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25 Oct, 66 tweets, 22 min read
15.01/ From last night, about the newest COVID outbreak from within the White House. As I've said before, the core value of Pence/GOP is anti-expertise, which leads to their self-destruction
15.02/ #Steelers @ Titans is the game of the week and as the picture below shows, nearly everyone in the 50 states will get to see it except... me in Jersey. But I'll get to listen to the game on my laptop, 10-70 seconds behind (why?!) #HereWeGo CBS broadcast map for 1pm g...
15.03/ @Dameshek is (basically) my age and we were both kids in Pittsburgh at the same time so we have the same abject fear of Mr. Yuk.

15.04/ #MoscowMitch says the quiet part out loud, because (a) he's desperate & (b) he's insulated from consequences due to Fox/Facebook

15.05/ One year ago, today (hat-tip to @atrupar)
15.06/ Every abuser I've fought surrounded themselves with enablers & accomplices who created conditions that allowed the otherwise talent-less goons to thrive. So too w/DJT: he 'won' in 2016 b/c the MSM & GOP & Russia allowed it. It's not working in 2020

15.07/ Really great thread by the Hoarse. He poetically limns a lot of what I've been thinking in a very clear manner. This image especially: that #MoscowMitch is just temporarily making a pawn a queen

Anyway, the whole thread is spot on.
15.08/ Dunno how they keep doing it... but wow. Great framing of the whole 'grimm' story, esp. the idea that DJT says "the plague won't hurt you if you believe in me"

15.09/ See my comment below for a mind-blowing TPM article about the history of voter suppression. So many things that I thought were normal were put in place to ruin voting (like 'registration' but also de facto literacy tests via voting booths!)

15.10a/ I need to write a bigger thread on this later, but I want to emphasize how I think about this moment: Trump (ym'sh) & the GOP have declared war on the American people. See @TimothyDSnyder below.

The war paradigm helps in another way as well

15.10b/ If there's a war outside my door, then OF COURSE I can't see my parents, travel, go to a concert, go bowling. If there are bombs outside, shooting etc. (which I lived through 3 times in Israel) then a 'shutdown' is normal & logical.
15.10c/ But the death is invisible so we have #Literalists making it worse, denying the dangers.

We have a 1000 dying a day! This is a World War 1 type slaughter.

Thinking of our time as war, waged by the GOP, thus makes our wary shutdown & deprivation reasonable.
15.11/ Almost 2 years since this finely crafted short story was made; on the par of the proverbial "baby shoes" for brevity
15.12/ Helpful thread to defray some of the 2016 PTSD. I think we need to reckon with how everyone misread the data b/c - as 2020 has shown - how could anyone vote for a clear criminal psychopath carnival barker? This was the error of Comey, MSM etc.

15.13a/ I'm coining #RewardOurVotes: the Democrats need to nix the filibuster, expand the federal courts, enact major social welfare & social justice legislation. Because Dems need to show what a working government can do & we will control the culture for the next generation
15.13b/ The Dems didn't do this in 2008 & they paid a heavy price in 2010. We had a trifecta but didn't go big, didn't show the voters that government was there to help them! We didn't punish the criminals behind the Great Recession, the Iraq War, the torture, & the inhumanity
15.14/ Yet another example of voter suppression, in this case open-box voting (which I've never had to endure, thank God). As far as I've heard, it's for this case: to ensure that the abuser can force family members to vote 'correctly'

15.15/ Update on an Aug 12 thread with the source I was missing, from @Natascha_Strobl (aka @Nat_Strobl_eng)

15.15b/ For some reason Prof. Strobl's thread is no longer on threadreaderapp, but here it is archived (and I believe she will post it on a blog sometime soon)

web.archive.org/web/2020051102…
15.16/ I know many people from LA & I wish they were all Angels fans because my entire extended family is from Brooklyn and the Dodgers broke their hearts when they abandoned the city. It's a deep hurt. So sorry LAD, gotta hope you lose (again). #LGM
15.17/ All of these innovations in Corona-ball and the #MLB couldn't implement robot umpires behind the plate? What a missed opportunity #WorldSeries
15.18/ If you told me a policy position of the current GOP was to literally put their elderly supporters on ice-floes to die, I'd believe you. It's basically what they did in Omaha last night

