Phil (Short For Philliam)
@phillinginthegaps.bsky.social
I write things and on occasion it even makes sense. East coast liberal, certified yapper, and dreaded checker of fact. Follow me on substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/phillinginthegaps
New article on Epstein, Trump, and a concept I call the "Reality Tax." Check It Out!:
#Epstein #Trump #ConspiracyTheory #Analysis #Politics
#Epstein #Trump #ConspiracyTheory #Analysis #Politics
Epstein, Trump, and the ‘Reality Tax’: When Conspiracy Meets Disappointment
Why Epstein probably killed himself and how MAGA’s obsession with the "Epstein List" ultimately backfired.
phillinginthegaps.substack.com
July 23, 2025 at 6:30 PM
New article on Epstein, Trump, and a concept I call the "Reality Tax." Check It Out!:
#Epstein #Trump #ConspiracyTheory #Analysis #Politics
#Epstein #Trump #ConspiracyTheory #Analysis #Politics
The Supreme Court spoke unanimously. The Trump administration chose to ignore it.
Check it out my new article:
Check it out my new article:
Constitutional Crisis and The Assault on Due Process
As when such impunity is allowed to stand, crisis is no longer on the horizon. It has already arrived.
open.substack.com
April 26, 2025 at 10:07 PM
The Supreme Court spoke unanimously. The Trump administration chose to ignore it.
Check it out my new article:
Check it out my new article:
One of the most destructive lies all too often sold by alternative media is that if a problem with a give institution exists any change is preferable to the status quo.
April 21, 2025 at 3:27 PM
One of the most destructive lies all too often sold by alternative media is that if a problem with a give institution exists any change is preferable to the status quo.
Few things annoy me more than when people can’t grasp that arriving at the right answer through bad reasoning doesn’t make the reasoning any less wrong.
April 11, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Few things annoy me more than when people can’t grasp that arriving at the right answer through bad reasoning doesn’t make the reasoning any less wrong.
The devastating consequences of some guys getting lucky with making money on crypto and now think they’re finance experts—while actual finance bros believe a few solid VC bets make them authorities on the economy—deserves a full chapter in future history books. 💀
April 9, 2025 at 5:07 AM
The devastating consequences of some guys getting lucky with making money on crypto and now think they’re finance experts—while actual finance bros believe a few solid VC bets make them authorities on the economy—deserves a full chapter in future history books. 💀
Lately, I’ve been circling a kind of conversational breakdown that feels increasingly common—not just disagreement, but a deeper misalignment in how people relate to the very act of dialogue.
#conversation #writing #bad-faith #publicdiscourse
#conversation #writing #bad-faith #publicdiscourse
Some Thoughts On "Bad-Faith" and "Grice's Maxims of Conversation"
A reality where building bridges of understanding starts to feel more and more like a Sisyphean task.
open.substack.com
April 5, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Lately, I’ve been circling a kind of conversational breakdown that feels increasingly common—not just disagreement, but a deeper misalignment in how people relate to the very act of dialogue.
#conversation #writing #bad-faith #publicdiscourse
#conversation #writing #bad-faith #publicdiscourse
New short article discussing some thoughts on the concept of “Transformative Experience” in choice theory.
I’m gonna try committing to posting these more niche, less structured pieces regularly in between my in depth, longer form articles.
#writing #philosophy #choicetheory
I’m gonna try committing to posting these more niche, less structured pieces regularly in between my in depth, longer form articles.
#writing #philosophy #choicetheory
Some Thoughts On “Transformative Experience”
How many of our past selves would recognize the preferences we currently operate under?
open.substack.com
March 24, 2025 at 4:43 PM
New short article discussing some thoughts on the concept of “Transformative Experience” in choice theory.
I’m gonna try committing to posting these more niche, less structured pieces regularly in between my in depth, longer form articles.
#writing #philosophy #choicetheory
I’m gonna try committing to posting these more niche, less structured pieces regularly in between my in depth, longer form articles.
#writing #philosophy #choicetheory
Norms are to the prevention of societal and institutional decay what vaccines are to prevention of disease in broad populations.
March 16, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Norms are to the prevention of societal and institutional decay what vaccines are to prevention of disease in broad populations.
