Kind: Reads

Surprise: Different Things Are Different!

Donald Trump tried to end American democracy. Why is CNN throwing him a rehabilitation party?

They’re open to an alternative to the former president, but his rivals can’t touch him.

E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her during an encounter at a Manhattan department store. He has denied her allegations, calling her a liar.

they taught him well and then they set him loose

The former president was none too pleased that he’ll have to pay E. Jean Carroll $5 million for battery and defamation

Mozilla Wonders What Social Media Could Look Like If It Started With A Clear ‘No Assholes’ Policy by Mike Masnick

Content moderation at scale is impossible to do well. And, contrary to what most people believe, a huge part of content moderation is not “we have to suppress this content that scares us,” but just an attempt to “stop people from being jerks to others.” Unfortunately, too many people get confused, and think that “free […]

On May 1, Jordan Neely, an unhoused subway busker and Michael Jackson impersonator with a history of mental illness, was killed on the F train in New York City. At about 2:30 in the afternoon, Neely entered a subway car and began screaming that he was hungry and thirsty. "I don’t care if I go to jail and get locked up," Neely said, according to a witness. "I’m ready to die."

The debate over how to address gun violence is between doing something and doing nothing.

clobbering THE clobber text

Plus: The center cannot hold.

You have been warned.

And other confessions that led to the collapse of my Conservatism

Six Months In: Thoughts On The Current Post-Twitter Diaspora Options by Mike Masnick

Today is six months since Elon took over Twitter and began this bizarre speedrun of the content moderation learning curve in which he seems to repeatedly… not learn a damn thing. Over and over again he makes ridiculous choices that have made the entire platform less welcoming for speech, more willing to obey government demands, […]

It’s Friday, and I’m up early at a conference on the West Coast without a lot of time to explore a big in-depth story before the sessions begin. But a quirky one out of Oregon caught my eye this morning that felt like a perfect Friday piece. It made me both snortle and shake my head in a mix of disbelief and exasperation.

Let’s check the record.

Thoughts From 2012 Seem Relevant in 2023

Everyone wants to get the money out of politics. What this newsletter presupposes is: What if we need to get The People out of politics?

There’s a line somewhere and Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow are way over it.

The war on books escalates, and the public library system is under assault. The Christian Fascist end goal seems to be church control over information, with Christian Fascists curating what we can read. Libraries are losing funding around the country, with the trend being so popular that Missouri's ...