There. Were. No. Books. You know what, you [signal drops]

Winners of the war so far: - Putin - The arms industry* I think that’s about it. *The arms industry generally wins.

A depressing but interesting conversation with @gregsargent.bsky.social @newrepublic.com on the miscalculation (noncalculcation?) the Trump administration made over the Strait of Hormuz. There’s gonna be a Trump premium on oil for a while.

Dire Straits more like.

Epic stupidity

Nominations for the Dennis Judd Best Book Award from the Urban and Local Politics section of APSA are due March 15, 2026. If you or someone you know has published a book related to urban politics in the past year, you should absolute nominate the book. Contact info in link.

It’s a pity that neither the public nor its representatives in Congress got to weigh in on the decision to spend billions more dollars on weapons.

🤣🤡🤣🤡🤣🤡🤣🤡 As anyone who actually read Orwell would know, he would never have written such a thing. Fortunately for Noem, she’ll now have plenty of time for reading.

One is a murderous pariah state, the other is Iran.

Prof. Robert Pape: "I have studied every air campaign since WWI... I've modelled the bombing of Fordow and regime change in Iran for 20 years... We are now in the grip of the escalation trap... This has never worked in over 100 years... Trump is up against the weight of history".

Demanding Idi Amin-level sychophany will destroy our military and bureaucratic capacity for generations to come.

What’s a faculty lounge?

The irony

Ideas in Action is the City of Boston's Participatory Budgeting initiative, where residents can decide how to spend a part of the City's budget. You can VOTE for the projects that will have the biggest impact on YOUR community until February 15th. Vote: boston.gov/participate

It is particularly gratifying that Judge Leon quotes Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues in his ruling. Judge Temporarily Blocks Hegseth from Punishing Kelly for Video www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/u...

Olympian levels of stupidity.

Accusation as admission, as usual.

How can this be allowed? The original price is exorbitant; a resale price of $3667 is shameful. FIFA is such a disgrace. The World Cup ticketing process is turning the event into a carnival of greed.

Attention undergrads! @pewresearch.org has more than a dozen paid internships for rising juniors and seniors this summer in Washington, DC. Find more info here: www.pewresearch.org/about/intern... Apply here: pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...

😂

We have a Boston Review Forum out today on the Democratic Party in a time of authoritarianism www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...

Alistair Darling and the official Treasury were always aware that investment banks had an inside track to Number 10. But the brazen nature of that inside track is rather breath-taking.

On the upside, the cars were a lot more colorful. Maybe we could simply aim for fewer, more colorful cars.

Doesn’t exactly look like a deadly rioter who could not possibly have been subdued without being shot and killed.

Applications are open for the 2026 American Political Economy Summer Academy for ABDs, postdocs, and junior faculty from May 31 to June 4. Travel, meals, and lodging all provided! www.americanpoliticaleconomy.org/events/summe...

It’s almost as if the two greatest challenges of our time - economic inequality and climate change - have dropped out of the picture entirely. All the while, things are getting worse on both fronts.

The Bill of Rights, a quaint idea.

As opposed to Swiss?? 🤡🤣🤡🤣

Pure stupidity.

Here’s what I listened to in 2025.

Quite the chart.

They are unlawfully detaining people for First Amendment protected activities, as far as I can tell. Dragging people out of their vehicles absent witnessing a crime and without a judicial warrant is repugnant to our constitutional order.

This is terrorism, by which I mean “the unlawful use of violence or threats to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or government, with the goal of furthering political, social, or ideological objectives.”

Today at 34 & Park in Minneapolis, a woman tried to drive down the street where a protest had broken out in front of a home ICE was raiding, saying she had a doctor apt to get to. ICE agents busted out her windows, cut off her seatbelt, and pulled her out before arresting her.

The absolute state of this…

As if to confirm the wisdom of the measure… Thiel Gives $3 Million to Group Seeking to Block California Wealth Tax www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/u...

Good to see that the @financialtimes.com is not buying the administration’s specious nonsense about the Renee Good killing.

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” — George Orwell, 1984

Thatcher's (and Hong Kong's) long shadow: The freeport dream has become an "AI Growth Zone" dream www.porttechnology.org/news/thames-...

Submit or be executed by the state.

Excellent, damning analysis of the video of the killing of Ms Good, from the NYT, including a quick debunking of the “evidence” the President showed other Times reporters last night. www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

Given the current price of oil (low) and the costs of extraction and refinement in Venezuela (high) and the future prospect of falling oil demand, why would oil companies want to invest in drilling and pipeline projects there?

Rather than, say, looking something up in a book or using one’s own brain to write, we’re destroying the planet. For what? For whom? Absolute madness. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Guys, don’t worry, “economists think these tax breaks might be worth it.”

I just want an “airport experience” in which I can get a beer for less than $15.

😂😂

The fight for their lives, that is.

Sharing my Spotify account with my 10 yr old has yielded some odd results.