FYI (thread)

The story here is simple. Tech companies destroying an industry by devaluing the product in the name of growth, and then realizing their business model doesn't actually work. It happened with: 1. Spotify - instead of .99 cents a song, it $12 dollars for unlimited music? Oh wait - that means no artist can make money on records anymore.

PEOPLE OF THE WORLD! My tweet about women was a response to this fascinating and well written piece in the NYT on July 3rd.  tinyurl.com/2p9dw2th. There was no intention of anything exclusionary or transphobic in what I said;  it wasn’t about that. It was about the same old shit women – ALL WOMEN – have been putting up with since the cavemen. Even then, men got top billing. But seriously, folks, if anyone who read that tweet thinks I have anything but love for any marginalized people, go to Wikipedia and type in my name.

May 3, 1994

To Members of the U.S. House of Representatives:

We are writing to urge your support for a ban on the domestic manufacture of military-style assault weapons. This is a matter of vital importance to the public safety. Although assault weapons account for less than 1% of the guns in circulation, they account for nearly 10% of the guns traced to crime.

Every major law enforcement organization in America and dozens of leading labor, medical, religious, civil rights and civic groups support such a ban. Most importantly, poll after poll shows

"Southern red states have long courted jobs & investment from the north with DEREGULATION, tax cuts & lax labour laws. Florida & Texas, in particular, have benefited from this sort of arbitrage in recent years. But the problem with the approach is that it all too often ends up.. being a zero-sum game in which investors benefit but public INFRASTRUCTURE & investment suffers. There is a reason Florida is called the Swamp (it’s not just the Everglades). It's among the top three states in the country for wealth divide, and a hotbed of political corruption.

"This election is a two-part referendum: first, on the character of a man, and second, on the character of our nation. That’s why I’m also urging fellow Republicans to put country over party, even if that means supporting Trump’s Democratic opponent. Although former Vice President Joe Biden is likely to pursue progressive reforms that conservatives oppose (and rest assured, we will challenge them in the loyal opposition), his policy agenda cannot equal the damage done by the current President to the fabric of our Republic.

“There is a cohort of close observers of our presidential elections, scholars and lawyers and political strategists, who find themselves in the uneasy position of intelligence analysts in the months before 9/11. As November 3 approaches, their screens are blinking red, alight with warnings that the political system does not know how to absorb. They see the obvious signs that we all see, but they also know subtle things that most of us do not. Something dangerous has hove into view, and the nation is lurching into its path.

“The underlying reasons were both obvious & hard to discern and it continues to amaze me that the phenomenon isn’t a central part of the conversation about the current plight of the United States of America. Start w/the proposition that Trump is great for ratings if you are a right-wing AM radio commentator, or a left Brooklyn political podcaster, you are making bank talking about Trump. It’s like a car crash, with people unable to avert their gaze. The Boss knew this and he knew how to exploit the greed and venality of journalists because he was

"The election of BarackObama was the defining event of Donald Trump's rise. There are really no words to describe his hatred of Obama; this was when I began to witness the increasingly reactionary & unhinged ArchieBunker racism that defined Trump and his views on modern America. He was friendly w/ many African American people of the celebrity variety; Trump really has no friends, only interests, desires and ambitions. He wasn't so stupid as to use the N-word, at least not in my presence--but as a rule he expressed low opinions of all black folks...

Hoax,” the new book by the CNN journalist Brian Stelter provides a damning examination of the incestuous relationship between Trump & his favorite channel & of Fox’s democracy-decaying role as a White House propaganda organ masquerading as conservative journalism. “Hoax”'s basic thesis: that Fox is powerful & toxic, is widely acknowledged, thanks to last year’s NYTimes exposé of Rupert Murdoch, whose company owns Fox. Even so, Stelter’s cataloging of the power and toxicity of Fox is an important addition to the growing library of books

In response to the entertainment industry shut down caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City's custom costume industry has launched the Costume Industry Coalition (CIC) to advocate for their survival. Members include over 45 small, unique, independent businesses and artisans--in and around New York City--that create and supply costumes for the entertainment industry. Together they deliver one-of-a-kind costumes for theatre, dance, opera, concerts, theme parks, cruise ships,

"Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And I don't say that hyperbolically. He is. But he is a consequential president. And he has brought this country in three short years to a place of weakness that is simply unimaginable if you were pondering where we are today from the day where Barack Obama left office. And there were a lot of us on that day who were deeply skeptical and very worried about what a Trump presidency would be. But this is a moment of unparalleled national humiliation, of weakness.

