Pluralistic: Trump and the unmighty dollar (26 Jan 2026)

Today's links

Trump and the unmighty dollar: "Flipping the table over in a poker game rigged in your favor because you resent having to pretend to play the game at all."
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: H2G2 v BBC; Anti-capitalist bank rave; Narrative and magic; It's still censorship; Boss politics antitrust; Game library; Gamers 6-65; Google Cache; "Probiotics" aren't; "Starve"; Uptown Funk mashup; Not a crime if we do it with an app; Gibson on Stuxnet; Gates sells Tank Man pic to China; Paul Allen's yacht destroys a reef; Mass surveillance in Anaheim.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Tech's benevolent-dictator-for-life to authoritarian pipeline: It's damned hard to be an anti-authoritarian in a C-suite.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2014, 2019
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

AI "art" and uncanniness: "A meaning that does not stem from organizing intention."
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The true post-cyberpunk hero is a noir forensic accountant: Blair Fix, Henry Farrell and Maria Farrell know more about Marty Hench than I do.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Underground Empire: Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman's must-read account of "How America Weaponized the World Economy."
The Lost Cause prologue part IV: "Commies, agitators, traitors, and climate bed wetters."
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

The surprising truth about data-driven dictatorships: No autocrat is more powerful than GIGO.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading