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So I'd recommend reading this thread from Dave, but I thought about some of these policies, and how they fit into the whole, a lot, and want to offer a different interpretation.
I think California is world leading on progressivism that doesn't ask anyone to give anything up, or accept any major change, right now.
That's what I mean by symbolically progressive, operationally conservative.
Take the 100% renewable energy standard. As @leahstokes has written, these policies often fail in practice. I note our leadership on renewable energy in the piece, but the kind of politics we see on housing and transportation are going foil that if they don't change.
Creating a statewide consumer financial protection agency is great! But again, you're not asking most voters to give anything up or accept any actual changes.
I don't see that as balancing the scales on, say, high-speed rail.
CA is willing to vote for higher taxes, new agencies, etc. It was impressive when LA passed Measure H, a new sales tax to fund homeless shelters. And depressing to watch those same communities pour into the streets to protest shelters being placed near them. That's the rub.
It's very in vogue to bash California and this doesn't even reach to some things that deserve scorn, like the continuing control of the Western States Petroleum Association and the state Chamber of Commerce in policymaking. And yet-https://t.co/vHZ6GM7QF8
— David Dayen (@ddayen) February 11, 2021
I think California is world leading on progressivism that doesn't ask anyone to give anything up, or accept any major change, right now.
That's what I mean by symbolically progressive, operationally conservative.
Take the 100% renewable energy standard. As @leahstokes has written, these policies often fail in practice. I note our leadership on renewable energy in the piece, but the kind of politics we see on housing and transportation are going foil that if they don't change.
Creating a statewide consumer financial protection agency is great! But again, you're not asking most voters to give anything up or accept any actual changes.
I don't see that as balancing the scales on, say, high-speed rail.
CA is willing to vote for higher taxes, new agencies, etc. It was impressive when LA passed Measure H, a new sales tax to fund homeless shelters. And depressing to watch those same communities pour into the streets to protest shelters being placed near them. That's the rub.
I'm getting a lot of questions about the prayer before the #ImpeachmentTrial at the Senate. This #THREAD has your answers.
The prayer is given by Senate Chaplain Barry Black. Yes, the Senate has a chaplain. Yes, your tax dollars pay his salary. And the numbers are shocking:
I wrote about this back in 2016. https://t.co/vdc8EGhxPW
From 2000-2015, Congress spent more than $10 million on prayers, the vast majority of which are to the Christian god (more than 96% of prayers in the House were Christian).
The Senate Rules give the chaplain ONE job: to pray.
https://t.co/6dEjnnfy0x
Do chaplains do other things? Sure. But they're paid to pray. The claim that they accommodate the religious freedom of Members of Congress may have made sense when DC was an unpopulated swamp...
...but not in an age where houses of worship are on every street corner in DC and when members can zoom with religious counselors of their choice back home or anywhere else. Religious consolation is easy to find.
They chaplains are paid to pray.
And they are paid an awful lot.
The House Chaplain makes $172,500 (2018)
The Senate Chaplain makes $160,787 (2018)
Again, their only job is to say the opening prayer.
https://t.co/a3YrOqPgOZ
The prayer is given by Senate Chaplain Barry Black. Yes, the Senate has a chaplain. Yes, your tax dollars pay his salary. And the numbers are shocking:

I wrote about this back in 2016. https://t.co/vdc8EGhxPW
From 2000-2015, Congress spent more than $10 million on prayers, the vast majority of which are to the Christian god (more than 96% of prayers in the House were Christian).
The Senate Rules give the chaplain ONE job: to pray.
https://t.co/6dEjnnfy0x
Do chaplains do other things? Sure. But they're paid to pray. The claim that they accommodate the religious freedom of Members of Congress may have made sense when DC was an unpopulated swamp...

...but not in an age where houses of worship are on every street corner in DC and when members can zoom with religious counselors of their choice back home or anywhere else. Religious consolation is easy to find.
They chaplains are paid to pray.
And they are paid an awful lot.
The House Chaplain makes $172,500 (2018)
The Senate Chaplain makes $160,787 (2018)
Again, their only job is to say the opening prayer.
https://t.co/a3YrOqPgOZ

I woke up this morning to hundreds of notifications from this tweet, which is literally just a quote from a book I am giving away tonight.
The level of vitriol in the replies is a new experience for me on here. I love Twitter, but this is the dark side of it.
Thread...
First, this quote is from a book which examines castes and slavery throughout history. Obviously Wilkerson isnât claiming slavery was invented by America.
She says, âSlavery IN THIS LAND...â wasnât happenstance. American chattel slavery was purposefully crafted and carried out.
Thatâs not a âhot takeâ or a fringe opinion. Itâs a fact with which any reputable historian or scholar agrees.
Second, this is a perfect example of how nefarious folks operate here on Twitter...
J*mes Linds*y, P*ter Bogh*ssian and others like them purposefully misrepresent something (or just outright ignore what it actually says as they do in this case) and then feed it to their large, angry following so they will attack.
The attacks are rarely about ideas or beliefs, because purposefully misrepresenting someoneâs argument prevents that from happening. Instead, the attacks are directed at the person.
The level of vitriol in the replies is a new experience for me on here. I love Twitter, but this is the dark side of it.
Thread...
\u201cSlavery in this land was not merely an unfortunate thing that happened to black people. It was an American innovation, and American institution, created by and for the benefit of the elites of the dominant caste.\u201d @Isabelwilkerson
— Zach W. Lambert (@ZachWLambert) February 11, 2021
First, this quote is from a book which examines castes and slavery throughout history. Obviously Wilkerson isnât claiming slavery was invented by America.
She says, âSlavery IN THIS LAND...â wasnât happenstance. American chattel slavery was purposefully crafted and carried out.
Thatâs not a âhot takeâ or a fringe opinion. Itâs a fact with which any reputable historian or scholar agrees.
Second, this is a perfect example of how nefarious folks operate here on Twitter...
J*mes Linds*y, P*ter Bogh*ssian and others like them purposefully misrepresent something (or just outright ignore what it actually says as they do in this case) and then feed it to their large, angry following so they will attack.

