"This is the Voice of Moderation. I wouldn't go so far as to say we've actually SEIZED the radio station . . . "
Liberal Japonicus 
by liberal japonicus Probably need a thread about the shutdown and all those inside baseball-y things, though I’ll be damned if I can think of anything to say. The college coach, Rick Pitino described his defense as the ‘Mother-in-law defense’, which was a full-court press that he said was based on ‘constant harassment’, and that … Read more
by liberal japonicus One of the podcasts I listen to is The rest is politics, which has Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart talking about various UK and world politics. They each have interesting backstories, and are personable enough to listen to, though I don’t think they are really cognizant their actual membership in the ‘elite’. … Read more
guestpost by wonkie Our house has on-demand hot water. Turn on the tap, wait while the cold water pours out, wait for it, wait for it…the heater kicks on and gradually you get warmer, warmer, hot! The heater is right below the kitchen sink, so hot water out there is easy to get. The bathtub, … Read more
by liberal japonicus To be honest, my musical tastes are probably clinically insane levels of ecleticism. This hasn’t been helped with the purchase of ear pods that prevent Mrs LJ from being subjected to whatever I’m listening to. I also use music in my classes, so even if I don’t like it, if students like … Read more
by liberal japonicus This was at the top of my google news: A euphoric Donald Trump wins a breakthrough in the Middle East though the article is behind a paywall. The Guardian has this: A Gaza ceasefire deal could be Trump’s biggest diplomatic achievement – but the devil is in the detail. What to say? … Read more
guestpost by wonkie I’ve been thinking. There’s a lot of discussion on Bluesky of the “Dems don’t fight” type. The Democratic party is at a low point in opinion polling, probably because of the image of Dems as not fighters. There’s a feeling that the times demand a different sort of rhetoric from Democrats. I’ve … Read more
by liberal japonicus More China stuff. As you’ve probably noticed, I’m skeptical about narratives that argue that China is collapsing because [insert reason here]. One of those reasons has often been that China is corrupt from stem to stern. A few links to get an idea of the arguments, here, here and here There was … Read more
by liberal japonicus I tend to watch two things on youtube, the first is standup comedy and the second is music. I’ll be starting up a weekly music post from Friday, but I’d probably, if I had to choose, go for a well constructed joke in standup over a music video. I’m into deconstructing, and … Read more
by liberal japonicus I’ve just installed the wpDiscuz comment plugin, which provides some features I think are worthwhile, though I am agnostic on the comment ranking feature. Please check it out and post here what you like and dislike and (god forbid) any problems you are having with it. I’m not sure what features are … Read more
by liberal japonicus Pass the fry bread! from here Trucks from the First Nation could soon be transporting food, furniture and even critical minerals south of the border along ancestral pathways once used to move buffalo hides and pemmican across the plains—without paying taxes or tariffs. […] “We’re operationalizing our old corridors—taking ancient trade routes … Read more