A 2022 redux in 2024

This was a rush issue that has now been updated twice in the illiberalism section as there have been developments with Binyamin Netanyahu’s judicial subordination project.

I had a slow tire leak to go get fixed, likely from debris—a nail, apparently—I ran over in the strong winds that hit the Pittsburgh area Saturday. A lot of trees are down and I encountered a street closure yesterday for drooping power lines. Yeah, it’s a bit of a mess here and it did take a while to get that tire fixed as I didn’t have an appointment.


Gilead

White Christian nationalism (Trumpism)


Fig. 1. In terms of geographic area, Pennsylvania is very much a white Christian nationalist kind of place. Photograph by author, January 5, 2023.

There is a new blog post entitled, “It should be obvious by now: Donald Trump and Doug Mastriano are not the future of the Republican Party.” And yes, I’m expecting something of a repeat of 2022 in 2024, simply because the Republicans haven’t fixed what went wrong in 2022.


Illiberalism


Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.

Ishaan Tharoor points out that Binyamin Netanyahu’s judicial subordination project isn’t just about evading the charges against him. It’s also about ensuring ultra-Orthodox supremacy even over the not-insignificant secular part of the Israeli population.[1] There is a lot at stake here and it’s even more clear that this isn’t going well for Netanyahu:

[Binyamin] Netanyahu’s new willingness to pause the judicial overhaul came after at least three more government ministers called for the legislation to be suspended. One of them, Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, is responsible for the government’s relationship with world Jewry, many of whose leaders have come out against the court reform. Another minister indicating his support for a pause is former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.[2]

What willingness?

Those voices signaled that [Binyamin] Netanyahu has lost the votes he needs to pass the court reform, which would sap the Israeli Supreme Court of much of its power and independence. Netanyahu has a 64-member majority in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, and had planned to bring a major piece of the overhaul to a final vote as soon as Monday. But if four of his coalition’s lawmakers vote against the bill — something that now would appear likely — it would fail.[3]

That’s gotta sting. But it gets worse for Netanyahu:

Israeli media was reporting Monday morning that Itamar Ben-Gvir, the head of the far-right Jewish Power party, was threatening to topple the government if the reform did not move forward.[4]

That’d be because of what Tharoor was pointing to, the demands of ultra-Orthodox Jews for a greater say.[5] This was looking like a circle that can’t be squared. But, in the end, Netanyahu agreed to a month’s delay.[6]

Steve Hendrix, “Netanyahu’s political touch eludes him as Israel spirals into chaos,” Washington Post, March 26, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/26/israel-judicial-reform-netanyahu-protests/

Steve Hendrix and Shira Rubin, “Netanyahu fires defense minister who called for halt to judicial overhaul,” Washington Post, March 26, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/26/israel-netanyahu-gallant-defense-minister/

Patrick Kingsley, “Israel Boils as Netanyahu Ousts Minister Who Bucked Court Overhaul,” New York Times, March 26, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/26/world/middleeast/judiciary-overhaul-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-parliament.html

Maayan Lubell, “Netanyahu agrees to delay Israel’s judicial overhaul until next parliament session,” Reuters, March 27, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-president-urges-halt-judicial-overhaul-after-protests-2023-03-27/

Ben Sales, “Protests and strike rock Israel as future of Netanyahu’s judicial reforms falls into doubt,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 27, 2023, https://www.jta.org/2023/03/27/israel/protests-and-strike-rock-israel-as-future-of-netanyahus-judicial-reforms-falls-into-doubt

Ishaan Tharoor, “Israel’s democratic crisis is about more than just Netanyahu,” Washington Post, March 27, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2023/03/27/israel-democratic-crisis-ideological-divide-netanyahu/


  1. [1]Ishaan Tharoor, “Israel’s democratic crisis is about more than just Netanyahu,” Washington Post, March 27, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2023/03/27/israel-democratic-crisis-ideological-divide-netanyahu/
  2. [2]Ben Sales, “Protests and strike rock Israel as future of Netanyahu’s judicial reforms falls into doubt,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 27, 2023, https://www.jta.org/2023/03/27/israel/protests-and-strike-rock-israel-as-future-of-netanyahus-judicial-reforms-falls-into-doubt
  3. [3]Ben Sales, “Protests and strike rock Israel as future of Netanyahu’s judicial reforms falls into doubt,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 27, 2023, https://www.jta.org/2023/03/27/israel/protests-and-strike-rock-israel-as-future-of-netanyahus-judicial-reforms-falls-into-doubt
  4. [4]Ben Sales, “Protests and strike rock Israel as future of Netanyahu’s judicial reforms falls into doubt,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 27, 2023, https://www.jta.org/2023/03/27/israel/protests-and-strike-rock-israel-as-future-of-netanyahus-judicial-reforms-falls-into-doubt
  5. [5]Ishaan Tharoor, “Israel’s democratic crisis is about more than just Netanyahu,” Washington Post, March 27, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2023/03/27/israel-democratic-crisis-ideological-divide-netanyahu/
  6. [6]Maayan Lubell, “Netanyahu agrees to delay Israel’s judicial overhaul until next parliament session,” Reuters, March 27, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-president-urges-halt-judicial-overhaul-after-protests-2023-03-27/

I think Binyamin Netanyahu is going down. And no, I don’t mean on his wife.

Illiberalism


Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.

If Mr. [Binyamin] Netanyahu’s goal in firing Mr. [Noav] Gallant was to muscle through the judicial changes, presenting his country with a fait accompli and neutralizing the opposition, it may have backfired. As unruly as some of the protests have been to date, none matched the intensity of the ones that materialized spontaneously late Sunday within minutes of the prime minister’s announcement.[1]

If Binyamin Netanyahu thinks firing his defense minister[2] is suddenly going to assure he has the votes for his judicial subordination program,[3] I gotta tell him, that’s not how it usually works.

I don’t know that Netanyahu doesn’t have the votes. Maybe he does. But if he’s so desperate to suppress opposition that advocates of the subordination package are pulling the stunts they are,[4] then I’m pretty sure he hasn’t got the votes. Because this[5] just ain’t how you reassure the world you’re protecting “democracy.”

The protests were so fierce that governing lawmakers, who hours earlier had seemed confident of voting in their changes in the coming days, began to express doubts that they could do so.
“Even though judicial reform is essential, the house is on fire, the rift in the nation is growing and our job is to stop it,” Miki Zohar, a lawmaker from the prime minister’s party, Likud, said in television interview in the early hours of Monday. “If Netanyahu takes the decision to postpone a decision until after Independence Day” — in late April — Mr. Zohar said, “we must all support him. Israel above everything, and our security above all.” . . .

Two moderate allies of Mr. Netanyahu announced their support on Sunday for the legislation, squashing rumors that they were about to break ranks. But two other coalition members have backed the call by Mr. Gallant to halt the process. If a third follows suit, the government could lose its majority.[6]

This can’t be going the way Netanyahu expected. Which indeed has already been reported,[7] but now we are even more certain.

My guess is Netanyahu is gonna have to face those charges he’s so desperate to evade. And my guess after that is that he’s desperate to evade those charges because he’s guilty as sin.

