I wonder—and this is just off-the-cuff speculation—to what degree this might be a decline in self-medication correlated with the decline of environmental hazards like lead in the air.

I don't want to misattribute every trend to that one thing, but it's one of those "if the shoe fits" deals.

To be precise, ALL whiteness is conditional. But that definitely cuts both ways. It can be retracted or extended as needed, but always to the benefit of the white establishment.

Hank Green talked about this recently, asserting that being labeled as racist is "low status"—and therefore offensive to a high status person—in a way that openly holding racist beliefs, in and of itself, isn't. Worth a watch.

Well there's a new anxiety I didn't know I have.

The Shameful Eight.

It’s magical thinking. The Law of Contagion, specifically. New York is spiritually unclean, therefore anyone who comes from there is unclean, even those who are politically aligned with them. Tariffs are holy, therefore imposing a 100% tariff wards of the evil. 🧙🏻‍♂️

People like this make me think of the Rat Park experiment. We inhabit a society that works like one big Skinner Box, and act shocked when people pound every "morphine" button they can reach.

Somehow, my empathy persists in the shadow of my unyielding rage at the architects who perpetuate this hell.

It’s really no different than other illicit activities such as sex work or drug smuggling. You don’t stop it by outlawing it, you just push it underground. If you truly want to regulate it, you need to allow it to happen safely.

But one could argue that figures like Huey Long or LBJ—neither a paragon of moral virtue—were of critical importance to the successes of the left in the 20th century.

And ultimately, I just find it interesting how the entire moral philosophy of the left bifurcates between policy and people.

Not that any of this is an endorsement of Platner per se, nor of Andrew Cuomo, Anthony Weiner, John Edwards, or any of the many many other Democrats who have demonstrated themselves to be cretins, sex pests, or worse. There are limits, especially if their policies are awful too.

I mean, there are people who talk shit about Elizabeth Warren because she was a Republican 30 years ago. Or just look at what happened to Al Franken.

But on the electoral front, much of the left is just as virtue-focused as the right. If someone becomes classified as immoral, they are tainted and bad, forever. No possibility for growth, or forgiveness, or even that people are complex and that sometimes a “bad” person can achieve good outcomes.

On the left, there is a ongoing vacillation between virtue ethics and utilitarianism. On policy, the left is largely driven by utilitarianism: the correct policy is the one that is most effective: housing first, UBI, sex work and drug decriminalization, etc.

From the practical acts of rebuilding institutions, to the relentless prosecution of every cog in his criminal empire, to the spiritual act of reestablishing civil norms, recovering from where this man has taken us will be the work of a generation.

Well said. We will be holding you to those words.

*We* have a duty to express our outrage. *You* have a duty to fight back, governor.

Donald Trump's treasons against the United States are myriad and manifest. Don't comply with his demands, even the "lawful" ones. Use the power of your office to oppose him in every way possible.