Great interview. And I will buy the book. In an earlier post, Aaron mentioned a person who canceled his subscription because he was exhausted by all of the coverage. We are all exhausted, but this is the time to suppoer independent media while we still can. Sometimes, I'm mentally and emotionally unable to read all the posts I subscribe to, so I don't read that day. But I continue to subscribe so that they have the resources they need.
I do the same. I am not retired and don’t have a lot of free time. I may not read or comment on everything, but I am still paying attention. I am grateful for Public Notice and the other substackers I support financially.
I, too, feel overwhelmed by Substack subscriptions. I try to focus on the investigative ones, such as Public Notice, Popular Information, Oligarch Watch, and the explanatory ones, such as Civil Discourse, while making room for broader context with America, America, and The View from Rural Missouri. And Paul Krugman is essential. The Down Ballot gives me the broad view of politics, and Strength in Numbers has its finger on the pulse with accurate polling. Jim Acosta and Scott MacFarlane give me news coverage. I also subscribe to The Contrarian. I do not manage to read it all every day, but I try to at least skim and then focus on what is important. I would like to have time to read books again, as I really do not like reading on screens.
I forgot to add Meidas+ to the list. I subscribed to it for Ron Filipkowski's Today in Politics. Meidas also has a mid-day news report that I can read on what is happening that day. It supports journalists such as Katie Phang, Scott MacFarlane, and economist Justin Wolfers as associates. And they cover the war in Ukraine, which most U.S. media does not.
I just listened to an interview with HCR, & the interviewer asked her about this. & her response was that the PEOPLE aren't that polarized. for ex, & I've seen this before, probably back in 2016, she pointed out that ~80% of Americans want something like universal healthcare. There's a whole list of policies/programs that a large majority of Americans want. (& it's not Project 2025). But politicians haven't been delivering them.
A valiant voice in today’s torrent of babble. I think the Dems should also concentrate on cohesion and longevity … for it will take generations to recover & rebuild.
It’s time to give the younger generation a chance. If you can’t get it done in three or four decades in DC, you have no business being there. It’s a privilege to be able to serve the public, not a right. Gerrymandering has done a major disservice to voters and has entrenched cheaters not only on a federal level, but also the state. Term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court are a must. And measures to prevent the rogue partisan judiciary as well. I am not sure how that happens, but the blatant corruption of the Supreme Court is appalling and unacceptable.
We should judge people based on the quality of their ideas, not their age. That said, it is harder for younger people to run, since they are also trying to establish themselves professionally and may have families. Political life is also hard on spouses, especially for people who live far away from D.C. One good approach is to start in politics locally before running for national office, whether it be working on campaigns or serving in local government. Also, as voters, we need to look closely at candidates and not get swept up in "charisma" or "compelling story." That was how we got Sinema and Fetterman and almost got Platner.
I agree. I reference the younger generation in the sense that the geriatric representation in government we have now is not working. They are not willing to change the status quo that served up the most destructive administration in our history. You don’t get hope and change with 80 year olds.
I wonder if the book includes any actual examples of Dems' apparently overwhelmingly crippling "blind deference to institutions" and "Democrats will let the smallest obstacle prevent us from delivering." As in, a supported argument, not isolated "look what so-and-so did 3 years ago."
But I don't intend to buy it to find out. Even in a short interview, he's producing all the hoary clichés: "feckless," "strongly worded letters," and the eye-crossing Bernie worship-- in short, the same cookie-cutter, content-free, evidence-free, Murc's Law Dem-bashing I see all the time.
This does make it clearer to me exactly why I got annoyed enough with his Bluesky account to stop following it so long ago.
Certain things need to happen in order to protect us from everything being undone. In fact much of this needs to be done just in order to enable us to do everything else. The Republicans will certainly cry and wail and accuse, and their rich friends who own the media will do the same. Even the institutionalist Democrats may have a hard time with some, but consider:
Stop treating money as equal to speech. SCOTUS got it wrong, so we need to get ALL money out of our elections, and politics (including stock trades) and label it as essential to our "Republic" (search the constitution).
Remove all wealthy people / companies from ownership / control or sizable influence over ANY media company in our country over a certain size. Break loose local radio and TV stations to make them independent again. Make lying in politics a crime, enforceable in court in a timely manner, with real, significant consequences. Remove the ability for a wealthy person to 'self fund' their campaign.
Remove Politics from our courts, after we remove all corruption and overt bias in our courts per the constitution's requirement to remove Judges / Justices to remove those who are no longer in "good behaviour". Clearly the requirement is for judges to be above even the 'appearance of impropriety'. THEN push for a constitutional amendment restructuring the judicial branch, removing politics from the selection and removal process.
