25 Comments

I don't know JVL. If we all went plain language. What would be the point in subscribing to my favorite writers? PJ ORourke in plain language? Would be like viewing Picaso in black n white.

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Speaking of inbox zero or whatever you call it, I read your newsletter everyday so that I can absorb it etc and then clear it from the inbox. Damned if I keep getting hung up by “oh gotta save this one.”

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Hello JVL, I don't know who is this Mr. Khatiri, but after Korea, Vietnam, Afganistan, and the invasion and the expensive (tax money and Americans men lives and also koreans , vietnameses,, afgans and iraquis lives) occupation of Iraq, now he is talking of the "Sirian Civil war" that is not other thing that a war created for The CIA to grap the Sirian oil as they are doing now protected by the US troops and the Turkish Army and the russians that they are all in the north of Siria and Israel bombing once in a while (every time they want) over Damascus and create ISIS etc and making Siria a failen country and however The United States keeps supporting Saudi Arabia dictatorship(for the petrodollars) and others dictatorships in the area and around the world as Egipt and like the trade w/ communist China, countries that violate no one, but all the humans rights, no more that could do H. Assad or S. Hussein. Thank you

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"Most importantly, due to the simple fact that America is the judge, the jury, and the executioner of this order, it has disproportionately benefited Americans. Russia’s threat to Ukraine is not simply a threat to Ukraine; it is a challenge to this very order." And THAT isn't a problem? Perhaps good portions of the global community are actually tired of the imbalance of the world order?

Putting that aside:

I am not concerned by what may or may not happen to Ukraine. Not because I am indifferent to their cause but because I fear what the conflict will mean for the USA domestically.

The American people are no longer enthusiastic about international engagements to begin with. Add to this hyperpartisan environment and a perfect storm of failure is brewing for us.

Biden may want to lead but it is pretty clear that a majority of Republicans are ready to drag him no matter what approach he takes. If Trump runs he will declare that Ukraine would never have happened under his watch and that he would have handled it perfectly. And Republicans will do what they can to undermine Biden.

That was the reality that Obama woke up to when he laid down the "red line" in Syria--- he had naively assumed that there would be an internationalist consensus in Congress that had sustained (for good or bad) American foreign policy and military engagements since World War 2. When he realized that Congressional Republicans would definitely not have his back on the issue he had to simply stand down. I think similar dynamics impacted George W Bush's response to the Russia/Georgia conflict. Obama would not go out on that limb again over Crimea in 2014.

These Dynamics have not shifted and are probably worse. I do not believe the Pro-Ukrainian intelligentsia can educate the American public on the left and right to pursue anything more than a sanctions regime and never a military intervention. Even within the Democratic mainstream Biden's support is a mile wide and an inch deep for anything more serious than sanctions.

What the real policy seems to be is to let Putin do what he likes with Ukraine and to make the likely Russian success cost as much as possible but not enough to actually change the outcome.

In other words the west if fully prepared to confront Putin and fight him down to the last Ukrainian.

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Just loved reading about P.J. O'Rourke. Wonderful sweetness this Saturday. I was moved by the reminder to not take ourselves seriously and to discern intelligent humor that helps us do so.

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Always love your Saturday writing, sharing this Matt Labash piece is why.

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Yeah, that Labash guy...he likes dogs, so I guess he can't be too bad a sort. Heard something about what he does with random nouns and verbs as being rather OK. { ;-)

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I read Matt’s piece two days ago and immediately sent to all my friends. Just a beautiful piece of writing.

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Keep it up JVL. Excellent choices. Thank you for the Bulwark +. You are saving my diminishing mental state.

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In a world full of dullards screaming "Oppression" about mask and vaccine mandates, Vladimir Putin has decided to remind the world what the real thing looks like. Do we have the maturity to meet the threat?

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Feb 19, 2022Liked by Jonathan V. Last

JVL, of all the wonderful things you’ve exposed over your tenure at The Bulwark, none has been more impactful or enjoyable for me than Matt Labash. I understand you two are friends. Cherish that. Matt’s latest work on Mr. O’Rourke is more than just another example of his brilliance, it makes me believe I too was a friend of PJ.

When those days of darkness are upon you and you begin to question why you bother, remember that there are scores of us who still believe.

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Matt's such a good writer, I wish I could give him more money.

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Based on your Pudding example (I didn't read the article), Plain Language is also Less-Informative Language. It leaves out information. It is easier to be plain by saying less. Assuming it is driven by AI based on GPT-3 or equivalent, it is yet another example of a fun party game but of little real use. I'm an AI supporter but the hype is unrelenting.

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P.J. O’Rourke is the standard I use to judge all writers. He will be missed. Thanks, JVL, for another good one.

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I agree with the comments below about Matt’s newsletter. I love it and subscribed so he can keep going. His pieces on fishing were some of my favorite.

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I'm also grateful for your recommending Matt's newsletter. I love it.

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