria, Czech Republic, and Denmark, and the "lift" is more of a gradual rollback. There are also political pressures to open up Spain and Italy, both hit especially hard (Italy had the world's highest fatality count, until the US passed it), but the WHO is strongly advising against relaxing lockdowns.

• Washington Monthly: What is Trump wins? Subject of a special issue of the magazine that once thought it would be clever to describe themselves as "neoliberals" -- I'd suggest an alternate title, Thinking About the Unthinkable. The component pieces follow. Aside from the Clark and Gastris pieces, all the others are basically saying that Trump and his minions will continue to do the things he's done (or in some cases tried to do) in his first term, and that they will be more effective and more damaging over time -- often referring back to something that deserved its own piece: Trump's packing of the courts.

  • Wesley K Clark: Can the liberal world order survive another four years of Trump? Here's one I don't worry about, as the old "liberal world order" was never much more than a racket to allow first American and now world oligarchs to exploit the far corners of the world, and to eventually pauperize their own formerly wealthy countries. Trump's only change here has been to reduce the reliance on cant and cliché, making America's subservience to naked capitalism even more explicit. It's telling here that the former NATO commander starts by declaring that "For more than 70 years the United States has maintained its powerful grip on western Europe" -- rather than talk about historic alliances and shared values and the like. Clark's position is that we should spend more money on the military. It's not clear why he thinks Trump thinks otherwise.

  • Francis Fukuyama: What would a second Trump term do to the federal bureaucracy?

  • Ryan LaRochelle/Luisa S Deprez: How Trump would gut the social safety net with a second term.

  • Julie Rovner: How Trump could take away Obamacare with a second term.

  • Rachel Cohen: How Trump could dismantle workers' rights with another four years.

  • Gaby Del Valle: Trump's second term immigration agenda.

  • David Cole: Can civil rights and civil liberties survive a second Trump term?

  • Paul Glastris: Why a second Trump term will not be a horror movie: a fairly technical distinction, I'm afraid.

    To many people, the Trump presidency has felt like one long horror movie. To me, it's been more like a thriller: disorienting, appalling, emotionally wrenching, but not disempowering. Almost every insane or diabolical decision the president has made has been met with countermoves -- by the courts, civil servants, voters, Nancy Pelosi -- that have frequently lessened the impact and fortified my faith that all is not lost.

• Matthew Yglesias:

  • States resisting stay-at-home orders are playing a dangerous game.

  • The debate over a post office bailout, explained: "Republicans want privatization, Trump wants to stick it to Amazon." Also see: Paul Waldman: The US Postal Service is more vital than ever.

  • Trump administration orders insurers to make Covid-19 immunity tests free to patients.

  • Stimulus measures should be made automatic now, before Republicans flip-flop on deficits again: "Act now to protect against next year's austerity mania."

  • US rocked by 6.6 million more initial unemployment claims last week: "That's not quite as bas as the record 6.9 million initial claims from the previous week," but until new jobs open up, these numbers accumulate, a total of 16.8 million over three weeks.

  • Joe Biden will have a very hard time winning over the Berniesphere: "The problem isn't his platform, it's that he's not trusted." Depends on what you mean by "winning over." Getting the votes shouldn't be hard, although not everyone who favored Sanders is ideologically aligned on the left. Getting them to campaign for Biden is harder, although the pitch I'd recommend is to get them to support the party ticket, which means focusing on Republicans across the board, not just on Biden vs. Trump. I'm not going to campaign, because that's something I just don't do, but I know people who do, and they'll work against the Republicans, especially Trump. Getting them to like Biden is a bigger ask, and I don't see that happening until Biden starts understanding the problems people on the left are most sensitive to, and appreciating that the left has better solutions than the center or the right. I expect this to happen somewhat, because it's clear to me that the answers are on the left. But Biden's track record doesn't offer much reason to hope. One point I will grant is that he has deeper personal empathy with the party base than the last few nominees (I'd say since Bill Clinton, but that's only because he was so practiced as faking it -- something that was beneath his wife and beyond Obama). On the other hand, no Reagan-era Democrat has been more willing to compromise the party base's interests when donors beckon, and there's no evidence that he's learned from past mistakes [insert long list here]. But another thing to understand about the left is that it's driven by issues, not candidates. That much of the left rallied to Sanders is because he offered a practical way to advance left issues, but win or lose leftists would find their causes still need their efforts, and that could well put them in opposition to Democratic leaders (Sanders even).

  • Bernie Sanders's campaign is over, but his legacy is winning: "Sanders ignited a movement that pulled the Democratic Party leftward."

  • Study: Small increases in air pollution make coronavirus much more deadly: "Countries with more air pollution see higher Covid-19 fatality rates."

