The Weird Times
Inner Monologues and Desultory Reporting from Outer Spaces: Issue 235, November 10, 2024 (V5 #27)
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.—HL Mencken
Because we forget history, we forget that the American experiment cannot succeed without constant, courageous leadership. Our nation is not inherently good and our high ideals are often eclipsed by our baser nature. This has been true since our founding, and it is true now.—David French
Nonsense and mystery are not substitutes for truth; they are its consorts, engaged with it in perpetual dialogue. —Louise Glück
I am still processing my feelings, but what I do know is that my country keeps finding ways to break my heart.—Adrienne Pickett, a 42-year-old single mother of two who lives in suburban Detroit.
…a terrible night for everyone who voted against him [Trump], and guess what? It was a bad night for everyone who voted for him too. You just don't realize it yet.—Jimmy Kimmel
“PITY THE NATION”
Lawrence Ferlinghetti (After Khalil Gibran) 2007
Pity the nation whose people are sheep
And whose shepherds mislead them
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
Whose sages are silenced
And whose bigots haunt the airwaves
Pity the nation that raises not its voice
Except to praise conquerors
And acclaim the bully as hero
And aims to rule the world
By force and by torture
Pity the nation that knows
No other language but its own
And no other culture but its own
Pity the nation whose breath is money
And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed
Pity the nation oh pity the people
who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away
My country, tears of thee
Sweet land of liberty!
Books, Music, Art, Culture
A Brief History of the Most Famous Swear Word in the World: on the Limberness and Literary Uses of “Fuck,” Jesse Sheidlower, LitHub, 11/5/24: “…some scholars have suggested that it is a Norse borrowing…”
Remembering Quincy Jones, a Peerless Music Producer: The genre-hopping mastermind, who died this weekend at age 91, brought a singular style to his lengthy, hit-filled career that involved artists ranging from Sarah Vaughan to Michael Jackson and earned him dozens of Grammys, Marc Myers, Wall Street Journal, 11/4/24
This Book Contains a Century of Historical Sandwiches: In ‘Sandwiches of History,’ Barry Enderwick dives into good, bad, and bizarre combinations, Diana Hubbell, Atlas Obscura, 11/6/24: “I would say the weirdest sandwich of all, from the 1909 Up to Date Sandwich Book, was the dairy sandwich. It was literally a slice of Swiss cheese, and you buttered it, and you put another slice of Swiss cheese on it. That was it. No bread.”
We’re Addicted to the Feeling of Being Right: Our craving for loud, divisive, identity-conferring opinion is poisoning politics, Mark Kingwell, The Walrus, 11/7/24: “Let us dwell together in doubt, guided by its companion cognitive virtue, humility. Because this is the only solution to a crisis of authority. And this requires reflection on our own stories, how we come to be the political actors we are.” Book: Question Authority: A Polemic about Trust in Five Meditations
Is There a Crisis of Seriousness? Ted Gioia, Honest Broker, 11/9/24: “Fake is our leading candidate for word of the century. It captures almost everything relevant now in a single syllable.”
That Kind of Woman: On Motherhood As a Choice, Not a Destiny: “To be a mother was what a girl wanted then, and I did not,” Honor Moore, LitHub, 11/7/24: “I didn’t think about I’m having an abortion, I just did it. Blasted through fear: I want this life, not that life.” Book: A Termination
But Can It Change Anything? What Artists and Social Movements Can Learn From Each Other: the Intersection of Art and Activism in the Contemporary Era, Amber Massie-Blomfield, LitHub, 11/7/24: “When politicians fail to hear us, to represent us, as they so often do…it falls to artists to find ways to break through.”
Rosmarie Waldrop: ‘Other Influences:’ The celebrated poet explores how her early experiences influenced her understanding of form and the role of silence in poetry, Rosmarie Waldrop, MIT Press Reader, 11/4/24: “Influences? Every book I’ve read. Other influences? Yes. For instance, music, printing, and less tangible silences.” Book: Other Influences: An Untold History of Feminist Avant-Garde Poetry
1
Your singular, my love. Rehearses its absence.
You see light, hear noise, feel the warmth of the sun. Do you connect it into “day”?
You move through shards and splinters. Toward.
You are no longer possible.
—from “Sent,” Rosmarie Waldrop
Politics, Technology, Economics
Why Does No One Understand the Real Reason Trump Won? It wasn’t the economy. It wasn’t inflation, or anything else. It was how people perceive those things, which points to one overpowering answer, Michael Tomasky, New Republic, 11/8/24: “The answer is the right-wing media. Today, the right-wing media—Fox News (and the entire News Corp.), Newsmax, One America News Network, the Sinclair network of radio and TV stations and newspapers, iHeart Media (formerly Clear Channel), the Bott Radio Network (Christian radio), Elon Musk’s X, the huge podcasts like Joe Rogan’s, and much more—sets the news agenda in this country. And they fed their audiences a diet of slanted and distorted information that made it possible for Trump to win.”
