Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh
Fig. 1. Along Mifflin Road in Pittsburgh’s Hays neighborhood. Photograph by author, December 1, 2020.
The Whiskey Rebellion gets at most a passing glance in the history classes I took in California. Around Pittsburgh, it’s a tourist attraction, principally around the city of Washington, about 30 miles south, but there are sites and historical markers all around the area, including on Bower Hill in Scott Township, where the one shooting battle occurred. In short form, it was a tax rebellion—yes, shots were fired, and yes, people got tarred and feathered—against a tax levied on whiskey. Though the tax was later repealed, historians consider the rebellion significant for its test of the new Constitution’s ability to impose taxation.
Whiskey, according to a Washington museum, had become something reminding me of marijuana in some northern California counties, ubiquitous even as a medium of exchange. Folks around western Pennsylvania felt the tax was unworkable and unfair. Federal troops suppressed the rebellion, hauling a bunch of folks off for trial, but in order to improve communication (in a formal but somewhat archaic sense, which includes transportation[1]), the National Road, now U.S. Route 40, but still bearing the name in some places, was built.
Pittsburgh today “is a drinking town,” according to one of my passengers, “with a football problem.” When I arrived here in 2019, I was shocked by the number of Confederate flags; the gun nuttery, with explicit references to Second Amendment dogma,[2] Gadsden (“Don’t Tread On Me”) flags, artillery displays, and “no trespassing” signs that promise not to call 911; thin blue line flags and other expressions of support for white supremacist gangsters, obviously in reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement; a fetishization of military service, evident in banners and artillery displays purportedly meant to honor veterans; a seemingly compulsive display of the U.S. flag that feels like compensation (for what? the treasonous Confederate flags?); and impossible-to-ignore expressions of support for Donald Trump, flags even, where you might otherwise expect the U.S. flag, and beginning in 2020, “fuck your feelings” bumper stickers and yard signs, “make a liberal cry” bumper stickers and signs. The 2020 election remains “stolen” for a lot of folks around here.
While the Confederate flag is a Civil War reference, I can’t help but suspect that the more apt parallel for Pittsburgh is the Whiskey Rebellion; that it’s about alcohol and about a particular anti-elitist Greater Appalachian rage[3] is quintessential Pittsburgh. Stephen Brumwell tells much of the story in his book review;[4] I have ordered the book.
Steve Bohnel, “Fitzgerald vetoes minimum wage hike bill, saying it violates county charter,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 14, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2023/06/13/fitzgerald-vetoes-minimum-wage-hike-bill-stating-it-violates-county-charter/stories/202306130122
Stephen Brumwell, “‘The Whiskey Rebellion’ Review: A Young Nation, Suddenly Tested,” review of the book Whiskey Rebellion: A Distilled History of an American Crisis by Brady J. Crytzer, Wall Street Journal, June 14, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-whiskey-rebellion-review-a-young-nation-suddenly-tested-3a2a692b
Gilead
Donald Trump
Coup attempt
Fig. 2. “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.
In recent days, I spoke with five current and former [Donald] Trump advisers about the Lord of the Flies–like chaos engulfing Trump’s defense team. The problem, these advisers say, is that Trump turned over his entire defense strategy to Boris Epshteyn, a Russian-born investment banker and lawyer with no criminal defense experience. Epshteyn’s detractors complain that Epshteyn guards access to Trump and treats dissent from lawyers as a sign of disloyalty. (Epshteyn did not respond to a request for comment.)
Epshteyn’s rapid ascent in Trumpworld is part of Trump’s long history of empowering outsiders who demonstrate unflinching loyalty. “Boris filled a void in the postpresidency. There was no [Steve] Bannon around. No Corey [Lewandowski]. No Roger [Stone],” said former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg. The 2020 campaign veteran said Trump likes Epshteyn because he embraces the let-Trump-be-Trump philosophy. “He’s one of those operators who encourage Trump’s worst instincts,” they said.
