Massachusetts, Amazon vs. unions, and a global vaccine strategy.
š„³š„³ this is the worst year of our adult lives š„³š„³
Good morning friends, family, and anti-malarkey allies! Hopefully this email isnāt winding up in your promotional box like it always fuckinā does because who knows how this stuff works. Whitelist us or something?Ā
Massachusetts had their primaries last night: how we lookinā? Dripping with despair or feeling maybe, just maybe, a bit hopeful? Weāll take a look at the wins and losses of the night.
Amazon absolutely hates unions: which isnāt some huge revelation though the company recently gave us more evidence of this being true by posting, then pulling, a job listing specifically geared towards union busting.
The US will not be part of a global effort to develop, manufacture, and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine: because the Trump administration is very, very evil and is pissed that the WHO is involved.
Hereās the breakdown.
CONGRESS
A Rundown of Last Nightās Results in Massachusetts
Last night Massachusetts had their primaries. A few of these races were pretty critical battlegrounds so letās take a look at the results and take a stab at what they might indicate.
The Results
Ed Markey beat Joe Kennedy III. Markey is a career politician who has recently revisioned himself as a more contemporary progressive. Kennedy is, well, a Kennedy who thought that his familyās legacy might be enough to propel him to victory here. In truth, it seems that Markey won in a landslide.
Richard Neal beat Alex Morse. Neal is another long term incumbent and a powerful one at that, being the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Some progressives hoped Morse could inch out a win but it wasnāt even close, all with the backdrop of a scandal that brought more national attention to this race than we likely wouldāve otherwise seen.
Kennedyās old seat was very contested: and as of wrapping this up for the night, the results arenāt clear but lean in favor of a Democrat even more moderate than Kennedy winning. Dang.
The Reasons
What happened in Markeyās case is actually pretty fascinating. Heās an older senator with an imperfect record who knew he was facing a challenge from someone who would be more likely to be backed by the establishment thanks to his family name and potential future in politics who, in all honesty, isnāt that different from Markey in terms of how theyād vote. That makes for a very real threat.Ā
So what did Markey do? He rebranded. He worked alongside AOC on the Green New Deal and on top of that, hired a bunch of young folks to work on his campaign that were likely key in pushing him further to the left on some issues. As Paul Blest called it, it was the āBerniefication of Ed Markey.ā
That gamble paid off. It may be an indicator that if youāre out of touch and losing face-value with your constituents, Democrats leaning further left instead of trying to appeal to moderates could be a big boost in certain districts.Ā
We doubt this is the end of Joe Kennedy III but itās certainly a blow to dynastic politics. Running on your familyās name sucks. Also, he did that dumb bullshit where he cried about Markeyās online supporters being mean to him so weāre glad he lost.
On the other hand, Morse didnāt do so hot: why? Morse struggled to find footing with name recognition and some of the little coverage he got was centered around what appears to be a fabricated sex scandal.
Once that āscandalā was revealed to be a coordinated effort to take Morse down, local media lost interest. Nevermind the fact that it seemed like more of a homophobic attack than anything, this certainly helped Neal.
Still, we wonder: will Neal continue to be seen by his constituents and make them feel represented? Will Morse run again, a few years wiser and more entrenched in this kind of thing? Morse is only 31 while Neal is 71. If Morse sticks with this district like Cori Bush did with hers, he may see himself becoming a congressman in two years.
Part of this, of course, is that itās difficult to primary an incumbent ever. Thatās why building organizations like the Sunrise Movement and the Justice Democrats is such an important part of taking back political power.
Bottom line: not a bad night overall but certainly not a good one either. Weāre just glad to keep Markey around.
AMAZON
Amazon Posts Then Removes Union Busting Job Listing
Amazon really hates when their workers organize. Weāve covered it what feels like countless times (for an outlet that has only existed for less than 6 months, anyway). Yesterday, they really fucked up by making that even more clear.
A Bad Job That Should Not Exist
Amazon posted, then abruptly deleted, a job listing looking for analysts that research ālabor organizing threats against the company.ā That analyst could compile the info which would then potentially be used to seek restraining orders against activists.
This isnāt, unfortunately, anything new: itās just that companies are usually less brazen with this kind of thing. Itās like getting caught in a āWE FUCKING HATE OUR EMPLOYEESā t-shirt, changing in the bathroom, and pretending like nothing weird happened when you come out.
Amazonās explanation for deleting the post was that it was an oopsy-daisy that didnāt accurately reflect the role.Ā
Bottom line: hopefully some labor organizers take Bezos and family to task. We just absolutely hate to see it.
COVID-19
The US Wonāt Be Part of Global Vaccine Effort
Trump really hates the WHO. Thatās likely solely because he needed a scapegoat during his mishandling of the coronavirus but regardless, that has now resulted in the White House not being involved in a global effort to help develop, manufacture, and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine.
Agh fuck agh
A White House spokesperson told the Washington Post that, āthe United States will continue to engage our international partners to ensure we defeat this virus, but we will not be constrained by multilateral organizations influenced by the corrupt World Health Organization and China.ā
That is shockingly insane to say, even in this day and age. Just a real fuckinā headscratcher.
What if the rest of the world beats us to a vaccine and tells us to take a hike? What if everyone continues to close off their borders to us? What if weāre six months behind and a mountain of corpses worse off because of this?
Experts seem to say this is uh, bad. Really dumb and bad.
Bottom line: any effort that makes it less likely that a vaccine will be quickly, effectively, and equitably distributed is a bad one.Ā
BREADCRUMBS
Where the News Gets āFun!ā
āTrump campaign aide was paid $20,000 a month by Bannon nonprofit linked to alleged fraud.ā Provided we actually understand how this works and these allegations are true, this seems very illegal!
āMuslim Advocates to Joy Reid: Apologize On Air Tonight for Anti-Muslim Comments.ā Reid recently compared how āMuslims actā to Trump and him encouraging his base to engage with violence. Yikes.
āTrump Wants To Force Immigrants To Submit Eye Scans, Voice Prints, And DNA.ā The dystopia manages to outdo itself every damn time.
āTrumpās āplane loaded with thugsā conspiracy theory matches months-old rumor.ā Alright, we gotta give him credit here: this conspiracy theory is actually kinda fun if you ignore all of the dangers that come with it.
END OF THE LINE...
Thatās it for today.
Thatās what weāve got.Ā Remember, weāre only able to do this every day because of readers like you. Drop your friends, family, or anyone else whose email you happen to have a referral link and help us grow. Weād truly appreciate it.
Have a good one,
The Bread Line
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