saying "it was all bad" is inadequate to any purpose beyond attracting funding from right-wingers. saying "it was all good, or at least fine, or maybe nothing happened at all" isn't much better.

that *something* happens in the late 19th/early 20th-c with respect to our understanding of administration, bureaucracy, and increasingly powerful/interventionist centralized governments is simply beyond dispute. that FDR was an important figure is likewise beyond dispute.

no idea why, but i read that as something expressing the idea that Trump represents the "[Pat] Buchanan presidency." some truth to that...

trumpist populism might've been an occasion to revisit some of our ideas about democracy, belonging, and community but it feels like the occasion has passed. the threat of trump is sufficiently grave that refining our concepts has taken a back seat.

21st century scholars (including Brennan) who have argued that democratic theorists are guilty of a certain doe-eyed romanticism about democracy are usually right (though this does not by any stretch indict all of democratic theory)

there are a lot of words that describe good things

federation and federalism (and confederacy)
constitutions and constitutionalism
checks, balances, separation of powers, etc
union and representation

to be frank, democracy *without* these things has been mostly unqualified shit

look at my bluesky feed, i guess it's safe to say that people have noticed

I get that it's newsworthy and whatever. Probably the reporter was reacting professionally. But when he says "next question" and they all start begging for his attention...I'd rather quit my fucking job than tolerate this kind of abuse. Who raised these people?

!!!!!!!!!!!

gross. I'm sorry, Nomi.

saw him in atlanta a couple weeks ago. got very nervous every time he got close to those stairs.

he is temperamentally built for this in every way