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Jared Yates Sexton
@JYSexton 3 years, 1 month ago 403 views

Polices that could make us safer, that could prevent massacres of children and people in public places are incredibly popular.

The problem isn't a lack of support.

The problem is that our leaders have failed us by lacking courage and

I wish I could say what happened in Uvalde is an unfathomable tragedy.

But it's not. It's completely predictable.

This disgusting state of affairs and these senseless tragedies could be prevented if our leaders had courage and were concerned about more than the economy.

2/

We absolutely have to address gun culture in the United States.

We need to admit our white supremacist foundations have led to a state of paranoia, of firearm fetishism.

That is a massive part of the problem and requires a sea change of cultural proportions.

3/

We must recognize that the GOP, with its radicalization, its dependency on fear, paranoia, and conspiracy theories has created an environment where guns and violence are a main part of their appeal.

This state we're living in isn't independent of that. At all.

4/

And any conversation about gun violence or mass shootings has to involve the NRA, an institution that has done more harm to Americans and created more tragedy than nearly anyone else.

It is an absolute blight on the American body and its influence cannot be downplayed.

5/

And we also need to disabuse ourselves of some notions.

The idea that any policy which might address the gun of scourge violence will "inspire conspiracy theorists" is absurd.

Listen to them. Even without any push for reform they're still claiming there's a conspiracy.

6/

Regardless of any push for gun control or policies which might protect us, the Far Right is going to claim there's a conspiracy to take guns or put people in camps.

Fear of stoking that is wasted time. And in a country with mass shootings like ours, we only have so much time

7/

We need something more than these displays of outrage and mourning.

They get us nothing besides a moment of respite. The public performance of The American Mass Shooting has become spectacle.

We need action. We need courage. We need leadership.

8/

Our government has been corrupted by the wealthy and, through hypercapitalism and neoliberalism, more or less rendered into performance and spectacles.

These are largely hollow. We don't need performance. We need action. We need reform.

9/

The problem is cowardice and the problem is that our representatives are largely wealthy individuals bankrolled by wealthy interests and institutions.

They're there to help the wealthy get wealthier, to cut regulation, to continue corporate welfare.

That's it.

10/

Since the rise of neoliberalism, government has been all but completely coopted and turned into a machine that only helps the market and its beneficiaries.

The actual ideology refuses to help citizens. We've been failed by these people who don't care if we live or die.

11/

We have to stop expecting figures like Joe Manchin to do "the right thing."

That's not why he's in Washington. He's there to get wealthier and to serve as a representative of the wealth class.

Our struggles, our tragedies, they mean nothing to him.

12/

People like Manchin and Sinema, and the others they hide, represent a veto by corporate and wealth interests.

They're figureheads obscuring a larger truth: our government does not operate in our favor.

And we can't get anything done until we realize that.

13/

We cannot have an actual representative government as long as this system only allows members of the wealth class to run for office.

Because when they get there, it's to serve the interests of their peers and their class. Something has to give.

14/

And the history with the Democratic Party is damning.

Consultants and strategists continually tell members not to "politicize" these shootings and to simply offer "thoughts and prayers."

Politics as usual isn't going to cut it. There's too much blood. Too much loss.

15/

And the market isn't going to save us.

What neoliberalism does with this epidemic of shootings is profit from it.

Industries of "security experts." Plagues of school shooting drills. Defense companies profiting off systems and plans.

16/

And while corporations and the wealthy profit off school shootings and an environment of fear, our children are being traumatized daily.

The public sphere turned into a free-fire zone.

This problem cannot be solved with the leaders we have, with the system we suffer.

17/

If we are going to actually address the scourge of gun violence and save the very prospect of an open society, it's going to take a sea change.

Courage, sure, but a complete overhaul of who serves us and how.

We cannot expect these agents of wealth to do it.

18/

These tragedies are mounting. Each profoundly disturbing and unsettling.

This problem should have been solved. Many, many times over.

Our leaders have failed us. The extent of that failure is so immense that the mind reels in horror when actually confronting it.

19/

Gestures, spectacles, performances of shock and grief aren't going to cut it anymore.

Not if we want a better, safer life. Not if we want to actually address this American sickness.

This repulsive rot.

We need courage. We need leaders who care if we live or if we die.

