Dear Diary 13NOV2022

On the Pandemic and These Posts

The pandemic is not over but I’m changing these diary post headers to ‘Dear Diary’ and the date. About the pandemic—please wear a mask and get boosted. We live in a society with other people and lots are vulnerable to your cooties.

On Twitter

I love Twitter. I’ve learned so much from that site through the people participating on it, I cannot begin to explain its value to me as an education and information tool. I believe the ruling class wants to destroy Twitter because it gives us peasants a voice and they don’t wanna hear it and they certainly don’t want the peasants to be making societal choices that they are supposed to be making. They don’t want to share or give up their power. They love and want to keep us dumb and obedient. I would hope that EM would find some honor and do his best to save Twitter, but experience and his actions deem otherwise. I’ll be on the site till it goes dark because it is my community. Afterwards, I’ll be here until another Twitter-type site is created.

On Mastodon

My first impression is that the culture feels constrained to ‘good vibes’ as that exact phrase was directed at me personally when I screenshot another post, blacked out the name, posted it, and asked ‘wut’ in regards to CWs. I was told that I should talk to people rather than at them. Fair point if I used Twitter or any social media as a communication tool—I do not; I use it as an information and educational tool as well as a mini-blog. I purposely and rarely do not interact with other people because I find it clumsy and awkward and not very useful to me in general and that is my issue that I don’t want to make someone else’s. I replied with an ironic comment about not being able to be petty and so many rules, all meant facetiously, still. There was a reply but I lost interest after that. It feels very local and cliquish, confined to the inside-the-beltline or regional tribes. One of the reasons why I love Twitter is because I learn things about other people and cultures not locally. Perhaps in the future it will be more Twitter-like or perhaps it is its own thing and that’s okay just not for me. I do have two Mastodon accounts here and here but rarely use them. If Twitter does go dark, you will find me here.

On Politics

Congratulations to the Democrats for a good midterm and narrowly winning lots of races. Don’t screw it up, Democrats. Good luck to Reverend Warnock in the Georgia runoff. Please vote for him. We will need him. Walker is what whiteness wants you to believe what Black men are when they are so much more. Republicans are still fascist and will not give up on their autocratic wishes. Pay attention politically and be active.

On Political Priorities

Voting rights legislation including corruption and getting rid of Citizens United. Codify reproductive rights including abortion right there in the damn constitution; I would even add bodily autonomy. Expand SCOTUS, the appellate courts, continue adding judges, and also establish some kind of ethical rules for SCOTUS since they’ve become an illegitimate institution focused on politics and not the law. We should set term limits too. DC and Puerto Rico should be allowed to vote for state status—self-determination. We should do some kind of economic package in regards to housing thanks to all the hedge-funder creeps that drove up housing prices because they lost their business real estate income during the pandemic; income, I may add, that they don’t need. Continue wiping out student and medical debt. Lastly, climate change, climate change, climate change (it is an existential threat), including weaning the country off non-renewables and untethering ourselves from the autocrats of the Middle East.

On ‘Inflation’ and the Economy

A NY Times headline ‘After Months of Stubborn Inflation, Glimmers of Hope Emerge’—yes, they would write that since the election is over. I’ll reiterate here what I wrote on Twitter—’inflation’ was manufactured by the ruling class (rich people & corporations) because they do not want to pay more taxes or relinquish their power. As soon as the ivory-tower economists started throwing around the I and R words, corporations started raising their prices regardless of them continuing to rake in huge amounts. Any higher costs endured including higher wages was passed off to the consumer. Jerome Powell and the Fed’s insistence on raising interest rates is also exacerbating and fueling an inflation they are creating.

What I’m Reading

Amalie Howard just released a new book called The Duke in Question, which is fabulous and quickly became a favorite because of her saucy heroine Bronwyn, and the erotica is fabulous. Another excellent read from Amalie. Also, Jesmyn Ward has a prime story called Mother Swamp and it is an amazing short read.

What I’m Listening To

Ezra and The Ezra Klein Show never fails to educate, inform and make me irate. Pippa Norris was very fascinating and I’m still thinking about her suggestions at the end of the show.

Until next time hopefully sooner than later. Stay safe and healthy!

November 13, 2022