Sublime
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As always, he went directly to the top, giving newspaper owners pre-opening tours of new bridges and free passes to them thereafter, inviting them to sail on the Long Island Park Commission’s yacht, bathe in the reserved section of Jones Beach and dine in the private section of the Marine Dining Room—where he served them lavish helpings of his
... See moreRobert A. Caro • The Power Broker
Conservative talk shows aim at and capture a large and relatively homogenous block—white, Christian, and older.
Robert Faris • Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics
The libertarians were different. They slipped more easily into the American stream. In their insistence on freedom they could claim to be descendants of Locke, Jefferson, and the classical liberal tradition. Some of them interpreted the Constitution as a libertarian document for individual and states rights under a limited federal government, not
... See moreGeorge Packer • Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal
“Lippmann, who was emerging as America’s most influential liberal journalist, understood information and propaganda to be the fundamental democratic problem under conditions of a mass population and a mass press. The crisis of democracy, he wrote, was in its essence “a crisis in journalism.” The distance between what he called “the world outside
... See moreDemocrats now hold an unprecedented advantage in America’s most affluent and educated districts, giving them a growing edge in mainstream media presence, academic credibility, and personal dollar contributions. Republicans try to make up this gap through alternative media, business PAC money, and a deeper ground game run by local volunteers.
Neil Howe • The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End
First, she squarely took on the “racism” taboo that disarms conservatives so effectively to this very day: “Democrats denounce and abuse white people, and Republicans act embarrassed about having whites vote for them. Why are white votes bad?9 […] Rule of thumb, Republicans: If you aren’t being called ‘racist’ by the New York Times, you’re losing.
... See moreMichael Malice • The New Right: A Journey to the Fringe of American Politics
My research kept pointing me to the same answer: The source of racist ideas was not ignorance and hate, but self-interest. The history of racist ideas is the history of powerful policymakers erecting racist policies out of self-interest, then producing racist ideas to defend and rationalize the inequitable effects of their policies, while everyday
... See moreIbram X. Kendi • How to Be an Antiracist
the single most salient feature of the government that we have evolved is not that it discriminates in favor of one side and against the other. The single most salient feature is that it discriminates against all sides to favor itself.