Sunday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Sunday, June 2, 2024
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55 comments
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About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a 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).
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One line synopsis of Dune:
White savior finds success and embraces hubris,
Mexico City’s metro area has been having a lot of “environmental emergencies” for the past couple of months. This means pollution levels are too high. The remedy, of sorts*, is to limit which cars and other vehicles can operate on the day or days affected.
It gets complicated because it depends on what kind of emissions control rating one’s vehicle has, so I won’t go into it.
Thing is the latest emergency was declared on Friday, affecting vehicle use on Saturday. Since levels of pollution haven’t gone down enough, Sunday will remain in emergency.
But Sunday is also the day for the general election, including the presidential election. So, in deference to that, no personal vehicles will be impeded from operating.
To me, this is the best argument for vote by mail and/or early or extended voting.
*This remedy usually doesn’t work. There’s been a great deal of ink spilled in the OpEd pages about the need for better public transportation, and for doing away with oil burning electric plants near the city. Also much note about how it was the advent of widespread use of catalytic converters in most cars that “solved” much of the pollution problem in the area.
Man, Democrats really need to push back on this idea that the “real verdict” will come in November. The “real verdict” for this case was last week and the outcome of the election won’t change the fact that tfg is a convicted felon.
For those the believe in an afterlife….
‘The “real verdict” will be at the gates to heaven.
Waiting to hear from Ozark…
@Mister Bluster:
Hope everything’s ok at Casa Ozark. Hopefully it’s just a slow Sunday for everyone.
@Flat Earth Luddite:
I was just thinking the same thing.
Biden should challenge Trump to a series of written examinations that would test the candidate’s knowledge of policy. They could have a civics test asking questions like name the functions of the various branches of government, outline what is contained in the Bill of Rights, and other basic things a candidate for president should know. Then they could have a foreign policy section that could ask the candidates to identify major challenges for US foreign policy, name world leaders, even have a few essay questions. The test could be administered by an independent accounting firm, although finding one that could be involved with Trump might be difficult.
I suspect Trump could not identify the three branches of government, much less describe their functions. As far as world leaders I’m guessing he would get Putin and Kim Jong Un but that might be it.
@Kathy:
It could also be:
Upper class kid devotes himself to the poors while fighting colonialism.
Or,
Scion of failing colonizers recruits local warlords to expel competing colonizers.
Or,
Local religious fanatics manifest a savior.
Or,
Female Jesuits manipulate the all-important spice market by spreading religious conspiracy theory.
Sorry, but as an author my own self, I dislike this kind of reductionism. It can be used to belittle anything. The Bible:
Idealistic son dies trying to rebrand his psychopathic father.
Henry V:
Local playwright justifies war of conquest in effort to toady his sovereign.
The jokes write themselves in the wake of the show trial.
Sean Ono Lennon did have a follow up saying it was a joke to good to pass up and that he was not throwing his support one way or another. And that is really the crux, the radioactive potassium content is high in the republic.
@JKB:
When Trump says Biden is behind the NY prosecution, you’re not actually stupid enough to believe that, right? So you are consciously spreading lies in service to a fascist. Good wittle Nazi.
You know, dude, Russia would be happy to have you volunteer to help them spread Trumpism, er, Putinism at gunpoint. I’ll cover the cost of your ticket. (Pro Tip: caviar is amazingly cheap in Russia.)
@JKB: this is quite a reach bordering on, if not crossing into, desperation.
Got popcorn. Useless Columbia students against alumni. Who will win?
How to ensure your degree from Columbia is a detriment to future employment rather than a benefit.
How to say, “I got my law degree from a cereal box.” without saying, “I got my law degree from a cereal box.”
Also,”He owes me money so I still have to say nice things.”
Definitely a cereal box, probably store brand Cocoa Puffs. He’s definitely kookoo.
@JKB:
Breaking News: Privileged Nepo Celebrity speaks!
@Kathy:
An alternate one-line summary of Dune:
Power easily turns you into a monster.
That becomes more clear over the course of four books.
@OzarkHillbilly:
Good to see you here. How is everything going?
Got off the phone with my wife a little bit ago. 2 things to report:
#1 They’ve put her on Vancomycin, which is what saved my youngest son’s leg from a MRSA.
#2 Depending on how her blood work comes back, she may come home today.
In my mind the 2 don’t go together. My son was in the hospital for 6 days and came home with a PIC line and a pump for continued injections of the vancomycin. He had it for 30 days. (minus one day when he broke it and I had to take him to an MSP ER thinking it might have thread it’s way into his heart)(it hadn’t).