15.19a/ If Biden wins in a landslide, I'm looking forward to the fury & glee from the MSM (& some GOP) when they turn on Trump (ym'sh) like every victim does to their tormentor-bullies. While both groups were complicit in giving us this hell, I'm still going to enjoy it.
15.19b/ Ironically, the laptop-dud story shows that unlike 2000 & 2016 when they ensured a runaway win by the Democrat turned into a steal-able debacle for the GOP,
the MSM *depicts* 2020 as close without attacking Biden in order to *make* it close. B"H
15.20/ So glad to see my Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Moshe Lichtenstein, on the right side of morality & right side of history. Would expect no less from Yeshivat Har Etzion (note: I was there the year of the horrifying Rabin assassination & YHE led there, too)

jpost.com/us-elections/l…
15.21/ @IChotiner is a top-notch journalist who's been handling the #TrumpCrisis by doing a deadpan satire of RedHats but when he speaks in his real voice, it's the best. Like here, just going after the horrible horse-race punditry of the NYT

15.22/ It's a weird silver lining, but Pres. Obama being able to just throw haymaker after haymaker at Trump (ym'sh) is cathartic

Look at this comment, it's a surgical strike that hits like a nuke

15.23/ I actually agree with the whole thread. I have a feeling what can happen next week, but there's no way to be confident. The only lesson I learned from 2016 is that war - which is what Russia declared on us, aided by the GOP - is unpredictable.
15.24/ I don't know if this is a big deal but it feels like one. Jeff Flake openly endorsing Biden & saying "you can be a conservative & vote for Biden, putting country over party"

This is the 'permission structure' that can void cognitive dissonance

15.25a/ My biggest weakness as a prognosticator is my lack of understanding the full gamut of human behavior, at least on an instinctive level. I don't understand cruelty or cowardice. I know what it is, I can recognize it, but both are so odious to me that I can't anticipate it
15.25b/ So I got 2016 wrong b/c I didn't know about the Russian attack on our country; I'm fine for getting that wrong (same with 2000 & the theft of Florida). But I totally got the GOP wrong from 2016 until now: I did not anticipate how disgustingly cowardly they would be
15.25c/ And because I can't predict cowardly behavior (TBH, it's hard b/c as I say below, it's illogical & has black-box priors) I didn't anticipate how craven the GOP would be in their surrender to Trump (ym'sh) in 2016 and every day since

15.25d/ So now I get what I got wrong but also that I'm still unable to anticipate the bad behavior b/c my brain/soul appears to literally reject it like coughing out a virus

It's a mild silver lining - I'm such a nice guy, look at me - but it means my predictions are flawed
15.26/ I never bought that this guy Taylor was a hero. His hands are stained red with the family separations and other criminality of DHS and it was obvious in August that he was self-serving. His 'anonymous' bunk reveals how guilty he is. Ugh.

15.26b/ Follow-up: Merriam-Webster for the WIN!

15.26c/ Even more about the coward Miles Taylor from one of the heroes of our moment, Jacob Soboroff, who was instrumental in exposing the crimes of DHS. His condemnation is probative.

15.27/ This, even more than public polling, is an excellent sign that they're toast
15.28/ Bingo.
15.29/ Sorry for being totally random, but I've heard people are confused about the Limu Emu commercials. AFAIK it's a parody of the Geico gecko. Li-Mu = LI-berty MU-tual, but instead of a cute cockney talking reptile it's a dangerous large bird that acts like a real animal would
15.30a/ "Bring Back Social Stigma for Being a Horrible Person 2020" is my slogan this year. The key engine for support for Trump (ym'sh) was resentment and a lust to punish enemies - even if it meant they also would suffer, they were happy because their enemies did too.
15.30b/ The flip side of this murder-suicide revanchism was the desire to act horribly in public and be criticized by the people they knew were better (but hated them b/c of that). They thrilled in their open ugliness yet are thirsty & desperate for acceptance from their victims
15.30c/ When RBG passed, I saw so many anti-anti-Trumpers happily point out that she was friendly with Scalia and used it as a model for society to 'not let political difference come between us'

Really? Being cordial to a co-worker who will never be fired is a survival strategy
15.30d/ But my condemnation & shunning of the GOP/RedHats isn't partisanship. It's a thorough & abiding hatred of their cruelty, dehumanization & crimes against humanity

Yet they need my respect?! It's so pathetic. Being a bad person comes with a cost, in this world & the next
15.31/ Corbyn suspended from the Labour (aka Labor) Party is a nice start. What a sad fate for England; both parties were sabotaged by the Russians and Boris & Corbyn just seemed crafted to cripple the UK.
15.31b/ Important addendum by the estimable Yair Rosenberg
15.32/ This is not the statement of someone who thinks he'll win

He's threatening SCOTUS, with a weird bribe, that unless they pervert the election in his favor, they will not be as powerful as he imagines they lust to be

This should give us confidence. He's panicking Screenshot from Donald J. T...
15.32b/ Here's Sargent saying the same thing I have: that Donald thinks everyone is as corrupt as he is. For the most part, he's right but only because he actively drives away anyone not loathsome. Which itself tells you something about his crew.

