Paul Slimin'
@legendsofthepaul
Law, politics, media, philosophy, hot takes, etc. | he/him | All lies and jest
Had not realized this was what Calla Walsh has gotten up to these days
I’d also push back against this more broad idea that sanctions are an outdated tool from a more barbaric age. Authoritarian governments form a network of support for each other, and trading with one often benefits others.
The authors take the fig leaf reforms the regime has enacted at face value, I guess equally desperate for an excuse to drop the pressure. None of this indicates any sort of long-term change in the government, if we want that to be the goal of sanctions.
Ezra Klein says that liberalism feels exhausted to him. I think you certainly would, if you mainly observe American politics, and do so through the lenses of Twitter and the NYT.
This is a funny article because the authors come *so* close to getting it. Yes, building new housing allows low-income people to move into the housing that high-income people vacated. And that happens because…? Keep going, you’re almost there!
The data doesn’t bear that out: as presidents go, Biden uniquely avoided public appearances.
Learning about Czechia’s excellently-named “Motorists for Themselves” party
Wealthy and empowered autocrats abroad also empower illiberalism at home. The more money they have, the more they can use on political influence campaigns. And authoritarians point to China's prosperity, impossible without US trade, as an aspirational model for authoritarianism.
You can't actually separate trade from great power competition. As much as you might call it "liberal" in an economic sense to maintain trade with authoritarian states, those states are often all too happy to pocket the profits and redirect them toward illiberal goals.
“No Kings is the largest protest movement in American history. But if it was such a big deal, then why don’t we, the New York Times, care?”
The NYT obliges this framing as the first story in the app today lol. “The military says the IR’s capabilities have degraded, but they still made an unsuccessful attempt to hit stuff.” In what way does that serve as evidence to contradict what the US military said?
“He hated Star Wars and he loved punk music, and in this house he’s a hero, end of story!”
Meanwhile, where have decades of economic cooperation with China led? Now the second-largest economy of the world, they have declared an unlimited partnership with Russia and provide instrumental support to Putin’s war. So much for a “stable, democratic, and prosperous” world.
Violating The Original Series? Well we certainly wouldn’t want that.
This is exactly how I wish everyone would think about the criminal justice system
For instance, in a society where each community decides who counts as a person, one shudders to imagine what level of personhood queer people may receive.
You can tell this is more of a thought contagion than an actual idea because it always comes in the same formulation: Democrats never “fail” or “disappoint” the working class, they always “abandon them.”
Interesting anecdote for those who like to insist class/economic conditions explains all.