  • The tech sector is finally delivering on its promise: "The internet has been a productivity bust -- until now, when it's emerged as vital."

PS: Right after I posted Weekend Roundup, I noticed a pretty inflammatory tweets

Reza Aslan @rezaaslan: Breaking news: @DemSocialists endorses Trump for President.

DSA @DemSocialists: We are not endorsing @JoeBiden.

I'm not a member of or in any way involved with DSA, but I don't see any problem with them, as an organization, not endorsing Biden, especially at this time. (Had I been involved, I would have advised them keeping the door open by adding "at this time.") Assuming Biden is the Democratic Party nominee against Trump, I wouldn't be surprised if they endorse Biden as the November election approaches. That would be consistent with what I assume is their raison d'être, which is to advance socialism within the Democratic Party and to support the Democratic Party in general elections.

However, non-endorsement now (4-5 months before the convention) doesn't even remotely imply a preference, let alone an endorsement, for Trump, so Aslan is just being deliberately, provocatively stupid. Sadly, he's not alone in this regard, as I've run into a constant stream of presumed Democrats who are so hepped up on attacking what Howard Dean memorably called "the democratic wing of the Democratic Party" -- an obsession that actually does little more than further discredit "centrism" in the eyes of those who actually care about progressive reforms for real and pressing problems. It's especially hard to credit that people engaging in this kind of innuendo or slander think they're actually helping Biden (or helping defeat Trump -- by the way, I'm not doubting their sincere loathing of Trump, although they do like to doubt others, as Aslan does above).

Relevant to but not directly à propos of this, I noticed this tweet (and later a follow up):

'Weird Alex' Pareene @pareene: I truly thought the fact that no one really feels personally invested in a Biden presidency would make the timeline a bit less wild this time but it's actually somehow worse because they're already preemptively blaming you for him losing

'Weird Alex' Pareene @pareene: (To be clear I do not believe it's a fait accompli he will lose which makes it even weirder that we're already on the recriminations stage.)

By the way, good chance I will eventually write an endorsement for Biden before November's election, much like the one I wrote for Kerry in 2004. But not until he is definitively the nominee, and not until it's reasonably close to the election time. And sure, it's going to focus more on how bad Trump is than on how good Biden will be, because the former is proven, while the latter is at best hypothetical, and not strongly grounded in the track records of Biden and whoever is likely to be involved in his administration.

Additional Notes

I got ticked off by a Facebook post from an otherwise brilliant friend trying to shame Bernie supporters into supporting Biden. I have no reason to think he actually disagrees with Sanders on anything other than tactics, but he's had a bug up his ass about Bernie's fans all along, repeatedly attacking them with grossly overgeneralized (if ever even marginally fact-based) aspersions.

I commented:

Assuming Biden is the Democratic nominee, I fully intend to vote for him in November. However, I'll never attack anyone on the left who refuses to vote for Democrats like Biden, and I resent it when you do. Those leftists are principled people who can be depended on to rally against war, racism, and injustice, not least when (as is often the case) Democrats are culpable. We need them much more when the chips are down than we need their votes at election time, and they deserve our respect.

The Facebook post I referred to was by Allen Lowe. On re-reading it, I find it snarkier than I originally read it, but it fits into a pattern of similar (often more explicit) broadsides:

my statement du jour to those highly principled holdouts who are now saying, in a Biden/Trump election, that they will vote Third Party:

"you vote for whomever you want; don't you worry about the poor and the disabled and people of color, and old folks like me who are dying from the virus. We willingly give our lives for your right to be wrong."

Lowe replied:

Tom Hull than I am sorry to say that you will continue to resent me. Anyone on the left who does not vote for Biden in this election is not only, in my opinion, heavily deluded, but acting on a non-existent principle. To say "we need them much more when the chips are down than we need their votes at election time," is odd, to my way of thinking. The chips have never been lower.

My response:

Agree on deluded; disagree strongly on "non-existent principle."

Also:

Since 2000 came up, I'll note that I voted for Nader then (in KS, where Gore did zero campaigning, not that I'm using that as an excuse). It's not that I couldn't discern differences between Bush and Gore, but by then I was totally disgusted by Clinton, and felt it was important to fight back against the "New Democrats" efforts to purge the Party of deviant leftism. My takeaway from that election was that the left has to work in the Democratic Party, because that's where the people the left wants to organize are. By 2004 I had zero interest in Nader, and wrote a letter to all my friends and acquaintances urging them to vote for Kerry vs. Bush. Some details have changed, but the basic concept is relevant today:

Music Week

Expanded blog post, April archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 33056 [33307] rated (+49), 216 [219] unrated (-3).

