“Opposition politicians are seated with no incident” has got to be one of the lowest bars for democracy one could come up with…

Italy’s failure to qualify will be an astonishing feat.

Humans demand humans to hold accountable, for fairness and incentive reasons.

Plus his shot is impossible to contest, and if that weren’t enough, he can break people’s ankles off the dribble. It’s unfathomable where this guy will be when he’s, like, 25 — I honestly think there’s a scenario where people are seriously talking about him as the GOAT within the next five years.

Wemby is the most incredible athlete I have ever seen. Not the best (though he could be when it’s all said and done), but the most incredible, by a distance.

The upside is that this may simply fail to consolidate. The downside is the potential for instability and volatility…

I’ve said this before: we’re seeing the unique figure of the lame-duck authoritarian. I think it helps account for the speed and sheer recklessness of the authoritarian attempt — he doesn’t have to care about the voters — but consolidation becomes a big question mark…

The incentives now will be even more geared towards corruption, bc of the greater precariousness.

It’s way worse than the patronage system, bc you may go long periods without getting paid while you’re doing it. It’s a crazy achievement: patronage, but worse.