Bari, I just wanted to say thank you for doing the work that you are doing. As an oldish 51) year old, I remember a time when I trusted that news seemed to be information not an attempt at persuasion. I have been saddened by the change in the news landscape over the past 20 years & I am so happy that there is somewhere to go now for honest information & a moderate tone.
Funny that there's so much lingering Rogan content and nary a peep about the morality of the Olympics in China. It's like they know it's a great time to have a big distracting spectacle to avoid talking about the real.
The whole masking situation has been nothing more than virtue signaling for two years now. Anyone who thinks masking up has prevented the spread of Covid should look at the numbers. In New York alone, where obedient masking done both indoors and outdoors resulted in the largest number of cases and deaths in the country. And then when you look at the stupid rules that were mandated, such as you must wear your mask when you walk in the restaurant, but then you can take it off when you sit down is just plain stupid. Why wear it in the first place then? The entire masking situation has been an exercise in political theatre.
Your comment about comments is the best part of this week's TGIF. I am always baffled that people feel OK treating others online in a way they would never treat a neighbor, or a friend they disagree with. Thank you for Common Sense!
** The DHS writes: “These threat actors seek to exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest.” **
When will DHS be arresting Stacey Abrams, Eric Garcetti, and Joe Biden for "undermin[ing] public trust in government institutions"?
No one should believe, for one second, that any of the "leaders" on the left have finally had the epiphany. They only realize that they have pushed too far and now know they have to back off until after the next election. Don't worry, they will be back for more power very soon.
Thanks for your absolute clarity on power vs "science". Scientifically literate people understood from the first moment that none of this shit had the slightest connection to public health or viruses. It's simply sexual pleasure for psychopathic rulers. Viagra for demons. That's the whole story.
Now they're finally tired of continuous power-orgasm and need a brief break. Hopefully they'll play with a different fetish toy the next time.
This will probably be a comment that generates the sort of pile-on this post warned against but here goes. I think these sorts of news summary with pithy commentary type posts are helpful and I enjoy them, but they do need to be honest if they're going to be useful. And I think the Pelosi mention is in here to anger people since she's such a trigger for many, rather than be fair. She really isn't saying "shut up athletes, we don't care what you think about China" which is definitely what this post implies. She's saying, properly in my view, that attacking China while in China is a dangerous game to be playing. She explicitly says she respects their right to say whatever they want, and is just advising them that there are dangers inherent in that because the Chinese are ruthless.
For the Stacy Abrams story. It perplexed me when Democrats insist on posting photos of them being maskless when they are with others that are masked. Given that the party has largely embraced Covid measures, they should lead by example. If they don’t, it’s a terrible look for them. If they are concerned about people not seeing their smile, they can wear a mask with a clear window.
I used to be a regular Joe Rogan listener and stopped. My husband would joke that he lost a third of his female listeners when I did. At the end of the day, I see this as being good for Rogan. His podcast already has 20X the viewers of CNN. Calling for its censureship is only going to resort to the Striessend effect and help it grow. If people want to challenge talking points from an episode, that is far more credible than just trying to deplatform. I’ve seen people say Spotify should pull him, ok they have a 100 million dollar contract for him to be exclusive. They aren’t going to. I’ve seen other people say cancel everyone whose been a guest. Ok so you are going to cancel Bernie Sanders?
I spend a lot of time on Tik Tok and have a fairly moderate following. Ones thing I’ve noticed is the self censorship that is common on the app and the fact that a a creator, I do it too. The community guidelines don’t list exactly what is banned. So instead of people saying suicide or murder, they will say unalive. Because they worry if they say the former, their video won’t perform well in the algorithm. The self censorship on a Chinese app has been a source of fascinating sociological horror to witness.
Thank you for the ending about keeping comments from piling on. While I can understand frustration, the main thing that pile-oks do is quiet people. One interesting aspect of this community is having diverse opinions, since that being openly shared is increasingly becoming a scarcity. That balance is fragile and having seen other online spaces lose this quality, pike ones are the fastest way to kill it.
Well, @Nellie Bowles, you are absolutely right, Common Sense knocked it out of the park this week; a mic drop moment so to speak. This is an excellent example of independent journalism at its best. Thank you.
