TLP Week in Review, 7/23-7/29
Your weekly summary of what we've been up to here at The Liberal Patriot
What We’re Reading (and Watching and Listening To…)
“Iranian Mothers Choose Exile for Sake of Their Daughters”: New York Times reporter Cora Engelbrecht and photographer Emily Garthwaite profile Iranian women who have fled their homeland with their families—often at great risk via illegal smugglers—to ensure their daughters do not grow up under the misogynistic regime still in power in Tehran.
“John Rawls revisited: Politics behind the veil”: Prospect contributing editor Tom Clark reviews Free and Equal by Daniel Chandler, a much discussed new book on John Rawls, and explores how Rawls’ theories of legal and distributive justice might apply to modern Britain. Rawls could be a guide to renewed Labour under Keir Starmer—assuming people can figure out what Rawls was talking about and why it matters.
“June Verified Voter Omnibus – Political Quadrants”: Echelon Insights provides a fascinating analysis of the four quadrants of American politics: conservatives (culturally and economically conservative, 34 percent of voters); populists (culturally conservative and economically liberal, 18 percent); liberals (culturally and economically liberal, 43 percent); and libertarians (culturally liberal and economically conservative, five percent). Populists and libertarians are both up for grabs between the parties, but populists are larger and right now they lean Republican and pro-Trump.
Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska: Warren Zanes’ account of the production of Springsteen’s sparse 1982 album takes readers back to the early 1980s, a time some of us may remember better than others. As Zanes describes it, “Nebraska is one of those recorded works recognized for its simplicity but also for its density, its many-layeredness. It's a record you come back to, a record with more than its share of mystery, a record that keeps mattering and keeps throwing off new meanings.”
Revolutionary Spring: Europe Aflame and the Fight for a New World, 1848-1849: A brick of a book and a shade too academic on occasion, but historian Christopher Clark (Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914) gives a thorough and ultimately readable overview of the social, political, and economic currents that roiled Europe and led to the momentous continent-wide revolutions of 1848-9.
Glass Band by Gunn Truscinski Nace: Brooklyn-via-Landsdowne fret wizard Steve Gunn joins forces with drummer John Truscinski and multi-instrumentalist Bill Nace for a new record of experimental improvisations. Put on some headphones and enjoy the sonic journey! For a more melodic listen, check out the new record from U.K. indie greats The Clientele, I Am Not There Anymore—they’re playing the Songbyrd in D.C. on August 12.
What We’ve Posted
“What Polls Reveal About America’s Attitudes on LGBT Issues,” by American Enterprise Institute senior fellow in polling and public opinion Daniel Cox.
“A Lot of Voters Who Dislike Trump Dislike Biden Too: Which Way They Swing Could Decide the 2024 Election,” by TLP politics editor Ruy Teixeira.
“Will Biden’s Efforts to Create Good Jobs Succeed?” by Georgetown labor economist and Brookings Institution senior fellow Harry Holzer.
“Politics Isn’t Life: Half of American voters never engage in any political activities beyond casting their vote,” by TLP editor-in-chief John Halpin.
“Save America's Robotic Explorers!: How stingy budgets and snafus threaten American leadership in robotic space exploration,” by TLP senior managing editor Peter Juul.
“The Damaged Brands of America’s Two Political Parties: Majorities of voters believe Democrats and Republicans are too extreme on both economic and cultural issues,” by TLP editor-in-chief John Halpin.
Ruy’s Science-Fiction Pulp Cover of the Week
Just one more thing…
Ancient Roman elites liked their wineries just as much as we do: archaeologists describe how emperors and other high-ranking imperial officials used the Villa of the Quintilii just outside modern Rome to host winemaking spectacles twice a year from the second century AD on.