Trump’s Victory Signals Significant Shifts In Media Persuasion: New channels like Twitch, podcasts, and the creator economy are outperforming conventional advertising, Trishla Ostwal, Paul Hiebert, Adweek, 11/7/24: “Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and unpolished remarks worked to his advantage, which—for better or worse—helped him garner significant earned media, especially on podcasts.”
The Podcast Election, Scott Galloway, No Mercy/No Malice, 11/8/24: “The political power of podcasting is only beginning to be felt. This election was supposed to be a referendum on bodily autonomy: It wasn’t. Historically, the candidate who raises the most money wins: She didn’t. In each election the victor is likely to be whoever best weaponizes an emerging medium: He did. By far the most potent media weapon this time was podcasting.”
The Billionaires Won: The 50-Year War on Democracy That Built Trump's Oligarchy and Killed the American Dream: Bought politicians, and a court on their side—they’ve seized control...Thom Hartmann, Hartmann Report, 11/6/24: “We just watched the final fulfillment of a 50 year plan. Louis Powell laid it out in 1971, and every step along the way Republicans have follow it. It was a plan to turn America over to the richest men and the largest corporations. It was a plan to replace democracy with oligarchy. A large handful of America’s richest people invested billions in this plan, and its tax breaks and fossil fuel subsidies have made them trillions.”
And Now? The Calm Before the...What? Joe Klein, Sanity Clause, 11/8/24: “This may turn out worse than I’m thinking—Trump has never failed to disappoint—but I have a pretty low bar right now: If the democracy survives and we have free and fair elections in 2026 and 2028, I’ll be happy.”
Trump Won. Now What? The United States is about to become a different kind of country, David Frum, The Atlantic, 11/6/24: “…we must learn to live in an America where an overwhelming number of our fellow citizens have chosen a president who holds the most fundamental values and traditions of our democracy, our Constitution, even our military in contempt.”
Hitler’s Enablers: The complicity of conservative nationalists in the Nazi takeover of Germany in 1933 offers disturbing parallels to the current American political situation, Christopher R. Browning, NY Review of Books, 11/7/24 issue: “Adolf Hitler lied all the time. Yet he also said clearly what he was doing and what he planned to do.”
Coping With the Fear and Loathing, Randall Beach, Newsletter, 11/7/24: “We have now learned that, for the majority of the millions of Americans who voted Tuesday, how much they pay for their eggs is more important than what Trump instigated against our government on Jan. 6.”
A Democracy Runs Through It, Chris Jones, The Swine Republic, 11/8/24: “Vile as though the Victor may be, it seems to me the losing side is much too eager to assign the blame for this mess to literally anything other than the Democratic Party. Call me crazy if you must, but when you lose (twice) to a guy whose behavior would get him fired from every employer in the country, maybe, just maybe, the product you’re offering is suboptimal.”
The sad truth is that anti-feminist backlash helped propel Trump to victory: Most American men have nothing in common with a billionaire – but he spoke to their resentment and anxiety, Malaika Jabali, The Guardian, 11/6/24
Letting It All Hang Out: Disinhibition will be the order of the day in Donald Trump’s America, Fintan O’Toole, NY Review of Books, 11/7/24: “…this is a disinhibited electorate. It is no longer, on the whole, frightened of its own worst impulses.”
Demi Moore: the US is ‘built on Puritans, religious fanatics and criminals,’ At the French premiere of The Substance, the actor said ‘fear in America around the body’ could be seen in the country’s election, Andrew Pulver, The Guardian, 11/6/24: “Elon Musk might be the biggest winner of all.” (DW: Putin’s other best friend).
A happy day for Big Tech, Mark Hurst, Creative Good, 11/6/24: “Whatever the majority of voters hoped to gain from this, it’s actually Big Tech that won the election.”
Trump Win Gives Loyal Billionaire Backers Power to Sway Top Jobs: Loyal supporters of the president-elect are poised to play a major role in his second administration, Devon Pendleton, Bloomberg News, 11/7/24
Our mistake was to think we lived in a better country than we do: Americans will be stuck cleaning up after Maga’s destructive streak because men like this never clean up after themselves, Rebecca Solnit, The Guardian, 11/7/24: “The lost boys and Maga women want an authoritarian leader, and the fact they can make one out of the physically and mentally pathetic Trump is a testimony to the power of tech-fueled fantasy.”