“MY NAME IS ALICE , AND I WAS SITTING IN THE WAITING ROOM FOR MY FIRST APPOINTMENT WITH A NEW DENTIST.
I NOTICED HIS DDS DIPLOMA ON THE WALL, WHICH BORE HIS FULL NAME.
SUDDENLY, I REMEMBERED A TALL, HANDSOME, DARK-HAIRED BOY WITH THE SAME NAME HAD BEEN IN MY HIGH SCHOOL CLASS SOME 30-ODD YEARS AGO.
COULD HE BE THE SAME GUY THAT I HAD A SECRET CRUSH ON, WAY BACK THEN?
UPON SEEING HIM, HOWEVER, I QUICKLY DISCARDED ANY SUCH THOUGHT.
THIS BALDING, GRAY-HAIRED MAN WITH THE DEEPLY LINED FACE WAS WAY TOO OLD TO HAVE BEEN MY CLASSMATE.
AFTER HE EXAMINED

Under the karmic principles that govern dictators, excessive force generates greater resistance. 24 hours after his declaration of war on American citizens, there are more protestors in Lafayette Square who are defying the D.C. curfew than before Trump resorted to violence. A few Republican voices meekly defended Trump’s actions, but the overwhelming response was condemnation. A few Republican voices meekly defended Trump’s actions, but the overwhelming response was condemnation. Two Republican Senators blasted Trump’s use

“With the benefit of 24-hours’ hindsight, it appears that Trump’s attack on peaceful protestors in D.C.’s Lafayette Square marks the end of his presidency. He may continue to occupy the Oval Office, but his tenuous claim to legitimacy as president evaporated with the first volleys of tear gas lobbed at Americans exercising their First Amendment rights. Trump believes his illegal use of force was a victory because it generated advertising for his 2020 campaign.

"There are very powerful interests who demand “freedom” in order to do as they like with the environment, society and the economy. They have infused a very large part of American culture with the belief that “freedom” is literally more important than life. My freedom to own assault weapons trumps your right not to get shot at school. Now, my freedom to go to the barber (“I Need a Haircut” read one banner this week in St Paul, Minnesota) trumps your need to avoid infection.

#LaurieGarrett, who predicted this pandemic, called Trump “the most incompetent, foolhardy buffoon imaginable"; and is "shocked that America isn’t in a position to lead the global response to this crisis in part because science and scientists have been so degraded under Trump." "Referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and its analogues abroad, Garrett said, “I’ve heard from every C.D.C. in the world — the European C.D.C., the African C.D.C., China C.D.C. — and they say, ‘Normally our first call is to CDC in Atlanta,

(THREAD) From a Friend, one of my dancers:

After more than a week of waiting, last night I was told I tested positive for COVID-19. To say that the last week and a half or so has been a challenge would be an extreme understatement. Here is a brief synopsis of my story. On the 12th, I went to the doctor with a headache and mid grade fever. I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and put on a Zpack. As I was about to complete my prescription, I began feeling worse. My fever spiked to 103 and I could barely sit up. I tested negative for the flu

“The President knows so little about infectious disease that, on Wednesday, during a news conference, he acknowledged that he was shocked to learn that influenza kills between roughly thirty to seventy thousand people a year in the United States. Trump said this in public, standing next to Anthony Fauci, who, for decades, as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been the government’s most prominent and reliable authority on subjects ranging from aids to sars, Ebola, and influenza.”