TLP Week in Review, 12/3-12/9
Your weekly summary of what we've been up to here at The Liberal Patriot.
What We’re Reading (and Watching and Listening To…)
“The World Has Become Flatter for Authoritarian Regimes”: National Endowment for Democracy head Christopher Walker writes in Journal of Democracy that emerging global asymmetries in technology and finance favor authoritarian governments like China and Russia over democracies: “In the present era of globalization, major authoritarian powers have nestled themselves in the slipstream of global informational, technological, and financial flows. They have found that opportunities associated with massive secret wealth, opaque algorithms, and the pervasive surveillance that is now baked into nearly every aspect of daily life align well with their antidemocratic preferences.”
“There Is No Right To Bully and Harass:” In The Atlantic, David Frum observes that, since the October 7 massacre, “Important elements of our society have shifted from their former claim that speech can be violence to a bold assertion that violence should count as speech.” But “the days of dressing up ritualized violence as ‘speech’—and demanding protections for stalking, harassing, bullying, impeding, intimidating, deplatforming, and even actual violence—must end.”
“He’s Got $250 Million to Spend on Communist Revolution”: Suzy Weiss of The Free Press profiles multimillionaire heir to the Cox communications empire and far-left activist Fergie Chambers, who has poured his fortune into his communist commune, assault weapons, and violent anti-Israel activism. “A few Massachusetts residents have told me that Fergie, and those who live on his compound, amount to a ‘mob’ and a ‘cult,’ with Fergie playing the dual role of guru and sugar daddy—he bought the properties, paid for the gym’s remodel, and pays the rent of ‘comrades’ who don’t even live there. He pays bail fees, too, when those comrades get in trouble with the law for their brand of ‘direct action.’”
“The Anti-Israel Left Hits a New Low with Rape Denialism”: The Bulwark’s Cathy Young dissects the disturbing trend of October 7 rape and sexual violence denialism that’s taken hold on the anti-Israel left. “The fact is that the reality of Hamas’s use of rape as a weapon of terror is confirmed by extensive evidence that is only now beginning to emerge—not only the testimonies of first responders and forensic investigators who have described their harrowing discoveries, but actual photographic and video records.”
“Why economists are at war over inequality”: The Economist looks at the wonky data dispute over inequality with big implications for politics and policy making: “Research by a trio of French economists—Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman—has popularised the notion that American income inequality is soaring. Other economists have built heaps of research upon these findings, while politicians have pledged to undo the trends through higher taxes and spending. To most people the phrase “inequality is rising” seems self-evidently true. Others have cast doubt on the trio’s findings, however—notably Gerald Auten of the Treasury Department and David Splinter of the Joint Committee on Taxation, a nonpartisan group in Congress. We first analysed their work in 2019, as part of a cover story. It modifies the French trio’s methodology and comes to a very different conclusion: American post-tax income inequality has hardly risen at all since the 1960s.”
Me Neither, James Elkington. Solo slinger, Eleventh Dream Day guitarist, and Jeff Tweedy and Richard Thompson side-man, Jim Elkington, is out with a cool series of 29 miniature songs ranging from seconds to a few short minutes. The range of sounds and textures offer a delightful companion for your next beer and reading session.
What We’ve Posted
“America Deserves My Vote, But You, President Biden, Do Not” by long-time journalist and TLP contributor Hisham Melhem.
“The Democratic Coalition Is Falling Apart” by TLP politics editor Ruy Teixeira.
“What Bayard Rustin Could Teach Democrats Today” by TLP contributor Rick Kahlenberg.
“Toward a Broader Atlantic Community” by Middle East Institute program director and TLP contributor Mohammed Soliman.
“Class Conflict and the Democratic Party” by TLP contributor Musa al-Gharbi.
“Labour's Electoral Strategy” by Labour Together’s Christabel Cooper.
Ruy’s Science-Fiction Pulp Cover of the Week
Just one more thing…
Meet your 2023 Time magazine person of the year: Taylor Swift.