One major point of contention for Trump advisers is that Epshteyn recommended attorney Evan Corcoran to represent Trump. Corcoran’s notes about Trump’s alleged efforts to obstruct the FBI investigation into the classified documents stashed at Mar-a-Lago formed the foundation of special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment.[5]
The irony lies in Donald Trump supporters pointing to his legal team, realizing they can’t afford such a team themselves, and inferring from this that they are in jeopardy themselves:
“Do you have millions of dollars to hire the lawyers he got? No? So they can bring any charges against you,” said Louis Medina, a retired Miami native who was clutching a bullhorn in a wheelchair, covering his legs with a Trump flag, around 10 a.m.
“They’re coming for you next!” bellowed Laura Loomer, the far-right activist, to a group of people encircling her just before noon. One of them, a woman in a denim hat with bedazzled “TRUMP” letters, nodded vigorously.[6]
Trump uses this message in his campaign:
They’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you. And I just happened to be standing in their way.[7]
Spencer S. Hsu et al., “Trump special counsel shifts focus of possible indictment to S. Florida,” Washington Post, June 7, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/06/miami-grand-jury-trump-classified-documents/
Alex Isenstadt and Kyle Cheney, “Trump notified that he is the target of an ongoing criminal investigation,” Politico, June 7, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/07/trump-notified-that-he-is-the-target-of-an-ongoing-criminal-investigation-00100920
Devlin Barrett, Perry Stein, and Josh Dawsey, “Trump charged in classified documents case, second indictment in months,” Washington Post, June 8, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/08/trump-classified-documents-mar-a-lago/
Marc Caputo, “‘Prosecuting Politicians is Hard Here’: Why South Florida is a Tough Place for DOJ to Try Trump,” Messenger, June 8, 2023, https://themessenger.com/politics/trump-south-florida-miami-doj-jury-challenge
Ankush Khardori, “The Chaos Inside Trump’s Legal Team,” New York, June 8, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/06/donald-trumps-lawyers-on-his-dysfunctional-legal-team.html
Hugo Lowell, “Donald Trump charged with illegal retention of classified documents,” Guardian, June 8, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/08/donald-trump-charged-retention-classified-documents
Stefania Palma, “Donald Trump says he has been indicted on federal charges in documents probe,” Financial Times, June 8, 2023, https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/trump-is-desperately-trying-to-define-the-narrative-about-his-federal-indictment
Gabriel J. Chin, “Trump indictment unsealed – a criminal law scholar explains what the charges mean, and what prosecutors will now need to prove,” Conversation, June 9, 2023, https://theconversation.com/trump-indictment-unsealed-a-criminal-law-scholar-explains-what-the-charges-mean-and-what-prosecutors-will-now-need-to-prove-207469
Joseph Ferguson and Thomas A. Durkin, “Trump charged under Espionage Act – which covers a lot more crimes than just spying,” Conversation, June 9, 2023, https://theconversation.com/trump-charged-under-espionage-act-which-covers-a-lot-more-crimes-than-just-spying-207373
Alan Feuer, “Trump-Appointed Judge Is Said to Be Handling Documents Case,” New York Times, June 9, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/us/politics/aileen-cannon-trump-judge.html
David Gilbert, “‘We Need to Start Killing’: Trump’s Far-Right Supporters Are Threatening Civil War,” Vice, June 9, 2023, https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxjjgb/trump-supporters-are-threatening-civil-war
Ankush Khardori, “The ‘Lock Him Up’ Election,” New York, June 9, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/06/trump-indictment-turns-2024-into-lock-him-up-election.html
Tom Nichols, “Trump’s Indictment Reveals a National-Security Nightmare,” Atlantic, June 9, 2023, https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/06/trumps-indictment-reveals-a-national-security-nightmare/674362/
Jennifer Rubin, “Merrick Garland and Jack Smith come through: Trump will face justice,” Washington Post, June 9, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/09/trump-indictment-garland-smith-justice/
Jonathan Turley, “Trying Trump: Scandal May Be His Element — But This Time May Be Different,” Messenger, June 9, 2023, https://themessenger.com/opinion/trying-trump-scandal-may-be-his-element-but-this-time-may-be-different
Aruna Viswanatha, Sadie Gurman, and C. Ryan Barber, “Trump Charged Over Willful Retention of Classified Information, Obstruction,” Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-associate-also-indicted-in-mar-a-lago-documents-case-759cbb17