Remove ALL Gerrymandering (essential to our "Republic") and ADD two more states (DC, PR - both way overdue). Push forward an Amendment removing the Electoral college, based on the idea of ending voters in most states being taken for granted, and politically ignored.
Revoke all of the tax cuts and loopholes for the rich since at least the days of Reagan, and flip the script in the IRS forcing the wealthy and large corporations to pay upfront for their mandatory audits, with default judgement against the rich... if the audit / arguments takes too long. They can try to sue later, again paying for both sides of the case, after having paid in full. No more can the wealthy use their wealth to block paying their share. The closing of loopholes will take time, but set up a system incentifying tax lawyers to call them out.
Remove ALL those corrupt people hired in the Trump administration, and those where there is evidence they were corrupted by this administration, and be ready to HIRE LOTS of people.
All of this has to be done fast, before opposition can be mounted, and yes, without the filibuster or efforts to make anything bipartisan.
Public service announcements: Critical thinking skills, How a law is passed and implemented, courts where the laws are tested and enforced, different functions in the government etc... to help educate voters without getting 'political'.
Once you have done this, you will find it easier to get other laws passed, and for future (including midterm) elections to be fair.
Yes, the other changes need to be made also, and they can (if congress prepares ahead of time) be ready to go immediately, because they will take time to have an effect which the people will demand. For instance, medicare (with dental etc included) for all, Change our Education department to leverage their funds to reduce the resource cost (educational materials, videos, etc...) for ALL students - K-12, college, trade schools... providing a free path to a GED or even a college degree. Encourage Critical thinking classes. Laws on AI, their data centers and how AI is used.
Restructuring of the obligations of a publicly owned company to no longer be solely motivated to increasing the value of the company in the stock market, but to also consider the priorities of the employees, with mandatory rules regarding who can be on the BoD, including Employee(s)... Since after all, Slavery is illegal.
Dismantling arguments against abortion rights, based on the 13th amendment and a law that enforces the 13th amendment, including the labor of providing life support with your body, not being forced upon anyone by the state or a fetus, either directly or indirectly.
As can be seen, most every problem can be innovatively solved (Already too long here) if we are bold enough to look at the problems in a new light. The people DEMAND change, and they want it now and they want to see the effects on their lives.
Great interview. And I will buy the book. In an earlier post, Aaron mentioned a person who canceled his subscription because he was exhausted by all of the coverage. We are all exhausted, but this is the time to suppoer independent media while we still can. Sometimes, I'm mentally and emotionally unable to read all the posts I subscribe to, so I don't read that day. But I continue to subscribe so that they have the resources they need.
I do the same. I am not retired and don’t have a lot of free time. I may not read or comment on everything, but I am still paying attention. I am grateful for Public Notice and the other substackers I support financially.
I, too, feel overwhelmed by Substack subscriptions. I try to focus on the investigative ones, such as Public Notice, Popular Information, Oligarch Watch, and the explanatory ones, such as Civil Discourse, while making room for broader context with America, America, and The View from Rural Missouri. And Paul Krugman is essential. The Down Ballot gives me the broad view of politics, and Strength in Numbers has its finger on the pulse with accurate polling. Jim Acosta and Scott MacFarlane give me news coverage. I also subscribe to The Contrarian. I do not manage to read it all every day, but I try to at least skim and then focus on what is important. I would like to have time to read books again, as I really do not like reading on screens.
Thanks for posting! I'm unfamiliar with some of those and will check them out!
I forgot to add Meidas+ to the list. I subscribed to it for Ron Filipkowski's Today in Politics. Meidas also has a mid-day news report that I can read on what is happening that day. It supports journalists such as Katie Phang, Scott MacFarlane, and economist Justin Wolfers as associates. And they cover the war in Ukraine, which most U.S. media does not.
Very familiar with Meidas.
Same. I'm in a position where I can support even that which I can't consume. When I subscribed to the NYT I didn't real every article every day.
"given how polarized the country is"
I just listened to an interview with HCR, & the interviewer asked her about this. & her response was that the PEOPLE aren't that polarized. for ex, & I've seen this before, probably back in 2016, she pointed out that ~80% of Americans want something like universal healthcare. There's a whole list of policies/programs that a large majority of Americans want. (& it's not Project 2025). But politicians haven't been delivering them.
A valiant voice in today’s torrent of babble. I think the Dems should also concentrate on cohesion and longevity … for it will take generations to recover & rebuild.
It’s time to give the younger generation a chance. If you can’t get it done in three or four decades in DC, you have no business being there. It’s a privilege to be able to serve the public, not a right. Gerrymandering has done a major disservice to voters and has entrenched cheaters not only on a federal level, but also the state. Term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court are a must. And measures to prevent the rogue partisan judiciary as well. I am not sure how that happens, but the blatant corruption of the Supreme Court is appalling and unacceptable.
