@hcrichardson.bsky.social does yeoman's work as a conscientious, informed and diligent news aggregator and analyst (in addition to her well-known and acknowledged work as a historian of American history.)
This YT episode is worth a watch.
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Awkward! But after years of marriage she knows that.
Racism, misogyny, incompetence, and corruption should surprise no one.
Too many people are hungry for their waste. *rim shot*
I'll be here all week.
Like seeks like, or it takes one to know one. 🤮
They were fluffed by PR firms, the Silicon Valley access industry and conference headlining, and media fawning. It's their version of a Trump or Jack Welch ghost-written book on business, only with more world-historical self-importance and grandiosity.
The currently escalating tech backlash must be put in the context of:
“people have been listening to the most insufferable techbros in the world gleefully threaten everyone else with mass unemployment for over 6 years, and they’re sick of their shit”
They knew (and know) that accountability and transparency will lead to the breakup of big tech and of the rigged betting game that is Silicon Valley venture capital. They also face criminal liability, not just in the US but in most liberal democracies.
Longer, IMO. The derangement began during Obama's second term. For a variety of reasons the nascent broligarchs had been invited to help the USG address some pressing problems. They did, but they created havoc, left with an incorrect understanding of how government worked, and protected themselves.
Amplifying the thread. Investigation and analysis without the downsides of access journalism.
A federal judge found Portland ICE protests were largely peaceful. The judge also found DHS had an unwritten policy to use excessive force on nonviolent protesters to chill constitutional rights. The violence was policy, they just didn't write it down.
As I argue in this piece, Trump has transformed the presidency into a giant Bribe Delivery System.
This was always the risk -- hell, known issue -- with electing Trump. That it took him as long as it did was a surprise to me.
Prosecuting the crimes being committed in plain sight is going to be contentious and critically important for the rule of law in the US and around the world.
Not about Mark but about the broader democratic party and SPECICALLY elite centrist dems:
The media is not our friend.
The media is extremely far right capitalist, who are absolutely dedicated above all else to the destruction of liberalism.
Its the primary role of media. Remember it
The corporate/capitalist finger on the scales of "balance" in reporting has never been subtle. It has been clever and justified its biases over and over again, and used lots of tools to make the bias look organic, natural, and beneficial.
It has been none of those.
It was an obvious lie then, and remains an obvious lie.
Very important thread from @eliothiggins.bsky.social about Palantir's quasi-philosophical propaganda.
As a technology professional working for the federal government I was exposed to Palantir's effort at government capture for a decade. It was always "we are the only solution to every problem."
Um, I'm not sure where in the capitalist playbook "publishing screeds that would be failed in undergraduate philosophy and history classes" is included as a way to add to the value of a company and the utility of its products.
Another example of the ignorance of tech bros.
This Pope also turns out to be a pretty considered and thoughtful philosopher. Could be worse.
OMG. The issues around race, gender, and crediting reports of pain and discomfort are mind blowing, especially when as a white man I'm rarely challenged critically if I report pain or a symptom with discomfort.
Yes, it's throwing errors for me as well.
It may not be an everyone problem, but N >>> 1 for sure.
Moving and keeping sexual abuse and violence as an issue needing attention to reduce its impact and occurrence is critically important. Addressing correctly the nomenclature and mechanisms by which they are enabled, while important, should be a secondary consideration.
But hazing rituals in organizations and teams often incentivize sexual abuse and violence. And there is a robust body of research documenting the presence of mechanisms to inculcate sexual abuse and violence as either neutral or positive values and behaviors.
All of your statements are correct.
At the same time, sexual abuse and violence *is* a problem, and there are formal and informal ways to make men overcome prohibitions against it. The extreme examples are indoctrination by militaries to commit rape in conflict zones.
"Democracy" for us, but not for you.
The Right's claims of issues with culture, economy, and government are inherently made in bad faith. For them, citizen-led efforts to improve any of them are threats in multiple dimensions, including their own values, behaviors, and actions.
Whoa. Bluesky is well into ur-Twitter fail whale territory this morning (0900 - 1200 ET).
Yes. This is beginning the difficult discussion of how we move forward to a government that works in the 21st century and will work moving forward through time.
Is it complicated - and emotionally and intellectually challenging - to move past what we know? Yes.
Is is essential to do so? Yes.
Without divulging details of the trial, I'll say that my recent jury service showed me that people routinely lie under oath and act with impunity even when it's clearly in their best interest to do neither.
The Smithsonian has produced an annual "Folklife Festival" on the Mall which features states and countries and does this incredibly well. Not having them lead this celebration was a lost opportunity.
ETTD applies here.
Earlier today I'd snarkily posted "hegemony turns out to be a really, really bad drug." It's not wrong, though. Deference, authority, and impunity have a corrosive effect on *everything* including personal relationships for the elite few, and on public behavior for the many.