Lunarchy?

The word I’m looking for, like anarchy is supposed to be “without a chief”[1] or oligarchy is supposed to be “a small group of people having control of a country or organization,”[2] is a word for rule by lunatics, as “extremely foolish or eccentric [people].”[3] Alas, a Google search on the term lunarchy turns up a project of the “Radical Anthropology Group,” which advocates “[r]ule by the moon hark[ing] back to an egalitarian lifestyle forged in a revolution.”[4] Not the same idea at all, and in fact, rather specifically, a worthy refutation to the word I would propose.


Well, not quite. There’s also Brexit and Kashmir. Israel doesn’t count as an exception because Binyamin Netanyahu is in love with Donald Trump.[5] But yeah, almost.


Brexit

I think I should have seen this one coming.

The parliament that cannot agree on anything Brexit[6] seems not to be coming together under Jeremy Corbyn’s plan for a unity government,[7] whether with Corbyn on top or anybody else, or even, it would seem, on the question of what a unity government should do when (and if) it assumes power.[8] Words fail me. I’m utterly flabbergasted.

Meanwhile, calamity[9] looms as the legal default.[10]

Jessica Elgot, “No-deal Brexit edges closer as key Tories refuse to back Corbyn,” Guardian, August 16, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/16/sadiq-khan-lib-dems-jo-swinson-corbyn-only-viable-pm-stop-no-deal-brexit


Elon Musk

I heard that Elon Musk wanted to nuke Mars but not in any media I deemed even remotely reliable.

So now, here it is. Musk has gone off the deep end. He’s completely bonkers. Right up there with Donald Trump.[11] But then, I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise.[12] That Tesla turnover rate is kinda high, too,[13] albeit not as high as in Trump’s White House executive office.[14]

There’s a reason you need to get enough sleep at night.[15]

Tristan Greene, “Here’s the stupid reason Elon Musk wants to nuke Mars,” Next Web, August 16, 2019, https://thenextweb.com/distract/2019/08/16/heres-the-stupid-reason-elon-musk-wants-to-nuke-mars/


Pittsburgh

So this was Donald Trump’s trip to a Shell plant in Beaver County,[16] where he took credit for a plant being constructed that had been approved well before he took office.[17] Apparently he got a large crowd. And apparently workers who didn’t show up might lose $700 for the day’s pay. Also, they didn’t get a lunch break. And apparently the union leadership was okay with all this.[18]

Anya Litvak, “Trump’s large union crowd at Shell was given the option of not showing up — and not getting paid,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 16, 2019, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2019/08/16/Trump-speech-union-crowd-Shell-ethane-plant-natural-gas-beaver-county-pennsylvania-attendance-pay-overtime/stories/201908160113


Social conservatives

Evangelical Protestants who support Donald Trump are not the whole of evangelical Protestantism. Those who do often do so because he is carving out a space for them to live according to their faith and because he is getting results where previous presidents who professed their flavor of piety failed to deliver.[19] This is pretty much consistent with what I’ve seen previously.[20] It’s unlikely to change in 2020 and because evangelical Protestants are pleased with what Trump has delivered, his support among social conservatives may in fact increase.[21]

There is a real problem in that enabling evangelical Protestants to live—and proselytize—according to their beliefs is fundamentally incompatible with a secular society.[22] In essence, they demand that society conform to their beliefs and be receptive to their message, even when their beliefs contradict other beliefs and even when their messages contradict other messages. The result is, inevitably, the hierarchically invidious monistic “us” versus “them” perspective that Trump exploits and enables[23] in a fascist feedback.[24]

Elizabeth Bruenig, “In God’s country,” Washington Post, August 14, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/14/evangelicals-view-trump-their-protector-will-they-stand-by-him/


Kashmir

I disagree with Chidanand Rajghatta’s analysis. It’s not, as Rajghatta suggests, that the United Nations Security Council agree to discuss Kashmir at all, albeit behind closed doors and informally, or that China and Pakistan are isolated in pushing for a formal meeting,[25] but rather that the rest of the world doesn’t care about Kashmir.

Which is very bad news for Muslims in Kashmir.

Chidanand Rajghatta, “Did India take down Pakistan 14-1 at United Nations Security Council?” Times of India, August 17, 2019, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/did-india-take-down-pakistan-14-1-at-united-nations-security-council/articleshow/70717268.cms