15.33/ My very cold comforts right now: I'm heartened that (a) the military has shown they will remain non-partisan, (b) the majority of white people appear to expect their votes to be counted i.e. whites will revolt if they're treated as badly as POC have been
15.34a/ Quick memory; 20+ yrs ago I was teaching a parsha class to Jewish & Christian students and I brought up one of my favorite characters: Malchitzedek. I pronounced it in Hebrew as it's a logical word: Malchi = king, Tzedek = righteous.
15.34b/ The non-Jews had no idea who I was talking about b/c they had an entirely different pronunciation, which makes sense since to non-Hebrew speakers it's just a jumble of wacky consonants (like Josephat/Yehoshafat, another logical name: Yeho = God, Shafat = is judge)
15.34c/ Anyway, here's this year's parsha article by the great Prof. James Kugel (yes, his real name) on Malchi-Tzedek, the righteous king, who provides necessary 'good guy' foil to Avraham
jameskugel.com/weekly-torah-r…
15.35a/ It's insane that we can't use the mail to vote in a pandemic b/c POTUS is sabotaging it. Yet, as I say above, it does make sense b/c the GOP has declared war on America. It's still terrible, but it's logical & for me that's another cold comfort
15.35b/ This is the 3rd Civil War. #2 is the one we call by that name, #1 is what we call the American Revolution.

A revolution is just another civil war, and vice versa. It depends who wins.

The South lost their revolution. Please God the RedHats will lose this one (again).
15.35c/ Like #2, 2020's RedHat Revolution (Civil War Three) is about white supremacy & the desire to destroy liberty & establish a minority-ruled oligarchical police state that will turn people into property (e.g. women forced pregnancy) or non-humans
15.35d/ Like #1 the #RedHatRevolution wants us to be a kingdom w/a sliding scale of civil liberties

While #2 was state vs state, #1 & #3 are neighbor vs neighbor. It's a much closer battle. 2020 has the city police forces flying fascist flags (Blue Lives!) & attacking citizens
15.35e/ Right now I feel like it's 1776, where I support liberty but my neighbor could support the King, and will hope I get killed by the illiberal & illegitimate police forces

The RedHats are loud & proud fascists, lusting for power, fueled by hate. And I live amongst some.
15.35f/ This Civil War is enlisting SCOTUS to invalidate state laws that hurt the RedHats without legal logic. It's obvious from the outside, and to their victims, but not to the RedHat revolutionaries who are so desperate to cling to their unjust power
15.35g/ But I say all this again to reiterate: this is a war. Many of us know this. Those who don't, who aren't RedHats but just (logically!) hate Trump (ym'sh), and who think this will be a normal election, will also not accept having their votes rejected by SCOTUS
15.35h/ And, as I said above in 15.13a, we need to reward the voters (#RewardOurVotes!), but making 1933 style changes. Make government work again. Destroy the Reagan fascistic lie that government is your enemy. That twisted lie is calcified cruelty. Just depraved.
15.35i/ Why sick/depraved? Because in America WE are the government, it is US. My government is 'We the People', I elect them to do things for me. I pay taxes and I want the government, through experts & economy of scale, to provide things to me better than The Vaunted Markets
15.35j/ Reagan twisted a generation of goobers, softened up by the nihilism of Ayn Rand, to hate their neighbors & hate collective action. Hate leadership! Hate hate hate.

We have a chance, in this 3rd Civil War, 3rd Revolution, to once again work towards the more perfect union
15.36/ I'm an orthodox Jew & I'm voting for Biden. I also encourage everyone who'd listen to a (temporarily, I hope) retired pulpit rabbi & do the same. This is not about party or partisanship. Trump (ym'sh) is a criminal & a threat to liberty & humanity.

15.37/ I love this. Good for her.

thedailybeast.com/hillary-clinto…
15.38/ Perfect metaphor:

"The entire country is awaiting a biopsy result"

15.39/ I mentioned Ayn Rand above (15.35j) and it was probably primed by this thread here.

(Note, the first time I'd even heard of Rand was when I went to Yeshivat Hamivtar in 1990 & my rebbeim railed against her books & Anshei-Sedom philosophy. Whew.)