20/20

More from Jared Yates Sexton

Jared Yates Sexton
@JYSexton

So. Let's talk about Rick Perry calling Donald Trump "the chosen one" and discuss how American evangelicals became a white identity doomsday cult that threatens our safety and the very nature of reality. 1/

To begin, I have to give a bit of context. I grew up in the evangelical church. That means I was steeped in this stuff from my youngest years, even as I didn't understand it and was unable to imagine a reality outside of it. 2/

I had no idea that white evangelicals, in the 1960's, reacted to Civil Rights leaders like MLK using scripture to base their movement on Christianity by splitting the church and dismissing the ideas of Christianity in favor of a white identity gospel based on power and wealth 3/

People like Jerry Falwell, mostly southern televangelists, transformed Christianity from a religion of service and charity and inclusion to one of wealth and power, where God's will was shown via wealth and control over the world. 4/

We now know this as the Gospel of Wealth, but it started with the 1960's and that redirection from Civil Rights. Basically it was a doctrine that sought to base white power and domination under the dominion of an all-powerful God, thus making it right and defendable. 5/

Jared Yates Sexton
@JYSexton

We're facing a fascistic movement that's backed by the wealthy and powerful who want to dismantle government, an administration and party desperate to cling to power, a racist evangelical base, and a mob lost in weaponized conspiracy

This video is a primer and explainer of the complicated and frightening moment we find ourselves in, a crisis that is a long, long time coming and that won't simply stop unless we address it and the underlying factors.

Have the hard conversations about this. Reject this.

Talk to the people around you about what this coup attempt was, the fascist movement growing in this country, and the very real history the wealthy and powerful don't want you to know.

The only we way we're going to escape this is to expose what it is and fight against it.

The truth is that a large part of the country has been intentionally ensnared in fascistic conspiracy theories for profit and power and the other part is still trying to disentangle itself from mythologies of American exceptionalism.

It can happen here. It IS happening here.

Misplaced trust and faith in our history, our exceptionalism, and our institutions has gotten us here and allowed this fascistic threat to grow.

We're not immune to fascism. In fact, we're especially vulnerable to it. And it is growing in strength and size and ambition.

Jared Yates Sexton
@JYSexton

All right.

We need to talk about how Trump and the GOP are marketing themselves as the Southern Fire-Eaters who spurred secession and the Civil War and how that time bizarrely mirrors our own.

Here's a taste of what I write about in AMERICAN

This ad that's making the rounds by Lauren Boebert, in which she brags about taking her gun to Congress, is not just empty posturing. It reflects a growing tension in our government that seems to be trending toward the societal discord and violence of the Civil War.

2/

The way our history is taught, the Civil War just...kind of happened. Out of nowhere. But there were many forces involved and they reflect what we're going through now.

To understand, we need to look at those forces and the people who benefited and cultivated them.

3/

Prior to the Civil War, Congress erupted into violent chaos. There were massive brawls, duels, assaults, all of it arising from the South's refusal to accept any legislation or development that didn't reflect their desires or empowerment.

4/

Members of the southern Democrats would come armed to sessions to intimidate their rivals, flashed knives and clubs and, if the process got out of control, would use them.

These threats we're seeing now have a very, very similar flavor and should concern people.

5/

Jared Yates Sexton
@JYSexton

People are going to try their damnedest to tell a story that Trump was the cause of this crisis and a total aberration.

The truth is that America’s history is lousy with fascism, that the Right and the wealthy created an environment of fascistic lies to expedite profit and power

This symbolic outrage from a party who has gleefully used Trump to dismantle government, fundraise, and stock the courts right up until the last week of his term will help build that narrative.

This lie will only grow the very real danger we’re in.

We’re facing fascism because of our weaponized mythologies of American exceptionalism that spurred on oppressive empire and hid white supremacy, we’re here because of planned economic inequality and because fascism is a means of suppression of reform.

Trump has to be punished. We have to reject and rebuke him. But any honest conversation about this crisis has to go deeper and explain how we arrived at Trump and how the Right fomented this moment intentionally and with no regard to human life, decency, or democracy.

We can have better lives, a better country, a real and just and human society, but we have to move past easy explanations and scapegoats and the spectacle and these mythologies of exceptionalism.

We have everything to gain and everything to lose.

Jared Yates Sexton
@JYSexton

Joe Biden is winning the election and Donald Trump is trying to pull a literal coup.

Let's talk about where we are, what we know, and separate the things we shouldn't be worried about from the things we absolutely should be worried about.

1/

First and foremost, this election has largely played out as some of us expected it to. There hasn't been some cataclysmic loss. Biden made in-roads, including in Arizona. We're still looking at a possible 300+ electoral college victory if votes are counted.

2/

Last night felt AWFUL for a variety of reasons. Lingering trauma from 2016. A desire to watch the country reject Trump in a major way. The bizarre feeling of watching the race not get called on Election Night as the networks have trained us to expect.

But that was a feeling.

3/

Trump's attempt to steal this election is predicated on that feeling last night and the feeling that somehow this thing is lost even while Biden is winning in a big way.

Trump is determined to use that anxiety and uncertainty and spin it into his own chosen reality.

4/

For months Trump and his goons have told us what they planned to do. Counting would not be finished on Election Night and Trump would use the appearance of momentum to undermine confidence and hopefully stop the counting before momentum swung.

That's what he's doing.

5/

Life is crazy. Today is a good day to stop and reflect

10 simple questions that CHANGED my life

(startup life, personal life)

Here they are:

Q: Can you really control that?

