Laloofah 🌱

Nature & animal lover, vegan since 2000, I enjoy libraries, genealogy, & solitude.  “Stupidity is the deliberate cultivation of ignorance.” ~William Gaddis

Public Key

npub1vzlz2gmrjf5xkcgnaeuj4jmsc6dkza7zktw8px8gd9z9u7qx4l2qqnjpjz

NIP-05 Address

Laloofah_at_mstdn.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsxp039yd3ey6rtvyf7u7f2edcvdxmpwlpt9hrsnr5xj3z70qr2l4qccvxr9

Author Public Key

npub1vzlz2gmrjf5xkcgnaeuj4jmsc6dkza7zktw8px8gd9z9u7qx4l2qqnjpjz

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Last Notes

2024-09-12 17:47:44

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@npub19v5…gr2x Love the photo she posted with it!
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/113/125/825/251/331/377/original/26ca64e1a61eb0b7.jpeg

2024-09-01 13:31:05

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@npub1pjh…etau I love this — it’s ethereal and magical!

2024-08-31 01:37:24

I admit I’m cheating a bit using the #FensterFreitag and #WindowFriday hashtags with this, but it’s the view through our bedroom window, so doesn’t that count a *little* bit? ☺️
#ViewFromMyWindow #Trees
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/113/054/003/122/871/663/original/28035badb6669dbf.jpeg

2024-08-28 20:02:32

I was putting some mulch around a few of our front rock garden plants when I spied this very wee baby Pacific tree frog on a Vine maple leaf! I almost didn’t, s/he’s so tiny & well camouflaged, & was holding oh so very still…
#nature #frog #wildlife
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/113/041/424/843/782/554/original/f2d622247b1bd06c.jpeg

2024-08-24 02:24:53

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@npub1wje…kd27 A beautiful friend…and a lovely forest!

2024-08-03 20:34:32

Just chillin’ in the Saturday sunshine with Charlotte…
#spider #spiderweb
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/899/974/852/880/020/original/370f96e9e986209a.jpeg

2024-08-02 15:01:09

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Sounds like he’s channeling Andy Borowitz! 😉

2024-07-26 22:15:02

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@npub1grx…uxfe Wait till she finds out about the Chippendales.

2024-07-24 02:46:06

Possibly my favorite #JeffTiedrich ever. Definitely in my Top 3!
https://open.substack.com/pub/jefftiedrich/p/the-gop-and-the-press-are-freaking

2024-07-23 21:40:43

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@npub1g97…y82s They have no idea what “strength” is. They are indeed absurd, comic-book poseurs. Like all bullies.

2024-07-23 18:04:38

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@npub10zv…nz7m LOVE IT!
And love that it made me remember the hysterical “Birds with Arms” videos!
😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJS_a1EZTMs

2024-07-21 19:17:01

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 You typed “unfighting” i/o “infighting” and I think your subconscious sent exactly the right word to your typing fingers!

2024-07-19 14:03:06

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Yes. Because it’s repeatedly proven to be true, tragically.

2024-07-19 13:24:08

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@npub1lzz…jhl3
“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully
as when they do it from religious conviction.”
~Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
#quote #religion

2024-07-14 23:32:20

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@npub1kmn…8cg8 Your photo is a beautiful balm, and really captures e.e. cummings’ line, “the leaping greenly spirits of trees”. 💚

2024-07-05 00:54:34

“Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation
can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely
under the influence of a great fear.”
~Bertrand Russell, “Unpopular Essays”
#BertrandRussell #Quote #Fear

2024-07-01 15:17:54

Happy #canadaday2024 to our friendly neighbors to the north! 🇨🇦
(And while this post should not be in any way construed as sucking up, we do hope you have a REALLY big guest room 😬).
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/711/892/344/013/696/original/4216e76d36cbdb03.jpeg

2024-06-28 03:45:04

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@npub1wk8…d086
“You can’t wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time.”
~Patricia Schroeder (D), U.S. House of Representatives (1973–1997)

2024-06-28 02:02:36

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@npub1xpc…3t05 Hilary Hahn is a goddess of the violin, luminous & brilliant.
Here’s another favorite…
https://youtu.be/4iYv_n6MI8g?si=_h1ivICM0qqYPszk

2024-06-28 01:14:39

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@npub1xpc…3t05 I’m listening to this through my noise-canceling headphones while my husband chooses to watch the debate. My choice is sublime…. 😏 🎼 🎻
https://youtu.be/IOWN5fQnzGk?si=O4nXe9Zj6DAEujGX

2024-06-27 13:08:03

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 As you know, I love Heather…but her choice of the word “untrustworthy” rather than “corrupt” here is too generous, IMO.