This from your essay: "“Arranging a series of focus groups across the state to see what they had missed, [New Jersey Governor Phil] Murphy’s advisers were struck by the findings,” the Times writes..." "The biggest piece of news here is that anyone was struck by these findings."
Doesn't that capture our situation just perfectly!
And later, "Biden’s Department of Homeland Security released this week a bulletin about Domestic Terrorism focused on those who post “mis- dis- and mal-information.”
This is the biggest, most important news this week, and I'm terrified of where this leads. This policy will not be rescinded, and we have a new police power stolen by the authoritarians. Can you imagine how much fun they will have cracking down on all of us dissidents, on the samizdat, on the trolls, and on you?!
But finally, you just couldn't resist, could you: "For all Trump’s sweaty efforts at controlling information,...?" Come on now, clearly you do that just to stir the pot, roil the proles, eh? Were Obama's efforts and those of the corporate media and tech less "sweaty" and therefore more elegant in the censoriousness, or are you implying it's all Trump-ism that started this authoritarianism? Oh, perhaps I should factor in that was when you and wife WERE part of the cool kids, and hence, that era of elegant, non-sweaty "information controlling" must be whitewashed.
Anyway, an absolute stellar week, and thank you so much!
I know I'll be slammed here for what I'm about to say but so be it. Nellie, one of the things I've enjoyed about your column is that you usually point out the hypocrisy of both the right and the left. Today, however, it seems like you're only focusing on the hypocrisy of the left. The left deserves every bit of shame you can pour on it but how about the RNC's Jan. 6 decision and the infighting between McConnell and Trump? Crickets.
From reading the comments, I know most people who read this Substack are center-right or right, but one of the things which drew me here initially was that it was billed as "independent." It seems that to appease your audience, you have abandoned that mission. Sad.
Does anyone else think Justin Trudeau is vaguely reminiscent of a child cosplaying in an adult man’s body or am I just a weirdo
Joe Biden has hit on a new slogan for his regime “Build Crack Better”
Bari, I just wanted to say thank you for doing the work that you are doing. As an oldish 51) year old, I remember a time when I trusted that news seemed to be information not an attempt at persuasion. I have been saddened by the change in the news landscape over the past 20 years & I am so happy that there is somewhere to go now for honest information & a moderate tone.
Excellent post, Nellie, keep up the great work!
"The old phrase champagne socialist doesn’t do this one justice." How about Porsche Proletariat?
Capitalism sucks until you start amassing wealth, then it’s pretty sweet!!
Funny that there's so much lingering Rogan content and nary a peep about the morality of the Olympics in China. It's like they know it's a great time to have a big distracting spectacle to avoid talking about the real.
The whole masking situation has been nothing more than virtue signaling for two years now. Anyone who thinks masking up has prevented the spread of Covid should look at the numbers. In New York alone, where obedient masking done both indoors and outdoors resulted in the largest number of cases and deaths in the country. And then when you look at the stupid rules that were mandated, such as you must wear your mask when you walk in the restaurant, but then you can take it off when you sit down is just plain stupid. Why wear it in the first place then? The entire masking situation has been an exercise in political theatre.
Your comment about comments is the best part of this week's TGIF. I am always baffled that people feel OK treating others online in a way they would never treat a neighbor, or a friend they disagree with. Thank you for Common Sense!
** The DHS writes: “These threat actors seek to exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest.” **
When will DHS be arresting Stacey Abrams, Eric Garcetti, and Joe Biden for "undermin[ing] public trust in government institutions"?
No one should believe, for one second, that any of the "leaders" on the left have finally had the epiphany. They only realize that they have pushed too far and now know they have to back off until after the next election. Don't worry, they will be back for more power very soon.
Thanks for your absolute clarity on power vs "science". Scientifically literate people understood from the first moment that none of this shit had the slightest connection to public health or viruses. It's simply sexual pleasure for psychopathic rulers. Viagra for demons. That's the whole story.
Now they're finally tired of continuous power-orgasm and need a brief break. Hopefully they'll play with a different fetish toy the next time.
The news on making paralysed people walk again is amazing!