Published a new article on something that’s been on my mind for a while—the way some alternative-media podcasts (in particular the Lex Fridman Podcast) create the feeling of intellectual depth while often failing at delivering the substance.
Check it out:
#writing #podcast #alt-media #aesthetics
Check it out:
#writing #podcast #alt-media #aesthetics
The Fridman Paradox: How Performative Depth Obscures Anti-Intellectual Reality
A discourse that prides itself on rejecting superficiality has, in its fixation on form over substance, become its own kind of shallow.
phillinginthegaps.substack.com
March 12, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Published a new article on something that’s been on my mind for a while—the way some alternative-media podcasts (in particular the Lex Fridman Podcast) create the feeling of intellectual depth while often failing at delivering the substance.
Check it out:
#writing #podcast #alt-media #aesthetics
Check it out:
#writing #podcast #alt-media #aesthetics
Just posted a new article discussing how the U.S. is failing Ukraine. Over the past week, Trump’s rhetoric on Ukraine has taken a stark and troubling turn.
#Ukraine #Trump #Geopolitics
#Ukraine #Trump #Geopolitics
The U.S. Is Failing Ukraine
And the consequences will not be contained to the Eastern European country's fractured borders.
open.substack.com
February 26, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Just posted a new article discussing how the U.S. is failing Ukraine. Over the past week, Trump’s rhetoric on Ukraine has taken a stark and troubling turn.
#Ukraine #Trump #Geopolitics
#Ukraine #Trump #Geopolitics
The older I get and as I watch the ebb and flow of public discourse, the more I realize just how much of our collective understanding of things is driven not by discrete analysis of fact—but by passive filtering of information through preset macro narrative frames and engagement with aesthetics.
February 22, 2025 at 7:04 PM
The older I get and as I watch the ebb and flow of public discourse, the more I realize just how much of our collective understanding of things is driven not by discrete analysis of fact—but by passive filtering of information through preset macro narrative frames and engagement with aesthetics.
Reposted by Phil (Short For Philliam)
President Trump posted on Saturday that a president "who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” as he tests legal and constitutional boundaries in the process of upending the federal government. It's not the first time he has suggested he has divine backing to enforce his will.
Trump Suggests No Laws Are Broken if He’s ‘Saving His Country’
President Trump shared a quotation on social media, making it clear it was one he wanted people to absorb: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
nyti.ms
February 16, 2025 at 6:11 PM
President Trump posted on Saturday that a president "who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” as he tests legal and constitutional boundaries in the process of upending the federal government. It's not the first time he has suggested he has divine backing to enforce his will.
Just posted a new article going over how the details of a recent Court TRO restricting the expansion of access to sensitive Treasury Department data has been repeatedly misrepresented, contributing to a broader political tension that is edging ever closer towards full on constitutional crisis.
No, A Court Didn't Block Scott Bessent from Treasury Data - Here's What Actually Happened
Distortions of judicial rulings are not just misleading; they undermine public understanding of the legal system.
open.substack.com
February 11, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Just posted a new article going over how the details of a recent Court TRO restricting the expansion of access to sensitive Treasury Department data has been repeatedly misrepresented, contributing to a broader political tension that is edging ever closer towards full on constitutional crisis.
Every time I see people bring up 1984 as a way of attacking some political movement (you can literally insert any one) I think more and more that I might be the only person in earth who ever actually read that book 💀
February 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Every time I see people bring up 1984 as a way of attacking some political movement (you can literally insert any one) I think more and more that I might be the only person in earth who ever actually read that book 💀
The last week has felt exhausting as day after day there seems to be some major new event or change fighting for command of the public’s attention.
The Exhausting Whiplash of Trump's First Week Back in Office
Power isn't just about what you can do - it's about what you can get people to accept.
open.substack.com
January 28, 2025 at 3:15 PM
The last week has felt exhausting as day after day there seems to be some major new event or change fighting for command of the public’s attention.
Good article from economist Paul Krugman’s substack talking about the danger of Trump’s threatened Canada and Mexico Tariffs to not just the economy but our credibility as a nation. open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
How To Damage US Manufacturing
Even the threat of tariffs will do a lot of harm
open.substack.com
January 28, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Good article from economist Paul Krugman’s substack talking about the danger of Trump’s threatened Canada and Mexico Tariffs to not just the economy but our credibility as a nation. open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...