Surprised by the high rated count, but I guess I haven't been doing much else. Lists by Chris Monsen (although I also should have looked here) and Phil Overeem gave me some ideas to check out.

Last week I noted that I had been working on my Jazz Guide files, bringing them up to date, and I published links to the ODT files. Now I've updated an additional series of files, where I've scraped up my non-review political, music, and miscellaneous writings (most easily from the Notebook. I've written up an Index page that provides links to the ODT files. You are welcome to download those files and read them (although not to copy, modify, or redistribute them without my permission. The ODT file format is used by the free software suite LibreOffice. The format is publicly available, so it's possible that other programs can import and display the files (e.g., Microsoft Word since 2010). I need to look into possibly exporting the files into other formats (certainly, PDF is possible). I imagine E-book format(s) would be more useful, but I'm not a user let alone expert, so that's something I'll need to learn more about.

The writing in these "books" is almost identical to things I've published elsewhere on the website. (I've corrected errors where I noticed them, but have done very little editing, even though I understand that a lot of editing is called for.) Most of this was done by cut-and-paste from web browser or from my trusty emacs text editor (which preserves a bit less markup). The main thing about these files is that the Jazz Guides are sorted by era then artist name, while everything else is presented oldest-to-newest (FIFO, as opposed to the LIFO you get reading a blog).

It remains to be seen how much editing I will eventually manage to do, but the collection phase completion makes it much easier to do something with the writing. I've always wanted to write books, and I sense that time is running out for that. My wife has taken a stab at sifting through the 2000-09 political blogs, but hasn't come up with as much as a plan there. I have a few rough ideas, and I'll try to develop them as I find time. One thing I wonder about now is how easy it would be to organize the music reviews into a reference website (possibly using Mediawiki). I doubt they are adequate as is, but wonder if other people might find them a useful framework to build on. Would be nice to have some kind of comment framework here, as I could use some feedback.

By the way, I got one letter last week which raised my spirits. Also noted how hard it is to find vaguely remembered things on the website, so I cobbled together a Google-based Website Search function, which appears on many (but far from all) pages (bottom of the left nav section on blog pages). This is based on code I had written for Robert Christgau, and does nothing more than add "site:tomhull.com" to a Google search string, redirecting the output to a new tab/window. Still, I've already found it faster than my relatively knowledgeable guesses as to where things are. A while back I realized that the ancient Sitemap needs a major revision. I did a tiny bit of work on it, then dropped the ball.

Someone pointed out that Wikipedia's page for John Coltrane's A Love Supreme cites my A+ grade under "Professional ratings." As a side effect, whoever did that created a stub redirect page for Tom Hull (critic), which is currently empty (aside from the useless redirect).

Got an invite to participate in DownBeat's critics poll, but they're on a tight deadline this year, which I'll be up against soon. They claim one can fill the ballot out in 45 minutes, but it usually takes me 6-8 hours (and not just because I find so much to gripe about along the way).

Got Democratic Primary ballots from the state party today -- due back early May. That one was easy: ticked the box for Bernie Sanders, signed the ballot, and sealed the envelope. The state has refused to pay for presidential primaries in the past, so the parties have been left to organize caucuses. The last two caucuses I attended (2008 and 2016) involved hours of waiting in line, after which they just counted votes and sent us on the way, so this one will be much more efficient. They're even allowing for ranked choice voting, but in what is now a two-person race I didn't see any value in that. This system was figured out before Covid-19 wrecked everything. We also filled out the census online, so no anxiety there either.

New records reviewed this week:

• Harrison Argatoff: Toronto Streets Tour (2019 [2020], self-released): [cd]: B+(*)
• Jeich Ould Badou: Music From Saharan WhatsApp 03 (2020, Sahel Sounds, EP): [bc]: B+(*)
• Kelsea Ballerini: Kelsea (2020, Black River): [r]: B+(*)
• Marshall Chapman: Songs I Can't Live Without (2020, Tall Girl): [r]: B+(**)
• Childish Gambino: 3.15.20 (2020, RCA): [r]: B
• Gerald Cleaver: Signs (2017-19 [2020], 577): [r]: B
• Avishai Cohen Big Vicious: Big Vicious (2020, ECM): [r]: B+(**)
• Jennifer Curtis & Tyshawn Sorey: Invisible Ritual (2020, New Focus): [bc]: B+(**)
• Jay Electronica: A Written Testimony (2020, Roc Nation): [r]: B+(*)
• Lily Hiatt: Walking Proof (2020, New West): [r]: B+(**)
• Sigurd Hole: Lys/Mørke (2019 [2020], Eivesang, 2CD): [r]: B+(*)
• Gabe Lee: Farmland (2019, Torrez Music Group): [r]: B+(**)
• Gabe Lee: Honky Tonk Hell (2020, Torrez Music Group): [r]: B+(**)
• Grégoire Maret/Romain Collin/Bill Frisell: Americana (2020, ACT Music): [cd]: B+(**)
• Mr. Wrong: Create a Place (2020, Water Wing, EP): [bc]: B+(***)
• Mythic Sunship: Changing Shapes: Live at Roadburn (2019 [2020], El Paraiso): [r]: B+(**)
• The Necks: Three (2020, Northern Spy): [r]: B+(**)
• Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra: If You Listen Carefully the Music Is Yours (2019 [2020], Odin): [r]: A-
• Onipa: We No Be Machine (2020, Strut): [r]: B+(***)
• Tineke Postma: Freya (2018 [2020], Edition): [r]: B+(**)
• Princess Nokia: Everything Is Beautiful (2020, Platoon): [r]: B+(***)
• Princess Nokia: Everything Sucks (2020, Platoon, EP): [r]: B+(**)
• Andreas Røysum Ensemble: Andreas Røysum Ensemble (2020, Motvind): [r]: B+(**)
• Skepta, Chip & Young Adz: Insomnia (2020, SKC M29): [r]: B+(**)
• Torben Snekkestad/Agustí Fernández/Barry Guy: The Swiftest Traveler (2018 [2020], Trost): [r]: B+(**)
• Soccer Mommy: Color Theory (2020, Loma Vista): [r]: B+(***)
• Sufjan Stevens & Lowell Brams: Aporia (2020, Asthmatic Kitty): [r]: B+(*)
• Nora Jane Struthers: Bright Lights, Long Drives, First Words (2020, Blue Pig Music): [r]: B+(*)
• Superposition: Superposition (2018-19 [2020], We Jazz): [r]: B+(***)
• Tamikrest: Tamotaït (2020, Glitterbeat): [r]: B+(**)
• Sophie Tassignon: Mysteries Unfold (2020, RareNoise): [cdr]: B+(*) [04-24]
• The Tender Things: How You Make a Fool (2020, Spaceflight): [r]: B
• The TNEK Jazz Quintet: Plays the Music of Sam Jones (2020, TNEK Jazz): [cd]: B+(*)
• Stein Urheim: Downhill Uplift (2018 [2020], Hubro): [r]: B
• Wako: Wako (2019 [2020], Øra Fonogram): [r]: B+(*)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• Tony Allen/Hugh Masekela: Rejoice (2010 [2020], World Circuit): [r]: A-
• Cadence Revolution: Disques Debs International Vol. 2 (1970s [2020], Disques Debs/Strut): [bc]: A-
• Jamaican All Stars [Studio One] (1970-74 [2020], Studio One): [r]: B+(*)
• Léve Léve: Sao Tome & Principe Sounds '70s-'80s (1970s-80s [2020], Bongo Joe): [r]: B+(***)
• Ana Mazzotti: Ninguem Vai Me Segura (1974 [2019], Far Out): [r]: B+(**)
• Ana Mazzotti: Ana Mazzotti (1977 [2019], Far Out): [r]: B+(***)
• Ranil Y Su Conjunto Tropical: Limited Dance Edition ([2020], Analog Africa): [bc]: A-
• Ranil Y Su Conjunto Tropical: Stay Safe and Sound Ranil Selection!! ([2020], Analog Africa): [bc]: B+(***)
• Yabby You: King Tubby's Prophecies of Dub (1976 [2020], Pressure Sounds): [bc]: B+(***)

Old music:

• Disques Debs International Volume 1: An Island Story: Biguine, Afro Latin & Musique Antillaise 1960-1972 (1960-72 [2018], Disques Debs/Strut): [bc]: B+(***)
• Mr. Wrong: Babes in Boyland (2017, Water Wing, EP): [bc]: B+(**)
• Papa Bue's Viking Jazzband: Greatest Hits (1958-70 [1989], Storyville): [bc]: B+(***)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• The Ian Carey Quintet + 1: Fire in My Head: The Anxiety Suite (Slow & Steady) [04-24]
• Dave Stryker With Bob Mintzer and the WDR Big Band: Blue Soul (Strikezone) [06-05]

Weekend Roundup

I wanted to write an intro this week objecting to people who are still ragging on "Sanders-ites," as in:

one of the most discouraging things about the Sanders-ites who continue to rail against Biden is their appalling lack of understanding of how government works. Their schematic recitations of corporate behemoths who apparently control the every move of Biden, Schumer, and Pelosi reflect a profound lack of any grasp of the realities of American political life, which is that action and reaction occur in a lot of different and even hidden places.

