Endorsements Only Edition
I had a busy week so this week’s edition is just a collection of things I particularly enjoyed reading that I strongly, emphatically recommend to you, my Dear Readers. Also, this is your reminder that if you have a friend or a crazy uncle who you think could enjoy getting these weekly missives (or to whom sending them unwanted would bring you pleasure), please send me their email address and I’ll sign them up. Archives going back to 2011 are at this very sophisticated and attractive website. Finally, feel free to send me anything you find interesting or want to make sure I check out!
READING ENDORSEMENTS:
- The Washington Post on Trump staffers’ truly creepy “Dear Leader” paeans to the president. Add to this the super creepy introductory remarks from VP Pence to Trump’s Rose Garden announcement on the Paris Accords, and of course EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s remarks at the same event. This degradation of language is the most alarming sign, in my view, of our descent into authoritarianism, whether or not Trump has been able (yet) to effectively actually damage our democracy. (Also note that Pruitt posted his remarks to Facebook, but they are nowhere to be found on the EPA’s website. In fact, there’s no mention of the Paris Accord in the EPA’s recent News items.)
- Charles Pierce on the Rose Garden speech. Not to be missed.
- Matt Yglesias on Trump’s bullshit. This is a really, really great piece, looking at what bullshit is, what political purpose it serves, and why Trump’s use of it is so effective and dangerous.
- This column on how the AHCA’s proposed “work requirements” are not just cruel, but are a crucial part of the GOP’s plan to kick off as many people from the Medicaid rolls as possible -- with devastating effects.
- Obviously, the Paris withdrawal is disheartening, if for no other reason than it is a giant middle finger to the rest of the world and a clear-cut withdrawal of American leadership from global affairs. The question is whether the withdrawal itself will have devastating consequences for the environment and our ability to control the coming climate crisis. The answer is likely yes, but here’s an interesting counter-narrative: A handful of experts think it may be better for Trump to withdraw from the Paris accords rather than staying in but failing to meet their targets.
- This really, really interesting tweet storm on the gendered nature of the GOP’s anti-Paris/anti-science stance. Super intriguing.
- Another tweet storm, this one about Hillary Clinton and our reaction to her post-election conduct. You think that the last thing you want to do is read about HRC. But you’d be wrong in this case. Really. I promise. (And it doesn’t take long to read.)
- Slightly off topic, but I can’t tell you how impressed I was by this Adam Serwer column on the myth of Robert E. Lee. I fancy myself a bit of a Civil War buff, and I learned SO MUCH from this piece. We have all been raised to think of Lee either as a true hero and patriot or, at worst, a reluctant Confederate. Guess what, kids? We’ve been taught wrong.
LISTENING ENDORSEMENTS:
- These are not political, but NPR’s Invisiblia podcast and Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcast are both about to begin new seasons. If you missed last season of either show, I STRONGLY recommend both. Favorite episodes of both: The Problem with the Solution (Invisibilia), and these two episodes on higher education (Revisionist History).
- Dispatch is letting me relive high school by getting back together and releasing a new album, and their lead single is a perfect driving-in-the-summer song.
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