look at richard go! wow! don't steelman every dumb thing with chatgpt
May 3, 2026 at 6:53 PM
look at richard go! wow! don't steelman every dumb thing with chatgpt
yeah we really, really do not have an obligation to steelman this one
March 10, 2025 at 1:23 PM
yeah we really, really do not have an obligation to steelman this one
one must steelman the empire. even if it were "at its strongest" it must be opposed
January 3, 2026 at 2:33 PM
one must steelman the empire. even if it were "at its strongest" it must be opposed
oh n-n-n-no, a strawman! i’m so sorry i didn’t steelman the case for biological racism
November 8, 2025 at 11:22 AM
oh n-n-n-no, a strawman! i’m so sorry i didn’t steelman the case for biological racism
I can't even steelman this. He's straightforwardly both. ?????
July 3, 2025 at 10:40 PM
I can't even steelman this. He's straightforwardly both. ?????
Looking, again, for a steelman view of this. Is there ANY plausible argument that we didn’t just kill a bunch of people to no purpose and hand a giant geopolitical victory to an extremist regime after making it more entrenched and more extreme?
April 8, 2026 at 1:07 AM
Looking, again, for a steelman view of this. Is there ANY plausible argument that we didn’t just kill a bunch of people to no purpose and hand a giant geopolitical victory to an extremist regime after making it more entrenched and more extreme?
Under Biden, inflation was presented as being akin to a recession or depression. Under Trump they steelman his insane stagflationary policies, offering more coherent rationalizations for them than Trump is able to make for himself:
Sweeping tariffs are expected to raise the cost of cars, electronics, metals, lumber, pharmaceuticals and other products from overseas. But President Trump and his advisers are betting that it can sell an inflation-weary public on a provocative idea: Cheap stuff is not the American dream.
Trump’s Tariff Agenda Bets on Americans Giving Up Cheap Goods
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argues that the American dream is about more than cheap televisions, but inflation-weary consumers might disagree.
www.nytimes.com
March 31, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Under Biden, inflation was presented as being akin to a recession or depression. Under Trump they steelman his insane stagflationary policies, offering more coherent rationalizations for them than Trump is able to make for himself:
Strawman vs Steelman!
June 19, 2024 at 3:44 PM
Strawman vs Steelman!
What's the steelman argument that a spokesperson acting in their official capacity should *ever* be granted anonymity?
The Denver Post stands firm when a flack for the federal government tries to go on background.
The NY Times? Well, not so much.
Via today’s Laurels/Darts.
www.cjr.org/laurels-and-...
The NY Times? Well, not so much.
Via today’s Laurels/Darts.
www.cjr.org/laurels-and-...
July 18, 2025 at 3:08 PM
What's the steelman argument that a spokesperson acting in their official capacity should *ever* be granted anonymity?
So let’s try to steelman this. Is there any data showing any degradation of combat function of any kind as a result of any of the things Hegseth is mad about?
September 30, 2025 at 2:23 PM
So let’s try to steelman this. Is there any data showing any degradation of combat function of any kind as a result of any of the things Hegseth is mad about?
its frustrating how many people seem desperate to steelman this instead of offering the real explanation: trump and musk are incompetent thieves and are wrecking the country then making excuses.
Presidents usually don't like to even say the word "recession." President Trump and members of his administration recently have sounded like they might actually welcome one.
I took a look at why, and who would bear the consequences:
🎁: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/b... #EconSky
I took a look at why, and who would bear the consequences:
🎁: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/b... #EconSky
Trump Says a Recession Would Be Worth It, but Economists Are Skeptical (Gift Article)
President Trump and his advisers say his policies may cause short-term pain but will produce big gains over time. Many economists are skeptical of those arguments.
www.nytimes.com
March 18, 2025 at 3:54 PM
its frustrating how many people seem desperate to steelman this instead of offering the real explanation: trump and musk are incompetent thieves and are wrecking the country then making excuses.
Ok. If you wanted to steelman this — to critique the best argument, most plausibly stated, for this war — who has articulated it?
(I don’t expect it would be anyone in the administration)
(I don’t expect it would be anyone in the administration)
February 28, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Ok. If you wanted to steelman this — to critique the best argument, most plausibly stated, for this war — who has articulated it?
(I don’t expect it would be anyone in the administration)
(I don’t expect it would be anyone in the administration)
I think it is pretty obvious that all these attempts to steelman the refusal to hold Israel accountable in 2023-2024 are ipso facto also preemptive arguments for not doing so in 2029 and it is strange how people are being coy about that
September 30, 2026 at 6:19 PM
I think it is pretty obvious that all these attempts to steelman the refusal to hold Israel accountable in 2023-2024 are ipso facto also preemptive arguments for not doing so in 2029 and it is strange how people are being coy about that
"steelman" culture is just dishonesty. there is no one who holds the reasonable views which media liberals propose conservatives believe in. they are wholly a rhetorical construct of the center-left. a figment we can shadowbox to avoid confronting what conservatives actually believe.