A steep learning curve awaits voters who vested their hopes in Trump, Joe Conason, Alternet, 11/8/24: “Whatever they may want, what they are likely to get from him is probably not going to make them happy.”
Democratic Party Elites Brought Us This Disaster, Branko Marcetic, Jacobin, 11/6/24: “The Democrats have now lost to Donald Trump in two out of three presidential elections, despite the fact that he has been deeply unpopular and polarizing each time he’s run.”
I spent hours trying to persuade US voters to choose Harris not Trump. I know why she lost: As a phone bank volunteer, I hoped to counter the Republican attacks and half-truths, but people really believed them, Oliver Hall, The Guardian, 11/9/24: “For reasons that I’m sure will be studied for decades, when he speaks, people listen. When he speaks, people believe him. After all those calls, I can be shocked at this result, but hardly surprised.”
Who Is To Be Blamed And: What Is To Be Expected, Sam Kahn, Castalia, 11/6/24: “Who is to be blamed: Joe Biden, The Liberal Establishment, Joe Biden Again, Kamala Harris, Jerry Rubin (DW: yes that Jerry Rubin), Hilary Clinton, The gullibility of Americans. What happens next: It took FDR a hundred days to turn his party on its axis and find the winning vision. The Democrats have four bitter years in exile to do the same.”
The Democratic Party Doesn't Work: The party has been rotting for years and years. Now we're all paying the price, Paul Blest, Discourse, 11/8/24: “Tens of millions of people think the Democrats are talking at them, not to them.”
The educated professional class is out of touch with America: Lesson #3 from Trump's victory, Noah Smith, Noahpinion, 11/10/24
We can rage about Donald Trump. Or we can be curious about why he appealed to so many: Progressives would do well to try to understand how millions of Americans turned to him because he offered real hope of prosperity, security and fewer wars, Peter Hyman, The Guardian, 11/9/24
What does Trump's win mean for the world? Lawrence Freedman, Comment is Freed, 11/7/24: “During his first term Trump toyed with the possibilities of breaking free. The question for his second is whether this time he will try harder or whether the logic of the US’s international position continues to act as a restraint.”
Downballot Victories Enshrine Worker, Voter, And Reproductive Rights: Voters protected abortion rights, struck back at oligarchs, delivered public school funding, and ensured workers get their payday, Sam Pollak, Helen Santoro, The Lever, 11/9/24
"Keep Buggering On" First, a reason to pull your hair out harder. Then a reason to hope, Dan Gardner, PastPresentFuture, 11/7/24: “…it is at least possible, if we are very fortunate, for humanity to make spectacularly foolish decisions without derailing progress and leaving our children and grandchildren worse off.”
Democracy Is Not Over: Americans who care about democracy have every right to feel appalled and frightened. But then they have work to do, Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 11/6/24: “You have every right to be appalled, saddened, shocked, and frightened. Soon, however, you should dust yourself off, square your shoulders, and take a deep breath. Americans who care about democracy have work to do.”
What’s To Come Under Trump 2.0: What we’ve already uncovered about the next Trump administration, Joel Warner, The Lever, 11/7/24: “Project 2025, the radical plan to reshape the government under Trump, highlights the key to his agenda: Schedule F, a policy that would expose federal workers to political interference and gives the president broad leeway to govern through fear.”
Through the darkness, some rays of light, Judd Legum, Rebecca Crosby, Noel Sims, Popular Information, 11/7/24: “Voters protect abortion rights in seven states; Voters in three red states guarantee paid sick leave; two boost minimum wage; Three states vote to protect public school funding; Florida voters reject school board politicization; Voters elect first transgender member of Congress; send two Black women to the Senate…”
“Country First” must be lived in actions, not spoken words, Steve Schmidt, The Warning, 11/8/24: “Joe Biden obliterated his legacy, harmed the country and re-elected Trump with a small cadre of enablers… Before fixing America, the Democratic Party must fix itself. Trump must have an effective opposition. Today, he faces none.”
All Bets Are Off: “The Democrats must do everything in their power and influence to oppose, slow down, and attach political costs to the Trump agenda,” Joseph O’Neill, interviewed by Daniel Drake, NY Review of Books, 11/9/24: “Nihilistic consumerism, as much as authoritarianism, prevailed. Of course, political science is not designed to investigate this kind of stuff. The clearest insights we have come from the realm of philosophy and literature. Hannah Arendt and Primo Levi did not rely on focus groups.”
