Sasho Todorov
@sashotodorov.bsky.social
Doing a year for space contempt.
Qualifications: Vanderbilt J.D.
Official Capacity: Just Some Guy
Admissions: only when in a contemplative mood.
Qualifications: Vanderbilt J.D.
Official Capacity: Just Some Guy
Admissions: only when in a contemplative mood.
It's only 7 g's nonstop for the 120 second battle, rub some vasoline on it and get back in the fight Captain Gendovich.
November 21, 2025 at 1:13 AM
It's only 7 g's nonstop for the 120 second battle, rub some vasoline on it and get back in the fight Captain Gendovich.
Though that's also the norm for most major empires. The Romans are extremely unusual for their ability to consistently enforce their will on the frontier. Especially since everyone has to play by the same rule that, pre-railroad, you can only concentrate so many men at a time due to food issues.
November 21, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Though that's also the norm for most major empires. The Romans are extremely unusual for their ability to consistently enforce their will on the frontier. Especially since everyone has to play by the same rule that, pre-railroad, you can only concentrate so many men at a time due to food issues.
At the risk of raising Godwin's law, also very reminiscent of Germany in 1939. As Tooze aptly pointed out, the German pre-war buildup was mostly sustained through seizing the hard currency reserves of the nations they were annexing. By 1939 it's either demobilize the war economy or pull the trigger.
November 21, 2025 at 12:41 AM
At the risk of raising Godwin's law, also very reminiscent of Germany in 1939. As Tooze aptly pointed out, the German pre-war buildup was mostly sustained through seizing the hard currency reserves of the nations they were annexing. By 1939 it's either demobilize the war economy or pull the trigger.
Plus Greece pretty much immediately rises up once Phillip dies and then the Spartans (the usual Persian proxies) make another go of it while he's off campaigning.
November 21, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Plus Greece pretty much immediately rises up once Phillip dies and then the Spartans (the usual Persian proxies) make another go of it while he's off campaigning.
True, though Darius had had close to half a decade to stabilize things. Also worth considering that Macedon was flat out broke (it's why Phillip and then Alexander *had* to launch their campaign when they did - Alexander only had enough to pay the army for 1-2 months w/o major loot infusions).
November 21, 2025 at 12:36 AM
True, though Darius had had close to half a decade to stabilize things. Also worth considering that Macedon was flat out broke (it's why Phillip and then Alexander *had* to launch their campaign when they did - Alexander only had enough to pay the army for 1-2 months w/o major loot infusions).
Somewhat spicy take, but I actually think you get the same result if you rerun things with different Persian leaders. There's been a lot of revisionist efforts re: Persia over the past few decades, but it never solved its inability to defeat Greek armies in the field.
November 21, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Somewhat spicy take, but I actually think you get the same result if you rerun things with different Persian leaders. There's been a lot of revisionist efforts re: Persia over the past few decades, but it never solved its inability to defeat Greek armies in the field.
It's a very solid reminder that being smart is great, but you do eventually need to execute on the battlefield.
November 21, 2025 at 12:29 AM
It's a very solid reminder that being smart is great, but you do eventually need to execute on the battlefield.
What makes Alexander's conquests particularly funny is that Persia was an infinitely stronger and more complex state than Macedon (which was also dead broke on Day 1) and even strategically superior, and none of that mattered because Alexander tactics-maxxed.
November 21, 2025 at 12:28 AM
What makes Alexander's conquests particularly funny is that Persia was an infinitely stronger and more complex state than Macedon (which was also dead broke on Day 1) and even strategically superior, and none of that mattered because Alexander tactics-maxxed.
Basedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbased
November 20, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Basedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbasedbased
Which bleeds into the wider issue that most of education policy is dancing around the incredibly depressing reality that you're just improving at the margins on what the parent is willing to invest time wise into the kid's education.
November 20, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Which bleeds into the wider issue that most of education policy is dancing around the incredibly depressing reality that you're just improving at the margins on what the parent is willing to invest time wise into the kid's education.
*witness
Even if the declaration is founded in the record, you never know when you're going to be thrown a curveball and it's way better for that to come out when drafting a declaration than on cross.
Even if the declaration is founded in the record, you never know when you're going to be thrown a curveball and it's way better for that to come out when drafting a declaration than on cross.
November 20, 2025 at 5:57 PM
*witness
Even if the declaration is founded in the record, you never know when you're going to be thrown a curveball and it's way better for that to come out when drafting a declaration than on cross.
Even if the declaration is founded in the record, you never know when you're going to be thrown a curveball and it's way better for that to come out when drafting a declaration than on cross.
