1. The debate was a disaster - for America, for Trump, for democracy, and for the risks of political violence in November. An objective assessment of the candidates performances must lead with this: Biden inhabits reality, whereas Trump inhabits a concocted victimhood complex.
2. Internationally, the debates were an enormous embarrassment. They were unwatchable, not because of Biden or Wallace, but because of Trump. He refused to condemn white supremacy. He was an unhinged bully talking about some mythical "coup" against him. It was a glimpse of lunacy
3. Last night badly damaged Trump politically. He's losing by a lot at the moment. His aggressive rants further repelled the very swing voters he needs to win. The base may like the racist conspiracy theorist from the YouTube comments section shouting at them, but few others do.
4. Trump's message - including his closing statement - focused on spreading lies about ballots, aiming to discredit an election that he is on track to lose. It further imperils American democracy - which he has been attacking for nearly four years - as his lies get believed.
5. But Trump's statement to "stand by" to the Proud Boys worried me most. I wrote this column last September, arguing that all the red flags for political violence have been raised heading into the election, and this just made that risk much higher. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
6. Overall, Trump's unhinged performance made it more likely that he will lose the election. But anyone who believes in America, believes in the fight for democracy and peace, and believes in the fight against racism and white supremacy, well, they lost last night too.
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It’s called FLUKE: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters.
It’s the most interesting thing I’ve ever written—it drastically changed how I see the world—and I hope you’ll pre-order it. Read what it’s about here: simonandschuster.com/books/Fluke/Br…
Here’s the summary: “In the perspective-altering tradition of Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point and Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s The Black Swan comes a provocative challenge to how we think our world works—and why small, chance events can divert our lives and change everything.”
I’ve been lucky enough to receive incredible advance praise for “Fluke” from some ridiculously smart people, including @holland_tom @seanmcarroll @skdh and @jonathangottsch
`1. Researchers have identified a new personality trait that poses a particularly dangerous risk to democracy. It's called the "Need for Chaos."
Let me explain, starting with my favorite hate e-mail I've received. "Dear Brain," it began, a lovely compliment right off the bat...
2. At least he was polite. Anyone who writes about US politics gets these sort of e-mails. They get particularly vitriolic if you’re critical of Trump. They’re much worse if you’re a woman. (I’ve heard horror stories). But here's the thing about them... brianklaas.substack.com/p/the-need-for…
3. Consider the sociology behind them. What do they hope to achieve by calling me a Nazi clown? “Maybe I really am a Nazi clown?” I would wonder, as I cried myself to sleep, clutching the Panzer tank I had made in balloon form? Or maybe, just maybe, they have a Need for Chaos.
1. Fresh genomic evidence has emerged, suggesting that Covid came from a raccoon dog. At the same time, US government agencies have concluded that it came from a “lab leak” accident. We may never know the origin story with certainty. But there’s a bigger story we’re all missing.
2. The story so far is a strange one. New genomic data was discovered recently, by accident. When researchers analysed it, they found clear marches with raccoon dogs. So, they said so. But when they went back to look at the data, it had been removed. brianklaas.substack.com/p/the-missing-…
3. Now, people who are unqualified to understand the data are shouting at each other. The truth is: nobody has perfect certainty. But while we fixate on the origins of Covid, we aren’t thinking about how to prevent the next avoidable pandemic in the future brianklaas.substack.com/p/the-missing-…
1. A few years ago, I wrote about how Trump’s criminality was like being a golden retriever in an exploding tennis ball factory. There’s so much, you’re not sure what to focus on. If there was just one tennis ball, we’d obsess over it. Instead, we end up ranking the criminality.
2. This benefits Trump, partly because our attention is split and you end up forgetting which tennis ball is which (how many investigations are ongoing, again?) and partly because people then say “the hush money payment is just a minor offense.” But that’s a crazy viewpoint.
3. Presidents are supposed to be the best among us. Adopting an attitude that absolves certain minor felonies because “that’s just Trump being Trump” is a ludicrous way to operate a democracy. We should hold our presidents to the harshest standard, not the most forgiving.
Rwanda is a brutal dictatorship that literally hunts down and murders dissidents. Rwandan exiles have been targeted by death squads *in London*. In 2021, the UK government said Rwanda had ignored “allegations of human rights violations including deaths in custody and torture.”
Here’s Human Rights Watch page, which says Rwanda’s government produces “enforced disappearances and suspicious deaths of government opponents. Arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and torture in official and unofficial detention facilities is commonplace” hrw.org/africa/rwanda