Steve Hendrix, “Netanyahu’s political touch eludes him as Israel spirals into chaos,” Washington Post, March 26, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/26/israel-judicial-reform-netanyahu-protests/

Steve Hendrix and Shira Rubin, “Netanyahu fires defense minister who called for halt to judicial overhaul,” Washington Post, March 26, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/26/israel-netanyahu-gallant-defense-minister/

Patrick Kingsley, “Israel Boils as Netanyahu Ousts Minister Who Bucked Court Overhaul,” New York Times, March 26, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/26/world/middleeast/judiciary-overhaul-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-parliament.html


  1. [1]Patrick Kingsley, “Israel Boils as Netanyahu Ousts Minister Who Bucked Court Overhaul,” New York Times, March 26, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/26/world/middleeast/judiciary-overhaul-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-parliament.html
  2. [2]Steve Hendrix and Shira Rubin, “Netanyahu fires defense minister who called for halt to judicial overhaul,” Washington Post, March 26, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/26/israel-netanyahu-gallant-defense-minister/; Patrick Kingsley, “Israel Boils as Netanyahu Ousts Minister Who Bucked Court Overhaul,” New York Times, March 26, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/26/world/middleeast/judiciary-overhaul-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-parliament.html
  3. [3]Steve Hendrix, “Netanyahu’s political touch eludes him as Israel spirals into chaos,” Washington Post, March 26, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/26/israel-judicial-reform-netanyahu-protests/
  4. [4]Steve Hendrix and Shira Rubin, “Netanyahu fires defense minister who called for halt to judicial overhaul,” Washington Post, March 26, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/26/israel-netanyahu-gallant-defense-minister/; Patrick Kingsley, “Israel Boils as Netanyahu Ousts Minister Who Bucked Court Overhaul,” New York Times, March 26, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/26/world/middleeast/judiciary-overhaul-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-parliament.html
  5. [5]Steve Hendrix and Shira Rubin, “Netanyahu fires defense minister who called for halt to judicial overhaul,” Washington Post, March 26, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/26/israel-netanyahu-gallant-defense-minister/
  6. [6]Patrick Kingsley, “Israel Boils as Netanyahu Ousts Minister Who Bucked Court Overhaul,” New York Times, March 26, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/26/world/middleeast/judiciary-overhaul-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-parliament.html
  7. [7]Steve Hendrix, “Netanyahu’s political touch eludes him as Israel spirals into chaos,” Washington Post, March 26, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/26/israel-judicial-reform-netanyahu-protests/

They fall hard . . . if altogether much, much, much too slowly

Illiberalism


Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.

I have previously noted that judicial subordination is existential for Binyamin Netanyahu and a member of his cabinet. They had the votes, I said; they will ram it through come hell or high water. Now, however, it is no longer clear they have the votes as Netanyahu seems seriously to have underestimated the opposition to his plans.[1]

Steve Hendrix, “Netanyahu’s political touch eludes him as Israel spirals into chaos,” Washington Post, March 26, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/26/israel-judicial-reform-netanyahu-protests/


(dis)United Kingdom

Prime minister


Fig. 1. President Reagan on the South Lawn during the arrival ceremony of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom. U.S. Government photograph, November 16, 1988, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Toby Helm, “A failed revolt and an ‘embarrassing’ display: the week that saw Boris Johnson’s downfall,” Guardian, March 26, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/26/a-failed-revolt-and-an-embarrassing-display-the-week-that-saw-boris-johnsons-downfall


Gilead

A housekeeping note: I have rearranged bits of the Gilead hierarchy, moving most of Donald Trump into its own sub-hierarchy. I have also introduced a new sub-hierarchy for the complicity of the non-opposition Democratic Neoliberal Party. Both these moves obsolete previous uniform resource locators (URLs).

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

There is a certain irony that, even as indictments against Donald Trump loom in the matters of classified documents, election interference, and Stormy Daniels, I am still seeing posts on social media suggesting he’s gotten off scot-free, even comparing the absence of consequences for all he’s done to an apparently similar absence for Adolf Hitler.

That’s no longer a reasonable position to adopt. Yes, it’s taken much, much, much too long, and yes, it’s still possible that nothing at all will come of any of this. But not all prosecutors are Merrick Garland, whom I still think should be charged with negligence[2] for taking so long to order a search of Mar-a-Lago.[3] Other prosecutors, including the one special counsel Garland appointed, appear to be moving much more aggressively.

And to say otherwise demonstrates inattention.

Should it indeed happen that all these separate investigations yield no indictments, then it will be time to roll out the Hitler comparisons. But not yet.


  1. [1]Steve Hendrix, “Netanyahu’s political touch eludes him as Israel spirals into chaos,” Washington Post, March 26, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/26/israel-judicial-reform-netanyahu-protests/
  2. [2]David Benfell, “It is now even more urgently orange jumpsuit time,” Not Housebroken, March 24, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/08/24/it-is-now-even-more-urgently-orange-jumpsuit-time/
  3. [3]Sadie Gurman and Aruna Viswanatha, “Merrick Garland Weighed Search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago for Weeks,” Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/merrick-garland-weighed-search-of-trumps-mar-a-lago-for-weeks-11660601292

A requiem for higher education in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

Higher Education


Fig. 1. The Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh (“Pitt”). Photograph by “RealNordyNed,” December 17, 2015, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Actually, no, the article doesn’t say what, beyond funding, what “needs to be fixed.” But a lot of folks would sure like to be consulted.[1]

On principle, I hate when politicians meddle in education. Between neoliberals and white Christian nationalists, it seems like the answer is almost always in some way a diminution of academic freedom, an increased emphasis on job training (that is, preparation for serfdom), more adjuncts, and an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM, that is, the development of new ways for the rich to extract wealth from the rest of us) at direct expense to the humanities and social sciences.

I have little reason to hope that what emerges under Josh Shapiro will be any better.

Maddie Aiken, “Gov. Shapiro said Pa.’s higher education system ‘isn’t working.’ Here’s what education advocates say needs to be fixed,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 25, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2023/03/25/shapiro-pennsylvania-higher-ed-budget-reform/stories/202303240122


Banking

Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Credit Suisse, 2023


Fig. 1. “The monument sign in front of the parking lot of the Silicon Valley Bank headquarters at 3003 West Tasman Drive, Santa Clara, California.” Photograph by Minh Nguyen, March 13, 2023, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Banking’s last crisis featured subprime borrowers, specifically people with troubled credit who were given mortgages by bankers who ignored the risk that the borrowers wouldn’t realistically be able to afford them. Banks that got into trouble were ones that churned out such loans or gorged on them in securitized form.

The current emerging turmoil is, so far, featuring the opposite. Banks such as Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank that catered to some of the wealthiest, most creditworthy clients—those with superprime credit scores—are the ones running into the biggest problems. . . .

