Assuming you mean the quoted sentence? I'd say there's a Post-Trump case revolving around these points and that Trump is the reason we're not making those points.

Man, I've been travelling for work for 20-years and have never had an experience anywhere close to that... ouch.

I appreciate the description of the fish... there's something about perfectly prepared fish that makes me think fish is what we'll eat in heaven. I mean, I love all the other proteins... but every transcendent meal I've had was sea-food based. Or goose liver; but that's the exception that proves the rule. If proteins we like wine, Fish is Burgundy/Pinot Noir... at its best, it's unmatched... but it's rarely at its best; so we settle for Beef/Bordeaux.

"If you’re on the same side as the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and every major corporation..."

I'd say that'll leave a mark, but I don't know anyone on the left for whom it would anymore. Maybe the Bruenigs. I miss the old Left.

I share a lot of the critiques/observations about the left and their shifting political philosophy(s)... but I still disagree on the prudence of voting for Trump. Two points on that: Trump is neither a bulwark we can depend upon nor a politician advancing a 'better way' if anything he's poisoning what little good he stumbles into and accelerating the things we dislike the most by virtue of his incompetence and inability to build a political movement; second, the path 'out' of the wilderness will come from abandoning Trump and the Left attempting to govern. It's no secret that I think the left is incoherent with regards politics and policy... but this just *isn't* the most important election ever. Biden will likely win and will likely govern poorly (though poorly in an entirely different way than Trump) and the way forward is the breaking of both parties... which Biden will accelerate. Trump is neither shield nor weapon... he's a trap.

Meagre hope, perhaps, but prudence isn't voting for Trump it's for hastening the realignment. I know you have some Libertarian sympathies (if Solidarity is a bridge too far :-) ) I'd say, consider voting Libertarian... we'll revisit in 2022 and 2024.

Yeah... if last cycle we had ~130M votes and this cycle we get ~150M votes... I'm having a hard time guessing if those 20M votes skew significantly in either direction... or just represent 20M more votes.

I can see either story playing out:
*Man the 'burbs were fired up and voted in droves for Joe. That's why he won 345 EC votes.

*Man those forgotten voters came down from the hills for Trump like we never thought would happen. That's why he won 274 EC votes.

Honestly think a lot of you are coding this according to certain expectations and am bookmarking for the side-switching when Biden's narrow PA lead is threatened by ancient rural machinery in PA that is turning out illegible postmarks... and we have to uphold rules over counting all the votes.

After all, how can we be sure that Trump voters hearing about the narrow Trump loss after the polls close didn't just submit their ballots? It's akin to why we don't announce the exit polling until the polls close. Nothing quite so motivating as hearing an outcome you don't like.

The problem is that no matter what we do, there are going to be (a lot) of spoiled/rejected ballots... and the inconsistency is the problem. I can tell you with 100% certainty today, October 28 that we will *not* count all the votes... not agreeing in advance on fair-is-fair (even though each state is different)... that's the potential disaster. And all of you will switch arguments depending on whether you need the counting to stop or go.

I hope the outcome is beyond doubt because there's no consistent method out of doubt here.

"The grasses have co-evolved with grazing animals, and to thrive they need the frequent trimming, plus poop and pee" plus seeds worked into the soil by hooves, etc.

Mob Grazing has exploded over the past decade... the *improvement* to pastures by short, but massive, rotational grazing (aka wild grazing) has been well studied and documented. The counter-intuitive findings all point to more grazing (with ordinary periods of rest) = more forage.

Do you prefer Dumb Technocrats to Smart Populists?

But if we're going with Hobbes, then this reads like comparing the Sword to the Tyrant. I care little about the Sword, only that it is oiled, well balanced and sharp. As for the Tyrant? On that I have notions.

Sure... but even that (People vs. Elite) is one competing - and IMO not the best - definition of what Populism is or might be.

So... that's my jeremiad against the misuse of the term Populism (and Isolationism).

It starts to become a sort of reverse image of some other imagined thing... not an actual thing.

I guess I'm confused then by the relationship of Technocrat to Populist?

I'm reading your original comment as 'antibodies' against Populists would make sure Technocrats are back in charge? But then your definition of Technocrat would suggest that our anti-bodies are worse than the disease. Which *might* be the point... if so, you've out-irony'd me... so kudos. :-)

Yeah, if I have a concern, its that Populist starts to function like Isolationist. A meaningless term that is used solely to discredit something someone dislikes that may or may not be Populist/Isolationist because we never define what the term is or the thing being labeled such.

