Journalist/author, columnist for the Georgia Recorder
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Dec 7, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Trump’s lies are legion and legendary, but it’s important to note that even he has trouble lying about certain things that are important to him. When he was asked to condemn the Nazis at Charlottesville, the easy thing was to do so. Instead, we got “good people on both sides.”
When asked whether he would accept a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the election, the smart thing was to say sure. He could not do that. When asked about the Proud Boys, he could not condemn them; instead, we got “stand back and stand by.”
May 10, 2022 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
The notion that Americans do not have a right to privacy because the Constitution does not guarantee us such a right is basically an argument that the only rights we enjoy are those granted to us by gov't.
And what gov't grants, gov't can take away.
Well, screw that. 1/9
The Declaration of Independence, written 13 years before the Constitution, says it is "self-evident" that we enjoy "certain unalienable rights," rights that King George did not give us and could not take away, including the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 2/9
Mar 18, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
The idea that unpopular speech should have no consequence is naive.
Almost 20 years ago, a relative few of us vocally opposed the war in Iraq, and for that we were shamed and shunned. Ask the Dixie Chicks. Then ask them whether they would do it again. Of course they would. 1/7
The editorial says people should be able to "take unpopular but good-faith positions on issues society is still working through — all without fearing cancellation."
OK sure. But the phrase "good-faith positions" is doing Atlas-upholding-the-Earth-type duty in that sentence. 2/7
Mar 18, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
The idea that unpopular speech should have no consequence is naive.
Almost 20 years ago, a relative few of us vocally opposed the war in Iraq, and for that we were shamed and shunned. Ask the Dixie Chicks. Then ask them whether they would do it again. Of course they would.
The editorial says people should be able to "take unpopular but good-faith positions on issues that society is still working through — all without fearing cancellation."
OK sure. But the phrase "good-faith positions" is doing Atlas-upholding-the-Earth-type duty in that sentence.
Jan 7, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The claim the FBI organized and provoked the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol is ridiculous and utterly without factual basis, but it's astonishing how quickly it is becoming accepted truth among conservatives. It's testament to the efficiency of their bullshit factory. 1/4
It's like they have a 3D printer to fabricate a new "truth" whenever they need it. In this case, they needed some way to absolve their movement of guilt for Jan. 6 -- the "antifa" thing didn't quite work out -- so they just invented one. Necessity is the mother of invention. 2/4
Nov 4, 2021 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
It's telling to see "conservatives" demand the power to say outrageous, even violence-provoking things without suffering any social or economic consequence, when historically they have been most insistent upon the need to enforce such social and moral codes. 1/5
That's because the goal of the "conservative" project has changed dramatically. They recognize they're unlikely to achieve their goals by working within the existing order, so rather than sustain it they are attempting to discredit and destroy it, to render it unworkable. 2/5
Jul 18, 2021 • 8 tweets • 4 min read
Twenty years ago, the UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its third assessment of the risks and dangers posed to our planet and our future by greenhouse gases: ipcc.ch/site/assets/up…
Let's review its warnings, shall we?
The 2001 IPCC report assessed that "Higher maximum temperatures; more hot days and heat waves over nearly all land areas" were "very likely," leading to "increased incidence of death and serious illness in older age groups and urban poor."
Jun 25, 2021 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
Let me tell you a story, a very personal story, about the importance and generational impact of what @JDVance cavalierly dismisses here as "progressive wokeness" in the US military. It stars my father, born and raised deep in West Virginia coal country.
Our family's roots go way back in Appalachia, back to the 1750s, and while much of that hillbilly heritage is a source of pride, some of it is not. My grandfather, for example, was a KKK member, and when Dad enlisted in the USAF he brought that racist training with him.
Feb 23, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
In his Jan. call with SoS Raffensperger, Trump repeatedly threatened the SoS & others with criminal prosecution for not exposing supposed election fraud. According to @MarkWinneWSB, Raffensperger & staff were so worried they hired personal attorneys. 1/4 wsbtv.com/news/local/atl…
The man who would have handled that prosecution was US Attorney BJay Pak, who suddenly and mysteriously resigned two days after the Raffensperger call became public. The Justice Department inspector general is investigating Pak's odd departure. 2/4
Jan 27, 2021 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
To fully comprehend the GOP's dilemma, it's important to realize that as a private citizen, Donald Trump has zero ability to contribute to the party as it stumbles through the political wilderness.
Why?
