Brendan Moody
@brendanneillmoody.bsky.social
Bureaucrat, avid reader, unexpectedly sarcastic.
I lost my beloved cat this morning, so my 2026 is off to a miserable start.
January 11, 2026 at 7:06 PM
I lost my beloved cat this morning, so my 2026 is off to a miserable start.
My primary reaction to “the warmth of collectivism” is “Has my dude not seen PLURIBUS?”
January 2, 2026 at 10:38 PM
My primary reaction to “the warmth of collectivism” is “Has my dude not seen PLURIBUS?”
It’s obviously absurd to suggest that only voters in a state should have a say in who that state’s Senate candidates are. The structure of the upper house gives every senator extraordinary power over the whole country.
"let maine decide" is not super comforting when maine has decided on susan collins and angus king, both quite shitty senators.
I'm not saying maine is worse than the rest of the country (which elected trump after all.) I'm just suspicious of the idea that voters are infallible anywhere.
I'm not saying maine is worse than the rest of the country (which elected trump after all.) I'm just suspicious of the idea that voters are infallible anywhere.
October 31, 2025 at 12:10 PM
It’s obviously absurd to suggest that only voters in a state should have a say in who that state’s Senate candidates are. The structure of the upper house gives every senator extraordinary power over the whole country.
Because Platner has no prior record to run on, the tattoo, the Reddit history, and his response to both becoming public are the most substantive thing we have to discuss. The way to avoid this problem is not to go all-in on someone with no political experience as a candidate for the U. S. Senate.
And critically, who would still have it if not for a campaign controversy, and who has no record beyond social media videos and his platform on a website with which to evaluate his character and suitability for office.
October 27, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Because Platner has no prior record to run on, the tattoo, the Reddit history, and his response to both becoming public are the most substantive thing we have to discuss. The way to avoid this problem is not to go all-in on someone with no political experience as a candidate for the U. S. Senate.
This really speaks to the deeper incoherence of people’s thinking about inflation. Set aside the ignorance about tariffs; lowering grocery prices for the consumer would probably not have been beneficial for a grocery store owner!
"A beloved family-run grocery store in Florida may have to close its doors after 43 years because of tariffs." www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/ar...
October 19, 2025 at 11:50 AM
This really speaks to the deeper incoherence of people’s thinking about inflation. Set aside the ignorance about tariffs; lowering grocery prices for the consumer would probably not have been beneficial for a grocery store owner!
Reposted by Brendan Moody
There’s also the fact that a multitude of Americans have come to believe that there’s a “make economy good” button built into the Resolute Desk.
October 13, 2025 at 5:18 AM
There’s also the fact that a multitude of Americans have come to believe that there’s a “make economy good” button built into the Resolute Desk.
There’s a straight line between Klein’s belief that any election can be won with the right strategy and his belief that Charlie Kirk was doing politics right: a refusal to consider that the opposition is not acting on rationally-derived politics and cannot be persuaded.
September 28, 2025 at 8:31 PM
There’s a straight line between Klein’s belief that any election can be won with the right strategy and his belief that Charlie Kirk was doing politics right: a refusal to consider that the opposition is not acting on rationally-derived politics and cannot be persuaded.
Obsession with the idea that you can win every time is not strategy but its antithesis. It prevents you from appreciating the effective playing of an unwinnable hand.
September 28, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Obsession with the idea that you can win every time is not strategy but its antithesis. It prevents you from appreciating the effective playing of an unwinnable hand.
Part of what’s happening with Klein and Coates is that Klein is only just confronting the ultimate stakes of American politics, and recoiling from them in terror, while Coates has recognized them all along.
September 28, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Part of what’s happening with Klein and Coates is that Klein is only just confronting the ultimate stakes of American politics, and recoiling from them in terror, while Coates has recognized them all along.
Reposted by Brendan Moody
If you’re not either a) an antifascist or b) a fascist, you don’t have any role under fascism. That’s his dilemma
September 28, 2025 at 4:54 PM
If you’re not either a) an antifascist or b) a fascist, you don’t have any role under fascism. That’s his dilemma
Reposted by Brendan Moody
Chotiner interviews Janeway
September 24, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Chotiner interviews Janeway
Reposted by Brendan Moody
Since the election of Obama, a huge portion of the US right has decided that they want to secede from what the US had become--a religiously and culturally pluralistic, multi-racial democracy. They consider themselves to be the victims of a nation thusly constituted and they want "our country back."
September 15, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Since the election of Obama, a huge portion of the US right has decided that they want to secede from what the US had become--a religiously and culturally pluralistic, multi-racial democracy. They consider themselves to be the victims of a nation thusly constituted and they want "our country back."
A lot of left-of-center observers seem to want a codependent relationship with Trump supporters, in that they prefer making strained excuses for repeated mutually destructive behavior to anything that might actually change the behavior.
Not trying to dunk. But I was at the RNC and they were waving signs that said "mass deportations now."
Trump then later categorically accused Haitian immigrants of eating pets. He claimed immigrants poison our blood.
He campaigned on ethnic cleansing. People can lie to themselves, but he did.
Trump then later categorically accused Haitian immigrants of eating pets. He claimed immigrants poison our blood.
