If we treat Twitter as too big to fail, we will play into the hands of Musk, tfg and the like. You write that Twitter is an essential tool. Russia has been an essential provider of energy to Europe. Look where that got us. Ukraine is going to make it through despite Russia’s plunging its brave citizens into the darkness and cold of winter without a public water supply. Surely we can exit Twitter en masse and let the creatures of the swamp frolic in polluted waters. I subscribe to this blog and that of Joyce Vance, and you are noticing a steep decline in Twitter traffic. So be it. Let truth flow like pure, clean water and find other channels to flow. We, your readers, can certainly promote you in other online media. Trump’s return to Twitter is simply unacceptable to this reader. I will not support that platform.
To be clear, I am no fan of Twitter. As I said, "sadly," Twitter has become an essential tool of academics and scientists--not to gossip, but to share research, engage in dialog about preliminary results, organize conferences, etc. Many have used Twitter as their research archive--a mistake of huge proportions. It would be a little like all public libraries burning down for a subset of highly respected researchers. But most is garbage and hate. I hope it fails--and somebody buys the ashes.
Nonsense. Twitter is not remotely an essential tool for anything except hate speech and disinformation. As an obvious example, I give you the Covid 19 pandemic.
I assume you don't know any young, aspiring academics who are eager to share their research with the world but can't get published in Nature because they aren't tenured professors at R-1 universities. It is a much more complicated question than you suggest.
And while I agree with you that Twitter is a home for hate speech and disinformation, it is objectively wrong to say that is all that Twitter is. We can disagree on the solution, but we need to be able to agree on the facts. If you believe that Twitter is ONLY a home for hate speech and disinformation, it seems that you have never been on Twitter.
I completely agree with this. I have perhaps put out three "tweets" in my life, so my exiting the platform will not make a dent. But I am completely fed up with having to see Musk, Trump, and Co. throwing tantrums and ranting about their brilliance. It is sickening. The mass shooting in Colorado Springs just about put me over the edge. As a tax-paying, civil citizen I believe I have the right not to be subjected to hate speech, intolerance, bigotry, and bullying from the likes of Musk and Trump. I sent out another l00 get-out-the-vote postcards for Warnock on Friday which means I've sent out almost 1,000 such cards since July. We need responsible, intelligent, and self-controlled individuals at the helm, not a bunch of overgrown toddlers. I hope those thousands of technically trained folks who Musk fired can figure out how to create a better platform dedicated to doing some good in the world.
I love the honesty of Charles Blow. He in my opinion Blow is right but unfortunately many people are addicted to the platform. If advertisers abandon Tweeter maybe it will change but Musk like Trump will never admit he made a mistake.
I'm always rather horrified to learn that people can become "addicted" to a platform, especially one like Twitter. There's such a bright world out there. Wouldn't it work better just to take a walk with a friend and enjoy some fresh air?
I am one of those who are addicted to Twitter but not to the Muskrat. Twitter does provide information that one simply does not get from mainstream media. It also has connected people with others from other countries and it is in real time. The news is reported in REAL TIME! No waiting for talking heads to spin their versions of what’s happening. That is my attraction, the magnet that draws me in. I want to be informed. I want to form my own opinions. I want to speak our. Without Twitter the #MeToo movement would not have been as strong in changing the rules of how men treat women in the workplace. And what about the FBI being able to pull tweets from the MAGAts who were storming our Capitol?
I too, want Musk to lose control of Twitter but I don’t want to see it burn. I want to see it rise again but without the hate speech. Musk and his Pro-Rape Partiers couldn’t stand that the Dems/liberals had a place to share our beliefs. Damn them! DAMN THEM!
channel I am hopeful that the braintrust that left (or were fired) from Twitter use their knowledge and talent to form a new social media channel for Lawrence Tribe et al and scientific and academic communities that is properly curated to prevent hate speech, propaganda and disinformation. In the meantime, I deleted my account as soon as it was announced Trump would be allowed back on Twitter. I will not support any company that supports hate and/or the right-wingnut overthrow of our government.
Hopefully Afrikaner war crimes profiteer Musk (his family made their money in the Blood Diamonds and Conflict Gems trade after stealing the ruby and emerald deposits of Zimbabwe when it was run as Rhodesia) will go down surrounded by flames as Twitter dies, followed by his Tinny Toy Company now that Teslas are not the Official Rich Lib'rul Car anymore.
As to Lauren Boebert, any thoughts I have about that professional juvenile delinquent and statutory rape enthusiast will have to be filed under "If my thought dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in guillotine."