I don't have any problems with arguing that it's more realistic to aim for incremental reforms than for ideal solutions, but this isn't about tactics or goals. The point here is to disparage people for wanting something more than the centrists/moderates are willing to argue for. I can't help but take these attacks personally. Even if there are people on the left too pig-headed to compromise their principles, I don't see any value in attacking them personally, let along generalizing and slandering them as a group. But every day I see attacks on "Sanders-ites" like this, and I'm getting sick and tired of them, and their high-handed authors.

Should write more, but will leave it with I'm more sad than angry or anything else that Joe Biden is the presumptive Democratic Party nominee. I'm not especially bothered by his positions or his record -- needless to say, not for lack of points I'd argue with -- but I do worry that he'll prove an inarticulate and hapless campaigner (as we already have much evidence of). Still, the sad part has little to do with Biden personally. It shows that most Democrats are reacting to fear -- not just of Trump and the Republicans, but of their expected reaction to the changes Sanders is campaigning for. That may go hand in hand with being uninformed and/or unimaginative, but I can't fault anyone for excessive caution -- especially in the middle of a crisis so unprecedented no one can honestly see their way beyond.

Some scattered links this week:

• Yasmeen Abutaleb/Josh Dawsey/Ellen Nakashima/Greg Miller: The U.S. was beset by denial and dysfunction as the coronavirus raged.

• Michael Ames: Why an Idaho ski destination has one of the highest Covid-19 infection rates in the nation: This first came to my attention when a generally right-wing relative in Twin Falls complained on Facebook about all the Blaine County license plates at Costco. Even in Idaho, denialism fades fast as the virus nears. Interesting side-point here is the perception that it's the globe-trotting elites who are propagating the spread of Covid-19, thereby endangering everyone else.

• Kate Aronoff: Darling, let's do coronavirus in the Hamptons this year: "The rich continue their tradition of escapist virtue signaling."

• Dean Baker: Every post in his Beat the Press blog is worthwhile, especially: Getting to Medicare for All, eventually.

• Peter C Baker: 'We can't go back to normal': how will coronavirus change the world?

• Josh Barro: Oil prices are cratering. That's not a good thing.: "A barrel now sells for around $20 -- the lowest in two decades." Whether it's a good thing is arguable. Sure, it's bad for the economy, or at least for oil producers, but they're some of the most reprehensible oligarchs around: if anyone has to go broke, let it be them. You might think that cheaper gas will encourage people to buy and burn more, but it's only cheap for the moment because demand has fallen way below supply: use more and you'll pay more. Personally, I think this would be the perfect time to raise the gas tax. Related:

  • Trump to hold in-person meeting with big oil CEOs to discuss Covid-19 relief.

• Rosemary Batt/Eileen Appelbaum: Hospital bailouts begin -- for those owned by private equity firms.

• Zach Beauchamp: Trump is mishandling coronavirus the way Reagan botched the AIDS epidemic: Interview with Gregg Gonsalves.

• Max Boot: Who could have predicted Trump would be such a bad crisis manager? Everyone, actually. No, I haven't started caring what Max Boot thinks, but once in a while he hits on a title which crystalizes a key insight. In that regard, this one is much better than The worst president. Ever. Boot has Trump displacing John Buchanan, who used to be widely regarded as the worst president ever. I've never been clear why history judges Buchanan so harshly. I mean, what the fuck could he have done differently? He didn't have the moral standing or the political base to confront the slave states, and he didn't have the leadership skills to defend the Union. On the other hand, nothing he could have done to satisfy the anxieties of the slaveholders would have been accepted by the "free" states, with their increasing command of the economy, supported by a majority of the population. Sure, he dithered, postponing an increasingly inevitable war, which broke out in the lame duck months of his term.

• Katelyn Burns: Sen. Kelly Loeffler sold at least $18 million more in stocks before the coronavirus crash than previously reported.

• John Cassidy: The coronavirus is transforming politics and economics.

• Steve Coll: The meaning of Donald Trump's coronavirus quackery.

• Ryan Costello: COVID-19 outbreak in Iran exposes twisted aims of Iran hawks. Related:

  • Esfandyar Batmanghelidj: Will the Trump administration block Iran's request for an emergency loan to combat COVID-19? Yep. [According to a Trita Parsi tweet.]

  • Daniel Brumberg: COVID-19 and Iranian relations.

• Meagan Day: Joe Biden is wrong about single-payer and coronavirus.

• Jason Ditz: Trump orders anti-drug Navy ships to Venezuelan coast: The return of "gunboat diplomacy," following indictment of Venezuelan president Maduro for something involving narcotics:

  This will be one of the biggest US military operations of the sort since 1989, when the US invaded Panama and ousted Gen. Manuel Noriega on drug charges. Attorney General William Barr wrote the legal justification for Noriega invasion, and also wrote the recent justification for a bounty against Maduro.

