The moment a group of people stormed the Capitol building last Wednesday, news companies began the process of sorting and commoditizing information that long ago became standard in American media. Media firms work backward. They first ask, “How does our target demographic want to understand what’s just unfolded?” Then they pick both the words and the facts they want to emphasize. It’s why Fox News uses the term, “Pro-Trump protesters,” while New York and The Atlantic use “Insurrectionists.” It’s why conservative media today is stressing how Apple, Google, and Amazon shut down the “Free...…The moment a group of people stormed the Capitol building last Wednesday, news companies began the process of sorting and commoditizing information that long ago became standard in American media. Media firms work backward. They first ask, “How does our target demographic want to understand what’s just unfolded?” Then they pick both the words and the facts they want to emphasize. It’s why Fox News uses the term, “Pro-Trump protesters,” while New York and The Atlantic use “Insurrectionists.” It’s why conservative media today is stressing how Apple, Google, and Amazon shut down the “Free...WW…

Last night, the moment that reproductive rights activists have been warning us about actually happened: The Supreme Court failed to stop a Texas law banning abortion after six weeks, signaling that the end of Roe may be near. The law, which also allows individuals to sue anyone that “abets” an abortion, is clearly unconstitutional—so the Court’s refusal to block it acts as a glowing ‘welcome’ sign for legislators eager to overturn abortion rights completely. Like so many others, I’m furious, sad, and very, very scared. I’m doing my best to support feminists on the ground in Texas—the...…Last night, the moment that reproductive rights activists have been warning us about actually happened: The Supreme Court failed to stop a Texas law banning abortion after six weeks, signaling that the end of Roe may be near. The law, which also allows individuals to sue anyone that “abets” an abortion, is clearly unconstitutional—so the Court’s refusal to block it acts as a glowing ‘welcome’ sign for legislators eager to overturn abortion rights completely. Like so many others, I’m furious, sad, and very, very scared. I’m doing my best to support feminists on the ground in Texas—the...WW…

There were so many false reports circulated by the dominant corporate wing of the U.S. media as part of the five-year-long Russiagate hysteria that in January, 2019, I compiled what I called “The 10 Worst, Most Embarrassing U.S. Media Failures on the Trump-Russia Story.” The only difficult part of that article was choosing which among the many dozens of retractions, corrections and still-uncorrected factual falsehoods merited inclusion in the worst-ten list. So stiff was the competition that I was forced to omit many huge media Russiagate humiliations, and thus, to be fair to those who...…There were so many false reports circulated by the dominant corporate wing of the U.S. media as part of the five-year-long Russiagate hysteria that in January, 2019, I compiled what I called “The 10 Worst, Most Embarrassing U.S. Media Failures on the Trump-Russia Story.” The only difficult part of that article was choosing which among the many dozens of retractions, corrections and still-uncorrected factual falsehoods merited inclusion in the worst-ten list. So stiff was the competition that I was forced to omit many huge media Russiagate humiliations, and thus, to be fair to those who...WW…

SubscribeSign inShare this postTop Gun Tooaudacity.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmail4 hr agoShare this postTop Gun Tooaudacity.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailTop GunTop Gun: MaverickTop Gun: MaverickIt was at this point that several people in the theatre began applauding. One man in particular, tall, muscular, bald, brayed loudly throughout the first half hour of the movie. When Tom Cruise rides across the screen in his leather jacket, hunched over his motorcycle as he cruises the desert, this guy shouted, “Fuck yeah!” This man was very, very drunk and very, very obnoxious...…SubscribeSign inShare this postTop Gun Tooaudacity.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmail4 hr agoShare this postTop Gun Tooaudacity.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailTop GunTop Gun: MaverickTop Gun: MaverickIt was at this point that several people in the theatre began applauding. One man in particular, tall, muscular, bald, brayed loudly throughout the first half hour of the movie. When Tom Cruise rides across the screen in his leather jacket, hunched over his motorcycle as he cruises the desert, this guy shouted, “Fuck yeah!” This man was very, very drunk and very, very obnoxious...WW…

Subscribe[Fire in the camp, credit: stonisi.gr]Last Tuesday night, Moria Camp, Lesvos, burned to the ground, and the whole of European refugee policy was thrown into utter disarray.Initial reports indicate that some few among the refugees started the blaze. The fire appeared to have started from multiple locations inside the camp,, and, on the following days and nights,, likely to ensure that entirety of the camp would be utterly incinerated.There have been no reports of fatalities. It seems the 12,000 refugees who were trapped in the camp designed to house just 3,000 managed to escape...…Subscribe[Fire in the camp, credit: stonisi.gr]Last Tuesday night, Moria Camp, Lesvos, burned to the ground, and the whole of European refugee policy was thrown into utter disarray.Initial reports indicate that some few among the refugees started the blaze. The fire appeared to have started from multiple locations inside the camp,, and, on the following days and nights,, likely to ensure that entirety of the camp would be utterly incinerated.There have been no reports of fatalities. It seems the 12,000 refugees who were trapped in the camp designed to house just 3,000 managed to escape...WW…

