October 2023 – Page 3 – Irregular Bullshit

07_09:10:47-2
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,^[1] fair use.

Coverage of the Israel Hamas War seems almost exclusively bothsidesist.

Such coverage necessarily assumes that the pogroms waged against Jews over millennia in any way justify the seizure of Palestinian land, the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes, the ongoing abuse, deprivation, humiliation, and dehumanization of brutal occupation.

The trouble here is that Palestinians weren’t the people who committed most of those pogroms. Europeans did that. Indeed, this is one of the rationalizations for placing Israel where it is: Europe was judged unsafe for Jews.

It should be Europeans paying the price, not Palestinians.

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

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

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Christopher Columbus statue

Fig. 1. Christopher Columbus statue in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park. Photograph by Darrell Sapp, apparently June 12, 2020, via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,^[2] fair use.

Megan Guza, “Future of Schenley Park’s Columbus statue heads to higher court,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 10, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2023/10/09/pittsburgh-schenley-park-christopher-columbus-statue-lawsuit-italian-sons-and-daughters/stories/202310090063

^[1]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/↩
^[2]Jade Campos, “Columbus statue in Schenley Park vandalized,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 12, 2020, https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2020/06/12/christopher-columbus-statue-vandalized-pittsburgh-phipps-schenley-park/stories/202006120120 ↩

Keep on scrolling. There is nothing new here

October 9, 2023benfell

Neoliberalism

Work

Fig. 1. 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.

Te-Ping Chen and Vanessa Fuhrmans, “The ‘Hot’ Labor Market Isn’t Helping a Certain Group of Jobseekers,” Wall Street Journal, October 7, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/if-the-job-market-is-so-great-why-do-i-feel-so-stuck-391bdf11

Imperialism

Israel

Palestine

07_09:10:47-2
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,^[1] fair use.

I guess it’s time for Zionists to get their rocks off proving how tough they are against Palestinians, who are still, somehow, supposed to be happy about the daily humiliations they endure at the hands of their occupiers and about repeatedly being driven from their homes, yet again. There’s nothing new here. Nothing.

Brian Murphy, Adam Taylor, Sammy Westfall, and Bryan Pietsch, “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A chronology,” Washington Post, October 7, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/13/israel-palestinians-timeline-conflict/

Ishaan Tharoor, “Biden hoped for a quiet Middle East. So much for that,” Washington Post, October 8, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/08/israel-middle-east-war-biden-palestine-saudi-normalization/

Nabih Boulos and Laura King, “Israel calls for complete siege of Gaza as it masses troops at border,” Los Angeles Times, October 9, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-10-09/israel-battles-hamas-infiltrators-masses-troops-gaza-border

^[1]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/↩

House of Representatives Speaker drama may be a mere symptom

October 6, 2023benfell

Illiberalism

Gilead

Fig. 1. The emblem of the Republic of Gilead. Icewizie, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

I’ve been viewing the Speaker of the House drama as a short term phenomenon. Ishaan Tharoor, however, argues that Europeans are taking a longer, more worrying view, seeing this drama as a symptom rather than the disease.^[1] I can’t tell you they’re wrong and, really, what the Europeans are saying isn’t so very different from what I’ve been saying about illiberalism and the Gilead project.

Usually, only usually, the worst doesn’t happen. But Tharoor does not miss that this occurs in a context where our system of social organization is failing to address even existential problems. Europeans see this as undermining that system’s legitimacy.^[2] If they’re right, violence almost certainly lies ahead.

Ishaan Tharoor, “Chaos in Congress points to failures in the U.S. system,” Washington Post, October 6, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/06/us-congress-global-europe-analysts-failure-dysfunction/

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.

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/

^[1]Ishaan Tharoor, “Chaos in Congress points to failures in the U.S. system,” Washington Post, October 6, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/06/us-congress-global-europe-analysts-failure-dysfunction/↩
^[2]Ishaan Tharoor, “Chaos in Congress points to failures in the U.S. system,” Washington Post, October 6, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/06/us-congress-global-europe-analysts-failure-dysfunction/↩

Ukraine chases Russian navy out of Sevastopol

October 5, 2023October 5, 2023benfell

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.

