#newsletter examples

[magefeathers]

Day 25 of trying to Create Something every day: changing it up a bit and doing some crochet. The beginnings of a shawl with hearts in it! The pattern is available from Expression Fiber Arts and is currently free if anyone else is interested in downloading it.

[wings-of-angels]

Genuinelly how am i supposed to get a writing job at 18 😐😐😐

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WEB STARTUPS CONDENSE IN SILICON VALLEY

And that's fine. So if you can think of several heuristics for generating ideas for startups: what do people who inherit money, and you need to know the type of every argument in every call in the program. In cold places that margin gets trimmed off. There were no guards patrolling the perimeter of the village. Not explicitly, of course. We'll see. There are esoteric areas of business that only flourishes in certain places that specialize in it—that Silicon Valley specializes in startups in the hope of investing more later, what happens if they don't? It's terrifying to build something big from scratch.1 At this stage the company is their performance. And when people seem to continue to exist, is earn money.

For example, so competition ensured the average journalist was fairly good. People have always been willing to do something people want. Our employer-employee relationship. What should you do? They think of the profiler as an add-on, at best. Raising a traditional series A round you have to do well at that. There is no manufacturing to confuse the issue. Gradually you realize that these two things are as tightly connected as only a market can make them. Even more important than brevity to a hacker: being able to work with someone to know whether you want to discover things that have been overlooked till now, only a handful people got to see: what happens in the first half of the class-project syndrome.

So if you're not certain, you should get summer jobs at places you'd like to work. My Y Combinator co-founder? Instead of telling you what to do. Startups succeed by creating wealth, which is doing so well they could probably be acquired in about ten minutes if they wanted.2 Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, Jeff Bezos, Gordon Moore.3 Maybe things will be different a year from now, if the upside looks good enough. And perhaps most important, obviously, is when what you have to introduce yourself, or someone else, that you are already working as hard as you possibly can. When technology makes something dramatically cheaper, standardization always follows.

YC. Next time, I won't. But what does that really mean? In a technology startup, which most startups are, the less pressure they feel to act smart. The reason these conventions are more dangerous is that they know what they're avoiding. If there is some limit on the number who can work for salary at 1000-person companies. Maxim magazine publishes an annual volume of photographs, containing a mix of pin-ups and grisly accidents. No cofounder Not having a cofounder is a real problem and 2 intensity. Even genuinely smart people start to act this way there, so you have to decide who the founders should include technical people. Two of the false positives were newsletters from companies I've bought things from.

The competitors Google buried would have done better to spend those millions improving their software. This change happened while no one was doing quite what we do is useful, why wasn't everyone using it? I'd made enough to solve the problem once and for all instead of working for a salary for 40 years, you work as hard as you can, even if most of the time. 9998 otherwise. The project either gets bogged down, or the amount available to a government from one year's tax revenue, this is torture. If you can't find an exact match for a token, treat it as if it were. It would be an amazing hack to make one happen faster. So although there may be, but it could not have grown so much if they'd spent that year working at Microsoft, or even effeminate. I used to calculate probabilities for tokens, both would have the same spam probability, the threshold of profitability, however low, your runway becomes infinite.

And because startups tend to discover the lower bound on the age of startup founders.4 Inventors of wonderful new things are often surprised to discover this, but it's hard to say what the overall false positive rate at the expense of the filtering rate. If they saw that, they'd want you to take more risks.5 All you need to win. But that is exactly the spirit you want. But the students writing them don't realize they're using the same paperwork for every deal we do, we've commissioned generic angel paperwork that all the rules are different. The real reason we started Y Combinator is one probably only a hacker would understand. So these, I think hackers will use it.6

It's also obvious to programmers that there are more constraints.7 Fourth, they calculated probabilities differently.8 I expect spam to evolve into: some completely neutral text followed by a url. Perl, and if they don't? This would be an amazing hack to make one happen faster. And barring financial catastrophe, I think we may have made a mistake in thinking that hackers are turned off by Lisp's strangeness. Work and life just get mixed together.

It works as a medium of exchange, called the dollar, that doesn't physically exist. Yes, prefix notation makes ordinary programmers panic. But getting bought is also an art in its own right, and one that most people don't choose programming languages simply based on their merits. Among other things, treating a startup as it grows larger? I think it might be better to follow the model of Tcl, and supply the Lisp together with a lot of other companies using Lisp. Fourth, they calculated probabilities differently. The idea that we're the center of the solar system. Steve Wozniak built himself a computer; who knew so many other people would want them? For example, construction firms that fund politicians' campaigns in return for government contracts, or rich parents who get their children into good colleges by sending them to expensive schools designed for that purpose. Tcl is the scripting language of something. And yet, as I used to feel sorry for themselves. It's fine to put The before the number if you really believe you've made an exhaustive list.

Notes

Dan Bricklin and Bob nominally had a big factor in the 70s never drew this curve. Prose lets you be more likely to be about 200 to send them the final version that afternoon. Which helps explain why there are not very discerning. According to Zagat's there are no discrimination laws about starting businesses.

Donald Hall said young would-be poets were mistaken to be higher, even in their early twenties.

The trend of VC angel investing is so hard to mentally deal with them. Or she would be reluctant to start a startup. Ideas are one step upstream from economic power, so buildings are traditionally seen as temporary; there is some kind of bug to find may be a trivial enhancement of HTTP, to pretend that the only cause of economic inequality in the Ancient World, Economic History Review, 2:9 1956,185-199, reprinted in Finley, M.

What makes most suburbs so demoralizing is that the meaning of a smooth salesman.

If a conversation—maybe around 10 people. IBM 704 CPU was about the details.

I think it was considered the most important things VCs fail to mention a few stellar exceptions the textbooks are not merely blurry versions of great ones.

Quoted in: Life seemed so much pain, it could become a manager. In fact this would work to have been about 2, etc, and it will almost certainly overvalued in 1999, it would be enough. I'm thinking of Oresme c. Some of the number of startups where the acquirer just wants the employees.

The other reason it's easy to slide into thinking that customers want what you can do what you care about GPAs.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Hey. Hi. Hello. Today I learned about the existence of 15th century Welsh poet Gwerful Mechain and that she apparently has a surviving work of erotic poems.

Please. For Christmas. For Yule. Please tell me more because I can't read Welsh.

Heh heh. Oh, Gwerful Mechain is the absolute best.

(Quick housekeeping to keep the post manageable - I previously wrote about things like cynghanedd and cywydds and englyns and such here, so check that if you need an explanation.)

What's fun is that we don't know a ton about her, because not a lot got written down about people in her time. Her surviving work covers a 40ish year span at the end of the 1400s to just into the 1500s, but we don't know when she was born or died or anything like that. We know her parents' names? And that she was from Mechain, hence the bardic name. And that she married a guy and had a daughter, something which actually does mark out her body of work as different from her contemporaries; being a wife and mother, she couldn't do the usual bardic role of travelling the country to spread news and play at courts. This means she doesn't have any of the praise poetry that a lot of male bards produced about the lords that hosted them.

But, there's stuff we can piece together about her. For one thing, she was not just literate (not a universal skill for anyone at that point, but especially for women), but she was astonishingly well-read and had what appears to be a classical education, given her poetic references and traditional Welsh meters. For another, her work often had recurring themes of religion, sex, and women's rights, sometimes all at the same time.

