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Monday Notes

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Vanguard at Faslane 03.jpg
HMS Vanguard, by CPOA(Phot) Tam McDonald. Licensed under OGL via Wikimedia Commons.

First things first, apologies for the recent comment section problems; I think it’s still technical fallout from some of the fixes we had done last week.

Some other stuff:

  • The Boehner debacle is generating quite a bit of good writing on the Right.  This McMegan post on negotiations is a good corrective to an argument that’s commonly seen on the Left about the ACA, the idea that maximalist demands invariably result in a superior negotiated outcome.  It’s more complex than this of course, because the process of negotiation and demand formation has inter- and intra-coalition effects, but for short-hand it’s enough to say that anyone who claims “You demand universal single payer on day one; that’s just Negotiation 101!” is probably a moron.
  • Bryan McGrath calls, in effect, for more inter-service conflict. In general I agree with his case; since the brutal inter-service fights of the 1950s, and McNamara’s efforts to encourage more such fights in the 1960s, the services have become far too cozy with one another.  There are good and bad inter-service fights; conflicts over resources and national priorities tend toward the former, and conflicts over missions and joint contributions tend toward the latter.
  • The case for Trident replacement in the UK was terrible even before it became apparent that Scotland was hanging on by a thread.  Now, as William Walker points out, replacing Trident (and stationing the boats in Scotland) is likely to further exacerbate tensions, with the likely result that England has several ultra-expensive submarines and no Scotland.
  • I’ll have a bit more on this later, but my first take on the Mistrals-to-Egypt deal is that it’s about more than just the prestige of the el-Sisi regime, or the need to invade Yemen.  The fact that the Gulf monarchies are apparently coughing up a huge chunk of the dough is an indicator that they (correctly) see amphibious op capabilities in positive-sum terms.
  • Jason Isbell opens for the Avett Brothers this Thursday at Rupp!  I’ve seen Isbell three times now ( plus half a dozen more with the Truckers), and there’s no question that the most recent (sober) tour was the best.  That said, Something More than Free isn’t quite as strong as Southeastern, and I don’t know how the music from the last three albums is going to play at a venue like Rupp.
  • The Battleship Book should be shipping this week!  Mike in DC floated the idea of a World of Warships team for LGM, an idea which I’m generally supportive of.
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