chicaattack.bsky.social

Once you corrupt the DOJ and the regulatory agencies, ignore the Emoluments Clause, shrug at impoundments and antideficiency spending, etc., there is no easy way back to pre-Trump norms.

Whatever remnants of trust anyone had in the federal government is long gone, and the next president who controls Congress will have at least a temptation to use the federal government to pursue self-enrichment and punish enemies.

Because they are making a movie based on it, I reread the Dog Stars. There is genuinely beautiful writing in it --especially in the first half, which I think is the strongest part of the book.

What is the aftermath? A largely unchecked expansion of executive branch wartime, emergency, and surveillance powers; multiple middle east wars; an erosion of civil liberties and extrajudicial detentions, torture, and killings;

We, the majority in the Court, cannot possibly address the merits of whether the executive branch can spend federal money without Congressional appropriation,

Classic Douthat. At a high enough level of abstraction, it's really hard to tell which side is worse. Really, Ross? There is passing acknowledgement that Trump's regime has been "corrupt, bullying, and destabilizing,"

is, among many things, 1) using the Justice Department to indict and baselessly prosecute political enemies 2) sweeping blue cities with ICE goons who murder with seemingly impunity 3) using regulatory pressure to try and silence media the government doesn't like 4) giving corrupt no bid contracts.

Classic Douthat. At a high enough level of abstraction, it's really hard to tell which side is worse. Really, Ross? There is passing acknowledgement that Trump's regime has been "corrupt, bullying, and destabilizing,"

to act like kings, dictating spending as they see fit. But Douthat ignores this, and he seemingly waives a lot of this away by saying Trump hasn't consolidated as much power as some feared. Really? Most of the column is, of course, criticizing democratic governance and then there is this claim:

Classic Douthat. At a high enough level of abstraction, it's really hard to tell which side is worse. Really, Ross? There is passing acknowledgement that Trump's regime has been "corrupt, bullying, and destabilizing,"

An obvious and entirely predictable consequence of the SC's terrible Slaughter decision is turning the federal government into a vehicle for pay to play (or pay to not be regulated) governance. open.substack.com/pub/danieldr...

Rich texts can support many adaptations, and the very best understand and use some or more elements of a text and expand on them to speak to contemporary audiences.

I am not optimistic about the upcoming Odyssey movie, especially after I heard Matt Damon was going to play the lead role. Big budget, movie star films have one overriding goal: to make money by appealing to as many as possible.

The seeds of a modern tale are in the original poem: Odysseus is a fast-talking liar and who may also be traumatized by a 10-year war and alienated from his family. You could do something interesting with that.

I am not optimistic about the upcoming Odyssey movie, especially after I heard Matt Damon was going to play the lead role. Big budget, movie star films have one overriding goal: to make money by appealing to as many as possible.

If Chistopher Nolan wants to be innovative, he should adapt the story for his purposes--this is the Homeric oral tradition-- and in ways that can speak to modern concerns, following Joyce or the Coen Brothers.

I paid my weather tax all year and now it's high season in northern Michigan.