Robert Farley

Iran took some shots at some US Navy warships, and the Navy shot back. Some thoughts on the most recent developments:

Friend of the Blog Paul Musgrave has put together a simple model that asks you to guess voter affiliation based on two given factors, age and gender. You also have the option to get hints based on religion, education, income, marriage, and children. Religion and Education are *extremely* powerful. I did pretty well the first time around in the most basic form of the game, but it gets harder when you have to ration the hints. Take a look; Paul is welcoming feedback over at Bluesky.

We here at LGM constitute a Minor Media Platform, and since the cost of exporting Hot Takes is extremely low these days I find some Extremely Spicy Takes in my inbox from time to time. This was September 18, 2019:

Last night Paul and I sat down and talked through some thoughts on the cultural legacy of the 9/11 attacks.

In a nearly two-hour speech at the first Republican midterm convention, President Donald Trump promised to pay Americans if Republicans won, and he repeatedly said communists could take over Congress if they didn’t, among other familiar claims.

The consequences of 9/11 ran straight into the procurement system. The Navy, unable to explain its role in a war on terror, committed to the Littoral Combat Ship. The Air Force, unable to justify high-end air superiority against insurgents, cancelled most of its F-22 buy. Army and Marine plans were displaced entirely by the demands of counter-insurgency, and both services spent years rebuilding skills for low-intensity war at the expense of high-intensity war.

Vice President JD Vance gave the keynote address on the second night of the Republican midterm convention, which also featured Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., House Speaker Mike Johnson and a final sendoff from President Donald Trump. Here’s what we found in fact-checking their remarks:

I ruminate a little on the relationship between 9/11 and the Wars on Terror over at 1945:

In 2001 the People's Liberation Army fielded a handful of fourth-generation fighters, most bought from Russia or built under Russian licence. It was not a small force, but it was antiquated in tactics and equipment. China's naval expansion since then is unmatched by any programme since Germany built the High Seas Fleet before the First World War.

Senator Mitch McConnell returned to the Senate on Monday for the first time in more than three months, ending an absence that had fueled questions about his medical condition and ability to continue serving after a health incident at his home in mid-June.