Afternoon Tea 7.28.21 - American Caesar

Biden isn't leaving Iraq, the left gets dunked by the administration, the right flirts with an Emperor, the rich won't be able to escape climate change, and all of the cognitive biases & distortions to know and love. It’s Wednesday, July 28th 2021, and this is your Tea.

Biden isn’t withdrawing troops from Iraq, he’s relabeling their mission Responsible State craft “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtains!” the wizard said. More seriously, the Forever War really won't ever end, huh?

How Joe Biden Defanged the Left The American Prospect This is a depressing but expected read for anyone to the left of VP Harris. For everyone else, a neat reminder that institutional power doesn't give itself up.

The intellectual right contemplates an ‘American Caesar’ The Week Meanwhile, the Right drifts further towards a worrying blend of autocracy worship and fundamentalism.

Watching the Watchmen BuzzFeed.News & Erik Prince Linked To Spy Infiltration Of Michigan Teachers' Union Deadline Detroit Remember that plot to kidnap a governor? What if the FBI knew about it? Also, is anyone going to bring Erik Prince to any form of justice, or will he get to go play war in Afghanistan soon?

‘Record-shattering’ heat becoming much more likely, says climate study The Guardian & Here Comes the Rain Again The American Prospect We need to stop being surprised by this. Pretending this weather is anything but the new normal is getting hilariously expensive.

Stuck in the Smoke as Billionaires Blast Off The Intercept & CO2: Emissions Our World in Data One note about the floods in Germany, Belgium, and London is the “we had no idea it could happen here!” man on the street interviews they had. Reminding the Global North that climate change isn't just a thing that affects hot, poor places will go a long way to actually building inertia for durable, expensive steps to address it.

Revealed: the people who signed up to the MAGAcoin Trump cryptocurrency The Guardian Did you think a Bitcoin-like product associated with MAGA would be a huge scam? Congratulations on not being born yesterday.

How a Respected N.Y.P.D. Officer Became the Accused Capitol Riot #EyeGouger New York Times & Have Trump Voters come down with a serious case of Snowflake Syndrome? Washington Post - Opinion I seem to remember people yelling “facts don't care about your feelings bruh!” at me for years. These people, some of whom attempted to unseat my government, are now demanding sensitivity? Get Tyrannosaurus Rekt.

Albert Einstein, the Pro-Palestinian Socialist Current Affairs Current Affairs still needs an editor, but this is a great reminder of how history rewrites even the strongest beliefs.

Want to avoid Cognitive Biases? This thread has you covered:

Want to slow down time? Do novel things.

Song of the Tea: The Art of Noise wrote a 13 track love letter to Claude Debussy. Il Pleure is such a classic piece of classical breakbeat electronica. Enjoy the album all the way through if this first track turns you on.

When Debussy died on March the 25th 1918 in Paris, it was being bombarded by the Germans…and it was raining.

Yours,