Sadly, the only thing that surprises me about last night's crime against humanity is that something like that didn't happen in the New Jerusalem of the far far (non)Christian Fundamentalist Right long ago. I told a gay friend who was thinking of moving there 20 years ago that he might as well move into the lion house at the zoo and unlock the cages. Colorado Springs was a nice place to visit my grandparents who lived there when I was a kid, but it got swarmed by the scum 40 years ago. There was the Vineyard Church scandal with "Rev" Ted Haggard, the meth-snorting gay who hired gay prostitutes then fulminated against gays in his "church," there are the constant Fundie scandals at the Chair Farce Academy that Mikey Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation are always suing them over, James Dobson's Focus on the Family preaching "beat the gay out of your kid." The place is just terrible nowadays.
Why is it that “Christian” evil always has redemption as the “get out of jail free card?” They are the ones who should face the firing squad first, as they do more damage than the average bear. As to Musk, Autism Spectrum Disorder is no excuse. May he suffer an Asperger’s meltdown and spare us all from suffering along with him. Personally, I think that the rarified air that he breathed as an entitled rich kid with precious few boundaries made his genius into the threat he is today; be careful NASA, partnering with crazy can bite you. Twitter warns…
I do not like Musk because of how he manages his organizations. I do not begrudge him for being successful and taking risks and benefiting from his intellect but if his actions wether it’s Tweeter or Tesla are harmful to his employees or the public I have a problem with that and he has to be held accountable.
I so agree with you. There is nothing Christian about any of these groups. Nothing. If they had a moral compass they would leave other people alone and concentrate on loving and serving the poor in spirit and in the pocketbook. So disgusted by entitled rich people. Gag me with a spoon.
I don't know if Musk is an Afrikaner or not but I am and it sounds like you're using Afrikaner as an epithet. That's like using Black, or German, or Sicilian as an epithet. You subtract from yourself and your credibility.
There's also the additional fact that the family is unrepentant over their active participation in the crimes committed by the former government. They didn't take any part in the Truth and Reconciliation. They're your equivalent of Unreconstructed Confederates. If you're here reading this substack you're a far better person than they are.
You may be good, and I am sure you are. But the Afrikaners I am talking about are the scum who wrecked southern Africa until they were defanged. You know them better than I do. They're like talking about the Southern Confederate scum here.
Somewhat. You might try to imagine what it was like as a white person of conscience - Afrikaner, British or other - living under that fascist system for over forty years, years in which the Nationalist Party had gerrymandered themselves into every seat in Parliament but one.
Be fair in the future in your use of the word Afrikaner.
I have learned. Thank you. From now on I shall use a term similar to what I use about that variety of southerner here. "Unreconstructed Afrikaner nationalist"
I appreciate how you prioritize the covering of the ongoing crises of our world, and the “wildfires” that the right-wing nuts are forever setting. No one could do it better. I share your outrage. As a former jr. High counselor, I saw the torment that the “others” went through trying to fit in to a world that mocked and reviled them. The “children” that Boebert is concerned about includes some that she mocks and reviles. Piss on her and the horse she rode in on. No living creature needs her approval to be what they are, and to be valued by society.
Sadly, Ted Kennedy, in an effort to be bipartisan, was played by W and the Repub wannabe humans after 2000, and we are paying the price. Alito is the inquisition resurrected; a danger to each and every one of us.
As to Musk, well, may he flame out and never rise again. Such clever evil can unleash the hounds of hell, all in the name of free speech. Wake up, Bill Maher, don’t sanction this evil because he pretends to support issues that are dear to your heart. He will rot all who go near.
Does anyone remember the "nice" Christmas card Boebert sent out with all four of her children holding rifles in front of the Christmas tree? "Piss on her and the horse she rode in on." Well said.
Get off Twitter. Academia and Society in general existed for Millenia without Twitter. Great things have been accomplished before that app. My bet is great things might increase without the incessant micromanaging of our brains. How much of the tapping and tapping and tapping is essential? It started out as a great and fun thing but it has devolved into something dark.
Again, no fan of Twitter here. But it has allowed younger researchers to share results and gain respect that the ossified academic, tenure-based system does not permit (or encourage). I hope Twitter fails and is reborn as a responsible media platform without the trolls and haters.
Thank you for highlighting the Colorado shooting. As Joyce Vance always says at the end of her posts, we’re in this together. The Supremes have overstepped in recent weeks, especially Judge Thomas. It is time to step up efforts to reform the Court. You are so right to call out the evil and vanity that is Elon Musk. I don’t know why it has taken so long to realize what a lizard he really is.
We will have balance only when the media quits giving all the oxygen to the hate mongers because hate produces clicks which makes more money for the conservative billionaires who own most of the media. Those same billionaires are forcing their righteous self-serving view of the world on the rest of us. I don't want to see a dozen photos of Trump while the commentators go into ad nauseum detail on his latest legal "problem". We need to be using positive psychology which focuses on how we achieve well-being for all. Instead of spending all our focus on the illnesses of the world we need to show what wellness looks like and how to get there. Instead of "I"llness let's focus on "We"llness. Let's spend more time on preventative care and actions. Hate is the mental obesity of our society. Let's go on a diet of love and caring and making the world a better place for our neighbors. We, the People, all of us not I the greedy this time.