2024-06-22 03:17:53

“I think it's a deep consolation to know that spiders dream,
that monkeys tease predators, that dolphins have accents,
that lions can be scared silly by a lone mongoose,
that otters hold hands, and ants bury their dead.
That there isn't their life and our life. Nor your life & my life.
That it's just one teetering & endless thread and all of us, all of us,
are entangled with it as deep as entanglement goes."
~Kate Forster
(Photo by Ken Conger)
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/658/091/174/933/069/original/c573875575ebb347.jpeg

2024-06-20 23:04:26

Extreme heat kills hundreds, millions more sweltering worldwide as summer begins
🌡️ Hundreds dead on S.Arabia haj pilgrimage, numbers rising
🌡️ 86 million people under heat alerts in the US
🌡️ New Delhi records hottest nighttime temperature
🌡️ Balkans hit by temperatures around 40 Celsius
#ClimateCrisis #HeatKills
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/millions-sweltering-under-extreme-heat-worldwide-summer-arrives-2024-06-20/

2024-06-19 18:29:34

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@npub1v2s…mqq5 I imagine copious & highly justified & necessary lawsuits have already been filed. May they prevail.
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/644/672/965/948/019/original/de642d05324ee2ad.jpeg

2024-06-14 18:44:09

🤣 🤣 🤣
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/SUekDw3wGs9mjnZk/

2024-06-14 13:38:21

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Thanks, William… I am so disgusted by these mindlessly, willfully destructive people.

2024-06-12 16:42:52

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Oh, dear William, you do tons!! ❤️

2024-06-12 16:41:12

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@npub1wje…kd27 Beautiful! 😍

2024-06-12 14:27:02

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Yes. Last evening, someone shared a video on Substack of the first ad she describes and it’s a good one. (I’d share it here but couldn’t get it to work well when I tried last night).

2024-06-12 14:25:28

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 And you as well! I really appreciate how much time & effort you expend here.

2024-06-05 12:48:51

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 “The American public is drowning in misinformation” — very, dangerously true, but even worse is the fact that an awful lot of it is DISinformation, created & disseminated intentionally.

2024-06-02 00:04:25

“‘The guilty verdict was…a victory for our democratic processes, but [that] we [have] to have…all [these Trump] trials means we’ve gotten into a bad place as a nation & our institutions have been compromised.’
I thought of [SCOTUS]…&…why I wrote Strongmen, a study of what happens to societies & their institutions when deeply damaged & amoral individuals get to power, supported by myriad enablers & cheered by crowds living in alternate realities created by years of lying.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/lucid/p/a-fateful-time-in-our-nations-history

2024-05-27 15:10:05

May all victims of war and violence rest in peace,
and may we all learn at long last to live in peace.
“You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home & pray you'll never know
The hell where youth & laughter go.”
~ Siegfried Sassoon
from his poem, "Suicide in the Trenches," 1918
Written during his decorated military service in WWI.
#MemorialDay #poem

2024-05-23 21:24:59

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@npub19cy…l06z Well done!!! 👏👏👏
https://www.ecolandscaping.org/05/designing-ecological-landscapes/native-plants/hellstrip-plantings-creating-habitat-in-the-space-between-the-sidewalk-and-the-curb/

2024-05-22 22:04:26

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Extremely dangerous.

2024-05-22 20:28:57

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 “falsely says” = “LIES” (why is the majority of journalists and/or editors so afraid to use the simplest, most accurate word for it?!😖

2024-05-21 13:29:43

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 If I had my way, Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter would be required reading for all Americans of voting age.

2024-05-16 14:27:40

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 No doubt. Shameful that those with the most wealth so often seem to delight in destruction.

2024-05-16 13:44:43

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Following David Rothkopf is one of the things I miss about Old Twitter.

2024-05-02 15:30:46

I 💗 #rhododendron season! This is one of several big blooms on one of the many “rhodies” on our property and in our area. Since the different varieties bloom at different times, we get to enjoy their beauty and various colors for several weeks…
#bloom #BloomScroll #BloomScrolling #Spring #FlowersOfMastodon
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/372/151/740/784/892/original/0d0f0596d97035bf.jpeg

2024-04-25 00:01:06

This caught my eye during an outing on Monday… the rhododendron is pretty, but I really love that cool tree trunk, and especially the wonderful textures and colors of these three plants together…
#flowers #plants #nature #TreeBark #textures
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/328/820/821/816/514/original/f1a88761f4d69170.jpeg

2024-04-24 15:25:42

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Just to be clear, I was quoting Noah Berlatsky… and I agree!

2024-04-09 17:01:58

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 The thread you assembled on this subject is excellent, by the way.