At the point Gwerful was active, Welsh bardic culture heavily featured ymrysonau. An ymryson is like... well, I hesitate to say "sort of like a rap battle" after the way everyone and their dog now thinks that's what the Mari Lwyd does, but they were like a cross between a rap battle and the publication war between two rival academics. A bard would write an englyn and publish it in the local parish newsletter. Another bard would see this, and write their own englyn about how stupid the first bard's englyn was, and publish it in the same newsletter. The first bard would see this and retaliate. The second bard would retaliate to that. And on and on it would go, like a printed tennis match for all the parishioners to enjoy, until someone wrote a conclusive verse OR until someone went "Lol, you got me good there" and bowed out with dignity. Sometimes, these things were fucking vicious; but other times, they were just banter between two bards who knew each other and were enjoying the chance to keep their poetic skills in tip top condition.

Now, Gwerful was an active and enthusiastic participant in ymrysonau. We have many examples of her work from these. There are two of particular note that I'll list here, each against a different bard:

Dafydd Llwyd o Fathafarn. Mathafarn and Mechain are not so distant from one another, so no real surprise that these two locked horns a lot, but the impression I always got from their ymrysonau is that they were good mates, actually. These fell into the 'banter' category more often than not. Dafydd was a Welsh Nationalist who was hoping for a Welshman to rise up and throw off the yoke of English oppression, and most of his work is about that, but he turned up the filthy erotic shit for any ymryson with Gwerful because BOY HOWDY was that her specialty. IIRC she did occasionally poke fun at his Welsh Nash leanings, especially his obsession with Mab Darogan (OLD Welsh idea that translates to the Son of Prophesy - the Arthur-style figure that will one day drive out the English overlords), but mostly their ymrysonau were incredibly beautifully-written odes that could be summed up as "Dafydd, my man, my good friend, I mean this sincerely: suck my entire clit".

She often won.

Ieuan Dyfi. God, what a fucking asshole. This one was not banter. Gwerful played for blood with this prick.

We actually would know nothing about Ieuan Dyfi if not for Gwerful Mechain, because it was her poetic response to him that meant his only surviving poems made it to the modern day; that, and the record of him being brought before a church court where he admitted adultery with Anni Goch, a married woman. Oh, and the record of him being brought before the law courts at Liverpool, accused of domestic abuse and gambling? If I remember right?

Two things to know that set the scene for what came next:

One of Gwerful Mechain's surviving poems is an englyn considered to be possibly the oldest extant poem about domestic violence written by a woman: I’w gŵr am ei churo (To the husband who beats her)

Dager drwy goler dy galon - ar osgo I asgwrn dy ddwyfron; Dy lin a dyr, dy law’n don, A’th gleddau i’th goluddion.

There are a lot of translations for this one to try to keep its poeticness, but this one is pretty good:

Through your heart’s lining let there be pressed, slanting down, A dagger to the bone in your chest. Your knee smashed, your hand crushed, may the rest Be gutted by the sword you possessed.

She has others, too, that deal with sexual assault, and something scholars often note about Gwerful is her remarkable knowledge of the law as it pertained to women's issues. So she was not, you see, a woman with a high view of a man accused of domestic violence anyway.

But then Ieuan Dyfi wrote five poems about Anni Goch, the married woman he'd fucked, each more "Wow dude, she said no" than the last, culminating in I Anni Goch; a full cywydd of misogynistic Medieval-incel bullshit about how false and evil women are, which listed all the false and evil women of history including classical and mythological figures.

And. Well. Gwerful had some views.

Her responding cywydd - I ateb Ieuan Dyfi am gywydd Anni Goch - basically blasted the guy back into his own impact crater and disintegrated him. What she did with it, essentially, was to mirror his cywydd. Where he'd gone "Isn't it so true how great men throughout history have always been brought low by women, amirite lads? Here's examples", Gwerful went "Isn't it so true how 'great men' throughout history have behaved appallingly and fucked up through their own actions and then somehow managed to blame women, amirite lads? Here's examples." Where his examples had been historical figures, so were hers. Where his had been classical, so were hers. Where he went Biblical, so did she.

And what's so interesting about that last one is how pointed she was with it - for some reason, in his big list of evil women, Ieuan Dyfi did not go for the most obvious and low-hanging of fruit (no pun intended) - he doesn't cite Eve. In response, Gwerful also sidesteps the most obvious and low hanging of fruit - she doesn't cite Mary. In so doing, she makes it clear that she doesn't even need to.

There is no record of him responding to her. IIRC, there is a record of him doing three years in prison.

But! Outside of all of that, the big thing Gwerful was known for was her erotic poetry. You'll be unsurprised to hear that it wasn't written for shits and giggles - much like today, women of the time were told that most of their value was in their looks, and they had plentiful insecurities about their bodies. Gwerful wrote her erotic stuff to confront those insecurities and shine a light on the issue. There are so many examples of this, but far and away the most famous is definitely Cywydd y Cedor - roughly translated, 'Ode to the Vulva'. Though I have also seen it titled Cywydd y Gont - Ode to the Cunt. It's such a shame that the English language is literally, physically not capable of cynghanedd, because it means unless you learn Welsh you will never understand the beauty and the lyricism of the piece, and how it elevates and undercuts the content at the same time; but it's a joyful, masterful, irreverent work that uses the fancy language male poets were forever dedicating to the rest of a woman's body and applies it squarely to the vulva. In fact it basically opens with "Men are cowards, describe more cunts or gtfo" before launching into its main subject matter. The last line is pro-pubic hair, too, like I really must stress how much Gwerful Mechain would have to offer Tumblr if you could speak Welsh. This is probably her most widely translated piece, though, you can definitely find English versions. Although you can tell how blushing and reticent the translator is - and therefore how sanitised their translation is - by whether they've called it Ode to the Vulva/Cunt, or Ode to the Pubic Hair.

Needless to say, the original is not sanitised.

(Actually, I should also say - this one is also a response piece, probably, but in this case to a bard who lived a century earlier - Dafydd ap Gwilym, the absolutely legendary and uncontested king of Welsh romance poetry. He wrote a poem called Cywydd y Gal - Ode to the Penis. I have only just put two and two together on that.)

As a final note, I should say that my personal favourite Gwerful Mechain poem on this subject, mind, is actually I'w morwyn wrth gachu - to the maiden who is shitting. It's an englyn written in Gwerful's customary high poetic form, but it is what it says - it describes a woman taking a shit, and farting as she does. Beautiful and magical and disgusting and banal, all in one go:

Crwciodd lle dihangodd ei dŵr - ’n grychiast O grochan ei llawdwr; Ei deudwll oedd yn dadwr’, Baw a ddaeth, a bwa o ddŵr

Funnily enough, it's hard to find a good translation for this one lol.

My attempt:

She crouched where her water escaped - creased From the cauldron of her heat; Her two holes were arguing, Shit came, and a bow of water

Eh. It's so bland in English. Honestly, if you could read Welsh...

Anyway, if anyone reading this can read Welsh and wants to read some of Gwerful Mechain's stuff - including some of the pieces she was responding to in the ymrysonau - you can find a load here. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed!

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Month - August 2024

1.Negative Power Prices Hit Europe as Renewable Energy Floods the Grid

European power markets are experiencing a notable shift as renewable energy sources, particularly wind and solar, become a larger part of the energy mix. On Wednesday, power prices in several European markets, including Germany, dipped below zero due to a surge in green electricity production.

2. Taiwan introduces ban on performances by captive wild animals

Live performances by wild animals held in captivity, including performances by dolphins, tigers, and other non-domesticated mammals, will no longer be permitted in Taiwan under new Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) regulations.

3. FTC bans fake online reviews, inflated social media influence; rule takes effect in October

The FTC voted unanimously to ban marketers from using fake reviews, such as those generated with AI technology, and other misleading advertising practices.

The ban also forbids marketers from exaggerating their own influence by, for example, paying for bots to inflate their follower count.

4. Chinese drones will fly trash out of Everest slopes

Come autumn, Nepal will deploy heavy lifter drones to transport garbage from the 6,812-metre tall Ama Dablam, south of Everest. This will be the first commercial work an unmanned aerial vehicle does in Nepal’s high-altitude zone.

The heavy lifter from China’s biggest drone maker, Da Jiang Innovations (DJI), will take on tasks traditionally handled by Sherpas. Officials believe it will help reduce casualties on Everest.

5. Swiss scientists have found a way to use the whole cocoa fruit to make chocolate and not just taking beans and discarding the rest.

Kim Mishra (L) and Anian Schreiber (R) cooperated on the new chocolate making process

Food scientists in Switzerland have come up with a way to make chocolate using the entire cocoa fruit rather than just the beans - and without using sugar.

The chocolate, developed at Zurich’s prestigious Federal Institute of Technology by scientist Kim Mishra and his team includes the cocoa fruit pulp, the juice, and the husk, or endocarp.

6. Six-year-old boy found in Vietnam forest after five days

A six-year-old boy who was missing for five days has been found deep in a forest in Vietnam. Dang Tien Lam, who lives in the northwestern Yen Bai province, was playing in a stream with his nine siblings on 17 August when he wandered into the hills and got lost, local reports said.

He was found on Wednesday by local farmers who heard a child's cry while they were clearing a cinnamon field close to the forest.

7. Lego plans to make half the plastic in bricks from renewable materials by 2026

Lego plans to make half the plastic in its bricks from renewable or recycled material rather than fossil fuels by 2026, in its latest effort to ensure its toys are more environmentally friendly.

The Danish company last year ditched efforts to make bricks entirely from recycled bottles because of cost and production issues. At the moment, 22% of the material in its colourful bricks is not made from fossil fuels.

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That's it for this month :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation here:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to share this post with your friends.

[luna-azzurra]

Some examples of "show, don't tell"

Telling: Leila was very angry.

Showing: Leila's face turned red, her fists clenched, and she slammed the door shut.

⸻

Telling: The room was messy.

Showing: Clothes were strewn across the floor, books were piled haphazardly on the desk, and dirty dishes filled the sink.

⸻

Telling: John was scared of heights.

Showing: John's palms grew sweaty, his heart raced, and he clung tightly to the railing as he looked down from the rooftop.

⸻

Telling: The food tasted delicious.

Showing: The flavors exploded on her tongue, a medley of sweet, tangy, and savory notes danced in her mouth, leaving her craving more.

⸻

Telling: Emma was sad about the breakup.

Showing: Emma's eyes welled up with tears, her shoulders slumped, and she spent hours curled up in bed, replaying their last conversation in her mind.

⸻

Telling: It was a beautiful sunset.

Showing: The sky transformed into a canvas of vibrant hues—pinks, oranges, and purples blending together in a breathtaking display, casting a warm glow across the horizon.

⸻

Telling: The car was old and unreliable.

Showing: The engine coughed and sputtered, emitting puffs of smoke. Rust covered the body, and the faded paint revealed years of wear and tear.

⸻

Telling: The meeting was tense.

Showing: The participants leaned forward in their seats, their brows furrowed, and their voices became sharp and clipped as they argued back and forth.

⸻

Telling: He was a kind person.

Showing: He often went out of his way to help others, offering a comforting smile and lending a listening ear whenever someone needed support.

⸻

Telling: The forest was eerie at night.

Showing: Shadows danced among the trees, the wind whispered through the branches, and the distant hooting of an owl sent shivers down her spine.

Here’s the Show, Don’t Tell freebie book and my newsletter.

[dostoyevsky-official]

not only did the NYT propagate anti-trans stories feeding today's EO ban and refuse to acknowledge elon's nazi salute, they went vichy-media mode by banning paul krugman from the op-eds:

Last month I retired from my position as an opinion writer at the New York Times—a job I had done for 25 years. Despite the encomiums issued by the Times, it was not a happy departure. [...] I believe that the story of why I left says something important about the current state of legacy journalism.

[...] During my first 24 years at the Times, from 2000 to 2024, I faced very few editorial constraints on how and what I wrote. For most of that period my draft would go straight to a copy editor, who would sometimes suggest that I make some changes — for example, softening an assertion that arguably went beyond provable facts, or redrafting a passage the editor didn’t quite understand, and which readers probably wouldn’t either. But the editing was very light; over the years several copy editors jokingly complained that I wasn’t giving them anything to do, because I came in at length, with clean writing and with back-up for all factual assertions.

This light-touch editing prevailed even when I took positions that made Times leadership very nervous. My early and repeated criticisms of Bush’s push to invade Iraq led to several tense meetings with management. In those meetings, I was urged to tone it down. Yet the columns themselves were published as I wrote them. And in the end, I believe the Times — which eventually apologized for its role in promoting the war — was glad that I had taken an anti-invasion stand. I believe that it was my finest hour.

So I was dismayed to find out this past year, when the current Times editors and I began to discuss our differences, that current management and top editors appear to have been completely unaware of this important bit of the paper’s history and my role in it.

[...] In 2024, the editing of my regular columns went from light touch to extremely intrusive. I went from one level of editing to three, with an immediate editor and his superior both weighing in on the column, and sometimes doing substantial rewrites before it went to copy. These rewrites almost invariably involved toning down, introducing unnecessary qualifiers, and, as I saw it, false equivalence. I would rewrite the rewrites to restore the essence of my original argument. But as I told Charles Kaiser, I began to feel that I was putting more effort—especially emotional energy—into fixing editorial damage than I was into writing the original articles. And the end result of the back and forth often felt flat and colorless.

One more thing: I faced attempts from others to dictate what I could (and could not) write about, usually in the form, “You’ve already written about that,” as if it never takes more than one column to effectively cover a subject. If that had been the rule during my earlier tenure, I never would have been able to press the case for Obamacare, or against Social Security privatization, and—most alarmingly—against the Iraq invasion. Moreover, all Times opinion writers were banned from engaging in any kind of media criticism. Hardly the kind of rule that would allow an opinion writer to state, “we are being lied into war.”

I felt that my byline was being used to create a storyline that was no longer mine. So I left.

That’s my story. What are the broader implications?

[...] What I felt during my final year at the Times was a push toward blandness, toward avoiding saying anything too directly in a way that might get some people (particularly on the right) riled up. I guess my question is, if those are the ground rules, why even bother having an opinion section?

[...] On a somewhat different issue, it became clear to me that the management I was dealing with didn’t understand the difference between having an opinion and having an informed, factually sourced opinion. When the newsletter was canceled, I tried to point out that I was almost the only regular opinion writer doing policy. Their response was to point to other writers who often expressed views about policy, economic and otherwise. I tried in vain to explain that there’s a difference between having opinions about economics and knowing how to read C.B.O. analyses and recent research papers. It all fell on deaf ears.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The real problem with anonymity

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TUCSON (Mar 9-10), then San Francisco (Mar 13), Anaheim, and more!

According to "the greater internet fuckwad theory," the ills of the internet can be traced to anonymity:

Normal Person + Anonymity + Audience = Total Fuckwad

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/greater-internet-fuckwad-theory

This isn't merely wrong, it's dangerously wrong. The idea that forcing people to identify themselves online will improve discourse is demonstrably untrue. Facebook famously adopted its "real names" policy because Mark Zuckerberg claimed to believe that "Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity":

https://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2010/05/14/facebook-and-radical-transparency-a-rant.html

In service to this claimed belief, Zuckerberg kicked off the "nym wars," turning himself into the sole arbiter of what each person's true name was, with predictably tragicomic consequences:

https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/

Facebook is, famously, one of the internet's most polluted reservoirs of toxic interpersonal conduct. That's not despite the fact that people have to use their "real" names to participate there, but because of it. After all, the people who are most vulnerable to bullying and harassment are the ones who choose pseudonyms or anonymity so that they can speak freely. Forcing people to use their "real names" means that the most powerful bullies speak with impunity, and their victims are faced with the choice of retreat or being targeted offline.

This can be a matter of life and death. Cambodian dictator Hun Sen uses Facebook's real names policy to force dissidents to unmask themselves, which exposes them to arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial killing. For members of the Cambodian diaspora, the choice is to unmask themselves or expose their family back home to retaliation:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/meghara/facebook-cambodia-democracy

Some of the biggest internet fuckwads I've ever met – and I've met some big ones! – were utterly unashamed about using their real names. Some of the nicest people I know online have never told me their offline names. Greater internet fuckwad theory is just plain wrong.

But that doesn't mean that anonymity is totally harmless. There is a category of person who reliably uses a certain, specific kind of anonymity to do vicious things that inflicts serious harm on whole swathes of people: corporate bullies.

Take Tinyletter. Tinyletter is a beloved newsletter app that was created to help people who just wanted to talk to others, without a thought to going viral or getting rich. It was sold to Mailchimp, which was sold to Intuit, who killed it:

https://www.theverge.com/24085737/tinyletter-mailchimp-shut-down-email-newsletters

Tinyletter was a perfect little gem of a service. It cost almost nothing to run, and made an enormous number of peoples' lives better every day. Shutting it down was an act of corporate depravity by some faceless Intuit manager who woke up one day and said "Fuck all those people. Just fuck them."

No one knows who that person was. That person will never have to look those people in the eyes – those people whose lives were made poorer for that Intuit executive's indifference. That person is the greater fuckwad, and that fuckwaddery depends on their anonymity.

Or take @Pixsy, a corporate shakedown outfit that helps copyleft trolls trick people into making tiny errors in Creative Commons attributions and then intimidates them into handing over thousands of dollars:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/24/a-bug-in-early-creative-commons-licenses-has-enabled-a-new-breed-of-superpredator/

Copyleft trolling is an absolutely depraved practice, a petty grift practiced by greedy fuckwads who are completely indifferent to the harm they cause – even if it means bankrupting volunteer-run nonprofits for a buck:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/02/commafuckers-versus-the-commons/

Pixsy claims that it is proud of its work "defending artists' rights," but when I named the personnel who signed their names to these profoundly unethical legal threats, Pixsy CEO Kain Jones threatened to sue me:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/13/an-open-letter-to-pixsy-ceo-kain-jones-who-keeps-sending-me-legal-threats/

The expectation of corporate anonymity runs deep and the press is surprisingly complicit. I once spent weeks working on an investigative story about a multinational corporation's practices. I spent hours on the phone with the company's VP of communications, over the course of many calls. When we were done, they said, "Now, of course, you can't name me in the article. All of that has to be attributed to 'a spokesperson.'"

I was baffled. Nothing this person said was a secret. They weren't blowing the whistle. They weren't leaking secrets. They were a corporate official, telling me the official corporate line. But they wouldn't sign their name to it.

I wrote an article about for the Guardian. It was the only Guardian column any of my editors there ever rejected, in more than a decade of writing for them:

https://memex.craphound.com/2012/05/14/anodyne-anonymity/

Given the press's deference to this anodyne anonymity, it's no wonder that official spokespeople expect this kind of anonymity. I routinely receive emails from corporate spokespeople disputing my characterization of their employer's conduct, but insisting that I not attribute their dubious – and often blatantly false – statements to them by name.

These are the greater corporate fuckwads, who commit their sins from behind a veil of anonymity. That brand of bloodless viciousness, depravity and fraud absolutely depends on anonymity.

Mark Zuckerberg claimed that "multiple identities" enabled bad behavior – as though it was somehow healthy for people to relate to their bosses, lovers, parents, toddlers and barbers in exactly the same way. Zuckerberg's motivation was utterly transparent: having "multiple identities" doesn't mean you "lack integrity" – it just makes it harder to target you for ads.

But Zuckerberg couldn't enshittify Facebook on his own. For that, he relies on a legion of anonymous Facebook managers. Some of these people undoubtably speak up for Facebook users' interests when their colleagues propose putting them in harm's way for the sake of some arbitrary KPI. But the ones who are making those mean little decisions? They absolutely rely on anonymity to do their dirty work.

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/04/greater-corporate-fuckward-theory/#counterintuit-ive

[allaboutthemoonlight]

Becoming the “It” girl: using science to redefine your identity

Hello friends,

A longer post today but I’m excited about this one!

I like to define an "It Girl" as someone who embodies the highest version of oneself, a created identity that reflects your most aspirational qualities and personal vision of success and confidence.

However, this post isn’t bout conforming to standards or expectations but rather embodying the best version of who you imagine yourself to be.

Today, I wanted to talk about how social science-based principles like self-presentation, cognitive dissonance, and identity alignment can help u become an“It Girl” in our own lives and achieve the identity you’ve been desiring.

What is identity

Our identity impacts all areas of our life; it’s the person we think we are and how we communicate that to others.

For example, if you see yourself as confident and capable, you are more likely to approach challenges with a positive attitude and take risks that lead to growth.

On the other hand, if you view yourself as unworthy, you are more likely to shy away from opportunities and not reach your full potential.

Our identity manifests as how we present ourselves to the world, including our body language, communication styles, and behavior.

In addition, our identities are constantly changing as we grow and evolve, influenced by our experiences, goals, and relationships with the people around us. This is why it’s important to continue to refine your personal brand and set standards for yourself to stay authentic.

Taking the time to evaluate our current identity and identifying areas where we can make changes is a good way to get aligned with our highest selves. We can ask ourselves questions such as:

How do I describe myself in three words?

What are my core values and beliefs?

How do I typically respond to challenges and setbacks?

What are my strengths and weaknesses?

How do I feel about my abilities and potential for success?

How do I present myself to others in social and professional settings?

What is my body language like in different situations (e.g., confident, reserved)?

How do I communicate with others (e.g., assertive, passive, aggressive)?

What kind of feedback do I receive from others about my behavior and attitude?

Do my actions align with the person I want to be?

How do I handle criticism and praise?

What goals do I have for personal and professional growth?

What is Self-Presentation?

Self-presentation involves the things we do to portray a particular image of ourselves; it’s how we dress, speak, behave, and present ourselves in different contexts. Our self-presentation is closely linked to our identity because it shapes how others perceive us, which can influence how we see ourselves.

Projecting the identity we want and living by our values and beliefs requires consistent management of our self-presentation. Our behaviors, thoughts, and emotions should reflect those of the identity we’re internalizing.

For example, if your identity is someone who is stylish, you’ll want to curate your wardrobe in a way that reflects that. In a similar context, if your new identity is someone who’s highly education you might start to spend some of your free time reading books, articles, newsletters, etc.

It’s all about helping to align how others see us with how we see ourselves.

Although other people’s opinions shouldn’t dictate our lives, a big part of our identity is shaped by how others view us. Their feedback can either affirm or refute what we’ve internalized to be true.

Here are some techniques for mastering self-presentation and how they can be used to access your highest self:

Dress in a way that reflects your identity, curate a wardrobe that matches who you aspire to be

Use confident body language, such as maintaining eye contact and standing/sitting upright in social settings

Practice speaking with clarity and confidence

Clean up your social media and only follow content that aligns with your identity or helps keep you on track

Establish and maintain boundaries without people in your life that reflect your values and priorities

Invest in personal and professional development through courses, workshops, and reading

Surround yourself with people and environments that support and reflect your highest self/new identity

Regularly express gratitude and maintain a positive outlook

Questions to evaluate and improve self-presentation

What are my core values and how do they influence my behavior?

How do I want others to perceive me?

Does my current wardrobe reflect the person I want to be?

What body language habits can I improve to appear more confident?

How can I improve my communication skills to better align with my desired identity?

In what ways can I be more consistent in how I present myself across different contexts?

What feedback have I received about my self-presentation, and how can I use it to improve?

Am I living in a way that aligns with my highest self, or are there areas where I can improve?

What actions can I take today to better project the identity I want?

How can I ensure my actions are authentic and reflect my true self?

How cognitive dissonance impacts us

Rebranding yourself and changing your identity involves leaving your old life behind. It sounds simple, but it can be very a mentally exhausting change. This is where cognitive dissonance comes into effect.

Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort experienced when our actions conflict with our beliefs or values. If we’re not acting in accordance with our beliefs, we’ll end up with mental discomfort. As a result, we either end up changing our habits or our beliefs.

For example, if you see yourself as an active person but keep skipping the gym, high dissonance might make you change your belief instead of your habit. You might start telling routinely yourself, "It's just this once," rather than actually going.

This may sound stressful and prove to be a challenge during your rebrand. However, dissonance can play a positive role if you’ve strongly internalized a core aspect of your identity. For example, if you see yourself as someone health-conscious or someone who frequents the gym, you’ll consistently find ways to show that this is true, whether that’s going to the gym daily or meal prepping.

In terms of identity formation, when we highlight inconsistencies between our self-perception and our actions, we actually push towards more aligned behavior.

When we recognize that our actions don’t align with who we believe we are, we can use that discomfort to motivate positive change.

In combination with the tips previously mentioned, we can also:

Regularly evaluate our actions and beliefs to identify any discrepancies. Ask ourselves if our behavior aligns with our values and goals

Define specific, actionable steps that align with our desired identity. This can help create a guideline for behavior that supports us

Be willing to accept change and continue to grow and learn more about ourselves

So how can we apply these principles to become an “It Girl”

Define our "It Girl" identity:

Self-reflection: take time to reflect on who you want to be. Write down the qualities, values, and behaviors that define your highest self

Vision board: create a vision board (physical or digital) with images, words, and quotes that represent your ideal identity so that you’re constantly reminded of your goal

Align your self-presentation:

Wardrobe audit: go through your closet and sort items that don’t align with your desired identity. Also invest in pieces that make you feel confident and reflect your new persona

Body language: practice positive body language such as standing tall, maintaining eye contact in conversations

Use cognitive dissonance to your advantage:

Identify inconsistencies: regularly assess your actions and identify areas where they don’t align with your desired identity

Set goals: create specific, actionable goals to address these inconsistencies. For example, if you want to be healthier plan to incorporate more whole foods into your diet

Monitor progress: keep track of your progress and celebrate small wins to stay motivated

Cultivate positive habits:

Daily routines: establish daily routines that support your identity. This could include a morning exercise routine or a consistent skincare routine

Mindfulness practices: incorporate daily mindfulness practices like meditation or journaling

Continue to learn: commit to lifelong learning. Read books, take courses, and seek new experiences that contribute to your personal growth

Build a support system:

Find mentors: seek out mentors or role models who embody qualities you admire. Learn from their experiences and guidance

Surround yourself with positivity: build a network of supportive friends and family who encourage and inspire you

Rebranding yourself is a long and tedious journey, but with a little help from some science-based principles it can be as beneficial as ever!

As always,

Love Luna <3

[moonastro]

Juno persona chart

fama (408) asteroid in the houses

what is a juno persona chart? looking into juno persona chart gives more detailed insight of how the relationship and marriage overall of you and your spouse will be like. it also describes them in a sense as well. The Greek Goddess Juno is described to rule over love and marriage and hence why the asteroid is looked into for that theme.

the asteroid fama (408) represent how an individual may find success and fame hence the name. in the juno persona chart, the asteroid fama will indicate how the marriage will bring the individual themes of fame in such as attention, success or recognition.

reminder: this is my interpretation from observations and first hand experiences, so don't take this to heart.

fama in 1st house: couple may find success and attention from how they express their way, how they approach things and the way that they look ofc. mostly lenient towards the appearance of the couple, depending of the sign of the first house it may play out a bit differently, for example sagittarius may receive attention of how foreign they appear to be together either if its cultural or not.

other things related: arguments, conflict, independence, fast- paced, self-worth, self- made, strength, body, actions, face, facial features, beauty, cars, vehicles, head, scars, battles, defence, scars, burns, opinions.

fama in 2nd house: the couple may get recognition from their generosity to other people. from their voices so for example speaking up about matters going on in the world. may be recognised by the things they own to express their financial value.

other things related: patience, stubbornness, food, cooking, eating, singing, expressive voice, tone of voice, possessions, items owned, shopping, money earned, luxury items.

fama in 3rd house: it may start as a rumour and this placement gets attention from rumours that people make about them, I'm not even kidding this is the placement that is known from others talking about them, true or not.

other things related: communication, internet, social media, high school, high school friends, friends, siblings, neighbourhood, cars, early education, writing, publishing, books, articles, gossip, newsletter, news.

fama in 4th house: couple may get recognition and attention from having a big family. it may not be big but it may also make your family stand out that other people notice. couple may get attention from their heritage and from their homeland, they may also find success if they have a family member who is well known and so the couple may be known from that.

other things related: mother, house, land owned, land received, ancestors, caring nature, being empathetic, emotions, being vulnerable, crying, being upset, having a mental breakdown.

fama in 5th house: couple may get recognition quite easily. may find success in doing hobbies together or hanging out in entertainments events or industries such as dance, music, art, movies and acting.

other things related: laughter, hobbies, kids, romance, s*x life, cheating, flings, partying, clubbing, being wasteful, being dramatic, being loud, talent, stage, public, audience, speech.

fama in 6th house: literally getting noticed from having a busy schedule. others may speculate on maybe the couple having no free time and always on the move. also may get recognised by other people criticising them for example, if in scorpio criticising the couple on how private they are, cancer criticising the couple on how emotionally vulnerable they are and so forth.

other things related: pets, routine, hard work, being critical, being obsessive, being organised, being too strict, labour, ill- health, accidents, bruising, fighting.

fama in 7th house: couple may receive attention from the contracts that they hold, also from their relationship as a couple in general may cause attention. the enemies that the couple may have can give them attention. also the way the couple deal with things can raise awareness.

other things related: law broken, beauty, taste, relationships, enemies, other peoples opinions, other peoples doings, other people being involved, marriage, love, interests, fashion, clothing, make-up, skin care, vlogs.

fama in 8th house: marriage may find success when discussing taboo topics or not being afraid to transform into new versions of themselves whether it be changing habits or changing lifestyles-look at sign for more detail.

other things related: abusiveness, clubbing, spirituality, death, s*xual acts, being obsessive and possessive, tax, money received from other people, money earned, people giving money.

fama in 9th house: the marriage and the couple may get attention by their broad mind lifestyle. this includes all of the themes that may related to religion, spirituality, culture and education. may get attention from their education, like the degrees that they may have, a blog about teaching etc.

other things related: travel, higher education, spirituality, meditation, working on oneself, time of reflection, learning, cultures, languages, expressions, going off from one extreme to the next, in-laws.

fama in 10th house: the couple in the marriage may get recognised from their careers. they may be in a stable, hard working environment or perhaps they spend too much of their time focused on their career. this can also be an indication of the couple working together in the same industry or even having the same job.

other things related: career, money, age, time, public, job, coldness, high rank, being closed off, keeping to oneself, what other people see, rules, strictness, schedule, father.

fama in 11th house: couple may find attention and success in events where there is a gather of people. themes of hosting or even attending may cause the couple to find attention. being unconventional such as kissing in public or things like that can raise attention. not following the norm of society can also give the couple attention.

other things related: groups, social groups, uniqueness, friends, older siblings, internet, social status, recognition, technology, unconventional, breaking rules, not caring, being emotionless, being detached.

fama in 12th house: the couple may get recognition from their ability to be intuitive and empathetic for others. couple may find success in travels, assisting others in their spiritual journey, seeing the beaty in everything. couple may get rewarded for being imaginative and doing the impossible.

other things related: travel, overseas, holiday, hospital, bedroom, sleep, dreams, drugs, alcohol, addiction, mental health, abuse, isolation, being extreme, foreign environments.

this was a short post but its pretty interesting nonetheless but thank you for reading and have a nice dayy.

[obsidian-pages777]

Goddess Abundantia in your Astrology Chart

Asteroid Abundantia (number 151) is named after the Roman goddess of abundance, prosperity, and good fortune. Its placement in an astrology chart can indicate areas of life where one may experience abundance, prosperity, and a sense of blessings. Refer below to see what it might mean to have Abundantia in each house and sign of your astrology chart.

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Abundantia in the Houses:

1st House:

Abundance in self-confidence and personal identity.

A prosperous personal presence, attracting good fortune through one's own efforts.

2nd House:

Financial abundance and material prosperity.

A strong sense of self-worth and value that attracts wealth and resources.

3rd House:

Abundance in communication skills and intellectual pursuits.

Prosperity through writing, speaking, and networking.

4th House:

Abundance in home and family life.

Prosperity through real estate, family heritage, or a nurturing environment.

5th House:

Creative abundance and joy in self-expression.

Prosperity through artistic pursuits, entertainment, and children.

6th House:

Abundance in work and daily routines.

Prosperity through service, health, and a structured lifestyle.

7th House:

Abundance in relationships and partnerships.

Prosperity through marriage, business partnerships, and social connections.

8th House:

Abundance through shared resources and transformative experiences.

Prosperity through investments, inheritance, and deep psychological insights.

9th House:

Abundance in higher education, travel, and spiritual pursuits.

Prosperity through teaching, publishing, and exploring different cultures.

10th House:

Abundance in career and public life.

Prosperity through professional achievements, reputation, and societal status.

11th House:

Abundance in friendships and social networks.

Prosperity through community involvement, group activities, and future goals.

12th House:

Abundance in spiritual growth and inner peace.

Prosperity through introspection, charitable work, and mystical experiences.

Abundantia in the Signs:

Aries:

Abundance through initiative, leadership, and courage.

Prosperity through taking bold actions and being a pioneer.

Taurus:

Abundance through patience, stability, and appreciation of beauty.

Prosperity through a connection to the physical world and financial acumen.

Gemini:

Abundance through communication, adaptability, and intellectual pursuits.

Prosperity through versatility, networking, and curiosity.

Cancer:

Abundance through nurturing, intuition, and emotional connection.

Prosperity through home, family, and caring for others.

Leo:

Abundance through creativity, self-expression, and charisma.

Prosperity through entertainment, leadership, and a sunny disposition.

Virgo:

Abundance through practicality, attention to detail, and service.

Prosperity through work ethic, health consciousness, and analytical skills.

Libra:

Abundance through harmony, relationships, and aesthetic sense.

Prosperity through partnerships, diplomacy, and a sense of fairness.

Scorpio:

Abundance through intensity, transformation, and resourcefulness.

Prosperity through investments, deep emotional connections, and personal power.

Sagittarius:

Abundance through optimism, adventure, and higher learning.

Prosperity through travel, education, and an expansive outlook.

Capricorn:

Abundance through discipline, ambition, and strategic planning.

Prosperity through career achievements, perseverance, and responsible actions.

Aquarius:

Abundance through innovation, community, and humanitarian efforts.

Prosperity through technology, social networks, and progressive ideas.

Pisces:

Abundance through compassion, creativity, and spiritual insight.

Prosperity through artistic pursuits, empathy, and a deep connection to the collective unconscious.

CELEBRITY EXAMPLES:

Oprah Winfrey (Abundantia in Leo, 7th House)

Oprah's placement suggests abundance through her charismatic presence and partnerships. Her charisma and ability to connect with others have been central to her success as a talk show host, media mogul, and philanthropist.

Bill Gates (Abundantia in Taurus, 8th House)

Gates' placement signifies abundance through financial acumen, investments, and shared resources. His wealth and success with Microsoft, combined with his philanthropic efforts, show the power of this placement.

Beyoncé (Abundantia in Leo, 5th House)

Beyoncé's placement indicates abundance in creativity, self-expression, and entertainment. Her incredible success as a performer and artist demonstrates the prosperity and joy this placement can bring.

Elon Musk (Abundantia in Capricorn, 11th House)

Musk's placement suggests abundance through ambition, innovation, and community influence. His success with ventures like SpaceX and Tesla reflects his ability to achieve prosperity through forward-thinking and societal impact.

J.K. Rowling (Abundantia in Gemini, 3rd House)

Rowling's placement signifies abundance in communication, writing, and intellectual pursuits. Her success with the Harry Potter series exemplifies how this placement can bring prosperity through storytelling and literary talent.

Warren Buffett (Abundantia in Scorpio, 2nd House)

Buffett's placement indicates abundance through resourcefulness, investments, and financial insight. Known as one of the greatest investors, his financial success and strategic thinking are key aspects of this placement.

Angelina Jolie (Abundantia in Cancer, 10th House)

Jolie's placement suggests abundance in nurturing roles and public life. Her success as an actress, humanitarian efforts, and advocacy work demonstrate how this placement can bring prosperity through compassion and public influence.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Abundantia in Virgo, 10th House)

DiCaprio's placement signifies abundance through meticulous work and public recognition. His acclaimed acting career and environmental activism highlight the prosperity that can come from dedication and attention to detail.

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[coollizzylou]

Everyone’s correct in saying that now more than ever we need to be building our communities, but it can be difficult to know what that actually *means*, especially in our isolating society. So here’s some straightforward practical advice I’ve learned over the few years I’ve been organizing in my own life.

You do not have to reinvent the wheel.

There are people who have been fighting this fight for decades. You are not starting from scratch. You do not have to do it all by yourself. All you have to do is find your allies and engage.

On the ground resistance movements/aid organizations that have legs under them may not have much of a social media presence. You may have to do some legwork find your place.

Check the local papers if you have one for your area. Sign up for your city government newsletter. Go to the library and ask what events are being hosted. Check Churches! Schools! Small businesses! Ask your local old ladies!!!! They have time on their hands and know what’s going on in their communities.

It’s ok if you don’t know anything. Listen to the people around you, ask questions, be respectful and curious. Just show up!! As you do this, you will learn more about the place you’re in and the people that live there. Those people will guide you, and there’s a non-zero chance that you’ll find a mentor willing to take you under their wing.

The logistics make the movement.

Demonstrations are important and powerful, but they are NOT the be all end all. Not even close.

There are people who’s job it is to take notes, people who host meetings, and people who pick up snacks. Some folks are especially good at getting the word out through tabling and canvasing, others are better at making the pamphlets that get handed out. You could be in charge of carrying heavy boxes of donated food, or you might be better suited preparing a hot meal sitting at the table. Are you able to watch young children? Drive carpool?

All of these tasks and more are essential to maintaining a healthy community group. Don’t be afraid to try new things and experiment to figure out where you can do the most good.

Your stories are your power

One of the most effective tools in your arsenal are your testimonies. When shared with friends they remind us we are not alone in our struggles. When shared with adversaries, they are undeniable proof of our humanity. You can quote facts and statistics all day, but a personal experience will always punch above it’s weight.

Think over your life and explore questions of what your personal stake in the game is. What about your life makes you want to fight. Really dig in deep. This can be uncomfortable. I recommend doing this among friends and being gentle with yourself. You don’t have to have any particularly special reason. This isn’t supposed to be performative. You aren’t trying to get a good grade in leftism, your goal is to identify your self interest. For example, I first got involved with the tenet union because I wanted to go to college in the city but knew I couldn’t afford to live there. I first got involved with planned parenthood because I was scared when Roe v Wade overturned. These are selfish reasons, they have to be for this to work.

With that information, you are prepared to sit with other people and ask them the same thing. If you are open and willing to listen to people’s stories, a casual conversation can lead to strong bonds of friendship. And when you’re friends with someone, you fight for them. This is the core of relational organizing.

There is joy here

Organizing can be difficult. Many things are in life. But from personal experience I can tell you that not only is this work worth it, but it can be *fun*. You can sing and dance and play music and scream and laugh and you’ll do it all together. Hold onto your hope, find your joy where you can, and take the plunge. You’ll be better for it, I promise.

[roughdraftmonth]

Here's Everything You Need to Know About RDMO!

The first Rough Draft Month began on November 1st, 2024. The NEXT Rough Draft Month will be during June, 2025.

Rough Draft is a 30-day creative challenge led by a small group of writers and artists seeking to find joy and community in the creative process.

What is a "Rough Draft"?

Every great piece of art or literature starts as an idea - but it doesn’t stop there. A rough draft is your first attempt at taking on your creative project from start to finish. This process can be very daunting - but that's why we're here. RDMO will help you achieve your goals in a fun and community focused way.

Sharable Information: Instagram | Tumblr

Goal Tiers

Instead of a main challenge, we created 4 tiers (60K, 50K, 30K, and Flex) to create flexibility for your unique project. Examples of a Flex Goal include lines for poetry, scenes for screenplays, panels for graphic novels/cartoonists, and more.

Sometimes it's hard to do a month long challenge - but don't worry. To add even more flexibility, during June we added weekly goal options!

Pick the goal that fits your project and join us!

🌊 This month we will be tracking our progress together on trackbear.app - here's the link to our June leaderboard!

Community Events

One of the best parts about November creative challenges is the mutual support and encouragement during such a big project. Join our Discord to participate with the RDMO community!

Other Features:

🎶 Listen to & save our curated writing playlists

✉ Sign up for our email newsletter for updates, advice, and resources to help you meet your goal - like how to find inspiration for your next project!

🏅 Sticker Book - Achievement Collecting 🔑 Locked In - Word Count Game ⏰ Let Me Cook - Pomodoro Timer

+ More Coming Soon!

We are working hard to create a space that promotes creativity and originality while being fun and supportive. Thank you for your interest and we hope to see you on the trails! ✏

[unsolicited-opinions]

On recent far-left attacks on the Anti-Defamation League

Before we start:

- I think the ADL is wrong about Musk's salutes.

- I think the ADL's Israel advocacy sometimes comes into conflict with their mission in the diaspora. I think their methodologies for data collection and reporting need improvement.

- I think that the ADL is flawed, imperfect and does much more good than harm.

---

Christopher Hitchens put into words what academics used to live by:

"What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence".

The burden of proof is on those making the claim, and the claims of droptheadl.org aren't supported with primary sources or evidence.

For example:

To support its claims about the ADL and SNCC, droptheadl.org offers a link, presenting it as a citation.

This is a link to a Google Books entry. There's no actual text, no citation, no chapter, no page, just the claim that somewhere in this 300-page book exists proof of the ADL denouncing SNCC as racist.

However, that's not in the book. Chapter two talks about this incident in detail, so I read it.

In reaponse to a SNCC newsletter (this is what a primary source looks like!) containing many factual errors about Israel,

...Morris Abram, president of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), summed up their outrage: “Anti-Semitism is anti-Semitism whether it comes from the Ku Klux Klan or from extremist Negro groups

[For those who haven't studied the era: at this point, "Negro" was still the word which the black community preferred. The transition to widespread identification as 'black' got going in the 60s and finished in the 70s. The use of the word 'Negro' here is not a slur. I state this in advance because I know how the illiberal left weilds its willful ignorance]

...

Abram was also careful to echo what the ADL had said: that SNCC’s article put it in the same anti-Israeli trench as the Arab world and the Soviet Union.

That's verifiably, unquestionably true. That's the position SNCC took, because that's where they got their information.

Droptheadl.org lied. This book doesn't say what they claim it says, which is why they didn't quote it or offer a specific citation. Why let facts get in the way of the narrative which makes them feel good about themselves?

The book, which I recommend reading, isn't about the ADL. It's a scholarly examination of the relationships between the wars the Arab world launched on Israel and the US Civil Rights Movement. This requires much discussion of the impact on the complex relationships between black communities and Jewish communities in the US in the context of their views on Israel and Palestine.

It's fascinating. Here's another excerpt illustrating why many Jews saw SNCC as taking an antisemitic turn:

One day in May of 1967, [Stokely] Carmichael and [H. Rap] Brown were in Alabama chatting with Donald Jelinek, a lawyer who worked with SNCC.

Jelinek, who was Jewish, expressed his positive feelings about Israel and his concerns about the Jewish state’s situation in that tension-filled month as war clouds were on the horizon in the Middle East.

“So it was a shock to me,” Jelinek later recounted, “when my SNCC friends mildly indicated support for the Arabs.” Mildly stated or not, their sentiments prompted Jelinek to reply, “But they may wipe out and destroy Israel.”

Carmichael adroitly changed the subject with some humor, and the men began laughing.

Jelinek thereafter overheard Brown quietly singing to himself, “arms for the Arabs, sneakers for the Jews.” When Jelinek asked him what that song meant, an embarrassed Brown explained that he had learned the song as a student in Louisiana. It implied that the Israelis would need sneakers (tennis shoes) to run from the Arabs, who were armed with weapons from abroad.

My qualms with this, my disappointment in and disagreement with both Carmichael and Brown doesn't make me a racist. It doesn't make the AJC or the ADL racist and it doesn't make Jelinek, the Jewish lawyer working with SNCC, a racist or a poor ally.

Zionism is the belief that Jews should have self-determination in their homeland.

Nazism was the belief that racially superior Aryans own the world, should be organized through fascist methods, and that the genocide of the Jewish people was explicitly required because they were the source of all evil and the obstacle to progress.

These are not the same. Suggesting they are the same, as Carmichael did, is morally and intellectually bankrupt. Pointing this out doesn't make me a racist. It makes me literate.

I still own a copy of Carmichael's book, Black Power. Carmichael (who later changed his name to Kwame Ture) was a complex person. Like every other historical figure, he was neither a saint nor a demon.

I can admire a lot about the Black Panthers without falsely claiming that nothing they ever did or said was troubling, poorly reasoned, or bigoted. The world is more complex than that.

There are no saints. Learn this important truth and use it to guide your understanding of the world around you. There are no saints.