I am 79 years old. I have never used Twitter or Facebook. It may be heresy, but I believe the world would be better off without any social media at all. I do recognize some benefits, for government communications to citizens about emergencies and other matters of health and economic concerns. But these benefits are overwhelmed by harm to children and the free, instant communication of hateful messages - to say nothing of simple lies. Surely there must be other ways for governments to communicate easily and instantaneously with citizens. To say Twitter enables free speech is nonsense. We got along fine without it for more than 250 years. Newspapers, TV, computers and email, and even photocopiers. (No, I don’t mean soap boxes in Hyde Park!) As for the ease of getting Professor Tribe’s opinions, is that really such a loss? Yes, they are brilliant and even helpful. But he will continue to publish. The country, and constitutional law, will survive. I say: Let Twitter sink. In six months we won’t miss it.
I appreciate your point of view and don't entirely disagree. However it would be surprising in this day and age if Twitter or some similar company were not in existence. That said, I believe it was Kara Swisher who recently made a comment on TV that Twitter's current calamitous lurches have instigated interest from aspiring replacements. If tech savvy entrepreneurs with integrity were to introduce an appealing substitute that promised and delivered strong controls over hate speech and outright lies, it would be a huge improvement for society. They certainly wouldn't lack for qualified workers with previous experience on Twitter.
You can't say enough bad things about "My Kevin" McCarthy. I only wish the voters in his CA-23 district saw him as I do: a groveling opportunist solely interested in money and power to the exclusion of anything bi-partisan, reasonable, or even patriotic. To see him swimming in the MAGA trenches and tropes for a chance to hold the Speaker's gavel is really mind-blowing. It must be hard being him (or being related to him I'd guess). He'll go down in history, but maybe not as he hopes.
Qevin is an embarrASSment to us in CA. He was challenged by a school teacher and sadly, she didn’t even come close to defeating him. I contributed to her campaign. Sigh...
In 2022, Kevin McCarthy won in newly redrawn CA-20 with 67.6%. It is a very red Central Valley district anchored in Bakersfield. https://ballotpedia.org/California%27s_20th_Congressional_District. I doubt his District will flip any time soon. The best way to get McCarthy out of the Speakership will be to defeat more House Republican's in "swingier" districts than his in 2024. Now is the time to get start getting educated on which districts those are near you are susceptible to a flip with the right "level of effort". Ballotpedia is a great resource - but its page on the US Congress shows the 117th Congress (current). The 118th Congress won't go into action until after inauguration day in January. But, if you bookmark this page (with a handy map) you can check out your new members of Congress in January. And, we all need a break anyway (right after we win the Senate Runoff in Georgia!). https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Congress
I don't want to skip the good news. There was a White House wedding this weekend. It looked beautiful and normal and family. The pictures were so pretty.
Dems are accused of “being soft on crime”. Yes, it is the Republicans who are soft on the NRA, soft assault weapons, soft on whatever makes it easier to kill more people more swiftly.
Thanks, Annette. This article about De Santis is well worth reading. I was especially struck by reference to Hillsdale College as a go to place for instilling and funding fascio-christian ideology. This Michigan college backs an expanding network of private AND PUBLIC charter schools. Three are in Colorado. One is a few miles south of us in the far right education privatization cesspool of Douglas County. Yes, there are many fine people living there, but it's been polluted by fascist forces. I am alarmed in part because they lure unaware parents with dishonest marketing.
The hypocrisy of the GOP and faux Christianity have never been so severe. Jesus, a Jew, said everything we need to know from his Sermon in the mount, and as He wept seeing the grave of Lazarus so would he weep at the the nightclub in Colorado Springs. One of his two commandments “Love thy neighbor as thyself” is the least followed by the Christian right today. I rarely write about religion but it has become such a negative driving force both in our national and international politics. Our founding fathers, imperfect as they were created a wall between church and state. That wall is being torn down by hate. We build democracy brick by brick and reconstruct this wall. Democracy as the great philosopher John Dewey would say is based on truth. To take a sports analogy, democracy is not a Hail Mary pass touchdown but rather “three yards and a cloud of dust”, your are bruised, tired and covered with mud during the game but you are pushing the ball of democracy forward. As always Robert an outstanding analysis and the comments below so enriching! Thanks all!
