“Under the wrong conditions, undisciplined princely appetites can transform into madness.” www.programmablemutter.com/p/the-politi...
The political economy of billionaire derangement
The passions are devouring the interests
programmablemutter.com
Brent
@bk4us.com
Cold War Liberal. Peace if possible, truth at all costs.
My main takeaway from last night's election is (again) that everyone really wants more & stronger parties & some form of PR that breaks the two-party doom loop & doesn't require 25-50% of both parties' coalitions to regularly vote for a candidate they don't really like in general elections.
Mark Copelovitch@mcopelov.bsky.social · 4w agoDemocrats want to have 3 center-left/left parties to vote for, instead of just one. Republicans want to have 3 center-right/far-right parties to vote for, instead of just one. Everybody actually wants some form of PR/MMP/STV with 6-8 parties. Tl;dr: folks ~want to be 🇩🇪: bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Isn't it weird how the reaction to an Iran-Oman deal is much more "yay, peace, the economy will be fine from now on," and little-to-no "Iran effectively declared victory, utterly humiliating Donald Trump, so he'll probably end up bombing again, like last time"? Well, it's weird to me.
It seems really clear that by 2028, we're going to have an empty SPR, substantial munitions shortages, greater strategic challenges, a larger national debt and substantially higher bond rates which will massively constrain future administrations.
Fuck, the reason why everyone in Star Trek only consume old music or movies from the 20th century is because that's the last media before AI slop took over. You never see 24th century media in Star Trek because it's probably all just brain rotted slop. Have you seen the doctor's holonovel?!
It's not rights, it's just power. Iran wouldn't have tried something like that, because they (quite reasonably) feared a big US attack if they did. But the US did that sort of big attack unprovoked this spring, and Iran survived it, so it's not deterring them anymore. So now they can, and they are.
This whole @johnauthers.bsky.social column is great. Also, tell me again history doesn’t matter.
Catherine Rampell@crampell.bsky.social · 8h ago@johnauthers.bsky.social: "stock market’s relationship to war and peace can be troublesome. Just look at Dow in 1938 and 1939, as an ever-more belligerent Hitler brought Europe sliding ever further into war. The impact on Wall Street wasn’t totally predictable" www.bloomberg.com/opinion/news...
Conservatives scaremonger to their base about the sexual threat posed by outsiders (migrants, liberals, queer folk) solely because the hypothetical victims here "belong to" conservative men. But they reserve the right for those same men to treat their own property however they wish.
I can’t believe Iran saying they think they’ve got Oman on board with their plan to thwart US war aims is being treated as successful peace talks or an American accomplishment, even a little. That is crazy-making to me.
I have little to add to the chat, but I will say this: Those of us who spend a lot of time talking about politics overestimate how much other people care about, or are even familiar with, the labels we use to describe, denigrate, or celebrate candidates. Sometimes we’re high on our own supply.
Man, if Putin had told Trump exactly what he wanted the US to do to help Iran and Russia and hurt Ukraine, it would have been exactly what Trump did in his war. This is a Russian strategic dream we are watching.
if nothing else another big night for the "polling in the no-one-picks-up-their-phone-anymore Era is cooked" take
G Elliott Morris@gelliottmorris.com · 21h agoLooks like a 10-15 point polling miss in Michigan regardless of who wins. And people have been writing a lot of electability takes using this data. It’s dangerous out there folks be safe
All you Trump backers who lie about supporting Ukraine…this is what you actually support. These Ukrainians are being killed partly through the policy choices of the Trump administration. The USA could have saved many of these lives but chose not to. www.cnn.com/2026/08/05/e...
Russian attack kills 17 in Kyiv region, Zelensky says | CNN
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s capital and nearby areas have killed 17 people and wounded dozens of others overnight, officials said, as both sides step up attacks on facilities that underpin daily life...
cnn.com
honestly, the fact that we have made it through the atomic age *without* another use of nuclear weapons since 1945 is a miracle we don't fully appreciate
Rebecca R Helm@rebeccarhelm.bsky.social · yesterdayToday is the day the story There Will Come Soft Rain is set. An amazing and heartbreaking work of fiction for our modern age. Read it here:
“These strange, balloon-like anomalies have captivated the public imagination for decades,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said of the unusually bulbous vessels officially known as Unidentified Floating Objects but colloquially referred to as “blimps” or “flying sausages.”