2024-03-29 01:01:42

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 “A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion...”
~Aristotle, “Politica” (ca. 340 BCE)

2024-03-20 14:17:20

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 I agree. If only his ugliness were confined to politics.

2024-03-20 14:12:50

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Along the lines of, “‘I never thought the leopards would eat MY face!’ cried the member of the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party…”

2024-03-19 02:16:56

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@npub1aq2…4nfw
AP: “Not mentioned in Trump’s court filings was the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s potential financial windfall from a looming deal to put his social media company…on the stock market…
A shareholder meeting is scheduled for Friday. If the deal is approved, Trump would own at least 58% of shares in the company… Depending on share price, that could be worth several billion 💵.”
Huh. Guess it musta skipped his lawyers’ minds. So much on their plates…
https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-bond-appeal-million-75ef3efb5b70d6ea43bea85b65ff7810

2024-03-18 14:55:36

I needed this chuckle today!
😒🥑
#funny #avocado
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/117/250/455/613/654/original/4936bab3438d0aa5.jpeg

2024-03-17 14:56:55

This old cartoon never ceases to amuse me. 😁
Happy #StPatricksDay! 🍀
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/111/579/242/908/989/original/861c09cba242147c.jpeg

2024-03-12 22:00:48

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 If they manage to do all that (goddess and Flying Spaghetti Monster forbid!), it would no doubt change/limit behaviors, but it won’t change beliefs. In fact, it would probably deepen and strengthen them.
“You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.”
~John Morley

2024-03-12 19:14:38

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 I’m curious how these dangerously insecure, self-righteous, superstitious, tyrannically dogmatic bigots plan to “prohibit” the beliefs — & lack thereof — of others. 🤔
They may think that in our cyber-connected world they can prohibit writings, lectures, broadcasts, websites, comedy (a world with no #RickyGervais, #BettyBowers, or the #FSM & his noodly appendage? Unthinkable!) & thus eradicate all ideas, opinions, thoughts & beliefs they fear, but they’d be wrong… as usual.
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/084/293/991/702/830/original/31c85e02e9224503.jpeg

2024-03-09 20:38:02

Currently #reading…
1. Started “Master Slave Husband Wife” Thurs night & am hooked: “The true story of William & Ellen Craft, a couple who escaped slavery through daring, determination & disguise, with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man & William posing as ‘his’ slave.”https://ilyonwoo.com/master-slave-husband-wife/
2. Almost done rereading “Destiny of the Republic” for the 5th time. So compelling (& 💔) we finally bought a used copy so we’d never have to give it back.😏 Highly recommend!
#BooksWorthReading
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/067/629/841/761/566/original/711ec239cd7e8149.jpeg
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/067/629/852/797/147/original/cf05d017b22a529a.jpeg

2024-03-09 13:31:32

“The breathless speech, the incongruent facial movements and smiles. The cadence of condescension. I am better than you, and here are the ways. I have children. They are perfect. I have a marriage. It is perfect. I am pretty and well-educated. I am a Christian—I am god fearing and I prove it by holding hands with my family and praying for the rest of you. I am better than you.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/jesspiper/p/the-fundie-baby-voice?r=1k4nht&utm_medium=ios

2024-03-07 19:48:38

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 This was excellent. Thank you for sharing it.

2024-03-04 15:30:16

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@npub1fpr…lyph 💞 Sometimes I can hold them both simultaneously, but these days it’s the careening back and forth between them that’s exhausting!

2024-03-04 15:24:04

“I am half agony, half hope.”
~Jane Austen
#quote
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/038/092/457/026/463/original/68d258e5779c81a3.webp

2024-02-28 17:47:53

Can’t stand him, but not sure this is a positive development. He supports Ukraine funding, for one thing…
https://apnews.com/article/mitch-mcconnell-senate-republican-leader-stepping-down-ba478d570a4561aa7baf91a204d7e366

2024-02-08 17:44:40

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 I love Robert. But I’m deeply dubious that the GOP’s advancement of Putin’s interests is being done “unwittingly.” And I think it’s perilous to give them that underserved benefit of the doubt.

2024-02-06 14:44:48

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 It’s not an “inability” on the Republican Party’s part but a stubborn, hostile, bullying, unconscionable *refusal* by the MAGA extremist wing & the cowards who enable them. All to do their Dear Leader’s bidding so he can have another big lie to campaign on, to (as usual) the horrendous detriment of so many, in so many parts of the world. I hope this latest self-serving act of insanity proves to be the self-destructive cause of the permanent undoing of these vile, dangerous traitors.