Actually I think most Americans have lost there ability for outrage and are exhausted because we are inundated every day with outrages behaviors and comments. Think about in the past few days we have had a shooting in Colorado, Trump returning to Tweeter, allegations of leaks at the Supreme Court and a hosts of threats of retribution from leading House Republicans. It seems like it’s non stop all the time 24/7 and frankly we are all worn out and wanting an answer to a simple question “ when will it stop? “. I thought the election results would be a signal to Republican’s to tone done the rhetoric and pay attention to voters but obviously that is not the case. Deep down I think many voters are waiting for accountability from the DOJ, from Congress on the inherent bias in the Supreme Court and Ginny Thomas and a host of fringe Republican legislators who are potentially inciting voter hatred and discrimination with inflammatory comments. People died on January 6th, in several mass shootings at schools and nightclubs all because of inflammatory rhetoric and no accountability. I am hoping many people and the media feel the same way and we start to move towards more appropriate behavior.
While I can't speak for others, I have the sense from my family and friends, as well as the results of the midterm election, that the majority of us lovers of democracy and decency in America are clearly exhausted, but still outraged. The outrage has just taken a slightly different form. Our initial shock and surprise at the sewer-level behavior of those who seek to control this country at any cost, have somewhat dulled because we generally know what to expect from the "We Have No Morals and We Don't Care" Republican party. But the deep, powerful, burning sense continues across this land, that we cannot and will not stand for the pathetic power grab of the rich, empty shells like Leonard Leo who are pulling the strings of the spineless Republican politicians. Our outrage no longer flashes across the national conversation like leaping flames. But the searing coals of resistance, defense and determination to preserve this democracy are still red hot.
Where shall we put our energies? On the great issues of the day -- as you say, a civil and reasonable domestic environment (where people are not incited to mass murder) and the rule based international order we are seeking to restore through support for Ukraine. We should continue to focus on elections: the Georgia US Senate runoff, a special state senate election on January 10 in Virginia, a state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin (non-partisan primary in February, run off in April), and ultimately, 2024. Len Lubinsky -- lenspoliticalnotes.com
I think you're doing a great job striking the right balance in coverage. Keep it up!
With the midterms (mostly) behind us, please maintain the occasional focus on the best volunteering and giving opportunities. I've noticed you tend to give this over to reader comments rather than offer your own opinions. I understand that choice, but I'm especially interested in some dispassionate, data-informed conversation about what volunteering and giving opportunities have been shown to have the most impact.
My own choices are mostly guided by personal preference and gut. On the volunteering side, I host house parties where we write letters and postcards to voters. I don't know that letters are better than calling or texting but I prefer it. On the giving side, I support organizations that build political power, register voters, and organize in community over time. I rarely give to candidates themselves. I'm not sure this is the right call but it feels like a more effective approach to long term political power. Are my choices correct? I don't know.
Bottom line: Our energy level is extraordinarily high but the social science on impact seems to have lagged behind. (Or maybe it's out there and I just don't know it.) You had a post about your exchange with Micah Sifry some months back on this topic. It might be something worth returning to periodically, especially in the short down period before we begin ramping up for the next elections.
Jessica Craven “Chop Wood Carry. Water” has a PDF of all volunteering in Georgia and is generally a good source of information for opportunities. Robert sometimes mentions her or gives a link to her daily newsletter. She always puts in some suggestions about calls to your senators, reps, etc. which take a few minutes but are highly effective — they keep track of calls!
If we treat Twitter as too big to fail, we will play into the hands of Musk, tfg and the like. You write that Twitter is an essential tool. Russia has been an essential provider of energy to Europe. Look where that got us. Ukraine is going to make it through despite Russia’s plunging its brave citizens into the darkness and cold of winter without a public water supply. Surely we can exit Twitter en masse and let the creatures of the swamp frolic in polluted waters. I subscribe to this blog and that of Joyce Vance, and you are noticing a steep decline in Twitter traffic. So be it. Let truth flow like pure, clean water and find other channels to flow. We, your readers, can certainly promote you in other online media. Trump’s return to Twitter is simply unacceptable to this reader. I will not support that platform.
To be clear, I am no fan of Twitter. As I said, "sadly," Twitter has become an essential tool of academics and scientists--not to gossip, but to share research, engage in dialog about preliminary results, organize conferences, etc. Many have used Twitter as their research archive--a mistake of huge proportions. It would be a little like all public libraries burning down for a subset of highly respected researchers. But most is garbage and hate. I hope it fails--and somebody buys the ashes.
Nonsense. Twitter is not remotely an essential tool for anything except hate speech and disinformation. As an obvious example, I give you the Covid 19 pandemic.
Come on, Robert, grow some stones!
I assume you don't know any young, aspiring academics who are eager to share their research with the world but can't get published in Nature because they aren't tenured professors at R-1 universities. It is a much more complicated question than you suggest.