To JB's point above, I certainly acknowledge that there's a techne to governing - I've repeatedly commented on the importance of this - but there's no particular reason why there couldn't or won't be Populist Technocrats... unless and until we define Populist to be specifically the absence of Technocrats at which point any person enacting Populist Ideas with Technocrats wouldn't be Populist.

That's the gist of my issue with how we're throwing around these terms - and probably why I run to Topologies like Technocrats to catnip.

I suppose it depends on what we mean by Populist. If Populist is something specific to 'Trumpism' and the like, then sure. But if Populist is the opposite to Movement Con/Stuart Stevens (and the Democratic equivalents)... then I guess I dissent. The first part of the article does a pretty good job recounting how Trump dismantled JEB! ... that's still the reckoning we haven't reckoned with. If every dismantling of JEB! is Populist and therefore bad? Then I think our terms are crossed or not useful.

The recent New Yorker article was an interesting thought piece on the various ways the GOP will react: Remnant (Trumpists), Restoration (Neo/Movement-Cons), Reversal (Upper Left).

Douthat quipped the likely result will be Restoration with bits of Remnant/Reversal spices. Probably as good a guess as any.

Nice write-up. Philly is underrated as a food town... I've had some good meals there while travelling for business; especially when the clients pick a 'local' place.

Heh, I can resist anything but temptation?

I'm sure there will be plenty who will try to emulate Trump... but like JB I don't think Trump is really a destination just a ride. There are 'potentially' better rides.

I have no particular notion at the moment whether we'll get better rides to different destinations.

Yeah, good point, but as much as Cotton and Hawley are early adopters of a certain sort of post-Trumpism... there will likely be other forms - some better, some worse.

Strikes me as a reasonable summation given your political positions. Of course, I'd also see your vote as "gettable" come the great realignment (TM).

I suppose I see Biden's replacement value as 0... which means I fervently wish his presidency reaches his ceiling as barely adequate. Though, in my darker moments, I'm not sure his replacement value is 0 anymore... that was peak Biden.

But to answer the obvious rejoinder... yes, I think Trump is negative Replacement value... he has actively devalued whatever decent policies he might have stumbled into.

p.s. [ahem] Do we only put the political/election disclaimer on the articles for the less savory parties, like Solidarity?

In the (very) unlikely event Trump wins... we'll likely be scratching our heads over why a tiny (but significant) shift in support among Black and Hispanic voters in swing states happened at all.

But since I still think that scenario very unlikely... it leaves us only to contemplate the movement of the needle and what it foretells for the Demographic Shifts and their real impact on politics going forward.

The 15 hour workweek is just that much closer!

Curious with regards Brave New World?

Sure... I suppose the leftist dystopia, then, might be calling a bug a feature. Or, becoming so deterministic that we are 'only' our bugs. I think that's kinda the point.

There's no good, only power.

What makes you think the Leftist dystopia isn't revanchist?

I like this as an illustrative aspect. I'd also suggest that a real dystopia would have bi-directional influence in that someone whom we admired as a fantastic Mr. Smith does something that causes us to decide that "Mr. Smith" is bad too... which impacts other people leading very good Mr. Smith lives. So we don't re-define that person as an Alex... we question the choices of all the people we commended for being Smiths. The point isn't to be a Mr. Smith it's always to be in the right group. The group? Which group? That's always in flux.

I see your reamer and raise you one citrus press.

We cook with a lot of lemons/limes... like a lot... like costco bags of lemons are staple purchases. Our problem is that we have to buy the industrial strength presses or we'll break the hinges.

Same with Garlic press... this one is pretty close to what we have.

On the downside, my weekend woods work will be interrupted because a $.01 flange-thingy-holder on the primer bulb of my Stihl chainsaw broke... the primers are 100% point of failure (by design, i'm sure), so I have half-a-dozen... but when the flange-thingy-holder breaks... shit. That said, only ever by Stihl... their engines are the most reliable. If they made a version with a +$30 metal primer pump option, they could hoover up my money.

To me the first go around was such a shitshow of Trump stomping around being Trump that we didn't even really notice Biden.

Honestly, stopping Trump and giving Biden uninterrupted time? Probably made it worse. Uninterrupted Biden just wasn't that impressive.

The unveiling of Biden-care was the shrug heard round the world.

True, it's hard to debate the arguably least racist president since Abraham Lincoln... but if your bat isn't quick enough to catch-up with Lincoln High-heat, then you're just not ready for this game... or maybe the game has passed you by.

https://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/lloyd-bentsens-mic-drop-moment-1988-vp-debate-58255800