Do authoritarians, in truth, do it higher? Former Fox Information host Tucker Carlson, who was in Moscow this week to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin, had very nice things to say in regards to the capital metropolis throughout a speech in Dubai: “[Moscow] is so much cleaner and safer and prettier, aesthetically. Its architecture, its food, its service, than any … city in the United States. And this is not ideological. How did that happen? How did that happen? And at a certain point, I don’t think the average person cares as much about abstractions as about the concrete reality of his life. And if you can’t use your subway, for example, as many people are afraid to in New York City because it’s too dangerous, isn’t that the ultimate measure of leadership?”
However Carlson, who appears to be going via his foreign-exchange-student-likes-Barcelona-more-than-Paducah section, misses a couple of finer particulars.
In case you are a journalist, life in Moscow means fixed worry of reprisal; pissing off the state means sure imprisonment. If you happen to get pleasure from homosexual bars or different types of LGBT-oriented nightlife, prepare for police raids. If you happen to’re an evangelical protestant, you’ll not be permitted to stay out your religion. (Over the past decade, greater than 500 Jehovah’s Witnesses have been convicted of or charged with extremism, with many serving sentences.) And, if you happen to’re Ukrainian, effectively, sorry about your loved ones getting brutally slaughtered and your homeland getting desecrated; hope you benefit from the clear subway system nonetheless.
Carlson goes on to say that Singapore, Tokyo, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi “are wonderful places to live.” (And, oddly, that he grew up in a rustic that had cities like these, which is odd as a result of American cities within the ’70s and ’80s didn’t seem like Abu Dhabi, and weren’t terribly secure.)
One motive why we do not have clear streets in New York the way in which they do in Singapore is as a result of we do not cane individuals for minor crimes. We do not give individuals the loss of life penalty for manufacturing medication (200 grams of hashish resin warrants execution, if you happen to’re not cautious), nor can we lock individuals in jail for a decade for the purported crime of getting excessive. We do not crack down on jaywalking, spitting, or cigarette-smoking the way in which they do. We additionally do not have a tendency to make use of corporal punishment for our kids.
Carlson’s level is okay that individuals care about high quality of life points, that Skid Row in Los Angeles and subway-station junkies in New York Metropolis are embarrassments, and that our metropolis officers ought to have the ability to clear up the streets to enhance the lives of taxpaying residents—not simply when Xi Jinping involves city. You may suppose current public dysfunction must be curbed, however there are a lot of potential methods of doing so that might nonetheless defend civil liberties and would not flip American cities into authoritarian hellholes. (In actual fact, we must always most likely flip to Russian out-migration numbers to see whether or not residents agree with Carlson’s evaluation.)
I merely don’t suppose we have to hand it to authoritarians below any circumstances or communicate in flattering phrases about Putin’s capacity to control. It isn’t that compliments like these must be haram; it is that Carlson is inspecting just one facet of the ledger, and lacking all of the methods Russian legal guidelines rain down brutality on the harmless and undeserving. Simply ask among the vacationers who’ve had their stays in Russia involuntarily extended, like Brittney Griner.
Senate passes Ukraine assist invoice: Early this morning, an assist bundle for Israel and Ukraine cleared the Senate, as a bunch of Republicans cut up from their occasion and voted with the Democrats. The $95 billion emergency assist invoice—$60 billion of which is supposed for Ukraine, bringing the whole U.S.-footed tab to $170 billion—should now clear the Home, which makes its destiny unsure.
On Monday night time, a bunch of 17 Republicans, largely moderates and nationwide safety hawks, joined with Democrats to get the invoice throughout a remaining procedural hurdle. Then, this morning, 5 extra Republicans joined the dissenters’ ranks. This saga highlights what most Republicans already know to be true: that the occasion is sorely divided on whether or not the USA must be the world’s police, and—if consensus is shifting away from that position—how the U.S. must take care of its allies within the interim.
Scenes from New York: “The Eco–Yogi Slumlords of Brooklyn” over at The Reduce has one thing for everybody (to hate).
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— Nancy Rommelmann (@NancyRomm) February 13, 2024
- Rep. Barbara Lee (D–Calif.) stated final night time in a debate between candidates vying for California’s empty U.S. Senate seat that she would help a $25 minimal wage and, probably, even a $50 per hour minimal wage within the Bay Space.
- Present Republican Nationwide Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel is about to step down on the finish of the month. Donald Trump has endorsed his daughter-in-law, Lara, as a potential decide to switch McDaniel.
- Sizzling take however I am undecided 5-year-olds ought to be glued to laptop screens:
one in all my least favourite pandemic issues is that tmw as a substitute of a snow day my 5 12 months may have “remote kindergarten.” REMOTE KINDERGARTEN?!?!? That is not a factor!!!! all she ought to be worrying about tomorrow is cartoons & sizzling chocolate with marshmallows, I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL
— ely kreimendahl (@ElyKreimendahl) February 12, 2024
- “Estonia’s prime minister has been put on a wanted list in Russia because of her efforts to remove Soviet-era World War II monuments in the Baltic nation, officials said Tuesday,” per the Related Press. “The name of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas appeared on the Russian Interior Ministry’s list of people wanted on unspecified criminal charges, although it was unclear when she was added, according to Mediazona, an independent Russian news outlet. The list includes scores of officials and lawmakers from other Baltic nations.”
- Since we’re taking just a little journey via Central and Jap Europe this morning, you may as effectively spend a while gnawing on Matt Welch’s 2021 piece, “No Self-Respecting American Should Aspire to Hungarian-Style Nationalism.”
- And now, just a little dose of pleasure and skimpy outfits from the Brazilians, who’re celebrating Carnival proper now.