Three main reasons: (1/7)
1. He has no interest in helping; Trump only helps Trump. 2. With approval ratings at 30%, he can't help because everyone outside the GOP base hates him. 3. Within the base, his appeal is intensely personal and not transferable; if he's not on the ballot, his voters vanish. (2/7)
Oct 7, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The message of hope and healing that Joe Biden delivered today at Gettysburg is very much Bidenesque. And while some Democrats may find it naive after the Trump and Obama years, it explains why Biden won the nomination and may win the White House. America thirsts for it. 1/4
Biden was inspired by Lincoln's First Inaugural Address, in which that giant of US history appealed to our nation's "better angels" to avoid civil war, but it's worth noting Lincoln's appeal was not heeded. As he would note ruefully four years later, in his Second Inaugural: 2/4
Oct 6, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Trump's promise to reverse the trade deficit has been a dismal failure, according to new gov't data for August:
"The overall trade deficit was $67.1 billion, — the highest since 2006. The deficit for U.S. goods trade by itself was $83.9 billion, the highest ever recorded."
Trump's promise to revive the coal industry has also failed dismally:
" .... total coal production is expected to drop this year to 511 million tons, down from 775 million tons in 2017. That 34 percent decline is the largest four-year drop in production since at least 1932."
Sep 7, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Watch Kirk Herbstreit's guttingly honest assessment of racial inequality in our country -- -- and then look at some of the Twitter reaction in which the hatred he condemns is so apparent:
"Our Convention occurs at a moment of crisis for our nation. The attacks on our police, and the terrorism in our cities, threaten our very way of life. Any politician who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country...."
1/4
"... Americans watching this address tonight have seen the recent images of violence in our streets and the chaos in our communities. Many have witnessed this violence personally, some have even been its victims...." 2/4
Aug 12, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Why the hell is it so important to some conservative white men to insist that Kamala Harris is NOT African-American, and what gives them the right to reach such a judgment in the first place? It's both bizarre and revealing. 1/6
Listen to Mark Levin, a supposed "intellectual of the right," pretend that it's beneath him to be interested in Harris' proper ethnic identity while insisting, at length and in detail, that she cannot be called "African-American." Again, why is that so damn important to them? 2/6
Aug 11, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Remember late on Election Night in 2012, when Karl Rove took on the Fox News Decision Desk, insisting on air that Obama had NOT won Ohio, that Romney could still take the state & the WH? Fox News stood up to Rove that night, correctly sticking by its call despite pressure. 1/4
Well, if Election Night 2020 is at all close, Trump's move will be to declare victory and insist that mail-in ballots don't need to be counted. At that point, the pressure on Fox News to go along with Trump's fiction, to create the fact of his re-election, will be huge. 2/4
Aug 7, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
"Take away your guns, destroy your Second Amendment, no religion, no anything," says Trump of Biden. "Hurt the Bible, hurt God. He's against God, he's against guns."
We should talk about this, because Trump is revealing a lot more here than his position on God and guns. 1/5
"Hurt the Bible, hurt God." It has all the elegance of "Me Tarzan, you Jane," right? And while the ability to take complex ideas and communicate them in simple terms to a mass audience is invaluable to a politician, let's get real: That is not at all what Trump is doing here. 2/5
Jul 27, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
"It's going to disappear one day. It's like a miracle. It's going to disappear."
Donald J. Trump, Feb. 27
REPORTER: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your response to this crisis?"
THE PRESIDENT: "I’d rate it a 10. I think we’ve done a great job."
(March 16, 2020)
Jul 17, 2020 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
Bob Corker, canceled. Jeff Flake, canceled. John Kasich, canceled. Paul Ryan, canceled. John Boehner, canceled. Mitt Romney, canceled. George W. Bush, canceled. Jeff Sessions, canceled. Others -- Cruz, Rubio, etc. -- have avoided cancellation only thru craven self-abasement. 1/11
Truth is, no one practices "cancel culture" more maniacally than the GOP, a fact that goes a long way toward explaining its current woes. Only the GOP, for example, could come up with the concept of RINO, or Republican in Name Only. What is that but a way to cancel people? 2/11
Jul 17, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
According to a document compiled for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, but withheld from the public, Georgia is one of 18 states in the "red zone" for high caseload growth, and one of 12 in the "red zone" for high positive test results. 1/8
bit.ly/3jdwV1K
"Disease trends are moving in the wrong direction in Georgia with record numbers of new cases in urban, suburban and rural areas," the report warns. GA had 202 new cases for 100,000 population last week, compared to the nationwide average of 119 per 100K population. 2/8
Jul 16, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Among the report's suggestions for GA:
- "Allow local jurisdictions to implement more restrictive policies"
- "Mandate statewide wearing of cloth face coverings outside the home"
- In counties with high positive rates, "close bars, restrict social distancing in restaurants" 4/?
According to the leaked report, deaths in GA were up 65% over the previous week, positive tests were up 20.6%, total tests reported were DOWN 3.3%. So these numbers are not the result of more testing. It also lists specific communities at heightened risk. 5/?
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