It isn’t that the rich are defaulting on loans in droves. But the most flush depositors with excess cash last year started taking their cash and seeking out higher yields in online banks, money funds or Treasurys. On top of that, startups and other private businesses started burning more cash, leading to deposit outflows. [2]

Telis Demos, “Welcome to the Superprime Banking Crisis,” Wall Street Journal, March 25, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/welcome-to-the-superprime-banking-crisis-9ab6b6d2


  1. [1]Maddie Aiken, “Gov. Shapiro said Pa.’s higher education system ‘isn’t working.’ Here’s what education advocates say needs to be fixed,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 25, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2023/03/25/shapiro-pennsylvania-higher-ed-budget-reform/stories/202303240122
  2. [2]Telis Demos, “Welcome to the Superprime Banking Crisis,” Wall Street Journal, March 25, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/welcome-to-the-superprime-banking-crisis-9ab6b6d2

Anticipation

Gilead

Donald Trump

It seems like an awful lot of stuff is happening quickly now. This, of course, creates an anticipation that indictments are imminent, and indeed, they are widely expected in the Stormy Daniels matter. I’m not sure, however, that that actually follows. In other matters, I’ve been saying I’ll believe there are charges when there actually are charges, in significant part because there has seemed to be an endless supply of excuses that have long since taken on the appearance less of delay and more of desperate avoidance.[1]

Indeed, the case that is now the campaign finance violation case involving hush money apparently paid to Daniels was widely thought to be dead.[2] As it turns out, Alvin Bragg, having expressed “doubts about taking a case against [Donald] Trump, personally, to court, . . . refocused [it] . . . returning to the matter that originally sparked their investigation into Trump a number of years back: the hush money payment.”[3]

Time will tell, but for now, I do not have the same impression of Bragg I have of the endlessly dithering Merrick Garland,[4] who eventually appointed Jack Smith as special counsel.[5] And Smith, to all appearances, and somewhat to my surprise, is pursing his investigation aggressively,[6] suggesting we might, after all, see charges here as well.

It’s all still really speculation. But there is hope I was wrong.

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

David Remnick, “The Curtain Rises on Trump’s Legal Dramas,” New Yorker, March 18, 2023, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-curtain-rises-on-trumps-legal-dramas

Charlie Savage, “Dissecting Charges That Could Arise From the Trump Investigations,” New York Times, March 19, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/19/us/politics/trump-investigations.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump’s Lawyers Seem Pretty Panicked He’s Going to be Indicted in Georgia Too,” Vanity Fair, March 20, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/donald-trump-potential-fulton-county-georgia-charges

Jeremy Barr, “Judge sounds skeptical of some Fox arguments in Dominion lawsuit,” Washington Post, March 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/03/21/judge-sounds-skeptical-some-fox-arguments-dominion-lawsuit/

Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney, “Trump denounces ‘crime-fraud’ ruling forcing attorney to testify in documents probe,” Politico, March 21, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/21/trump-crime-fraud-attorney-documents-probe-00088215

Josh Dawsey et al., “Trump lawyer must turn over evidence on classified documents, court rules,” Washington Post, March 22, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/22/trump-appeal-lawyer-classified-documents/

Charlotte Klein, “Judge Doesn't Seem Convinced by Fox News' Arguments in the Dominion Lawsuit,” Vanity Fair, March 22, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/fox-dominion-hearing

Tina Nguyen, “Is the Republican Primary Already Over?” Puck, March 22, 2023, https://puck.news/is-the-republican-primary-already-over/

Sam Levine, “Why Dominion is already the winner of the $1.6bn lawsuit against Fox News,” Guardian, March 23, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/23/dominion-fox-news-defamation-lawsuit-winner

John Santucci, Katherine Faulders, and Jonathan Karl, “Meadows, other top Trump aides ordered to testify in Jan. 6 probe as judge rejects claims of executive privilege,” ABC News, March 24, 2023, https://abcnews.go.com/US/meadows-top-trump-aides-ordered-testify-jan-6/story?id=98101813

Stormy Daniels


Fig. 1. Stormy Daniels at Ron Jeremy’s birthday party. Photograph by Luke Ford (Lukeisback.com), March 10, 2007, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5.

John Wagner and Hannah Allam, “Trump warns of ‘potential death & destruction’ if he’s charged in hush-money case,” Washington Post, March 24, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/24/trump-hush-money-death-destruction/


Illiberalism


Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.

Shira Rubin and Steve Hendrix, “Netanyahu vows to push through judicial overhaul amid nationwide protests,” Washington Post, March 23, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/23/israel-judicial-reform-netanyahu-protests/

Dan Williams, “Israel ratifies law limiting conditions for a Netanyahu ouster,” Reuters, March 23, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-ratifies-law-limiting-conditions-netanyahu-ouster-2023-03-23/

Times of Israel, “AG says Netanyahu is breaking the law and in violation of conflict of interest deal,” Times of Israel, March 24, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/ag-says-netanyahu-is-breaking-the-law-and-in-violation-of-conflict-of-interest-deal/


  1. [1]David Benfell, “It is now even more urgently orange jumpsuit time,” Not Housebroken, March 3, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/08/24/it-is-now-even-more-urgently-orange-jumpsuit-time/
  2. [2]William D. Cohan, “The Billion-Dollar Trump-Wall Street Mystery,” Puck News, April 6, 2022, https://puck.news/the-billion-dollar-trump-wall-street-mystery/; Jane Mayer, “Why Does New York’s Criminal Investigation of Donald Trump Appear All But Over?” New Yorker, February 24, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-does-new-yorks-criminal-investigation-of-donald-trump-appear-all-but-over; Corinne Ramey and Deanna Paul, “Two Prosecutors in New York Investigation of Donald Trump Resign,” Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-prosecutors-in-new-york-investigation-of-donald-trump-resign-11645650257; Corinne Ramey and Deanna Paul, “Ex-Manhattan Prosecutor Who Resigned Said He Believed Trump Committed Numerous Felonies,” Wall Street Journal, March 23, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ex-manhattan-prosecutor-who-resigned-said-he-believed-trump-committed-numerous-felonies-11648087035
  3. [3]Bess Levin, “Is Donald Trump Going to Prison? And Answers to Every Other Burning Question About His Likely Indictment,” Vanity Fair, March 20, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/donald-trump-indictment-explainer
  4. [4]David Benfell, “It is now even more urgently orange jumpsuit time,” Not Housebroken, March 3, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/08/24/it-is-now-even-more-urgently-orange-jumpsuit-time/
  5. [5]Aruna Viswanatha and Sadie Gurman, “Jack Smith Named Special Counsel to Lead DOJ Probes of Donald Trump,” Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/garland-to-name-special-counsel-to-determine-whether-trump-should-face-charges-11668796152
  6. [6]Josh Dawsey et al., “Trump lawyer must turn over evidence on classified documents, court rules,” Washington Post, March 22, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/22/trump-appeal-lawyer-classified-documents/; Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney, “Trump denounces ‘crime-fraud’ ruling forcing attorney to testify in documents probe,” Politico, March 21, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/21/trump-crime-fraud-attorney-documents-probe-00088215; Bess Levin, “Merrick Garland’s Special Counsel Is Zeroing In On Trump’s Inner Circle,” Vanity Fair, January 10, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/donald-trump-jack-smith-special-counsel-investigation; David Remnick, “The Curtain Rises on Trump’s Legal Dramas,” New Yorker, March 18, 2023, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-curtain-rises-on-trumps-legal-dramas; John Santucci, Katherine Faulders, and Jonathan Karl, “Meadows, other top Trump aides ordered to testify in Jan. 6 probe as judge rejects claims of executive privilege,” ABC News, March 24, 2023, https://abcnews.go.com/US/meadows-top-trump-aides-ordered-testify-jan-6/story?id=98101813; Charlie Savage, “Dissecting Charges That Could Arise From the Trump Investigations,” New York Times, March 19, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/19/us/politics/trump-investigations.html; Chris Walker, “DOJ Is ‘On a Path to Charge’ Trump, Former U.S. Attorney Says,” Truthout, December 12, 2022, https://truthout.org/articles/doj-is-on-path-to-charge-trump-former-us-attorney-says/; Shan Wu, “Trump’s Special Master Suit Is Dead—Now the Real Case Begins,” Daily Beast, December 12, 2022, https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-special-master-suit-is-deadnow-the-real-case-begins

Russia rattles its saber as it dusts off tanks that are older than I am

Imperialism

Russia

Ukraine


Fig. 1. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[1] fair use.

