Finished Anthony Beever, Stalingrad. 📚

1. Once upon a time, we knew that the Soviet Union was indispensable in defeating the Nazis, and paid dearly for it.
2. People can behave horribly towatd one another in and after war.
3. Put not your trust in princes. Ps. 144/145:3
4. History rhymes.

Facepalm du jour: New Oklahoma curriculum requires students to learn 2020 election fraud conspiracies.

Provocation du jour: Most of The Time The Earth Is Flat..

A brilliant title for an introduction to ancient cosmology.

I read it when it first came out. I think maybe I wasn’t ready for it. I’m ready now (I think).

John Cornyn, Senator from Texas, mailed me. I’d usually blow it off, but opened it and found that he’s being primaried by the execrable Ken Paxton.

Cornyn wants a strong financial showing from Texans, and I left my brief sojourn there 50+ years ago, so I guess I’m off the hook. Otherwise tempting.

A lot of voters now clearly prefer the rule of Donald Trump to the rule of law.

Damon Linker, on a live interview with Ryan Lizza

These Thinkers Set the Stage for Trump the All-Powerful is the most coherent account I’ve seen of the chaos of Trump’s first 100 days. There is, unfortunately, sinister method to the madness.

The Judiciary Pushback Against Trump’s Agenda The EditorsMay 3, 2025

The Atlantic.

I hate stories like that. Courts decide cases in our system. Someone (ACLU, PLF, Harvard, etc.) pushes back and the Courts decide. They do not “push back” sua sponte.

Here endeth my pedantry.

I probably got this through someone here, but I forget who and the more I look at it, the better I like it

You have permission to be ordinary. To live a quiet life. To go for a walk without turning it into content. To do good work without chasing viral. To be present with your people instead of always ‘building something.’ Your life doesn’t have to be optimized to be meaningful. The Ordinary creates space for what truly matters.

David Keeler.

Christus Victor

Peter Leithart, We’re All Protestants Now. The topic is the nature/supernature distinction, and its ramifications, in Western thought.

I demur from “we’re all.” I was steeped in that, but my understanding from Orthodoxy Christianity is “created versus uncreated.” The Creed’s “all things visible and invisible” supports that.

People are betting on the Conclave results. I’m just praying that our very separated brethren under the Patriarch of Rome may choose well.

Strongest proof yet (<1 week in) that Mounjaro is working: went to a gala last night with a buffet and open bar. I was finished after one wine, one plate, and one small brownie, and not even tempted to eat more. (Modest weight loss has begun, too.)

If I haven’t mentioned it, Mars Hill Audio Journal is a gem. I’ve subscribed almost since the beginning and scarfed up back copies as soon as I perceived its excellence.

I hope they have a succession plan, because Ken Myers is going to be exceedingly hard to replace.

🎶We’re so vain, we clearly think this Conclave is about U.S.🎶

Friday, May 2, 2025 – Tipsy Teetotaler ن. One of my best recent curations, this starts off with David Brooks and Ross Douthat (sorry, @jasonekratz)

Rooting for Shipwreck

• Now that the adults in the room have been replaced (with notable exceptions) with cranks and yes-men, the results have been starkly different. From tanking our economy with tariffs to using executive orders to retaliate against law firms that represented his rivals to mucking around with due process, we can now say with some confidence that Trump’s first-term policy wins were probably not the result of a decent man existing underneath the mask. They were the result of a madman restrained. (Coleman Hughes)
• [E]ven before the second inauguration. Trump and his ravenous family launched their meme coins, skimming hundreds of millions of dollars from the MAGA cult and creating a mechanism by which supplicants, aspiring crooks, and foreign agents could purchase influence with the new regime. From this moment, it was clear that a second Trump presidency would degrade our country in ways that few had imagined possible. One hundred days later, it is hard to overstate just how much damage has been done to America’s standing in the world. When the history of this period is written, it will be widely acknowledged that the second Trump administration was stunning as much for its incompetence as for its corruption. (Sam Harris)
• Trump has signed fewer bills into law during his first 100 days than any modern president. And this has been by design. His team considers legislation the least appealing mode of action available to them. It’s slow, messy, and full of other people’s priorities. This is a mark of short-term thinking that will haunt them. (Yuval Levin)
• Many of his executive orders are deliberately drafted to maximize their unconstitutionality. His law-firm orders, for example, parade the fact that Trump is personally retaliating against handpicked firms for First Amendment–protected lawyering. These orders will be, and are being, struck down in a heartbeat. This is not a “constitutional crisis.” It’s political theater. (Jeb Rubenfeld)
• Seeing your retirement fund gutted does have a way of concentrating the mind. (Matt Labash)
• American health is not improved by canceling a multi-decade study on diabetes, a major chronic illness, because the study is overseen by Columbia University, an administration target. (Emily Yoffe)

Excerpts from Bill Maher, Mike Pompeo, Nellie Bowles, and More on 100 Days of Trump

I’m probably swimming in an ocean of AI and don’t even know I’m wet. But I occasionally have a question that AI answers admirably. For instance:

What books would you recommend for an American who wants to learn about the Battle of Stalingrad and the other Soviet engagements with Germany on the Eastern Front in World War II?

Reading Anthony Beever, Stalingrad. 📚I need to balance a force-fed diet of America-whupped-the-Nazis propaganda.

I’ve concluded that most of Trump’s Executive Orders on economic matters are vaporware. Where the press says “Trump did X,” they should say “Trump signed an Executive Order purporting to do X.”

A Road Map of Trump’s Lawless Presidency - The New York Times.

Surprisingly boring for something that’s so important. His lawlessness is comprehensive.

Trump’s Cosplay Cabinet The president’s appointees often appear to be acting out a made-for-television version of their jobs rather than actually doing them.

I chuckled at the title. A few days later, I actually read it. Boy, is this ever true!

Gulp! Deep breath! I start Mounjaro in the morning.

You won’t hear me say “I’m proud” over something very often. But I’m proud to be a geezer today.