• Abdul El-Sayed: In the middle of a pandemic, our for-profit healthcare system is failing us.

• David Enrich/Ben Protess/Eric Lipton: Trump's company seeks to ease financial crunch as coronavirus takes toll.

• Michelle Goldberg: Jared Kushner is going to get us all killed.

• John Harris: [Boris] Johnson seems unable to unify us. Who will speak for the country? But he does quote Johnson as saying, "One thing I think [the] coronavirus crisis has already proved is that there really is such a thing as society." That is directly opposite of Conservative icon Margaret Thatcher's famous maxim, "there is no such thing as society."

• John F Harris: Trump is an authoritarian weakman. I could cite dozens of alarmist pieces against which this is arguing (e.g., Lucian K Truscott IV: Trump is preparing the ground for a totalitarian dictatorship). Trump certainly has the desires of a dictator, and he plays the demagogue to the hilt, but he's something he lacks -- heart? stomach? brains? maybe he's just too lazy? -- keeps him from seizing power (although his underlings are eager to do so, even their reach seems to have self-imposed limits).

• Doug Henwood: This downturn could be worse than the early 1930s "We could experience in months what took three or four years to unfold after the 1929 stock market crash. Things are going to be very bad unless we see some serious structural reforms."

• David Ignatius: Inside the ouster of Capt. Brett Crozier: the Navy aircraft carrier captain who "pleaded for help against the coronavirus pandemic sweeping his crew" and was fired for his trouble.

• Fred Kaplan:

  • Trump is ginning up a war with Iran while the coronavirus spreads through the military.

  • Hungary is a dictatorship now. Kick it out of the EU and NATO.

• Elizabeth Kolbert: Pandemics and the shape of human history.

• Paul Krugman:

  • The Covid-19 slump has arrived: "But we're already botching the response."

  • Notes on the coronacoma (wonkish): I think this is basically right:

    What we're experiencing is not a conventional recession brought on by a slump in aggregate demand. Instead, we're going into the economic equivalent of a medically induced coma, in which some brain functions are deliberately shut down to give the patient time to heal.

    To simplify things, think of the economy as consisting of two sectors, nonessential services (N) that we can shut down to limit human interactions and hence the spread of the disease, and essential services (E) that we can't (or perhaps don't need to, because they don't involve personal interaction.) We can and should close down the N sector until some combination of growing immunity, widespread testing to quickly find and isolate cases, and, if we're very lucky, a vaccine let us return to normal life.

    For those (like me) still receiving their regular paychecks, this period of shutdown -- call it the coronacoma -- will be annoying but not serious. I miss coffee shops and concerts, but can live without them for however long it takes.

    Things will, however, be very different and dire for those who are deprived of their regular income while the coronacoma lasts. This group includes many workers and small businesses; it also includes state and local governments, which are required to balance their budgets but are seeing revenues collapse and expenses soar.

    How big is the N sector? Miguel Faria-e-Castro of the St. Louis Fed summarizes estimates that are as good as any: 27 to 67 million people, which he averages to 47 million. That's a lot; we could be looking at a temporary decline in real GDP of 30 percent or more. But that GDP decline isn't the problem, since it's a necessary counterpart of the social distancing we need to be doing.

    The problem instead is how to limit the hardships facing those whose normal income has been cut off.

• Rob Larson: Bill Gates's philanthropic giving is a racket.

• Jill Lepore: The history of loneliness.

• Sharon Lerner: EPA is jamming through rollbacks that could increase coronavirus deaths.

• Eric Levitz: Trump condemns New York for planning ahead on coronavirus.

• Anatol Lieven: The pandemic and international competition: How the US can save itself with a 'Green New Deal'.

• Simon Mair: What will the world be like after coronavirus? Four possible futures. The two axis/four square grid reminds me of Peter Frase's Four Futures: Life After Capitalism, where "barbarism" here becomes "exterminism." [PS: Frase summarized his thesis in 2011, here: Four Futures.]

• Dylan Matthews: Coronavirus could lead to the highest unemployment levels since the Great Depression.

• Harold Meyerson: Medicare for All's teachable moment.

  The linkage of health insurance to employment -- an accident of American economic history -- never made much sense, and when unemployment is pervasive and a pandemic has been loosed on the land, it makes no sense at all.

  This is the teachable moment for universal health coverage not linked to employment status. Democrats should seize this moment and teach. For those who have to be dragged screaming to this, they can advocate it as a temporary measure, during which time its popular support would likely only increase.

• Ian Millhiser: Texas's election law could disenfranchise millions during a pandemic.

