About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor 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).
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You can always count on the NYT to urge calm and procrastination in the face of an urgent crisis. “Some calm returns to markets” is pretty much analogous to “the patient’s seizures have temporarily subsided” — but the connotation is so much more mild…
How Tootsie Rolls helped save the 1st Marine Division at the Chosin Réservoir.
https://americangimuseum.org/tootsie-rolls-saved-the-marines-in-korea/
The ProPublica item above was noted by OTB contributor Scott on the Thursday Forum March 27, 2025.
I am reposting my response here:
I’m not subscribed to the Atlantic, but it did let me see the subheadline to the Laura Loomer piece: “No one else with direct access to the president has been as outwardly bigoted.”
My theory is that it’s in part because she’s Jewish, albeit one who gloms heavily onto the neo-Nazi crowd. A while back I heard Nick Fuentes denying being an anti-Semite by listing several Jews he liked, and she was the first name on the list (I never heard of the others). When Fuentes and Kanye went on Alex Jones shortly after their 2022 meeting with Trump at Mar-a-lago, she called in to voice her support. Then there’s this passage from her Wikipedia article, which has always amused me:
All that said, when Trump wants a Nazi in his inner circle, he’d prefer it be a Jewish Nazi. We knew that from Stephen Miller. And especially since Oct. 7, the right has seized on the Gaza situation as well as the broader Israel-Palestine conflict to paint themselves as white-knight protectors of the Jews. It doesn’t matter that they pander to the worst anti-Semites on the right (some of whom, like Fuentes, are pretty openly anti-Israel), or that they’re doing Nazi salutes, or that they’re promoting right-wing German parties with actual Nazi roots, or that they’re talking about Jewish Space Lasers, or that they’re constantly referencing Soros as some kind of all-powerful force controlling world events, or that they put a man who believes Covid was created in a lab so that Jews and Chinese would be immune as the head of HHS. None of that matters. All that matters is that the Israel issue gives them a unique opportunity to seize the anti-bigotry card for themselves. It’s the only type of bigotry they even pretend to care about, and they insist on viewing it entirely through the lens of Israel vs. the Palestinians, the latter of which you automatically become if you criticize Netanyahu.
So while I don’t know how the Atlantic article explains it, it’s pretty obvious to me why Loomer is much likelier to be part of the team than other equally unhinged right-wing vagrants.
@Kylopod: That should be a gift link. If it isn’t, let me know.
Regardless, your analysis is spot on.
@Steven L. Taylor: Interesting. Now it works. I thought it didn’t work the first time I clicked on the link, but maybe I just assumed it because of the sign-in message at the bottom, and the fact that you have to scroll down quite a bit to see the body of the article.
In any case, the article doesn’t talk about Loomer’s Jewishness, so my points stand on their own.
@a country lawyer: I am reminded of my son talking about how Silly String saved lives during his deployment during the Iraq war – they’d spray it in buildings that were newly breached to look for booby-trap wires. The Silly String was lightweight enough to hang on the wire without tripping the munitions.
War is hell, and any creative way to survive is well-regarded.
@DrDaveT: “You can always count on the NYT…”
And I would say the market’s wild volatility of late, including today, is the opposite of calm. Administration officials say things and the markets react, sometimes up and other times down. I wouldn’t expect calm anytime soon.
Is the market calm in the room with us right now?
New York Slimes gonna New York Slimes.
Today, the S&P 500’s afternoon low was 6.6% lower than its morning high. That could have been quite unnerving, if not for the market calm.
Wall Street had an embarrassing bedroom incident. Almost there, almost there, oh god, oh god I’m gonna. . . aw fuck, I flashed on Trump when he fellated that microphone. Dammit. No, it’s not happening now. No, just let it go, it happens to everyone, alright? Can we just make some scrambled eggs, please? What? We can’t afford eggs?
@Eusebio: I agree. They made a leap based on the Asian markets and futures before trading.
And today ended down over 300 points after that big open.
BTW: on the market situation, I have had two separate Trump-voting family members tell in the last two days something along the lines of “We’ll just have to see how it plays out” or “It will eventually come back” or things to that effect.
I have never better understood Keynes’ statement “In the long run we are all dead” more than in this moment.
What a delightful celebration of feline charm! This Tabby Tuesday feature perfectly captures why tabbies hold such a special place in our hearts—their expressive markings, playful personalities, and that irresistible “M” forehead badge. The photos showcase their incredible diversity, from classic mackerel stripes to bold swirls. As a longtime tabby enthusiast, I particularly appreciated the nod to their historical significance (who knew they were Viking shipmates?). This post is equal parts educational and heartwarming—exactly the kind of content that brightens a weekday scroll. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go spoil my own stripey overlord with extra treats!