«But it was Mother who took up the explanation. “Sandra Voi was a genius, but she was also a pragmatist. Our demarchist system is as perfect as it can ever be. Flawless, instantaneous mass democratic participation. The will of the people, without interference. No government, no hierarchies, no vested interests, no possibility of bias or corruption.”

“But—” Julius said.

Mother raised a gentle, silencing hand, and he let her continue. “But true democracy embodies the possibility of its own dissolution. If a ballot were put to the people to abandon our demarchist principles, and the votes carried the day… what then? You may say that no such vote would ever be cast. But that is to neglect the pressures that may apply during times of crisis, during emergencies and times of economic hardship, or when wild and seductive new ideas run rife. Sandra Voi took the long view. She knew that even the most perfect system must contain a self-protecting contingency.”

“We are that contingency,” Father said.»

Elysium Fire
Alastair Reynolds https://bookshop.org/p/books/elysium-fire-alastair-reynolds/114307?ean=9780316555661&next=t&digital=t

I think these guys are supposed to be the bad guys, and the “perfect demarchist system” is supposed to be a good thing, but….

In light of the ’24 election… now what?

https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-judge-arrested-supreme-court-suspended-49f25ea7702d3211719f926f8cfc90b7

I wonder if this is as much to give her a break to prepare her case as it is anything else.

https://forward.com/fast-forward/716347/antisemitism-bill-congress-jews-jesus/

«The added language, … proposed by the committee’s chair, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, states that the legislation would not “diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, including the free exercise of religion.”»

Oh, ok, that’s… uh… good? We can still say the Jews killed Jesus? Yay?

Pretty sure we’re coming to a point where the definition of “antisemitism” will be changed.

Today, I finally learned. The hard way. 😕

https://food52.com/blog/19158-it-s-time-to-replace-the-bag-of-beans-in-your-pantry-here-s-why

Meh. A broadcast program from ancient days that’s on cable now. I guess.

BUT:

«Carr is a Project 2025 author who has long put it right out there that he thinks the FCC and government should be in the business of monitoring platforms and shutting them down if they won’t push right-wing propaganda.»

https://www.wonkette.com/p/watch-scott-pelley-read-paramount

If “conservatives” can swallow this without choking, they can certainly choke down the return of the Fairness Doctrine.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/us/politics/gop-town-hall.html

Somehow, I missed this.

https://courseware.braverangels.org/skills-for-bridging-the-divide/index.html#/lessons/h9Ot8Fay5HejbQtxopsNi3bNhvDH8HYK

Skipped church to take this free online training.

At first, I thought, “I should read more of *The Sum of Us*” since action can be worship. (Right?)

Then, I sort of realized that (1) one really can’t max out the reading/self-education because nobody cares about all your evidence and good arguments, and (2) it’s all feelings. It’s not evidence-based; it’s feelings.

So, I decided (or God spoke to me without me knowing it) that my best action-as-worship course is this: talking to “the other side”. Step one: learning some shit. (Actually, I sort of know already, but it’s a matter of putting knowledge into action, or being reminded to.)

So, here, y’all. For my white siblings, this is one step on the path of “doing the work”. And it’s actually hard, dropping the comfortable “we hate the other side because they’re stupid or evil” thinking.

But… I think it’s where we need to go.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/man-believed-stolen-dhs-chief-kristi-noems-purse-custody-rcna203176

I’m sorry, but, given the context of the current administration: *PROVE IT*.

So… I keep seeing posts like “how could these Trump voters be so awful?” and “I bet those Trump voters are sorry now that the leopards are eating their faces” and “how can we engage Trump voters in productive dialog?”

But I also see graphs of turnout like this:

And I read stories like this: https://herereadthis.blog/2025/04/02/does-higher-turnout-now-help-republicans-a-data-driven-analysis-of-partisan-turnout-dynamics-part-1/

And I see orgs like this: https://braverangels.org/

And I think, “any conversation should include non-voters.”

Democracy is one of the things that make us great, isn’t it? We’ve long heard it said that choosing not to participate is, in fact, participating, so those folks should be at the table, right?

At what point do we start charging people (including Trump) with treason?

«A showdown with China was one of the most consistent promises Mr. Trump made to the American people. His voters knew this was the war he wanted. But how many of them could have guessed that he’d wage it in China’s favor?»

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/opinion/trump-national-security.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ck8.dUQU.gkKMSpLypHSm&smid=url-share (gift)