He campaigned on ethnic cleansing. People can lie to themselves, but he did.
i really, really need people to understand that they *didn't* vote for this, no matter how much you insist they did. insisting "they voted for this" elides the information environment that led them to vote the way they did in the first place, the thing that actually needs fixing.
June 1, 2025 at 8:13 PM
A lot of left-of-center observers seem to want a codependent relationship with Trump supporters, in that they prefer making strained excuses for repeated mutually destructive behavior to anything that might actually change the behavior.
I do love to ask Meta AI questions it can’t answer.
May 18, 2025 at 5:17 PM
I do love to ask Meta AI questions it can’t answer.
Very grateful that I’ve disengaged from fandom spaces enough to be entirely surprised, and thus entirely delighted, by the twists in yesterday’s Doctor Who episode.
May 18, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Very grateful that I’ve disengaged from fandom spaces enough to be entirely surprised, and thus entirely delighted, by the twists in yesterday’s Doctor Who episode.
Reposted by Brendan Moody
April 29, 2025 at 6:12 PM
“The Well” should probably not have leaned into comparisons to an episode that was both spookier and more thematically resonant.
April 26, 2025 at 9:59 PM
“The Well” should probably not have leaned into comparisons to an episode that was both spookier and more thematically resonant.
“Lux” is the first time I’ve felt that an episode in the Fifteenth Doctor era was firing on all cylinders. The emotional beats were again more understated than in Davies’ first tenure, but for once that didn’t reduce their effectiveness.
April 21, 2025 at 12:24 AM
“Lux” is the first time I’ve felt that an episode in the Fifteenth Doctor era was firing on all cylinders. The emotional beats were again more understated than in Davies’ first tenure, but for once that didn’t reduce their effectiveness.
I watched “The Robot Revolution” this morning. Much like episodes from the Moffat and Chibnall eras, it was perfectly pleasant and left me with no particular interest in tuning in next week.
April 13, 2025 at 1:35 PM
I watched “The Robot Revolution” this morning. Much like episodes from the Moffat and Chibnall eras, it was perfectly pleasant and left me with no particular interest in tuning in next week.
Reading continues to be sporadic— I seem to be more in a video game mood— but today I tore through Anna Dean’s A MOMENT OF SILENCE (published in the US as BELLFIELD HALL), a thoroughly charming Regency murder mystery, and have already started the second in the series.
April 6, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Reading continues to be sporadic— I seem to be more in a video game mood— but today I tore through Anna Dean’s A MOMENT OF SILENCE (published in the US as BELLFIELD HALL), a thoroughly charming Regency murder mystery, and have already started the second in the series.
Pretending that presidential candidates might not attempt to carry out their stated agendas is one of the ways dumb commentators try to appear sophisticated and above the fray.
April 5, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Pretending that presidential candidates might not attempt to carry out their stated agendas is one of the ways dumb commentators try to appear sophisticated and above the fray.
My reading goal for this year is 50,000 pages, which I’m badly behind on, partly because of work stuff and partly because none of the four books I’m currently reading have clicked with me in a way that keeps me engaged.
March 9, 2025 at 8:21 PM
My reading goal for this year is 50,000 pages, which I’m badly behind on, partly because of work stuff and partly because none of the four books I’m currently reading have clicked with me in a way that keeps me engaged.
January:
1. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (expanded edition)
2. Phil Rickman, The Wine of Angels
3. Brenda Wineapple, Hawthorne: A Life
4. Robin Hobb, Royal Assassin*
5. George R. R. Martin (editor), Wild Cards (expanded edition)
6. Robin Hobb, Assassin’s Quest*
7. Alan Hollinghurst, Our Evenings
1. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (expanded edition)
2. Phil Rickman, The Wine of Angels
3. Brenda Wineapple, Hawthorne: A Life
4. Robin Hobb, Royal Assassin*
5. George R. R. Martin (editor), Wild Cards (expanded edition)
6. Robin Hobb, Assassin’s Quest*
7. Alan Hollinghurst, Our Evenings
March 9, 2025 at 8:10 PM
January:
1. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (expanded edition)
2. Phil Rickman, The Wine of Angels
3. Brenda Wineapple, Hawthorne: A Life
4. Robin Hobb, Royal Assassin*
5. George R. R. Martin (editor), Wild Cards (expanded edition)
6. Robin Hobb, Assassin’s Quest*
7. Alan Hollinghurst, Our Evenings
1. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (expanded edition)
2. Phil Rickman, The Wine of Angels
3. Brenda Wineapple, Hawthorne: A Life
4. Robin Hobb, Royal Assassin*
5. George R. R. Martin (editor), Wild Cards (expanded edition)
6. Robin Hobb, Assassin’s Quest*
7. Alan Hollinghurst, Our Evenings
Along with SUFFERANCE I bought A WHOLE WORLD, the collection of James Merrill’s letters. I’ve never read anything by Merrill, but the hardcover was marked down and I do enjoy reading other people’s letters, so why not?
March 9, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Along with SUFFERANCE I bought A WHOLE WORLD, the collection of James Merrill’s letters. I’ve never read anything by Merrill, but the hardcover was marked down and I do enjoy reading other people’s letters, so why not?