We should judge people based on the quality of their ideas, not their age. That said, it is harder for younger people to run, since they are also trying to establish themselves professionally and may have families. Political life is also hard on spouses, especially for people who live far away from D.C. One good approach is to start in politics locally before running for national office, whether it be working on campaigns or serving in local government. Also, as voters, we need to look closely at candidates and not get swept up in "charisma" or "compelling story." That was how we got Sinema and Fetterman and almost got Platner.
I agree. I reference the younger generation in the sense that the geriatric representation in government we have now is not working. They are not willing to change the status quo that served up the most destructive administration in our history. You don’t get hope and change with 80 year olds.
Thoughtful interview. (Of course I agree with Cohen.) Better to act than to stew in my juices. There's always too much time for the stewing.
I wonder if the book includes any actual examples of Dems' apparently overwhelmingly crippling "blind deference to institutions" and "Democrats will let the smallest obstacle prevent us from delivering." As in, a supported argument, not isolated "look what so-and-so did 3 years ago."
But I don't intend to buy it to find out. Even in a short interview, he's producing all the hoary clichés: "feckless," "strongly worded letters," and the eye-crossing Bernie worship-- in short, the same cookie-cutter, content-free, evidence-free, Murc's Law Dem-bashing I see all the time.
This does make it clearer to me exactly why I got annoyed enough with his Bluesky account to stop following it so long ago.
Certain things need to happen in order to protect us from everything being undone. In fact much of this needs to be done just in order to enable us to do everything else. The Republicans will certainly cry and wail and accuse, and their rich friends who own the media will do the same. Even the institutionalist Democrats may have a hard time with some, but consider:
Stop treating money as equal to speech. SCOTUS got it wrong, so we need to get ALL money out of our elections, and politics (including stock trades) and label it as essential to our "Republic" (search the constitution).
Remove all wealthy people / companies from ownership / control or sizable influence over ANY media company in our country over a certain size. Break loose local radio and TV stations to make them independent again. Make lying in politics a crime, enforceable in court in a timely manner, with real, significant consequences. Remove the ability for a wealthy person to 'self fund' their campaign.
Remove Politics from our courts, after we remove all corruption and overt bias in our courts per the constitution's requirement to remove Judges / Justices to remove those who are no longer in "good behaviour". Clearly the requirement is for judges to be above even the 'appearance of impropriety'. THEN push for a constitutional amendment restructuring the judicial branch, removing politics from the selection and removal process.
Remove ALL Gerrymandering (essential to our "Republic") and ADD two more states (DC, PR - both way overdue). Push forward an Amendment removing the Electoral college, based on the idea of ending voters in most states being taken for granted, and politically ignored.
Revoke all of the tax cuts and loopholes for the rich since at least the days of Reagan, and flip the script in the IRS forcing the wealthy and large corporations to pay upfront for their mandatory audits, with default judgement against the rich... if the audit / arguments takes too long. They can try to sue later, again paying for both sides of the case, after having paid in full. No more can the wealthy use their wealth to block paying their share. The closing of loopholes will take time, but set up a system incentifying tax lawyers to call them out.
Remove ALL those corrupt people hired in the Trump administration, and those where there is evidence they were corrupted by this administration, and be ready to HIRE LOTS of people.
All of this has to be done fast, before opposition can be mounted, and yes, without the filibuster or efforts to make anything bipartisan.
Public service announcements: Critical thinking skills, How a law is passed and implemented, courts where the laws are tested and enforced, different functions in the government etc... to help educate voters without getting 'political'.
Once you have done this, you will find it easier to get other laws passed, and for future (including midterm) elections to be fair.
Yes, the other changes need to be made also, and they can (if congress prepares ahead of time) be ready to go immediately, because they will take time to have an effect which the people will demand. For instance, medicare (with dental etc included) for all, Change our Education department to leverage their funds to reduce the resource cost (educational materials, videos, etc...) for ALL students - K-12, college, trade schools... providing a free path to a GED or even a college degree. Encourage Critical thinking classes. Laws on AI, their data centers and how AI is used.
Restructuring of the obligations of a publicly owned company to no longer be solely motivated to increasing the value of the company in the stock market, but to also consider the priorities of the employees, with mandatory rules regarding who can be on the BoD, including Employee(s)... Since after all, Slavery is illegal.
Dismantling arguments against abortion rights, based on the 13th amendment and a law that enforces the 13th amendment, including the labor of providing life support with your body, not being forced upon anyone by the state or a fetus, either directly or indirectly.
As can be seen, most every problem can be innovatively solved (Already too long here) if we are bold enough to look at the problems in a new light. The people DEMAND change, and they want it now and they want to see the effects on their lives.