Kevin Drum continues down the leaded gasoline path, this time hybridizing it with the Muslim travel ban, version 2:
But here’s the funny thing: Gorka might well be right but for entirely the wrong reasons. Young men who live in a wide swath of the world stretching from North Africa to Central Asia probably are more prone to violence than they are in the developed North. But it has nothing to do with Islam. That’s just the handiest thing to latch onto. It’s all about lead:
The Trumpies got struck down for temporarily banning immigration from a set of seven seemingly arbitrary countries, so instead they should create a rule that temporarily bans immigration from any country that phased out leaded gasoline later than, say, 2001. They might have to fiddle a bit with the numbers, which they have plenty of experience doing, and maybe add some weird second condition in order to get only the countries they want, but with a little creativity they could make it work. And it’s not based on ethnicity, religion, or even nationality. You’re welcome!
Don’t give them ideas. And don’t think this is a trap – the Trump Administration doesn’t seem to comprehend the meaning of the word contradiction. They just sail right through without embarrassment. Thus all the fantasized massacres. In the meantime, Trump’s approval remains embarrassingly high – embarrassingly high for the United States, that is.
I suppose Russia finds his performance a bit frustrating. The Chinese? They’re still gnashing their teeth at the apparent failure of their little ploy.
