Clarifying the record on Biden "The Deep State finally has a boss." X, in its sloppy yet energetic way, has corrected the Biden campaign for me: While this is not quite how I would put it—it seems like an odd confusion of my 2020 and 2024 endorsements—and I am a radical monarchist, the
Biden/Harris 2024 "Without continuity, there is no change." As most longtime readers know, I have endorsed the Democratic candidate in every election since 2008, except 2016—when, for professional reasons, I was not writing. As a lifetime Democrat—and Foreign Service brat—and grandson of progressive Jewish activists from Brooklyn, I was
Gaza and the laws of war As the father of a toddler, I am obviously distressed to hear that toddlers are being maimed and killed by bombs paid for by my tax dollars. I want this shambolic slaughter-circus to stop. I think every institution involved in it, from UNRWA to the UN to Hamas to the
A conversation about monarchy "Now and for the foreseeable future, any election is either plenary or nugatory." One David Volodzko, whom I know not otherwise but who writes about “communism, fascism and radical movements,” and who was apparently fired by the Seattle Times for improperly comparing Hitler to Lenin—skilfully earning the ire of
The purpose of a pundit is what he does "This fantasy has no more relevance to the actual system than any other fantasy." One nice principle for analyzing systems—entirely parallel to Ranke’s historical rule of drawing history “as it really was,” and Burnham’s political rule of “real meanings,” but not loaded with any historical or political
You will probably die of a cold "Nothing can stop scientists from stamp-collecting viruses to pad their resumes."ext People, even smart people, are so mindkilled these days. It will probably be the death of us all. Here’s how. Usually the smart people start by learning statistics. Statistics paralyze your ability to reason logically. Also, they
Heroin liberals and cocaine conservatives "The difference between conservatism and cocaine is that you can OD on cocaine." Political orientations in present America are best regarded as fundraising narratives. Democratic politics proper—the contest for sovereign power by organizations or individuals with massive support, decided by counting heads—is basically dead. In the present American
A techno-pessimist manifesto "One can easily see Trotsky at Burning Man." Are you a techno-optimist? This is a serious condition—as common as prediabetes. Don’t laugh. You can treat your prediabetes—and your techno-optimism, too. 30% of Americans are prediabetic. All Americans are prediabetic, in a sense—we all have access to
Clearpill yourself on Gaza "You just like to see tanks pop their turrets while the driver bakes." Are you an American or European? Do you have feelings about the war in Gaza? Stop. You shouldn’t. You should be totally clear on the question—in the Scientology sense. Your Kantian moral imperative is to
Three questions for Richard Hanania "It is sad to let them trap you in so little a box." Richard Hanania used to suck—he tells us so himself. This is the hardest kind of post to write. And if I do say so myself—not having anything to hide, since I never tried to protect
A new theory of constitutional cynicism "Once they do not rule, laws do not sleep. Laws die." Kynikos: Why do we believe in the law? In this country, our country—in the United States in 2023, I tell you, there is no law, nor even order—only mere capricious force. In such a state of society,
GPT-4 invalidates the Turing test "You never anthropomorphize your Apple Watch, even if it can beat you at chess." Neighbors these days often ask me about “AI.” What does the ChatGPT phenomenon mean? Will it take over the world? If not—what will it do? Neighbor: there is no “AI.” There are large language models
Bitvana or the bitcaust "It's all money. Always has been." Nobody has any respect these days. But I feel that since I was writing about the game theory of hyperbitcoinization in 2006, folks should have some respect for my opinions. At least on that subject. Ya know. But now it’s 2023 and everyone