John Queally at Common Dreams writes—'Make America 36th Out of 41 Developed Nations Again': Social Justice Index of Developed Nations Puts US Near Bottom:
Not dead last, but close to it.
That's where the United States came out in a new survey of the world's 41 highly-developed nations measuring access to social justice and the opportunities they afford their respective citizens and residents.
The Social Justice Index (SJI), detailed in a 274-page report (pdf) and put out by the Bertelsmann Stiftung foundation in Germany, ranks the more than three dozen European Union and OECD nations based on six key social justice dynamics: poverty, education, the labor market, intergenerational justice, health, and social inclusion and nondiscrimination.
While the group said "the picture is rather bleak across the board," it is the Nordic countries which generally rank highest—with Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden the top five. On the other end, the U.S. came in near the very bottom, ranking 36 out of 41 nations overall, only coming out ahead of Chile, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, and Mexico.
Especially on the issue of poverty, the foundation said in a statement, the U.S. under President Donald Trump "falters considerably" compared to other developed nations. [...]
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“The past is always tense, the future perfect.”
~~Zadie Smith, White Teeth, A Novel (2001)
BLAST FROM THE PAST
At Daily Kos on this date in 2009—Baucus Nominated Mistress for U.S. Attorney:
Add Max Baucus to the list of all-too-typical politicians:
Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus’ office confirmed late Friday night that the Montana Democrat was carrying on an affair with his state office director, Melodee Hanes, when he nominated her to be U.S. attorney in Montana.
According to a source familiar with their relationship, Hanes and Baucus began their relationship in the summer of 2008 – nearly a year before Baucus and his wife, Wanda, formally separated in April. The Senator has since divorced his wife.
Hanes ended her employment with Baucus in the spring of this year.
The learning curve among politicians on these things is, well, non-existent. They just don't learn. The relationship wasn't the cause of either party's divorces, Baucus's spokesman says, and Baucus didn't help her get her current position in the Justice Department. Nonetheless, this is a development Dems really did not need, given Baucus's prominent role in the healthcare reform debate, and the number of difficulties they're already dealing with.
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Greg Dworkin rounds up the impeachment hearing after action reports. Biden's first out of the gate with an ad about allies laughing at Trump. Meanwhile, Trump's courtroom losses pile up. And the mystery of his rotting orange face is solved at last!
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