This week in our Members Only Newsletter you missed:
Max Notes on whether Israel is trying to drag us into a war.
The Tuesday Top Five news articles everyone should be reading.
An original essay from News Beat’s Rashed Mian on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ confrontational interview
And “Not for Nothing” on Rogan’s alternative facts, Veep Debates and the company Taibbi keeps these days.
So I guess the question is…what are you waiting for? Sign up today to become a member and level up to unlock a slew of additional perks!
Max Notes
Every year, Mrs. Max and I attend a Rosh Hashanah dinner with a few of our closest friends in NYC. Our friends make an incredible meal and fill the room with some of the most fascinating people we know. The guest list is as carefully curated as the menu and neither ever disappoints.
There was healthy conversation about world events throughout the evening, including polite tiptoeing around the war in Gaza. But the bulk of the conversation revolved around the imploding Adams administration in NYC. And it got me thinking about something we covered in our socialism series.
Several of the dinner attendees work in media, government, or are government-adjacent, meaning they work closely with the NYC government agencies. And they all know Adams and many of the top officials personally. They knew the mayor was corrupt before he took office and characterized his brand of corruption as “low-level” and petty, but did say that several of his cronies were worse. What surprised me was the level of sadness they exhibited.
From what I could glean, the corruption scandal is exacerbating an already difficult situation. They all seemed to acknowledge that Adams is extremely affable and almost the perfect person for the job on paper. As a former cop and a Black democrat with a winning personality, it was hoped that he could appeal to both law enforcement and communities of color. Plus, City Hall was in need of a personality makeover after the historically bland de Blasio administration.
However, it soon became clear that the administration was going to be filled with inept cronies and major issues would be swept under the rug. With each passing month it seemed like the city was declining more and more in terms of service delivery and the Venezuelan migrant crisis pitted the Adams administration against the Biden administration; so if it was going to deal with the situation, New York was on its own.
Adams simply hasn’t been up to the task.
The reason the group expressed such sadness is because they work closely with the bureaucrats, the lifers who get the job done and know how the city operates. The ineptitude of the administration and distractions from the ongoing scandals have made it difficult for city officials to do their jobs effectively and the residents are paying the price. The people at the dinner care deeply about New York and New Yorkers, which is why they are all so affected by the situation. To a person, however, they expressed a sense of optimism that these city officials would weather the storm and that things would eventually improve because these “career bureaucrats” that most people look down upon would mind the ship until the captain and crew at the helm changes down the road.
But here’s what brought me back to the socialism episodes.
During the tumultuous times in the late 1800s when the European economies were being revolutionized, workers and citizens of its major cities were being abused. As we explored in our series, socialist movements in each country developed in response to worsening conditions but the movements were diverse in character. In the UK, a group of bureaucrats called the Fabians worked quietly and diligently in the background for decades to ensure city agencies properly administered services while pressing leadership to adopt measures that would protect industrial and agricultural laborers. As a result, the UK slowly and steadily developed a strong labor and welfare culture that persisted for nearly 100 years before Thatcherism began to tear it all down.
So, here’s to the bureaucrats who hold it all together.
If you head to the chart on the BLS website you can use their interactive overlay to see how different groups fare relative to the overall nonfarm employment figures. This is good news for the Harris team since voting is already underway, even the dramatic data revisions earlier this year have taken some of the wind out of the sails of this report.
“Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254,000 in September, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, health care, government, social assistance, and construction.” -BLS
Headlines
Unpacking the Escalating War in the Middle East
This week we’re taking a slightly different approach to help hone our news literacy. The Middle East conflict is confusing. None of the conflicts is binary. For example, trying to understand why Iran would retaliate against Israel’s bombing of Lebanon and prior attacks in Syria is a lot to untangle. Here’s a quick three step process I follow to unpack foreign affairs specifically.
Step One: Establishing the Establishment Mindset
Foreign Affairs Magazine typically reflects the U.S. establishment perspective on foreign affairs. I’m sure there are great writers and thinkers and there’s probably a host of think tank shills on some billionaire’s dime. Rather than attempting to tell them apart, I simply assume these are all in some way Washington D.C. approved.
