US businesses would still pay less than foreign companies even if some Trump tax cuts are repealed

How do US taxes compare internationally? | Tax Policy Center

Excessive media Trump coverage

I wrote Ben White at Politico who had tweeted this:

This is my message:

Yes, Trump should be covered,  He may be the Republican candidate in 2024 and we need to know if he violated any laws.However, the coverage of Trump has been excessive. Here are two examples just from yesterday.  I have attached screen prints of the CNN iPhone app from last night.  The top seven stories all have Trump in the headline.  I made more screen prints of the next stories (which I didn’t attach) and there is no mention of Joe Biden in the headlines there either.  
The Washington Post was similar.  Four of the top five stories had Trump in the headlines. I have attached screen prints of them. I must commend Politico which didn’t have this excessive Trump coverage.
Any web or print space and any TV time spent on Trump is time that could be spent on other issues such as infrastructure or voting rights.  Even negative coverage of Trump blocks coverage of Biden and issues.
This isn’t new.  It goes all the way to the beginning of his 2016 campaign. Donald Trump has earned $2 billion in free media coverage, study shows (cnn.com)
Just how much media coverage is Donald Trump getting? (cnn.com)

Members of the media should not tweet Trump’s rants because that helps him evade his Twitter ban.Cable news ratings are down since Trump is gone but their desire for viewers does not justify their distorted coverage. 


Harris Levy

More Instagram posts on Cicada Parade-a

I got the black t-shirt and it’s great!

My experience with online grocery shopping

I never shopped for groceries online until the pandemic. I don’t drive so I usually bartered a dinner out with a friend in return for a trip for grocery shopping.

Since the pandemic, I have been getting groceries delivered from Safeway and am overall satisfied with the process. I’ll keep doing it after the pandemic is over

It’s not quite the same as ordering from restaurants with the delivery services.  When you order, you select a time in the future – there’s no ASAP.  This is different than the restaurants: Some items that appear to be in stock will not be available by the time your order is delivered and you won’t be charged for them.  I would say I get about 3/4 of the stuff I order.  You get a receipt several hours before your order is delivered.  You can let them substitute if items are out.  That has worked out fine but I still don’t get everything.  One time, I ordered jalapeno cheese bagels and they were going to substitute cinnamon raisin bagels.  I got jalapeno cheese bagels in a bag labeled cinnamon raisin – see the pictures.

Another example. I have ordered a 2-pound bag of plums three times. Twice I got one plum and one time I got about half a dozen. You would think they know I would like more than one. The plum I got yesterday was loose in the grocery bag and had the price sticker on it – see the picture.

The delivery fee can be paid annually or by the order.  I would say if you get groceries once a month, the annual plan is worth it.  The fees per order depend on the length of time for the delivery window you select – one, two or four hours.  You will be notified when your order is being delivered similar to the restaurant services.  The food comes in regular grocery bags and they do keep the refrigerated stuff together and the frozen stuff together

Here’s an article on online grocery shopping.

How a permanent shift toward online grocery shopping means less innovation, fewer new brands – The Washington Post

Relish finally wins a Hot Dog Race at the Orioles game

Relish had lost all of his races against Mustard and Ketchup this year. The races are animated videos shown on the scoreboard.

Before the big win:

Films I would like to see added to the Criterion Collection

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek – directed by Preston Sturges. I think it’s his best film. It’s never been on Blu-ray and the DVD is out of print

Une Femme Douce/Four Nights of a Dreamer/Lancelot du Lac – Directed by Robert Bresson. Bresson’s first three color films. Only Lancelot was ever on a US DVD which is out of print. Une Femme Douce was on VHS. The films have been restored and circulated in the US around 10 years ago.

Nazarin/El – directed by Luis Bunuel. Two of his 1950s Mexican films that have never been on US discs.

Viva Riva – an excellent crime drama from the Congo

Rabies/Big Bad Wolves – directed by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado- two fine Israeli films that are gruesome. Big Bad Wolves is also darkly funny.

Films by Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia

I will add more

Terrible Republican election laws

They are afraid they can’t win a fair election. The worst things they are doing concerned how ballots will be counted and certified. They will make it possible for some legislatures to overturn the will of the voters.

Update on the terrible QAnon conspiracy theory 6/20/21

Great Twitter thread on how to commercialize Juneteenth

Some great bitter humor here. Make sure to scroll through the replies.

What’s going to happen when Juneteenth and Father’s Day both fall on June 19th?