I can’t remember where I found this link, but it’s a Google doc outlining how we got to our current political situation and what we can do to change the direction our country is going. One paragraph stood out above others, and it bears repeating here because I haven’t seen any of the chuckleheads on TV saying this, and I don’t think I’ve really fully processed what happened yet:

Voters rejected the status quo — they didn’t embrace fascism. The best way to understand this is that voters were given a choice between the status quo and “not the status quo.” President Biden’s approval rating sat under 40% for this entire election season; by wide margins, Americans said the country was on the wrong track, and large majorities cited lingering and intense economic pain due to inflation and the aftermath of COVID. Vice President Harris ran an impressive campaign on an impossible timeline — but she couldn’t overcome the widespread frustration with the incumbent. The result was that a bunch of people chose “not the status quo,” either by voting for Trump or not voting at all.

There’s so much more good stuff in here—I’ve read through it once and my head is kind of full—but I’m going to return to it for a reality check and a roadmap to help make things better.

Date posted: December 8, 2024 | Filed under politics | 3 Comments »

Carole Cadwalladr in the Guardian:

2 Journalists are first, but everyone else is next. Trump has announced multibillion-dollar lawsuits against “the enemy camp”: newspapers and publishers. His proposed FBI director is on record as wanting to prosecute certain journalists. Journalists, publishers, writers, academics are always in the first wave. Doctors, teachers, accountants will be next. Authoritarianism is as predictable as a Swiss train. It’s already later than you think.

5. You have more power than you think. We’re supposed to feel powerless. That’s the strategy. But we’re not. If you’re a US institution or organisation, form an emergency committee. Bring in experts. Learn from people who have lived under authoritarianism. Ask advice.

7. Know who you are. This list is a homage to Yale historian, Timothy Snyder. His On Tyranny, published in 2017, is the essential guide to the age of authoritarianism. His first command, “Do not obey in advance”, is what has been ringing, like tinnitus, in my ears ever since the Washington Post refused to endorse Kamala Harris. In some weird celestial stroke of luck, he calls me as I’m writing this and I ask for his updated advice: “Know what you stand for and what you think is good.”

10. Listen to women of colour. Everything bad that happened on the internet happened to them first. The history of technology is that it is only when it affects white men that it’s considered a problem. Look at how technology is already being used to profile and target immigrants. Know that you’re next.

(via Kottke)

Date posted: November 19, 2024 | Filed under politics | Leave a Comment »

My anxiety levels are rising.

Date posted: November 6, 2024 | Filed under politics | 1 Comment »

NPR is reporting that over 200,000 subscribers have cancelled their subscriptions to The Washington Post after Jeff Bezos prevented the Editorial board from endorsing a candidate for the first time since 1980. This is how democracy dies; people fail to stand up to racists and dictators. Bezos is one of the richest men in the world; the paper should have been set up to weather this kind of thing in spite of his ownership.

Seriously, how hard would it be to set aside a half a billion dollars of that incredible fortune as an endowment for an independent press organization? Why are we consumed by the business-school idea that everything needs to pay for itself or turn a profit, like a business? What if they are just things we pay for that benefit the public?

Date posted: October 28, 2024 | Filed under politics | Leave a Comment »

Richard Benjamin, who now lives in a memory care unit at an assisted living facility, would look forward to the emails and texts, and especially to the ones thanking him for being a true American and patriot when he donated his money. This eventually led him to give about $80,000, leaving him tens of thousands of dollars in debt and his children angry at the campaigns who they say tricked their dad and took advantage of his compromised state of mind.

From CNN: Elderly dementia patients are unwittingly fueling political campaigns. I can confirm this practice firsthand. The day after Election Day, Jen and I are going to work the phones and shut the spigot off for her father.

Date posted: October 22, 2024 | Filed under money, politics, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »

Wow, I’ve never thought of this situation quite this way, but it totally makes sense: John Stoehr argues that Biden let the press corps define him and his campaign (He’s too old, he’s confused, etc.) by making it about vibes and not about substance. Kamala is not giving the Washington press corps unfettered access, engaging them if and when she chooses, thus refusing to let them define her the way they want to. And it’s driving them nuts.