When I ask voters in focus groups if they think Donald Trump is an authoritarian, the #1 response by far is, ‘What is an authoritarian?’—(Republican strategist) Sarah Longwell
Science, Environment
Trump’s win is a tragic loss for climate progress: His return to the White House puts the world’s second-largest climate polluter on an emissions trajectory we can’t afford, James Temple, MIT Technology Review, 11/6/24
‘People do not want to believe it is true’: the photographer capturing the vanishing of glaciers: Christian Åslund was shocked at the difference between what he saw in 2002 and what confronted him this summer, Helena Horton, The Guardian, 11/5/24
Climate change made 2023 wildfire conditions in Canada three times as likely, study finds: It also upped the risk in Greece and the Amazon, YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 11/5/24
Plastic pollution is changing entire Earth system, scientists find: Pollution is affecting the climate, biodiversity, ecosystems, ocean acidification and human health, according to analysis, Sandra Laville, The Guardian, 11/7/24
Microplastics Could Be Making the Weather Worse: Microplastics cause clouds to form in places where they wouldn't otherwise, which is likely to have knock-on effects on the weather and climate, Miriam Freedman, Heidi Busse, Wired, 11/10/24
Nearly all of US states are facing droughts, an unprecedented number: More than 150 million people and 318m acres of crops are affected by droughts after summer of record heat, Marina Dunbar, The Guardian, 11/7/24
The Journey of a Sea Bean: In Praise of the Ocean’s Smallest Gifts: “I am left contemplating this luck,” Sally Huband, LitHub, 11/6/24: “It is still a cause of speculation—the length of time that it takes for a drift-seed to arrive on a northern shore.”
Brazil Hopes to Make the Amazon a Model for a Green Economy: As he prepares to host the G20 summit, Brazil’s president is championing initiatives to promote a “bioeconomy” in the Amazon that protects biodiversity and helps Indigenous residents. The goal: To get governments to commit to a new economic vision that is truly sustainable, Fred Pearce, Yale Environment 360, 11/7/24
Scientists tackle farm nutrient pollution with sustainable, affordable designer biochar pellets, Univ of Illinois, Science Daily, 11/7/24: “What if farmers could not only prevent excess phosphorus from polluting downstream waterways, but also recycle that nutrient as a slow-release fertilizer, all without spending a lot of money?”
1.5C is dead. The climate fight isn’t: Trump’s re-election is “the final nail in the coffin” for the Paris Agreement's North Star goal, nine experts told HEATED. But we can still limit the damage, Arielle Samuelson, Heated, 11/7/24: “ It all depends on the actions of state governments, local governments, other countries, and regular people.”
I love you because without you there is just sea;
a body all at sea, waving surrender to sky,
kicking and screaming against the line—
water, not going anywhere.
—from “Deposition,” Victoria Kennefick
Health, Wellness
Doctors stress microplastics’ widespread risks to human health, Sara Berg (AMA), Environmental Health News, 11/7/24: “Children and older adults face heightened risks due to their developing or weakened immune systems, making microplastics especially concerning for these groups.”
Five minutes of extra exercise a day could lower blood pressure: Findings show importance of activities that raise heart rate for blood pressure control, Univ of Sydney, Science Daily, 11/6/24
A ‘Crazy’ Idea for Treating Autoimmune Diseases Might Actually Work: Lupus has long been considered incurable—but a series of breakthroughs are fueling hope, Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 11/4/24: “More than 40 people with lupus worldwide have now undergone CAR-T-cell therapy, and most have gone into drug-free remission.”
Birds, Birding
Unraveling the Complexity Behind Bird Population Declines, Kristen Muson, University of Vermont, 11/7/24: “…some species may be more flexible to habitat changes than previously understood, creating new opportunities for supporting populations through city planting efforts.”
Fears New York buildings’ deadly toll on migratory birds could be on the rise: Annual bird survey suggests ‘particularly bad’ autumn on key migration route through city’s brightly lit skyscrapers, Victoria Bekiempis, The Guardian, 11/10/24
A speech *everyone* should listen to: RFK, April 1968, Chris Cillizza, So What, 11/9/24: “Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.”
Well that was certainly the week that was. Most of us are still in shock.
As so many articles here show, the losing side is trying to figure out how and why it happened and what the hell are we going to do next.
The darkness has been coming for a long time, and now it’s here. What we can do is keep the lights burning brightly and stay strong in our commitment to truth, love, and freedom for all.
Please do keep in touch. I say this every week: We need each other, now more than ever. Our connections are what matters.
Love is always the place where I begin and end.—bell hooks
We can open the door to the light.—Timothy Snyder
We have to speak up. We have to participate. We can’t just sit down and shut the door and stay by the fire. We have to fight more than ever and figure out how to be most effective. We will have to fight hard to protect democracy from here on in.—Madeleine Kunin
A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles.—Thomas Jefferson
Love from here, always—David
David, just want you to know how helpful your roundup of perspectives continues to be especially now… you saw it coming. Tej.