The 21st Century: A Primer:

Extreme global capitalism begets global authoritarianism. Countries are now "markets," not sovereign states; people are "consumers," not citizens, and systematic injustices are recast as the faults of individuals who just don't hustle hard enough. 1/8 We thus shouldn't be surprised when people seek scapegoats on which to project their sense of utter powerlessness amid such chaos. If global capitalism truly is "The End of History," then people will seek release in history's darkest trends. 2/8

I keep seeing these excited tweets from people who got accepted into humanities PhD programs. It's honestly agonizing. Because you don't want to be the one to tell them... Just to be clear: graduate training is a good thing, but there are no jobs in a academia.

Watching the Republicans resort to gold medal-level mental gymnastics to defend a Mafia boss like Donald Trump, you can really see how Trump's rise is the logical fulfillment of the "Base Strategy" developed by former Bush consigliere, Karl Rove 1/
pbs.org/wgbh/pages/fro… During George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign, Rove, campaign strategist Matthew Dowd, & media advisor Mark McKinnon de-emphasized pursuing "independent," voters who made up a mere 6-7 percent of the electorate. 2/

Look at this focus group of Ohio "swing voters." The fact that the U.S. electoral system places so much importance on these people is...unfortunate.
axios.com/focus-group-oh… "Swing voters" want "checks and balances," but they think that holding the President to the standards of U.S. law is a "distraction" from "the real issues" they claim to care about, such as the economy, health care, border security, & "the troops." 2/

Let's talk "Moderate" Democrats. First off, today's "Moderate" Democrats exist because the Far-Right defines all political discourse in America. 1/

nytimes.com/2019/11/08/us/… When people say they want "Moderate" Democrats, what they really mean is they want politicians who aren't Republicans, but who, by default, cede all political rhetoric & policy development to the Republicans. 2/

The Right Wing & #Confederate Monuments: A thread. The fierce public clash over the nature & legacy of these monuments in 2019 underscores why so many right wingers embrace Confederate iconography. 1/
buff.ly/2WpoJAC For many on the Right, the Confederacy embodied conservatism's core tenant that privilege for the ruling minority rests on the subjugation of the powerless majority. In other words: rights for me, but not for thee. 2/

A thread: The Right's disingenuous approach to U.S. health care is a moral travesty. Trump & his ilk love to point to Canadian health care as a weapon against Democrats. As an American who has lived in Canada for 10 years, let me comment. 1/
cnb.cx/2IkonFG I've lived in Alberta & Ontario, & I've never had to pay to see my doctor. Once you get your health card, you merely show it at the office. There's no co-pay, no deductibles. There is genuine freedom that comes from seeing a doctor at no cost & paying $5 for a prescription. 2/

In a small antique shop in rural Holmes County, Ohio, I saw some Confederate battle flags for sale. They were packaged with American flags under the marketing line "fly these colors with pride." Is there a more appropriate representation of contemporary white American society? 1/ America today is a society obsessed with its past, but large elements of this society are unwilling to reckon with, much less even acknowledge, the complexity of that past. It's much easier to slice the past into a neat & nuance-free "before & after." 2/

A the start of the Great Recession, someone I know lost his middle-class job. So did his spouse. Both of them took unemployment benefits for a year before they found new jobs. Now this person is a staunch right-wing Republican who complains about "lazy people" & "socialists." Of course, being on unemployment benefits for a year didn't turn HIM into a lazy moocher. In fact, it allowed him to burnish up his skills & look for work without having to worry about bills, food, etc. For him, unemployment benefits worked the way they're SUPPOSED to work.