What follows is in reference to this post about hipsters and irony. I will attempt to demonstrate one theory for how we get from hipsterism on the one hand to the politically destructive use of irony on the other....
When I heard the story break last week I burst into ironic chuckles (yea, cause that’s the kind of person I am). Imagine if Anakin Skywalker had fallen not because of fear and deep pre-adolescent psychological...
I will do my best to be brief. I am voting today. But I am not voting for President Obama. I urge everyone else not to vote for him as well. I will do my...
In the comments here James Hanley called the debates “pure political theater.” To the degree that last night’s romp was light on substance and heavy on posturing it certainly was politically theatrical. And yet...
Tom Bissell is one of my favorite writers. In his recent career he’s written a lot about video games, but for the election Yahoo! News has given him some space to pontificate about politics.
…Is the one proposed by Ryan and Romney. Not, as David Brooks’ pop psychology analysis would have us believe, one between folksy emotionalism and new wave wonks. I would normally try not to waste...
As much as I’d love to revel in Ryan’s tax-evasion during last night’s Vice Presidential Debate, I have to—oh it hurts!—agree with him. I’ve written in the past about why exactly I loathe Paul...
Ross Douthat seeks to diagnose what’s ailing the left and more specifically, the President. Naturally, it’s “liberalism’s glass jaw,” “There is no world in which all of these hopes could have been perfectly realized....
The following is adapted from a comment I left at www.city-journal.org. Shooting a large fish in a small barrel is a solemn affair. Let us begin.
As televised Presidential debates go, it’s pretty clear that Romney trounced Obama. If you disagree, listen to Chris Mathews and the rest of the liberal MSNBC fan club. He and the rest of the...
In a way, Romney and Obama both need to do the same thing tonight. And no, I’m not talking just about winning. Both Romney and Obama need to make the case for why their...
So what can the 2000 election, and subsequent events, tell us about how we cast our votes for President in 2012? That’s the rhetorical question Kevin Drum asks as a way to set up...
This piece by Rebecca Solnit serves as the best example, but there are countless others as well. In short, many self-proclaimed liberals can’t stand that (1) their guy might be just as morally dubious...
I picked on the Atlantic yesterday for publishing some hack promotionalism by Scott Gerber. Today, in passing, I just want to draw attention to another bizarre editorial choice by that outlet. See to my...
It’s really unfortunate that the Atlantic feels compelled to publish dribble like this. On just about any given week now, you can find one or two policy screeds delivered in the can-do voice of...
Mike Konczal talks property and criminal justice over at Rortybomb. It’s an excellent post. You really do need to read it. And I’m sure plenty of people here at the League will have something...
In addition to some kind words from many commenters’, I’ve also gotten some substantial push back on what I thought was a rather uncontroversial position (so much so that I felt a bit guilty making...
Recalling the inspiration for his profile on President Obama which appeared this week in the pages of Vanity Fair, superstar writer Michael Lewis said, “On a whim, last November, I thought what would be...
In unofficial coordination with Skynet, the U.S. has released flight capable terminators to seek out the source of the recent attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya.
Since the teachers in Chicago went on strike, Ezra Klein’s blog of gritty numerics has published four posts on the subject. Each has been, as one might expect, mired in the most precise and useless...
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on Tariffs Making China Great AgainHas anyone heard anything about lawsuits to block the use of tariffs on Major Questions (or whatever…
on Tariffs Making China Great AgainIt is hard to imagine much more that Trump would do if he were actively working for the Chinese or R… on When a Maiden Needs a FriendChat GPT---which often makes things up!---suggested this: There was a notable Juul Law in Illinois,…
on Read It For Yourself: How Trump Admin Defines “Gang Members” For DeportationThe Courts are less than one percent of the gov. The bulk answer to Trump. Trump fired everyone he c…
on Tariffs Making China Great AgainI'm going to petition the US government to fix my _huge_ trade deficit with the local Walmart by hav… on Read It For Yourself: How Trump Admin Defines “Gang Members” For DeportationAnd here we go with the constitutional crisis: A Federal judge Paula Xinis has ordered the Trump adm…
on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25From the article: Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to Xinis’ ruling that the judge… on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25The governments argument was that he was a dangerous criminal and gang member and not coming back un… on Read It For Yourself: How Trump Admin Defines “Gang Members” For DeportationWe do not have a lot of chaos in this. We have court system that functions, and we have whatever Tru…
on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25As I've said before, my working assumption is that the goal is the North American Empire under Donal…
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