Like many of you this week, I’ve made the jump over to the new Threads app, Meta/Facebook’s version of Twitter, which feels like a strong contender for a new home. Still trying to find all of my friends there, so I hope you’ll swing by and say hi! I’m intrigued by
Well, it does in a sense: that which is not contained is out of it, the container, and one who has failed to contain that which is out is thus incontinent.
Please clarify why Trump considers Comey an enemy when it was Comey whose public statements about Hillary Clinton helped elect him. It was Comey who did not tell the public that the FBI was investigating Russia's interference on behalf of Trump in the 2016 election.
Because Comey is taller, smarter, and better looking and can easily see right through Trump. Comey makes Trump feel small and dumb, which of course Trump can never forgive.
Also Trump had to get rid of James Comey. Comey was evidence that Trump didn’t win the election solely on the merits of his own winning self, and I believe he would not have won without Comey’s pre-election action. It was laughable when Trump flagrantly lied to the world about his inauguration crowd size. His first blatant and provable big lie after taking office.
I’ve always looked at that pre-vote action as Comey just being his Boy Scout self. I imagine he regrets that more than anything else he has ever done. That’s just me.
I see what you mean. I the Case of Comey, do you remember all the people in a room lined up against the walls waiting to greet the new president? Do you remember When it was Comey’s turn? In a relaxed stride, the tall, strikingly handsome and honorable looking gent ambled across the floor to warmly reach out his hand to welcome Trump. Just in the visual alone I could feel Trump’s discomfort, smallness and humiliation to be in the presence of such a man. Trump made the decision right then and there. He is so gone.
Jan. 6, 2017: Comey and other intelligence officials travel to Trump Tower in New York to brief the president-elect on the intelligence community's findings about Russian interference in the campaign. According to Comey's prepared Senate testimony, he is chosen to inform Mr. Trump privately of salacious material gathered by a former British intelligence official that the U.S. had not verified.
This is the first time Comey meets Mr. Trump. He begins a practice of taking notes about their private conversations, typing his recollections on a laptop in the car immediately after leaving Trump Tower, according to his testimony.
(snip)
Jan. 27, 2017: Comey is invited to dinner at the White House with Mr. Trump. According to Comey's account, he had expected others to attend, but found himself alone with the president in a dining room. Further, the dinner progressed into a "very awkward conversation," with Mr. Trump telling Comey, "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty," according to Comey, who "didn't move, speak, or change" his facial expression "in any way during the awkward silence that followed."
"We simply looked at each other in silence," Comey says.
Comey writes a "detailed memo" immediately after the dinner, sharing it with senior FBI leadership but keeping it unclassified."
Of course Comey helped trump to win the presidency. Just ask Hillary! Yet that was not enough. Comey’s refusal to swear loyalty to trump as well as his refusal to state that trump was not presently under investigation made him an enemy in trump’s mind.
I forgot about his obsession with that. How he believed it was such a burning topic for every single person in the world, I mean that we all were anxious to know once and for all if he was under investigation or not. Guess I wasn't quite used to him at that time, the pitiful old lard.
There was that famous dinner between Comey and 45 at the beginning of 45’s presidency when he asked Comey if he could count on his full loyalty. I don’t remember the exact words of Comey’s response but 45 obviously took offense to his answer.
Tutone, I remember that dinner well. Comey took notes so as to have to receipts, so to speak, and then he said basically, I serve the Constitution not a President. It was awesome. As soon as Comey was fired, I knew we were in for big trouble, bad trouble.
I remember the day Comey was fired very clearly, and felt the same way. I was at the car dealer waiting for my car, which was having an oil change. I was reading breaking news on my phone and turned to the woman sitting next to me and said "Trump just fired Comey!" I had no idea what her political leanings were, but I was so shocked at the time, I just blurted it out. She looked at me with surprise, but said nothing.
Thanks for this, Judith. Very depressing to read; everything we needed to know about Trump's character and approach to governance is there. Why did it take so long for people to catch on? I'm relieved and surprised the US made it through 4 years of a president who sees himself as a mob boss.
Of course. Projection. Blackmail is Trump’s most used tool in his vengeance toolbox. And most fearsome. He blackmails his devotees with threats of a tweet against them as his basic first line of defense.
If he lived to be 5,000, he'd never understand a world with civic-minded people in it, upholding decent protocols, not 'where's mine? fuck you, you're nothing' people, listening behind doors.
Please go back and review what Comey actually said and did. He had a rock/hard place situation and tried to navigate it well. "The candidate we want" should not have been a consideration, nor should the "candidate we don't want". DOJ rules... which he was trying to adhere to... was part of what happened. ditto "FBI investigating Russia." The whole point is you don't talk about it. The Hilary thing was started and stopped, the Russia one wasn't. Everyone makes him the arch enemy without any thought for the minefield he was navigating, and the fact that Trump held the ignition device. He did what he could. It's not to be expected we would "like it", and when the rules are tough, our demands don't trump correct investigative procedure. Comey didn't blether as Trump does. Stop swallowing clickbait headlines from the troll farms and go back to the sources.