Deutschewelle, “Ukraine updates: Medvedev says Putin arrest would be ‘war,’” March 23, 2023, https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-updates-medvedev-says-putin-arrest-would-be-war/a-65089023

Francesca Ebel, “Russia is shipping very old tanks west, signaling shortage in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 23, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/23/russia-t54-t55-old-tanks/


Illiberalism


Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.

Shira Rubin and Steve Hendrix, “Netanyahu vows to push through judicial overhaul amid nationwide protests,” Washington Post, March 23, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/23/israel-judicial-reform-netanyahu-protests/

Dan Williams, “Israel ratifies law limiting conditions for a Netanyahu ouster,” Reuters, March 23, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-ratifies-law-limiting-conditions-netanyahu-ouster-2023-03-23/


  1. [1]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q

Tales from the fringe (of white Christian nationalism)

Gilead

White Christian nationalism (Trumpism)


Fig. 1. In terms of geographic area, Pennsylvania is very much a white Christian nationalist kind of place. Photograph by author, January 5, 2023.

Figures from [the Anti-Defamation League] showed sharp rises in antisemitic activity nationwide last year. Pennsylvania saw a 65% increase.

The report, released Thursday, details how Pennsylvania and New Jersey broke records when it came to vandalism and harassment targeting Jewish people. With 114 reported incidents in Pennsylvania alone, the amount of activity was the highest in the ADL’s four-plus decades of collecting data.[1]

Increases in anti-Semitic activity are a nationwide trend,[2] and I’m inclined to associate it with an increasing radicalization of white Christian nationalist supporters of Doug Mastriano, who ran for Pennsylvania governor last year, and of Donald Trump.

Both candidates have hewn to an extreme paleoconservative and social conservative agenda,[3] even as it became increasingly apparent that this agenda would—and did—alienate voters in the general election.[4] It’s not a tilt that makes obvious sense.[5]

It’s reasonable to think these extreme views will not be a deal-breaker for white Christian nationalists. But given the 2022 results,[6] I just don’t see how this wins the 2024 general election.

Jesse Bunch, “An alarming report shows rising antisemitism in Pa., days after a white supremacist campaign targeted Port Richmond,” Philadelphia Inquirer, March 23, 2023, https://www.inquirer.com/news/antisemitism-data-adl-report-port-richmond-stickers-white-supremacists-20230323.html


Imperialism

Russia

Ukraine


Fig. 1. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[7] fair use.

Deutschewelle, “Ukraine updates: Medvedev says Putin arrest would be ‘war,’” March 23, 2023, https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-updates-medvedev-says-putin-arrest-would-be-war/a-65089023


Banking

Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Credit Suisse, 2023


Fig. 1. “The monument sign in front of the parking lot of the Silicon Valley Bank headquarters at 3003 West Tasman Drive, Santa Clara, California.” Photograph by Minh Nguyen, March 13, 2023, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

[Former FDIC chief Sheila] Bair has been calling for a pause on [Federal Reserve] rate hikes since December. She said that instead of raising rates by another 25 basis points on Wednesday, Fed Chair Powell should have hit pause and said the central bank needs time to assess.

“If we have a financial crisis, we won’t have a soft landing,” Bair said. “We have to avoid that at all costs.”[8]

Margot Patrick, Justin Baer, and Dana Cimilluca, “UBS Nears Deal to Take Over Credit Suisse,” Wall Street Journal, March 18, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ubs-in-talks-to-take-over-credit-suisse-ed932b01

William D. Cohan, “The Last Days of SVB,” Puck, March 19, 2023, https://puck.news/the-last-days-of-svb/

David Goldman, “FDIC sells most of failed Signature Bank to Flagstar,” CNN, March 19, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/19/investing/fdic-signature-bank-assets-flagstar-hnk-intl/index.html

Margot Patrick et al., “UBS Agrees to Buy Credit Suisse for More Than $3 Billion,” Wall Street Journal, March 19, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ubs-offers-1-billion-to-take-over-credit-suisse-bfac51fa

Marion Halftermeyer and Myriam Balezou, “How Scandal and Mistrust Ended Credit Suisse’s 166-Year Run,” Bloomberg, March 20, 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-19/how-scandal-and-mistrust-ended-credit-suisse-s-166-year-history

Joe Rennison, “Banks Remain Under Pressure as Investors Eye Fallout From Rescue Deals,” New York Times, March 20, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/20/business/markets-today.html

Justin Lahart, “The Fed Flies in the Dark,” Wall Street Journal, March 21, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fed-flies-in-the-dark-30768449

Ashley Rindsberg, “How the Bank Collapse Goes Nuclear,” Tablet, March 22, 2023, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/how-bank-crisis-goes-nuclear

Vivien Lou Chen, “Moody’s sees risk that U.S. banking ‘turmoil’ can’t be contained,” MarketWatch, March 23, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/moodys-sees-risk-that-u-s-banking-turmoil-cant-be-contained-f478df49

Joy Wiltermuth, “‘This is a risk confronting all banks,’ ex-FDIC chief Sheila Bair tells MarketWatch,” MarketWatch, March 23, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/regional-banks-get-the-attention-but-worries-are-more-widespread-says-ex-fdic-chief-bair-a7e7eb56