Pentagon Declassifies Files On Blimps
ARLINGTON, VA—In what may be the largest-ever disclosure of government data concerning the mysterious aerial phenomena, Pentagon officials announced Wednesday they had begun releasing a trove of forme...
theonion.com
Actually, that's not quite accurate. The other more Lucy-and-the-football thing is how the media & ~everyone else in the National Conversation™️ returned, after each of these times, to overwhelmingly criticizing <only The Democrats> for not paying enough attention to Kitchen Table Issues & Workers:
Mark Copelovitch@mcopelov.bsky.social · yesterdayIt was so exhausting to do this in 2012. And then again in 2021. And then <again> in 2024. The only thing more Lucy-and-the-football than this is the way the media has fallen willingly for the "GOP Deficit Hawks" thing every couple of years since the 1980s.
There is a substantive difference between a defensive action, like shooting back at pogromists and lynch mobs, and an offensive action, like bringing rifles along to set off fireworks outside ICE detention centers. One is easily portrayed as self-defense, the other is easily portrayed as terrorism.
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 4d agoI think today's liberals in the US are used to a social environment where pogroms are rare and don't realize the role armed self defense plays in that state of affairs www.history.com/articles/red...
I mean yeah, it’s the corruption. But it’s also that he impulsively spends billions and makes policy the way most rich dudes buy luxury sports cars. He heard about it on the golf course and now he has to have it. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/c...
Trump’s Fixation on Arctic Ships Led to Billions in No-Bid Contracts
The president decided to buy 11 polar icebreakers after a game of golf with Finland’s president. Experts say it’s far from clear the United States needs so many.
nytimes.com
If 60s / 70s Trekkies hadn't invented slash fiction, 90s Trekkies would have had to, because the canon ships can be abysmal. Bashir and Ezri? Chakotay and Seven? Chakotay and anyone for that matter? GTFO Worf and Troi? Worf and Jadzia? Neelix and Kes!?What the hell are you even doing?
Yes, though beware large nominal numbers. Corp debt/GDP levels are way down & back to pre-GFC levels.
size of corp debt one rung above junk is close to record highs
🧵 The Founders simply could not imagine men so uninterested in maintaining & exercising their own political power that they would allow other men - even those of their own party or faction - to steal their constitutional power in broad daylight & play out The Madness of King George.
Nicholas Grossman@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · yesterdayFederalist 51: “ambition must be made to counteract ambition.” That made for a system of checks and balances that mostly worked. Until some politicians with ambition to overthrow the Constitution met up with politicians whose highest ambition is attention on social media and a pat on the head.
I always wonder about the Bluesky bubble assumption, which is never explained: What new ideas circulate on X that I haven’t considered? What good-faith arguments or claims on X do I need to address? What unfamiliar but relevant topics are discussed on X that aren’t discussed here?
As an aside, this is also how you know the United States is still a democracy. Autocracies hoard the treasure but spend blood freely. When Trump thinks he can spend a few divisions to salve his ego as Putin has, instead of just some missiles, you will know the republic died some time ago.
Pye Wacket@jackindabox22.bsky.social · yesterdayThe desire to spend treasure over blood has been a hallmark of US military policy since WW2. Certainly this admin is particularly cowardly and hates losses moreso than any other, but the treasure over blood impulse plays to US strengths anyway.
Folks look at you like you're crazy when you say we're in the midst of the worst, most unprecedented Article I constitutional crisis in American history, & then it's Tuesday.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterdayCornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"
Tongue in cheek. But in all seriousness, this really is the Trump/Hegseth/MAGA/Manosphere theory of war. Both in the literal sense that cartoonish displays of try-hard toughness are key to defeating enemies, and in the meta sense that their war effort prioritizes memes for their domestic audience.
Uncle Tifa@labboypro.bsky.social · yesterday"Mister international relations professor, you just don't understand modern warfare"
Oh for the love of all that is holy...
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterdayCornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"