I agree completely, Chris. That's why in 2020, I stopped donating to the DNC and instead donated to the Lincoln Project. That's why I repeatedly posted links to https://rvat.org/ - Republican Voters Against Trump. If the Dems had done nothing else except to pay for repetitive national television advertising showing Lincoln Project videos and testimonials of those at RVAT, the Biden election would have much more decisive, Republicans know how to win. Dems haven't figured it out yet. I like Biden a lot, but he wasn't the best candidate, yet the Dems nominated him. Biden and the Dems didn't win the election (the Congressional results made that obvious) - tRump lost the election. We wouldn't be in the position of begging for crumbs from the GOP and turncoats like Sinema and Manchin if Dems weren't continuously pulling their punches.
He lied to Congress. There's a good chance his rich parents paid off his debts. And our chances of getting him impeached and thrown off the Supreme Court for lying to Congress is 0.00000001%. It would be nice if the MEMO got changed so the FBI was never restricted in their investigations of an appointee by the White House. Hopefully Sheldon can get some answers there though I'm not holding my breath.
Sadly, I think that this legislation is dead in the water. Senators Manchin and Sinema are in the bag for business interests and won't go for it. In an equally divided Senate, that's enough to doom the reconciliation bill.
And, if you think that it's bad now, just wait until the Republicans retake the House and Senate in 2022. I hate to be the voice of doom and gloom but there is so much bad news (and virtually no good news) out of the political world these days that it's hard to feel anything other than overwhelming pessimism about the direction of the country.
People aren't paying attention. That in itself is problematic. I listed to folks at an event this morning complaining the knew little about what is going on. Too busy to watch, read or just don't care unless spoon fed is part of the curse of instant society.
The alternate fact universe has done it's dirty job as well. A pox on Fox, Newsmax, Breitbart etc.
Or a pox on us, the ignorant electorate. —this (my own tendency to get wrapped up in MSM stories about bears, puppies, MSMusic/farewell tours/yadayada) is exactly why I support PI. Which makes its info available on Twitter/IG for free, so I can send less committed friends there, but richly deserves to be paid for its work, right?
I think it's dead in the water. The Dems don't have the organization, tough leadership needed. We have to have fighters with big picture thinking.
But it is likely too late. The GOP has been planning this coup for years thru the likes of the Koch's, Steve Bannon, etc al and people, they are not going to give up or play nicely. If the past five years have taught me anything, politics is now a brawl in America. The other side has us on the ropes. We just don't have the leaders nor the wealthy backing to battle it.
Chris - I love your description of 'Class Warfare' and used it in this power map that tracks the money from corporate lobbyists to the politicians blocking the bill. https://embed.kumu.io/b939ac38fc6f814bc5d9ede5790b1457
Have you surveyed ordinary people on the street about their reaction to this depiction? You can't know if it "works" (to serve its purpose) unless you know that it "connects" with ordinary citizens - IOW, with other than the office staff who are already "connected". Just a thought.
The world could really use simplified graphical explanations of who is screwing whom, instead of having to go through long-form analyses.
It seems that a simple resource to look up people and money flows would be a great help to journalists and others who want to know what their representatives are doing for/to them.
Maybe you could help @Judd with his work on that?
I am sure there are lots of partial examples that you could use for guidance and feedback?
Hi Chris, I've reached out to @Judd to see how we could help visualize any of the great analysis he does. We work with different progressive groups on a pro bono basis to create maps / visualizations that are easy to grasp at a glance and share with others. Free apps like Kumu.io which I used for the Build Back Better map have the benefit that they can be updated at any time with new information.
But...Do you have anyone with consumer marketing experience to help the organization make these easier to read? It's hard to communicate data visually. Too often the emphasis is on graphic tools at the expense of communication. Today's reader, even those who think they are careful (like journalists), need a simple, direct "story" that they can scan and react to, or grad some data from.
We have a lot of network viz experience and we are constantly "dumbing down" our graphics because users just don't want to click or mouse-over.
