Damon Linker

Every day this know-nothing lunatic remains in the presidency is a day during which the country, and the world, tempts … terrible fates. The stupidity radiating from the Oval Office is blinding, though often in a quasi-comical way. But it wouldn’t take much to turn that comedy into tragedy.

Eccentricity Crisis

Sam Buntz

Through its educational priorities and excessive fixation on the quantifiable, the U.S. only supports forms of eccentricity that lend themselves to some immediately definable commercial goal, while neglecting any that have to do with pure curiosity. Hence, we’re lobbing gobs of money at the Sam Altmans and Elon Musks of the world, while forsaking interest in reality itself, in what all this stuff actually is. Pure curiosity about nature, the force that motivated Thoreau and Ramanujan, seems liable to languish on the fringes.

Real Genius

Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.

– Arthur Schopenhauer

Saruman or Adrian Vermeule?

As the Power grows, its proved friends will also grow; and the Wise, such as you and I, may with patience come at last to direct its courses, to control it. We can bide our time, we can keep our thoughts in our hearts, deploring maybe evils done by the way, but approving the high and ultimate purpose: Knowledge, Rule, Order; all the things that we have so far striven in vain to accomplish, hindered rather than helped by our weak or idle friends. There need not be, there would not be, any real change in our designs, only in our means.

Difficult on purpose

Jonah Goldberg:

For obvious reasons, I don’t trust Trump with unchecked power. But I also wouldn’t trust Abdul Al-Sayed, or Bernie Sanders, or anyone else with unchecked power. Indeed, the fact that these people tend to believe that obstacles and inconveniences on their quest for ever-more power are somehow illegitimate or unfair is precisely why I don’t trust them with power.

Real Casualties

Isabella Gonzales, a 19-year-old Army private from a Dallas suburb, was one of the three U.S. service personnel killed over the weekend because of Donald Trump’s lack of impulse control. Real death, real grief; not that he cares. But the rest of us should.

Messi notwithstanding, this is just terrible.

From The Athletic:

Argentina standing with their backs to the presentation as Spain players go up to receive their medals.

More from Darron Richman on The Athletic:

… Argentina shamed themselves from beginning to end and even beyond the final whistle. They were an embarrassment.

Oh, and this is nice too. Post-match.

Leandro Paredes, … pushed the Barcelona defender [Eric Garcia] in the throat.

Finally, this Argentina showreel.

“Well, that didn’t work. Or that. Or that.” What now for Iran?

Richard Haas:

It is important to keep in mind that economic shortcomings still constitute the principal weakness of the Iranian regime. There is no reason to give up on the notion that economic pressure can lead to policy moderation or conceivably even regime change down the road. Economic relief for Iran should thus be heavily and specifically conditioned.

The whole thing is worth your time. And Trump’s.

Why am I not surprised?

Like calls to like:

Paxton struck back with Texas heavyweights…. The single $250,000 donation from Jones, the Cowboys owner, dwarfed any individual celebrity contribution to Talarico.

Dallas Morning News, July 18, 2026

The Great Photography of Gordon Parks

Via Colossal