Marc Fisher, “Trump’s path to indictment: ‘Isn’t it better if there are no documents?’” Washington Post, June 10, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/10/trump-classified-documents-path-bathroom-indictment/
Michael S. Schmidt et al., “Trump Supporters’ Violent Rhetoric in His Defense Disturbs Experts,” New York Times, June 10, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/10/us/politics/trump-supporter-violent-rhetoric.html
Kyle Cheney, “He devised a fringe legal theory to try to keep Trump in power. Now he’s on the verge of being disbarred,” Forbes, June 11, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/11/john-eastman-disbarment-trial-trump-00101407
Richard Nixon [Justin Sherrin], “On the Trump/Nauta Indictment,” Patreon, June 11, 2023, https://www.patreon.com/posts/on-trump-nauta-84420752
Marina Pitofsky, “Barr ‘shocked’ by Trump indictment details: “If even half of it is true, then he’s toast,’” USA Today, June 11, 2023, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/06/11/bill-barr-donald-trump-classified-documents-indictment/70310878007/
Paul Rosenzweig, “The Three Biggest Obstacles to Convicting Trump,” Atlantic, June 11, 2023, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/three-biggest-obstacles-convicting-trump/674366/
David Aaron, “How Much Prison Time Does Former President Trump Face? Applying the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines,” Just Security, June 12, 2023, https://www.justsecurity.org/86901/how-much-prison-time-does-former-president-trump-face-applying-the-u-s-sentencing-guidelines/
Isaac Chotiner, “Will the Judge in Trump’s Case Recuse Herself—or Be Forced To?” New Yorker, June 12, 2023, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/will-the-judge-in-trumps-case-recuse-herself-or-be-forced-to
Spencer S. Hsu et al., “Trump scrambles to find lawyer before first federal court appearance,” Washington Post, June 12, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/12/trump-documents-lawyer/
Molly Jong-Fast, “Even a Damning Federal Case Can’t Break the GOP’s Devotion to Donald Trump,” Vanity Fair, June 12, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/06/donald-trump-federal-indictment-case-gop
Eric Lutz, “Judge Aileen Cannon Could Blow Up Trump Documents Case,” Vanity Fair, June 12, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/06/aileen-cannon-trump-documents-case
Nick Madigan, Verónica Zaragovia, and Richard Fausset, “Floridians Would Make Up Trump’s Jury Pool. Here’s What Some Are Saying,” New York Times, June 12, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/12/us/trump-voters-florida-jury.html
Jeannie Suk Gersen, “The Case Against Trump Is Strong, but There Are Problems Ahead,” New Yorker, June 13, 2023, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-case-against-trump-is-strong-but-there-are-problems-ahead
Shayna Jacobs et al., “Trump arraigned, pleads not guilty to 37 classified documents charges,” Washington Post, June 13, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/13/trump-court-miami-indictment/
Bess Levin, “Trump Basically One Day Away From Hiring a Lawyer Who Advertises on the Side of a Bus to Defend Him,” Vanity Fair, June 13, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/06/donald-trump-lawyer-search
Hugo Lowell, “Trump finds no new lawyers for court appearance in Mar-a-Lago case,” Guardian, June 13, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/13/trump-finds-no-new-lawyers-mar-a-lago-documents-arraignment
Jesús Rodríguez, “In the MAGA mirror, Trump’s legal peril looks like a personal threat,” Washington Post, June 13, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/06/13/trump-arraignment-courthouse-crowd/
Gabriel Sherman, “Donald Trump Advisers Worry Over Legal Team Civil War: ‘It’s All Coming to a Head,’” Vanity Fair, June 13, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/06/donald-trump-legal-team-indictment
Maanvi Singh, “Trump claims ‘political persecution’ in speech after arraignment,” Guardian, June 13, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/13/trump-new-jersey-speech-after-arraignment
Glenn Thrush, Nicholas Nehamas, and Eileen Sullivan, “Trump Is Arraigned on Documents and Obstruction Charges,” New York Times, June 14, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/13/us/politics/trump-arraignment-documents.html
Neoliberalism
Work
Fig. 3. The spectre of Death, in the form of a large skeleton, rises with the smoke and flames of the burning Asch Building during the Triangle fire, as people jump and fall to their death. Artist unknown, from International Ladies Garment Workers Union Photographs (1885-1985) at The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
County Executive Rich Fitzgerald has vetoed legislation recently passed by the Allegheny County Council to increase the minimum wage for county workers.
