There are still plots across the US to attack state capitols as well as the capitol in DC. These are credible threats against America and American democracy. And they are enabled by Republicans like Hawley, Cruz, Kennedy, Rubio et al, the flag bearers of Trump fascism 1/

Each and every individual who played a part, any part, in the attempted coup on Wednesday must be exposed, arrested, charged & tried. No ifs, no buts. Otherwise they will melt away into alt-web cells & networks, continuing their attacks in support of Trump’s fascistic cult 2/
Rounding up the ringleaders on the ground on the day is one thing. But they were activated by senior Republican lawmakers, emboldened by 139 House Republicans and 8 Senators who voted to overturn a free & fair democratic election. These truths are self-evident 3/
They were also assisted by members of the Capitol and DC police. They included members of fire departments and other forces, elected representatives from across different states. This was not an amorphous mob. This was an alliance of anti-American forces intent on revolution 4/
This runs deeper & wider than saying it was a “mob” event. This was planned & equipped, armed to support the Trump lie. It was mobilised in a clear & present effort to overthrow the legitimate outcome of the 2020 election. It wasn’t a one-off chaotic event. There will be more 5/
Exposing the lie is one thing. But those who maintained it need to be rooted out & brought to justice otherwise, they’ve won, in many ways. The lie remains. The liars remain. And they will run for office again, using the lie & inflaming political tensions for years to come 6/
Stirring up a base with divisive slogans & then offering themselves as the only solution to that same base: similar tactics have been in play in NI for generations. These Trump Republicans will not cease & desist. Neither must the push against them. They do not want unity 7/
They want to camouflage themselves with talk about unity, allowing them more space & time to recruit believers to the Trump cult & the idea he was wrongfully removed from office. The lie becomes the byword for an aggrieved but righteous battle. See Germany post-WW1 8/
The Nazis propagated the lie that Germany had basically not lost the war & that domestic traitors capitulated to the Allies. That toxic idea took hold & we know the rest. America must be ready to battle this anti-democratic force for a generation. The alternative is terrifying /9

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1/“What would need to be true for you to….X”

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:


2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to

- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal

3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:

Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.

Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.

4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?

To get clarity.

You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.

It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.

5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”

Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.
1. Project 1742 (EcoHealth/DTRA)
Risks of bat-borne zoonotic diseases in Western Asia

Duration: 24/10/2018-23 /10/2019

Funding: $71,500
@dgaytandzhieva
https://t.co/680CdD8uug


2. Bat Virus Database
Access to the database is limited only to those scientists participating in our ‘Bats and Coronaviruses’ project
Our intention is to eventually open up this database to the larger scientific community
https://t.co/mPn7b9HM48


3. EcoHealth Alliance & DTRA Asking for Trouble
One Health research project focused on characterizing bat diversity, bat coronavirus diversity and the risk of bat-borne zoonotic disease emergence in the region.
https://t.co/u6aUeWBGEN


4. Phelps, Olival, Epstein, Karesh - EcoHealth/DTRA


5, Methods and Expected Outcomes
(Unexpected Outcome = New Coronavirus Pandemic)
I just finished Eric Adler's The Battle of the Classics, and wanted to say something about Joel Christiansen's review linked below. I am not sure what motivates the review (I speculate a bit below), but it gives a very misleading impression of the book. 1/x


The meat of the criticism is that the history Adler gives is insufficiently critical. Adler describes a few figures who had a great influence on how the modern US university was formed. It's certainly critical: it focuses on the social Darwinism of these figures. 2/x

Other insinuations and suggestions in the review seem wildly off the mark, distorted, or inappropriate-- for example, that the book is clickbaity (it is scholarly) or conservative (hardly) or connected to the events at the Capitol (give me a break). 3/x

The core question: in what sense is classics inherently racist? Classics is old. On Adler's account, it begins in ancient Rome and is revived in the Renaissance. Slavery (Christiansen's primary concern) is also very old. Let's say classics is an education for slaveowners. 4/x

It's worth remembering that literacy itself is elite throughout most of this history. Literacy is, then, also the education of slaveowners. We can honor oral and musical traditions without denying that literacy is, generally, good. 5/x