For some reason this article reminded me of this passage from Bertrand Russel
"Gibbon, whose detailed history begins with the vices of Commodus, agrees with most eighteenth-century writers in regarding the period of the Antonines as a golden age. "If a man were called upon," he says, "to fix the period in the history of the world, during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus." It is impossible to agree altogether with this judgement. The evil of slavery involved immense suffering, and was sapping the vigour of the ancient world....The economic system was very bad; Italy was going out of cultivation, and the population of Rome depended upon the free distribution of grain from the provinces. All initiative was concentrated in the Emperor and his ministers; throughout the vast extent of the Empire, no one, except an occasional rebellious general, could do anything but submit. Men looked to the past for what was best; the future, they felt, would be at best a weariness, and at worst a horror."
Very thoughtful article. That the Dem Party would run a decomposing zombie for President and then replace him with an incoherent airhead who has an apparent drinking problem, zero interest in governing and policies but a real gift for fundraising is irrefutable evidence of its deep internal rot. I do not believe that the Dem Party is capable of reform because there is good reason to believe that the DNC will remain doggedly tone deaf and good for nothing except self-enrichment schemes for self-dealing consultants and a jobs program for well-connected Dems. It will be interesting to see if Biden can muster any support for a Biden Presidential Library. He deserves no better than a re-purposed food truck and flashing neon signage.
This article alone is worth the price of my subscription. I’ve enjoyed using the v-word, and even used it in a conversation on the day that this piece dropped. I’m going to try to do better.
I don’t know how the takeaway could be “Americans care about policy”. Trump’s white paper talk was either “kill everyone right now” or “idk concept of a plan of a thing I could do”.
Their choice is very understandable. At best they determine their vote through a “mandate of heaven” heuristic (note: not even a paragraph of reading about policy is involved, and at worst it’s racist and sexist cruelty.
I'm the worst type of guy, and this is a great article, but there are a couple errors it would be nice to have fixed.
"When the Vice President entered the race, she began would could have been justifiably described as a suicide mission at the time." should read "When the Vice President entered the race, she began WHAT could have been justifiably described as a suicide mission at the time."
"Now, needed to make up a massive gap in a historically short period of time, all against an opponent who had just narrowly survived an assassination attempt." should presumably read "Now, SHE needed to make up a massive gap in a historically short period of time, all against an opponent who had just narrowly survived an assassination attempt."
For some reason this article reminded me of this passage from Bertrand Russel
"Gibbon, whose detailed history begins with the vices of Commodus, agrees with most eighteenth-century writers in regarding the period of the Antonines as a golden age. "If a man were called upon," he says, "to fix the period in the history of the world, during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus." It is impossible to agree altogether with this judgement. The evil of slavery involved immense suffering, and was sapping the vigour of the ancient world....The economic system was very bad; Italy was going out of cultivation, and the population of Rome depended upon the free distribution of grain from the provinces. All initiative was concentrated in the Emperor and his ministers; throughout the vast extent of the Empire, no one, except an occasional rebellious general, could do anything but submit. Men looked to the past for what was best; the future, they felt, would be at best a weariness, and at worst a horror."
This is the most important article of our times
Very thoughtful article. That the Dem Party would run a decomposing zombie for President and then replace him with an incoherent airhead who has an apparent drinking problem, zero interest in governing and policies but a real gift for fundraising is irrefutable evidence of its deep internal rot. I do not believe that the Dem Party is capable of reform because there is good reason to believe that the DNC will remain doggedly tone deaf and good for nothing except self-enrichment schemes for self-dealing consultants and a jobs program for well-connected Dems. It will be interesting to see if Biden can muster any support for a Biden Presidential Library. He deserves no better than a re-purposed food truck and flashing neon signage.
This article alone is worth the price of my subscription. I’ve enjoyed using the v-word, and even used it in a conversation on the day that this piece dropped. I’m going to try to do better.
We must return to vibes being a descriptor for lofi and other downtempo music, not a catch-all term to ignore the suffering of the unwashed masses
I don’t know how the takeaway could be “Americans care about policy”. Trump’s white paper talk was either “kill everyone right now” or “idk concept of a plan of a thing I could do”.
Their choice is very understandable. At best they determine their vote through a “mandate of heaven” heuristic (note: not even a paragraph of reading about policy is involved, and at worst it’s racist and sexist cruelty.
I'm the worst type of guy, and this is a great article, but there are a couple errors it would be nice to have fixed.
"When the Vice President entered the race, she began would could have been justifiably described as a suicide mission at the time." should read "When the Vice President entered the race, she began WHAT could have been justifiably described as a suicide mission at the time."
"Now, needed to make up a massive gap in a historically short period of time, all against an opponent who had just narrowly survived an assassination attempt." should presumably read "Now, SHE needed to make up a massive gap in a historically short period of time, all against an opponent who had just narrowly survived an assassination attempt."