From the article:
“The United States can help deter violence in the region by strengthening its own military capabilities. Counterdrone and missile defense technology proved essential to halting the April escalation between Iran and Israel. Yet these weapons are continually evolving. The United States should prioritize the innovation of this technology by deepening private-sector partnerships, rewarding creativity in manufacturing, and shortening the timeline of these weapons from conception to production at scale. It should also harness artificial intelligence and even certain technologies used in computer games to better anticipate threats and develop the most effective responses to volatility in the Middle East.”
As most of you probably know, I’m a fan of Spencer Ackerman when it comes to foreign reporting. He’s not a classical war correspondent, but a deep thinker who has covered conflicts abroad for many years and has an objectively subjective take on U.S. involvement. (See what I did there?) There’s a good chance he is covering the big flare ups of the day, such as the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. So I head to Forever Wars to get his take.
From the article:
“As we prepare for what the Israelis and Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan call “consequences” for Iran, it has to be emphasized that what is happening now is a war of choice. At every moment over the past year, the U.S. could have compelled Israel to stop its onslaught in Gaza, the very thing that since May 31 it has claimed to be just on the verge of achieving. Instead, as Gaza inflames divisions within Israel, particularly over the now-forsaken plight of the hostages, and where the IDF does not see an achievable victory, Israel, with backing from the policymaking coterie in the White House, has chosen to seize what it considers an opportunity to deal a blow to Iranian power.”
With much of the talent from The Intercept migrating over to Drop Site, this has become my new last gut check when it comes to foreign affairs. Because the DS newsroom isn’t yet fully constituted, some of the more hard hitting stuff will take a little longer than usual. But when there is information, it’s as brilliant as one might expect from Jeremy Scahill in particular.
From the article:
“Iranian officials have said that, in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Haniyeh at an IRGC guesthouse in Tehran in July, U.S. officials urged them against retaliating. The U.S. told them that such a move would jeopardize a supposedly impending ceasefire deal in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then went on to systematically sabotage any deal. And Israel launched its pager attacks in Lebanon and began bombing areas throughout the country, assassinating much of the Hezbollah senior leadership.”
Time for a Quickie. It’s been months since we put together a quick take on three seemingly unrelated issues. What do a wider Middle East war, U.S. manufacturing as the answer to climate change and dock worker strikes all have to do with one another? Both sides of the political aisle have all the wrong answers and the media are asking all the wrong questions. Max breaks it all down.
Here’s a snippet from the pod:
Max: “The bigger reminder is that there’s no plan for the American worker. Not from the Democrats and certainly not from the Republicans. As they did with the Affordable Care Act, the Democrats crafted legislation and passed spending bills collaboratively and in the favor of large corporations. And it all passed because Republicans knew that as the minority they could put up a stink for the sake of optics but let it pass because nothing materially changed on the ground for the American worker; the calculus being that if they are successful in taking back the White House, they’ll be the beneficiaries of corporate welfare programs that line the pockets of their donors.”
Take a listen to this new podcast—featuring sound design and post production goodness from the estimable Manny Faces!
“Beyond Voting is not just a podcast; it’s a call to action. Emily Williams, the Executive Director of the Arcus Center and a gender studies scholar, brings her vast experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to the forefront as she explores how all Americans can collectively reimagine and rebuild our democracy beyond the ballot box. Each episode features in-depth conversations with thought leaders, activists, and educators who discuss the state of our institutions and systems of oppression, offering actionable strategies to advance human rights, gender equality, and social justice.”
Beyond Votingfrom The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership
Book Love
“Written at a dramatic moment in American and global life, this work from one of the country’s most important writers is about the urgent need to untangle ourselves from the destructive myths that shape our world—and our own souls—and embrace the liberating power of even the most difficult truths.”
Laura Flanders amplifies marginalized voices and critiques media biases, inspiring grassroots activism and social justice through her extensive journalism and “Laura Flanders & Friends” show.
“ICIJ retains a network of trusted journalists, which has grown by invitation to more than 290 of the best investigative reporters from 105 countries and territories. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists tells stories that punch through the noise, showing how the world really works, triggering positive change. We are driven by the belief that citizens have the right to be better informed, that access to independently-sourced facts is not only essential for democracy but is also a fundamental human right.”
