Steve Hallock

August 19, 2021

Steve's Reads Aug 19, 2021

Back from vacation! Nearly 3000 miles driven with a 2-year-old and 2-month-old in the back seat and dare I say that we are all refreshed? UT, CO, WY with a few other states as drive-throughs -- we saw some of the most beautiful sights the country has to offer. Meanwhile, back in the "civilized" world...


Lee Smith on Afghanistan and our crumbling regime

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/assabiya-lee-smith

Fantastic piece that sums up the relevant forces. I think most of us can sense that the powers that be are as incompetent with everything else as they have been with Afghanistan. This one the media simply couldn't cover up or spin as we all know what trapped Americans and bodies falling from landing gear means.

Twitter Thread with a few amazing videos on our military training Afghans

https://twitter.com/JoshD0110/status/1428295447471341572?s=20

If you think it's reasonable that we didn't know how complete a shit show it was over there, watch these videos.


Scott Alexander on the importance (or lack of) most schooling
 
https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/kids-can-recover-from-missing-even

Ok, I admit that I have not finished this whole thing yet. But it's interesting.


Marc Andreeson interviewed by Richard Hanania

https://richardhanania.substack.com/p/flying-x-wings-into-the-death-star

I think this is the second Marc Andreeson interview I've shared here now. He is one of the clearest thinkers we have. Although I certainly do not agree with him on everything, any interview he gives is 100% must read or listen IMHO. This is the transcript of a podcast. I'd suggest listening if you can. (Pro-tip: if you want to get through a lot of podcasts, listen at 1.25x, then bump to 1.5x when comfortable, and then to 2x. I've been listening at double speed for years now and it makes all the difference. I am possibly 2x more annoyed with everyone in real-life who speaks at normal speed, however).