Trump complained to Breitbart about Biden’s vacations. I’m not kidding. Trump [said] that when he went on vacation as president, he was always actually working and taking meetings with world leaders and lawmakers—and he never made anyone who had urgent business wait for a call back. He called Mar-a-Lago, where he spent some of his holidays as president, the “Southern White House,” and noted that he regularly packed his schedule even when he was not in the White House. “I have to say, when I take vacations I’m always working,” Trump said. “This is really the Southern White House. I have meetings left, right, and all day. Even if I’m playing golf, I’m always playing golf with somebody who is important like heads of countries, senators, et cetera. But it’s all work.” When Biden goes on vacation, though, Trump said he hears that he refuses to take phone calls and refuses to meet anyone—he just totally and completely checks out and makes himself unavailable for weeks on end. “This guy takes a vacation and he doesn’t talk to anybody,” Trump said.
Reading
by Dror Goldberg* Where and when did modern currency originate? My book Easy Money: American Puritans and the Invention of Modern Currency (University of Chicago Press, 2023) tackles this fascinating question. I discover and explain the origin of modern currency in 1690 in the English colony of Massachusetts Bay — an unimportant place, compared to […]
It’s going to be momentous, no matter which way it goes Author Brynn Tannehill tweeted this and I think she’s right. No matter what happens in the election in 2024, we are in for tremendous tumult. Even so, there is only one thinkable outcome. It won’t be easy and the aftermath may very well be violent. But it’s infinitely better than the alternative. I’m going to bookmark once I post this, because it’s about what’s going to happen in 2024. I’m going out on a limb to say that regardless of what specifically happens, this is going to end up being mentioned along with 1860 as watershed moments in US history. Look, it’s easy to say that if Trump wins, it’s going to be chaos. We’ll see his new cabinet coming in. They’ll be telegraphing their intentions, and it’s going to be mayhem.
Some sanity in Israel today: Israel’s high court on Monday struck down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s polarizing law that sought to limit the court’s power over government decisions and sparked mass anti-government protests and international condemnation. Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul the judiciary upended Israel in the months leading to the Israel-Gaza war — and now threaten to cause a constitutional and leadership crisis just three months after the hotly divided country united behind the war effort. Netanyahu’s Likud party slammed the decision as “in opposition to the nation’s desire for unity, especially in a time of war.” “Today the Supreme Court faithfully fulfilled its role in protecting the citizens of Israel,” Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on X, formerly Twitter. Monday’s ruling concerned an amendment to Israel’s “Basic Law,” which serves in place of a constitution, that was pushed through and passed by Netanyahu’s far-right government in July.
Our 9th most-read article of 2023.
- - -
Originally published July 7, 2023.
- - -
The two-hour drive on winding mountain roads is pleasant, since my twin preschoolers have only ever listened to hip indie music, so we never have to subject ourselves to a constant loop of “Baby Shark.” I whisper, “Good luck,” to the other families who are stopped along the side of the road so their kids can throw up from motion sickness. They must not know about ginger candy.
When we arrive at the campsite, my kids get to work constructing elaborate pinecone bird feeders while my husband and I put up the tent. Having two kids so they can keep each other entertained works just as well as people said it would. They always play together peacefully and never fight over toys or get into a screaming match over who gets the biggest stick they find.
That used to be the mantra. Now nobody mentions it. Trump should not be allowed to claim that he had the best economy the world has ever seen. It wasn’t bad, at least until the pandemic, which he made worse.His trade policies were destructive and he was basically riding on the belated recovery of the Obama years. But this one is better. Way better. Trump is testing his ability to persuade people to once again believe him or their lying eyes. It certainly works very well on the cult and no doubt will be successful. The question is whether or not he has the power to make people who don’t support him believe the same. A lot of that depends on the media. If they step up we might be ok.
Remember when Republicans thought they were finally rid of Trump and said things like this? It didn’t last: There has never before in history been a bigger group of craven opportunists or gutless cowards. Rubio’s not the only one, of course. The whole party has fallen into line behind the man most of them (aside from the truly dumb ones like Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin or Rep. Virginia Fox) know very well is a liar a cheat and a criminal. This is what it’s going to take a long time to fix not the righteous application of the rule of law.