  1. [1]Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., s.v. “anarchy.”
  2. [2]Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., s.v. “oligarchy.”
  3. [3]Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., s.v. “lunatic.”
  4. [4]Radical Anthropology Group, “Lunarchy,” n.d., http://lunarchy.weebly.com/
  5. [5]Raphael Ahren, “Spurning lawmakers, Netanyahu loses the Democrats he never thought he had,” Times of Israel, August 16, 2019, https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-never-thought-he-had-the-support-of-democrats-now-he-might-not/
  6. [6]Heather Stewart, Jessica Elgot, and Rowena Mason, “Brexit: May calls for cabinet showdown as MPs reject all options,” Guardian, April 2, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/01/brexit-deadlock-continues-as-mps-fail-to-find-compromise
  7. [7]Al Jazeera, “UK’s Labour vows to oust Johnson, delay Brexit and call election,” August 14, 2019, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/uk-labour-vows-oust-johnson-delay-brexit-call-election-190814163557439.html; Camilla Tominey, “Jeremy Corbyn writes to MPs in bid to oust Boris Johnson over Brexit,” Telegraph, August 14, 2019, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/08/14/jeremy-corbyn-writes-mps-say-make-pm-stop-no-deal-brexit-cross/
  8. [8]Jessica Elgot, “No-deal Brexit edges closer as key Tories refuse to back Corbyn,” Guardian, August 16, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/16/sadiq-khan-lib-dems-jo-swinson-corbyn-only-viable-pm-stop-no-deal-brexit
  9. [9]David Benfell, “Boris Johnson might think he’s playing poker with the European Union, but he’s actually playing ‘chicken’—with a brick wall,” Not Housebroken, August 2, 2019, https://disunitedstates.org/2019/08/02/boris-johnson-might-think-hes-playing-poker-with-the-european-union-but-hes-actually-playing-chicken-with-a-brick-wall/
  10. [10]Jack Maidment, “Brexit latest news: Theresa May’s deal defeated again by 58 votes – PM hints at general election to break deadlock,” Telegraph, March 29, 2019, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/03/29/brexit-latest-news-theresa-may-final-push-mps-prepare-vote-withdrawal/; Peter Walker, “Could parliament’s latest amendment stop no-deal Brexit?” Guardian, July 18, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/18/could-parliaments-latest-amendment-stop-no-deal-brexit; Josh Wilson, “No-deal Brexit odds: Latest predictions on leaving the EU without a deal,” Telegraph, August 2, 2019, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/0/no-deal-brexit-odds-latest-predictions-leaving-eu-without-deal/
  11. [11]Tristan Greene, “Here’s the stupid reason Elon Musk wants to nuke Mars,” Next Web, August 16, 2019, https://thenextweb.com/distract/2019/08/16/heres-the-stupid-reason-elon-musk-wants-to-nuke-mars/
  12. [12]Alistair Walsh, “Elon Musk won’t stop calling diver a pedophile,” Deutschewelle, September 5, 2018, https://www.dw.com/en/elon-musk-wont-stop-calling-diver-a-pedophile/a-45372611
  13. [13]Russ Mitchell, “If Elon Musk is your boss, get your resume ready,” Los Angeles Times, August 16, 2019, https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-08-15/elon-musk-tesla-executive-turnover
  14. [14]Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, “Tracking turnover in the Trump administration,” Brookings, August 2019, https://www.brookings.edu/research/tracking-turnover-in-the-trump-administration/
  15. [15]Nathan Crooks, “Elon Musk Says You Can Change the World Working 80 Hours a Week,” Bloomberg, November 26, 2018, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-26/elon-musk-says-you-can-change-the-world-working-80-hours-a-week
  16. [16]Eric Heyl, “Trump To Tour Shell Cracker Plant, Protesters Anticipated,” Patch, August 13, 2019, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/gt595/trump-to-tour-shell-cracker-plant-protesters-anticipated
  17. [17]Eric Heyl, “Trump Takes Credit For Plant Announced 5 Years Before Presidency,” Patch, August 13, 2019, https://patch.com/pennsylvania/baldwin-whitehall/s/gt5wi/trump-takes-credit-for-plant-announced-5-years-before-presidency
  18. [18]Anya Litvak, “Trump’s large union crowd at Shell was given the option of not showing up — and not getting paid,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 16, 2019, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2019/08/16/Trump-speech-union-crowd-Shell-ethane-plant-natural-gas-beaver-county-pennsylvania-attendance-pay-overtime/stories/201908160113
  19. [19]Elizabeth Bruenig, “In God’s country,” Washington Post, August 14, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/14/evangelicals-view-trump-their-protector-will-they-stand-by-him/
  20. [20]Rod Dreher, “An Evangelical Crack-Up?” American Conservative, December 15, 2017, http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/an-evangelical-crack-up/; Mark Galli, “The Biggest Loser in the Alabama Election,” Christianity Today, December 12, 2017, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/december-web-only/roy-moore-doug-jones-alabama-editorial.htm; Sarah Jones, “What Roy Moore Did to the Pro-Life Movement,” New Republic, December 13, 2017, https://newrepublic.com/article/146274/roy-moore-pro-life-movement; Julie Zauzmer and Sarah Pulliam Baile, “After Trump and Moore, some evangelicals are finding their own label too toxic to use,” Washington Post, December 14, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/after-trump-and-moore-some-evangelicals-are-finding-their-own-label-too-toxic-to-use/2017/12/14/b034034c-e020-11e7-89e8-edec16379010_story.html
  21. [21]Elizabeth Bruenig, “In God’s country,” Washington Post, August 14, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/14/evangelicals-view-trump-their-protector-will-they-stand-by-him/
  22. [22]Elizabeth Bruenig, “In God’s country,” Washington Post, August 14, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/14/evangelicals-view-trump-their-protector-will-they-stand-by-him/; Julie Zauzmer and Sarah Pulliam Baile, “After Trump and Moore, some evangelicals are finding their own label too toxic to use,” Washington Post, December 14, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/after-trump-and-moore-some-evangelicals-are-finding-their-own-label-too-toxic-to-use/2017/12/14/b034034c-e020-11e7-89e8-edec16379010_story.html
  23. [23]Elizabeth Bruenig, “In God’s country,” Washington Post, August 14, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/14/evangelicals-view-trump-their-protector-will-they-stand-by-him/
  24. [24]David Benfell, “A simple definition of fascism,” Not Housebroken, July 6, 2019, https://disunitedstates.org/2019/07/06/a-simple-definition-of-fascism/
  25. [25]Chidanand Rajghatta, “Did India take down Pakistan 14-1 at United Nations Security Council?” Times of India, August 17, 2019, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/did-india-take-down-pakistan-14-1-at-united-nations-security-council/articleshow/70717268.cms