Monday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Monday, June 15, 2026
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20 comments
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About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
Follow Steven on
Twitter and/or
BlueSky.
– as noted by Tim Miller of the Bulwark – who watches the Trump crap so we don’t have to. Another gladiator gave Trump (and the bro-infested crowd) a Nazi salute. This is what happens when an 80 year old mental patient is POTUS.
Did anyone else watch the Indivisibles “Rise Up And Sing Out” concert/gabfest that was supposed to be the counter-programming to the ‘Murica 250 Thunderdome atrocity?
I’d love to hear the backstory on why the Indivisibles organized this tepid affair instead of No Kings rallies.
A good piece in The New Republic about why the regime can’t leave Kilmar Abrego Garcia alone:
Just another outrage. Also known as Day 506 of the Trump Administration.
Outrage as Trump deploys ‘honor guards’ at UFC event
@Scott: My objection is the corrupt use of the military for political and personal gain. Here is a better and broader observation by Lt Gen Mark Hertling (Ret.) at the Bulwark.
Sentinels at the Bacchanal
@Scott: Not only would this tacky, low brow presentation be deemed abhorrent under a normal administration, this blatantly commercial event is yet another emoluments clause violation. Trump continues to monetize the presidency*, and feels free to lend the prestige of a military honor guard to enhance the events of his corporate cronies.
*Does anyone really believe Budweiser and Paramount + didn’t wet Trump’s beak?
On better things, I got the new laptop set up, and the old all in one serves perfectly well as 24″ monitor. It took like five minutes to do the physical setup*, plus like 12 hours of procrastination…
Then it took several hours to download everything from the cloud to the drive. To me, the cloud is backup, not storage. All my important files are in my PC at all times.
At that, I may wind up getting a monitor anyway. One reason is that the sound takes a moment to sync when you do things like start a video. But I can live with that. The other reason is the all in one has to be turned on. It stays in the welcome screen and doesn’t load windows, but I wonder at how much power it consumes. If it’s too high, I’ll know when the next electric bill comes in. If so, it might make more sense to spend money on a dedicated monitor. We’ll see.
*And after getting a laptop stand (to keep the machine cool; as the vents are on the bottom of the laptop), an HDMI cable, and a USB hub. Last, I noticed only when setting up it has no ethernet port. So I’ll also need an ethernet to USB C converter.
@Charley in Cleveland:
If the Taco SS (aka ICE/CBP) doesn’t steal the midterms, I expect we’ll learn how much the Taco crime family has gotten in kickbacks.
Trump plans to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday by hosting “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all.”
When? July 4, of course.
Where? In front of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Where else?
“Trump’s Iran deal is a giant bag of dog shit.” — Jonathan V. Last, The Bulwark
Luigi Mangione’s become quite popular.
This is one way revolutions get started. Not by the act itself, but by the support the perpetrator can garner.
I’m not predicting a revolution or civil war, but the way healthcare is out of reach for many, and how even something relatively minor like a broken limb can end up in massive debt, is creating a very large group of very fed-up people.
I admit this is petty, but what on earth is going on with Calista Gingrich’s hair?
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3modhywjh342n
@Jen:
Beats me, but that’s one weird-looking chapeau she’s wearing.
@Jen:
Must be using the felon’s stylist. Sure is weird.
@Jen:
@CSK:
@Sleeping Dog:
It is rather bizarre, and doesn’t seem to be part of her head. It looks more like something she’s wearing, and not as one wears a wig.
I don’t get it. the fixer court rejected an appeal against a New York law that allows lawsuits against gun manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers.
Good news, I suppose, but I’m confused.
@Jen:
Wind got to it a bit, it normally looks like this.
B-52 Bomber crash on takeoff at Edwards AFB in California. Press conference at 4:15 PDT. Crew of 5 plus possible test engineers. “Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable.” Official link
@Richard Gardner:
CNN has more
One thing I deeply dislike about aviation is the sanitized terms often used, like this one. “Indications are the crash was not survivable” really means the crash was fatal.
A crash right after takeoff means lots of fuel, if not full tanks. This leads to massive, very hot fire, after explosions.
What the Air Force should have done like 30 years ago was retire the B-52 and gotten a similarly capable replacement. the design is form the 50s, and the last production model came out in the early 60s. It’s been re-engined and has had its avionics and other systems updated more than a bad release of Windows.
@Richard Gardner:
8 fatalities on board. Planes being tested have more people on board, very long ago I had a ride on a B-52H when it was the newest model being performance tested.
That would have been 1961 or maybe 1960, the H model was the upgrade to fan jets.