It may seem to odd to say this at a time when the news is moving at the rate of a mile a minute, but I have exhausted my store of observations for this week. You’ll notice, though, as you read, that I did a lot of writing and talking about a wide variety of subjects, so much so that I’ve basically run dry of any new insights. And so here is what I’m going to do this weekend: I’m going to finish reading a few of the books I’ve been working through and brainstorm some ideas for next week. I’ll see you then. What I WroteMy Tuesday column was on illiberalism and the use of expulsion as a tool in American politics. If illiberalism — in stark contrast to the universalist claims of liberalism — ties rights and belonging to membership in specific communities of race, ethnicity, religion and gender; if it is “marked by social and cultural exclusions” and sees “violence as a legitimate and potentially necessary means” of wielding power, then it is only natural that illiberal movements or societies would wield expulsion as one method to discipline dissidents and outsiders. My Friday column was on the John Roberts, Trump v. United States and the dangers of a politicized Supreme Court. We don’t know how this opinion will play out. If Trump wins a second term, there is a real chance that it will empower presidential lawlessness of a kind that no living American has experienced, at least in this country. Trump v. United States would become, in short order, one of the worst opinions ever issued by the Supreme Court. And Roberts would take his place in infamy alongside the other man whose work as chief justice helped unravel the American Republic before the Civil War: Roger Taney. I also wrote a little about how the anti-abortion movement is weaponizing the 14th Amendment against its intent. It should be said as well that in the same way it is perverse for conservative legal activists and Supreme Court justices to use the Reconstruction amendments — written and ratified to assist the formerly enslaved and enshrine a principle of anti-subordination in the Constitution — to dismantle this nation’s halting efforts at substantive racial equality, it is also perverse for the anti-abortion movement to use the 14th Amendment as a cudgel against bodily autonomy in the name of so-called fetal rights. I also joined my colleague Ezra Klein on his podcast to talk about the Democrats’ Biden dilemma. Now ReadingDaniel Schlozman on Mitt Romney for Dissent. Arianne Shahvisi on moral luck for The London Review of Books. Bonnie Tenneriello on prison reform for Boston Review. Samantha Hancox-Li on reconstructing American institutions for Liberal Currents. Melissa Gira Grant on the right’s effort to banish queer and gender nonconforming people from public life for The New Republic. Abraham Josephine Riesman on voting for Slate magazine. Photo of the Week
This is a river that runs behind my house, more or less. We’re in the middle of a drought, and so the river is just low enough to be able to walk down and get a somewhat different view. My son and I spent about a half-hour throwing rocks into the water, as one does. Now Eating: Almond CakeI recently made this as dessert for a dinner with friends, and it was a big hit. The recipe is actually a little more flexible than it appears. If you don’t have any oranges, just use lemons. If you don’t have any lemons, just use oranges. You can roast and process the almonds as the recipe calls for, or you can blanch and remove the skins and then process the almonds. You could even use a different nut, like a pistachio or a walnut. I garnished my cake with a dusting of powdered sugar but you could also make a glaze. Goes great with coffee as well, if you’re having a sweet treat in the morning. Recipe comes from the NYT Cooking section. Ingredients
Directions Place the orange and the lemon in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain and cool. Heat the oven to 325 degrees, and set a rack in the middle position. Bake the almonds 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool completely. When the almonds are cool, pulse them in a food processor until ground. Set oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9-inch springform pan. When the citrus is cool, cut the lemon in half, and discard the pulp and seeds. Cut the orange in half, and discard seeds. Put the fruits in the food processor and process almost to a paste. In a small bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder. Combine eggs and salt. Beat until foamy. Beat in the sugar. Fold in the flour mixture. Add the citrus, almonds and olive oil, and beat on low speed until incorporated. Pour the batter into the pan, and bake for about 1 hour. Let cool for 10 minutes, unmold and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Thank you for being a subscriber Read past editions of the newsletter here. If you’re enjoying what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to others. They can sign up here. Browse all of our subscriber-only newsletters here. Have feedback? Send me a note at jamelle-newsletter@nytimes.com. You can also follow me on Twitter (@jbouie), Instagram and TikTok.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
