Still just trying to surf the wave of the semester's chaos; when I think I see a calm spot up ahead, so far I've invariably been mistaken.  Anyway, some cool stuff I've found:

Academic publishing has some real issues, and this story is partly about them, and partly just about asinine ridiculousness and scholarly-gatekeeping incompetence.

Interesting piece on Biden’s fast record of accomplished judicial appointees.  Key point: he’s picking low-hanging fruit.

“In short, Biden has outpaced recent predecessors by moving expeditiously on the judicial nominations that are least likely to meet Senate resistance. But he is only in the first inning of his effort to reshape the judiciary. The game may be different once the administration starts dealing with home-state Republican senators—especially if Democrats lose their Senate majority, or a time-consuming Supreme Court vacancy arises.”

A picture of where we stand in terms of covid vaccinations delivered, and doses promised, around the world. Frankly, the US could vaccinate everyone if we just wanted to.  Why don’t we?

Paul Krugman on the challenges facing China and coming years. They are more serious than you may realize.

On which...this is sobering as all get-out.

“Imagine a different scenario. A dissatisfied state has been building its power and expanding its geopolitical horizons. But then the country peaks, perhaps because its economy slows, perhaps because its own assertiveness provokes a coalition of determined rivals, or perhaps because both of these things happen at once. The future starts to look quite forbidding; a sense of imminent danger starts to replace a feeling of limitless possibility. In these circumstances, a revisionist power may act boldly, even aggressively, to grab what it can before it is too late. The most dangerous trajectory in world politics is a long rise followed by the prospect of a sharp decline.”

Hang ten, everyone.