“install kiosks in stores to connect would-be thieves w/ social service programs”

No other country could so meld therapy culture, McDonald’s self-service, rat-in-cage Maslovian needs-fulfillment, Mad Max dystopian despair, and naive bleeding-heart hope. Pure American sublime.

-- Ari Schulman (@AriSchulman) Sat May 20 00:31:19 +0000 2023

One of the worst trends in media, traditional and social, is taking low-level arguments between random people and turning them into national news stories to gin up ethnic animosity (usually with ruinous consequences for at least one of the randos).

-- Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) Thu May 18 15:50:47 +0000 2023

Zaid Jilani tweeted this while quoting the below tweet.

NYC hospital ‘Karen’ paid for Citi Bike at center of viral fight with black man: lawyer https://trib.al/2zAPr4v

-- New York Post (@nypost) Thu May 18 11:11:17 +0000 2023

I wrote about what a debt limit "breach" would really entail, and how there are lots of potential scenarios besides actually missing a Treasury bond interest payment, with different costs and pitfalls. https://www.joshbarro.com/p/this-week-in-the-mayonnaise-clinic-dce

-- Josh Barro (@jbarro) Thu May 18 20:27:23 +0000 2023

Replying to @jbarro

I also raise a mashup of two potential strategies: issue consols or premium bonds, but sell them only to the Fed

-- Josh Barro (@jbarro) Thu May 18 20:31:58 +0000 2023

If you're a cable network aiming at viewers broadly across the ideological spectrum, I don't see how you could justify *not* doing a Trump town hall in a format like you used for Democratic primary candidates (with Democratic primary audiences) in 2020. https://www.joshbarro.com/p/the-trump-cnn-town-hall-was-useful?sd=pf

-- Josh Barro (@jbarro) Thu May 11 22:38:51 +0000 2023

I wrote about the debt limit and how we should just get on with the fiscal negotiations that would have to happen this year even if there were no debt limit: https://www.joshbarro.com/p/now-its-time-to-start-the-fiscal

-- Josh Barro (@jbarro) Tue May 02 23:08:25 +0000 2023

For those who like to consume cocktail content in audio form: I'm back on the Very Serious podcast with the great @jbarro for another discussion about delicious drinks:

https://www.joshbarro.com/p/the-martini-police-with-peter-suderman#details

-- Suderman (@petersuderman) Fri Apr 21 12:20:33 +0000 2023

This week's Serious Trouble: "Lawyers and trials won’t fix what’s wrong with America. At best, they compensate victims like Dominion for being wronged and deter other wrongdoers. $787.5 million dollars is a lot of compensation and a lot of deterrence." https://www.serioustrouble.show/p/wow-thats-a-lot-of-cash#details

-- Josh Barro (@jbarro) Wed Apr 19 16:21:10 +0000 2023

Do you have a question about making cocktails at home you've always wanted to ask? How about one you've always wanted @jbarro to ask me?

I'll be appearing again this week on Barro's Very Serious podcast: Post your question as a reply below and it might make the show!

-- Suderman (@petersuderman) Wed Apr 19 00:10:22 +0000 2023

This stuff has been percolating for a while, but dovetails nicely w/ @jbarro on why MAGA world is putting out B+ Lincoln Project content: fuels meta conversation & helps shape CW in ways that muddy "electability" waters/spook savior-seeking estab types. https://www.joshbarro.com/p/i-have-thoughts-about-this-ron-desantis

-- Liam Donovan (@LPDonovan) Mon Apr 17 00:45:16 +0000 2023

Liam Donovan tweeted this while quoting the below tweet.

Take it for what it’s worth, and I’m sure it will change again, but this is something professional Dems are saying lately too. And this is before you get into the likelihood DeSantis would emerge with a more divided party than Trump. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/who-should-democrats-support-ron-desantis-donald-trump-republican-primary.html

-- Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) Sun Apr 16 15:15:23 +0000 2023

Just absolutely insane, if true, that a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman would have access to this kind of sensitive intel.

-- Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) Thu Apr 13 16:18:27 +0000 2023

Chuck Ross tweeted this while quoting the below tweet.

NEWS: The leader of a small online gaming chat group where a trove of classified U.S. intelligence documents leaked over the last few months is a 21-year-old member of the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/world/documents-leak-leaker-identity.html

-- Michael Schwirtz (@mschwirtz) Thu Apr 13 16:02:48 +0000 2023

I welcome you to join me on S*bstack Notes at s*bstack dot com slash notes :)

-- Josh Barro (@jbarro) Tue Apr 11 15:25:02 +0000 2023