  1. [1]Jesse Bunch, “An alarming report shows rising antisemitism in Pa., days after a white supremacist campaign targeted Port Richmond,” Philadelphia Inquirer, March 23, 2023, https://www.inquirer.com/news/antisemitism-data-adl-report-port-richmond-stickers-white-supremacists-20230323.html
  2. [2]Jesse Bunch, “An alarming report shows rising antisemitism in Pa., days after a white supremacist campaign targeted Port Richmond,” Philadelphia Inquirer, March 23, 2023, https://www.inquirer.com/news/antisemitism-data-adl-report-port-richmond-stickers-white-supremacists-20230323.html
  3. [3]William Bender, “Doug Mastriano’s comments on Islam and climate change resurface, the latest hit for his campaign,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 19, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/doug-mastriano-islam-global-warming-2018-governor-pennsylvania-20220819.html; William Bender, “In a rare rebuke, two retired War College professors say Doug Mastriano is unfit to be governor,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 16, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/doug-mastriano-war-college-biddle-coplen-alvin-york-20221016.html; William Bender and Jonathan Tamari, “As campaign struggles, Doug Mastriano plans ‘40 days of fasting and prayer,’” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 28, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/doug-mastriano-fasting-prayer-campaign-rally-struggling-20220928.html; Chris Brennan, “‘Mastriano is unacceptable’: A group of Pennsylvania Republicans is organizing to support Shapiro,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 6, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/josh-shapiro-doug-mastriano-governor-republicans-endorsements-20220706.html; Chris Brennan, “Doug Mastriano wore a Confederate Army uniform in an Army War College faculty photo,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 26, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/doug-mastriano-confederate-uniform-photo-army-war-college-20220826.html; Chris Brennan, “Doug Mastriano will flirt again with the QAnon crowd as another election approaches,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 21, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/doug-mastriano-josh-shapiro-governor-election-mike-flynn-rudy-giuliani-20221021.html; Stephen Caruso and Ethan Edward Coston, “How Doug Mastriano built a grassroots movement in Pa. on election denial, Christianity, and Facebook,” Spotlight PA, May 23, 2022, https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2022/05/doug-mastriano-pa-governor-pennsylvania-shapiro/; Philissa Cramer, “Republican Jews call on Doug Mastriano, GOP candidate for PA governor, to stop using Gab,” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, July 22, 2022, https://www.jta.org/2022/07/22/politics/republican-jews-call-on-doug-mastriano-gop-candidate-for-pa-governor-to-stop-using-gab; Kristen Holmes, “Trump expresses support for Capitol rioters as he continues to embrace extremist groups,” CNN, December 2, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/donald-trump-january-6-rioters-support/index.html; Ron Kampeas, “Critics compare salutes at Trump and Mastriano rallies to Nazi ‘Sieg Heil,’” Times of Israel, September 20, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/critics-compare-salutes-at-trump-mastriano-rallies-to-nazi-sieg-heil/; Dana Milbank, “And on the eighth day, God said: Let Mastriano win Pennsylvania,” Washington Post, September 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/09/doug-mastriano-prophet-julie-green/; Tina Nguyen, “Doug Mastriano’s Snowflake Strategy,” Puck News, September 14, 2022, https://puck.news/doug-mastrianos-snowflake-strategy/; Greg Sargent, “Say it clearly: Republicans just nominated a pro-Trump insurrectionist,” Washington Post, May 18, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/18/doug-mastriano-insurrectionist/; Andrew Seidman, “A top GOP candidate for governor campaigned at an event promoting QAnon and conspiracy theories about 9/11,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 27, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/doug-mastriano-teddy-daniels-qanon-conference-gop-candidates-20220427.html
  4. [4]Natalie Andrews, Siobhan Hughes, and Lindsay Wise, “Frustrated Republicans Try to Explain Lack of Midterm ‘Red Wave,’” Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/frustrated-republicans-try-to-explain-lack-of-midterm-red-wave-11668036382; Isaac Arnsdorf and Josh Dawsey, “One likely 2024 GOP contender triumphed on election night. It wasn’t Donald Trump,” Washington Post, November 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/09/desantis-trump-2024-presidential-election/; Dan Balz, “The vaunted red wave never hit the shore in midterm elections,” Washington Post, November 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/08/midterms-dissatisfied-voters-render-judgments-biden-republicans/; Jonathan Freedland, “The winner of the midterms is not yet clear – but the loser is Donald Trump,” Guardian, November 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/09/the-winner-of-the-midterms-is-not-yet-clear-but-the-loser-is-donald-trump; Amy Gardner, Reis Thebault, and Robert Klemko, “Election deniers lose races for key state offices in every 2020 battleground,” Washington Post, November 13, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2022/11/13/election-deniers-defeated-state-races/; Liz Goodwin, “A red wave of criticism crashes into Donald Trump after midterm losses,” Washington Post, November 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/11/trump-criticism-midterms-republicans/; David Lauter, “The midterm’s big loser: Trump suffers multiple defeats,” Los Angeles Times, November 9, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2022-11-09/the-midterms-big-loser-trump-suffers-multiple-defeats-essential-politics; Kris Maher, “Democrat Josh Shapiro Wins Pennsylvania Governor Race Over Doug Mastriano,” Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/election-midterms-2022/card/democrat-josh-shapiro-wins-pennsylvania-governor-race-over-doug-mastriano-rdDSLqwHlckU7Q5yZYF2; Tina Nguyen, “Has Trump Already Lost ’24?” Puck News, November 30, 2022, https://puck.news/has-trump-already-lost-24/; Greg Sargent, “Republicans want Trump to take the blame. Good luck with that,” Washington Post, November 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/11/trump-midterm-elections-gop-abortion-rights-2024/; Marianna Sotomayor et al., “Congressional Republicans panic as they watch their lead dwindle,” Washington Post, November 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/11/senate-republicans-mcconnell-midterms/; Brian Slodysko, “Election takeaways: No sweep for the Republicans after all,” Associated Press, November 9, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-takeaways-9381d3aaff26d19da95506e045fcd6e1; Jonathan Tamari and William Bender, “‘It’s time for him to retire’: Some Pa. Republicans want to push Trump aside after their election losses,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 10, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pa-republicans-blame-trump-2022-losses-20221110.html; Chris Walker, “Trump Is Blaming Everyone But Himself for Midterm Losses — Including His Wife,” Truthout, November 10, 2022, https://truthout.org/articles/trump-is-blaming-everyone-but-himself-for-midterm-losses-including-his-wife/
  5. [5]David Benfell, “More questions than answers as Donald Trump flags come down,” Not Housebroken, February 28, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/08/28/more-questions-than-answers-as-donald-trump-flags-come-down/
  6. [6]Natalie Andrews, Siobhan Hughes, and Lindsay Wise, “Frustrated Republicans Try to Explain Lack of Midterm ‘Red Wave,’” Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/frustrated-republicans-try-to-explain-lack-of-midterm-red-wave-11668036382; Isaac Arnsdorf and Josh Dawsey, “One likely 2024 GOP contender triumphed on election night. It wasn’t Donald Trump,” Washington Post, November 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/09/desantis-trump-2024-presidential-election/; Dan Balz, “The vaunted red wave never hit the shore in midterm elections,” Washington Post, November 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/08/midterms-dissatisfied-voters-render-judgments-biden-republicans/; Jonathan Freedland, “The winner of the midterms is not yet clear – but the loser is Donald Trump,” Guardian, November 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/09/the-winner-of-the-midterms-is-not-yet-clear-but-the-loser-is-donald-trump; Amy Gardner, Reis Thebault, and Robert Klemko, “Election deniers lose races for key state offices in every 2020 battleground,” Washington Post, November 13, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2022/11/13/election-deniers-defeated-state-races/; Liz Goodwin, “A red wave of criticism crashes into Donald Trump after midterm losses,” Washington Post, November 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/11/trump-criticism-midterms-republicans/; David Lauter, “The midterm’s big loser: Trump suffers multiple defeats,” Los Angeles Times, November 9, 2022, https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2022-11-09/the-midterms-big-loser-trump-suffers-multiple-defeats-essential-politics; Kris Maher, “Democrat Josh Shapiro Wins Pennsylvania Governor Race Over Doug Mastriano,” Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/election-midterms-2022/card/democrat-josh-shapiro-wins-pennsylvania-governor-race-over-doug-mastriano-rdDSLqwHlckU7Q5yZYF2; Tina Nguyen, “Has Trump Already Lost ’24?” Puck News, November 30, 2022, https://puck.news/has-trump-already-lost-24/; Greg Sargent, “Republicans want Trump to take the blame. Good luck with that,” Washington Post, November 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/11/trump-midterm-elections-gop-abortion-rights-2024/; Marianna Sotomayor et al., “Congressional Republicans panic as they watch their lead dwindle,” Washington Post, November 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/11/senate-republicans-mcconnell-midterms/; Brian Slodysko, “Election takeaways: No sweep for the Republicans after all,” Associated Press, November 9, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-takeaways-9381d3aaff26d19da95506e045fcd6e1; Jonathan Tamari and William Bender, “‘It’s time for him to retire’: Some Pa. Republicans want to push Trump aside after their election losses,” Philadelphia Inquirer, November 10, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pa-republicans-blame-trump-2022-losses-20221110.html; Chris Walker, “Trump Is Blaming Everyone But Himself for Midterm Losses — Including His Wife,” Truthout, November 10, 2022, https://truthout.org/articles/trump-is-blaming-everyone-but-himself-for-midterm-losses-including-his-wife/
  7. [7]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q
  8. [8]Joy Wiltermuth, “‘This is a risk confronting all banks,’ ex-FDIC chief Sheila Bair tells MarketWatch,” MarketWatch, March 23, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/regional-banks-get-the-attention-but-worries-are-more-widespread-says-ex-fdic-chief-bair-a7e7eb56

