I too have been enjoying Leeja. I’m only reading those who have respect for the reader by providing us with helpful information and not just repeating something some else Posted. Leeja always comes with lots of information. Good article Geoff!
Republicans are REALLY good at the politics of resentment. They convinced all these young men that the reason their prospects aren’t as good as their fathers and grandfathers were is some girl with a nose-ring rather than the financial wizards and tycoons who sent all their jobs out of the country. That’s some skill. Or maybe we’re just REALLY stupid and gullible. I can’t quite make up my mind.
Civics, media literacy, social-emotional learning and all the other things kids could be taught in schools and no longer are - or never were - being educated in. Kids lost so much during COVID and we’ve just pushed that aside and moved on like it never happened. There are people who are trying to do work in this space, but for the next 4 years, at a minimum, the rage fires will be stoked to a full burn if we don’t figure out a way to slow it down. I am somewhat hopeful that Donald will do this for us as there is only so far rage will carry you if the rest of the world is falling apart because of the actions of the guy you thought was going to save you from all the terrible women being mean to you and the world that feels you no longer have value. Part of this ethos is *owning the libs* which is why I don’t understand why people (like your girl, JoJoFromJerz) who insist upon staying in their space (Twitter) to keep fighting with them. I don’t get it. If we leave them to their own devices, the radicalization may deepen, but without people on the left to argue with, what pleasure center is being titillated? The rage is 90% of the battle with these guys. The more that they can *trigger the libs* into fighting with them, the more superior they feel because they’ve drawn you in and you’ve taken the bait. Let it lie. See what happens. Personally, I think that with no one to argue with but themselves, they’ll turn on each other.
I’ve got to say, Bluesky has become such a nice place since the election. It’s nice that the user base has grown and grown with people who actually post! And it’s super fun watching the MAGAs get triggered because they get universally blocked (via handy, self-updating, lock lists) the second they pop their heads up. It’s glorious. And it’s even triggered the corporate media. Double bonus!
I am sworn off social media (except for notes here) but I suspect that the honeymoon phase will come to an end, and as it scales (they have just 17 million users, Twitter has about 400M) that incivility will appear.
Reminds me of running and participating in large groups when I was on facebook. Somewhere around 3K users, and the tenor and tone of the interactions would fall apart, and dozens of moderators couldn’t put the genie back in the bottle.
I think one of the negatives is that you can completely silo off from people on it. You basically create your own FYP based on any number of different feeds that you can subscribe to or create and share with others. It reminds me of how on Twitter you used to be able to set up in-app notifications without turning on actual noise/badge notifications and it created a nice page where you’d only see people you want to see. Elon took that away, of course. Just like everything else.
Damnn. Next time you're here I'd love to meet you for lunch, drinks or dinner on me. Put a name to the face (or the reverse) and exchange a hearty handshake!
Her research is thorough, and while I sometimes think she is too progressive for my tastes, she does make very cogent arguments.
Her posts on Reagan are spot on, having lived through the tail end of his time as governor of California (he is the architect of the student loan ecosystem because of his distaste for the radicalization of liberals at Cal Berkeley) and coming of age during his administration, is spot on.
Reagan was the worst. I was in 5th grade when he was elected and the difference in my elementary education compared to my sister - 4 years behind me - was beyond stark. I remember them cutting the gifted program for 4-6 graders because of funding. They also cut back on our excellent free summer and afterschool programs and really just about every thing that kept kids busy, supervised and out of trouble when they weren’t in school. It’s no wonder drug use skyrocketed in the 1980s!
Did you happen to read Heather Cox Richardson’s essay from yesterday? She discusses a lot of this.
I too have been enjoying Leeja. I’m only reading those who have respect for the reader by providing us with helpful information and not just repeating something some else Posted. Leeja always comes with lots of information. Good article Geoff!
Republicans are REALLY good at the politics of resentment. They convinced all these young men that the reason their prospects aren’t as good as their fathers and grandfathers were is some girl with a nose-ring rather than the financial wizards and tycoons who sent all their jobs out of the country. That’s some skill. Or maybe we’re just REALLY stupid and gullible. I can’t quite make up my mind.