I would like you to discuss the importance of November 2023 elections, not just focusing on the 2024 elections. Local elections are hugely important and are very much representative of the state of the electorate. Please don’t just talk about 2024 - those of us responsible for local elections need a focus on our efforts as well - the local elections really matter, and local officials are just as corrupt as federal officials. We need to work from the ground up.
Yay, for you in Richmond, Carol! I'm up in the northwestern part of the state, kinda close to the West Virginia border. Not too crazy but still kinda red!
Oh my, Kelly, not all local or federal officials are corrupt. We need to be careful about suggesting that all people in office are corrupt, or else no one honest or ethical will even bother to run for office. We need to encourage good people to run and serve - as you said, from the ground up.
Already referenced here today are elections in Ohio (amending state Constitution to preserve women's right to choose), and Virginia. Ohio also has a vote coming up on August 8 in which the state legislature seeks to change the majority vote needed to amend the state Constitution from 50% to 60%. I'm doing Letters to voters on that issue: votefwd.org
From Wikipedia: The 2023 United States elections are scheduled to be held, in large part, on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. The off-year election includes gubernatorial and state legislative elections in a few states, as well as numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races, and a variety of other local offices on the ballot. At least three special elections to the United States Congress were scheduled as either deaths or vacancies arose. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_United_States_elections
Ruby Rudy - The chickens are coming home to roost! One question: Given Trump’s threats to Obama and Jack Smith(particularly in light of the bludgeoning of Paul Pelosi with a hammer ... echoes of Wagner, don’t you think?) what would it take to have Trump detained pending trial? Does someone have to die in the wake of one of Trump’s posts? “Time to out the man out to rest” is explicit. As ever, thank you.
Joyce, I am grateful that you are here on Substack, and am sorry to say that I will not be jumping over to Threads anytime soon - I am happy to continue subscribing to you here. When Dr Heather was on Facebook I rarely read her LFAAs until she started using Substack, and the same with Dan Rather's Steady. My opinion of most social media especially Facebook and Twitter has always been low, and it all seemed to coalesce into cesspools of humanity after tfg began his run for presidency. Unless Threads has different and more discerning algorithms for moderation of trolls and disinformation, I am not confident that it will be any better as a forum for intelligent and civil discourse.
I am looking forward to being proven wrong, but not optimistic. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy your current events and legal posts and your lovely funny chicken videos. 🐔👍❤
I totally agree about social media. I think that by reducing all conversations to a minimum it coarsens political dialogue, and invites extremism. That said, I do use Instagram to publicize my art. Social media is good for that. Anyhow, I subscribe to so many substacks from trusted voices that I don’t have time to spend on threads or any other social media!
As a matter of ethics I will not subscribe to Threads. Zuck has too much money and potential influence already, and he is not using them for the good of anyone but himself. I quit Twitter and Facebook, too. He could be a power for positive change. He isn't. He's not getting one more penny from me.
I agree, Linda - I dont tweet facebook or instagram. And like Mim, hope Joyce stays on substack. Social media is just that - plus drama & selfies. Sorry if I sound pessimistic, but from what I've seen - the good is outweighed by the bad.
I early recognized the dangers of Twitter for ordinary folks, but do understand how useful it is for people gathering current info. I've stayed with FB because I value some of the groups I am in, and especially appreciate Heather's talks there. LFAA there has a different audience with somewhat different takes: I enjoy reading them. What I DON'T do on FB is click on ads (including their so-called marketplace), play games, respond to polls, post personal information, period. I do use it to stay in touch with people I have gotten to know on a casual basis; I find this worthwhile, and I have more control over it than if I used email.
Because I am careful about how I use FB, I rarely even get ads anymore. I am on Heather's page when she does her talks (or for the video afterwards. Otherwise, once or twice a week briefly to see if anyone I know is posting. That's it. I do spend a large amount of time online reading some of the news outlets, journals and mags I get online, as well as commentary via outlets like substack, and taking in presentations by folks such as Brennan, GBH, etc. Binge on PBS Passport when I need a break.
I have been inside more this year than even previous years when I was dealing with Covid. Dang weather. It's either hot as hell, or raining. Or both. We're on flash flood alert right now, so not sure I'll be going to town tomorrow either. My cooking is getting really creative.
“ . . . awaken from the fever dream of Trump . . .”
That pretty much made my evening! A nightmare for me, but I certainly hope some decent percentage of Cult 45 awakens to realize he’s just a malignant narcissist and terminal grifter that cares not one bit about any of them.
I understand this. That post is also a bit potentially ominous as it sets up an argument for NOT aggressively addressing misinformation across the board from vaccines to book banning to voter fraud...You name it. I worry that it may not be made many of us hope as we get closer to 2024. Exhibit A: Facebook’s well documented history on addressing misinformation in news and politics. Makes me nervous!
The very reason I have not succumbed to joining it. Just makes me feel that leaving Twitter with Musk and going to Threads with Zuck, is like going from one fire to another.
At the least, going from a raging dumpster fire into a smoky area... maybe it's just smoke that will dissipate, or maybe it too will become like Facebook, which started off innocuously enough as a college network.
