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26 Feb, 5 tweets, 7 min read
The Book of Exodus describes God punishing the Israelites with a plague for making a gold calf. (The Second Commandment bans idolatry.)

Cartoonists used this to satire the cult of Trump.

Now, life has imitated art — but Christian nationalism is no joke:
npr.org/2021/02/24/970… ImageImageImageImage
If you’re not following this closely, the vision of Christian nationalism is incompatible with a pluralistic, multiracial democracy.
It’s the direct descendant of the Confederacy & white supremacy.
It’s key to understanding Trumpism & the 1/6 insurrection: nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/… ImageImage
A minority of Republicans have now repudiated the Big Lie & Trumpism, as “far-right populism,” not “conservatism,” noting the deification of Trump & his immorality, but @MJGerson doesn’t name Christian nationalism (or White nationalism) for what they are washingtonpost.com/opinions/there… ImageImageImage
When fascism rose in the US again, it came wrapped in the flag & wearing the cross, preaching religious authoritarianism fueled by grievance, hate, & existential fear of the loss of political power.

TBD how many evangelicals condemn Christian nationalism: npr.org/2021/02/24/970… ImageImageImageImage
There is a direct line between the Confederacy, the Ku Klux Klan, “America First,” & fascism:
smithsonianmag.com/history/behold…
People bearing Confederate flags into a breached US Capitol showed us who they are:
When @Pontifex warns of the rise of Naziism, listen. ImageImageImageImage

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Alex Howard Profile picture
28 Feb
“social media companies have to be responsible for verifying what are real news sources and what are not —and tagging things as disinformation. And being transparent around ‘Who are these pages, who’s funding them, what’s their budget’?”-@MichaelDTubbs cjr.org/special_report…
As @YBenkler reminded me, lying about politicians is protected by the First Amendment, &, unlike a Facebook or Twitter moderating an account or Page, governments removing a site of literal fake news would raise speech issues:
defusingdis.info/2019/01/17/how…
Defamation law is an option. ImageImage
When a Senator asked me how to deal with a fake news website in his state, I didn’t suggest taking it down, & suggested he do many of things that Tubbs did:
sunlightfoundation.com/2017/12/19/win…
Politicians have limited options.

Search & social media companies need to ID “pink slime” sites. Image
Read 6 tweets
Alex Howard Profile picture
17 Feb
Republicans are misleading Americans into blaming the Texas blackouts on renewable energy sources, like wind.
Reality: icy conditions knocked plants offline & froze coal stores. Grid wasn’t designed for cold.
washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/…
It’s Australia redux:
“Most of the shortfall in electric power generation during the current cold snap is the result of natural gas & coal powered plants going offline.” reason.com/2021/02/16/ren…
By falsely asserting otherwise, @WSJopinion is misleading subscribers, & further damaging @WSJ’s reputation. Image
This headline by @VICENews is fair, factual, & accurate: vice.com/en/article/88a… If you see the cause of the Texas blackouts falsely associated with renewable energy or wind turbines by a politician, follow the money to their conflicts of interest in the oil & gas industry.
Read 4 tweets
Alex Howard Profile picture
15 Feb
"Whether we pass legislation to save our democracy will fall on the shoulders of Democrats for the next two years."-@CongressRadar firstbranchforecast.com/2021/02/15/for…

What's at stake? "The suffocation of American democracy."
web.archive.org/web/2018100803…

"after a failed coup attempt aimed at overthrowing the results of free & fair elections certified by all 50 states, [this] administration must come to grips with the stark reality that democracy…is in its worst crisis since the Civil War"-@piccone_ted brookings.edu/blog/order-fro…
"Our political process and electoral systems, while having endured a massive stress test, still need major work to comply with basic standards of free and fair elections with universal suffrage for all U.S. citizens"-@piccone_ted
Read 5 tweets
Alex Howard Profile picture
13 Feb
This speech by @LeaderMcConnell is months late, & his vote to acquit speaks the loudest.

History will show his immoral silence played a key role in Trump’s ability to lie & incite the insurrection, after years of cynical toleration of incompetence, corruption & authoritarianism.
The record shows that Senator McConnell first said Trump could not be tried before he left office, & now is arguing that a former officer cannot be held accountable for acts in office.

BS.

The “absurd end result” is that unprecedented corruption & sedition met with no sanction.
Not holding a President who pursued a self coup accountable & incited a failed putsch invites more seditious violence.

We should expect this abdication of accountability for inciting an insurrection to embolden future demagogues to seek to overturn elections — or this one again
Read 4 tweets
Alex Howard Profile picture
13 Feb
“Whataboutism is a variant of the tu quoque logical fallacy that attempts to discredit an opponent's position by charging them with hypocrisy without directly refuting or disproving their argument.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatabout…
“It is particularly associated with Russian propaganda.”
After the fall of the USSR, “Whataboutism became a favorite tactic of the Kremlin. Russian public relations strategies combined whataboutism with other Soviet tactics, including disinformation and active measures.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatabout…
Whataboutism “received new attention during Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea & military intervention in Ukraine. The Russian officials & media frequently used ‘what about’ & then provided Kosovo independence or the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatabout…
Read 5 tweets
Alex Howard Profile picture
11 Feb
Listening to @Kantrowitz talk with tech journalists about @TwitterSpaces on @TwitterSpaces.

@Twitter launched audio rooms in December 2020, & I forgot about it.
Would you like to listen to people you follow like this?
Do you do it now on @joinClubhouse?
@Kantrowitz @TwitterSpaces @Twitter @joinClubhouse What I like about @TwitterSpaces is that I can listen to it while I use other apps ( @ tweetbot, in this case), just like a conference call in the background. The value is all about the speakers; great interviewers & guests will keep being compelling, but most may be dross.
@Kantrowitz @TwitterSpaces @Twitter @joinClubhouse What I haven’t heard the tech & biz journalists talk about yet is the potential use case for politicians & officials. @TwitterSpaces could create instant town halls for legislators & mayors, or public meetings for regulators — but archiving & accessibility could both be barriers.
Read 15 tweets

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