“In the not-so-distant past, politicians — especially at the presidential level — have showed some decorum. Part of Donald Trump’s appeal is his rejection of those long-standing ground rules, but his humor is reminiscent of that of a schoolyard bully. He tirelessly trots out dopey insults and types out long, conspiracy-laden all-caps tirades. They seem unintelligent and mean, but are indeed authentic. Trump has been posting nonsense for years. … Democrats keep taking Trump’s bait, expressing outrage and playing politics along Marquis of Queensberry rules. Democrats often play dirty and do so here in California regularly given their supermajorities, but they currently are outmatched by Trump’s backyard-brawl tactics and keep getting shivved during these street fights. So Newsom hired a brass-knuckled social-media team to fight fire with fire — and he has gotten Trump’s and MAGA’s attention.” (08/22/25)
“Opposition lawmakers easily survived recall votes in Taiwan on Saturday, but an opposition-backed referendum to bring back nuclear power failed. The recall votes, the second in a month, were an attempt to restore ruling party control of the legislature after the Democratic Progressive Party lost its majority in a 2024 election. The recall results were a second straight setback for the ruling DPP. The seven lawmakers from the opposition Nationalist Party all held onto their seats, as did 24 members of other parties in a first round of recall votes on July 26.” (08/23/25)
“A strong claim can be made that the patterns of inequality in feudal societies and today’s state-corporate capitalist systems are more alike than not, even admitting important differences in way of life, economic forms, historical contexts, etc. Through both systems, across centuries, a pattern reveals itself, a startling one showing that a very small group at the top of the pyramid, perhaps one to five percent, have controlled half of all wealth or even more. A concentration of this kind becomes a durable power capable of maintaining hierarchies that run the political, economic, and social worlds. For all of their differences, and they are acknowledged, both systems siphon away the vast majority of the economic surplus to the hands of a privileged few in command of ‘our’ political and economic institutions.” (08/22/25)
“It is axiomatic: When an industry begs government to regulate it, assume that it is seeking protection from threats to the status quo with which the industry is comfortable. The universities are pleading with Congress, which you might think has more urgent priorities, to protect them from twin terrors: athletes being paid their market value, and antitrust litigation resulting from the cartels collaborating to stifle this. The conferences want, in effect, federal price controls …. Trump, who cannot see a parade without jumping in front of it, has issued (what else?) an executive order, saying that federal action is needed to ‘restore order.’ Translation: to suppress the disorder that results when society’s lower orders (here, athletes suddenly allowed serious compensation) acquire rights and aspirations.” (08/22/25)
“Methodological individualism is the idea that the dynamics of a group can best be analyzed by looking at the actions of the individuals that make up the group. Methodological individualism does not deny the existence of groups — of course groups exist. Indeed, there are times when it makes sense to refer to the group as something that accomplished a goal given the inherent complexities of life. For example, we might say ‘the firm produced the pencil.’ Yes, many individuals toiling away at various stages worked to make a pencil, but the firm is the framework, or the coordinating mechanism, that brought the pencil into existence. Applying methodological individualism means that individual behavior is the focus of our analysis. The constitution of the group emerges out of the behavior of the individuals who make up the group.” (08/22/25)
“It will likely come as no surprise to readers that the federal government continues to enjoy rock-bottom trust among Americans. Charitable organizations are trusted by a majority of people, and state and local governments, as well as businesses, get thumbs-up from a fair number, but the years-long downward slide in trust in the federal government to act in society’s best interest proceeds apace. That’s grounds for knowing chuckles all around, but also for concern. That’s because, perversely, there’s evidence that low trust leads to bigger government.” (08/22/25)
“Sri Lankan police on Friday arrested the country’s former president and senior opposition politician Ranil Wickremesinghe over allegations of misusing public funds during his tenure as president, police said. Wickremesinghe, who served as the island nation’s president from 2022 to 2024, was arrested on allegations of using public funds to attend his wife’s graduation ceremony in London after an official visit to the U.S, police spokesman Fedrick Wootler told The Associated Press. Wickremesinghe’s aide, Danushka Ramanayake, said the former president has been taken to a court after being arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigations Department.” (08/22/25)