My point is the statement of it not being worth the effort combined with Facebook’s history. I am not saying it will happen. I am saying it is concerning (at least to me)
I do hope you're staying on Substack, Joyce. Only Instagram members can get Threads, and if one should leave Threads, all his or her Instagram posts disappear, is what I've read.
I have read this, too. I haven't kept on top of it since deciding it was not for me, though. If it is true and remains true, that's the death knell for me.
My escape valve, should I need it, is to unfollow everyone, turn off notifications , delete the app and don’t use it. My biggest dislike is all of the info that it gleams from you, but it’s free, so that’s the price.
That is the price ' Survivor but, ... you do not have to pay it in certain state jurisdictions that protect 3rd party commercial abuse of your personal data.
Other techniques are available at the User's End-device with or without App adjusments.
Anybody who thinks they're going to get anything good from widdle Markie Schmuckerberg probably believes in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
The day my name is found on anything that little piece of shit is involved with, you will know I died and someone stole my online identity.
Thanks, as always for the information, Joyce. I'll stick with you and Civil Discourse through substack, though. I have zero desire to migrate to another Zuckerberg platform that is so heavily populated by "influencers" and reposters of tiktoks.
One other impetus for me to leave it alone is what I read before the debut: it will be coupled to your Instagram account, and should you decide to leave threads (delete the account), you will also leave behind your Instagram account. **This may have changed since the release.**
If anyone can verify or debunk the above information about linked accounts, please reply and I will be happy to delete this comment.
I find the concept of “influencers” malignant and duplicitous. For me, the careful analyses and clear expositions, which we find on Substack through Joyce Vance, Heather Cox Richardson, and Robert Reich, (to name but a few,) cannot be surpassed. I dumped Twitter after Melon Musk bought it. I have no intentions of joining Zuckerberg’s latest money-maker. Facebook is a swamp of misinformation and is a big time-suck for the “look at me!” mentality.
Joyce, i am so glad our Republic has you on her side! All of our sides! I loved today’s report. I hated Rooty Tooty when he was Mayor. He was an a+++hole then, but worse now, of course. He was only militarizing the public schools with police and scanners (for no good reason any of us could see in the school system!) and shipping the homeless in buses to clear them from Columbus Circle where tourists might see what a mess he made of the city. He hadn’t fully bloomed as the fascist insurrectionist he has morphed into. Thank you for all you do, Joyce! We are all in this together. 💙
Add to your list, the irony of rudi making millions as a security specialist after he sets up emergency management headquarters for NYC in the #1 terrorist target on the planet, the World Trade Towers!
A late friend of mine had a saying about people who were ‘veracity challenged’, “if bull shit were music he’d be a brass band!” Ah, rudi!
It is beyond disgusting that he profited off such suffering. Thank you, Louis, for pointing this out. I hope they send him to prison for his life. That is all he deserves.
As seedy as NYC’s Times Square had become over the years, it had a sort of dirty charm. Roody ruined it by making it into a glorified tourist Disneyland. I actually witnessed Grover and Spiderman characters engaging in fisticuffs.
Derek, seedy was not good. I grew up in NYC as a teenager starting in 1963. But Disneyland in midtown Manhattan? No way, Jose. We were horrified. He brought in the conservative Disney organization to make millions off commercial crap instead of renovating the incredible theaters that had served the people for decades. Historic and gorgeous buildings were torn down in the middle of the night to make way for high rise hotels and candy shops with 30 foot ceilings and blinding lights. You have no idea….
Wasn’t it the Mayor who created the madness in the middle of Times Square creating more of a circus atmosphere than a venue for the theatre and the arts?
Maureen, I am sure there is ton of good information on the web about Rooty’s days as NYC mayor. He wanted to “cancel” the election and stay on as mayor after 9/11, which was primary day, with Michael Bloomberg as the front runner. He was already into that mode of “mayor for life” idea. And his personal life was spread for all to see when he announced at a Gracie Mansion press conference that he was divorcing his wife, mother of his children and a known journalist. He had been having a pretty public affair with someone on his staff, or maybe not, my memory could be wrong. It was completely despicable and all New Yorkers who loved our city and our progressive traditions, hated him. Sorry for the rant….
Like his buddy trump, rudi scoffed at the notion of marital fidelity! One wife in the apartment while he diddled with mistress in Gracie mansion!
The slime running down his face while holding court in front of a garage appeared to be hair dye, but it more likely revealed the rot of his inner core!
'Rudy, Rudy, Rudy...' What a great start to a musical. Mel, (Brooks) are you up for it?
I was brought down by the Zuckerberg plug that followed. Social Media, now that is a subject. Given this piece, Joyce, I wonder how unbiased I could expect Civil Discourse would be when and if it comes to regulating the lot of them. I am completely negative about Zuck and give FB's algorithms a lot of credit for that.
First I think it is necessary to consider Mosseri's statement that clearly and obviously attempts to redirect the "platform's" conversation away from politics and news in general is a strong indicator, to me that Mark Zuckerberg does not want to be responsible for anything to do with hosting any serious civil conversations, as I imagine they pose too many headaches for him and ultimately detract from his "bottom line" and as it should be quite obvious by now Meta'a owner is focused on making money over and above most any other priority. Threads will not be seeing me join it at all. I suggest all who do join be most mindful of any subtle manipulations of politics and news postings.
Second, I would like to pose the question of just what might happen if Rudy Giuliani takes his disbarment to court and the case gets elevated all the way up to the Supreme Court?
Third, Trump's use of the IRS is not something new by a president of the USA, consider this block quote from an important small historical study:
“Nixon sought to secure consent to his program, if not by physical terror, then certainly by the beginnings of bureaucratic terror. Perhaps this was best seen in his attempts to utilize the Internal Revenue Service to harass political opponents as well as public personalities whose style of life or political commitments were distasteful to him. In addition to tax harassment, there were other attempts at bureaucratic harassment such as the threat to revoke the licenses of television stations owned by the Washington Post. The intent of the threatened punitive action was clear: opponents were warned' that there were heavy penalties involved in opposing Richard Nixon. Such use of power was an important initial step in the direction of government by terror. Fortunately, the administrators of the most important government agency involved, the Internal Revenue Service, were seldom willing to go along.3 In this respect the federal bureaucracy, whatever its faults, still retained a measure of independence from the chief executive, something the German bureaucracy felt honor bound not to do after Hitler's accession to power.” Pg. 81, The Cunning of History: The Holocaust and the American Future, RICHARD L. RUBENSTEIN, Harper & Row, Publishers, 1978
I don’t think that disbarment is appealable in the court system. You need to be a member of the state bar to practice in the state, but the state (or DC) bar can decide who meets its ethical and substantive law standards. This is not a 1st Amendment issue.
First, I am unclear on why you think the matter is a first amendment issue, as I did not, nor did Joyce, mention anything about first amendment rights in relation to Rudy's likely disbarment; second, it is my understanding that any Bar and, by extension, practicing of Law ultimately falls under the States' Supreme Courts' as an administrative matter; Thus with regards to the Federal Court Systems it is my understanding that matters of disbarment ultimately fall under the administrative auspices of The Supreme Court of the USA. The fact that Rudy may make an appeal to the D.C. court of appeals, which, again as I understand matters, logically means that his appeal could conceivably be appealed all the way to the top court that oversees the District of Columbia Bar, which is probably The Supreme Court.
Too be perfectly clear on my part, I do not at all understand why you included this statement in your reply to my original comment, "This is not a 1st Amendment issue." Perhaps you might provide me with some clarity about it.
Robert, you claimed that Barbara said it was a 1st amendment issue. She did not. She said just the opposite, and you misread. She corrected you in her response. That's it. Something you could have caught with a little care in reading..
I did not make any claims, I simply stated my understanding of what to my reading of her comment was an implied association of a first amendment issue in conjunction with the likelihood of disbarment; and then my follow up comment was to make perfectly clear that I did not see why she even brought the issue into the matter.
And I still do not understand why the issue was brought up. From my perspective it is irrelevant to the post and my comment.
The way threads collect your private data is absolutely stunning a d not acceptable. Worse than twitter and facebook. Be careful if you are sensitive to that topic. All the best and success!
I really love how you write, Joyce. It’s cleared direct, informative and pithy. Awesome.
Me too for the exact same reasons. I love the law and the order it is intended to bring. I object when people abuse it.
Pithy? Is that supposed to be a compliment?
Yes and here is the definition for you.
brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible:
a pithy observation.
of, like, or abounding in pith.
Hmmm...I always took it to mean something very different (more along the lines of vapid). Thanks for setting me straight.
We all learn a lot in this community :-) glad you and I are here together, Linda!
Yeah, it's just about the opposite of "vapid." (I can remember back when I thought "incontinent" meant "out-of-it"! ;-)
Well, it does in a sense: that which is not contained is out of it, the container, and one who has failed to contain that which is out is thus incontinent.
Thanks, Andrew, for the affirming etymology! :-)
🤣🙌☮️❤️👍
You've just made my day!
My exact sentiment Edward. Thank you.
Please clarify why Trump considers Comey an enemy when it was Comey whose public statements about Hillary Clinton helped elect him. It was Comey who did not tell the public that the FBI was investigating Russia's interference on behalf of Trump in the 2016 election.
Because Comey is taller, smarter, and better looking and can easily see right through Trump. Comey makes Trump feel small and dumb, which of course Trump can never forgive.
Also Trump had to get rid of James Comey. Comey was evidence that Trump didn’t win the election solely on the merits of his own winning self, and I believe he would not have won without Comey’s pre-election action. It was laughable when Trump flagrantly lied to the world about his inauguration crowd size. His first blatant and provable big lie after taking office.
you got that bang on correct about how Trump wouldn't have won without Comey's pre-election actions.
I’ve always looked at that pre-vote action as Comey just being his Boy Scout self. I imagine he regrets that more than anything else he has ever done. That’s just me.
Susan, Dump feels that way no matter who tells him how “small and dumb” he really is. It is a tragic Shakespearean drama....
I see what you mean. I the Case of Comey, do you remember all the people in a room lined up against the walls waiting to greet the new president? Do you remember When it was Comey’s turn? In a relaxed stride, the tall, strikingly handsome and honorable looking gent ambled across the floor to warmly reach out his hand to welcome Trump. Just in the visual alone I could feel Trump’s discomfort, smallness and humiliation to be in the presence of such a man. Trump made the decision right then and there. He is so gone.
There's also the fact that Comey declined to promise loyalty to Trump.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-comey-donald-trump-relationship-timeline/
Jan. 6, 2017: Comey and other intelligence officials travel to Trump Tower in New York to brief the president-elect on the intelligence community's findings about Russian interference in the campaign. According to Comey's prepared Senate testimony, he is chosen to inform Mr. Trump privately of salacious material gathered by a former British intelligence official that the U.S. had not verified.
This is the first time Comey meets Mr. Trump. He begins a practice of taking notes about their private conversations, typing his recollections on a laptop in the car immediately after leaving Trump Tower, according to his testimony.
(snip)
Jan. 27, 2017: Comey is invited to dinner at the White House with Mr. Trump. According to Comey's account, he had expected others to attend, but found himself alone with the president in a dining room. Further, the dinner progressed into a "very awkward conversation," with Mr. Trump telling Comey, "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty," according to Comey, who "didn't move, speak, or change" his facial expression "in any way during the awkward silence that followed."
"We simply looked at each other in silence," Comey says.
Comey writes a "detailed memo" immediately after the dinner, sharing it with senior FBI leadership but keeping it unclassified."
Of course Comey helped trump to win the presidency. Just ask Hillary! Yet that was not enough. Comey’s refusal to swear loyalty to trump as well as his refusal to state that trump was not presently under investigation made him an enemy in trump’s mind.
I forgot about his obsession with that. How he believed it was such a burning topic for every single person in the world, I mean that we all were anxious to know once and for all if he was under investigation or not. Guess I wasn't quite used to him at that time, the pitiful old lard.
There was that famous dinner between Comey and 45 at the beginning of 45’s presidency when he asked Comey if he could count on his full loyalty. I don’t remember the exact words of Comey’s response but 45 obviously took offense to his answer.
Tutone, I remember that dinner well. Comey took notes so as to have to receipts, so to speak, and then he said basically, I serve the Constitution not a President. It was awesome. As soon as Comey was fired, I knew we were in for big trouble, bad trouble.
I remember the day Comey was fired very clearly, and felt the same way. I was at the car dealer waiting for my car, which was having an oil change. I was reading breaking news on my phone and turned to the woman sitting next to me and said "Trump just fired Comey!" I had no idea what her political leanings were, but I was so shocked at the time, I just blurted it out. She looked at me with surprise, but said nothing.
Laurie, Comey failed the Loyalty Demand Test
I'd forgotten about that.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-comey-donald-trump-relationship-timeline/
Thanks for this, Judith. Very depressing to read; everything we needed to know about Trump's character and approach to governance is there. Why did it take so long for people to catch on? I'm relieved and surprised the US made it through 4 years of a president who sees himself as a mob boss.
A good read on the subject.
https://apnews.com/article/4ff1ecb621884a728b25e62661257ef0
Trump probably still believes Comey was trying to blackmail him.
Of course. Projection. Blackmail is Trump’s most used tool in his vengeance toolbox. And most fearsome. He blackmails his devotees with threats of a tweet against them as his basic first line of defense.
These tweets are not just name calling. They have the ability to put them and their families in fear for their lives.
Which proves how off the mark 45 was and still is.
If he lived to be 5,000, he'd never understand a world with civic-minded people in it, upholding decent protocols, not 'where's mine? fuck you, you're nothing' people, listening behind doors.
Confused about this as well.
Trump needs no reason, nor capable of logical reasoning, to hate!
Laurie, my thoughts the second I read that comment. He nailed the coffin closed....so sad for him and our country, OMG.
Because Comey wouldn’t pledge his allegiance to Trump the mob boss.
Thanks for the reminder.
Not a Comey fab ... but he wasn’t going to be trumps put bull. He was going 5o remain independent.
Please go back and review what Comey actually said and did. He had a rock/hard place situation and tried to navigate it well. "The candidate we want" should not have been a consideration, nor should the "candidate we don't want". DOJ rules... which he was trying to adhere to... was part of what happened. ditto "FBI investigating Russia." The whole point is you don't talk about it. The Hilary thing was started and stopped, the Russia one wasn't. Everyone makes him the arch enemy without any thought for the minefield he was navigating, and the fact that Trump held the ignition device. He did what he could. It's not to be expected we would "like it", and when the rules are tough, our demands don't trump correct investigative procedure. Comey didn't blether as Trump does. Stop swallowing clickbait headlines from the troll farms and go back to the sources.
I would like you to discuss the importance of November 2023 elections, not just focusing on the 2024 elections. Local elections are hugely important and are very much representative of the state of the electorate. Please don’t just talk about 2024 - those of us responsible for local elections need a focus on our efforts as well - the local elections really matter, and local officials are just as corrupt as federal officials. We need to work from the ground up.
Agree, Kelly. Here in Virginia, I'm gearing up to postcard!
Me too! A great way to volunteer (post cards and stamps). Even just 5 postcards help get out the (Dem.) vote. www.postcardstovoters.com .
Yes, me too Nancy...currently the OH campaign re ballot initiatives and a local voting reminders for the Native Americans
Hear, hear. Just outside city limits of Richmond.
Yay, for you in Richmond, Carol! I'm up in the northwestern part of the state, kinda close to the West Virginia border. Not too crazy but still kinda red!
Oh my, Kelly, not all local or federal officials are corrupt. We need to be careful about suggesting that all people in office are corrupt, or else no one honest or ethical will even bother to run for office. We need to encourage good people to run and serve - as you said, from the ground up.
I agree, but who has elections in 2023? I've always understood local elections to be in the mid-terms, such as 2022 or 2026. Am I missing something?
Already referenced here today are elections in Ohio (amending state Constitution to preserve women's right to choose), and Virginia. Ohio also has a vote coming up on August 8 in which the state legislature seeks to change the majority vote needed to amend the state Constitution from 50% to 60%. I'm doing Letters to voters on that issue: votefwd.org
From Wikipedia: The 2023 United States elections are scheduled to be held, in large part, on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. The off-year election includes gubernatorial and state legislative elections in a few states, as well as numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races, and a variety of other local offices on the ballot. At least three special elections to the United States Congress were scheduled as either deaths or vacancies arose. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_United_States_elections
Thank you, Judith. I missed that.
Ruby Rudy - The chickens are coming home to roost! One question: Given Trump’s threats to Obama and Jack Smith(particularly in light of the bludgeoning of Paul Pelosi with a hammer ... echoes of Wagner, don’t you think?) what would it take to have Trump detained pending trial? Does someone have to die in the wake of one of Trump’s posts? “Time to out the man out to rest” is explicit. As ever, thank you.
... put the man out..
Joyce, I am grateful that you are here on Substack, and am sorry to say that I will not be jumping over to Threads anytime soon - I am happy to continue subscribing to you here. When Dr Heather was on Facebook I rarely read her LFAAs until she started using Substack, and the same with Dan Rather's Steady. My opinion of most social media especially Facebook and Twitter has always been low, and it all seemed to coalesce into cesspools of humanity after tfg began his run for presidency. Unless Threads has different and more discerning algorithms for moderation of trolls and disinformation, I am not confident that it will be any better as a forum for intelligent and civil discourse.
I am looking forward to being proven wrong, but not optimistic. In the meantime I will continue to enjoy your current events and legal posts and your lovely funny chicken videos. 🐔👍❤
Threads…more $$$$ in the greedy ZukerBees pocket! Pathetic.
I totally agree about social media. I think that by reducing all conversations to a minimum it coarsens political dialogue, and invites extremism. That said, I do use Instagram to publicize my art. Social media is good for that. Anyhow, I subscribe to so many substacks from trusted voices that I don’t have time to spend on threads or any other social media!
Not holding my breath for any social media platform to curb disinformation. It’s always going to come down to $$$.
Amen. None are to be trusted.
As a matter of ethics I will not subscribe to Threads. Zuck has too much money and potential influence already, and he is not using them for the good of anyone but himself. I quit Twitter and Facebook, too. He could be a power for positive change. He isn't. He's not getting one more penny from me.
I agree, Linda - I dont tweet facebook or instagram. And like Mim, hope Joyce stays on substack. Social media is just that - plus drama & selfies. Sorry if I sound pessimistic, but from what I've seen - the good is outweighed by the bad.
I early recognized the dangers of Twitter for ordinary folks, but do understand how useful it is for people gathering current info. I've stayed with FB because I value some of the groups I am in, and especially appreciate Heather's talks there. LFAA there has a different audience with somewhat different takes: I enjoy reading them. What I DON'T do on FB is click on ads (including their so-called marketplace), play games, respond to polls, post personal information, period. I do use it to stay in touch with people I have gotten to know on a casual basis; I find this worthwhile, and I have more control over it than if I used email.
Because I am careful about how I use FB, I rarely even get ads anymore. I am on Heather's page when she does her talks (or for the video afterwards. Otherwise, once or twice a week briefly to see if anyone I know is posting. That's it. I do spend a large amount of time online reading some of the news outlets, journals and mags I get online, as well as commentary via outlets like substack, and taking in presentations by folks such as Brennan, GBH, etc. Binge on PBS Passport when I need a break.
I have been inside more this year than even previous years when I was dealing with Covid. Dang weather. It's either hot as hell, or raining. Or both. We're on flash flood alert right now, so not sure I'll be going to town tomorrow either. My cooking is getting really creative.
“ . . . awaken from the fever dream of Trump . . .”
That pretty much made my evening! A nightmare for me, but I certainly hope some decent percentage of Cult 45 awakens to realize he’s just a malignant narcissist and terminal grifter that cares not one bit about any of them.
