Max Jones > Recent Status Updates

El-Sayed’s tangent about anti-vaccination ideology and the importance of vaccinating is well-taken, but it did feel like a tangent and 8 chapters in I’m starting to wonder when he’s gonna get to the overall point, whatever that may be

funny to read about what went into Dr. El-Sayed’s decision not to finish residency, and how it was rooted in a desire to do something more impactful after witnessing the limitations of the medical system, given that his opps have made this a campaign controversy during his current Senate tun

El-Sayed’s views on how Obama should have handled the Arab Spring in Egypt are deeply concerning and seemingly inconsistent with the anti-interventionist foreign policy he’s currently running for Senate on. The way he talks about his wife is cute though, big wife guy Mr. El-Sayed

i don’t really understand how the epidemiology simulation works but am glad somebody figured it out

the thing about 9/11 having a measurable impact on the health of new Arab American babies due to maternal stress is fascinating

chapter 3 was the best chapter yet. El-Sayed’s childhood experience in Egypt learning first-hand what it means not to have free speech rights was a standout, as was his description of what Islam means to him toward’s the chapter’s end. Interesting and well-written examination of what faith means to an author who is also so rooted in science

chapter 2 was a well-written overview of the field of epidemiology in its accessibility to laymen like me, yet it is yet to be seen how El-Sayed ties this into the book’s larger thesis. Not really much politics yet but I know it’s coming

the first chapter was ok. basically a fact-based quick summary of the personalities and stories of each of his parents and grandparents. the multigenerational immigrant tale is it’s a more interesting family history than the average American’s, with an ethos of “have gratitude for our ancestors who worked so hard to make our lives so easy”, but it’s not inherently an interesting story or thesis yet

the teenage love story is pretty formulaic but still sweet

is good i like

just read the prologue, i still need to get into the actual meat, but the prologue was well-written and got me interested for the rest

I only have one chapter left and while I've really enjoyed what turned out to be effectively a walk down memory lane recapping the story that is American politics from 2018-2022, I am finding myself wondering where exactly Grim is going with this, what point he's going to ultimately make with only about 25 pages left to go. Can't say I'm clear what it is yet after 19 / 20 chapters

the long chapter about the ins and outs of just how much elections in 2022 were decided by how much money a handful of well-resourced interest groups like the Israel lobby and cryptocurrency industry gave me anxiety. We need campaign finance reform so bad

I’ll still never forgive Elizabeth Warren for 2020 but I either forgot or didn’t realize how essential she was at getting Lina Khan in the Biden Administration so that’s a big structural W

I am very grateful to Ryan Grim for reminding me of that time the entire Republican Party spent a whole 2 months arguing about Dr. Seuss while Joe Biden passed the American Rescue Plan, something I had not thought about once in the 5 years since. Thank you, Mr. Grim

I was not expecting Force the Vote to be covered, huge shock. I guess that was a less niche event than I realized. I also didn’t know the timeline Grim covered was going to get that close to the book’s actual publication

Grim is definitely less favorable to Force the Vote than I am, but he actually changed my mind pretty significantly on it w facts I never knew

Grim’s thorough critique of the modern left of the late 2010s-early 2020’s cultural inability to do literally anything but eat itself is brutal because it is so spot on. I was there. It was terrible

literally forgot all about Alex Morse. what a deep memory unlocked

chapter 12 gave me 2020 ptsd

Elizabeth Warren can never be forgiven for what she did 🐍

the description of the squad’s visit to the immigrant detention center is pretty intense

working in AOC’s office sounds like a bad time

is good i like

i like how it’s connecting Ms. Marvel into the greater Marvel universe and pushing her character to intense places the Iman Vellani version has never gone in the MCU

is good i like

good account of recent history and how power works in Congress through the lens of the current ongoing left-wing progressive movement