Illiberalism
Gilead
Speaker of the House of Representatives, 2023
Fig. 1. Photograph credited to Office of Congressman Kevin McCarthy, date inconsistent with title but given as November 9, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
On the one hand, this is something of a repudiation of Donald Trump, who had endorsed Jim Jordan:[1] On the other hand,
To now win the speakership, [Steve] Scalise will need support from a majority of the House, or 217 members, if all current lawmakers cast votes for a candidate. The House is split 221-212, giving Republicans little room to maneuver because all Democrats are expected to oppose him. More than a half dozen Jordan supporters said Wednesday they wouldn’t back Scalise, likely enough to block him from claiming the gavel unless he can win some of them over.[2]
Hope you’ve got lots of popcorn on hand, ’cause just in case you’ve forgotten what we might be getting a replay of:
The razor-thin nature of [Steve] Scalise’s victory left the House staring down a potential replay of the 15-ballot marathon back at the start of the year, when Kevin McCarthy of California emerged as the winner only after making a series of promises related to spending and other issues to conservatives. Some of the same holdouts helped to oust him just nine months later.[3]
Kristina Peterson and Siobhan Hughes, “Republicans Nominate Steve Scalise for House Speaker Over Jim Jordan,” Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/republican-speaker-vote-jim-jordan-stevescalise-2419cbf6
Imperialism
Israel
Palestine
Fig. 1. The ruins of a terminal at the Gaza airport. Image by Said Khatib (Agence France-Presse) on September 9, 2018, via the Times of Israel,[4] fair use.
It seems like neither Hezbollah nor Iran are anxious to join the fight. But they might.[5]
Raya Jalabi, Najmeh Bozorgmehr, and Felicia Schwartz, “Border clashes prompt fears of Hizbollah joining Israel-Hamas war,” Financial Times, October 11, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/213ce971-b93e-4756-8dd0-6ff163b21577
Joseph Krauss and Wafaa Shurafa, “As strikes devastate Gaza, Israel forms unity government to oversee war sparked by Hamas attack,” Associated Press, October 11, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-airstrikes-hostages-e4ae51a640a3fc04b23ea9561703f874
- [1]Adela Suliman, “Trump endorses Jim Jordan for House speaker after Kevin McCarthy ouster,” Washington Post, October 6, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/06/donald-trump-endorses-jim-jordan-house-speaker/↩
- [2]Kristina Peterson and Siobhan Hughes, “Republicans Nominate Steve Scalise for House Speaker Over Jim Jordan,” Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/republican-speaker-vote-jim-jordan-stevescalise-2419cbf6↩
- [3]Kristina Peterson and Siobhan Hughes, “Republicans Nominate Steve Scalise for House Speaker Over Jim Jordan,” Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/republican-speaker-vote-jim-jordan-stevescalise-2419cbf6↩
- [4]Agence France-Presse and Times of Israel, “20 years after its opening, destroyed Gaza airport embodies grounded peace hopes,” Times of Israel, September 12, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/20-years-after-its-opening-destroyed-gaza-airport-embodies-grounded-peace-hopes/↩
- [5]Raya Jalabi, Najmeh Bozorgmehr, and Felicia Schwartz, “Border clashes prompt fears of Hizbollah joining Israel-Hamas war,” Financial Times, October 11, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/213ce971-b93e-4756-8dd0-6ff163b21577↩