Rumors and their origins Northeast of here, near the the little town of Spruce Pine, NC, there is a mine that provides key minerals used in the manufacture of microelectronics (NPR): Semiconductors are the brains of every computer-chip-enabled device, and solar panels are a key part of the global push to combat climate change. To make both semiconductors and solar panels, companies need crucibles and other equipment that both can withstand extraordinarily high heat and be kept absolutely clean. One material fits the bill: quartz. Pure quartz. Quartz that comes, overwhelmingly, from Spruce Pine. “As far as we know, there’s only a few places in the world that have ultra-high-quality quartz,” according to Ed Conway, author of Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization. Russia and Brazil also supply high-quality quartz, he says, but “Spruce Pine has far and away the [largest amount] and highest quality.” Conway says without super-pure quartz for the crucibles, which can often be used only a single time, it would be impossible to produce most semiconductors.
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He wants people to think he’s a superman: That’s no doubt true. “I may be a criminal, a fascist and an all-around disgraceful human being but I’m leading in the polls, so vote for me!” does sound like Trump. I also think he just believes that he can make reality conform to his desires. And for millions of his cult members, he can. But there’s an actual, longstanding campaign strategy involved as well. I wrote about it back in 2022 just before that election: One more day until the voting is done. Hallelujah! When the polls are so tight and the campaigning so intense you reach a point where you almost don’t care who wins anymore and just want it to be over. But of course you do care, as we all must in this age of authoritarian right-wing, lunacy. I wrote on Friday that nobody really knows anything about this election. It could go either way. It might be a close result or one side could sweep both houses of Congress with big wins. But if you just read the headlines and listen to the pundits and strategists on TV, you’d think the evidence showed clearly that Republicans were running away with it.
Steelmanning (as opposed to strawmannin) is a rather obscure concept defined as: A steel man argument (or steelmanning) is the opposite of a straw man argument. Steelmanning is the practice of applying the rhetorical principle of charity through addressing the strongest form of the other person’s argument, even if it is not the one they explicitly presented. Creating the strongest form of the opponent’s argument may involve removing flawed assumptions that could be easily refuted or developing the strongest points which counter one’s own position. Developing counters to steel man arguments may produce a stronger argument for one’s own position Apparently, the Washington Post called up economics journalist Noah Smith and asked him to make the best case for Trump’s economic policies, ostensibly in order to give people a good faith argument that they could easily understand so they’d realize that Trump’s policies aren’t actually very good. Steelmanning. Smith declined because while there may be some reasonable uses for this type of argumentation.
The dwarfs are for the dwarfs If you have wondered, as I have, how in the world some of our neighbors are so determined to spread (and believe) malicious rumors and conspiracy fantasies in the wake of natural disasters, a Sunday sermon. C.S. Lewis wrote his The Chronicles of Narnia series in the early 1950’s, publishing “The Last Battle” in 1956. The books concern English children teleported to Narnia, a magical land filled with talking animals as well as humans, the good and the bad. Like Lewis’s space trilogy, the Narnia books are rich in Christian allegory (much of it barely allegory). They contain some scenes never to be forgotten. For those who never read “The Last Battle,” one scene may be instructive this morning, whatever Lewis meant by it. Perhaps disillusionment and loss of faith after the war. In our case 70 years later, perhaps the dispelling of the comforting notion among MAGA cult members that this country was founded by and for people who look and believe like them. My friends, my neighbors, my church, my money, etc. The last of the true Narnians find themselves trapped in cave used as a stable.
H/T to JV Last for flagging Alsobrooks’s excellent critique of the mealy mouthed Larry Hogan’s refusal to vote for Kamala Harris: I think the decision not to vote in a presidential election, for a senator, is a disqualifier. This job requires votes. Tough votes. That you have to make a decision. And for a person who says he can see a bipartisan way forward, but was unable to do the most bipartisan thing ever, in an election where he said he despises their nominee, but cannot bring himself to even vote for Vice President Harris, and in fact will have forfeited the chance to vote in three different elections rather than stand up and do the right thing, choose a tough vote, and vote for a Democrat? He voted for deceased individuals and said he will do so again in this election. And I think it is instructive of the way he would operate as a senator. It’s a disqualifier for anyone who knows Trump is unfit but refuses to vote for Harris. It’s especially disqualifying for a Senator who is basing his entire campaign on his willingness and ability to be bipartisan.
What else is new? New reveleations yesterday from Bob Woodward’s forthcoming book, “War,” out just in time for the fall of the American empire. An MSNBC pundit last night wryly observed that the first two outlets to report it are based in England (that is, beyond Donald Trump’s immediate reach should he win a second term next month), The Independent and the Guardian. The Independent first: Mark Milley, the US Army general who Donald Trump appointed as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, now says the current Republican presidential nominee is a “fascist to the core” and says no person has ever posed more of a danger to the United States than the man who served as the 45th President of the United States. In perhaps an unprecedented (time to retire that term?) move, a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff asked to meet with the new U.S. attorney general. Milley urged Merrick Garland post-Jan. 6 to investigate domestic extremists and far-right militias.
The alleged billionaire feels poor: Donald J. Trump took his seat at the dining table in his triplex penthouse apartment atop Trump Tower on the last Sunday in September, alongside some of the most sought-after and wealthiest figures in the Republican Party. There was Paul Singer, the billionaire hedge fund manager who finances Republican campaigns and pro-Israel causes, and Warren Stephens, the billionaire investment banker. Joining them were Betsy DeVos, the billionaire former education secretary under Mr. Trump, and her husband, Dick, as well as the billionaire Joe Ricketts and his son Todd. Some politicians might have taken the moment to be charming and ingratiating with the donors. Not Mr. Trump. Over steak and baked potatoes, the former president tore through a bitter list of grievances.He made it clear that people, including donors, needed to do more, appreciate him more and help him more. He disparaged Vice President Kamala Harris as “retarded.” He complained about the number of Jews still backing Ms. Harris, saying they needed their heads examined for not supporting him despite everything he had done for the state of Israel. At one point, Mr.
Don’t tell me that’s hyperbole: And who is the man in charge of this operation? I think Trump using the “Aliens Enemies Act of 1798” on the stump is new but I might be wrong. I’m sure he loves the sound of it. If you’d like refresher on this odious archaic law, the Brennan Center has a good one.
It has happened repeatedly, 1932 being another great example. Clinton also inherited a recession, left a booming economy which Bush promptly slowed down by pushing through a bunch of tax cuts and deregulation. They take credit for the economy they inherited and then immediately screw it up. Let’s not let that happen this time. The consequences will be worse than usual because Trump’s trade war and deportation schemes are bound to cause major disruption and if we have a crisis we already know that he is totally incapable of handling it. He proved that last time.
Barack Obama gave a barnburner of a speech in Pittsburgh tonight. It’s funny and pointed and very inspiring. This is the part Dan Pfeiffer calls the closing argument of the campaign. I like it. I thought this part was the most important, however. It seems so obvious but apparently it isn’t relevant to tens of millions of our fellow Americans. It’s a simple call for common decency. You can watch the whole event here.