A House Divided: On Trump v CASA

This is the Roberts Court breaking out the bucket of gray paint with which they draw dull blurry lines. The decision is written as procedural rather than an explicit repudiation of the 14th amendment but the practical result of the decision is to recreate the antebellum system of civil rights.

Apocalypse, Revolution, Palingenesis

Apocalypse, revolution, palingenesis – these are all names for the same thing, used by different groups. The Christian nationalists, they want the Apocalypse, they want the world to end so they can all go to heaven. The radical left wants the Revolution, they want the world to end so they can build their communist or perhaps anarchist order. The techbros want the Singularity, so that everyone can be uploaded to digital heaven.

The Second Civil War Is On

 Reporting from Bluesky, with a few comments.

Muenzenberg and the Revolution

I have now read the three books available in English on the influential communist propagandist Willi Müzenberg, who shaped so much discourse in the 20th century, and continues to shape our ideas of protest and political change. I find the whole history of 20th century European Communism both fascinating and discouraging. It seems to me that the problems and failings of his work and the wider problems and failings of international Communism have become our problems, and I would like to avoid repeating the mistakes of 20th century reform and radical movements.

O Canada? On Elections in Western Democracies in Our Time

Well good, the Trumpy conservative party lost in Canada. But they didn't lose by that much! They only lost because of gross abuses on the part of Donald Trump. The voters had to be metaphorically hit over the head with how awful the fascists were. In the end what tipped the balance wasn't violations of civil rights or even economic depredations; Trump threatened to invade Canada.

Something is seriously wrong with, apparently, all Western democracies.

Where is the Resistance?

Historians are going to be arguing about what has brought us to this point for a long time, but one thing has been the Democratic Party’s suppressing its activist base. The resistance has popular support, a few political leaders, legislators (in the minority), and judges and lawyers, but also needed now are leaders and direct action. They need people like the old union leaders and rank-and-file; people willing to organize and carry out sit-ins, sit-down strikes, guards who are loyal to them and can’t easily be bought, people willing to stand up when the cops, DOGE’s goons, and the ICE thugs show up. They ought to have been ready to go the moment Trump was inaugurated. Now there have been many losses and they face a harder task.

Butlerian jihad now!

The Trump formula is apparently what you get if you ask ChatGPT and other AI models to make tariff policy.—Kthugman

But ideas can't hurt anyone!' 'I turned things into numbers to understand them, but they just want to control,' Simon said bitterly. 'They burrowed into my numbers like—' He screamed.—Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites.