always enjoyable to read - I think I recall in one of your books talking about your dad and his health something along the lines of Midwestern constitution or something - always stuck w/ me
I believe I will be reading this article daily throughout 2024 or at least until 11/6 having had it glued to my forehead on 11/5. Great vibe and sorely needed!
I've come to enjoy the random but tangentially related quotes you use for your subheadings. Love "perpetual mask of Why????" Calling William a little soccer flopper cracked me up. Kids are awesome. Agree about optimism being the right choice, and the gratitude you demonstrate here!
As always, this was insightful, so well written, and charming. What strikes me about the Chait article, which is a powerhouse of perspective, is the elephant stomping all over its paragraphs. We are experiencing an increasingly massive, elephant-sized failure of media in the past ten years. Most of Chait’s findings, it seems to me, are directly attributable to the devastating shift in most outlets from clear delineation of facts, causes, and effects to a sly and cynical adoption of pablum engineered to sell views. Full stop. Readers and voters at large are supposed to hold chaos in one hand, sort through the double entendres with another, and shove aside bullshit with two more. That’s what is exhausting, I think. Most of us can generally maintain a pretty good sense of what’s really going on but we’re not the ones being polled. And in the face of relentless framing on the part of most media that Biden is a feeble old man who can’t get anything done... we stumble along just hoping something will break through by election time. In the meantime... we’re getting angrier, more disgusted with the bullshit, and more fiercely determined.
Several days ago, a wealthy widow acquaintance reached out to me asking for any options I knew of to step up to this year’s fight for democracy (because Chait is right - we can’t rest). I fired back with a list of action organizations that are still fighting the good fight (Chop Wood Carry Water, Oath, Activate America, etc). She was delighted and said she had her book club primed to get to work. To prepare, they’ve been reading: Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson, Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney, Prequel by Rachel Maddow, and Mental Immunity by Andy Norman.
Seeing The Beths make your "Currently Listening To" list makes me happier than a writer and novelist enjoying the same band you enjoy probably should make me... but why deny joy? Such a wonderful band.
always enjoyable to read - I think I recall in one of your books talking about your dad and his health something along the lines of Midwestern constitution or something - always stuck w/ me
I believe I will be reading this article daily throughout 2024 or at least until 11/6 having had it glued to my forehead on 11/5. Great vibe and sorely needed!
I've come to enjoy the random but tangentially related quotes you use for your subheadings. Love "perpetual mask of Why????" Calling William a little soccer flopper cracked me up. Kids are awesome. Agree about optimism being the right choice, and the gratitude you demonstrate here!
As always, this was insightful, so well written, and charming. What strikes me about the Chait article, which is a powerhouse of perspective, is the elephant stomping all over its paragraphs. We are experiencing an increasingly massive, elephant-sized failure of media in the past ten years. Most of Chait’s findings, it seems to me, are directly attributable to the devastating shift in most outlets from clear delineation of facts, causes, and effects to a sly and cynical adoption of pablum engineered to sell views. Full stop. Readers and voters at large are supposed to hold chaos in one hand, sort through the double entendres with another, and shove aside bullshit with two more. That’s what is exhausting, I think. Most of us can generally maintain a pretty good sense of what’s really going on but we’re not the ones being polled. And in the face of relentless framing on the part of most media that Biden is a feeble old man who can’t get anything done... we stumble along just hoping something will break through by election time. In the meantime... we’re getting angrier, more disgusted with the bullshit, and more fiercely determined.
Several days ago, a wealthy widow acquaintance reached out to me asking for any options I knew of to step up to this year’s fight for democracy (because Chait is right - we can’t rest). I fired back with a list of action organizations that are still fighting the good fight (Chop Wood Carry Water, Oath, Activate America, etc). She was delighted and said she had her book club primed to get to work. To prepare, they’ve been reading: Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson, Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney, Prequel by Rachel Maddow, and Mental Immunity by Andy Norman.
We’re not done yet.
Seeing The Beths make your "Currently Listening To" list makes me happier than a writer and novelist enjoying the same band you enjoy probably should make me... but why deny joy? Such a wonderful band.
Very thoughtful, Will. As an optimist, I always look on the bright side.
I like your 5 active MLB Players. Try 5 from each team to us baseball geeks.
RIP SI. 😢😢