piquant nefesh

I was once introduced as "a liberal, a Zionist, and a liberal Zionist" and that's probably apt.

Otherwise: sabermetrics, wrasslin', assorted ephemera.

[piquant nefesh @justinbfox]

A guide for the perplexed: when encountering ignorance beyond measure, please remember that Sartre got it right, unfortunately nothing has changed, and you have no obligation to indulge it.

From "Anti-Semite and Jew":

[David Weigel @daveweigel]

People who love how Fetterman bashes the left don’t realize how progressive he is on other issues. Saw someone today argue that he doesn’t support “boys in girls sports” — he’s never broken from pack on trans rights, always votes no on GOP sports bills. (Though he was not present for the Tuberville amendment to add their sports bill to the SAVE America Act)

[Slazac 🇪🇺🇺🇦🇹🇼🌐 @TrueSlazac]

The four GOATs of liberalism

[Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias]

Nonstop Watergate-scale scandals are happening

https://t.co/qIDX0OmTO4

[Noah Shachtman @NoahShachtman]

Not only do we stand by our reporting. Madison Square Garden’s ridiculous lawsuit actually confirms it, noting the company did, in fact, track the sexual orientation of LGBTQIA celebrities in its talent database.

[Sam Stein @samstein]

This is really incredible. Docs released by Trump tonight confirm RUSSIA tried to spread claims Biden was engaged in criminal activity vis-a-vis Burisma and that it advanced those narratives "with US officials" and planed a "high-profile corruption scandal... at the peak of the 2020 US presidential campaign."

[Zachary Cohen @ZcohenCNN]

Now that the speech is over, can say that this still stands. 👇

[Sam Stein @samstein]

one of the documents that Trump has disclosed tonight has a section noting that China targeted the BIDEN campaign and does "not currently intend to covertly interfere to try and sway the outcome of the election."

[Neera Tanden🌻 @neeratanden]

Definitely not beating the wrap that they hate Dems more than Trump and the GOP.
It's the Senate and only the Senate that can stop all Trump nominees.
We definitely need more fighters - against the GOP.

[Daniel Goldman @danielsgoldman]

In other words, a repeat of 2024 when Kamala lost Michigan.

[Joe Flint @JBFlint]

CBS News delicately trying to thread the needle of covering Trump's speech without providing unfettered access to its airwaves. CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil questioned motivations for speech and the network waited several minutes before picking up the live feed as the president begin to address election integrity.

[Sam Stein @samstein]

The main doc here appears to be the Oct. 2020 memorandum prepared by the National Intelligence Officer (NIO) for
Cyber and the Director. It says China took "low level exploratory steps to undermine" Trump in 2020. But it also says the Chinese government didn't do it but was aware of Chinese actors who did.

[Brian Stelter @brianstelter]

CBS is prebunking the president's address by sharing accurate info about voter rolls and election systems. Seems like a "truth sandwich" approach by @MajorCBS @edokeefe etc

[piquant nefesh @justinbfox]

@emilyfoxkaplan Sorry for the slows!!!
I don't really disagree with much of the substance, but I don't think voting for this was the right way to send that message, esp given Massie's sponsorship.

Adam Smith also had a stark explanation for why he voted yes. Worth checking out if you haven't.

[piquant nefesh @justinbfox]

Noteworthy notable quotable.

Auchincloss is the opposite of a bomb thrower. His voice is consistently sane, sober, and serious.

I don't agree with him, but I think his rationale, written below, it's worth your attention, time, and consideration.

[Rep. Jake Auchincloss 🟧 @RepAuchincloss]

I am voting Yes on the amendment to State Department appropriations to zero out $3.3 billion in foreign military financing for Israel. If enacted, this measure would prevent the U.S. government from financing and selling attack aircraft, bombs & missiles, and targeting systems to the Israel Defense Forces. It would not affect U.S. support for Israel’s Iron Dome, David’s Sling, or Arrow air-defense systems.

The authority from Congress to finance and sell American-made weapons to allies is a grant of trust to both a presidential administration and its counterparty heads of government. With their disastrous war against Iran, their empowerment of settler violence in the West Bank, and their strategic incoherence against Islamist terrorism, both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu have sacrificed that trust. Congress must act where the executives have failed.

I acknowledge that this amendment is not the ideal mechanism of action. Its sponsor, Representative Thomas Massie, recently ran a re-election campaign that featured antisemitic tropes. Also, the State Department has not issued clear guidance about whether the amendment could affect humanitarian programming, embassy operations, or West Bank security assistance; if the amendment becomes law, I will work with colleagues to hold harmless those efforts. I have weighed these problems against the central thrust of the amendment: there must be consequences for Trump and Netanyahu.

Those consequences should not impair the State of Israel’s right to defend itself against the atrocities of the terrorist regimes that threaten it. Israel and the United States have common interests, shared values, and a long history. Israel and the United States are allies.

Before the next appropriations cycle in 2027, when this policy will again be up for debate, Israel will hold elections, the repercussions of the debacle in the Strait of Hormuz will become more clear, and negotiations between the United States and Israel over what replaces the Memorandum of Understanding will pick up pace. This presents an opportunity to renew the U.S.-Israel alliance on shared principles and a bipartisan basis.

[piquant nefesh @justinbfox]

Take a minute to read and digest this thread. It is worth your attention, time and consideration

[Emily Fox Kaplan @emilyfoxkaplan]

Jews who refuse to play "the good Jew" have been cast out of mainstream publishing. I'm a liberal who has long reported on liberal causes--and, after 10/7, book deal incipient, I dumped the editor of that book, who celebrated Hamas. (1/x)

[Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias]

Elissa Slotkin won a senate race in Michigan [checks notes] two years ago.

[Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias]

A good illustration in why you need to read stuff..

@leahstokes says there's a new survey showing that talking about climate helps win votes and that is what the study's headline says.

But their own data shows voters are more moved by reducing costs and jobs + growth.

[Jordan Weissmann @JHWeissmann]

I mean, this is a longterm disaster for progressive governance.

A lot of voters are going to be convinced anything short of M4A is a sellout because they have no idea what the tradeoffs actually are. And what happens if you ever actually try to pass it?

[Matthew Shea @MatthewShea__]

NEW @jewishinsider from me:

Rep. Adam Smith indicated he voted to cut off military aid to Israel in part because of personal threats against his family and his staff in a violent and relentless campaign of intimidation by far-left anti-Israel activists.

https://t.co/r6OrTH270E

[Chuck Todd @chucktodd]

Interesting decision to share what’s been happening to him. We should know about it. But I fear some may read this statement as confirmation that these tactics worked.

[Jacob Ben-David Linker 🇺🇸🕎🇺🇸✡️🇺🇸🕎🇺🇸 @JacobALinker]

From @noam_dworman's talk with Peter Beinart at 1:05:15 to to 1:06:00.

Peter says you can't trust real experiences of Arab/Palestinian governance to infer what a Palestinian majority river-to-sea one state would look like and instead should defer to activists and academics.

...

Peter: I would really recommend [you have on] like whoever you think is a big deal Palestinian activist or intellectual who has a lot of support among Palestinians. Ask them those questions [of what a Palestinian-majority State would look like] because I actually think that this, this, idea...

Noam: Recommend somebody. Recommend somebody [Palestinian] because I'd love to have people like that on.

Peter: Yeah. You could have Yousef - you know, you could have Noura Noura Erakat. You could ask, um, you could ask, um, my friend Mohammed Shehada from Gaza who's an amazing writer and thinker. You could ask Tareq Baconi. I mean, there are - are - you could ask Roger Shehada. You could ask...

Noam: Can I ask you a question? Are you saying that I cannot look at the West Bank and Gaza and infer [what a Palestinian State would look like]? Or the rest of the Arab World, the entire Arab World, and infer?

Peter Beinart: No. I don't think you can look at ... No.