I tried

'There are candidates running for every level of office in America...who won't commit to accepting the results of elections that they're running in. This is the path to chaos in America.'

—Pres. Biden on the midterms and the future of our democracy on.msnbc.com/3fyhW5K

trying to see the silver lining here, and all I can come up with is that if he wins we can can call him 'Senator Kitty Litter'

The full piece from Jonathan V. Last

I also think a lot of guys like Vance and Bannon and Miller are the result of bumpy status transitions; they become part of the elite, are seized with Imposter Syndrome, and are compelled to fight with their peers - whom they hate - on behalf of Duh People - whom they also hate.

'Nat-cons like Vance are motivated primarily by dislike of their neighbors and peers. They find the social and political accoutrements of upperclass life insipid. And so they throw in with The People,' even though they don’t actually know (or like) The People.'
- Jonathan V. Last

Yep.

4/ And gosh, I know that's boring when we can cynically snark at someone defending the deep code of the American operating system that enables anything like a free press to exist.

Report all the horse races you want, but the fashionable cynicism is a bit much.

ends.

3/ ...politics (raises hand) learns the inside game is fascinating and fun.

We're not in that game any more. We're in a new territory where the stakes aren't 'What will the highest marginal tax rate be?'

Now, it's a matter of 'will we be a nation with the rule of law?'

2/ ...'Whatever, bro. Did you hear about the crime ads and muh red wave?'

I get it; democracy and a functioning republic is an abstraction, a luxury good, a distraction from the horserace and easy both-sidesism.

Every nerd kid who goes to DC to work in media or...

1/ The President of the United States makes an important speech about the dangers posed to our constitutional republic and democratic system of government.

It is reasoned, passionate, truthful, and timely.

The reaction by the political and media class is largely...

There's a lot of 'not reading the article but commenting anyway' going around this morning

Tom Nichols Hi my name’s Dan. I don’t have a problem with semi colons; I can quit anytime I want to. Really; I swear.

VIENNA (AP) — UN's atomic watchdog says Ukraine inspections found no indications of undeclared nuclear activities and materials.

american pilot takes aim at russia w/ special flightpath near russian base in syria

dick move, guys

Musk & Co aren't proposing to charge people to *read* their content, the way eg The Atlantic does.

They fear that people wouldn't pay for Twitter content.

So their plan instead is to charge potential victims of fraud by their company to pay their company to prevent the fraud.

The left has alienated America’s fastest-growing group of voters—just when they were supposed to give the party a foolproof majority, Tim Alberta writes. Why Democrats are losing Hispanic voters: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

Laughing over a hammer attack on an old man, the GOP has completed its transition from a political party to a brutal mob, Tom Nichols argues. theatlantic.com/newsletters/ar…

My wife is so tolerant and patient. I have been walking around the house singing songs from '1776' very loudly and she's being very nice about it.

You'll know why when you read The Atlantic Daily later today.

Sign up here:

theatlantic.com/newsletters/si…