Illiberalism
Israel
Fig. 1. “Sara Netanyahu, wife of the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu signing the visitors book, at Teen Murti Chowk, in New Delhi. . . . The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi is also seen.” Photograph credited to Prime Minister's Office (GODL-India), January 14, 2018, via Wikimedia Commons, GODL-India
This is different from what I expected. Following the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. rallied around George W. Bush as he started two wars.
Following “Israel’s 9/11,” however, it appears many Israelis are aiming harsh criticism at their government for its focus on emasculating the judiciary while Hamas plotted its attack.[1] It’s way too soon to prognosticate how this plays out, but it’s another reason to be sure you have plenty of popcorn on hand.
Noga Tarnopolsky, “Netanyahu Is Losing the War at Home,” New York, October 12, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/10/in-the-israel-hamas-war-netanyahu-is-losing-at-home.html
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.
It might be time to dust off some contingency plans, that is, if any exist for this scenario.
Tina Nguyen, “War & Scalise,” Puck, October 11, 2023, https://puck.news/war-scalise/
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
Marianna Sotomayor, Leigh Ann Caldwell, and Jacqueline Alemany, “Republicans fail to coalesce around speaker choice, leaving House in limbo,” Washington Post, October 11, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/11/steve-scalise-jim-jordan-house-speaker/
Theodoric Meyer and Leigh Ann Caldwell with Tobi Raji, “Scalise’s potentially fatal mistake,” Washington Post, October 12, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/12/scalises-potentially-fatal-mistake/
Competitive authoritarian regime project
Fig. 1. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Clarence Mitchell during signing ceremony of the voting rights act. Yoichi Okamoto, August 6, 1965, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Chris Geidner, “Justice Alito’s marathon arguments in defense of South Carolina’s racial gerrymander,” Law Dork, October 11, 2023, https://www.lawdork.com/p/alito-racial-gerrymandering-scotus
Neoliberalism
Banking
Commercial real estate
Fig. 1. “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.
Akila Quinio, “Office space vacancies in US and London reach at least 20-year highs,” Financial Times, October 10, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/698f41af-0d88-424b-80b0-241be01dac35
Jake Blumgart, “Philadelphia compares well to other downtowns on return to office and tourism, but not close to 2019 numbers,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 11, 2023, https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/commercial/center-city-philadelphia-remote-work-inequality-20231011.html
Academic repression
Student loans
Fig. 1. Unattributed and undated image via James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal,[2] fair use.
So, looky here! You wanted, in fact were desperate for, another argument against student loan relief, right? Here it is.[3]
Andrew Duehren and Alana Pipe, “The Federal Deficit Is Even Bigger Than It Looks,” Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/economy/the-federal-deficit-is-even-bigger-than-it-looks-6bc8a070
Pennsylvania and surrounding areas
Pittsburgh, the Ohio Valley, and surrounding areas
Pollution
Fig. 1. Photographer unknown, circa 1940-1950, from Smoke Control Lantern Slide Collection, ca. 1940-1950, AIS.1978.22, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh, via Bloomberg,[4] fair use.
It sure seemed like a good thing when it was announced that the coal-fired Springdale generating station would shut down.[5] It looked a little different when the implosion of a smokestack damaged nearby homes.[6] It turns out to have been more than a few broken windows. Among other lovely stuff, arsenic was deposited on people’s lawns.[7]
Kellen Stepler, “Attorney: Charges withdrawn against Springdale woman for not cutting grass since June implosion of smokestacks,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 10, 2023, https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/attorney-charges-withdrawn-against-springdale-woman-for-not-cutting-grass-since-june-implosion-of-smokestacks/
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,[8] fair use.
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
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, “A Majority of Israelis Think Netanyahu Should Resign,” New Republic, October 12, 2023, https://newrepublic.com/post/176200/majority-israelis-think-netanyahu-resign
Noga Tarnopolsky, “Netanyahu Is Losing the War at Home,” New York, October 12, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/10/in-the-israel-hamas-war-netanyahu-is-losing-at-home.html
- [1]Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, “A Majority of Israelis Think Netanyahu Should Resign,” New Republic, October 12, 2023, https://newrepublic.com/post/176200/majority-israelis-think-netanyahu-resign; Noga Tarnopolsky, “Netanyahu Is Losing the War at Home,” New York, October 12, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/10/in-the-israel-hamas-war-netanyahu-is-losing-at-home.html↩
- [2]Richard K. Vedder, “Eliminate or Radically Restructure Federal Student Loans,” James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, September 16, 2020, https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2020/09/eliminate-or-radically-restructure-federal-student-loans/↩
- [3]Andrew Duehren and Alana Pipe, “The Federal Deficit Is Even Bigger Than It Looks,” Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/economy/the-federal-deficit-is-even-bigger-than-it-looks-6bc8a070↩
- [4]Mark Byrnes, “What Pittsburgh Looked Like When It Decided It Had a Pollution Problem,” Bloomberg, June 5, 2012, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-06-05/what-pittsburgh-looked-like-when-it-decided-it-had-a-pollution-problem↩
- [5]Tanisha Thomas, “Springdale power plant shuts down, demolition work to begin,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 1, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/springdale-power-plant-shuts-down-demolition-work-to-begin/↩
- [6]Quinn Glabicki and Lucas Dufalla, “In the Allegheny Valley, after a century of coal power, the towers have toppled,” Pittsburgh Public Source, June 2, 2023, https://www.publicsource.org/cheswick-springdale-power-plant-implosion-coal-allegheny-county-valley-charah/; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “Photo gallery: Cheswick Generating Station’s smokestacks come down,” June 2, 2023, https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/photo-gallery-cheswick-generating-stations-smokestacks-come-down/↩
- [7]Kellen Stepler, “Attorney: Charges withdrawn against Springdale woman for not cutting grass since June implosion of smokestacks,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 10, 2023, https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/attorney-charges-withdrawn-against-springdale-woman-for-not-cutting-grass-since-june-implosion-of-smokestacks/↩
- [8]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/↩