Instead of interviewing maga in diners, the press should (won’t) interview white women in their natural habitats, book club. I think they would have picked up a lot of “invisible voters” voters there because we like our rights and hate Nazis. We are busy with our lives, but compassionate enough to know that we are the ones who will be hiding our neighbors when the goons come to round up anyone with an ethnic sounding name in addition to working and getting our kids to sport practice and making dinner. In the past we have disappointed our sister who are women of color who have carried the burdens of the Democratic Party. This year I am praying that we are going to be a force that they can no longer ignore. Press: “we were so shocked that women still cared about their rights and voted that way”.
I just ended mine too; and am asking friends and family to do it too. Talk about a useless billionaire; Bezos has all the character of bowl of jello. (Sorry jello)
Years ago, and I mean in the late 80s, a brilliant actor-writer friend, Joseph Hindy, and I began discussing how taste and standards in the arts were deteriorating since the only thing that mattered over everything else was the maximization of profit. We cited, for example, Hollywood's preference to make one film costing $200 million in the hope of earning a billion, however gross, stupid and violent that movie might be, as opposed, say, to making 20 films costing $10 million each. Our discussions were focused on how damaging all of this was to the American psyche. And remember that this was before the advent of the internet and social media, which have gone on to reduce the attention span of the public at large to that of soporific gnats.
Joe would try to assuage my fears by assuring me that things were cyclical and that the pendulum would swing back at some point.
Well, that godforsaken pendulum has now wrenched itself of its moorings and is flying off into space. On a SpaceX rocket, no doubt.
The fact is, David, we are going to need historians, philosophers and scholars, such as yourself, to analyze how we have reached this sorry point. (I have my notions which center around the decline of public education, primarily because education is treated as a commodity for sale, much like the arts, rather than as a birthright.)
Agree, again. The polls and the media do damage. The polls because you can't tell what is real, and the media because they're scoring stories. Thank you for writing. Your article restacked, again.
If I could like this a hundred times, I would like this a hundred times. I too want to see where you go with "When Systems Break Down." IMO it's not all about "greed and ambition," it's about systems that give greed and ambition free rein. Under the guise of "fiscal conservatism" the Reagan administration loosed the restraints, then Citizens United removed them altogether. The drum I've been beating for decades is that we USians don't pay near enough attention to the unelected fourth branch of government, which is "big money," aka concentrated economic power. The amount of $$$ being poured into this election is obscene. (That's not a word I use lightly either.) Big money also controls the media that most of the country has access to.
I'm guardedly optimistic, btw, mostly because I'm betting on the women who came out of the woodwork in 2022 and haven't gone back since. But boy oh boy, do we have work to do after the election.
WHOA! What a piece. I am chastened by my own audacity months ago when I first found your Substack column (having long adored you on DSR) and thought your entries kinda meh. This is some f*ing fab writing, so good I read it out loud to my dog who stared at me AGHAST and then cracked up over the last graph. Extra treats all around❤️
Good morning David. I posted this link on x too. It expounds on your point and illustrates how much Musk is a domestic threat. We should be very worried about these oligarchs and their power.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter!
Speaking of oligarchs, lately Facebook has been removing posts its algorithms don't like -- many of us have had this experience with Joyce Vance's Substack columns. There is no effective way to appeal these ridiculous "decisions." (Key word here is "effective": many of us have tried and received either no response or responses that probably came from bots.) The cesspool that is the former Twitter is now well known to most.
A friend of mine (climate activist) has been posting photos of her dog and putting the real message in the comments section. These posts have been getting through on fb - for now anyway.
That worked for several weeks, but it's not working now. In the last few days FB has removed comments too. Then I posted that FB was removing links to Joyce Vance's Substack -- and FB removed that too, even though it didn't include the link.
It’s REIN them in. Reins are used to control horses. A monarch REIGNS over her people.
Instead of interviewing maga in diners, the press should (won’t) interview white women in their natural habitats, book club. I think they would have picked up a lot of “invisible voters” voters there because we like our rights and hate Nazis. We are busy with our lives, but compassionate enough to know that we are the ones who will be hiding our neighbors when the goons come to round up anyone with an ethnic sounding name in addition to working and getting our kids to sport practice and making dinner. In the past we have disappointed our sister who are women of color who have carried the burdens of the Democratic Party. This year I am praying that we are going to be a force that they can no longer ignore. Press: “we were so shocked that women still cared about their rights and voted that way”.