The attacks are rarely about ideas or beliefs, because purposefully misrepresenting someoneâs argument prevents that from happening. Instead, the attacks are directed at the person.

Caveat: This article is sourced from @Daily_Express !!!
"End of Sturgeon?"
Frankly, an appropriate response from @NicolaSturgeon might be to quote the infamous Mark Twain response to an erroneous 'obituary' known to all...
"The reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated."
https://t.co/Ce1xVVISR2
More accurately, the media have quoted:
"Ms Sturgeon said she had a âreal job to doâ and was focused on guiding Scotland through the Covid-19 pandemic."
It's very reassuring to hear that @scotgov and @ScotGovFM have prioritised safeguarding lives and Scotland, above all else.
"Iâll leave others to play games or politics. I have got a real job to do and people can decide themselves whether I am doing it well or not, but I am absolutely 100 per cent focused on leading this country through a pandemic."
đŻ% đđ
Making her priorities crystal clear!
âThatâs what Iâve done since this time last year and itâs what Iâm going to continue to do for absolutely as long as necessary.â
And again, making it absolutely crystal clear!
"End of Sturgeon?"
Frankly, an appropriate response from @NicolaSturgeon might be to quote the infamous Mark Twain response to an erroneous 'obituary' known to all...
"The reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated."
https://t.co/Ce1xVVISR2
More accurately, the media have quoted:
"Ms Sturgeon said she had a âreal job to doâ and was focused on guiding Scotland through the Covid-19 pandemic."
It's very reassuring to hear that @scotgov and @ScotGovFM have prioritised safeguarding lives and Scotland, above all else.
"Iâll leave others to play games or politics. I have got a real job to do and people can decide themselves whether I am doing it well or not, but I am absolutely 100 per cent focused on leading this country through a pandemic."
đŻ% đđ
Making her priorities crystal clear!
âThatâs what Iâve done since this time last year and itâs what Iâm going to continue to do for absolutely as long as necessary.â
And again, making it absolutely crystal clear!
It's another stunning Malagasy #dartfrog/#poisonfrog for today's #FrogOfTheDay, #42 Mantella cowani Boulenger, 1882! A highly threatened, actively conserved and managed frog from the highlands of central #Madagascar
#MadagascarFrogs
đžD.Edmonds/CalPhotos
This thread will cover only a tiny fraction of the work on Mantella cowanii because, being so charismatic and threatened, it has received quite a bit of attention.
#MadagascarFrogs
We start at the very beginning: the first specimens, two females, were collected by Reverend Deans Cowan in East Betsileo, Madagascar, and sent to London, where George Albert Boulenger described the species in 1882.
#MadagascarFrogs
Boulenger placed the species in his new genus, Mantella, along with ebenaui, betsileo, and madagascariensis. He recognised that the other Malagasy poison frogs were distinct from the Dendrobates of the Americas, although he did keep them in the Dendrobatidae.
#MadagascarFrogs
As more specimens were collected, it became clear that the species was highly variable. In 1978, Jean GuibĂ© wrote with interest about this variability, describing a new subspecies, M. cowani nigricansâtoday a full species. #MadagascarFrogs
https://t.co/dwaHMbrYbj
#MadagascarFrogs
đžD.Edmonds/CalPhotos

This thread will cover only a tiny fraction of the work on Mantella cowanii because, being so charismatic and threatened, it has received quite a bit of attention.
#MadagascarFrogs
We start at the very beginning: the first specimens, two females, were collected by Reverend Deans Cowan in East Betsileo, Madagascar, and sent to London, where George Albert Boulenger described the species in 1882.
#MadagascarFrogs

Boulenger placed the species in his new genus, Mantella, along with ebenaui, betsileo, and madagascariensis. He recognised that the other Malagasy poison frogs were distinct from the Dendrobates of the Americas, although he did keep them in the Dendrobatidae.
#MadagascarFrogs
As more specimens were collected, it became clear that the species was highly variable. In 1978, Jean GuibĂ© wrote with interest about this variability, describing a new subspecies, M. cowani nigricansâtoday a full species. #MadagascarFrogs
https://t.co/dwaHMbrYbj