On Donald Trump’s travails, remembering that ‘[h]istory is written by the victors’

Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Sam Levine thinks that, at least for the historical record, Dominion has already won its defamation case against Fox News.[1] This, of course, assumes that the record will be preserved, which in turn depends to some degree on how much power and inclination white Christian nationalists, who already seek to suppress the teaching of U.S. history, to obliterate it.

The old adage that “[h]istory is written by the victors”[2] comes to mind.

My inclination now is to believe, once again, that the threat of Gilead will be contained. I haven’t always been so inclined.[3] Whichever way this turns out, I will have been wrong at one point or another, and, for me, that inspires caution rather than confidence.

David Remnick, “The Curtain Rises on Trump’s Legal Dramas,” New Yorker, March 18, 2023, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-curtain-rises-on-trumps-legal-dramas

Charlie Savage, “Dissecting Charges That Could Arise From the Trump Investigations,” New York Times, March 19, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/19/us/politics/trump-investigations.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump’s Lawyers Seem Pretty Panicked He’s Going to be Indicted in Georgia Too,” Vanity Fair, March 20, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/donald-trump-potential-fulton-county-georgia-charges

Jeremy Barr, “Judge sounds skeptical of some Fox arguments in Dominion lawsuit,” Washington Post, March 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/03/21/judge-sounds-skeptical-some-fox-arguments-dominion-lawsuit/

Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney, “Trump denounces ‘crime-fraud’ ruling forcing attorney to testify in documents probe,” Politico, March 21, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/21/trump-crime-fraud-attorney-documents-probe-00088215

Josh Dawsey et al., “Trump lawyer must turn over evidence on classified documents, court rules,” Washington Post, March 22, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/22/trump-appeal-lawyer-classified-documents/

Charlotte Klein, “Judge Doesn't Seem Convinced by Fox News' Arguments in the Dominion Lawsuit,” Vanity Fair, March 22, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/fox-dominion-hearing

Tina Nguyen, “Is the Republican Primary Already Over?” Puck, March 22, 2023, https://puck.news/is-the-republican-primary-already-over/

Sam Levine, “Why Dominion is already the winner of the $1.6bn lawsuit against Fox News,” Guardian, March 23, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/23/dominion-fox-news-defamation-lawsuit-winner

Stormy Daniels


Fig. 1. Stormy Daniels at Ron Jeremy’s birthday party. Photograph by Luke Ford (Lukeisback.com), March 10, 2007, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5.

Upon taking office, [Alvin] Bragg found himself almost immediately engulfed in controversy. A memo to his new staff laid out his plans: With some exceptions, the office would no longer prosecute low-level offenses such as fare evasion and prostitution, and it would seek lesser charges for certain robberies in which the accused did not “create a genuine risk of physical harm.” These positions were consistent with Bragg’s campaign platform, but when the memo leaked, the [New York] Post declared it akin to a get-out-of-jail-free card. As a result of the memo, along with Bragg’s defense of bail reform and the city’s climbing postpandemic crime rate, the new DA spent his first year on the defensive.[4]

He made adjustments and a rising crime rate soon fell, “[b]ut Bragg had allowed himself to be caricatured as soft on crime, something [Donald] Trump and his allies are now trying to exploit.”[5]

The concern is not with Alvin Bragg’s prosecutorial skills—these appear to be top-notch—but rather with his political acumen and, specifically, his ability to manage and fend off the vicious attacks that Donald Trump and his supporters are sure to mount.[6]

Chris Smith, “Alvin Bragg Is Known as a Sharp, Methodical Prosecutor. Can He Handle the Politics of a Trump Indictment?” Vanity Fair, March 22, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/alvin-bragg-politics-trump-indictment


Illiberalism


Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.

Dan Williams, “Israel ratifies law limiting conditions for a Netanyahu ouster,” Reuters, March 23, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-ratifies-law-limiting-conditions-netanyahu-ouster-2023-03-23/


Human Science

Inquiry

Quantitative
Artificial idiocy

What we have here is an early sign we’re stumbling into a massive game of [artificial intelligence idiocy] misinformation telephone, in which chatbots are unable to gauge reliable news sources, misread stories about themselves, and misreport on their own capabilities. In this case, the whole thing started because of a single joke comment on Hacker News. Imagine what you could do if you wanted these systems to fail.

It’s a laughable situation but one with potentially serious consequences. Given the inability of AI language models to reliably sort fact from fiction, their launch online threatens to unleash a rotten trail of misinformation and mistrust across the web, a miasma that is impossible to map completely or debunk authoritatively. All because Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI have decided that market share is more important than safety.[7]

Sounds like capitalism to me.

