November 7, 2026 - Week in Review

Pretty big week. I made a decision to just publish without sending emails the rest of my long series on Ronald Reagan. I was dripping them out Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and I had enough queued up to get to December. Instead of that editorial calendar I just made them public.

If you want to peruse the episodes, please go to the tag page and cozy up with a cup of coffee, and slippers to read at your own pace:

The Fulcrum; how Reagan was the pivotal point in conservatism

Ronald Reagan didn't invent the modern American right. He's the fulcrum it balances on, built by a thirty-year apprenticeship most retellings skip, then invoked by every wing of it since. Book One: the performer nobody was watching yet. Book Two: the public man, from the speech that announced him through the presidency people remember. Book Three: the canonization, the invocations that don't survive contact with his record, and what was really happening to him while the performance ran.

Sweaty's Corner

I did this because I was nervous about the election (this is Monday Sweaty, and his PTSD from '16 and '24 polling misses) and began pivoting back to topical politics.

Sunday November 1: I was getting nervous, too many people were peacocking, predicting great things. But I have been a Democrat long enough to be terrified that they can revert to form snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. I drafted this honest assessment of my reservations:

I Want to Believe. That's What Worries Me.

Two days before the midterms, the polls look promising, the Republicans look nervous, and I'm trying very hard not to be Eeyore.

Sweaty's CornerGeoff Anderson

Monday, November 2: I have noticed lately a series of Youtube videos about influencers who are crying in their beers that their incomes are falling, and their lifestyle is suffering. I wrote about this odd business model. Not politics, for once:

Your Career Plan Is TikTok’s Business Model

The casino is fucking delighted you've decided to pursue this professionally.

Sweaty's CornerGeoff Anderson

Tuesday, November 3 (election day): I was studiously avoiding the news media (all of it) and instead I looked to what a reckoning might look like, and why it might be less than promised/desired/deserved. My premise was that the Democrats would win the house, but it would be a a ripple. With that in mind, read my take on what the Reckoning would look like, and why I had my doubts (I still have doubts with Chuckles and Jeffries as leaders):

The Reckoning That May Never Come

Trump will eventually leave the stage. The Republican Party will still be here. And American democracy offers no guarantee that it will learn the lesson its critics expect.

Sweaty's CornerGeoff Anderson

Wednesday, November 4th: When the dust began settling in and even my wildest fantasies were confirmed, I began thinking about what we saw. Texas has been the center of gravity of Republican politics for much of my life, and in the past even strong efforts failed to really garner even a token victory. Oh poor Beto.

But seeing that the senate, the governor, the SG, the Rail commissioner, the house, and even the state supreme court all went blue was truly a wondrous moment. I took to my clackity keyboard and began musing about how Florida is now the last big-state bastion of Republicans, and also the titular home of MAGA, literally and figuratively:

The Court and the Machine

Mar-a-Lago may be MAGA's headquarters. But Florida's Republican establishment was there long before Trump arrived, and it has no intention of leaving when he's gone.

Sweaty's CornerGeoff Anderson

Friday, November 6: Enough gorging at the trough of schadenfreude and MAGA tears. I was listening to the excellent podcast "Weird Little Guys" about the history of the "Carnivore Diet", and the host, Molly Conger, mentioned that Joe Rogan is the Oprah for men, and I about fell on my face. Naturally, I had to take a note (I listen to podcasts walking my dog, so "Siri: take a note to write a post on Joe Rogan as Oprah for men"). I think it will be a fun read:

Joe Rogan Is Oprah for Men, and That's Not a Compliment

Two generations of celebrity influence, a parade of medical quacks, and the rather disturbing journey from daytime television to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Sweaty's CornerGeoff Anderson

From the Shitpost Dude, the election and shenanigans were fertile ground for post materials:

Watching Musk's cash incineration in Texas yield (checks notes) not one goddamn thing was delicious. $400M and now his empire in Texas is gonna get a lot of scrutiny:

Man, That’s a Four-Hundred-and-Forty-Six-Million-Dollar Bicycle

Elon Musk bought all the horsepower money could buy. Unfortunately, somebody still had to pedal.

The Dude ShitpostsJeffery Lebowski

Then, on the day after the tsunami landed, the Dude started hearing all this "unity" fucking bullshit from presumptive speaker Jeffries. Look fucker, this isn't a kumbaya moment, a "reach across the aisle" situation. It is not for retribution but accountability. Don't lose the fucking thread:

Man, Can We Get an Accounting Before We Hug It Out?

The votes are still being counted, the Democrats are celebrating, and somewhere in Washington the fat lady is warming up for a familiar aria.

The Dude ShitpostsJeffery Lebowski

And the Dude woke to an OpEd in the NY Times by Erick Erickson where he is suddenly noticing that his Republican party is now overrun with "wierdos". Uh, dude, you can fuck all the way off with that shit:

I’m Shocked, Man. Shocked!

Erick Erickson discovers weirdos in the Republican Party, just as the winnings dry up.

The Dude ShitpostsJeffery Lebowski