Joyce, the reason Threads is not encouraging news is because they are federating via activity pub.
I explain here: https://terikanefield.com/socialmedia/
(There is much more information in the post than you need to understand what I mean)
I understand this. That post is also a bit potentially ominous as it sets up an argument for NOT aggressively addressing misinformation across the board from vaccines to book banning to voter fraud...You name it. I worry that it may not be made many of us hope as we get closer to 2024. Exhibit A: Facebook’s well documented history on addressing misinformation in news and politics. Makes me nervous!
The very reason I have not succumbed to joining it. Just makes me feel that leaving Twitter with Musk and going to Threads with Zuck, is like going from one fire to another.
That's my thought.
At the least, going from a raging dumpster fire into a smoky area... maybe it's just smoke that will dissipate, or maybe it too will become like Facebook, which started off innocuously enough as a college network.
I am not sure I understand your comment. Who is making an argument for not aggressively addressing misinformation?
My point is the statement of it not being worth the effort combined with Facebook’s history. I am not saying it will happen. I am saying it is concerning (at least to me)
I understand now. Thanks.
I need to be more precise! And I hope I am wrong.
To put it in simpler terms? Threads will become an aggregator of sorts.
I do hope you're staying on Substack, Joyce. Only Instagram members can get Threads, and if one should leave Threads, all his or her Instagram posts disappear, is what I've read.
I have read this, too. I haven't kept on top of it since deciding it was not for me, though. If it is true and remains true, that's the death knell for me.
Currently once you sign up for a Threads account, you cannot delete it without also deleting the Instagram account.
My escape valve, should I need it, is to unfollow everyone, turn off notifications , delete the app and don’t use it. My biggest dislike is all of the info that it gleams from you, but it’s free, so that’s the price.
That is the price ' Survivor but, ... you do not have to pay it in certain state jurisdictions that protect 3rd party commercial abuse of your personal data.
Other techniques are available at the User's End-device with or without App adjusments.
Ummmmmm
Anybody who thinks they're going to get anything good from widdle Markie Schmuckerberg probably believes in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
The day my name is found on anything that little piece of shit is involved with, you will know I died and someone stole my online identity.
social media delenda est!
Thanks, as always for the information, Joyce. I'll stick with you and Civil Discourse through substack, though. I have zero desire to migrate to another Zuckerberg platform that is so heavily populated by "influencers" and reposters of tiktoks.
One other impetus for me to leave it alone is what I read before the debut: it will be coupled to your Instagram account, and should you decide to leave threads (delete the account), you will also leave behind your Instagram account. **This may have changed since the release.**
If anyone can verify or debunk the above information about linked accounts, please reply and I will be happy to delete this comment.
I find the concept of “influencers” malignant and duplicitous. For me, the careful analyses and clear expositions, which we find on Substack through Joyce Vance, Heather Cox Richardson, and Robert Reich, (to name but a few,) cannot be surpassed. I dumped Twitter after Melon Musk bought it. I have no intentions of joining Zuckerberg’s latest money-maker. Facebook is a swamp of misinformation and is a big time-suck for the “look at me!” mentality.
Yes, this.
This is still correct as of today. Delete Threads, lose the linked Instagram account as well.
Thank you!
Joyce, i am so glad our Republic has you on her side! All of our sides! I loved today’s report. I hated Rooty Tooty when he was Mayor. He was an a+++hole then, but worse now, of course. He was only militarizing the public schools with police and scanners (for no good reason any of us could see in the school system!) and shipping the homeless in buses to clear them from Columbus Circle where tourists might see what a mess he made of the city. He hadn’t fully bloomed as the fascist insurrectionist he has morphed into. Thank you for all you do, Joyce! We are all in this together. 💙
Add to your list, the irony of rudi making millions as a security specialist after he sets up emergency management headquarters for NYC in the #1 terrorist target on the planet, the World Trade Towers!
A late friend of mine had a saying about people who were ‘veracity challenged’, “if bull shit were music he’d be a brass band!” Ah, rudi!
It is beyond disgusting that he profited off such suffering. Thank you, Louis, for pointing this out. I hope they send him to prison for his life. That is all he deserves.
LOL!!
As seedy as NYC’s Times Square had become over the years, it had a sort of dirty charm. Roody ruined it by making it into a glorified tourist Disneyland. I actually witnessed Grover and Spiderman characters engaging in fisticuffs.
Derek, seedy was not good. I grew up in NYC as a teenager starting in 1963. But Disneyland in midtown Manhattan? No way, Jose. We were horrified. He brought in the conservative Disney organization to make millions off commercial crap instead of renovating the incredible theaters that had served the people for decades. Historic and gorgeous buildings were torn down in the middle of the night to make way for high rise hotels and candy shops with 30 foot ceilings and blinding lights. You have no idea….
Wasn’t it the Mayor who created the madness in the middle of Times Square creating more of a circus atmosphere than a venue for the theatre and the arts?
Thank you. I had no idea.
