‘Posner and Vermeule argued that “public opinion” would act as the ultimate constraint on a wayward president. That seemed a tad naïve.’
@jwmueller-pu.bsky.social on post-liberal political theory.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Put some thought into Christmas: get them a subscription to the 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴.
Gift subscriptions start from just £22.99/ $39.99 and are available here: www.mylrb.co.uk/X25BS
‘Although Cecil Rhodes talked of securing the future, power for him was not a means to an end but the expression of a need to treat people as objects to “quicken and control”.’
@michaelledgerlomas.bsky.social on what drove Cecil Rhodes:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
‘The art of Eno’s “unfinished theory” is instant-hit art, browse art, mood-lighting art. Which also, conveniently, describes a lot of what Eno himself does.’
Ian Penman on Brian Eno: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Old Soviet joke for today:
A man walks into a newsstand every day, looks around, and leaves.
After a long time of this, the owner says “Can I help you find something?”
“I’m looking for the obituaries.”
“The obituaries are in the back of the newspaper, comrade.”
“Not the one I’m looking for.”
‘Some opponents of Assad chose to ignore these latest killings. They were turning away from atrocities not because they had stopped seeing them, but because they had learned their lesson: don’t speak out.’
Loubna Mrie on Syria before and after Assad: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Had a great time talking with @gmarchildon.bsky.social about my new book for the Champlain Society’s podcast Witness to Yesterday.
‘These people are all Hayek’s bastards in their different ways and it’s not hard to imagine them eventually ripping each other’s throats out.’
David Runciman last month on Hayek’s legacy and the populist right:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
@gmarchildon.bsky.social interviews Lloyd Axworthy in the latest episode of Witness to Yesterday. Listen here: champlainsociety.utppublishing.com/digital-cont...
On Friday April 4 at 7pm, join Gregory Marchildon (@gmarchildon.bsky.social) for the Winnipeg launch of Tommy Douglas and the Quest for Medicare in Canada (@uoftpress.bsky.social), hosted by Gerald Friesen - mailchi.mp/grant/gregor...
‘By styling himself as a warrior against antisemitism, Trump packages a highly repressive – and discriminatory – campaign as a crusade against bigotry.’
Adam Shatz on Columbia’s surrender, from the blog: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/ma...
‘Musk needs to feel, always, that he has “narrative control” – a quick tweet (Musk has said that he typically posts when he’s on the toilet) was the easiest, most immediate way for him to attack whatever it was that he didn’t like.’
Deborah Friedell on Musk and Twitter
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
It's time for Canada, and Canada's resources to flow in a new direction.
A hockey game where fans are sitting in the stands and we see them from the back. One guy is wearing a red jersey that says Never 51.
Best Jersey ever.
#Canpoli
#Canada
#Hockey
Please RSVP: Tommy Douglas and the Quest for Medicare Book Launch RSVP
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has much bigger things than tariffs to worry about now -- a health care scandal alleging there were procurement deals with friends of the UCP that cost more than comparable options, by Gary Mason www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... via @theglobeandmail.com
‘Hamas was founded to pursue armed resistance against the occupation, but in practice violent confrontation was always in tension with political calculation.’
@tomstevenson.bsky.social on the history of Hamas: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
‘Everything talks in Brady Corbet's films, especially the scenes and objects that are silent.’
Michael Wood watches 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
photo credit: @faerieeva.bsky.social
Like the Library of Parliament, the Library of Congress is an inspiring place. Today that inspo is a touch bittersweet.
"The inquiry, knowledge and belief of truth is the sovereign good of human nature"
1/ Trump has announced plans to withdraw from @who.int This decision threatens to weaken WHO, isolate the US, and undermine global health diplomacy when unity is most needed. We respond @bmj.com www.bmj.com/content/388/...
@gmarchildon.bsky.social will be touring Maritime universities (Mount A Jan 28, St FX Jan 29, and UNB Jan 31) about his new book Tommy Douglas and the Quest for Medicare in Canada. See the posters for details.
Everyone is welcome to attend the book launch at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick on 31 Jan at 3:30 p.m. And I interviewed @gmarchildon.bsky.social for the Witness to Yesterday podcast. Listen here: champlainsociety.utppublishing.com/digital-cont...
‘Here was a player always ready to strike up on mandolin or harmonium, a navvy briefly excavating the Panama Canal, a government draughtsman in a Tahiti planning office, an anti-government political satirist.’
Julian Bell on Gauguin
‘Pétain’s new myth plastered over the fact that Vichy and its policy of keeping the Germans contented had been accepted, with intense and bitter reluctance, by most of the population.’
Neal Ascherson:
“Though Clarence Darrow lost the legal case, it is tempting to feel satisfied by his brilliant rhetorical triumph over William Jennings Bryan. But ominously similar divisions still run through our country, deeper than ever.” —Adam Hochschild