Civics, media literacy, social-emotional learning and all the other things kids could be taught in schools and no longer are - or never were - being educated in. Kids lost so much during COVID and we’ve just pushed that aside and moved on like it never happened. There are people who are trying to do work in this space, but for the next 4 years, at a minimum, the rage fires will be stoked to a full burn if we don’t figure out a way to slow it down. I am somewhat hopeful that Donald will do this for us as there is only so far rage will carry you if the rest of the world is falling apart because of the actions of the guy you thought was going to save you from all the terrible women being mean to you and the world that feels you no longer have value. Part of this ethos is *owning the libs* which is why I don’t understand why people (like your girl, JoJoFromJerz) who insist upon staying in their space (Twitter) to keep fighting with them. I don’t get it. If we leave them to their own devices, the radicalization may deepen, but without people on the left to argue with, what pleasure center is being titillated? The rage is 90% of the battle with these guys. The more that they can *trigger the libs* into fighting with them, the more superior they feel because they’ve drawn you in and you’ve taken the bait. Let it lie. See what happens. Personally, I think that with no one to argue with but themselves, they’ll turn on each other.
Can't fault any of this.
I am going to stand back, order me a weekly supply of popcorn from Garrett's (a Chicago institution) and watch.
Partly because I really have no power, but mostly because the sooner the shitshow hits its peak, the sooner some rationality *might* return.
Not too hopeful on the latter, but fighting and resisting will just further entrench the deplorables.
I’ve got to say, Bluesky has become such a nice place since the election. It’s nice that the user base has grown and grown with people who actually post! And it’s super fun watching the MAGAs get triggered because they get universally blocked (via handy, self-updating, lock lists) the second they pop their heads up. It’s glorious. And it’s even triggered the corporate media. Double bonus!
Been on Threads for awhile and just joined Bluesky. Those are my only vices.
I am sworn off social media (except for notes here) but I suspect that the honeymoon phase will come to an end, and as it scales (they have just 17 million users, Twitter has about 400M) that incivility will appear.
Reminds me of running and participating in large groups when I was on facebook. Somewhere around 3K users, and the tenor and tone of the interactions would fall apart, and dozens of moderators couldn’t put the genie back in the bottle.
I think one of the negatives is that you can completely silo off from people on it. You basically create your own FYP based on any number of different feeds that you can subscribe to or create and share with others. It reminds me of how on Twitter you used to be able to set up in-app notifications without turning on actual noise/badge notifications and it created a nice page where you’d only see people you want to see. Elon took that away, of course. Just like everything else.
Garrett's? Huh? You in Chicago? I'm at the edge of Bronzeville and Hyde Park!
No, but I have family there, and when I visit, I engorge. Now I pay ludicrous shipping to get my fix
PS: You ever try Garrett's hot and spicy popcorn? Most excellent. Yow!
Damnn. Next time you're here I'd love to meet you for lunch, drinks or dinner on me. Put a name to the face (or the reverse) and exchange a hearty handshake!
Geoff Anderson: Thank you for introducing me to a fellow lawyer, Leeja Miller, Esquire, who knows that Reagan ruined everything.
Her website is here, and I have subscribed under the "Kit" platform:
https://www.leejamiller.com/about-1
I am buying a whole cupboard of coffee cups with the logo, "Reagan ruined everything", here:
https://leejamillermerch.com/products/reagan-ruined-everything-mug
And,
https://leejamillermerch.com/collections/all
I lived through Reagan as Governor of California.
Reagan's destructive work began there, as California Governor, and continued on a national scale in his two administrations.
In these times of resistance, it is important to group together.
You have interested me in the work of Leeja Miller.
Resistance will be powerful, with Blue State Governors looking to band together:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/governors-announce-states-coalition-push-back-trump-policies/story?id=115805249
Kamala Harris looks good to be the next California Governor:
https://www.ktvu.com/news/kamala-harris-california-governor-uc-berkeley-poll
The ACLU, NAACP, LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens -- founded 1929) are among civil rights groups that will resist.
At this point, while supporting each of the foregoing, it is valuable to exchange resources.
You did just that with the valuable information on Leeja Miller, Esquire.
Thank you so very much for sharing. Her podcast gathers a lot of information.
Her research is thorough, and while I sometimes think she is too progressive for my tastes, she does make very cogent arguments.
Her posts on Reagan are spot on, having lived through the tail end of his time as governor of California (he is the architect of the student loan ecosystem because of his distaste for the radicalization of liberals at Cal Berkeley) and coming of age during his administration, is spot on.
Reagan was the worst. I was in 5th grade when he was elected and the difference in my elementary education compared to my sister - 4 years behind me - was beyond stark. I remember them cutting the gifted program for 4-6 graders because of funding. They also cut back on our excellent free summer and afterschool programs and really just about every thing that kept kids busy, supervised and out of trouble when they weren’t in school. It’s no wonder drug use skyrocketed in the 1980s!
Did you happen to read Heather Cox Richardson’s essay from yesterday? She discusses a lot of this.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-16-2024?
I saw no coverage of this in the corporate media before the election.