Smart people know what they can and cannot control

If you're living in the past, you're nostalgic
If you're living in the future, you're anxious
If you're living in the present, you're at peace

Q: Did you start today with a victory?

Starting every day with a victory sets you up to win

I don't care what it is:

- Make your bed
- Make a wonderful coffee
- Hug your wife or children

No such thing as a small win. It's a win!

You'll win more, if you start winning early

Q: What are you optimizing for?

#MFSA
1. Money
2. Freedom
3. Stability
4. Ability

The world rewards those who are focused

Perfectly prioritize

Are you being optimistic?

Guaranteed: more luck when you're optimistic

Erik Torenberg
@eriktorenberg

1/ Here’s a list of conversational frameworks I’ve picked up that have been helpful.

Please add your own.

2/ The Magic Question: "What would need to be true for you

1/\u201cWhat would need to be true for you to\u2026.X\u201d

Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?

A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody: https://t.co/Yo6jHbSit9
— Erik Torenberg (@eriktorenberg) December 4, 2018

3/ On evaluating where someone’s head is at regarding a topic they are being wishy-washy about or delaying.

“Gun to the head—what would you decide now?”

“Fast forward 6 months after your sabbatical--how would you decide: what criteria is most important to you?”

4/ Other Q’s re: decisions:

“Putting aside a list of pros/cons, what’s the *one* reason you’re doing this?” “Why is that the most important reason?”

“What’s end-game here?”

“What does success look like in a world where you pick that path?”

5/ When listening, after empathizing, and wanting to help them make their own decisions without imposing your world view:

“What would the best version of yourself do”?

Indian Quant
@indian_quant

Nano Course On Python For Trading
==========================
Module 1

Python makes it very easy to analyze and visualize time series data when you’re a beginner. It's easier when you don't have to install python on your PC (that's why it's a nano course, you'll learn python...

... on the go). You will not be required to install python in your PC but you will be using an amazing python editor, Google Colab Visit https://t.co/EZt0agsdlV

This course is for anyone out there who is confused, frustrated, and just wants this python/finance thing to work!

In Module 1 of this Nano course, we will learn about :

# Using Google Colab
# Importing libraries
# Making a Random Time Series of Black Field Research Stock (fictional)

# Using Google Colab

Intro link is here on YT: https://t.co/MqMSDBaQri

Create a new Notebook at https://t.co/EZt0agsdlV and name it AnythingOfYourChoice.ipynb

You got your notebook ready and now the game is on!
You can add code in these cells and add as many cells as you want

# Importing Libraries

Imports are pretty standard, with a few exceptions.
For the most part, you can import your libraries by running the import.
Type this in the first cell you see. You need not worry about what each of these does, we will understand it later.

Sahil
@sahilypatel

A list of cool websites you might now know about

A thread 🧵

1) Learn Anything - Search tools for knowledge discovery that helps you understand any topic through the most efficient

2) Grad Speeches - Discover the best commencement speeches.

This website is made by me

3) What does the Internet Think - Find out what the internet thinks about anything

4) https://t.co/vuhT6jVItx - Send notes that will self-destruct after being read.

foone
@Foone

So I was talking to @gewt about Job: A Comedy of Justice and I came up with a theory that I think explains why Heinlein's late-period work is so kinda-terrible and why I still enjoy it so much

So Heinlein had always been very interesting in the short parts of his novels, like the little snippets inside chapters. He had a very fun writing style, and wrote some fun dialogue with fun characters, right?>
It probably comes from how much of his early stuff was short fiction

And I think what happened with a lot of his longer works is that he'd just start writing fun bits and hope it would end up going somewhere or having a bigger plot by the end. like eventually he'd figure out where this was going, then go back and rewrite it into a cohesive whole

and I'm sure he had editors that'd help this process. No editor would let you publish something as rambly and changing-gears-every-other-chapter as The Number Of The Beast, for example... unless you were God-King Of Science Fiction 1980s Robert Heinlein.

so basically I think what happened is that by the 80s (when he was in his seventies!!) he lost the drive to go back and rewrite and he was too Untouchable for editors to make him.

Polices that could make us safer, that could prevent massacres of children and people in public places are incredibly popular.

The problem isn't a lack of support.

The problem is that our leaders have failed us by lacking courage and

More from Jared Yates Sexton

More from Category pdfmakerapp grab this readwiseio save thread threader compile summarize

You May Also Like

Polices that could make us safer, that could prevent massacres of children and people in public places are incredibly popular.The problem isn't a lack of support. The problem is that our leaders have failed us by lacking courage and

More from Jared Yates Sexton

More from Category pdfmakerapp grab this readwiseio save thread threader compile summarize

You May Also Like

Polices that could make us safer, that could prevent massacres of children and people in public places are incredibly popular.

The problem isn't a lack of support.

The problem is that our leaders have failed us by lacking courage and