Thank you Judd & co. As Ian points out it’s hard to be optimistic at this point about the Rec bill - but the research & drafting are done, with probable influence on public & even corporate policy as our aging nation slogs forward in search of whatever light is yet to be found in this world.
Aside from PI, other items that hit my inbox today are NYT stories about taking 23 life forms, now presumed extinct, off the US Endangered list (a helpful, if depressing, article that explains how the list/delisting work); and about YouTube’s announcement that at long last it will begin filtering out COVID misinformation. Almost unbelievable to see the latter classified as “breaking news” - perhaps because it signals a slight and very welcome strengthening of the distinction between “info(rmation)” and “(enter)tainment”. All us citizen journalists can now feel free to let YouTube know if we continue to see anti science “freedom” cr*p on their platform…and hope for the best. —what’s your take on this, Judd? Can we take any hope that Alphabet/Google will start using their immense power (if not eventually their PAC money) more wisely?
Our little dictator Abbot and his partners in legislative malice - are busy working on a law that will make censorship of their disinformation illegal. Not sure how this would work out with the youtube ban on covid misinformation.
Unfortunately, they can make it stick using the "might is right" approach, at least until it's taken down by the Supreme Court - you know, where liberal causes go to die.
It's crazy... Banging our heads against the wall and thinking something will change!
After decades of this same game, Left still hasn't figured out the rules: soundbite tribalism.
"Popularity polls" have meant nothing for decades (guns, abortion, healthcare..), yet that's all we can use to define and defend our position.
How about recognizing, saying its name, and amplifying the obvious "Class Warfare" conflict that the Right is so good at?
They've been winning because they have "coherent" soundbites that elicit the tribalism of today's successful political strategy. That works people!
Arguing facts, reason, and polls has been a losing strategy. Say its name: CLASS WARFARE,
I agree completely, Chris. That's why in 2020, I stopped donating to the DNC and instead donated to the Lincoln Project. That's why I repeatedly posted links to https://rvat.org/ - Republican Voters Against Trump. If the Dems had done nothing else except to pay for repetitive national television advertising showing Lincoln Project videos and testimonials of those at RVAT, the Biden election would have much more decisive, Republicans know how to win. Dems haven't figured it out yet. I like Biden a lot, but he wasn't the best candidate, yet the Dems nominated him. Biden and the Dems didn't win the election (the Congressional results made that obvious) - tRump lost the election. We wouldn't be in the position of begging for crumbs from the GOP and turncoats like Sinema and Manchin if Dems weren't continuously pulling their punches.
You sound like you’re falling for the Democrats are elitists BS. Education is not the enemy
Judd, this is off topic, but are you following Kavanaugh’s debt payoffs? This would support the corruption/power/money/influence argument.
He lied to Congress. There's a good chance his rich parents paid off his debts. And our chances of getting him impeached and thrown off the Supreme Court for lying to Congress is 0.00000001%. It would be nice if the MEMO got changed so the FBI was never restricted in their investigations of an appointee by the White House. Hopefully Sheldon can get some answers there though I'm not holding my breath.
Thanks. Sadly, you’re probably right. But there must be records. Airing them fully would be a good deed.
Sadly, I think that this legislation is dead in the water. Senators Manchin and Sinema are in the bag for business interests and won't go for it. In an equally divided Senate, that's enough to doom the reconciliation bill.
And, if you think that it's bad now, just wait until the Republicans retake the House and Senate in 2022. I hate to be the voice of doom and gloom but there is so much bad news (and virtually no good news) out of the political world these days that it's hard to feel anything other than overwhelming pessimism about the direction of the country.
People aren't paying attention. That in itself is problematic. I listed to folks at an event this morning complaining the knew little about what is going on. Too busy to watch, read or just don't care unless spoon fed is part of the curse of instant society.
The alternate fact universe has done it's dirty job as well. A pox on Fox, Newsmax, Breitbart etc.
Or a pox on us, the ignorant electorate. —this (my own tendency to get wrapped up in MSM stories about bears, puppies, MSMusic/farewell tours/yadayada) is exactly why I support PI. Which makes its info available on Twitter/IG for free, so I can send less committed friends there, but richly deserves to be paid for its work, right?