Maureen, I am sure there is ton of good information on the web about Rooty’s days as NYC mayor. He wanted to “cancel” the election and stay on as mayor after 9/11, which was primary day, with Michael Bloomberg as the front runner. He was already into that mode of “mayor for life” idea. And his personal life was spread for all to see when he announced at a Gracie Mansion press conference that he was divorcing his wife, mother of his children and a known journalist. He had been having a pretty public affair with someone on his staff, or maybe not, my memory could be wrong. It was completely despicable and all New Yorkers who loved our city and our progressive traditions, hated him. Sorry for the rant….
Like his buddy trump, rudi scoffed at the notion of marital fidelity! One wife in the apartment while he diddled with mistress in Gracie mansion!
The slime running down his face while holding court in front of a garage appeared to be hair dye, but it more likely revealed the rot of his inner core!
Really, Louis. Ewwwww.
Don’t be sorry. I knew quite a lot when I lived in Boston due to the two were both on the news quite a lot.
'Rudy, Rudy, Rudy...' What a great start to a musical. Mel, (Brooks) are you up for it?
I was brought down by the Zuckerberg plug that followed. Social Media, now that is a subject. Given this piece, Joyce, I wonder how unbiased I could expect Civil Discourse would be when and if it comes to regulating the lot of them. I am completely negative about Zuck and give FB's algorithms a lot of credit for that.
First I think it is necessary to consider Mosseri's statement that clearly and obviously attempts to redirect the "platform's" conversation away from politics and news in general is a strong indicator, to me that Mark Zuckerberg does not want to be responsible for anything to do with hosting any serious civil conversations, as I imagine they pose too many headaches for him and ultimately detract from his "bottom line" and as it should be quite obvious by now Meta'a owner is focused on making money over and above most any other priority. Threads will not be seeing me join it at all. I suggest all who do join be most mindful of any subtle manipulations of politics and news postings.
Second, I would like to pose the question of just what might happen if Rudy Giuliani takes his disbarment to court and the case gets elevated all the way up to the Supreme Court?
Third, Trump's use of the IRS is not something new by a president of the USA, consider this block quote from an important small historical study:
“Nixon sought to secure consent to his program, if not by physical terror, then certainly by the beginnings of bureaucratic terror. Perhaps this was best seen in his attempts to utilize the Internal Revenue Service to harass political opponents as well as public personalities whose style of life or political commitments were distasteful to him. In addition to tax harassment, there were other attempts at bureaucratic harassment such as the threat to revoke the licenses of television stations owned by the Washington Post. The intent of the threatened punitive action was clear: opponents were warned' that there were heavy penalties involved in opposing Richard Nixon. Such use of power was an important initial step in the direction of government by terror. Fortunately, the administrators of the most important government agency involved, the Internal Revenue Service, were seldom willing to go along.3 In this respect the federal bureaucracy, whatever its faults, still retained a measure of independence from the chief executive, something the German bureaucracy felt honor bound not to do after Hitler's accession to power.” Pg. 81, The Cunning of History: The Holocaust and the American Future, RICHARD L. RUBENSTEIN, Harper & Row, Publishers, 1978
https://robertjrei.substack.com/p/homework-assignment-for-substack
I don’t think that disbarment is appealable in the court system. You need to be a member of the state bar to practice in the state, but the state (or DC) bar can decide who meets its ethical and substantive law standards. This is not a 1st Amendment issue.
First, I am unclear on why you think the matter is a first amendment issue, as I did not, nor did Joyce, mention anything about first amendment rights in relation to Rudy's likely disbarment; second, it is my understanding that any Bar and, by extension, practicing of Law ultimately falls under the States' Supreme Courts' as an administrative matter; Thus with regards to the Federal Court Systems it is my understanding that matters of disbarment ultimately fall under the administrative auspices of The Supreme Court of the USA. The fact that Rudy may make an appeal to the D.C. court of appeals, which, again as I understand matters, logically means that his appeal could conceivably be appealed all the way to the top court that oversees the District of Columbia Bar, which is probably The Supreme Court.
Read my post. I don’t think it’s a 1st Amendment issue.
Too be perfectly clear on my part, I do not at all understand why you included this statement in your reply to my original comment, "This is not a 1st Amendment issue." Perhaps you might provide me with some clarity about it.
Robert, you claimed that Barbara said it was a 1st amendment issue. She did not. She said just the opposite, and you misread. She corrected you in her response. That's it. Something you could have caught with a little care in reading..
I did not make any claims, I simply stated my understanding of what to my reading of her comment was an implied association of a first amendment issue in conjunction with the likelihood of disbarment; and then my follow up comment was to make perfectly clear that I did not see why she even brought the issue into the matter.
And I still do not understand why the issue was brought up. From my perspective it is irrelevant to the post and my comment.
Which or what post? There are at least 168 comment-replies to this post by Joyce.
I haven't heard a Bobby Sherman song in decades. Now it's stuck in my head. Joyce's post is worth it though.
The way threads collect your private data is absolutely stunning a d not acceptable. Worse than twitter and facebook. Be careful if you are sensitive to that topic. All the best and success!
Jack, I hope they collect all my data. Not a problem. We’ll all be dead one day, and data just won’t matter.