[go: up one dir, main page]

Category: Political Commentary

Categories
Political Commentary

Notes on the coup

  • Post author By Tracy Durnell
  • Post date
  • No Comments on Notes on the coup
  • ❤️

Eighteen Points toward Strength and Solidarity in a Time of Fear and Despair by Mark R. Stoneman

+

To Stop The Coup, We Must Be Clear About The Truth: Two Plus Two Equals Four by Mike Brock

This isn’t just wrong as a matter of law—it represents an attack on the very concept of law itself. If we accept that the president can unilaterally shut down congressionally established agencies, then congressional power to establish agencies becomes meaningless. If executive authority can override clear statutory mandates, then our entire system of checks and balances collapses.

This is precisely how democratic breakdown occurs—not just through the violation of laws, but through the corruption of the very language and concepts we use to understand law. When we accept arguments that two plus two equals five—that presidents can simply ignore congressional statutes at will—we’re not just making a legal error. We’re participating in the dismantling of constitutional order itself.

Continue reading “Notes on the coup”
Categories
History Political Commentary Society

American origin stories

  • Post author By Tracy Durnell
  • Post date
  • No Comments on American origin stories
  • ❤️

“Origin stories tell us who we think a people are–who we think we are, and why. The American origin story is written in Native genocide, transatlantic slavery, and imperial subjugation overseas. That is its originating fact, and so to write the next chapter of that story means contending with this prologue, which most Americans find themselves constitutionally unable and unwilling to do. And so we remain willfully illiterate to ourselves.”

–Elaine Castillo, How to Read Now

Continue reading “American origin stories”
Categories
Political Commentary

Read Capitalist Realism

  • Post author By Tracy Durnell
  • Post date
  • 4 Comments on Read Capitalist Realism
  • ❤️
Read Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?

After 1989, capitalism has presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system. What effects has this “capitalist realism” had on work, culture, education and mental health? Is it possible to imagine an alternative to capitalism that is not some throwback to discredited models of state control?

Some really interesting thoughts in here — in particular I appreciated his discussion of interpassivity, allowing our media to enact our beliefs instead of acting upon them ourselves. Unfortunately he never met a $5 word he wouldn’t trade for a $20 one, so the writing is overly dense and academic.

Continue reading “Read Capitalist Realism”
Categories
Culture Political Commentary

Cultural power vs. economic power

  • Post author By Tracy Durnell
  • Post date
  • 2 Comments on Cultural power vs. economic power
  • ❤️

The US has at least two different systems of what gets termed “socioeconomic class” by Siderea

Economic class refers to money. It refers to the wealth or poverty of a person, and to the privileges they do or do not have because of their economic might or lack thereof.

Social class is what is being referred to by such terms as “middle class”, “working class”, “white collar”, “professional”, “blue collar”, and the pejoratives “white trash” and “townie”.

[…]

Social class is taboo to discuss [in America], but economic class is not, and that presents an obvious “solution”: Americans conflate social and economic class so they can talk about social class under the guise of talking about economic class.

(See also: Third Class: Proletariat vs. Bourgeoisie by Siderea)

+

in the schema a lot of people seem to have, a blue-haired barista with a masters degree is an elite (TikTok) by Jamelle Bouie

Continue reading “Cultural power vs. economic power”
Categories
History Political Commentary

We’ve done it before

  • Post author By Tracy Durnell
  • Post date
  • 2 Comments on We’ve done it before
  • ❤️

During WWII, the United States government incarcerated over one hundred thousand Americans because they were of Japanese descent, two-thirds of them American citizens. Their bank accounts were locked and they were forced to leave behind their homes, pets, businesses and possessions to live in remote, barren camps guarded by armed soldiers. They had to grow their own food and were strong-armed into laboring for the war effort for much lower pay than free civilians earned for the same work. More than 5000 people were pressured into renouncing their citizenship, which took some decades to get back, while others were deported to Japan.

Continue reading “We’ve done it before”
Categories
Future Building Political Commentary

The election is just the first step for democracy

Editor’s note: I am going news-free tonight and haven’t looked at any results — pls don’t tell me! I’m not doing the doomer thing (and you shouldn’t either). 🎶 Post soundtrack 🎶

During this election, people have rallied behind the idea of saving democracy — let’s use this collective energy and frustration to push for a real democracy, one in which all Americans have an equal say. We must stop shying away from doing what is right because it is politically challenging. I’m tired of political pragmatism in the face of clear injustice.

Continue reading “The election is just the first step for democracy”
Categories
Featured Political Commentary Reflection Websites

A woman, blogging: this is a political act

I think it’s great for everyone who wants a blog to write one — but I also think blogging can be especially empowering for women and queer folk.

In America, it could also be especially risky.

Continue reading “A woman, blogging: this is a political act”
Categories
Featured Learning Political Commentary Reflection

Stories help us find truth, but there’s a difference between fact and fiction

Stories provide a scaffold for understanding

When I read non-fiction, I’m less interested in learning facts than gaining understanding (though sometimes facts support the understanding). I want to build a mental scaffold to hook future facts and related concepts onto. I want to build a story.

In his XOXO talk, Ed Yong speaks about how this desire to synthesize the bigger picture influenced his Pulitzer-winning COVID coverage. There was no single protagonist in any of his pieces, but he set a rule for himself that half of the people he talked to for any piece should be new, so that he included a wide range of perspectives. He also discusses how shifting from a social to a medicalized view on public health made the cultural narrative of the pandemic one of man against virus, with vaccines as our saviors… a narrative which melted down when the vaccines primarily prevented severe illness rather than much protection against infection. It turns out that the broader, social perspective of public health — everything beyond vaccine-as-weapon — was the bigger barrier.

Continue reading “Stories help us find truth, but there’s a difference between fact and fiction”
Categories
Political Commentary Society Technology

Truthwashing: vibes and scams all the way down

The Optimus robots at Tesla’s Cybercab event were humans in disguise by Wes Davis (The Verge)

Who cares if it’s fake if it’s cool?

+

Hurricane Helene and the ‘Fuck It’ Era of AI-Generated Slop by Jason Koebler (404 Media)

A specific segment of the people who have seen and understand that it is AI-generated simply do not care that it is not real and that it did not happen. To them, the image captures a vibe that is useful to them politically.

Who cares if it’s fake if it feels true?

The nihilism of winning at all costs.

Continue reading “Truthwashing: vibes and scams all the way down”
Categories
Mental Health Political Commentary

Granting ourselves grace

  • Post author By Tracy Durnell
  • Post date
  • 3 Comments on Granting ourselves grace
  • ❤️
Liked K.B. Spangler (@kbspangler.com) (Bluesky Social)

Wondered why I’m spending so much time in the garden lately, then remembered we’re about a month away from learning if a declining elderly man with multiple criminal convictions and a massive history of sexual assault will be able to implement his 920-page strategy for standardized dehumanization.

I’ve also been spending a lot of time gardening and nesting. I’ve noticed myself having trouble focusing on longform reading and doing things that involve making decisions…

I forget sometimes how much stress and anxiety become embodied. There are real reasons I can’t concentrate, and it’s a good time to be gentle with myself. Now is not the moment to push, but to listen to my body. I can offer myself understanding and kindness instead of judgment.

Continue reading “Granting ourselves grace”