Cortellessa reports that Hogan, who ostensibly left his brother in charge of his real estate brokerage firm when he was elected, has, in fact, maintained ownership and control while serving as governor; the trustees he handpicked to run his company have continued to keep him apprised of its business dealings. And as governor, he has advanced highway and road construction projects that directly boosted the value of land owned by his company.
I don’t know how to feel about this. Outraged that my governor is so corrupt, or disgusted that he just doesn’t give a fuck about hiding it. Call it another symptom of Trump status quo. The New Republic wraps up a longer piece by the Washington Monthly detailing the whole story.
Interesting...
- July 29
I wanted to find out what was happening with the Olympics the other day. The only news I could find was about Simone Biles stepping back, and 99/100 of them were op-ed pieces with Bad Takes from assholes. So this was a welcome antidote: Are You Allowed To Criticize Simone Biles? A Decision Tree.
July 1
Wherever the United States government contemplated a wrong turn, Rumsfeld was there first with his hard smile—squinting, mocking the cautious, shoving his country deeper into a hole. His fatal judgment was equaled only by his absolute self-assurance. He lacked the courage to doubt himself. He lacked the wisdom to change his mind.
At the Atlantic, George Packer writes a tidy eulogy for a terrible person and argues that he was actually worse than Robert McNamara, which is saying something.
June 25
At Jalopnik, David Tracy looks at the 2021 Honda Civic, which will be offered as a sedan with an automatic transmission, and more interestingly, as a hatchback with a stick. And, I really like the look of it. The rear end doesn't look like a dekotora truck anymore. I have no immediate plans to upgrade cars, but this is the first thing I've seen that makes me reconsider. Maybe when the car markets all calm down next year...
June 15
A guy bought a cheap Jeep YJ and drove it from Alaska to Argentina in 2012, and then began a tour of Africa in a different one. He put together a quick article about preparing a vehicle for extended overlanding in remote areas, where rolling up to a service station isn't an option. His TL;DR list: Keep it as stock as possible, replace high-wear parts before leaving, know your vehicle and prep with any specialty tools you'll need, and obviously, don't drive it like a meathead.
May 19
The Biden administration’s efforts to provide $4 billion in debt relief to minority farmers is encountering stiff resistance from banks, which are complaining that the government initiative to pay off the loans of borrowers who have faced decades of financial discrimination will cut into their profits and hurt investors.
Yup, you read that right. these are the same banks that have made millions on the backs of Black and minority farmers with predatory loans for decades. Don't tell me racism doesn't exist, and don't tell me the free market is fair to everyone.
I voted for this administration to do things just like this. I hope they write some big fat checks and let the banks suck on it.