And while I agree with you that Twitter is a home for hate speech and disinformation, it is objectively wrong to say that is all that Twitter is. We can disagree on the solution, but we need to be able to agree on the facts. If you believe that Twitter is ONLY a home for hate speech and disinformation, it seems that you have never been on Twitter.
I completely agree with this. I have perhaps put out three "tweets" in my life, so my exiting the platform will not make a dent. But I am completely fed up with having to see Musk, Trump, and Co. throwing tantrums and ranting about their brilliance. It is sickening. The mass shooting in Colorado Springs just about put me over the edge. As a tax-paying, civil citizen I believe I have the right not to be subjected to hate speech, intolerance, bigotry, and bullying from the likes of Musk and Trump. I sent out another l00 get-out-the-vote postcards for Warnock on Friday which means I've sent out almost 1,000 such cards since July. We need responsible, intelligent, and self-controlled individuals at the helm, not a bunch of overgrown toddlers. I hope those thousands of technically trained folks who Musk fired can figure out how to create a better platform dedicated to doing some good in the world.
A timely article by Charles Blow of the New York Times on quitting Twitter.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/opinion/getting-off-twitter-social-m.html#:~:text=Seven%20Months%20on%20a%20Strict%20Twitter%20Diet
I love the honesty of Charles Blow. He in my opinion Blow is right but unfortunately many people are addicted to the platform. If advertisers abandon Tweeter maybe it will change but Musk like Trump will never admit he made a mistake.
I'm always rather horrified to learn that people can become "addicted" to a platform, especially one like Twitter. There's such a bright world out there. Wouldn't it work better just to take a walk with a friend and enjoy some fresh air?
I walk every single day, approx 2-3 miles, with my dog. I cook, clean, and am retired and married. I still like Twitter.
I am one of those who are addicted to Twitter but not to the Muskrat. Twitter does provide information that one simply does not get from mainstream media. It also has connected people with others from other countries and it is in real time. The news is reported in REAL TIME! No waiting for talking heads to spin their versions of what’s happening. That is my attraction, the magnet that draws me in. I want to be informed. I want to form my own opinions. I want to speak our. Without Twitter the #MeToo movement would not have been as strong in changing the rules of how men treat women in the workplace. And what about the FBI being able to pull tweets from the MAGAts who were storming our Capitol?
I too, want Musk to lose control of Twitter but I don’t want to see it burn. I want to see it rise again but without the hate speech. Musk and his Pro-Rape Partiers couldn’t stand that the Dems/liberals had a place to share our beliefs. Damn them! DAMN THEM!
Dream on. More nonsense justifying addiction.
“I only drink socially.”
channel I am hopeful that the braintrust that left (or were fired) from Twitter use their knowledge and talent to form a new social media channel for Lawrence Tribe et al and scientific and academic communities that is properly curated to prevent hate speech, propaganda and disinformation. In the meantime, I deleted my account as soon as it was announced Trump would be allowed back on Twitter. I will not support any company that supports hate and/or the right-wingnut overthrow of our government.
Thanks
Hopefully Afrikaner war crimes profiteer Musk (his family made their money in the Blood Diamonds and Conflict Gems trade after stealing the ruby and emerald deposits of Zimbabwe when it was run as Rhodesia) will go down surrounded by flames as Twitter dies, followed by his Tinny Toy Company now that Teslas are not the Official Rich Lib'rul Car anymore.
As to Lauren Boebert, any thoughts I have about that professional juvenile delinquent and statutory rape enthusiast will have to be filed under "If my thought dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in guillotine."
Sadly, the only thing that surprises me about last night's crime against humanity is that something like that didn't happen in the New Jerusalem of the far far (non)Christian Fundamentalist Right long ago. I told a gay friend who was thinking of moving there 20 years ago that he might as well move into the lion house at the zoo and unlock the cages. Colorado Springs was a nice place to visit my grandparents who lived there when I was a kid, but it got swarmed by the scum 40 years ago. There was the Vineyard Church scandal with "Rev" Ted Haggard, the meth-snorting gay who hired gay prostitutes then fulminated against gays in his "church," there are the constant Fundie scandals at the Chair Farce Academy that Mikey Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation are always suing them over, James Dobson's Focus on the Family preaching "beat the gay out of your kid." The place is just terrible nowadays.
Why is it that “Christian” evil always has redemption as the “get out of jail free card?” They are the ones who should face the firing squad first, as they do more damage than the average bear. As to Musk, Autism Spectrum Disorder is no excuse. May he suffer an Asperger’s meltdown and spare us all from suffering along with him. Personally, I think that the rarified air that he breathed as an entitled rich kid with precious few boundaries made his genius into the threat he is today; be careful NASA, partnering with crazy can bite you. Twitter warns…
I do not like Musk because of how he manages his organizations. I do not begrudge him for being successful and taking risks and benefiting from his intellect but if his actions wether it’s Tweeter or Tesla are harmful to his employees or the public I have a problem with that and he has to be held accountable.