15.40/ Shabbas is getting closer & closer. We lost power twice already over the past day due to the rain, so I should end the thread now. #ShabbatShalom everyone; stay safe & keep the faith

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More from @JoshuaCypess

Joshua Cypess Profile picture
21 Oct
1/ People are defending Toobin?! Normally I wouldn't comment on something disgusting/NSFW but I've spent the last year immersed in the issue of gender safety & equity, in work-spaces & in communities, and this is a textbook case to unpack

And I'm a cishet man. I must speak up
2/ His behavior was not 'embarrassing,' it was unsafe. It's not normal; people are comparing it to going to the bathroom on zoom - nope. That's involuntary & necessary human behavior (and yet, can be unsafe if ppl expose themselves purposefully)
3/ Nobody unwilling can be forced to watch another person's sexual acts in a work or public space

The only positive spin on his behavior is that he's an addict & needs to enter recovery before he can be considered safe around others.

(NSFW link:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indecent_…
Read 15 tweets
Joshua Cypess Profile picture
21 Oct
1/ Quick thread to bolster Blue confidence right now.

It's important to remember that the Democrats lost in 2016 by 80K votes spread through 3 states. Yet 2018 was a blue wave 40 seat House pickup, and red states elected blue governors.
2/ 2016, like 2000, had a poor candidate trying to get a 3rd term (always hard). HRC had super high negatives & Gore was just uninteresting. They then chose bland/disliked moderate VPs & that encouraged the liberal wing to either stay home or vote Green in protest.
3/ In contrast 2020 has a good candidate that people actually like, an Obama Democrat as it were, plus a woman of color who's relatively liberal. This is not the same election

And that's not even taking into account how horrifying everything is
Read 5 tweets
Joshua Cypess Profile picture
18 Oct
14.01/ The alacrity & zeal of converting the house/kitchen from Pesadik to Chametzdik is in inverse proportion to the zeal in taking down the sukkah
14.02/ Given how often I need to use it during the #TrumpCrisis, I need to add "incompetent" to my list of words that I will never spell correctly when I first type it out.

14.03/ Last year I answered the Q below w/Ernie, Dr. Teeth, Gonzo, yet realized I should have said Ernie 3 times!

I was told that was allowed & while I followed the rules "as an Ernie, I should have just done it anyway. I'm betraying my Ernian heritage!"
Read 37 tweets
Joshua Cypess Profile picture
16 Oct
1/ Earlier this week I had an exchange with a truculent rando that is typical for Twitter but I refuse to let it be.

He didn't agree with what I said, so he tried to hide his distaste as if it was an high-level intellectual matter but only by ignoring most of my words
2/ I know this is typical for online comments but why should that be so? He didn't engage with my words, willfully twisted the meaning, because ultimately he was assuming I did something wrong.

And even if I did... WHO CARES? Who cares if I'm wrong. It's a big world
3/ Bottom line: I'm in my 40s & I interact with people online as if (a) they were random encounters in real life, with names & faces, & as such I must initially treat them with courtesy & respect; (b) & if they are misbehaving, then online life allows me to block 'em & leave
Read 9 tweets
Joshua Cypess Profile picture
14 Oct
1/ I sent this last night so I wouldn't forget the point but I should elaborate: the red-brown horseshoe meets at "current society needs to be torn down so our preferred dystopia will magically appear" So both sets of terrorists want "acceleration"

2/ "Acceleration" means "do terrible things to destroy current society so our magical land will arise." I'm a rabbi & sociologist so I'm a committed believer in society as the best means to reach utopia on earth. These red-brownists are my exact opposite. Sedomalekites.
3/ RedRoses hate the Democrats more than their purported right-wing opposites for real reasons; Reds & Browns in actuality hate society while we political-society types love society. It's logical. "Acceleration" is incredibly evil
Read 13 tweets
Joshua Cypess Profile picture
12 Oct
1/ Those who blame the "do nothing" Democrats ignore how it took a combination of a major demography shift AND the #TrumpCrisis for a majority of voters to recognize the GOP's fascistic evil. The MSM hasn't caught up, BTW, & contributes to the Leftist nonsense about 'do nothings'
2/ Look at the MSM revival of their Her Emails tactic for Biden and 'CourtPacking' as well as every question for a Dem being 'how will you pay for that'

Democrats haven't been hamstrung by the GOP/MSM double-whammy ever since the Civil Rights Act!
3/ The Leftist critique of the Dems carries the same myopic/#Literalist fallacy of blaming victims for falling prey to structural problems.

Now that Dems have demography on our side, we have a chance to restore the FDR/LBJ America.
Read 4 tweets

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