Thursday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
·
Thursday, March 5, 2026
·
32 comments
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.
This could prove fun.
Trump says he will soon endorse in runoff between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton
My dream scenario is that Trump will endorse Cornyn and call for Paxton’s withdrawal. Paxton, being the adulterous, indicted felon and liar that he is, will go “Nah, I think I can still win”. The Republicans will totally split between the anti-semitic, anti-islamic, George Wallace descendants and the rapidly retreating “normal” Republicans. Leaving an opening for Talarico.
It’s a long shot but one can dream.
@Scott:
Gotta be honest, I think there is at least a 50% chance of this being the very scenario we face. Honestly I think it’s the likely scenario, but that’s just because of my naturally sunny disposition.
ETA: The other likely scenario is that Trump remains ‘one week away’ from announcing his pick for the next 10 weeks or so.
In addition to the 4 soldiers killed in Kuwait reported yesterday, there are two more:
That makes six soldiers killed from the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa.
@Scott:
I’m assuming Trump will endorse Paxton for a couple of reasons. One is that they’re both pigs. Two is that Trump doesn’t like Cornyn.
Pam Bondi – an audacious rule breaker – now wants to be an audacious rule MAKER, claiming the right to stop bar complaints against her foot soldiers:
There’s the usual blather about “weaponization” of the bar review process, and “political activists” making complaints. Bondi is taking the Trumpian position that any opposition to blatant rule breaking simply has to be politically motivated, as he and she chip away at the very foundation of the rule of law. Bastids!
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/ag-pam-bondi-claims-right-to-take-over-state-bar-investigations-of-her-lawyers-ethics-or-else-cites-unprecedented-weaponization-of-complaints/
In addition to DHS secretary Noem being grilled in Congress about her awful leadership, let’s not overlook that there were some allegations about sweetheart advertising deals being handed out:
https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/watch-house-democrat-corners-kristi-noem-on-fishy-143m-contract-she-doled-out-in-tense-hearing-confrontation/
This alone would lead to endless news coverage in the normal times, but these days it’s likely just a blip and par for the course for this administration.
I’m close to finalizing a recipe for ground beef and potatoes. Mostly I’m a bit stuck on the mechanics of it, as parts are done in the air fryer (mine is a two in one air fryer and instant pot), and parts in a saucepan.
I’ve been focusing on technique of late, and maybe I’m carrying it too far…
Political right and body imagery:
“Liberal Currents”
A piece on deaths of ICE agents in the course of routine removal operations
TL;DR:
Trump tells Axios that he needs to be involved in the selection of Iran’s next leader, and that Khamenei’s son is an “unacceptable” choice.
@Neil Hudelson:
This would be my guess — that he puts off making an announcement until fizzling out in a TACO. Unless, that is, he can somehow privately convince Paxton to drop out. Because he must know that Cornyn stands a better chance of winning, and doesn’t want to be seen as a loser supporting the loser Paxton.
@Jen:
Will Trump’s choice be Reza Pahlavi?
Apparently, Noem is out at DHS, and Trump has nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Outer Space) as her replacement.
Noem is out.
Trump fires Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary
Source
Noem out, moved to some made-up nonsense involving “Shield of the Americas” which has Miller’s fingerprints all over it. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, perhaps the dumbest of Trump’s senate concubines, is suggested as future Deputy of Racism:
https://bsky.app/profile/esqueer.net/post/3mgdhoiww7s26
@CSK:
Could be; and rather uncientific indications from Iran indicate he is rather remarkably popular, at least as a symbol.
Whether such popularity lasts after installation is more doubtful.
The problems are: there is not much indications of a broad and well organised “Pahalavi underground” in Iran.
How can any leader get installed and achieve national control if the the dispersed IRGC fights?
Can a new regime put down a likely Pasdaran diehard insurgency?
Meanwhile Iranian forces (are they still under effective direction at all?) continue to make friends and influence people: strikes on Kurdistan and Azerbaijan.
The latter is particualrly foolish: Azerbaijan has a small but highly effective military, and President Aliyev is not exactly known for his warm and cuddly nature.
While in Lebanon, Hezbollah seems determined to bring yet more distaster down on their heads.
The thing is, Hezbollah is no longer the power it was in Lebanon, and other Lebanese seem very unhappy about being dragged into another war.
There is considerable possibiility of anti-Hezbollah pogrom; and possibly a full anti-Shia civil war.
Mutt: I believe that Donald J. Trump was sent by God!
Jeff: Why? Did he run out of locusts?
(seen on Facebook)
Making wars cheaper and easier
U.S. Deploys 500km PrSM Ballistic Missile in First Combat Strike on Iran.
If they get a new hammer, they gotta find or make an opportunity to use it — to assert authority over rivals, and to justify the tax expenditure. We did not need to nuke Hiroshima or Nagasaki. The lie told 81 years ago is the same lie told in 2002 on invading Iraq, and the same lie being told now. There were alternatives to the extreme measures we have taken in each instance.
Making war cheaper and easier! Our contribution to mankind! Uncle Sam’s Club for your volume war materiel buyers! Buy one PrSM ballistic missile, get a matching one! Don’t let your tube artillery get lonely! Put two in each tube. Double the pleasure, double the fun!
You’ll wonder where the enemy went when you brush your tubes with PrSM-O-dent!