I so agree with you. There is nothing Christian about any of these groups. Nothing. If they had a moral compass they would leave other people alone and concentrate on loving and serving the poor in spirit and in the pocketbook. So disgusted by entitled rich people. Gag me with a spoon.
I don't know if Musk is an Afrikaner or not but I am and it sounds like you're using Afrikaner as an epithet. That's like using Black, or German, or Sicilian as an epithet. You subtract from yourself and your credibility.
There's also the additional fact that the family is unrepentant over their active participation in the crimes committed by the former government. They didn't take any part in the Truth and Reconciliation. They're your equivalent of Unreconstructed Confederates. If you're here reading this substack you're a far better person than they are.
You may be good, and I am sure you are. But the Afrikaners I am talking about are the scum who wrecked southern Africa until they were defanged. You know them better than I do. They're like talking about the Southern Confederate scum here.
If that's what you meant then you should have said that rather than tarring everyone else with the same brush.
Well, I did finally. Didn't I?
Somewhat. You might try to imagine what it was like as a white person of conscience - Afrikaner, British or other - living under that fascist system for over forty years, years in which the Nationalist Party had gerrymandered themselves into every seat in Parliament but one.
Be fair in the future in your use of the word Afrikaner.
I have learned. Thank you. From now on I shall use a term similar to what I use about that variety of southerner here. "Unreconstructed Afrikaner nationalist"
I appreciate how you prioritize the covering of the ongoing crises of our world, and the “wildfires” that the right-wing nuts are forever setting. No one could do it better. I share your outrage. As a former jr. High counselor, I saw the torment that the “others” went through trying to fit in to a world that mocked and reviled them. The “children” that Boebert is concerned about includes some that she mocks and reviles. Piss on her and the horse she rode in on. No living creature needs her approval to be what they are, and to be valued by society.
Sadly, Ted Kennedy, in an effort to be bipartisan, was played by W and the Repub wannabe humans after 2000, and we are paying the price. Alito is the inquisition resurrected; a danger to each and every one of us.
As to Musk, well, may he flame out and never rise again. Such clever evil can unleash the hounds of hell, all in the name of free speech. Wake up, Bill Maher, don’t sanction this evil because he pretends to support issues that are dear to your heart. He will rot all who go near.
Does anyone remember the "nice" Christmas card Boebert sent out with all four of her children holding rifles in front of the Christmas tree? "Piss on her and the horse she rode in on." Well said.
Get off Twitter. Academia and Society in general existed for Millenia without Twitter. Great things have been accomplished before that app. My bet is great things might increase without the incessant micromanaging of our brains. How much of the tapping and tapping and tapping is essential? It started out as a great and fun thing but it has devolved into something dark.
Again, no fan of Twitter here. But it has allowed younger researchers to share results and gain respect that the ossified academic, tenure-based system does not permit (or encourage). I hope Twitter fails and is reborn as a responsible media platform without the trolls and haters.
I think too that youth believe their life is inside a computer...and it's damaging. They need to go outside.
If Twitter collapses they'll find something else. I respect it's part of their culture and lives.
I love this!!! Thanks.
Thank you for highlighting the Colorado shooting. As Joyce Vance always says at the end of her posts, we’re in this together. The Supremes have overstepped in recent weeks, especially Judge Thomas. It is time to step up efforts to reform the Court. You are so right to call out the evil and vanity that is Elon Musk. I don’t know why it has taken so long to realize what a lizard he really is.
Because rich people are worshiped in this country as deities.
And they are least deserving
You're right and I'm fed up with it. They aren't and we need to get over this. On that note, I'm going outside and plant so daffodils.
Lizard is being kind
Thank you always, Robert Hubbell, and this Community for keeping Hope alive.
Joyce Vance is also profound, encouraging, she supports the Special Counsel and interprets convincingly.
LOooved her “Counting Chickens” piece -- adorable, charming, unmissable.
I just go around the house and turn over every magazine we have that has his face or any of the other creeps face down.
We will have balance only when the media quits giving all the oxygen to the hate mongers because hate produces clicks which makes more money for the conservative billionaires who own most of the media. Those same billionaires are forcing their righteous self-serving view of the world on the rest of us. I don't want to see a dozen photos of Trump while the commentators go into ad nauseum detail on his latest legal "problem". We need to be using positive psychology which focuses on how we achieve well-being for all. Instead of spending all our focus on the illnesses of the world we need to show what wellness looks like and how to get there. Instead of "I"llness let's focus on "We"llness. Let's spend more time on preventative care and actions. Hate is the mental obesity of our society. Let's go on a diet of love and caring and making the world a better place for our neighbors. We, the People, all of us not I the greedy this time.