Earlier this month, the council voted 10-4 to increase the minimum wage to $18 an hour in 2024, $19 in 2025 and $20 in 2026. . . .
In a prepared statement, County Council President Pat Catena said it was “regrettable” that Mr. Fitzgerald vetoed the pay increase.
“Rich Fitzgerald extolled the virtues of his idea to legislatively establish a minimum wage for County employees on the record at the Council’s December 4, 2001 regular meeting. Now, as a lame duck Executive, that very same Rich Fitzgerald has flip-flopped on exactly this same issue,” Catena said.
According to the county charter, a vote of two-thirds of the council—or 10 members—are needed to override a veto. That means as long as no council member changes their original vote—excluding Ms. [Suzanne] Filiaggi, who could join fellow Republican Mr. [Sam] DeMarco in voting against the pay increases—the legislative body will have the votes to overturn it.[8]
Steve Bohnel, “Fitzgerald vetoes minimum wage hike bill, saying it violates county charter,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 14, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2023/06/13/fitzgerald-vetoes-minimum-wage-hike-bill-stating-it-violates-county-charter/stories/202306130122
Imperialism
Russia
Ukraine
Fig. 4. “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,[9] fair use.
Russia’s president [Vladimir Putin] told a group of pro-war bloggers on Tuesday that he supported defence minister Sergei Shoigu’s initiative, unveiled last weekend, to bring the irregular groups under central control — an edict Wagner’s founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has pointedly refused to obey. . . .
With a force of up to 50,000 at its peak, largely recruited from prisons, Wagner has emerged as one of Russia’s most effective and notorious units. At great cost, it helped capture of the symbolically important town of Bakhmut, one of the few notable successes in Putin’s sputtering invasion.
That prominence made Prigozhin, who until last autumn had denied Wagner so much as existed, into a national figure and underscored how the group enjoyed Putin’s personal patronage. Putin admitted on Tuesday for the first time that he personally signed pardons for the prisoner recruits and said some of them had committed more crimes after finishing their service.[10]
It looks to me like Yevgeny Prigozhin is in campaign mode. The Financial Times reports that he’s gone on a speaking tour and he is apparently still defying the order to sign a contract with Russia’s defense ministry.[11] This seems unlikely to dampen speculation that he may launch a coup against Vladimir Putin.[12] But Putin seems oblivious to any danger:
Even as he backed the defence ministry’s move to subordinate the militias, [Vladimir] Putin implied that much of [Yevgeny] Prigozhin’s criticism of the army had been correct — a possible sign that Wagner had yet to entirely lose his support.
“At the start of the special military operation, we quickly realised that the ‘carpet generals’ [ . . .] are not effective, to put it mildly,” Putin said. “People started to come out of the shadows who we hadn’t heard or seen before, and they turned out to be very effective and made themselves useful.”[13]
The dissonance persists.