Apparently, that naval base that was Russia’s security interest in Crimea is no longer safe enough for its navy to keep ships there.^[2]

Lewis Page, “Not enough Bears: Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is pulling out of Crimea,” Telegraph, October 3, 2023, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/03/russia-black-sea-sevastopol-crimea-retreat-nato/

Illiberalism

Gilead

Twitter

Fig. 1. “Elon Musk shared a video of his entrance on his Twitter account.” Photograph attributed to Elon Musk, October 26, 2022, via the New York Post,^[3] fair use.

Sheila Dang, “US ad revenue at Musk’s X declined each month since takeover -data,” Reuters, October 4, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-ad-revenue-musks-x-declined-each-month-since-takeover-data-2023-10-04/

Claudia Assis, “Elon Musk sued by SEC to compel him to testify over Twitter deal,” MarketWatch, October 5, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/elon-musk-sued-by-sec-over-twitter-deal-8acb7e4e

^[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 ↩
^[2]Lewis Page, “Not enough Bears: Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is pulling out of Crimea,” Telegraph, October 3, 2023, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/03/russia-black-sea-sevastopol-crimea-retreat-nato/↩
^[3]Thomas Barrabi, “Elon Musk barges into Twitter HQ as deal nears: ‘Let that sink in,’” New York Post, October 26, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/10/26/elon-musk-barges-into-twitter-headquarters-as-deal-nears/↩

Kevin McCarthy is out

October 3, 2023October 5, 2023benfell

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.

Democrats wouldn’t come to Kevin McCarthy’s rescue. And now the Republicans are in a deeper hole than the one they were in.^[1] There is more than one thing to be said about pyrrhic victories here.

Lauren Fedor, Colby Smith, and James Politi, “US lawmakers pass short-term deal to avoid government shutdown,” Financial Times, September 30, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/1723e6e8-495d-4e0c-bf18-6c91e106e71a

Sarah Ferris, Olivia Beavers, and Jordain Carney, “‘It is a surrender’: Why McCarthy reversed with his survival uncertain,” Politico, September 30, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/30/kevin-mccarthy-government-shutdown-deal-00119290

Erin B. Logan, “Kevin McCarthy may avoid a shutdown. But the fiasco shows he’s weaker than ever,” Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-09-30/government-shutdown-shows-kevin-mccarthy-weaker-than-ever

Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade, and Eugene Daniels to Playbook list, “Inside the chess match between McCarthy, Jeffries and Gaetz,” Politico, October 1, 2023, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/10/01/inside-the-chess-match-between-mccarthy-jeffries-and-gaetz-00119335

Kristina Peterson and Lindsay Wise, “Matt Gaetz Plans Vote to Oust Kevin McCarthy After Speaker Avoids Shutdown,” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz-government-shutdown-1e838cda

Marianna Sotomayor and Mariana Alfaro, “Matt Gaetz files motion to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker,” Washington Post, October 2, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/02/kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz/

Erin B. Logan and Cameron Joseph, “Kevin McCarthy ousted as speaker, throwing Washington into chaos,” Los Angeles Times, October 3, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-10-03/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-matt-gaetz-house-republicans

Donald Trump

Coup attempt

Fig. 1. Donald Trump booking photograph by Fulton County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office, August 24, 2023, via New York, August 25, 2023,^[2] public domain.

Shayna Jacobs and Mark Berman, “Judge issues gag order in fraud case after Trump assails staffer on social media,” Washington Post, October 3, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/03/trump-civil-fraud-trial-ny/

Housekeeping

Google Drive has graduated to causing me serious problems, which, in keeping with my present attitude towards technology, I will not deal with. It had already refused to reinstall on my desktop system; now it requires far too much local storage on my notebook for its cache.

This, in addition to Google’s failure on abortion rights. ^[3]

My intention had been to keep Google Drive on line for longer. That’s no longer looking reasonable. There may well be further developments here soon, including to contact information.

