All things considered this was a pretty shitty week.  I’ve collected a ton of links to things which are pretty @#$%ing depressing.  At least they get me depressed.  Rather than share though I’m going to keep most of them to myself.  So just one “must read” this week – a bunch of phenomenal pictures from the other side of the solar system.

Must Read/Look

• NASA, New Horizons Returns First of the Best Images of Pluto

Should Read (if you need a buzzkill)

• Robert Kuttner, Quiet Desperation and American Fascism
• David Neiwert, Donald Trump May Not Be a Fascist, But He is Leading Us Merrily Down That Path
• David Graham, Obama’s Resigned Anger After San Bernardino
• Jonathan Masters, U.S. Gun Policy: Global Comparisons
• Dave Johnson, How The Clinton and Sanders Infrastructure Plans Measure Up
• Nicholas Confessore (NYT), A Wealthy Governor and His Friends Are Remaking Illinois [Ed.: Noted in last week based on a quick skim.  Definitely worth reading if you haven’t already.]

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Must Read

• Matt Taibbi, America Is Too Dumb for TV News
• The Onion, This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won’t [Ed.:  It’s a bad day when The Onion is providing prescient policy analysis rather than satire.]
• Lewis Lapham, Bombast Bursting in Air: The story, so far, of the 2016 election [Ed.: May require a Harper’s subscription]
• Mark Thoma, An Essential Part of Job Creation Policy Is Missing

Should Read/Listen

• John Cassidy, The Pfizer–Allergan Merger Is a Disgrace
• Mark Schmitt, Tax the (upper) middle class, please
• Justin Gillis (NYT), Paris Climate Talks Avoid Scientists’ Idea of ‘Carbon Budget’
• Adele Stan, Donald Trump: Evidence of Our Degeneracy
• Conor Friedersdorf, The Corrupt System That Killed Laquan McDonald
• On Point with Tom Ashbrook, Marilynne Robinson On Hope In A Time Of Fear
• Giles Tremlett, Mondragon: Spain’s giant co-operative where times are hard but few go bust

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Must Read

• Paul Krugman (NYT), Fearing Fear Itself
• Martha Bebinger, A Tale Of 2 Hospital Visits: How The Cost Of Care Can Vary Dramatically Depending On Where You’re Treated
• Jeff Biggers (NYT), Iowa’s Climate-Change Wisdom
• Dave Johnson, Sanders’ Socialism Speech: America Is For All Of Us, Not Just Wealthy

Should Read

• Josh Barro (NYT), We’re Living Longer. That’s Great, Except for Social Security.  [Ed.:  Step 1 = Abolish the income cap.]
• John Schwartz (NYT), As Fires Grow, a New Landscape Appears in the West
• Jesse Bellemare, What is “Managed Relocation” and Will It Have a Place in our Conservation Toolbox?
• Mike the Mad Biologist, Last Line of Antimicrobial Defense Is Falling: Colistin Resistance Transmission
• Hanna Rosin, The Silicon Valley Suicides: Why are so many kids with bright prospects killing themselves in Palo Alto?

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Must Read

• Eric Chandler, It Makes You Feel Better

Should Read

• Warsan Shire, Home
• Simon Kuper, Paris witness
• Mark Schmitt (NYT), A Lost Generation of Democrats [Ed.:  It’s also worth pointing out that Eisenhower Republicans are now gone – not just a generation but all of them.  Name one holding an elected office of significance.]
• Julia Preston (NYT), Large Companies Game H-1B Visa Program, Costing the U.S. Jobs
• Rich Yeselson, The Decline of Labor, the Increase of Inequality
• Andrew Gelman, Death rates have been increasing for middle-aged white women, decreasing for men [Ed.:  Related:  Monica Potts, “What’s Killing Poor White Women?”]

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