Gabriel Gavin, “Putin admits Russia doesn’t have enough weapons and drones,” Politico, June 13, 2023, https://www.politico.eu/article/vladimir-putin-ukraine-war-russia-doesnt-have-enough-weapons-and-drones-putin-admits/
Max Seddon, “Putin sides with Russia’s military in clash with Wagner,” Financial Times, June 14, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/b9d91a08-0f89-4986-855b-42232c5291a6
Neoliberalism
Banking
Commercial real estate
Fig. 5. “The iconic Crescent stands as recognizable landmark in the upscale neighborhood of Uptown, Dallas.” Photograph by Dallasedits [pseud.], July 5, 2016, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Mike Ege, “Plan To Save Downtown San Francisco From Doom Loop Approved by Lawmakers,” San Francisco Standard, June 13, 2023, https://sfstandard.com/politics/city-hall/plan-to-save-downtown-san-francisco-from-doom-loop-approved-by-lawmakers/
- [1]Think of means of communication prior to the telegraph, like the Pony Express.↩
- [2]My analysis, not the one embraced by the U.S. Supreme Court, is here: David Benfell, “Deconstructing the second amendment,” Not Housebroken, November 30, 2021, https://disunitedstates.org/2020/10/04/deconstructing-the-second-amendment/↩
- [3]David Benfell, “Barack Obama asks, ‘Why is it that the folks that won the last election are so mad all the time?’” Not Housebroken, November 4, 2018, https://disunitedstates.org/2018/11/04/barack-obama-asks-why-is-it-that-the-folks-that-won-the-last-election-are-so-mad-all-the-time/; Colin Woodard, American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America (New York: Penguin, 2011).↩
- [4]Stephen Brumwell, “‘The Whiskey Rebellion’ Review: A Young Nation, Suddenly Tested,” review of the book Whiskey Rebellion: A Distilled History of an American Crisis by Brady J. Crytzer, Wall Street Journal, June 14, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-whiskey-rebellion-review-a-young-nation-suddenly-tested-3a2a692b↩
- [5]Gabriel Sherman, “Donald Trump Advisers Worry Over Legal Team Civil War: ‘It’s All Coming to a Head,’” Vanity Fair, June 13, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/06/donald-trump-legal-team-indictment↩
- [6]Jesús Rodríguez, “In the MAGA mirror, Trump’s legal peril looks like a personal threat,” Washington Post, June 13, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/06/13/trump-arraignment-courthouse-crowd/↩
- [7]Donald Trump, quoted in Maanvi Singh, “Trump claims ‘political persecution’ in speech after arraignment,” Guardian, June 13, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/13/trump-new-jersey-speech-after-arraignment↩
- [8]Steve Bohnel, “Fitzgerald vetoes minimum wage hike bill, saying it violates county charter,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 14, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2023/06/13/fitzgerald-vetoes-minimum-wage-hike-bill-stating-it-violates-county-charter/stories/202306130122↩
- [9]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↩
- [10]Max Seddon, “Putin sides with Russia’s military in clash with Wagner,” Financial Times, June 14, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/b9d91a08-0f89-4986-855b-42232c5291a6↩
- [11]Max Seddon, “Putin sides with Russia’s military in clash with Wagner,” Financial Times, June 14, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/b9d91a08-0f89-4986-855b-42232c5291a6↩
- [12]Julia Ioffe, “‘Putin’s Chef’: The Man Behind Russia’s Shadow Army,” Puck, December 13, 2022, https://puck.news/putins-chef-the-man-behind-russias-shadow-army/; Maria Katamadze, “Can Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin challenge Putin?” Deutschewelle, February 19, 2023, https://www.dw.com/en/can-wagner-head-yevgeny-prigozhin-challenge-putin/a-64744266; Allan Woods, “Why Vladimir Putin isn’t shutting down the outspoken ‘thug’ running the Wagner Group,” Toronto Star, May 15, 2023, https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2023/05/15/why-vladimir-putin-isnt-shutting-down-the-outspoken-thug-running-the-wagner-group.html↩
- [13]Max Seddon, “Putin sides with Russia’s military in clash with Wagner,” Financial Times, June 14, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/b9d91a08-0f89-4986-855b-42232c5291a6↩