Democracy matters, and it’s damaged and endangered in the US. I can’t for the life of me figure out why we’re not having general strikes and ongoing protests to save and strengthen it.
For a year I’ve been wondering why some people or groups weren’t speaking out —and acting out — more. I don’t have time to write a newsletter - I have a full time job, a family to care for, and am writing a book (yes, it’s about democracy, too). And frankly, I’m not clear that what I have to say is that important, or can make a difference.
But I recently encountered Theodore Roosevelt’s quotation of Squire Bill Widener: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
And I can’t not say something any more. Every day I come across something that I think needs to be amplified. I’m going to experiment with sharing those things here. They’ll be quick, because my goal is to not spend more than 5 minutes a day on this.
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December 30, 2021
Heather Cox Richardson should win the Medal of Freedom, along with the undying devotion of every patriotic American. Her Letters from an American
is the one thing I read without fail every single day. You should subscribe, too. I’ll probably amplify her newsletter pretty regularly. Here’s part of what she said today:
“Since the 1990s, Republicans have used violence and the news coverage it gets to gain through pressure what they could not gain through votes.
Stone engineered a crucial moment for that dynamic when he helped to drive the so-called Brooks Brothers Riot that shut down the recounting of ballots in Miami-Dade County, Florida, during the 2000 election. That recount would decide whether Florida’s electoral votes would go to Democrat Al Gore or Republican George W. Bush. As the recount showed the count swinging to Gore, Republican operatives stormed the station where the recount was taking place, insisting that the Democrats were trying to steal the election.”
This matters. You won’t read it — or if you do, only a single mention once — in the New York Times, the Washington Post, or any other major news outlet. More about the Washington Post later.