September 17, 2025 at 6:14 AM
"steelman" culture is just dishonesty. there is no one who holds the reasonable views which media liberals propose conservatives believe in. they are wholly a rhetorical construct of the center-left. a figment we can shadowbox to avoid confronting what conservatives actually believe.
Trump is raising taxes on working people in order to lower the top tax rates on high income earners. His own economic advisors admit it, openly. Will the media tell voters this fact or will they steelman a more appealing, imaginary rationale.
new Trump head of the Council of Economic Advisors btw
April 3, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Trump is raising taxes on working people in order to lower the top tax rates on high income earners. His own economic advisors admit it, openly. Will the media tell voters this fact or will they steelman a more appealing, imaginary rationale.
Can somebody steelman breathing oxygen for me?
May 19, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Can somebody steelman breathing oxygen for me?
okay what’s the steelman case against Mamdani
May 27, 2025 at 2:02 PM
okay what’s the steelman case against Mamdani
no I think this is absolutely a decent steelman argument
in defense: I wonder if the cognitive distortion of tail risk overestimation is happening
- the chance of seeing a video of at least one PoC targeted by DHS at a protest is high
- the mean chance of a registrant (even PoC) of being targeted is vastly lower than Will's
both can be true
- the chance of seeing a video of at least one PoC targeted by DHS at a protest is high
- the mean chance of a registrant (even PoC) of being targeted is vastly lower than Will's
both can be true
September 19, 2025 at 6:20 AM
no I think this is absolutely a decent steelman argument
the steelman version of this is that Tucker is only doing this because he thinks AES is antisemitic, which is broadly correct as to why Tucker is doing this and extremely misleading in that AES is not antisemitic
September 12, 2026 at 6:02 PM
the steelman version of this is that Tucker is only doing this because he thinks AES is antisemitic, which is broadly correct as to why Tucker is doing this and extremely misleading in that AES is not antisemitic
This is the wild part about the whole Trump experience, even when he says politically disastrous things, reporters rush in to fill in the blanks and steelman his arguments. As soon as they cut away from him saying “we’ll run it,” they cut to someone saying “obviously he didn't mean that.”
January 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM
This is the wild part about the whole Trump experience, even when he says politically disastrous things, reporters rush in to fill in the blanks and steelman his arguments. As soon as they cut away from him saying “we’ll run it,” they cut to someone saying “obviously he didn't mean that.”
honestly says a lot that they had to go to Noah Smith, who for all his sins is no Trumper, to find an economist they thought might steelman Trump's policies
If you're wondering how those articles get written
October 12, 2024 at 1:05 AM
honestly says a lot that they had to go to Noah Smith, who for all his sins is no Trumper, to find an economist they thought might steelman Trump's policies
Incompetent, botched, or traitorous. Those are your available explanations for Trump's treatment of Zelensky. Yet the media continues to bend over backwards to steelman Trump's obvious incapability and pro-Putin sympathies as being about something else. Why?
NEW. Trump poll nos. on foreign policy tanking 📉
‼️ Unlike Trump, Americans personally sympathize more w Ukraine overRussia by 56-3
👀 Disapprove Trump's foreign policy by 13 pts (50% to 37 %); in Jan they approved 39% to 37%.
Ambushing Zelensky at Oval despite propaganda looks to be a disaster.
‼️ Unlike Trump, Americans personally sympathize more w Ukraine overRussia by 56-3
👀 Disapprove Trump's foreign policy by 13 pts (50% to 37 %); in Jan they approved 39% to 37%.
Ambushing Zelensky at Oval despite propaganda looks to be a disaster.
Analysis | Americans don’t love Trump’s methods on Ukraine
They increasingly support a negotiated end to the war and even territorial concessions to Russia — but not necessarily like this.
www.washingtonpost.com
March 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Incompetent, botched, or traitorous. Those are your available explanations for Trump's treatment of Zelensky. Yet the media continues to bend over backwards to steelman Trump's obvious incapability and pro-Putin sympathies as being about something else. Why?
Anyhow, this is what my green growth steelman looks like.
Green growth doesn't depend on joules of energy used in production, it only depends on energy's production price. The idea is that 'green' energy becomes cheaper than fossil fuel energy, hence increases in productivity without increases in fossil fuel combustion.
September 27, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Anyhow, this is what my green growth steelman looks like.
in my experience the rationalists don't actually steelman very much, they just talk a lot about doing it. When did they ever steelman the critiques of racism or sexism?
August 16, 2026 at 4:02 PM
in my experience the rationalists don't actually steelman very much, they just talk a lot about doing it. When did they ever steelman the critiques of racism or sexism?