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Back in 2015, I covered the Trump escalator moment with a mix of horror and amusement. But unlike the smug press corps I took Trump seriously anyway. I quoted Bloomberg’s Mark Halperin, (lately #MeToo accused whose career is pretty much defunct) saying it too: I wrote at the time: What is it they say about a stopped clock? Well, even Mark Halperin is right twice a day. The Villagers in general may not be able to see it — but for reasons about which we can’t even speculate, Mark Halperin is on to something when it comes to Donald Trump. I could never stand Halperin and I probably still can’t. But since he was right about that I figure I might as well pay attention to what he’s saying about Trump now. He’s always seemed to have some insight into the weird phenomenon. JV Last at the Bulwark links to Halperin discussing Trump and Biden in the wake of this last weekend of campaign rhetoric from both candidates: It is a crude way to measure both perception and reality, but perhaps the most telling way to view the time between now Election Day is this: Can Biden win enough news cycles to overcome Trump’s current lead?
My senior year of high school, MTV produced a documentary called Once Upon a Prom that followed two students at my high school. I had started to dabble in media arts and was offered to work on the project and earn my very first industry-related resume line item as an intern for MTV Docs. This […]
As you knew he would Over the weekend, the Senate and House agreed on the top line budget number which is required before they can make any kind of deal to keep the government open. The Crazy caucus isn’t happy: Who would be “more conservative” than Mike Johnson, I wonder? Marge already says she won’t vote for this top-line budget (even though she voted for McCarthy’s) and Johnson only has a one vote majority right now. So don’t get your hopes up that we’ll avoid a shutdown. But who knows? Maybe his direct line to God will provide an intervention.
Okay, so we’ve talked about Bosnia and how that set things up for the Kosovo War. Now, what happened in Kosovo that made NATO want to get involved there? Back when Serbia was part of Yugoslavia, Kosovo was a “special autonomous province” of Serbia. This meant that it had limited self-rule and its own regional […]
Following up on my post below I wanted to highlight Brian Beutler’s newsletter today about Biden’s speech, with which I agree wholeheartedly: The remarks don’t just live on the page and in the moment they’re spoken. They have the potential to be recirculated endlessly, on television and social media, and now these clips will communicate Biden’s meaning explicitly, without requiring any sort of decoding. And as they circulate, they may also serve as an antidote to the huge glut of viral video content on social media that’s selectively edited to make Biden seem doddering and confused. Making things like January 6—Trump’s totalitarian ambitions, his crimes and corruption, his general untrustworthiness—the central themes of the campaign has these ancillary benefits, because they are visceral. They unite Democrats, and enliven Biden himself. Policy and economics aren’t similarly unifying or morally black and white, and stripped of the emotional valence of insurrection and dictatorship, they evoke a softer register.
Have you tried running? It’s exhilarating. Really, I mean it. Running changed my life.
Before running, I’d order pasta without telling everyone I was carbo-loading. But now, I make sure everyone understands that even my food consumption is in service of my new favorite activity. Carbonara just tastes better when you’re lecturing about which glycogen levels best fuel a daily run.
And since getting into running, I’ve bought some truly special specialty gear. I have a full dresser devoted solely to moisture-wicking T-shirts, moisture-wicking leggings, and moisture-wicking socks. Any moisture that tries to come close to me will instantly be wicked. Check out these shoes. They cost two hundred dollars, and the salesperson told me I’ll get shin splints if I don’t replace them every three months. I also bought a special ointment to rub on my nipples.
It’s been so fulfilling to devote myself to becoming good at exercise. The only person I’m trying to beat is me, you know? You don’t know? Don’t worry. I’ll repeat it every opportunity I get so you can never forget it.
The US proudly proclaims its exceptionalism and leadership of the free world, but in the latest Israeli-Palestinian flareup US leadership has been absent. A lasting peace settlement will require the US to take the lead in pushing forward the widely supported two-state solution. The war in Gaza is now three months old, and the violence Continue reading »
These last three months have made it apparent that there has to be a major change to what we know of as Israel/Palestine. But it has been coming for some time – perhaps since the enactment of Israel’s Basic Law of 2018 which conferred a right of self-determination exclusively on the Jewish people thereby asserting Continue reading »
Warmongering think tanks, self-appointed members of the military commentariat, and the whole stable of security-minded cognoscenti in the Anglosphere are terrified about one thing come November 2024. Will AUKUS, that boil on Australia’s policy landscape but boon for the US military industrial complex, be lanced by Donald Trump? Were the orange monster of misrule to Continue reading »
It is worth considering when exactly deploying our military assets in Australia’s interests becomes a test of fealty to the United States, and an act of ‘‘mateship’’. The Australian government is being pounded by the federal opposition, pro-US think tanks and some media for not sending a single ship to help out the international naval Continue reading »
We don’t have to take off our compassion, or our ability to show it, when we drape a stethoscope around our neck. The need for doctors to be professional is not synonymous with being emotionless. Long ago, when I was an intern at an adult teaching hospital there seemed to be a tradition that consultants Continue reading »
The recent sharp falls in US, UK, European and Australian inflation rates have convinced analysts that central bank rate rises are over and the next move will be rate cuts in 2024. The US Federal Reserve chairman in the first half of December signalled that too. But when can we expect such cuts since mortgagors Continue reading »
President Biden’s Valley Forge address might have felt like a feat of oratorical brilliance to the coterie that is locked into a mythical America. However, it was wildly out of touch with the views of many voters. Dismissing the genuine grievances and discontent with politics-as-usual, and not recognising that Trump provides an appealing alternative to Continue reading »
The 60th presidential election is less than a year away and if polling is correct a second Donald Trump presidency is likely. If you don’t believe the polls, the January 6 Prison Choir’s ‘Justice for All’ single, casting Donald Trump, has hit No. 1 on iTunes, might be a hint. Politicians and voters in thrill Continue reading »