That being said, there have been a few advances in medicine over the past 25 years. Just a few. Anyway, fingers crossed
Actual quote from Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary:
I don’t remember that Biblical passage, where Jesus says that LGBTQ+ tolerance is worse than sexual assault.
@OzarkHillbilly:
Fingers crossed. My very best to you all.
Rufous 3:5-9
@Michael Reynolds:
That’s kind of the point.
Isaac Asimov’s “Franchise”: A man gets to vote.
Wizard of Oz: A girl kills a woman, then teams up with three adults to kill the woman’s sister.
Jaws: A shark acts like a shark.
Doesn’t need to be belittled.
@Kingdaddy:
“Love thy neighbor as thyself, even an she say no.” Unnatural Acts of the Apostles, 24:7
@Kingdaddy:
The sequels also point to the corruption of popularity and success, as talented world-building author buys into his own bullshit and starts to take himself seriously.
For Pride Month, I want to thank all the joyfully queer people who inspired me to finally stop hiding away from the world. I know many of you sometimes have a hard time seeing it, but you are deep down so intensely yourselves that it’s blinding in its beauty…
@Kathy:
T. E. Lawrence creates Saudi Arabia INNNNNN SSSPPPPAAAACCCCCEEEEE…
@Michael Reynolds: “When Trump says Biden is behind the NY prosecution, you’re not actually stupid enough to believe that, right? So you are consciously spreading lies in service to a fascist. Good wittle Nazi.”
Stop being mean to JKB!!! Of course he’s stupid enough to believe it.
@Kathy:
In many ways, the high valley air pollution problem in MX CTY is much like Steven King’s story “Under The Dome”.
That story also doesn’t end well either.
@Stormy Dragon: Happy that you finally feel free to be you.
@Kingdaddy: “An alternate one-line summary of Dune:
Power easily turns you into a monster. That becomes more clear over the course of four books.”
I’ve never read past the first book, so maybe this springs from there. but one thing I found interesting about Paul’s character in the Villeneuve movie is that he’s acutely aware of this and is reluctant to seize power because he knows it will lead to him being a genocidal monster, and yet that’s the only path to survival for the Fremen and for Arrakis.
They just can’t hide it, even when they’re trying..
Eric Trump today.: Eric Trump Tells Fox News the Black Vote Is ‘Swinging Over to Donald Trump In Spades’
He really used “swinging to” and “spades” when discussing black voters. Seriously.
WTF?
Meanwhile, in this week’s episode of “Luddite’s continuing efforts to destroy his liver…”
You’ll remember that out hero has discovered that he’s too cheap to buy the expensive rotgut, and too discerning to drink Old Overshoe.
Buffalo Trace is tasty, and at under $30, a reliable tipple
Clerk recommended Rebel 100. Ok in a mixed drink, a little harsh for Luddite’s palate. Also under $30.
Next try was Rittenhouse. Very nice. Now I’ll have to read up on what makes it a “Pennsylvania Rye”.
Long live the Whiskey Rebellion! Happy June everyone!!!
@Liberal Capitalist:
It won’t be the pollution that gets us. it will be the earthquakes, the volcanoes, or, and I’d put money on this, the lack of water.
“Some people call me The Spice cowboy
Some call me Moha Dib…”
@dazedandconfused:
So who’s cast in the role of Maurice?
@EddIeInCA: Well, his dad did put a medical doctor in charge of Housing and Urban Development, ostensibly because said doctor is a black man and the word “Urban” is in the agency name.
@Flat Earth Luddite: I’m more of a Gin guy, and my cheap go-to is…Sam’s Club’s “Member’s Mark” Gin – which is surprisingly good stuff, at least for a G&T. The Costco “Kirkland” gin, by contrast, we thought to be terrible.
So we have local artisan distillery gin next to the Tanqueray / Bombay Sapphire, next to the Walmart stuff.
We are eclectic.
@Tony W:
Always thought neither Tank or Sapphire were great in a g&t. Cheap gin works great, especially after the first drink.
We don’t have liquor departments in Costco’s here in the great state of Oregon, and no Sam’s Club here. The state liquor store doesn’t carry either of their labels, alas, alack.
Personally, I remain a fan of ethanol thinly disguised as fruit juice.*
by the time I was old enough to legally drive, Grandma had given me three of her recipes for bathtub gins, one of which was truly Blue Ruin.
*With one exception. The grapefruit pruno that had been distilled to moonshine at the Home for Wayward Boys was not a good drink.
@Flat Earth Luddite: I will confirm with you on Sapphire for G&T. The aromatics mix in it makes it a nice gin to sip neat, but clashes with the bitterness of tonic.
ETA: And I do love the esthetic of blue gin.
@Flat Earth Luddite:
I buy Jim Beam Pre-Prohibition Rye in the 1.5L bottle. Great for cocktails, acceptable straight.