James Vincent, “Google and Microsoft’s chatbots are already citing one another in a misinformation shitshow,” Verge, March 22, 2023, https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/22/23651564/google-microsoft-bard-bing-chatbots-misinformation


Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Infrastructure


Fig. 1. Post-collapse scene at the Fern Hollow Bridge, photograph by National Transportation Safety Board, January 29, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Julia Felton, “Pittsburgh officials look to expedite $48M rehab of Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 22, 2023, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-officials-look-to-expedite-48m-rehab-of-charles-anderson-memorial-bridge/


Eschatology

Tom Engelhardt, “Prophesies, Then and Now,” TomDispatch, March 23, 2023, https://tomdispatch.com/prophesies-then-and-now/


Banking

Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Credit Suisse, 2023


Fig. 1. “The monument sign in front of the parking lot of the Silicon Valley Bank headquarters at 3003 West Tasman Drive, Santa Clara, California.” Photograph by Minh Nguyen, March 13, 2023, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

It should go without saying that we are now in a financial crisis. We have just witnessed the collapse or near-collapse of five banks, including Credit Suisse, an institution of systemic importance. And yet it still needs to be said in light of the glib reaction following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) earlier this month, which many pundits claimed was only a problem for rich “tech bros.” But SVB was the 16th-largest bank in the United States and its speed-of-social-media implosion left observers and regulators grasping for answers, which made it easy to blame the bank’s failure on corrupt venture capitalists trying to cheat the system. After SVB, the San Francisco-based First Republic bank also started to melt down, while the crypto-focused Signature and Silvergate banks went into closure, a pattern that reinforced the notion that this was a Silicon Valley phenomenon being hyped up by wealthy venture capitalists looking for a government bailout.[8]

Ashley Rindsberg subscribes to a conventional notion that interest rates will have to keep rising in order to contain inflation, though she acknowledges “[t]he [Federal Reserve’s] rate hike on Wednesday [March 22] delivered a hybrid message, increasing the federal funds rate by 0.25% but also signaling this will be the last, or second to last, increase,” and that “even this modest rate increase—coming in place of a pause in raising or a drop in rates—could inflame the debt crisis, putting more banks at risk.”[9]

This is paradigm thinking, strictly conventional, even as it so obviously points to a need to “think outside the box,” to recognize, first, that, in this instance, inflation is not being caused by interest rates and therefore that raising those rates is the wrong approach; and second, that neoliberal dogma is responsible both for a supply chain crisis that is responsible for inflation and widening social inequality.[10]

So the question here is whether elites will insist on their neoliberal paradigm, slitting banks’ throats just as they do workers’, or whether they’ll recognize that a neo-feudal system is simply the wrong approach to managing the economy. My bet is on the former.

Margot Patrick, Justin Baer, and Dana Cimilluca, “UBS Nears Deal to Take Over Credit Suisse,” Wall Street Journal, March 18, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ubs-in-talks-to-take-over-credit-suisse-ed932b01

William D. Cohan, “The Last Days of SVB,” Puck, March 19, 2023, https://puck.news/the-last-days-of-svb/

David Goldman, “FDIC sells most of failed Signature Bank to Flagstar,” CNN, March 19, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/19/investing/fdic-signature-bank-assets-flagstar-hnk-intl/index.html

Margot Patrick et al., “UBS Agrees to Buy Credit Suisse for More Than $3 Billion,” Wall Street Journal, March 19, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ubs-offers-1-billion-to-take-over-credit-suisse-bfac51fa

Marion Halftermeyer and Myriam Balezou, “How Scandal and Mistrust Ended Credit Suisse’s 166-Year Run,” Bloomberg, March 20, 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-19/how-scandal-and-mistrust-ended-credit-suisse-s-166-year-history

Joe Rennison, “Banks Remain Under Pressure as Investors Eye Fallout From Rescue Deals,” New York Times, March 20, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/20/business/markets-today.html

Justin Lahart, “The Fed Flies in the Dark,” Wall Street Journal, March 21, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fed-flies-in-the-dark-30768449

Ashley Rindsberg, “How the Bank Collapse Goes Nuclear,” Tablet, March 22, 2023, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/how-bank-crisis-goes-nuclear


  1. [1]Sam Levine, “Why Dominion is already the winner of the $1.6bn lawsuit against Fox News,” Guardian, March 23, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/23/dominion-fox-news-defamation-lawsuit-winner
  2. [2]This adage is often incorrectly attributed to Winston Churchill but in fact long predates both him and Hermann Göaut;ring. Attribution will depend on whether one accepts a narrow or broad context—to my mind, the distinction is unimportant—and does not seem definitive: Matthew Phelan, “The History of ‘History Is Written by the Victors,’” Slate, November 26, 2019, https://slate.com/culture/2019/11/history-is-written-by-the-victors-quote-origin.html
  3. [3]David Benfell, “Start changing the border signs: ‘Welcome to Gilead,’” Not Housebroken, July 28, 2022, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/06/18/start-changing-the-border-signs-welcome-to-gilead/; David Benfell, “My 2024 forecast,” Not Housebroken, March 8, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2022/03/10/my-2024-forecast/
  4. [4]Chris Smith, “Alvin Bragg Is Known as a Sharp, Methodical Prosecutor. Can He Handle the Politics of a Trump Indictment?” Vanity Fair, March 22, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/alvin-bragg-politics-trump-indictment
  5. [5]Chris Smith, “Alvin Bragg Is Known as a Sharp, Methodical Prosecutor. Can He Handle the Politics of a Trump Indictment?” Vanity Fair, March 22, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/alvin-bragg-politics-trump-indictment
  6. [6]Chris Smith, “Alvin Bragg Is Known as a Sharp, Methodical Prosecutor. Can He Handle the Politics of a Trump Indictment?” Vanity Fair, March 22, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/alvin-bragg-politics-trump-indictment
  7. [7]James Vincent, “Google and Microsoft’s chatbots are already citing one another in a misinformation shitshow,” Verge, March 22, 2023, https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/22/23651564/google-microsoft-bard-bing-chatbots-misinformation
  8. [8]Ashley Rindsberg, “How the Bank Collapse Goes Nuclear,” Tablet, March 22, 2023, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/how-bank-crisis-goes-nuclear
  9. [9]Ashley Rindsberg, “How the Bank Collapse Goes Nuclear,” Tablet, March 22, 2023, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/how-bank-crisis-goes-nuclear
  10. [10]David Benfell, “The Silicon Valley Bank collapse exposes our system for what it is: neo-feudalism,” Not Housebroken, March 19, 2023, https://disunitedstates.org/2023/03/19/the-silicon-valley-bank-collapse-exposes-our-system-for-what-it-is-neo-feudalism/

Donald Trump is still a loser—I think

Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Tina Nguyen is as smart in her coverage of conservatives as they come. And I might yet be proven wrong. But I’m having a very hard time seeing Donald Trump getting any kind of boost from indictments, arrests, or “perp walks,” which is precisely what the Republicans she interviews expect.[1]

Nguyen observes that Trump’s support in the polls seems to be rising a bit.[2] This would be consistent with my observation of a few more Trump flags, banners, and other paraphernalia. Her argument would be that Republican voters will share Republican politicians’ outrage over any indictments.[3]

Sorry, I’m just not seeing it.

Charlie Savage, “Dissecting Charges That Could Arise From the Trump Investigations,” New York Times, March 19, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/19/us/politics/trump-investigations.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump’s Lawyers Seem Pretty Panicked He’s Going to be Indicted in Georgia Too,” Vanity Fair, March 20, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/donald-trump-potential-fulton-county-georgia-charges

Jeremy Barr, “Judge sounds skeptical of some Fox arguments in Dominion lawsuit,” Washington Post, March 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/03/21/judge-sounds-skeptical-some-fox-arguments-dominion-lawsuit/

Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney, “Trump denounces ‘crime-fraud’ ruling forcing attorney to testify in documents probe,” Politico, March 21, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/21/trump-crime-fraud-attorney-documents-probe-00088215

Josh Dawsey et al., “Trump lawyer must turn over evidence on classified documents, court rules,” Washington Post, March 22, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/22/trump-appeal-lawyer-classified-documents/

Tina Nguyen, “Is the Republican Primary Already Over?” Puck, March 22, 2023, https://puck.news/is-the-republican-primary-already-over/


Illiberalism


Fig. 1. Photograph by Joachim F. Thurn, August 1991, Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F089030-0003, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE.