The line has been drawn; those who don’t stand with the country now, will stand alone, in shame.
Just ended my subscription to WP, no endorsement! thanks Jeff
I just ended mine too; and am asking friends and family to do it too. Talk about a useless billionaire; Bezos has all the character of bowl of jello. (Sorry jello)
I did too.
Great points David. Small bone of contention. One "reins" in something out of control (think horses). One "reigns" as a sovereign/king/dictator.
Bravo David.
Ah, David! As to your second point...
Years ago, and I mean in the late 80s, a brilliant actor-writer friend, Joseph Hindy, and I began discussing how taste and standards in the arts were deteriorating since the only thing that mattered over everything else was the maximization of profit. We cited, for example, Hollywood's preference to make one film costing $200 million in the hope of earning a billion, however gross, stupid and violent that movie might be, as opposed, say, to making 20 films costing $10 million each. Our discussions were focused on how damaging all of this was to the American psyche. And remember that this was before the advent of the internet and social media, which have gone on to reduce the attention span of the public at large to that of soporific gnats.
Joe would try to assuage my fears by assuring me that things were cyclical and that the pendulum would swing back at some point.
Well, that godforsaken pendulum has now wrenched itself of its moorings and is flying off into space. On a SpaceX rocket, no doubt.
The fact is, David, we are going to need historians, philosophers and scholars, such as yourself, to analyze how we have reached this sorry point. (I have my notions which center around the decline of public education, primarily because education is treated as a commodity for sale, much like the arts, rather than as a birthright.)
Let's continue this discussion on November 6th.
Agree, again. The polls and the media do damage. The polls because you can't tell what is real, and the media because they're scoring stories. Thank you for writing. Your article restacked, again.
Everything you said, David. I'm glad someone is at last bringing up these topics.
A weakening of corporate power will be absolutely necessary to keep our democracy.
If I could like this a hundred times, I would like this a hundred times. I too want to see where you go with "When Systems Break Down." IMO it's not all about "greed and ambition," it's about systems that give greed and ambition free rein. Under the guise of "fiscal conservatism" the Reagan administration loosed the restraints, then Citizens United removed them altogether. The drum I've been beating for decades is that we USians don't pay near enough attention to the unelected fourth branch of government, which is "big money," aka concentrated economic power. The amount of $$$ being poured into this election is obscene. (That's not a word I use lightly either.) Big money also controls the media that most of the country has access to.
I'm guardedly optimistic, btw, mostly because I'm betting on the women who came out of the woodwork in 2022 and haven't gone back since. But boy oh boy, do we have work to do after the election.
WHOA! What a piece. I am chastened by my own audacity months ago when I first found your Substack column (having long adored you on DSR) and thought your entries kinda meh. This is some f*ing fab writing, so good I read it out loud to my dog who stared at me AGHAST and then cracked up over the last graph. Extra treats all around❤️
Good morning David. I posted this link on x too. It expounds on your point and illustrates how much Musk is a domestic threat. We should be very worried about these oligarchs and their power.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter!
https://jaredyatessexton.substack.com/p/the-billionaires-puppet-the-buying?utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true
Speaking of oligarchs, lately Facebook has been removing posts its algorithms don't like -- many of us have had this experience with Joyce Vance's Substack columns. There is no effective way to appeal these ridiculous "decisions." (Key word here is "effective": many of us have tried and received either no response or responses that probably came from bots.) The cesspool that is the former Twitter is now well known to most.
A friend of mine (climate activist) has been posting photos of her dog and putting the real message in the comments section. These posts have been getting through on fb - for now anyway.
That worked for several weeks, but it's not working now. In the last few days FB has removed comments too. Then I posted that FB was removing links to Joyce Vance's Substack -- and FB removed that too, even though it didn't include the link.
Oof. I will tell her. Thanks
Excellent piece, especially When Systems Break Down.
Thank you, David. Sometimes you hit it out of park.
So true. Our reality is discomforting.