Ezra Klein on the right of a certain form of conservatism

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-pippa-norris.html?showTranscript=1

....when I look at the time frame we’re talking about, this post 2010 period, the thing that immediately comes to mind for me is the iPhone, the rise of social media, increased competitiveness in the broader media. And I think this is important because there is the question of the ways the culture and society are changing, but none of us have access to the entire society or culture, and most people aren’t sitting around reading polls about other people’s opinions about cultural issues.

So there’s this question of how do you end up feeling, like what leads somebody in a rural area of Wisconsin to feel like everything is different now. And it seems to me, in a lot of places, all around the world, at the same time, you have this rise in algorithmic media in highly engagement oriented media that is constantly confronting people with, usually, stories charged around identity, in many cases, at least, that really give, I think, often an outsized view of how quickly society is changing, but nevertheless are a very, very big part of a very rapid set of changing views, a sense of what you can and can’t say, because people are now yelling at you in the comments section of your own Facebook posts.

Something I felt was a little bit under theorized in the book is this dimension of the changes in media. 2010 is right around then with the rise of smartphones, is a signal event. And in my experience of it, it’s a signal event that tends to lead to people being confronted a lot more with whatever they fear most about the country they live in. And so the fact that would lead to a rise in these populist authoritarian figures seems pretty logical to me.

How a Sexual Assault in a School Bathroom Became a Political Weapon

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/magazine/loudoun-county-bathroom-sexual-assault.html

The particulars of Smith’s daughter’s case — an attacker in a skirt, a girls’ bathroom — posed an obvious threat to the new policy. And so, critics charged, school officials buried it, and because they buried it, more harm was done. When it all came to light months later, this theory of the case would galvanize a local conservative parents’-rights movement, help swing a governor’s race and rattle the politics of gender in America far beyond Virginia.

This was one version of the story of Loudoun County. But as prosecutors took up the matter over the next two years, a different story began to take shape — one that is told here based on court records and testimony, as well as months of interviews with participants in the events at the heart of the scandal, in some cases discussing them on the record for the first time, and hundreds of pages of documents obtained through public-records requests. This evidence presents a much more complicated picture of what happened, in Loudoun County and beyond, in a period of escalating culture wars that have consumed the same communities and institutions that the combatants insist they want to save.

A Global Web of Chinese Propaganda Leads to a U.S. Tech Mogul

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/world/europe/neville-roy-singham-china-propaganda.html

Witnesses said the fight, in November 2021, started when men aligned with the event’s organizers, including a group called No Cold War, attacked activists supporting the democracy movement in Hong Kong.

On the surface, No Cold War is a loose collective run mostly by American and British activists who say the West’s rhetoric against China has distracted from issues like climate change and racial injustice.

In fact, a New York Times investigation found, it is part of a lavishly funded influence campaign that defends China and pushes its propaganda. At the center is a charismatic American millionaire, Neville Roy Singham, who is known as a socialist benefactor of far-left causes.

Why Is Narendra Modi So Popular? Tune In to Find Out.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/21/world/asia/india-modi-radio-mann-ki-baat.html

In his decade as prime minister, Mr. Modi has done away with traditional methods of information-sharing for the country’s top elected official. He has never held a full-fledged news conference; he dominates Parliament so thoroughly, with a large majority and a quick trigger to dismiss legislative sessions, that he speaks only when he wants.

Mr. Modi sets the agenda not just by choosing what to elevate — but equally by deciding what to keep a distance from, and what to let his lieutenants and digital army do for him.

He has stayed mostly mum, on the radio and elsewhere, as his right-wing supporters have increasingly turned to vigilante violence in enforcing their idea of Hindu supremacy, human rights organizations say. Mosques and churches have been attacked, interfaith couples have been dragged out of trains, and mobs have lynched Muslim men accused of transporting the meat of cows, which many Hindus see as holy.

The result is an environment of persistent combustibility in a nation with more than 200 million people who belong to religious minorities — many feeling alienated, humiliated or directionless.

Man, It’s a Hot One: The Oral History of Santana and Rob Thomas’ ‘Smooth’

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/santana-rob-thomas-smooth-oral-history-841189/

How Carlos Santana scored his first hit in decades with help from Matchbox Twenty's frontman — and how it almost didn't happen. The making of the unlikely 1999 smash

Care for an old wounded soldier

https://www.reddit.com/r/MilitaryStories/comments/14uxaci/intensive_care/

Dad was a WW2 paratrooper with the independent 509th. His nickname in the unit was Magnet because he was always getting shot. He had 4 Purple Hearts among his other awards.

In the end, near the town of Sadzot in December of 1944 dad was grievously wounded in the chest, face, throat and arms. After some battle field surgery he was evaced to a series of hospitals with each one triaging him as unlikely to survive.

He eventually got out of hospital in 1948 with 100% disability, married a Navy nurse and built a modest life and a large family.

It was in the 60's that dad's war wounds began to complicate his life and he was scheduled to go to Pittsburgh to a general hospital for major surgery which we were told he would likely not survive.

Dad's case came to the attention of Dr P, ( a Greek name which is unspellable and unpronounceable) the Chief of Surgery at the hospital and Dr P decided to perform the operation himself. It turned out that Dr P had been a battalion surgeon in WW2 with the 29th Infantry Division from D Day to Germany.

As my mom and my sister were both nurses, we got first rate information from the staff.

The story told was that as Dr P approached the table to begin the operation, the Chief Resident, who was assisting, tried to lighten the mood. He looked down at Dad on the table, noting the mass of scar tissue and wound marks on him and said; "This guy looks like he's already had an autopsy. I think we have the wrong patient."

Dr. P stopped moving, looked up and said; "The men who did this surgery were being shot at while they operated on him.... You're fired. Get out of my hospital"

Dr P performed the surgery and gave dad another 22 years. When he came out of the theatre he came straight to mom and said "He's fine. He will stay with us for as long as he needs to. There will be no fees, charges or bills. Here is my home number, call me any time if you have the slightest issue."

As a young teenager, I was in awe. There was perspiration on Dr. P's face and perhaps a hint of mist in his eyes. I think he may have lost enough soldiers in his career and wasn't losing any more.

After he departed, one of the senior nurses spoke to mum, "We've never seen him like this. He said that if any of the patient's vital signs change, he wants to be notified immediately." Consequently,, dad received excellent care as the staff were terrified that something would go wrong on their shift.

In 1975, dad pinned his Airborne wings on me at Fryer Drop Zone. I still have them.

Noah Rothman on the indictment

The @NRO editors’ view is that Jack Smith’s latest Trump indictment is an overreach that seeks to “criminalize protected political speech” and undermine the rule of law.

I dissent from our editorial.

"January 6 Was a Crime" https://t.co/aKQE6BmYQ5

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) August 2, 2023