gakles
9d ago
This is half culture war half Friday fun but I'm a bit more than halfway through reading The Israel Lobby by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. Politics aside, it is a very well written political science book. If you wanted to, you could turn the book into a chart, with every thesis supported by claims which are in turn supported by (cited) evidence. This gives the book a sort of structure of hard logic, which I think is a consequence of Mearsheimer and Walt trying to avoid the charge of antisemitism (which the ADL and others have nonetheless leveled at them). The authors are very analytical and never take sides in any of the conflicts mentioned, the entire situation is presented from afar: "There is a network of individuals working to influence the US government to act in certain ways that they believe will benefit the state of Israel" (Part 2, which I haven't read yet, seems to be "why the polices the network advocates for may not serve the best interests of the US or Israel"). This book was published in 2007 so it's not a wholly contemporary analysis of the situation, but it provides a good recent history and background. Apparently the book sparked a good deal of scholarly debate, and I plan on reading some of the back-and-forth articles once I finish it. I think the book creates a strong argument that at least in in 2007 there was a network of individuals and organizations seeking to benefit Israel by influencing American opinion, discourse, and government policy. (Mods feel free to take this down if it's too spicy)
gakles
11d ago
Isn’t the solution to reduce executive power so whoever wins the next election can’t just destroy whatever’s been built? On the other hand, much of what restrained the executive was convention and tradition, which has been razed in the last 10ish years. This would force policy to become constructive instead of spoils based. I’m not exactly hopeful those in power (and the voters) will choose deescalation.
gakles
11d ago
My position of authority on this subject is pretty weak (1 american polisci class) so take this with a grain of salt.
I agree that fiscal responsibility is a component of right wing ideology, but I want to point out that the deficit is not just enlarged by govt spending but also by tax expenditures. When the govt encourages certain actions through tax deductions (say a student loan deduction) its losing potential revenue. Trumps 2017 tax bill reduced the fed revenue by an estimated 1.9 trillion over the following 10 years. Also studies (Tax Policy Center) say it didnt end up paying for itself. In this way the deficit can be expanded through means besides dems funding trans operas in latin america.
gakles
18d ago
I'm home from college and it's looking like this summer is going to be a struggle, health wise. While it's nice to move back in with the parents and catch up with old friends, it's not nice to be back at the local gym, which has a single digit amount of machines and a single squat rack. So that sucks, but I have a decent pullup bar setup at home and I can get back into calisthenics. On the other hand, I have no clue how I'm going to control my food consumption. At college, I had unlimited swipes at a cafeteria which was open every day from 7am to 10pm, and I could grab chicken and rice or make a wrap whenever I wanted. Now that I'm home, I'm limited to whatever is in the fridge, which last I checked was a bunch of yogurt, tapioca, and some uncooked fajitas. Also, my mom has this bizzare compulsion to acquire sweet snacks which she doesn't even really eat, but which are tantalizingly available to me throughout the day (as I'm hanging out at home a lot). First it was See's Candies to celebrate me coming home, then it was cookies from a friend, and tomorrow theres going to be a cake from some relatives. It's not her fault and shes not doing it on purpose but it's just annoying that so many unhealthy sweets and always available to me. The college cafeteria had a baked goods section but I would always ignore it, and I wasn't studying 20 feet from it. I've already talked with my mom about stocking the fridge with more protein, and the fajita mix is a step in the right direction (once I cook it tomorrow) but its a pain that my (very successful) routine has been so thoroughly disrupted. I am enjoying the home cooked meals though :)
gakles
27d ago
Yesterday I went for a bench PR with my friend, who I started going to the gym with. I did 175lb for 1 which I'm pretty proud of. When I first started benching four months ago I could barely do 135x1, the empirical growth in strength has been really neat to experience. The experience of benching is so different from everything else I do in day-to-day life, the absolute physical struggle, with very little way to cheat form-wise feels so pure in a way that very little else does.
To armchair off your armchair: I think the Israeli campaign is going to have a pruning effect on Iranian infrastructure and personnel. I bet the Iranians are drawing up blueprints for deep bunkers for leadership and whatever else will make their country more resistant to the current/next air offensive. Like any long term conflict, the smart survive and get promoted, exposed SAM's get blown up and new ones are put in hardened installations.
More options
Context Copy link