Even on standard ones, the SOP I learned from a mentor was phone call with the client at a minimum the evening before where you go line by line and make sure it's (1) 100% accurate and (2) they understand it - then they sit on it over the evening - only sign in the morning after 2nd review.
November 20, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Even on standard ones, the SOP I learned from a mentor was phone call with the client at a minimum the evening before where you go line by line and make sure it's (1) 100% accurate and (2) they understand it - then they sit on it over the evening - only sign in the morning after 2nd review.
IMO it's not just Elon but a wider realization that Silicon Valley is an existential threat to the rest of society, which is resulting in basically everything it spawns being viewed as a potential poison pill.
November 20, 2025 at 4:38 AM
IMO it's not just Elon but a wider realization that Silicon Valley is an existential threat to the rest of society, which is resulting in basically everything it spawns being viewed as a potential poison pill.
That's not super surprising, most staffers, especially (sadly) for Democrats and former-Democrats like Van Drew, come from a lot of family wealth.
November 20, 2025 at 4:35 AM
That's not super surprising, most staffers, especially (sadly) for Democrats and former-Democrats like Van Drew, come from a lot of family wealth.
One De Gaulle ushered in the quasi-dictatorial model (killing the legislature as a real player in French politics with it) and made it clear that there'd be no humiliation in Algeria, the Pieds Noirs found themselves on their own.
November 20, 2025 at 4:33 AM
One De Gaulle ushered in the quasi-dictatorial model (killing the legislature as a real player in French politics with it) and made it clear that there'd be no humiliation in Algeria, the Pieds Noirs found themselves on their own.
A lot of this is that the Pieds Noirs didn't quite get that a lot of the military was in on the 1958 coup: (1) to protect the reputation of the military from a Dien Ben Phu II and (2) to finish the job the Vichy started in 1940 of killing the Third Republic.
November 20, 2025 at 4:32 AM
A lot of this is that the Pieds Noirs didn't quite get that a lot of the military was in on the 1958 coup: (1) to protect the reputation of the military from a Dien Ben Phu II and (2) to finish the job the Vichy started in 1940 of killing the Third Republic.
"I'm not going to call you Roi, Chucky."
November 20, 2025 at 4:13 AM
"I'm not going to call you Roi, Chucky."
It's why I hate the unkillable idea that Trump is a historically weak candidate. In 2024 he was the totemic money icon with 100% name recognition who had sent everyone a signed check for hundreds or thousands of dollars of his own money.
November 20, 2025 at 4:12 AM
It's why I hate the unkillable idea that Trump is a historically weak candidate. In 2024 he was the totemic money icon with 100% name recognition who had sent everyone a signed check for hundreds or thousands of dollars of his own money.
Also Trump wants a big peace deal win to distract from the Epstein files.
November 20, 2025 at 4:11 AM
Also Trump wants a big peace deal win to distract from the Epstein files.
There's a funny thought experiment as to what title they would have given De Gaulle in the (IMO more likely than not scenario if you rerun it 100 times) situation where the army just goes mask off and imposed De Gaulle as an open dictator in 1968 instead of a disguised dictator like in '58.
November 20, 2025 at 4:10 AM
There's a funny thought experiment as to what title they would have given De Gaulle in the (IMO more likely than not scenario if you rerun it 100 times) situation where the army just goes mask off and imposed De Gaulle as an open dictator in 1968 instead of a disguised dictator like in '58.
There is a hilariously nonzero chance of there being a timeline where that occurred. The French right really doesn't accept the republic as an actually respectable form of wielding power until De Gaulle wins the snap elections called in 1968.
November 20, 2025 at 4:05 AM
There is a hilariously nonzero chance of there being a timeline where that occurred. The French right really doesn't accept the republic as an actually respectable form of wielding power until De Gaulle wins the snap elections called in 1968.
Sort of. De Gaulle has to be viewed more within the line of counter-republican coup d'etats along the lines of Napoleon III in 1851 and Weygand in 1940.
November 20, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Sort of. De Gaulle has to be viewed more within the line of counter-republican coup d'etats along the lines of Napoleon III in 1851 and Weygand in 1940.
You can still see a lot of the legacies of the coup d'etat in the way in which the French president is very much an elected dictator. The French legislature is easily one of the weakest in what we would consider to be a free democracy.
November 20, 2025 at 4:00 AM
You can still see a lot of the legacies of the coup d'etat in the way in which the French president is very much an elected dictator. The French legislature is easily one of the weakest in what we would consider to be a free democracy.