At least for a little while I’m pretty sure this will be reversed but in the meantime it’s nice to know that won’t have to go into my local Starbucks and see someone playing cowboy with a gun in his holster while a cop stands by at the door as I did a couple of months ago. It was an incredibly unnerving moment. I left as did a bunch of other people and the barristas were obviously nervous. This is no way to live. A California law that bans people from carrying firearms in most public places will take effect on New Year’s Day, even as a court case continues to challenge the law. A U.S. district judge issued a ruling Dec. 20 to block the law from taking effect, saying it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and deprives people of their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones. But on Saturday, a federal appeals court put a temporary hold on the district judge’s ruling. The appeals court decision allows the law to go into effect as the legal fight continues. Attorneys are scheduled to file arguments to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in January and in February. The law, signed by Democratic Gov.
Labor will have – already has – squandered its time and its opportunities. It needs leadership of guts and vision, not timidity, caution and mortal terror of offending anyone. The holiday season, about midterm in the life of the Albanese government is a good time for academics and journalists to begin making notes, commencing diaries Continue reading »
The release of some of the cabinet documents from 2003 calls attention to how the war power is exercised in Australia. In 2023 the major parties recommended against assigning a greater power over war-making to the parliament. There was agreement, however, that decisions to make war should remain within the Prerogative to be exercised by Continue reading »
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, presumably the moral arbiter of his nation, was photographed signing a bomb as a gift for Gaza. In a vigil outside the US Embassy in Jerusalem, Israeli citizens have condemned their government’s endless killing of men, women and children in Gaza and on the West Bank. One participant in the vigil, Continue reading »
The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Matt Keogh, should refresh the Council of the Australian War Memorial, which at present looks like a cosy club of well-connected conservatives and ex-military types. He can do this by replacing up to five Council members when their terms expire between February and April 2024. Mr Keogh is the minister Continue reading »
To ensure Aboriginal Peoples’ freedom from genocide and ecocide, we need decolonisation. For some, post the Australian 2023 Referendum, questions arise: where to next? More of the same isn’t an option; the evidence surrounds us as to why more genocide in all its forms, including assimilation and the ecocide of our territories doesn’t work. But Continue reading »
They span three generations and give their country reason to be enormously proud, writes Rick Sterling. All have depended on freedom of the press, which is now at stake. Australia has produced extraordinary journalists across three generations: Wilfred Burchett (deceased in 1983), John Pilger (passed away December 2023, 84 years old) and Julian Assange (51 Continue reading »
Jim Chalmers has just added $11 billion to the cost of Western Australia’s dodgy GST deal. It’s an extraordinary case of political extortion. But is it even legal? And will WA have to give the money back? This is a long, sad story. It’s a story of how cynical politicians in one state were able Continue reading »
The Bill Gates Problem is Hitting the Mainstream. Is one of our favourite billionaire philanthropists losing the support of the MSM? Bill Gates, who once could do no wrong, has had numerous disparaging articles written about him in recent weeks. These all stem from a new book written by author Tim Schwab (no, nothing to Continue reading »
Happy 2024 everyone! May there be no more wars, no more avoidable suffering, and justice for all. That’s a steep wish-list, but then I am one of those who thinks that giving up is not an option, and that [almost] everyone has opportunities to contribute to make us move into that direction. In that spirit, […]
Geopolitics of knowledge is a fact. Only few (conservative) colleagues would contend otherwise. Ingrid Robeyns wrote an entry for this blog dealing with this problem. There, Ingrid dealt mostly with the absence of non-Anglophone colleagues in political philosophy books and journals from the Anglophone centre. I want to stress that this is not a problem […]
Couldn’t say it better Happy New Year’s! Preview of November 6, 2024: (h/t @JuliusGoat@mastodon.social)
BBC released preview images for Domino Day, its upcoming 2024 supernatural series about a young witch on the streets of Manchester.
Our 10th most-read article of 2023.
- - -
Originally published January 10, 2023.
- - -
1. Digging for Clams
What the hell is Betsy doing in the bathroom for so long? Digging for clams?
2. Spelunking
My Tinder date was so pathetic I would have had a way better time spelunking—and I have a hook for a hand!
3. Tickling My Fancy
Oh, hi, Mom. No, I’m not busy, just tickling my fancy. What, you too?
4. Flicking Fiona
What the fuck? Are you flicking Fiona? Both hands on the wheel, bitch. We’re on the freeway!
5. Slugging the Sister
Some say roof repair and slugging the sister make a dangerous combination, but I call that shit multitasking.
6. Damning the Beaver
Who can blame me for damning the beaver? That was the most boring Christmas pageant ever!