Nutty In NYC

I call then Garchs - types who have unconscionable wealth, wiling to subvert democracy to accumulate more. The word oligarch is used by academics, but that doesn't sound sinister enough to me for those whose only purpose is to accumulate immense wealth and power at the expense of the other 99.9%

The fact that Twitter is a mess is not news or a surprise. The transition to a new "X" logo and the elimination of the blue bird is just another exercise in Elon Musk's narcissism. Join me as talk about the pros and cons for migrating towards a decentralized social media and avoid the ever increasing madness that is now X

The Untilled Field (1903) is a volume of short stories by George Moore. Chapter one, In The Clay, features the story of a Dublin sculptor whose work has been destroyed. Who is to blame and what has caused this unprovoked destruction?About The Author - from the Dictionary of Irish BiographyGeorge Augustus Moore (1852 - 1933), novelist, critic, memoirist, and cultural activist, was born 24 February 1852 at Moore Hall, Ballyglass, in Co. Mayo, a ‘big house’ in the Anglo-Irish style, built by his grandfather (another George Moore) in 1792 with money accumulated in the Spanish wine trade. However, unlike most such houses, Moore Hall was a catholic residence, the Moores having preserved their wealth and their confessional allegiance over the generations. George Moore was the eldest son of George Henry Moore – a founder of the Catholic Defence Association, a leading figure in the independent Irish party, and a successful breeder and trainer of thoroughbred horses – and Mary Moore (née Blake). Moore's great-uncle, John Moore was president for a few days of the short-lived republic of Connacht during the 1798 rebellion. Moore's background and upbringing were unusual: though catholic, the Moores lived very much in the style of the protestant ascendancy, whose houses they frequented in Mayo; and yet the family had strong nationalist and even republican leanings: George Henry Moore, the novelist's father, appears to have taken the Fenian oath. These contradictory tendencies are to be seen in the complexities of Moore's mature narrative art. Cover ArtPortrait of George Moore by Edouard Manet, 1879

Yesterday, Twitter suspended the accounts of several high-profile journalists. In Twitter’s understaffed and diminished state, no immediate reason was given for the actions. Apparently, Twitter’s decision relates to the journalists reporting on the suspension of a Twitter account named ElonJet, which tracked the movements of Elon Musk’s private plane. It seems Mr. Musk believes that tracking the movement of his jet put both him and members of his family at risk and, in his view, constitutes doxxing.For those unfamiliar with the term, doxxing is “the action or process of searching for and publishing private or identifying information about a particular individual on the internet, typically with malicious intent.”  Whether that is a fair description of the jet tracking Twitter account, which uses publicly available information, is certainly something open to debate. Much as I’m loathe to agree with Mr. Musk, I think the publication of real-time tracking information is a security threat. That said, it seems Twitter, at the direction of Mr. Musk, has opted to suspend journalists who have reported in a critical way on the controversy. For a champion of anything-goes, unregulated freedom of speech, Mr. Musk is proving to have diaphanously thin skin. It seems Mr. Musk believes freedom of speech only applies to reporting, which is congruent with his views.With this controversy, major media companies now have a decision to make. Do they continue encouraging their employees to post content on a platform whose owner can best be described as erratically inconsistent? Or withdrawing from the platform, cutting off access to a large audience, estimated at 237 million active users. Remaining, however, amounts to knuckling under to Mr. Musk, kissing his ring, and being subjected to more arbitrary content and account management decisions.Looking at the decision from another angle, however, reveals that Mr. Musk is not the sole owner of the whip. Twitter thrives on the publication, participation, and availability of journalists on its platform. Withdrawal by a major media company from the service would diminish its power and relevance. Withdrawal by multiple companies would be devastating. There are alternatives that make sense. I’d suggest that the major media companies should opt to establish a more formal presence on the decentralized Mastodon network. Why? Well, no one individual owns the platform, and each media company can create its own server or instance that can be controlled and regulated at minimal cost. As each media company migrates to Mastodon, thoughtful consumers of social media will follow, leaving Twitter an empty wasteland of aggrieved Elon Musk fanboys. So what say you, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, ABC, CBS, NBC, BBC? Is it time to shut the door on an once valuable service now run by a narcissistic egomaniac or are you going to continue to knuckle under?I’m Martin Nutty, and you’ve been listening to Nutty In NYC

Five reasons behind why I'm leaving Twitter and why I think you should too

Thoughts on Governor Ron De Santis of Florida, how he shipped migrants to Martha's Vineyard, and the long-troubled, painful relationship America has had with many arriving migrants to its shoreNPR: On the Martha's Vineyard Migrant Story

Primary elections frequently result in highly partisan general election candidates. I think Alaska has figured out a better way to produce candidates that better represent voters. Alaska may be The Last Frontier state, but it's leading the way in creating a healthier American democracy

How can somebody with only 26% of the vote win an election? That happened this week in the New York Democratic Primary for the 10th Congressional District.Is that good for democracy? I don't think so and I think Ranked Choice Voting provides a better way to produce a result more closely aligned with the will of the people.Ranked Choice Voting LinksHow it works from BallotpediaWhere Ranked Choice Voting is used in the United States

All American political parties are made up of coalitions, or voting blocks, that are cobbled together to support either the Republican or Democratic Party. Looking at the Republican party I see it as broken down into two major groups which in turn can be subdivided. Understanding this particular coalition is to understand some of the peculiarities that make up the GOP

Why the Senate Filibuster needs to be eliminated. Why it's invoked more frequently by the Republican Party - the party of Non Governance. Understanding the 3 legs of Non Governance ruleSome Links:Josh Marshall June 6th OpEd in the New York TimesBrookings Institute article on the filibuster contains a chart mapping the invocation of cloture votes to end Senate filibusters over the last 100 years

How did the Republican Party become what it is today?  Here's a quick sketch of its long, strange and troubling journey

Lets talk about the real crisis faced by American and Western Democracy

On Thursday evening June 9th, the US House of Representatives will hold the first of six hearings on last years January 6th insurrection. There have been accusations of partisanship, the usual political Kabuki and questions of whether these hearings have been hijacked for the upcoming Mid Term elections in November. Here are my thoughts on why I think these hearings are a pivotal moment for American democracy and why I think you should pay close attention.

I wanted to talk about how Americans need to reorient toward radical centrism and practice two-thirds politics meaning the need to step away from the tired national dialogue stoked by fear mongers towards a place of engagement where a significant majority of Americans agreeIn this episode, I refer to a couple of polls. Here's the linksPew Research - Item 7 University of Texas - Gun Background Checks

Some thoughts on yesterday's violence in Uvalde and Texas and why America struggles in regulating the distribution of guns

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