SubscribeI don’t usually write when mad. Tonight, however, I’m making an exception.While scrolling through Twitter, the headline for an at Religion News Service caught my attention: The author, Peggy Wehmeyer, who was the religion correspondent for ABC News, shared the struggle she is having with her pro-Trump (mostly Christian) friends and her anti-Trump millennial daughters (who are also Christians). “It seems my circle of family and friends are digging in against their opponents, turning blind eyes to the poisons in their own parties,” she writes. “Caught in the middle, I feel paralyzed...…SubscribeI don’t usually write when mad. Tonight, however, I’m making an exception.While scrolling through Twitter, the headline for an at Religion News Service caught my attention: The author, Peggy Wehmeyer, who was the religion correspondent for ABC News, shared the struggle she is having with her pro-Trump (mostly Christian) friends and her anti-Trump millennial daughters (who are also Christians). “It seems my circle of family and friends are digging in against their opponents, turning blind eyes to the poisons in their own parties,” she writes. “Caught in the middle, I feel paralyzed...WW…

SubscribeWhile Rowan and I are , some of these farmers have been in the news. COVID lockdowns have scrambled food demand and worker supply, and they’ve been howling louder than just about anyone about how it’s been impacting their business First — they’re complaining about a shortage of cheap, exploited farm workers. Second — they’re saying they have to destroy their crops because of lack of demand. To aid their suffering, Trump’s people have pushed through a multi-billion dollar agribusiness bailout and are planning to it make it easier and cheaper for agribusiness to hire and exploit...…SubscribeWhile Rowan and I are , some of these farmers have been in the news. COVID lockdowns have scrambled food demand and worker supply, and they’ve been howling louder than just about anyone about how it’s been impacting their business First — they’re complaining about a shortage of cheap, exploited farm workers. Second — they’re saying they have to destroy their crops because of lack of demand. To aid their suffering, Trump’s people have pushed through a multi-billion dollar agribusiness bailout and are planning to it make it easier and cheaper for agribusiness to hire and exploit...WW…

SubscribeTHIS IS NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. Please speak with a registered investment advisor or other qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.The S&P500 has gained 2.4% for December, thus far, bringing its year to date total just shy of 17%. The tech-centric Nasdaq 100 is up a remarkable 47%. All of this is occurring while several major economies, including the US, are experiencing a second wave of COVID infections and a new peak in deaths and hospitalizations as a result. In November we dubbed it, “Two Americas”. In risk assets, sentiment measures are...…SubscribeTHIS IS NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. Please speak with a registered investment advisor or other qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.The S&P500 has gained 2.4% for December, thus far, bringing its year to date total just shy of 17%. The tech-centric Nasdaq 100 is up a remarkable 47%. All of this is occurring while several major economies, including the US, are experiencing a second wave of COVID infections and a new peak in deaths and hospitalizations as a result. In November we dubbed it, “Two Americas”. In risk assets, sentiment measures are...WW…

SubscribeThe United States is driven by transformation, migration, and growth. A people predestined to move. Riding a tide of circumstance, Americans are pushed from one place to the next, into new neighborhoods, beyond state lines, or across the country. Some places grow while others shrink, altering and reinventing these area’s very composition along the way. Occurring during a time of political tumult these demographic shifts have played a significant role in determining the nation's present position and will continue to do so into the future. To better understand how these changes are...…SubscribeThe United States is driven by transformation, migration, and growth. A people predestined to move. Riding a tide of circumstance, Americans are pushed from one place to the next, into new neighborhoods, beyond state lines, or across the country. Some places grow while others shrink, altering and reinventing these area’s very composition along the way. Occurring during a time of political tumult these demographic shifts have played a significant role in determining the nation's present position and will continue to do so into the future. To better understand how these changes are...WW…

SubscribeRe: “‘’ . . . >50% likelihood”Title of an October 2020 on ScientificAmerican.com:Do We Live in a Simulation? Chances Are About 50–50From the Amazon.com for 2019 book The Simulation Hypothesis:Re: “>50%”: See the 12th part of this summary.Keywords re: comedy-vs.-Trump-2024 (CvT24) might require courage’s diagnosis of her uncle; from a ’s 2013 : psychopaths (Ps) are IMPERILED* by in molecular genetics (e.g., “” by the year 2034); from a 2020 in Nature: “In the past decade, studies of psychopathological genetics have become large enough to draw robust conclusions”; from a...…SubscribeRe: “‘’ . . . >50% likelihood”Title of an October 2020 on ScientificAmerican.com:Do We Live in a Simulation? Chances Are About 50–50From the Amazon.com for 2019 book The Simulation Hypothesis:Re: “>50%”: See the 12th part of this summary.Keywords re: comedy-vs.-Trump-2024 (CvT24) might require courage’s diagnosis of her uncle; from a ’s 2013 : psychopaths (Ps) are IMPERILED* by in molecular genetics (e.g., “” by the year 2034); from a 2020 in Nature: “In the past decade, studies of psychopathological genetics have become large enough to draw robust conclusions”; from a...WW…