Just posted a new article, going in depth on the current situation TikTok finds itself in.
phillinginthegaps.substack.com/p/so-what-ex...
phillinginthegaps.substack.com/p/so-what-ex...
So, What Exactly Has Been Going On With The TikTok Ban?
How did things get to this point and where are they likely to go next?
phillinginthegaps.substack.com
January 23, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Just posted a new article, going in depth on the current situation TikTok finds itself in.
phillinginthegaps.substack.com/p/so-what-ex...
phillinginthegaps.substack.com/p/so-what-ex...
There’s a lot of discourse online rn being critical of Zuckerberg’s decision surrounding fact checking, and while I resonate with those criticisms I think it’s also worth taking this moment to recognize that fact checking as the primary means of combatting misinformation is (on its own) a failure.
January 12, 2025 at 12:22 AM
There’s a lot of discourse online rn being critical of Zuckerberg’s decision surrounding fact checking, and while I resonate with those criticisms I think it’s also worth taking this moment to recognize that fact checking as the primary means of combatting misinformation is (on its own) a failure.
Reposted by Phil (Short For Philliam)
President-elect Trump refused to rule out using military force to retake the Panama Canal and Greenland, said he was willing to use “economic force” to acquire Canada and refused to say whether he would pardon Jan. 6 rioters, criticizing the FBI instead during his news conference on Tuesday.
Trump, Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, Hints at Territorial Expansion: Live Updates
www.nytimes.com
January 7, 2025 at 6:07 PM
President-elect Trump refused to rule out using military force to retake the Panama Canal and Greenland, said he was willing to use “economic force” to acquire Canada and refused to say whether he would pardon Jan. 6 rioters, criticizing the FBI instead during his news conference on Tuesday.
New Article on MAGA’s rewriting of the “Fedsurrection” narrative and the broader dangerous trend it represents for the resiliency of conspiracy theories in public discourse.
open.substack.com/pub/philling...
open.substack.com/pub/philling...
How MAGA’s Rewriting of the 'Fedsurrection' Narrative Exemplifies a Dangerous Trend
A case study in how dis-info actors manipulate language to make any and all evidence fit unfalsifiable assertions.
open.substack.com
January 2, 2025 at 7:18 PM
New Article on MAGA’s rewriting of the “Fedsurrection” narrative and the broader dangerous trend it represents for the resiliency of conspiracy theories in public discourse.
open.substack.com/pub/philling...
open.substack.com/pub/philling...
Thank god the greatest scientific minds of our time are currently looking into this pressing question 🙂↕️:
December 16, 2024 at 5:33 PM
Thank god the greatest scientific minds of our time are currently looking into this pressing question 🙂↕️:
So much of life now is just simulacra, narratives propagated by people referencing things they never read that never actually said the things they think they did on the bases of what they’ve heard from other people who also never read the thing they’re referencing.
December 16, 2024 at 1:15 AM
So much of life now is just simulacra, narratives propagated by people referencing things they never read that never actually said the things they think they did on the bases of what they’ve heard from other people who also never read the thing they’re referencing.
Anyone who tries to claim that the presence of 26 FBI informants during J6 is proof of what was “labeled a dangerous conspiracy theory months ago” (like Vance does here) are acting in unfathomable levels of bad faith with what the big claims by conspiracy mongers for FBI involvement during J6 were
December 15, 2024 at 10:55 PM
Anyone who tries to claim that the presence of 26 FBI informants during J6 is proof of what was “labeled a dangerous conspiracy theory months ago” (like Vance does here) are acting in unfathomable levels of bad faith with what the big claims by conspiracy mongers for FBI involvement during J6 were
Seriously discussing politics or policy on social media honest to god feels like trying to have a serious conversation about quantum entanglement at a kids Star Wars themed birthday party 🙃
December 12, 2024 at 12:30 AM
Seriously discussing politics or policy on social media honest to god feels like trying to have a serious conversation about quantum entanglement at a kids Star Wars themed birthday party 🙃
Thoughts from a long morning shower😛 medium.com/phils-corner...
Thought Experiment: What Makes You “You”?
Imagine a scenario where you’re in a horrific car crash, one so severe that your brain is irreparably damaged.
medium.com
November 30, 2024 at 12:51 AM
Thoughts from a long morning shower😛 medium.com/phils-corner...