• Jim Naureckas: Can you hide a pandemic? There's no need to believe Beijing on China's coronavirus success. Note: "Neither the Chinese government nor U.S. intelligence agencies are particularly trustworthy services." On the other hand:

  If any of the thousands of researchers who have been scouring Chinese coronavirus statistics in search of patterns that could help defeat the pandemic elsewhere have detected signs of "fake" numbers, Bloomberg doesn't seem to know about it.

  The reality is that it's very hard to hide an epidemic. Stopping a virus requires identifying and isolating cases of infection, and if you pretend to have done so when you really haven't, the uncaught cases will grow exponentially. Maintaining a hidden set of real statistics and another set for show would require the secret collusion of China's 2 million doctors and 3 million nurses -- the kind of improbable cooperation that gives conspiracy theories a bad name.

  China is slowly and carefully returning to a semblance of normalcy (Science, 3/29/20). If China is merely pretending to have the coronavirus under control, the pathogen will rapidly surge as people resume interacting with their communities. Once international travel is restored, it will be quite obvious which countries do and don't have effective management of Covid-19.

• Terry Nguyen: How the Trump administration has stood in the way of PPE distribution.

• Ella Nilsen: New York is in dire need of ventilators. China just donated 1,000. Isn't one measure of world power the ability to offer aid to other nations in time of crisis? This dramatically shows that China can do things the US cannot. Indeed, the not-so-United States have been left on their own to beg foreign nations for supplies, while at the same time locking down exports and imposing sanctions on others (like Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela). You might argue that this is less a question of "greatness" than of cultural norms: after all, the US is built on rugged competition, which often means screwing your neighbors. Countries like China and Cuba (see Cuban docs fighting coronavirus around the world, defying US), with their Communist backgrounds, are used to the idea of sacrificing oneself for the common good, which gives them a temporary edge when most people are in dire need. On the other hand, when/if this blows over, people around the world are likely to look back and remember who helped and who didn't. The US benefited from a reservoir of good will built up in the 1940s, maintained long after the US stopped doing anything to deserve it. Also note: Patriots plane arrives in Boston carrying critical N95 masks for medical workers: the masks were imported from China. Also: Lara Seligman: Russia sends plane with medical supplies to U.S. for coronavirus response.

• Anna North:

  • "We are on our own": How the coronavirus pandemic is hurting child care workers.

  • What it takes to get an abortion during the coronavirus pandemic.

• JC Pan: The pandemic's shameless profiteers. Related:

  • Andrew Marantz: Alex Jones's bogus coronavirus cures.

  • Amanda Marcotte: Behind the right's obsession with a miracle cure for coronavirus: It's not just about Trump.

• Alex Pareene: Joe Biden is wasting a crisis.

• Paul R Pillar: The war metaphor and the coronavirus.

• Nomi Prins: Wall Street wins -- again: "Bailouts in the time of coronavirus":

  As I wrote in It Takes a Pillage: An Epic Tale of Power, Deceit, and Untold Trillions, instead of the Fed buying those trillions of dollars of toxic assets from banks that could no longer sell them anywhere else, it would have been cheaper to directly cover subprime mortgage payments for a set period of time. In that way, people might have kept their homes and the economic fallout would have been largely contained. Thanks to Washington's predisposition to offer corporate welfare, that didn't happen -- and it's not happening now either.

• David Roberts: Gutting fuel economy standards during a pandemic is peak Trump.

• Nathan J Robinson:

  • Everything has changed overnight: "The Democratic primary is no longer over. This is a historic crisis requiring nothing less than FDR-style ambition and leadership. We've got just the guy."

  • Where is Joe? "Biden has failed completely to show leadership during a crisis. There is no excuse for it."

• Philip Rocco: Wisconsin's pandemic primary will put voters' lives in danger. I keep seeing efforts from all over the political spectrum (well, in the Democratic Party, anyhow) to shame Wisconsin into postponing its primary election. I, for one, would like to see the election proceed, if only because the gravity of the crisis makes it even clearer that political choices have real consequences. Biden has cruised to victory everywhere since the sudden convergence on Super Tuesday, but has shown virtually no leadership skills during the crisis, while the importance of Sanders' program has become even more striking. Wisconsin should be a good state for Sanders (as it was in 2016), so this could be a pivot point in the election. Unfortunately, the campaigns have degraded to such an extent that we'll never know what free debate and unencumbered participation (real democracy) might reveal. (In fact, 538's polling averages for Wisconsin show Biden with a solid lead, 51.6% to 36.0%, and increasing leads in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Georgia.) One point I do agree with is that we need to figure out how to universally vote safely by November. Few things are more essential in times like these than democracy.

