Chris

[Chris @chriswigington]

Anyone who knows me well knows I would obviously disagree with this, but it’s been very fun and enlightening seeing different people respond to this particular take.

[Joyce Carol Oates @JoyceCarolOates]

why study philosophy at all? once the "queen of the sciences" it has been, not surpassed, but rendered irrelevant by more specialized fields of inquiry (linguistics, neuroscience, etc.). however, to not have read Plato, Aristotle, the pre-Socratics, Lucretius, is a disadvantage

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb @nntaleb]

NOW PATENTLY PSYCHOS
NYT: "US believes Israel was plotting to kill top Iranian negotiators Ghalibaf and Araghchi while Trump administration was in talks with Iran."

Since Herodotus (& before the Egyptian-Hittite treaties) civilization meant sparing negociators; diplomaticide is banned by the Geneva convention; Sharia imposes safe passage, etc.

[Prof Zenkus @anthonyzenkus]

This is the same Kamala Harris who:

1. Refused to meet with Arab
and Muslim leaders in Dearborn
2. Had a Muslim Democrat (and former congressional candidate) kicked out of a speech before she went on stage (no, he wasn't protesting)
3. Had 2 hijab-weating Muslim women banned from a campaign appearance (again, not protesting)
4. Refused to allow a Muslim/Arab Democrat (who endorsed her) to speak on the convention stage
5. Silenced people in the crowd who called her out on her complicity with genocide

So good luck with all of this.

[Matt Stoller @matthewstoller]

The Supreme Court says bribes are illegal, but gratuities are fine. I'm not kidding.

[Trita Parsi @tparsi]

I remember telling skeptical European diplomats in 2024 that the Gaza genocide will be a formative experience for an entire generation of Americans. That the politics around Israel will change in America faster than most have expected.

And I specifically told them that the kids at the Columbia, Harvard, MIT encampments are no ordinary kids. They are the future leaders of this country. At least one of them will run for president. Several will run for Senate. Even more for the House.

It's already happening.

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb @nntaleb]

History is inexorable. Never fight time.

[Chris @chriswigington]

@nbayoungdork @tinattix @ggreenwald You should look up the word “corruption.”

[Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald]

The magnitude of Trump's personal corruption and the monetizing of the presidency by him and his family have no precedent in US history.

It takes a total peasant mentality, or some weird cultish devotion, to defend or excuse this, especially if you objected to corrupt Biden transactions (as I did). It's on a completely different scale.

Trump set up a crypto company (World Liberty Financial) 4 days before his inauguration, then had the UAE pour hundreds of millions into his pockets for 49% of it, then gave rewards to the UAE. Jared getting $2 billion from the Saudis. On and on and on.

[Yousef Munayyer @YousefMunayyer]

A reminder of how horrific things have been and for how long. In 2014, the Israeli military dropped a missile on Palestinians watching the World Cup on the beach in Gaza killing 8 Palestinians while they watched Argentina play the Netherlands. Here's how the @nytimes framed the headline:

[Alec Karakatsanis @equalityAlec]

One of the most interesting aspects of this video is how dismissive he is of ideas he has clearly not thought very much about, like critiques of militarized borders and the modern prison. He sounds like a flat-earther from the middle ages dismissing the idea of a spherical planet out of blind religious devotion to concepts he's never had the curiosity to question.

This highlights something I explore in the chapter called "What we don't know can hurt us" in Copaganda. One of the pervasive problems with mainstream news is that it never actually explains most progressive views. Whenever many progressive views are mentioned in the news (rarely), it is usually only to assert that the idea is controversial or radical or impractical. And the idea is usually described only with a label like "defund the police" but never offering any substance for why so many smart and kind and thoughtful people who develop views based on actual evidence might have come to that view. The result is cycle after cycle of ignorance, millions of words but no shared understanding of what actual policy ideas are even being discussed, let alone rejected. And, as I noted in my recent Copaganda Newsletter on popularity, when you strip labels but poll people on most of these actual policies, they are enormously popular. And they are even more popular the more evidence and time you give people.

Behavior like this from @jonfavs is extremely troubling, particularly because he's one of the few people in a position to delve a bit deeper and to expose people to a whole world of beautiful, solid, popular ideas that actually present the only path forward for a world on the precipice of authoritarian, ecological, technological, and moral catastrohpe.

[Prof Zenkus @anthonyzenkus]

The problem with Jeff Bezos' ideology is that it's based on a false premise. The idea that "six thousand years ago someone invented the plow" is based on a faulty belief that ancient humans functioned as individuals. They did not.

Ancient humans were collectivist. The likelihood that one individual invented anything is slim to none.

This is the myth of the genius.

Archeological evidence demonstrates that for hundreds of thousands of years, early humans congregated around communal gathering places, like the fire, and engaged in problem solving and passing on of shared learning down through generations.

Additionally, the plow (and tools like it) were developed by humans in Mesopotamia, Europe, Egypt, East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa as well as other places - not in one place by one person. This is known as parallel development.

Believing that the plow was invented by one genius is like believing language was invented by one person. It is a silly myth and represents the projection of current moral standards onto past events.

This is called 'presentism' and it is both an uncritical and ignorant way to view history.