2024-02-05 23:15:41

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Given the ramifications for a free press under an authoritarian, autocratic, right wing regime, their unconscionably unprofessional, anti-democratic behavior beggars belief & boggles the mind.

2024-02-05 20:20:40

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Robert’s “rant” was righteous. I just wish it weren’t so damned necessary!

2024-01-31 19:47:51

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@npub1fal…x5g3 @npub1gmx…atcq So I guess “First, do no harm” is not an oath so much as a quaintly sentimental afterthought for some physicians. 😖

2024-01-27 14:45:05

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 To think the Republicans used to call themselves (and were considered by many to be) “the party of law & order.” Whether that was an accurate claim then is debatable, but now they are unquestionably a squalid & corrupt criminal cabal of lawlessness & disorder.

2024-01-01 00:29:53

Our absolute favorite rendition of Auld Lang Syne is Dougie MacLean’s. So beautiful and moving. May it, and the New Year, bring you peace…
#AuldLangSyne #DougieMacLean #NewYearsEve #NewYear
https://youtu.be/sMFnqj6aFwY?si=Cs736Bo8Qmn3XJ_Y

2023-12-22 15:37:20

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Stating the obvious here, I know, but Paxton is a dangerous, vindictive, out-of-control psychopathic fascist (was that redundant?) who should have been removed from office & put on trial long ago. 🤬

2023-12-21 14:48:09

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 Today’s newsletter is exceptionally good & this is one of his exceptionally good paragraphs from it. Thank you for going to the trouble to include excellent quotes from (some of my favorite) newsletter, column, & article authors.

2023-12-01 17:45:30

“It is certain, in any case,
that ignorance, allied with power,
is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”
~James Baldwin, who died on Dec 1, 1987
#quote #James_Baldwin
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/111/506/387/729/887/379/original/3e3339dd2d5e4500.jpeg

2023-10-29 20:50:18

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@npub1wje…kd27 Excellent! We have been too, for the past few years. We have no lawn, but use them to mulch the garden, rake the rest into our woods, & leave them in our small clearing where it’s fun to watch the robins & other birds toss them around looking for bugs.

2023-10-29 20:27:09

#Leave_The_Leaves 🍂🍁🍂
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/to-rake-or-not-to-rake-expert-tips-for-eco-friendly-autumnal-lawn-care

2023-10-26 19:07:59

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@npub1cl7…g330 Superb piece filled with absolute 🎯🎯🎯, e.g.:
“…editors of our top newsrooms all believe in balance more than accuracy” & “at the very least, ‘radical’ & ‘extremist’ should be used instead of ‘conservative’ to describe Johnson & his party” & “these political journalists know better. Every so often, they write about what a 2nd Trump presidency would actually look like & it’s appropriately terrifying.”
Their gutless editorial choices are dangerous.
(P.S. Am halfway thru “Strongmen”.😳)

2023-09-21 20:19:28

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@npub1yk6…4zz4 I’ve always enjoyed your photos, but also appreciate your research and compelling writing, both on impressive display here.

2023-09-20 13:07:42

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@npub1lzz…jhl3 “Next week, Republicans in Congress seem determined to prove that US democracy is broken.” By trying, yet again, to break it.

2023-09-14 20:57:54

“It was only after the 2020 🗳️, which Trump lost…by just over 20,000 votes in WI, that complaints abt the nonpartisan administrator began to circulate. Groups & individuals that spread falsehoods abt widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election have obsessed over Wolfe, publishing missives on…a site that peddles misinfo, & earning a warning from state capitol👮‍♂️for allegedly stalking her.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/14/wisconsin-republicans-vote-fire-meagan-wolfe-election-official

2023-07-17 16:24:53

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@npub15hj…jgmk
“It is something to face the sun
and know you are free.”
~Carl Sandburg, “Clean Hands”

2023-07-06 19:15:16

Since this very thing just happened to us for the first time (their clumsy attempt failed), I thought I’d share this scam warning. (Gawd, why do so many people devote their precious time & energy to being utterly reprehensible?😡)…
https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/can-i-send-you-a-code-to-make-sure-youre-not-a-scammer-if-youve-received-this-text-dont-reply/

2023-06-10 22:27:07

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@npub1u6c…uwj7 I think your suggestion of discussing the issues, what’s at stake, and the consequences instead of typical “horse race” coverage was very insightful, and may well offer a solution, at least in large part.

2023-05-02 18:46:00

The massive domestic and international damage that a default on U.S. debt would bring might lead some to think that the GOP can't possibly be so vindictive or irresponsible. That would underestimate the Republican party's appetite for chaos and destruction. https://open.substack.com/pub/lucid/p/republicans-have-crashed-a-national?r=1k4nht&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post