Vibes are this press corps’ forte, not fact and substance. If fact and substance were its strength, there would have been a different reaction to The Disaster Debate during which Biden talked about policy and issues while Trump didn’t bother. Trump was incoherent and false, but he came off as confident and strong, and he came off that way, because the press corps’ forte isn’t fact and substance.

Now that she’s in the race, her campaign is being judicious and strategic about what she says to whom, and it’s working.

This is a democracy. Harris is obliged to talk to Americans. That’s the end of her moral and democratic obligation. She’s not obliged to talk to the press corps, as if it were a constituency.

Date posted: August 15, 2024 | Filed under politics | Leave a Comment »

President Biden offers three simple ways to reform the Supreme Court: a Constitutional amendment to clearly state that no person is above the law; an 18-year term limit for sitting justices, and a binding code of conduct. Simple, commonsense, and desperately needed.

In America, no one is above the law. In America, the people rule.

Date posted: July 29, 2024 | Filed under politics, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »

We were in the car on the way back from a lovely bayside brunch when an alert popped up through CarPlay from Jen’s brother, prompting us to look at the news. I can’t say I’m surprised. My anxiety has been ramping up over the last couple of months from a distant rumble to an almost deafening roar; it seems like every new thing I read about is another giant roadblock for my team or portent of doom for my country. It’s to the point now that I’m pausing making any long-term plans past the fall because I don’t know what’s going to happen and I don’t know how bad things are going to get. I stand against facism, xenophobia, racism, and oligarchy. The fact that one half of the country is nakedly, enthusiastically embracing these values is confusing and heartbreaking. I feel like the bad guys have all the money, attention, and momentum and I can’t do anything to stop them.

Date posted: July 22, 2024 | Filed under politics | Leave a Comment »

So, the verdict on AirPods Pro 2nd Generation: holy crap are these an order of magnitude better than the first gen. The noise cancelling alone is worlds better. I’m not used to the feature that listens to your voice and lowers the content of the audio you might be listening to, and there are some other bells and whistles I haven’t sorted out yet, but these are nice.

* * *

I’m headed into my GP for the first time next week in I-don’t-know-how-long for a general physical checkup; it’s been so long since I’ve seen him that he changed practices and is now in a different part of town. The goal here is to get an update on my regular bloodwork, with a focus on cholesterol (something they don’t check when I go in for cancer annuals). My blood pressure and heart rate have all remained low during the post-cancer phase but I want to make sure my heart is healthy and I’m not pouring grease in the pipes.

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Theoretically I’ve got a new set of glasses coming from Warby Parker in a new frame style. There was some online confusion when I had to upload my pupillary distance information that got stuck, so I had to call and sort it out with someone online. They assured me the order had gone through, but I still have an order stuck in their cart on the website, so who knows? Update: it hadn’t gone through; a follow-up phonecall solved this.

This is the first big change I’ve made to a frame style in probably ten years or more, and I’m a little nervous. The frame size is larger than the ones I’ve been wearing which should give me some more distance for the progressive part of the lenses—and my reading prescription has changed so it’ll be good to get that updated. This is a little more of a distinguished professor/creative director look—I’ll share a picture when I get them.

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I’ve been using a particular sticker vendor for probably six years now, and I was always very happy with their service, along with monthly promotions they’d run to do one-off shirt designs and other things that I found very handy. It was a surprise, then, when I got a promotional email from them last week where the founder expressed his support for Trump and added some tone deaf lying bullshit about respecting all people. He followed it up with another email a few days later claiming his staff had received death threats, which I would gather is further bullshit, as well as playing directly from the right-wing false victimhood playbook. Luckily, I’ve got another sticker/t-shirt vendor, and will be ending any association with his company.

Date posted: July 19, 2024 | Filed under apple, general, politics | Leave a Comment »

This has been making the rounds, but not as loudly as the press’ continual hand-wringing over whether or not Biden is too old to serve: Robert Reich lays out the facts behind Project 2025, Trump’s plan to destroy the US Government and turn it—blatantly, nakedly—into an autocracy. It’s written by his people, for his people.

Date posted: July 8, 2024 | Filed under politics, shortlinks | Leave a Comment »