Social learning was the main driver of human evolution. Collectivism is how we both survived and progressed as a species.

The myth of the genius is an example of uncritical analysis and a flawed lens used to justify the grotesque hoarding of wealth and obscene inequality that is currently tearing at the social fabric our species.

It needs to be thrown on the trash heap of history.

[Mouin Rabbani @MouinRabbani]

I’m only surprised it took them this long:

“Trump’s Board of Peace plans to grant itself sweeping immunity, documents show.
Draft resolution seeks to shield board members and security forces from potential prosecution for work in Gaza.”
https://t.co/UTDLCzRppy

[Prof Zenkus @anthonyzenkus]

77% of Democrats support abolishing ICE. Not reforming it, not tweaking it - but getting rid of it once and for all. Interestingly that's the exact same percentage of Democrats who no longer support Israel.

That's what Tom Suozzi and his merry band of mediocre right-wing Dems calls "extemism".

The push to "the center" is a tjinly disguised push to run into the arms of Trump and the Republicans while still keeping a "D" next to their name. Democrats stand in opposition to their own voters time and time again. They are the extremists, not the handful of leftist candidates who just won their primaries.

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

Kirsten Gillibrand, who accused Zohran Mamdani of promoting "global jihad" and has never publicly apologized for doing that, is having fun hanging out with Ted Cruz, who constantly makes anti-Muslim, bigoted remarks.

The worst side of the Democratic Party establishment, folks!

[Max Blumenthal @MaxBlumenthal]

Jaime Harrison was a Podesta Group lobbyist for Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BP, for-profit colleges, big banks, and the credit industry

He raised a record $109 million in a doomed race vs Lindsay Graham, and lost badly

Harrison embodies why so many hate the Democratic Party

[onion person @CantEverDie]

oh no they’re going to start calling democrats the same thing they’ve been calling democrats for 20 years now

[Sara McGee for Texas HD 132 @SaraForTexLege]

I say this with no ill will and *some* animosity. I am a Democrat. I earned the nomination to be the person facing the Republican incumbent in Texas House District 132.

Over the last 18 months, I’ve built my own team using my OWN resources and collectively we have knocked on over 40,000 doors in that time.

Unless something crazy happens in the next 6 days, I will file a TEC report that shows that my campaign has ~$2,500 COH.

So when you say “Don't use our resources.” Literally what resources?

“Don't rely on our volunteers.” I’m sorry, WHOSE volunteers? Because you do not own volunteers.

“Don't use our infrastructure.” WHAT INFRASTRUCTURE? Because I am out here on an island in west Harris County and I may not even be able to afford yard signs ffs.

And last but not least: “Don't ask Democrats to invest their time, money, and energy in your campaign.”

Heard.

Loud and clear.

I won’t ask for anything.

I started this campaign knowing that this was a long shot. I had no money, no political experience or connections, and just a burning desire to just give something BETTER to my hometown than what they have now. And every part of my being is committed to achieving that goal.

And Jamie, I promise that I won’t use “your” resources to win.

God I hate politics.

[Qasim Rashid, Esq. @QasimRashid]

Both these headlines are from Texas this month.

Texas sentenced anti-ICE protestors to 100 years in prison, but a serial pedophile to only 30 days. This is MAGA exemplified.

[Joe Wrote @joewrote]

The anti-ICE protestors persecuted by the government just received their sentences. These are the first prosecutions under Trump's directive that Antifa is a domestic terrorist organization.

For the crime of moving a box of leftist magazines, Daniel Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

For the crime of attending a protest outside an ICE facility, Zachary Evetts, Autumn Hill, Savanna Batten, Elizabeth Soto, and Meagan Morris were sentenced to 50 years in prison.

For the crime of attending the demonstration and asking her husband (Sanchez-Estrada) to move the magazines, Maricela Rueda was sentenced to 70 years in prison.

For the crime of defending himself with a legal firearm, only firing after a cop raised his gun, a fact that was hidden during the trial, Benjamin Song was sentenced to 100 years in prison.

Americans are being given de-facto life sentences for protesting their government, exercising their freedom of speech, and defending themselves. The fascism you worried about is here.

[Prof Zenkus @anthonyzenkus]

This is John Chell, former Chief of Dept for the NYPD. He supports Antonio Reynoso in the primary because he doesn't like socialists.

John Chell shot and killed an unarmed Black New Yorker in 2008 and a jury awarded the victim's family $2.5 million - courtesy of NYC taxpayers. Then in 2024, John hurt his foot, so he filed a disability claim. He now receives $295,000 a year in Disability Pension, again courtesy of the taxpayers of New York City.

He said "Socialism does not work". Oh, and he doesn't like Zohran Mamdani.

To review:
✅️ John Chell killed an unarmed Black man in NY
✅️ John Chell cost the city tons of $$$ because of that shooting
✅️ John Chell receives $24,583 a month in Disability Pension
✅️ John Chell says socialism is bad
✅️ John Chell thinks you should vote for Antonio Reynoso

Don't be a John Chell.

[Chris @chriswigington]

@Sn0opyDog @0xMaka @GaryMarcus That problem is not solved and to the extent that it is, it was not solved by any CEOs.