• David Runciman: Too early or too late?: "On political timing and the pandemic."

• Aaron Rupar: Trump says 200,000 Americans could die from coronavirus, because he's done "a very good job."

• Jon Schwarz: The Democratic Party must harness the legitimate rage of Americans. Otherwise, the right will use it with horrifying results.

• David K Shipler: Welcome to the Fourth World: "How Trump has initiated America's undoing -- and how coronavirus is helping him speed it up."

• Richard Silverstein: Israeli election: There was a moment of hope, now it's gone.

• Cady Stanton: Coronavirus shows the need for DC and Puerto Rico statehood.

• Paul Starr: How the right went far-right: "The media once quarantined neofascists. Not anymore." Review of Andrew Marantz: Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation.

• Jeff Stein: Americans hit by economic shocks as confusion, stumbles undermine Trump's stimulus effort.

• Matt Stieb: Trump is fighting a war against governors, not the coronavirus.

• Sheryl Gay Stolberg/Nicholas Fandos: From afar, Congress moves to oversee Trump coronavirus response: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would move to form a special committee to scrutinize the Trump administration's response, including how more than $2 trillion in federal relief money is being spent."

• Matt Taibbi: Bailing out the bailout: "It will take years to sort through the details, but Trump's $2 trillion COVID-19 response looks like a double-down on the last disaster."

• Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor: Reality has endorsed Bernie Sanders.

  When Bernie Sanders's critics mocked his platform as just a bunch of "free stuff," they were drawing on the past forty years of bipartisan consensus about social-welfare benefits and entitlements. They have argued, instead, that competition organized through the market insures more choices and better quality. In fact, the surreality of market logic was on clear display when, on March 13th, Donald Trump held a press conference to discuss the COVID-19 crisis with executives from Walgreens, Target, Walmart, and CVS, and a host of laboratory, research, and medical-device corporations. There were no social-service providers or educators there to discuss the immediate, overwhelming needs of the public.

  The crisis is laying bare the brutality of an economy organized around production for the sake of profit and not human need. The logic that the free market knows best can be seen in the prioritization of affordability in health care as millions careen toward economic ruin. It is seen in the ways that states have been thrown into frantic competition with one another for personal protective equipment and ventilators -- the equipment goes to whichever state can pay the most. It can be seen in the still criminally slow and inefficient and inconsistent testing for the virus. It is found in the multi-billion-dollar bailout of the airline industry, alongside nickel-and-dime means tests to determine which people might be eligible to receive ridiculously inadequate public assistance.

• Anya van Wagtendonk:

  • Trump has nominated one of his lawyers to oversee coronavirus relief funds: Brian Miller.

  • US allies express dismay over US handling of global medical supply chain.

  • Trump has fired the intelligence watchdog who first flagged Ukraine whistleblower complaint: Michael Atkinson.

• Peter Wade: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson hospitalized for coronavirus.

• David Wallis: Uncle Sam needs to start giving us all free hand sanitizer. Businesses seem to be able to find supplies, but as far as I can tell it's impossible for the rest of us to track down sellers -- especially given that shopping around is being discouraged. Same for face masks, which now have become obligatory outer wear, but all the focus so far has been on getting them to hospitals (which, sure, need them even more than we do).

• Richard Wolffe: As the numbers of dead and unemployed grow, Trump looks and sounds smaller.

• Matthew Yglesias:

  • America has no federal response to this crisis.

    But while Donald Trump enjoys playing president on TV, he's always been lazy about doing the actual job. So while he's taking advantage of the crisis to stage daily extra-long episodes of the Trump Show with guest appearances from Mike Pence and public health officials, the executive branch of the federal government is mostly missing in action.

  • /Christina Animashaun: New unemployment claims surge to record-high 6.6 million. That's double last week's 3.307 million, which was about 5 times the highest previous week ever. We're in totally uncharted territory.

  • Biden can unite progressives and swing voters with a focus on climate.

  • Trump's coronavirus poll bump, explained.

  • We can do it: A wartime-style mobilization to bear coronavirus and mass unemployment.

• Joshua Zeitz: Why the Trump administration won't be able to make the stimulus work: "As the New Deal shows us, it takes expertise, professionalism and skill to execute massive government programs -- qualities the White House lacks."

• Li Zhou/Ella Nilsen: "This one is scarier": Obama-era officials say current economic crisis is fundamentally different from 2008.

Daily Log

Finished updating my Record Guide files, bringing them current to March 30, 2020. Current file sizes:

• Recorded Jazz in the 20th Century: 848 pages (342,992 words).
• Recorded Jazz in the Early 21st Century: 1880 pages (868,126 words).
• Non-Jazz Record Notes: 1989 pages (851,268 words).

Mar 2020