What a great comment. I'm going to plant my first daffodils in honor of you!
Thank you, Susan. I'm delighted to be honored with daffodils!
Just finished planting them five minutes ago. Cheers. Susan
I am 79 years old. I have never used Twitter or Facebook. It may be heresy, but I believe the world would be better off without any social media at all. I do recognize some benefits, for government communications to citizens about emergencies and other matters of health and economic concerns. But these benefits are overwhelmed by harm to children and the free, instant communication of hateful messages - to say nothing of simple lies. Surely there must be other ways for governments to communicate easily and instantaneously with citizens. To say Twitter enables free speech is nonsense. We got along fine without it for more than 250 years. Newspapers, TV, computers and email, and even photocopiers. (No, I don’t mean soap boxes in Hyde Park!) As for the ease of getting Professor Tribe’s opinions, is that really such a loss? Yes, they are brilliant and even helpful. But he will continue to publish. The country, and constitutional law, will survive. I say: Let Twitter sink. In six months we won’t miss it.
I appreciate your point of view and don't entirely disagree. However it would be surprising in this day and age if Twitter or some similar company were not in existence. That said, I believe it was Kara Swisher who recently made a comment on TV that Twitter's current calamitous lurches have instigated interest from aspiring replacements. If tech savvy entrepreneurs with integrity were to introduce an appealing substitute that promised and delivered strong controls over hate speech and outright lies, it would be a huge improvement for society. They certainly wouldn't lack for qualified workers with previous experience on Twitter.
My sentiments precisely.
Agreed and well said.
It’s the anonymity of social media along with its Immediacy that I find troubling.
Thank you!
You can't say enough bad things about "My Kevin" McCarthy. I only wish the voters in his CA-23 district saw him as I do: a groveling opportunist solely interested in money and power to the exclusion of anything bi-partisan, reasonable, or even patriotic. To see him swimming in the MAGA trenches and tropes for a chance to hold the Speaker's gavel is really mind-blowing. It must be hard being him (or being related to him I'd guess). He'll go down in history, but maybe not as he hopes.
Qevin is an embarrASSment to us in CA. He was challenged by a school teacher and sadly, she didn’t even come close to defeating him. I contributed to her campaign. Sigh...
In 2022, Kevin McCarthy won in newly redrawn CA-20 with 67.6%. It is a very red Central Valley district anchored in Bakersfield. https://ballotpedia.org/California%27s_20th_Congressional_District. I doubt his District will flip any time soon. The best way to get McCarthy out of the Speakership will be to defeat more House Republican's in "swingier" districts than his in 2024. Now is the time to get start getting educated on which districts those are near you are susceptible to a flip with the right "level of effort". Ballotpedia is a great resource - but its page on the US Congress shows the 117th Congress (current). The 118th Congress won't go into action until after inauguration day in January. But, if you bookmark this page (with a handy map) you can check out your new members of Congress in January. And, we all need a break anyway (right after we win the Senate Runoff in Georgia!). https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Congress
Wise point, Kathleen, to look for swingier districts, as we work smarter, like The States Project. Keep us posted with your updates!
Yep, a very red district! Thanks for the info.
He's your typical GOP shill for big business interests at all costs.
But what gets me is his apparent amorality
Yeah it's like he has so willingly given up his humanity.
You can see the virtue in splitting CA into 2 states, basically East and West of the I-5
I don't want to skip the good news. There was a White House wedding this weekend. It looked beautiful and normal and family. The pictures were so pretty.
I really enjoyed this event.
Dems are accused of “being soft on crime”. Yes, it is the Republicans who are soft on the NRA, soft assault weapons, soft on whatever makes it easier to kill more people more swiftly.
The Reps are the softies on crime.
Robert mentioned Ron DeSantis, and the hate he has nurtured. So I am posting an excellent opinion piece from yesterday’s Tampa Bay Times. Although it is long, it is one of the best descriptions of this fascist wanna be that I have read. The author’s son went to Yale with DeSantis, so the insights are spot on. https://edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dynamic_article_popover.aspx?artguid=8dcbc388-d872-4ec6-a4cf-2fffee02d491&appcode=TAM751&eguid=bc636601-ba8c-430c-be00-28007bb5bfa7&pnum=233#
Thanks for the link. Very helpful.
Thanks, Annette. This article about De Santis is well worth reading. I was especially struck by reference to Hillsdale College as a go to place for instilling and funding fascio-christian ideology. This Michigan college backs an expanding network of private AND PUBLIC charter schools. Three are in Colorado. One is a few miles south of us in the far right education privatization cesspool of Douglas County. Yes, there are many fine people living there, but it's been polluted by fascist forces. I am alarmed in part because they lure unaware parents with dishonest marketing.