Full disclosure: I prefer scotch, followed by bourbon — but I prefer rye in my mixed drinks. Current favorite is rye with a splash of amaro and two splashes of 43.
@Just nutha ignint cracker:
The only pricey gin I’ll use in a G&T is Hendricks.
@Kathy: Weird my one line synopsis of dune would be.
“Beware political/religious “heroes” and their mindless followers.”
The books break down the Hollywood fantasy of the heroes journey by injecting it with a lot of reality.
The OG author was surprised and kind of upset that people thought Paul was a hero. It seems most of the readers never really understood the theme/lesson of the story.
I feel like his son changed the overall story from Frank Herbert’s original plan.
The Florida headline of the day- Florida Panthers advance to second consecutive NHL Stanley Cup Final following victory over New York Rangers
Why is this long suffering Florida Panthers fan in Australia when they are on the verge of winning the Stanley Cup? My wife’s boss wouldn’t let us take this trip in August……
@wr: Frank’s son really leans into that concept as the “golden path”. The one path that ensured the future survival of Humanity. Otherwise humanity would destroy itself as everyone rushes to breed their own psychics and whole civilizations are wiped out because of what might happen in the future. Then the AI fcks come back and finish off humanity. Paul’s son (Leto II) pushed to rid the universe of spice to force humanity to develop machines to replace the guild navigators AND rid humanity of the precognitive abilities. That way humanity independent of spice production can spread so far that no single threat could eliminate the species.
Paul ends up wandering off into the desert because he didn’t have the willpower anymore to continue the “short term” suffering to produce the long term good.
The headline of the day- South Korea pledges to retaliate against North Korea over its launch of garbage-filled balloons over border
Dear Wife is waking up. Time for me to get of here. G’day.
@Matt:
I haven’t read the book(s), but I suspect Niven’s Law applies: “If you’ve nothing to say, say it any way you like. Stylistic innovations, contorted story lines or none, exotic or genderless pronouns, internal inconsistencies, the recipe for preparing your lover as a cannibal banquet: feel free. If what you have to say is important and/or difficult to follow, use the simplest language possible. If the reader doesn’t get it then, let it not be your fault.”
The two movies do portray Paul as a hero. In the Villeneuve version, he does kind of get ruthless at the end, but still seems tame compared to the depravity shown by the Baron and his cue balls, or the treachery shown by the emperor, or the manipulation by the Church of the Veiled Ladies. I assume both Villeneuve and Lynch did read at least the first book.
@DrDaveT: We don’t have Hendricks where I live. At the little hole in the wall in Daejeon where I used to drink, I never paid attention to what gin the owner was pouring, but the best gin and tonic I’ve ever had at a bar was in Kelso and was Beefeater’s. (I don’t drink all that often and came to drink gin past my “runnin’ wit da big dogs” days when I was drinking fern bar drinks with 3 or 4 shots in them. My go to back in the day was Long Island Iced Tea.)
@Matt: I read Dune for a class in Uni and saw it as another version of Sigfried (albeit a pretty Wagnerian, fatally flawed Sigfried) with Messianic overtones (it was a Free Methodist school after all, nothing is ever read without an agenda attached–particularly in a class team taught by physics and Biblical Literature instructors). Years later, I read something about Herbert that convinced me that the book that I had read was not the one he thought he’d written but can’t remember the details and didn’t care for the book originally.
@Matt:
The wiki page on the Bene Gesserit shows the Golden Path’s not so much a war against the Empire as it is a war, ironically waged by their own creation, against them. One of the reasons I suspect Frank may have suffered under some Catholic school nuns somewhere along the line.
@wr:
I encountered the entire canon at the used book store next door to where I get most of my groceries a couple months ago. It’s a stack. Got through the first two OK but quit about two chapters into the third. A quick scan of a couple further down the road showed it was becoming ever more tedious. He was milking it for all it was worth -and it was barely worth two books. I can’t conceive of the movie industry pursuing this beyond the second book anyway. Maybe four films tops.
Gave the whole pile back to the store. Only charged me a couple bucks apiece and I would like that little book store to survive. Found some cool stuff in there.
She’s baaaaaaaack.
@dazedandconfused: AFAIK, Herbert only wrote the first 3. Then he died. His son wrote the rest. But yes, he should have stopped with one.
@OzarkHillbilly:
And I’m very happy to hear it.
@CSK: I’m not so sure.
wink wink, nudge nudge, know what I mean, know what I mean?
The dogs are much relieved, their Momma is back.
@OzarkHillbilly: I vote for “good news all around.” And I’m happy for all of you and hope the doctors know what went on with her. (And I ‘spect they did.)