Times of Israel, “‘Red line we won’t accept’: Levin warns Court not to block judicial appointments bill,” March 21, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/levin-warns-high-court-against-striking-down-judicial-appointments-bill/

Tracy Wilkinson, “Longtime Israel backers in U.S. turn outraged critics — but Biden administration remains distant,” Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-03-21/long-time-israel-supporters-outraged-critics-biden-administration-distance


  1. [1]Tina Nguyen, “Is the Republican Primary Already Over?” Puck, March 22, 2023, https://puck.news/is-the-republican-primary-already-over/
  2. [2]Tina Nguyen, “Is the Republican Primary Already Over?” Puck, March 22, 2023, https://puck.news/is-the-republican-primary-already-over/
  3. [3]Tina Nguyen, “Is the Republican Primary Already Over?” Puck, March 22, 2023, https://puck.news/is-the-republican-primary-already-over/

COVID-19 may be an ideological litmus test for white Christian nationalists in 2024

COVID-19 Pandemic


Fig. 1. Photograph by author, November 8, 2022.

[Ron] DeSantis’s probe has experts worried that vaccine skepticism could become an official plank of GOP policy. “The worst-case scenario is if it becomes a litmus test in the [presidential] primary,” says Saad B. Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health who has served on numerous US government vaccine advisory committees. “Then all bets are off.” . . .

While DeSantis’s strategy may be rooted in politics, it is likely to have far-reaching public health repercussions, says Dr. Jonathan Howard, an associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at [New York University] Langone Health. “You’re going to continue to see Republicans dying [from COVID-19] at a higher rate, and a return of measles and whooping cough and God knows what else,” says Howard, who has studied the anti-vax movement for a decade.[1]

Katherine Eban, “Inside Ron DeSantis’s Plan to Ride Anti-vaxxism to the White House,” Vanity Fair, March 21, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/desantis-antivax-florida-trump


Imperialism

Russia

Ukraine


Fig. 1. “Destroyed Russian military vehicles located on the main street Khreshchatyk are seen as part of the celebration of the Independence Day of Ukraine in Kyiv, August 24.” Photograph by Gleb Garanich for Reuters, August 24, 2022,[2] fair use.

Julia Ioffe thinks Vladimir Putin got very little out of Xi Jinping’s visit. At least publicly.[3]

In Ioffe’s account, the Chinese do not want Russia to lose in Ukraine, but feel they’ve been roped into something over Putin’s head. They aren’t liking that much.[4]

And by the way, it’s not just Ioffe. I’m seeing similar conclusions on social media. On this topic, however, I trust Ioffe more than just about anybody.

Alberto Nardelli, Jorge Valero, and Samy Adghirni, “Hungary Blocked Joint EU Statement on Putin’s ICC Arrest Warrant,” Bloomberg, March 20, 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-20/hungary-blocked-joint-eu-statement-on-putin-s-icc-arrest-warrant

Julia Ioffe, “Xi Jinping, Superstar,” Puck, March 21, 2023, https://puck.news/xi-jinping-superstar/

Ishaan Tharoor, “Xi meets Putin in show of anti-West unity, but there’s unease, too,” Washington Post, March 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com//world/2023/03/21/xi-meets-putin-show-anti-west-unity-theres-unease-too/


Work


Fig. 1. Yeah, this is me. The sign says, “If you’re whining about a labor shortage, STOP ignoring my job applications!” And the QR-code leads here. Photograph by author, January 16, 2023.

I tend to pay attention to the bullshit corporate executives spew when laying people off because I expect to hear it before they lay people off, as they formulate and rehearse the language they’ll use. But make no mistake: It is bullshit and, without calling it such, the Washington Post article highlights it graphically.[5]

One thing you never see in these layoff memos that would signal genuine contrition is a resignation. They may indeed acknowledge mistakes—hiring too aggressively or misjudging business prospects[6]—but when people are losing their jobs due to these mistakes, the least a responsible executive could do is to resign themselves. That they do not do so speaks far louder than anything in those memos.

Te-Ping Chen, “Job Listings Abound, but Many Are Fake,” Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/that-plum-job-listing-may-just-be-a-ghost-3aafc794

Hamza Shaban, Luis Melgar, and Leslie Shapiro, “Deeply, truly, very sorry: How tech CEOs talk when they lay off workers,” Washington Post, March 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2023/tech-layoffs-company-memos/


Gilead

Donald Trump

Coup attempt


Fig. 1. “Jake Angeli (Qanon Shaman), seen holding a Qanon sign at the intersection of Bell Rd and 75th Ave in Peoria, Arizona, on 2020 October 15.” Photography by TheUnseen011101 [pseud.], October 15, 2020, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Charlie Savage, “Dissecting Charges That Could Arise From the Trump Investigations,” New York Times, March 19, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/19/us/politics/trump-investigations.html

Bess Levin, “Donald Trump’s Lawyers Seem Pretty Panicked He’s Going to be Indicted in Georgia Too,” Vanity Fair, March 20, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/donald-trump-potential-fulton-county-georgia-charges

Jeremy Barr, “Judge sounds skeptical of some Fox arguments in Dominion lawsuit,” Washington Post, March 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/03/21/judge-sounds-skeptical-some-fox-arguments-dominion-lawsuit/

Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney, “Trump denounces ‘crime-fraud’ ruling forcing attorney to testify in documents probe,” Politico, March 21, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/21/trump-crime-fraud-attorney-documents-probe-00088215


  1. [1]Katherine Eban, “Inside Ron DeSantis’s Plan to Ride Anti-vaxxism to the White House,” Vanity Fair, March 21, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/desantis-antivax-florida-trump
  2. [2]Reuters, “Ukraine puts destroyed Russian tanks on display in Kyiv,” August 25, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/ukraine-puts-destroyed-russian-tanks-on-idUSRTSALV9Q
  3. [3]Julia Ioffe, “Xi Jinping, Superstar,” Puck, March 21, 2023, https://puck.news/xi-jinping-superstar/
  4. [4]Julia Ioffe, “Xi Jinping, Superstar,” Puck, March 21, 2023, https://puck.news/xi-jinping-superstar/
  5. [5]Hamza Shaban, Luis Melgar, and Leslie Shapiro, “Deeply, truly, very sorry: How tech CEOs talk when they lay off workers,” Washington Post, March 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2023/tech-layoffs-company-memos/
  6. [6]Hamza Shaban, Luis Melgar, and Leslie Shapiro, “Deeply, truly, very sorry: How tech CEOs talk when they lay off workers,” Washington Post, March 21, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2023/tech-layoffs-company-memos/