Gaston de Foix

True, but I think she's beatable. Arkansas has often elected Dem governors even now it is ruby red. My dream scenario involves her being beaten in a primary or general, and Lara Trump running in NC and winning the primary only to lose the general.

You should skip season 4 and 5 and go straight to 6 and 7. But you should watch it.

"the ancient Hebrews had a word for Jews from Westport: they pronounced it 'Presbyterian.'" Ziegler is an observant Jew, I'm pretty sure.

Have been reading the Thief series based on the recommendations thread. I've finished the first book, which I really liked, but have not really enjoyed the second book (I'm halfway through). I'm going to pick up a hard copy of Fonda Lee's first novel based on thread recommendations for the next couple of days.

So far 12 have said they will vote to object. Interestingly, the number includes James Lankford who I had down as one of the more reasonable Republican senators.

Interesting list. 1. Did you read Helen Wecker's first book the Golem and the Jinni? Do you recommend? 2. I stopped reading Mark Lawrence after being disappointed with how his Ancestors trilogy ended. I did have the first book on my 2020 list but never read it. 3. I have Novik and Addison on my 2021 list as well. Novik's first scholomance was great fun, I picked it up from the related best of 2020 thread. 4. Kristoff and Fonda Lee are new to me. Have you read their work? 5. I've read most everything Anthony Ryan has written but the Raven's Blade duology was mildly disappointing. His pilgrimage of swords is excellent though. Would recommend if you haven't picked it up. 6. I expect Robert Jackson Bennett to publish his third volume from your hope but not expect list, but not the others from amongst the ones I've heard of.

These are the (fatuous) reasons the Republicans use to justify their worst behavior and indefensible decisions. Let's not join them on the slippery slope to hell. A human being has died before his time and that's a tragedy, whatever his political views.

Safe R seat though. Is there a real risk of an effective GOP majority in the House before the next mid-terms? I thought all the Dems picked were from safe seats (although of course you can never really predict SE outcomes).

My brother-in-law is a huge WoT fan and I'd gotten a copy of the Gathering Storm signed by BS. I was on a long-haul flight and I had the book with me, so I read it. It made sense to go forward not back. So much of the WoT world/characters were already familiar through nerdom.

I've read only the last three books so in the same boat.

Me too. Apart from WoW, DoS, and Thorn of Emberlain (let's not), there's no new Jim Butcher in the offing, no Ben Aaronovitch. The books I am expecting are from newish authors, or productive ones who produce a book a year: 1. Siege of Rage and Ruin (Django Wexler) 2. Leviathan's Fall (James S.A. Corey - no release date yet). 3. Fall of Babel (Bancroft - no release date yet). 4. the Empire's Ruin (Staveley - July 2021) 5. A Desert Torn Asunder (Beaulieu - July 2021. BTW DO NOT READ THE AMAZON DESCRIPTION AS IT IS REPLETE WITH SPOILERS) 6. A Desolation Called Peace (Martin, March 2021). 7. The Wisdom of Crowds (Abercrombie, Sep 2021) 8. Risen (Benedict Jacka, Dec 2021). Honestly, this is the first year in my life when I'm more excited about movies/tv than books. Dune, the Boys season 3, the Witcher Season 2, Stranger Things next season, LOTR: The Second Age, WoT.

I agree with you. The pandemic does justify increased government spending. The problem of regulatory and political capture in the U.S. goes so deep however that much of that money is being used to find yet another tax break for the 1 percenters and/or giant corporate give-aways as part of the political price of getting increased unemployment benefits. And there's a lot of unnecessary spending by the left in the bill as well. The meta-dysfunction of the U.S. political system is that it can only ever break out of gridlock through regulatory/political capture on both sides of the aisle.

1. The bolded sentence is completely wrong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_default 2. Deficits don't have a stimulating effect on the economy: government spending has a stimulating effect on the economy. The question is the long-term sustainability of that spending and the consequences of governments devoting a greater and great proportion of their budget to debt servicing rather than healthcare or education. Hence sovereign debt traps: https://www.actuarialpost.co.uk/article/escaping-the-sovereign-debt-trap-1967.htm. The U.S. today is in the worst of all worlds where government spending is out of control but investment in infrastructure, education, etc. is far lower than optimum. 3. The economic consequences of government indebtedness are not limited to theoretical or actual "bankruptcy" or repossession: what you are selling is not Manhattan island, but your children (and mine's) education and healthcare, as well as medicare checks. 4. If the U.S. does default on its debt, it would be catastrophic for its and the world's economy. And there's no theoretical reason the U.S. cannot default on its debt like Argentina did. But, again, the baleful effects of excessive indebtness are really not an on/off switch linked to default.

This is a good analysis: https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/04/18/record-government-corporate-debt-risk-tipping-point-after-pandemic-passes/