links, etc The End of Judicial Independence long, but worth the read. i learned quite a bit about the judicial branch here and while i’m resistant to the notion of far reaching right-wing conspiracies, it’s clear that right-wing scholars realized the importance of controlling the judiciary far earlier than the political left/center has. the left/center assumes too much good faith and honesty on the part of the judicial branch.
links, etc Trump’s Slow-Burn Authoritarianism there’s a lot of media attention on the notion of violent authoritarianism, the expected cronyism of a trump term, etc. this is the first time that i’ve seen someone sit down and really discuss the slow-burn authoritarianism. we saw glimmers of this when the sharpies were busted out to talk about hurricane path projections, etc. but the impacts to scientific research, the impacts to the ability to regulate based on science get hollowed out....
[What Did the Democrats Win?](https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2020/12/17/election-2020-what-did-democrats-win/) it’s not a pretty picture when half the country picks the party of obstruction. Instead, we appear to be headed for two more years of gridlock. McConnell will pass nothing. As for the Supreme Court, not only will Biden not increase its size, which he’s hesitant to do anyway; we may be locked into a situation where Justice Stephen Breyer, now eighty-two, can’t retire and give Biden a chance to put a younger justice on the Court, because McConnell will likely not allow a vote....
[How Greenwich Republicans Learned to Love Trump](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/05/11/how-greenwich-republicans-learned-to-love-trump) Leora Levy, who called him vulgar in the local paper, took to applauding his “leadership” and quoting him on Twitter, where she adopted some of his rhetorical style. “AMERICA WILL NEVER BE A SOCIALIST COUNTRY!!!” she posted. “WE ARE BORN FREE AND WILL STAY FREE!!!” Last fall, Trump nominated her to be the American Ambassador to Chile. i’m always a bit amused by these “we are born free and will stay free” assertions....