21 Substack Posts Since Thursday You Might Find Enlightening
Here's a round-up of pieces you should check out this weekend.
Alright, so since this was getting pretty long and I only got as far back as Thursday I thought I’d just go ahead and cut it down to today and the last two days. There’s more than enough here for your amusement and illuminating.
Do you all like these little collections I’ve been putting together of Substack articles which I found intriguing over the last few days? Do you have any favorite writers I’m not reading who I should try? Your feedback is always appreciated.
As previously, I’m only linking free posts.
Thursday
Sore erudite insights from
, as usual: is just great. Be sure and read as much of his stuff as you can.
Nearly 60 years ago, the historian Richard Hofstadter wrote about “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” looking at examples from the Illuminati scare to the John Birch Society. Conspiracism is a tendency that has always been with us. But Hofstadter observed that there are “situations in which they [conspiracy theories] can more readily be built into mass movements or political parties.” We are evidently living in such a time. Years after the far-right, conspiratorial John Birchers went into remission, their successors are back with a vengeance.
…
In politics, the simplified narrative of a conspiracy is used to escape the messy and inconvenient fact that other people actually disagree with you and that you have to convince them. Every faction in politics wants to believe that “the people” are naturally on their side. So, if the people don’t actually vote your way, it’s tempting to conclude that this is only because of the machination of a malevolent cabal.
But, the 2016 race was FAR more wide open than the 2024 race looks to be. So, what gives? Why are so many people running in a race that looks like a foregone conclusion?
Ask a campaign that question and they will give you some milquetoast — or is it MILK TOAST — answer about how they see a clear path to victory with their candidate’s winning message and personality.
That’s not the truth, however. The truth is that there is an unspoken belief that Trump might not make it to the finish line in the race.
And that belief falls into two categories: Legal and health.
Yeah, this is basically what I’ve been thinking too regarding why Republicans are running against Trump when the odds are seemingly so bad for all of them.
As I’ve said before: you can take “Xennial” when you pry it from my cold dead hands.
Fascinating:
Friday
I would like to see this one. I guess I will once it comes to streaming.
remains one of my favorite foreign policy thinkers.Cool! A double hit of
:
The always thoughtful
writes on a sad story which I’ve monitored and written on twice this past week.For as much as Mohammed and Kiswani’s addresses ignite my fire to correct misinformation and disinformation about Jews and Israel in order to stop the spread of the Antisemitic virus, the more times I rewatched and thought about their speeches after they were brought to my attention by a friend, the more they filled me with an intense sadness.
Be sure and subscribe to Sadie-Rae.
Some interesting insights on the 2024 presidential race.
Saturday
I deeply despise Erdogan and regard him as one of the world’s most influential antisemites.
is just full of intriguing facts and insightful insights:
Having written about Florentine sumptuary laws, I was also amused to see the mini-tunics, or pannos curtos (“short cloths”), that revealed men’s legs above the middle of the thigh when standing. Under a law passed in 1373, such sexy styles were prohibited unless the wearer paid a fine/fee of 10 florins. They were still in evidence decades later. Aside from showing off men’s muscled legs, they economized on expensive cloth, surely saving more than the value of the fine.
Gorgeous photos in the piece too.
Virginia also has a moving note at the end about her father’s recent death. Do be sure to subscribe to her if you haven’t already - she’s a writer I’ve appreciated for some time and fondly recall meeting at a conference a few years ago.