^[1]Erin B. Logan and Cameron Joseph, “Kevin McCarthy ousted as speaker, throwing Washington into chaos,” Los Angeles Times, October 3, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-10-03/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-matt-gaetz-house-republicans ↩
^[2]Margaret Hartmann and Nia Prater, “All the Mug Shots of Donald Trump and His Alleged Co-Conspirators,” New York, August 25, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-mug-shot-gallery.html ↩
^[3]Darryl Coote, “N.Y. AG to Google: Stop directing people seeking abortions to anti-abortion centers,” United Press International, June 30, 2022, https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/06/30/New-York-Google-Maps/9871656579373/; Cory Doctorow, “Google makes millions on paid abortion disinformation,” Medium, June 15, 2023, https://doctorow.medium.com/google-makes-millions-on-paid-abortion-disinformation-7cd4e4b72e28; Poppy Noor, “Google targets low-income US women with ads for anti-abortion pregnancy centers, study shows,” Guardian, February 7, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/07/google-targets-low-income-women-anti-abortion-pregnancy-center-study ↩

Hell might be freezing over: Pope Francis might be open to ‘blessings’—distinct from matrimony—for same-sex couples

October 2, 2023benfell

Roman Catholic Church

Sex

Fig. 1. Saint Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church, with the rectory in the foreground, in Mount Lebanon, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The electronic sign says, “Chastity: The way to human flourishing,” suggesting the website pghpure.org. The text on this side of the sign isn’t much more legible in person (it’s a little better on the other side). Photograph by author, August 27, 2023.

Anthony Faiola, Michelle Boorstein, and Kate Brady, “Amid liberal revolt, pope signals openness to blessings for gay couples,” Washington Post, October 2, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/02/pope-francis-gay-blessings-synod/

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.

Republicans twisting in the wind

October 1, 2023benfell

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.

It’s not even remotely surprising that Matt Gaetz will be putting forth a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair.^[1] And it’s pathetic that Republicans are still, all these years later, trying to find a candidate who can pry Donald Trump’s base loose.^[2]

My guess is that both fail. But that’s not the really important point.

On one level, Trump has captured the Republican Party and pushes plans that cannot succeed. On another level, his supporters have captured the House of Representatives, but only until a few Democrats agree to work with Kevin McCarthy.^[3] Neither care that they accomplish nothing; what matters here to them is that they look like Don Quixote, tilting at windmills, pushing stillborn policy proposals, and as a Politico newsletter points out, painting McCarthy as a ‘Democratic’ Speaker of the House.^[4]

^[1]Kristina Peterson and Lindsay Wise, “Matt Gaetz Plans Vote to Oust Kevin McCarthy After Speaker Avoids Shutdown,” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz-government-shutdown-1e838cda ↩
^[2]Jennifer Rubin, “Republicans (rightly) panic. Good luck finding a viable alternative,” Washington Post, October 1, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/01/trump-gop-alternative/↩
^[3]Lauren Fedor, Colby Smith, and James Politi, “US lawmakers pass short-term deal to avoid government shutdown,” Financial Times, September 30, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/1723e6e8-495d-4e0c-bf18-6c91e106e71a; Sarah Ferris, Olivia Beavers, and Jordain Carney, “‘It is a surrender’: Why McCarthy reversed with his survival uncertain,” Politico, September 30, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/30/kevin-mccarthy-government-shutdown-deal-00119290; Erin B. Logan, “Kevin McCarthy may avoid a shutdown. But the fiasco shows he’s weaker than ever,” Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-09-30/government-shutdown-shows-kevin-mccarthy-weaker-than-ever; Kristina Peterson and Lindsay Wise, “Matt Gaetz Plans Vote to Oust Kevin McCarthy After Speaker Avoids Shutdown,” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz-government-shutdown-1e838cda ↩
^[4]Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade, and Eugene Daniels to Playbook list, “Inside the chess match between McCarthy, Jeffries and Gaetz,” Politico, October 1, 2023, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/10/01/inside-the-chess-match-between-mccarthy-jeffries-and-gaetz-00119335 ↩
^[5]Margaret Hartmann and Nia Prater, “All the Mug Shots of Donald Trump and His Alleged Co-Conspirators,” New York, August 25, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-mug-shot-gallery.html ↩