The Generalist

One's identity is far more than one's profession.

Richmond Shreve

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Break’s Over, Resist!

After a stunning electoral loss like this, there’s a natural impulse to shut off the news, log off social media and withdraw from public life. I’ve seen this with friends in Turkey and Hungary with opposition supporters retreating in disillusionment after Erdogan’s or Orbam’s victories. Understandably, people want to turn inwards.

Dancing, travel, meditation, book clubs — it’s all fine. But eventually, in Poland, Hungary and Turkey, opponents of autocracy have returned to the fight, driven by a belief in the possibility of change. So will Americans.

Asli Aydintasbas – Article from Politico via Robert Reich.

Trump will overplay his hand. Be ready for when he does.
Friends,

Stacey Abrams has some specific suggestions:

Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams | Crooked Media
A weekly podcast from All-American polymath Stacey Abrams focused on connecting the people and pieces in order to make our union a little more perfect.

If you have discovered action-oriented political commentary, share it as a comment.

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We Are the Hope

The local Gannet Papers, The Bucks County Courier-Times, and the Intellignecer publish a weekly feature called “From a Faith Perspective.” I am one of a panel of writers that contribute columns on a rotating basis. The last Sunday of Advent, the Sunday before Christmas was my turn.

BucksCountyCourierTimeseEditionDownload

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Be a Prepper

No, I don’t mean one of those who make a hobby of preparing for the collapse of civilization by digging a bunker and learning to make fire by rubbing sticks together. The next four years will be chaotic, and we expect the excesses of the GOP to be exceeded only by the excesses of the extreme right that terrorizes them.

There are some actions to take to protect yourself socially, psychologically, and politically. I’ve mentioned On Tyranny. Marguerite has shared the link to his series of videos which present his wisdom in his own voice. She also offers a link that has advice for remaining grounded in the face of actions intended to put us off balance.

Here’s the link for a video series created by Timothy Snyder about On Tyranny: 

Here’s the link for an article in Convergence Magazine on how to prepare ourselves for what’s coming:

10 Ways To Be Prepared and Grounded Now That Trump Has Won
The key to taking effective action in a Trump world is to avoid perpetuating the autocrat’s goals of fear, isolation, exhaustion and disorientation.

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A National Shame

 The school shooting in Madison was the 83rd such incident in 2024, bringing the total killed to 38 and the total wounded to 115.

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Flood the Zone

Since the election, I have greatly reduced the time I spend on the media. I rationalize my indifference to political news in various ways, but the effect is to disengage. Advertising-funded media are cowering at the threat of losing subscribers or ratings. They pull their punches or give too much airtime to political theater. I have retreated to reading a few blogs that I have found to be credible: Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, and Talking Points Memo (TPM).

But I know that I am succumbing to Steve Bannon’s “Flood the Zone With Shit” strategy. If you don’t know what that is and how it affects you, read on. What follows is a ChatGPT generated briefing. Feel free to share it widely.

Briefing on “Flood the Zone with Shit”Download

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Angry? You’re more likely to spread misinfo

The News Literacy Project Reports:

Making people feel outraged is an effective way to spread misinformation — and foreign purveyors of disinformation use this tactic regularly, according to a Washington Post analysis of two new studies. The first study, in the journal Science, found that social media users who share content that angers them are less likely to read or verify it before sharing, and content from low-quality sources — including hyperpartisan sites — is more likely to provoke outrage.

A separate report from the nonprofit Issue One found that foreign disinformation in the 2024 election aimed to tap into similar strong emotions, such as anger, fear and mistrust. The report identified 160 false narratives spread by Russia, Iran, and China, and concluded these foreign influence operations used “pink slime” websites that misleadingly imitate genuine news sites, networks of trolls, and generative artificial intelligence technology to spread falsehoods.

The newsletter is aimed at educators and those who work with young people. It suggests ways to engage them by asking questions. Maybe this would be a good way to engage our friends and neighbors — ask questions and listen actively to their answers.

Talk with the young people in your life about content that makes them angry online. What steps could they take to counter misinformation? Why does outrage drive misinformation online? Why would social algorithms prioritize content that provokes strong emotions?

Misinformation Evokes More Outrage

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Inured or Obeying in Advance?

Judd Legum documents the remarkable lack of media interest in the President Elect benefiting handsomely from foreign capital. It doesn’t pass the sniff test and is certainly vastly more corrupt that the support Hillary received for her charitable foundation. We all have become inured to scandalous behavior by GOP luminaries; scarcely a week goes by without something new. Indeed, #45 appears to be intentionally provoking outrage — it devours the media cycle and ultimately has no consequences for him. He benefits because items like this don’t make the headlines. He also benefits because the outrage keeps the nation divided. True MAGA believers don’t care. The rest of us are repulsed. It’s a tactic.

One wonders if our mainstream media, fearing loss of GOP advertisers and subscribers, are now pulling their punches.

Trump v. Clinton: The media double standard on the influence of foreign cash
On Monday, Popular Information reported that Justin Sun, a Chinese national currently being prosecuted for fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission, sent President-elect Donald Trump $18 million in cash.

If you don’t already subscribe to “Popular Information,” Legum’s excellent newsletter, you should.

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Lest We Forget

America has produced some great leaders, people who called forth the greatness of our aspirations even when circumstances were grim. So it was in 1863.

Who will rise to speak great words of resolve and hope today?

On Blood-Soaked Ground, a ‘Prayer for the Future’ of a Divided Land
Two weeks after the election, a gathering in Gettysburg commemorated Lincoln’s address, 272 words that have come to epitomize what it means to be presidential.

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The Musk Subsidy Revealed

Robert Reich lets some of the hot air out of the popular image of Elon Musk as a real-world version of John Galt. Ayn Rand’s fictional character was an individualist who fought bureaucracy and institutions. Many see Elon Musk’s success in becoming the world’s richest man as evidence that he made it independent of government, perhaps despite it, through genius and entrepreneurial risk-taking alone.

In truth, Musk has prospered in a business environment designed to make it easier for him to succeed because our government wanted to encourage and financially support businesses like his. We, as taxpayers, both subsidized Tesla sales and were his Space-x patrons. Reich analyzes the numbers.

The Musk rat
Friends,

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Resistance Advice

In February 2017, Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, shared a list of strategic guidelines circulating at the time, aimed at effectively opposing the policies of then-President Donald Trump. While she did not claim authorship, she endorsed the advice by posting it on her Facebook page.

Truth or Fiction

The ten-point strategy includes:

  1. Avoid using his name; refer to him as “45” instead.
  2. Recognize that this is a regime, and he is not acting alone.
  3. Refrain from arguing with his supporters; it is unproductive.
  4. Concentrate on his policies, not his appearance or mental state.
  5. Maintain a positive message; they want the country to be angry and fearful because this is the soil from which their darkest policies will grow.
  6. Eliminate helpless or hopeless rhetoric.
  7. Support artists and the arts.
  8. Be vigilant against spreading fake news; verify information.
  9. Prioritize self-care.
  10. Resist.

Additionally, the advice suggests attributing his actions to “The Republican Administration” or “The Republicans” to compel party members to take responsibility for their association with him or to distance themselves from his actions.

Ebony

This approach aligns with progressive political strategies that emphasize focusing on policy critiques over personal attacks, fostering unity and resilience, and holding political parties accountable for their leaders’ actions. By concentrating on substantive issues and promoting constructive discourse, activists aim to build a more informed and engaged citizenry capable of enacting meaningful change.

[This is a rewrite of the viral message by ChatGPT4o with source identification.]