This will probably be a comment that generates the sort of pile-on this post warned against but here goes. I think these sorts of news summary with pithy commentary type posts are helpful and I enjoy them, but they do need to be honest if they're going to be useful. And I think the Pelosi mention is in here to anger people since she's such a trigger for many, rather than be fair. She really isn't saying "shut up athletes, we don't care what you think about China" which is definitely what this post implies. She's saying, properly in my view, that attacking China while in China is a dangerous game to be playing. She explicitly says she respects their right to say whatever they want, and is just advising them that there are dangers inherent in that because the Chinese are ruthless.
For the Stacy Abrams story. It perplexed me when Democrats insist on posting photos of them being maskless when they are with others that are masked. Given that the party has largely embraced Covid measures, they should lead by example. If they don’t, it’s a terrible look for them. If they are concerned about people not seeing their smile, they can wear a mask with a clear window.
I used to be a regular Joe Rogan listener and stopped. My husband would joke that he lost a third of his female listeners when I did. At the end of the day, I see this as being good for Rogan. His podcast already has 20X the viewers of CNN. Calling for its censureship is only going to resort to the Striessend effect and help it grow. If people want to challenge talking points from an episode, that is far more credible than just trying to deplatform. I’ve seen people say Spotify should pull him, ok they have a 100 million dollar contract for him to be exclusive. They aren’t going to. I’ve seen other people say cancel everyone whose been a guest. Ok so you are going to cancel Bernie Sanders?
I spend a lot of time on Tik Tok and have a fairly moderate following. Ones thing I’ve noticed is the self censorship that is common on the app and the fact that a a creator, I do it too. The community guidelines don’t list exactly what is banned. So instead of people saying suicide or murder, they will say unalive. Because they worry if they say the former, their video won’t perform well in the algorithm. The self censorship on a Chinese app has been a source of fascinating sociological horror to witness.
Thank you for the ending about keeping comments from piling on. While I can understand frustration, the main thing that pile-oks do is quiet people. One interesting aspect of this community is having diverse opinions, since that being openly shared is increasingly becoming a scarcity. That balance is fragile and having seen other online spaces lose this quality, pike ones are the fastest way to kill it.
Well, @Nellie Bowles, you are absolutely right, Common Sense knocked it out of the park this week; a mic drop moment so to speak. This is an excellent example of independent journalism at its best. Thank you.
This from your essay: "“Arranging a series of focus groups across the state to see what they had missed, [New Jersey Governor Phil] Murphy’s advisers were struck by the findings,” the Times writes..." "The biggest piece of news here is that anyone was struck by these findings."
Doesn't that capture our situation just perfectly!
And later, "Biden’s Department of Homeland Security released this week a bulletin about Domestic Terrorism focused on those who post “mis- dis- and mal-information.”
This is the biggest, most important news this week, and I'm terrified of where this leads. This policy will not be rescinded, and we have a new police power stolen by the authoritarians. Can you imagine how much fun they will have cracking down on all of us dissidents, on the samizdat, on the trolls, and on you?!
But finally, you just couldn't resist, could you: "For all Trump’s sweaty efforts at controlling information,...?" Come on now, clearly you do that just to stir the pot, roil the proles, eh? Were Obama's efforts and those of the corporate media and tech less "sweaty" and therefore more elegant in the censoriousness, or are you implying it's all Trump-ism that started this authoritarianism? Oh, perhaps I should factor in that was when you and wife WERE part of the cool kids, and hence, that era of elegant, non-sweaty "information controlling" must be whitewashed.
Anyway, an absolute stellar week, and thank you so much!
I know I'll be slammed here for what I'm about to say but so be it. Nellie, one of the things I've enjoyed about your column is that you usually point out the hypocrisy of both the right and the left. Today, however, it seems like you're only focusing on the hypocrisy of the left. The left deserves every bit of shame you can pour on it but how about the RNC's Jan. 6 decision and the infighting between McConnell and Trump? Crickets.
From reading the comments, I know most people who read this Substack are center-right or right, but one of the things which drew me here initially was that it was billed as "independent." It seems that to appease your audience, you have abandoned that mission. Sad.