(*offer not valid in Ukraine, Canada, or Denmark)
This race to economize war via lower-cost, volume weaponry is a open Pandora’s box, making the means to armed conflict more accessible and more likely. Advantages gained are temporal and becoming short lived. Rather, we need to be investing in human processes that eliminate state level violence, and promote rational conflict resolution. And the starting point is becoming more astute at the granular level of nonviolent interpersonal conflict resolution. Needs to be part of our human manual.
@CSK:
<blockquote
I’m assuming Trump will endorse Paxton for a couple of reasons. One is that they’re both pigs. Two is that Trump doesn’t like Cornyn
Predators find acceptance and comaraderie among their own kind. Hegseth is in the club. Gaetz tried to make the cut, but there were some complications.
@charontwo:
—- Totally, Totally, THIS.
Republicans wrap themselves in our flag and hide behind The Cross, and yet they betray the core values that define allegiance to both.
And one thing more: they betray the very intellectual process that their educations afford them, and with which they festoon their CVs, to convince all that they are indeed “serious people” to be taken “seriously”, even as they indulge in the tabloid fantasies they represent as a “serious” effort to formulate national policy, upon which hangs the fate of our 300+ million citizens.
Trump is a parody of himself. Hegseth is a parody of himself. Noem is self-parody. Bondi is self-parody. Markwayne is self-parody.
Deadly parody. Are we still laughing?
@CSK:
Reza Pahlavi may be acceptable to Iranian expats who fled the revolution, but a majority of people would likely not sign on to that. And given the size, depth and decades of control exerted by the Iranian theocracy there is no way a Pahlavi could survive a return to Iran. Anything this White House attempts to impose on Iran will not stick. We’re in for either a long bloody conflict, or a retreat home with tail between legs, or both.
@Rob1:
War used to be massive, relying on tons and tons of bombs and shells to overwhelm or destroy enemy forces or production and transportation facilities. Then it morphed to finesse and precision, efficiency, which required fewer bombs and shells, but was far more expensive. It was also believed to be more effective.
Now it’s reverting to type.
Just the same: Oppression for pennies a day!
@Rob1:
This administration, which fetishes big-ass bombs and is actually planning trump class battleships, has no such understanding of armed conflict. The bigger and more violent, the better in their book, especially if there’s video that can be used as a demonstration of might.
There’s probably a reason why the Iranian Navy frigate near Sri Lanka was the the first enemy vessel sunk with a torpedo from a U.S. submarine since World War II, like maybe torpedoing ships hasn’t been necessary. Such torpedoes are known to have devastating ship-killing effects, and it did provide a violent spectacle, but we heard nothing about the threat posed by the frigate and it was left to the Sri Lankan Navy to rescue the survivors.
A Chinese company has developed an airborne wind turbine.
It’s clever, and looks great, but it’s the kind of thing that comes with issues not addressed in the link.
I assume it’s tethered to the ground. Ok. What happens if the tether breaks? How does the thing keep station in high winds? How often will it need a helium refill? Is there enough helium in the world for masses of airborne turbines? And lots more.
It does work, as in it does generate power and can hook up to the grid with a long cable (jokes about long, long, long extension cords would be appropriate here).
Oh, and remember China has no wind turbines in operation at all. Not.ONE. 😛
@Charley in Cleveland:
In court yesterday, a DHHS attorney told the judge that Secretary Kennedy’s decisions about vaccination are unreviewable. From Reuters:
@Scott:
I’ve got to ask: Won’t the Wesley Hunt voters go for Paxton?
Which if true seems to favor Paxton. Am I right? Wrong?
@Kathy:
The tether can serve as the power line, and it’s the same as the miles of line that currently carries power on the grid. What I see as a big disadvantage is, if they get those say a couple thousand feet up, can’t have another such blimp tethered within about a mile. Squirrely winds will surely tangle two blimps up eventually. Windmills can be packed pretty tight.
In more tech news: A Petri Dish Of HUMAN Brain Cells LEARN TO PLAY THE GAME DOOM!
Not artificial intelligence, just artificial Hegseth.
@Kathy:
Ah, the old inflatable tethered wind turbine. There were earlier models in the US at least 10 and perhaps 20 years ago, with the idea that they could generate electricity in remote locations. But there were always better options. This Chinese model is certainly big, and probably more refined than previous examples, but I’m left wondering how much electricity it can really generate. In typically non-technical fashion, the article describes a test of unknown duration that generates “385 kilowatt hours of electricity,” so we’re left to wonder how much power this “megawatt-class airborne wind power generation system” can produce. Sounds like…not a megawatt?
And I can imagine how much of an aviation hazard it would be — a 2,000-meter-high tethered object, which is moved by the wind so that it occupies a space that is perhaps 2,000 meters (or more) in diameter.
@dazedandconfused:
We’re going to wind up with human brains under computer control, and insist this is not slavery for some reason…
Speaking of AI, I’m not satisfied with the ending to one of my stories. Try as I might, though, I can’t think of any changes. So, I fed it to Copilot and asked for a rewrite.
It was trite, cliched, and absolutely awful.
@Eusebio:
I can see some limited use cases in isolated areas, mountainous areas, places with limited ground area. They’ll probably won’t replace ground based turbines.
They may also work on ships at sea, if they ever need more power than their engines can provide. Or, maybe, to power a ship with electricity rather than fuel oil…
And so it begins… Judge orders customs to issue tariff refunds.
I see it like this: getting a refund should be as easy for the importer, procedurally, as was paying the illegal tariff in the first place.