Oh come on Ian. Let’s not give up quite yet.
I think it's dead in the water. The Dems don't have the organization, tough leadership needed. We have to have fighters with big picture thinking.
But it is likely too late. The GOP has been planning this coup for years thru the likes of the Koch's, Steve Bannon, etc al and people, they are not going to give up or play nicely. If the past five years have taught me anything, politics is now a brawl in America. The other side has us on the ropes. We just don't have the leaders nor the wealthy backing to battle it.
Chris - I love your description of 'Class Warfare' and used it in this power map that tracks the money from corporate lobbyists to the politicians blocking the bill. https://embed.kumu.io/b939ac38fc6f814bc5d9ede5790b1457
Have you surveyed ordinary people on the street about their reaction to this depiction? You can't know if it "works" (to serve its purpose) unless you know that it "connects" with ordinary citizens - IOW, with other than the office staff who are already "connected". Just a thought.
That's cool, Deepak.
The world could really use simplified graphical explanations of who is screwing whom, instead of having to go through long-form analyses.
It seems that a simple resource to look up people and money flows would be a great help to journalists and others who want to know what their representatives are doing for/to them.
Maybe you could help @Judd with his work on that?
I am sure there are lots of partial examples that you could use for guidance and feedback?
Maybe you
Hi Chris, I've reached out to @Judd to see how we could help visualize any of the great analysis he does. We work with different progressive groups on a pro bono basis to create maps / visualizations that are easy to grasp at a glance and share with others. Free apps like Kumu.io which I used for the Build Back Better map have the benefit that they can be updated at any time with new information.
Here is another example of billionaire donors behind the Texas abortion ban. https://embed.kumu.io/35344d8ab94ee9e0d98bdd8e2a2f0da4#untitled-map
There are over 500 projects featured on our site which have a range of maps and infographics. https://thedemlabs.org/blog/
That's a great start!
But...Do you have anyone with consumer marketing experience to help the organization make these easier to read? It's hard to communicate data visually. Too often the emphasis is on graphic tools at the expense of communication. Today's reader, even those who think they are careful (like journalists), need a simple, direct "story" that they can scan and react to, or grad some data from.
We have a lot of network viz experience and we are constantly "dumbing down" our graphics because users just don't want to click or mouse-over.
Yes. Our focus is 100% on making things simpler to grasp. Check out this blgo which is a series of cartoons https://thedemlabs.org/2021/09/17/warn-people-about-covid-danger-and-abortion-bans-with-political-cartoons/ and this one which uses the movie 'Dumb & Dumber' to explain COVID ignorance. https://thedemlabs.org/2021/09/12/compare-what-politician-say-about-covid-vaccinations-with-cases-in-the-area/
Thank you Judd & co. As Ian points out it’s hard to be optimistic at this point about the Rec bill - but the research & drafting are done, with probable influence on public & even corporate policy as our aging nation slogs forward in search of whatever light is yet to be found in this world.
Aside from PI, other items that hit my inbox today are NYT stories about taking 23 life forms, now presumed extinct, off the US Endangered list (a helpful, if depressing, article that explains how the list/delisting work); and about YouTube’s announcement that at long last it will begin filtering out COVID misinformation. Almost unbelievable to see the latter classified as “breaking news” - perhaps because it signals a slight and very welcome strengthening of the distinction between “info(rmation)” and “(enter)tainment”. All us citizen journalists can now feel free to let YouTube know if we continue to see anti science “freedom” cr*p on their platform…and hope for the best. —what’s your take on this, Judd? Can we take any hope that Alphabet/Google will start using their immense power (if not eventually their PAC money) more wisely?
Our little dictator Abbot and his partners in legislative malice - are busy working on a law that will make censorship of their disinformation illegal. Not sure how this would work out with the youtube ban on covid misinformation.
Oy so sorry to hear this. Can’t quite see how little dick will make it stick though.
Unfortunately, they can make it stick using the "might is right" approach, at least until it's taken down by the Supreme Court - you know, where liberal causes go to die.
Aww now. Try not to let the bastards get you down dear Dru.