It’s shutting down, after twenty-three years. Probably a victim of its anti-Trump behavior.
Here are the three pieces that I wrote for it, the most recent being my obituary of Jerry Pournelle. When I read my criticism of SLS from 2011, it seems prescient.
There’s a lot of talent there, from Steve Hayes to Adam Keiper and Jonathan Last, and Haley Byrd. Hopefully they’ll land on their feet.
[Late-morning update]
Thoughts from Rod Dreher.
Sad. As you say a lot of talent there. I’m not a big fan of Trump either (actually I am a fan of his policies, but I can’t stand the man) but they went full on Trump Derangement Syndrome at The Weekly Standard.
More, as far as I can tell from seeing the Right-leaning criticism, the mode of their anti-Trumpism.
National Review is doing as well as they ever do, because their anti-Trump was “actually conservative”.
All the critiques of the Standard’s behavior, from people I trust well enough, accuse them of openly going to support the Left “because anti-Trump”.
The former is something the “base” can support. The latter … well, turns out, not so much?
NR puts out enough normal stuff that it makes up for the Jonahs going off the rails and they aren’t on twitter endorsing communism, voting for Hillary, and cheering on a deep state coup.
As a reminder, Bill Kristolnacht literally said “prefer the deep state to Trump”.
Kristol wants to import immigrant proletarians because the “white working class” has disappointed him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTIT7j4MsM0
The stuff I have seen from NR may not be rabidly pro-Trump, but their authors offers some of the most sober essays defending President Trump I have seen, at least deflating some of the dream fantasies of the Trump-hating Left.
Well, sure. I believe Jennifer Rubin wasn’t on TWS, but take her as an example: when she espouses support for an idea, and then learns that Trump likes the same thing and immediately volte-faces, why should I listen to her about *anything* in the future? She’s shown she doesn’t have actual principles.
Actually, in this case, regardless of whether you like Trump (or his policies) or not, the same applies. If you disagreed with her prior position, and now she changes her mind to agree with you *just* because Trump took the same position as she formerly did, well, she doesn’t actually agree with you, she’s just having a tantrum.
Anti-Trump is putting it mildly. Have you seen their tweets? Mental patients.
You’re right: 7 years later, your SLS article has been completely vindicated.
Imagine where Commercial Crew would be now had it been fully funded.
I want to compliment you on the nice Pournelle obit, which I hadn’t seen before. Jerry made me feel like he was a friend, not something easy to do, and a word I’ve never used lightly.
I have to confess that when it came to the Pournelle obit, I wrote a quick first draft, but the editor Adam Keiper added a lot. He didn’t take credit, but it was really a joint effort.
I liked Rand’s Jerry Pournelle appreciation very much as well.
Calling Jerry Pournelle a friend would be maybe stretching a point, but we were, for a time, frequent acquaintances, both being among the ranks of regular attendees at the weekly meetings of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society at its clubhouse in North Hollywood when I lived nearby in the early and mid-80’s. I was editor of a computer trade magazine during this period and Jerry, of course, was Mr. User at Byte so we had some common ground for conversation in addition to space and SF.
Mr. Pournelle was always very approachable by anyone and stood on zero ceremony – a genuine egalitarian of the old school.
Among other frequent LASFS meeting attendees in those days were JPL’s late Dan Alderson – who, under various names, was a character in more than one Pournelle or Pournelle and Niven story. Also regulars were Jerry’s most frequent collaborator Larry Niven and his wife Marilyn “Fuzzy Pink” Niven (the nickname is based on her preference in sweaters) and Steven Barnes, a frequent Niven and occasional Niven and Pournelle collaborator.
The libertarian economist David Friedman dropped in from time to time as well. He and Jerry were both major Rudyard Kipling fans and both had stentorian voices. Whenever both were present at a meeting it was nearly inevitable that at least one “duet” session of Kipling poetry recitation – from memory – would occur. Both men seemed to have committed Kipling’s entire poetic oeuvre to memory. It was an act the pair could easily have taken on the road and charged admission for.