Thanks,Annette.Excellent writing and spot on. Barry Golson has DeSantis pegged…
What a great article I read every word. I wouldn't live in Florida right now even if you paid for my house.
The hypocrisy of the GOP and faux Christianity have never been so severe. Jesus, a Jew, said everything we need to know from his Sermon in the mount, and as He wept seeing the grave of Lazarus so would he weep at the the nightclub in Colorado Springs. One of his two commandments “Love thy neighbor as thyself” is the least followed by the Christian right today. I rarely write about religion but it has become such a negative driving force both in our national and international politics. Our founding fathers, imperfect as they were created a wall between church and state. That wall is being torn down by hate. We build democracy brick by brick and reconstruct this wall. Democracy as the great philosopher John Dewey would say is based on truth. To take a sports analogy, democracy is not a Hail Mary pass touchdown but rather “three yards and a cloud of dust”, your are bruised, tired and covered with mud during the game but you are pushing the ball of democracy forward. As always Robert an outstanding analysis and the comments below so enriching! Thanks all!
Actually I think most Americans have lost there ability for outrage and are exhausted because we are inundated every day with outrages behaviors and comments. Think about in the past few days we have had a shooting in Colorado, Trump returning to Tweeter, allegations of leaks at the Supreme Court and a hosts of threats of retribution from leading House Republicans. It seems like it’s non stop all the time 24/7 and frankly we are all worn out and wanting an answer to a simple question “ when will it stop? “. I thought the election results would be a signal to Republican’s to tone done the rhetoric and pay attention to voters but obviously that is not the case. Deep down I think many voters are waiting for accountability from the DOJ, from Congress on the inherent bias in the Supreme Court and Ginny Thomas and a host of fringe Republican legislators who are potentially inciting voter hatred and discrimination with inflammatory comments. People died on January 6th, in several mass shootings at schools and nightclubs all because of inflammatory rhetoric and no accountability. I am hoping many people and the media feel the same way and we start to move towards more appropriate behavior.
While I can't speak for others, I have the sense from my family and friends, as well as the results of the midterm election, that the majority of us lovers of democracy and decency in America are clearly exhausted, but still outraged. The outrage has just taken a slightly different form. Our initial shock and surprise at the sewer-level behavior of those who seek to control this country at any cost, have somewhat dulled because we generally know what to expect from the "We Have No Morals and We Don't Care" Republican party. But the deep, powerful, burning sense continues across this land, that we cannot and will not stand for the pathetic power grab of the rich, empty shells like Leonard Leo who are pulling the strings of the spineless Republican politicians. Our outrage no longer flashes across the national conversation like leaping flames. But the searing coals of resistance, defense and determination to preserve this democracy are still red hot.
Where shall we put our energies? On the great issues of the day -- as you say, a civil and reasonable domestic environment (where people are not incited to mass murder) and the rule based international order we are seeking to restore through support for Ukraine. We should continue to focus on elections: the Georgia US Senate runoff, a special state senate election on January 10 in Virginia, a state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin (non-partisan primary in February, run off in April), and ultimately, 2024. Len Lubinsky -- lenspoliticalnotes.com
We need to remember what Mr. Hubbell says:
"guns kill 3,500 children and teens per year, but books and drag shows kill none."
I think you're doing a great job striking the right balance in coverage. Keep it up!
With the midterms (mostly) behind us, please maintain the occasional focus on the best volunteering and giving opportunities. I've noticed you tend to give this over to reader comments rather than offer your own opinions. I understand that choice, but I'm especially interested in some dispassionate, data-informed conversation about what volunteering and giving opportunities have been shown to have the most impact.
My own choices are mostly guided by personal preference and gut. On the volunteering side, I host house parties where we write letters and postcards to voters. I don't know that letters are better than calling or texting but I prefer it. On the giving side, I support organizations that build political power, register voters, and organize in community over time. I rarely give to candidates themselves. I'm not sure this is the right call but it feels like a more effective approach to long term political power. Are my choices correct? I don't know.
Bottom line: Our energy level is extraordinarily high but the social science on impact seems to have lagged behind. (Or maybe it's out there and I just don't know it.) You had a post about your exchange with Micah Sifry some months back on this topic. It might be something worth returning to periodically, especially in the short down period before we begin ramping up for the next elections.
Thanks for the input, James. Very helpful. And thanks for all you do.
Jessica Craven “Chop Wood Carry. Water” has a PDF of all volunteering in Georgia and is generally a good source of information for opportunities. Robert sometimes mentions her or gives a link to her daily newsletter. She always puts in some suggestions about calls to your senators, reps, etc. which take a few minutes but are highly effective — they keep track of calls!