Ajay Kundaria
@akundaria.bsky.social
Seeking and learning to recognize who and what, in the midst of inferno, are not inferno. Formerly: Chief Counsel to Sen. Klobuchar, Obama Administration official, Democratic campaign staffer. Speaking for no one but myself.
Fuck Everything, We're Doing Five Blades
Would someone tell me how this happened? We were the fucking vanguard of shaving in this country. The Gillette Mach3 was the razor to own. Then the other guy came out with a three-blade razor. Were we...
theonion.com
The Wall Street Journal@wsj.com · 11mo agoThe U.S. will soon get its first mass-market smartphone that folds not just once, but twice with the Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Z TriFold.
This is where the NYT’s engagement farming was always going to bring us.
The New York Times@nytimes.com · last yr.We learned that most fresh blood stains vanish with cold water and inexpensive household cleaning products, and that acting fast is a crucial part of the process. Here's what to do: nyti.ms/4hAYz7O
I haven't even seen One Battle After Another yet but I do love how happy @thehighsign.bsky.social sounds talking about it on The Slate Culture Gabfest.
Who's up for an intellectual feast?
fishu @ coms closed@goldfishu.bsky.social · last yr.New meat just dropped at Kroger
I, for one, am looking forward to subscribing to the independent publications The New New Yorker, Vanity Fairest, and HotWired.
Karl Bode@karlbode.com · last yr.Bezos rumored to be buying Condé Nast, which would include Vogue, Teen Vogue, The New Yorker, GQ, Vanity Fair, Wired, Architectural Digest, and Ars Technica. Wired and Teen Vogue have done some of the best reporting in the Trump era. Ars Technica one of a handful of good remaining tech pubs.
Lest anyone think this is a new obsession on the right, see Leon Kass's views (from 1994!) on licking ice cream cones.
The Indignity of Ice Cream Cones
Those of us who have followed the thinking and career of Leon Kass, the former head of President Bush's Council…
reason.com
Sometimes there’s a kindred spirit in the comments.
The wisdom of Conor Sen - Marginal REVOLUTION
30-year yields down 25bps since the House passed One Big Beautiful Bill. It’s weird to me how this isn’t the consensus view. And OBBB + tariffs is tighter net fiscal policy than we would’ve gotten wit...
marginalrevolution.com
So was the icon for "Houthis PC Small Group" a Roman bust or an AI-generated image of a Mitteleuropan palace?
Shane Harris@shaneharris.bsky.social · 2y agoIn 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on Yemen in a Signal group--and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
I want to see the Hallmark movie about the Big City Woman who moves back to the Virtuous Northeastern Coastal Town but who can't actually get together with the Plaid-Wearing Blue Collar Man of her Unlikely Dreams because of tariffs/Medicaid cuts/a shortfall in aggregate demand.
Wonkbloggers: It's too hard for even millionaires to find good housing and decent child care in Noe Valley. We need liberals to deregulate. NatCons: After the deportations, every white family will be able to move into the houses vacated by immigrants and their kids can go to "nice schools".
The thing to remember is that there is a subset of people who love the Trump Years because it gives them an excuse to frequently quote the only line from Thucydides that they've ever read.
When you don't want to think about the consequences of the "ideas" that you laundered out of petrodollars. #AEIwisdom
My Mom’s Guide to the Art of Living
Learning how to experience things more fully is a key to greater happiness.
theatlantic.com
I will take Tyler Cowen’s thoughts on AI seriously when he thinks it’s capable of running a planned economy.
Why I think AI take-off is relatively slow - Marginal REVOLUTION
I’ve already covered much of this in my podcast with Dwarkesh, but I thought it would be useful to write it all out in one place. I’ll assume you already know the current state of the debate. Here g...
marginalrevolution.com
That feeling when your long, "Straussian" ride on the alt-right tiger has left you in uncomfortable company.
The Afrikaner exception - Marginal REVOLUTION
The White House just issued an executive order on South Africa that includes admitting Afrikaner South Africans as refugees to the United States Here is one of many reports. Let me first say that I a...
marginalrevolution.com
Without taking a position on the merits of Senate term limits, not having them means that you too few opportunities for new senators to discover the joys of Senate procedure.
The Unitary Executive Theory was a wolf that came as a wolf.
When @scottshuchart.bsky.social asks a question like this, it's worth paying attention.
Scott Shuchart@scottshuchart.bsky.social · 2y agoIt’s at least a little curious that ICE is doing highly visible ops 3 days after new leadership came in. Usually takes some planning. So are these ordinary ops being sold as novel, or was the prior administration working on ops at the direction of private citizens prior to the transition?
Case in point. Don't click on it.
Pete Hegseth Dresses for Defense
The nominee for Secretary of Defense wore his patriotism on his sleeve during his confirmation hearing — and his belt, his socks, and his pocket square.
nytimes.com
Ajay Kundaria@akundaria.bsky.social · 2y agoI think about this post from @anildash.com a lot It's hard, now, to not see the @nytimes.com as a social media platform, monetizing our attention by trolling its readers with sophisticated-seeming clickbait that drives toxic engagement--hate-reading and hate-sharing on social media.
It will be very funny if the endpoint of the "unitary executive" detour in constitutional law is to land back at the pre-Federalist Society understanding of Article II.
Mark Joseph Stern@mjsdc.bsky.social · 2y agoFor the finale of her relentless obstruction campaign against Biden, Garland, and Smith, Aileen Cannon is attempting to stop the Justice Department from sharing a volume of Smith's report with ANYONE—evidently including the president, which is patently unconstitutional. slate.com/news-and-pol...
You get the court philosopher you deserve, I guess?
Some game theory of Greenland - Marginal REVOLUTION
It is commonly assumed that the U.S. “acquiring” Greenland, whatever that might mean, will result in greater U.S. control of the territory. Along some dimensions that is likely. But it is worth pond...
marginalrevolution.com
Seriously, how much is AEI paying @theatlantic.com to launder billionaire ideology for its professional-managerial readership?
Ajay Kundaria@akundaria.bsky.social · 2y agoA little too on point: after heading an organization focused on hollowing out U.S. state capacity and redistributing wealth upwards, Arthur Brooks now writes one column over and over again, advising people that their happiness rests on settling for less. www.theatlantic.com/author/arthu...