TLP Week in Review, 8/6-8/12
Your weekly summary of what we've been up to here at The Liberal Patriot
What We’re Reading (and Watching and Listening To…)
“A Global Web of Chinese Propaganda Leads to a U.S. Tech Mogul”: A New York Times investigation by reporters Mara Hvistendahl, David A. Fahrenthold, Lynsey Chutel, and Ishaan Jhaveri reveals how far-left American millionaire Neville Roy Singham uses “tangle of nonprofit groups and shell companies” to support the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda apparatus around the world. Groups supported to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars “mix progressive advocacy with Chinese government talking points,” with the ultimate result “a seemingly organic bloom of far-left groups that echo Chinese government talking points, echo one another, and are echoed in turn by the Chinese state media.”
“The future of East Coast wind power could ride on this Jersey beach town”: Washington Post reporter Kate Selig details local opposition to a proposed wind farm some fifteen miles off the coast of Cape May country in New Jersey. These activists have attempted to link wind farms to whale deaths despite no evidence supporting their position; their overall goal, as one anti-wind farm activist put it, “is to hold them up and make the cost so overwhelming that they’ll go home.”
“The Antiliberal Revolution: Reading the Philosophers of the New Right”: Georgetown professor Charles King reviews recent books from “post-liberal” luminaries Patrick Deneen, Adrian Vermeule, and Yoram Hazony in Foreign Affairs. King gives the books a fair reading and understandably wonders what the post-liberal turn means for America when leading conservatives have given up on “political participation, an independent judiciary, and human rights” in a quest to confront American “degeneracy.”
How the World Became Rich: The Historical Origins of Economic Growth: Where did economic growth come from? This is the extremely interesting and complicated question Mark Koyama and Jared Rubin aim to answer in this book, which rounds up all the usual suspects and then some and subjects them to thorough examination using the full range of available literature and data. No more need you hide your head in shame at parties when someone innocently asks: "So how did the world become rich and why are some places more rich than others?"
Citizen Cash: The Political Life and Times of Johnny Cash: Iconic country musician Johnny Cash didn't fit easily into any of the political or ideological categories used to examine America's complicated social and political landscape. Author Michael Stewart Foley examines the influences that shaped Cash's music and career, from FDR's New Deal, segregation in the south, and Cash's own brand of patriotism grounded in a clear set of ideals and faith that helped produce his "politics of empathy" for a wide range of Americans.
The Band, “The Last Waltz”: Robbie Robertson passed away this week at the age of 80 leaving behind a grand legacy of songs including classics like “The Weight” and “Up on Cripple Creek”. Martin Scorsese filmed The Band’s farewell concert in 1976 with a host of famous guests including Bob Dylan, Mavis Staples, and Neil Diamond.
What We’ve Posted
“Three Demographic Trends Underlying Our Growing Partisan Polarization: A look at key shifts likely to re-shape American politics in the coming years,” by Blue Compass Strategies director of political research Michael Baharaeen.
“Brahmin Left Vs. Populist Right: Welcome to Your 2024 Election” by TLP politics editor Ruy Teixeira.
“A Path to Civic Pluralism: American life would be much more enjoyable if we all learned to chill out a bit about politics and embrace people’s differences,” by TLP editor-in-chief John Halpin.
“Neighborhoods Are Not Local Labor Markets: Different types of distressed places need different solutions,” by Upjohn Institute senior economist Timothy Bartik.
“Time to Lay Out America's Aims in Ukraine: Muddled goals and objectives only undercut U.S. geopolitical strategy and diplomacy,’” by TLP senior managing editor Peter Juul.
“What Can Federalist No. 10 Teach Us About Contemporary Politics?: Why America needs more institutional pluralism and new democratic methods for resolving deep cultural conflicts,” by TLP editor-in-chief John Halpin.
Ruy’s Science-Fiction Pulp Cover of the Week
Just one more thing…
See how the 4,000 beagles rescued from appalling conditions at a Virginia research facility are now living their best lives with adoptive families across the country and around the world.