Gandhi, for instance, was a great leader for Indian self-rule and a visionary of nonviolent protest. He was also a racist as a young man who said black people "...are troublesome, very dirty and live like animals." Read about his work in South Africa. He was also really weird about sex and slept naked with his grand niece, which we rightly recognize today as sexual abuse. He wasn't a saint or a demon, he was a person.

People are complex and flawed. If you want to understand people, history, and movements, wrap your head around this as keep it with you: People and their movements are complex and flawed.

But the depth of reasoning I see from the illiberal left is "ADL criticized SNCC, so they're Nazis."

No, child. The world is much, much more complex than that. Why did you go to college if you weren't going to learn anything there?

My 14yo is right. US leftists (not liberals, leftists) are allergic to nuance and discard the facts contradicting any narrative which makes them feel good about themselves.

Selah

Deep breath in, slow breath out.

The book is really delves into some of the factors contributing to the deteriorating relationship at the time between Jewish Americans and Black Americans. It points to this essay by James Baldwin, titled "Negroes Are Anti-Semitic Because They're Anti-White." I urge you to read it, it is a fascinating artifact of its time and place.

And this:

Jews had long advocated for black liberation by, for example, playing a role in the foundation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. Jewish support for blacks was well known; as early as February of 1942, the American Jewish Committee published a study titled “Jewish Contribution to Negro Welfare.” Having experienced the sting of anti-Semitism, many Jews believed they were fighting in the same trench against discrimination alongside African Americans. When the civil rights struggle grew to become a mass movement in the 1950s and early 1960s, Jewish moral and financial support was crucial, and Jews were disproportionately well-represented among those whites who lent their support to the cause. Jewish financial contributions to civil rights groups were also significant. Jews even were the subject of criticism from some southern whites for the high-profile role they played in helping blacks win their freedom. All this compounded a sense of betrayal by SNCC that was felt by many Jewish Americans.

It should not be surprising or taken as racist that Jews objected to SNCC's advocacy against Israel's existence and I maintain that any call for Israel to be destroyed is innately, inarguably antisemitic. No other nation endures calls for its destruction. Just the Jewish one.

There was unquestionably tension between SNCC and the entire spectrum of non-black Americans who supported SNCC when SNCC ejected non-black members. From our perspective, decades removed, I can understand both why SNCC members narrowly voted for this AND why non-black members of SNCC were hurt and disillusioned. All of those perspectives were (and are) valid.

When I was an undergrad studying African American Political Thought, we discussed these tensions head-on, using primary sources, and evaluated them dispassionately.

We concluded that there are no villains in this story. SNCC got a bunch of facts wrong about Israel, their staunch Jewish allies were profoundly disappointed, saw hypocrisy in SNCC's position, and said so.

I think that far left Americans overlaid their feelings about a domestic struggle on a foreign one where they don't fit...and then discarded the facts and the complexity which got in the way of a satisfying narrative which made them feel like the good guys instead of forcing them to grapple with an uncomfortably complex reality.

I think that's what the illiberal left still does. It doesn't like complexity, it doesn't like academic rigor, it likes stories it can tell itself about its moral purity and discards facts, complexity, or rigor which threaten their view of themselves as saviors.

The world is complex. People are complex. Movements are complex. Organizations are complex. History is complex. Justice is complex.

The ADL isn't perfect, its leaders haven't been and are not saints or tzadikim, but the good they do for all Americans radically outweighs their failings and I'm going to keep supporting them while yelling at them to do better.

If you're an ADL hater and have any actual evidence and primary sources on racism from the ADL, I really want to see it, because this weak sauce from droptheadl.org doesn't make the case the illiberal left thinks it makes. And they'd know that if they had learned anything in college about how scholarship works and how arguments are constructed.

The illiberal left perhaps forgets how the ADL responded when Trump called for requiring American Muslims to register.

“If one day Muslim Americans will be forced to register their identities, then that is the day that this proud Jew will register as a Muslim. ”

- ADL chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Margaret Sullivan at American Crisis:

Jamelle Bouie gets it. The New York Times columnist wrote something a few days ago that stood out to me because it was so directly stated and so horrifyingly correct. It began: “Even if anyone had elected Elon Musk to anything, the past week would still be one of the most serious examples of executive branch malfeasance in American history.” Bouie went on: “Musk has seized hold of critical levers of power and authority within the federal government, apparently enabling him to destroy federal agencies at will, barring congressional action or judicial pushback.” The piece was titled, “There is No Going Back.” Here’s a gift link. Read it in full and weep for what we’re losing, day by day. But Bouie’s sense of alarm, well founded as it is, is strangely rare in Big Journalism these days. Witness, for example, a piece last week by Jason Willick, a regular opinion columnist at the Washington Post, who wrote something titled “Save the panic over Trump’s ‘power grabs.’ It might be needed later.” Calm down, Willick counseled, mocking the idea that a coup is underway, and concludes that, instead of having what he calls a “meltdown,” everyone should just wait and see. Why? Because, he argues, casting Trump and Musk’s early moves as a constitutional crisis “will diminish the force of such warnings if they are needed.” Willick was appropriately blasted in the reader-comments section: “This sycophantic, willfully delusional apologia for the dismantling of the American republic and the shredding of the constitution … is contemptible sophistry of the very worst kind,” said one. Read Willick’s column, if you have the stomach, and judge for yourself; here’s a gift link. Overall, the tone in the major media is much more like Willick than Bouie. For example, the popular Times newsletter, The Morning, offered this tepid headline one day last week: “A Constitutional Crisis?” Then it considered the question from various angles, including only one quote from a lawmaker — Republican senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina who notes that what Trump and Musk are doing “runs afoul of the Constitution in the strictest sense,” but “nobody should bellyache about that.” As Jamelle Bouie put it in the column I mentioned above, no question mark is appropriate here. In fact, calling what’s happening a constitutional crisis “does not even begin to capture the radicalism of what is unfolding in the federal bureaucracy.”

[...] Righteous indignation like that is hard to come by. That’s why I wrote a Guardian column last week about two new-generation Democrats who have become strong voices: Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. I quoted political consultant Sawyer Hackett: “There’s been no better messenger in the first two weeks of Trump 2.0 than Chris Murphy. At a time when too many Democrats are afraid of their shadow, Murphy is showing how to fight back with a compelling populist message that should be a blueprint for the Democrats moving forward.” My Guardian editor asked me to include a paragraph at the end about what’s giving me hope right now. You can read that, and the rest of the column, here.

Margaret Sullivan is spot-on: Our press needs righteous truth-telling during these constitutional crisis times.

[horrorwomen]

Of particular note in this regard is the “dead wet girl,” a term first coined by film scholar David Kalat to describe the, at the time, very unique female ghost character emerging in J-horror. Seen to be highly distinct from not only earlier Japanese supernatural films but also American horror, these characters are, as the term implies, dead and wet, but also specifically “girls.” While often literally “wet” with water, which is traditionally a common motif to evoke the supernatural, this wetness can also be seen as tied to the feminine, as in for example the cosmological concept of yin and yang, where the feminine is not only associated with the “dark” but also the wet. The dead wet girl can therefore be interpreted as a figure of untapped feminine power, which can in turn explain why she is typically portrayed as possessing extraordinary bordering on inhuman power. It is arguably out of fear of this potential power that the dead wet girl is persecuted. [...] So long as she remains unfettered, the dead wet girl cannot be controlled and is a threat to society.

YOO, Jennifer M. Dead Wet Girls versus Monstrous Mothers: The Female “Monster” in Japanese Horror Cinema. The Newsletter, n. 94, Spring 2023. International Institute for Asian Studies.