so what you're saying is that CW could decide tomorrow that he's anti-pie, and ban me indefinitely from his site because he doesn't like my promotion of pie-based voting?

Oh, hell no, JL... hold thy tongue and perish the thought!

it's a travesty!

A mockery, a farce, a charade!

come on CW, show your support for pie by allowing me to write a guest column on the democratic potential of pie-based voting.

I hereby demand your guest column on 3/14!

anything less would be censorship!

I know, right!? It is quite obviously the responsibility of each and every journalist and blog in America to inform the people about the greatness of pie. At long last, where is our freaking article pushing pie for the people? How long must we toil and troll this site for our just desserts?

Bake up. Rise up. Pies up.
Get real whipped cream.

So to recap: Yes, he could. :)

Whining about freedom of speech from Republicans should not be taken seriously.

Exactly. Their brand of "freedom of speech" is warped. They insist they have some kind of "religious right" not to serve people (even when it's contrary to the law of the state in which they reside), and yet they whine like little bitches when Facebook and Twitter exercise their right not to serve their kind. Too damn bad. No one owes them a platform to spew their misinformation to the masses.

They went all the way with cake bakers who didn't want gay marriage messages on their cakes. I'd say Twitter is well within their conservative supreme court established rights to ban liars and haters from their property.

Exactly.

so what you're saying is that CW could decide tomorrow that he's anti-pie, and ban me indefinitely from his site because he doesn't like my promotion of pie-based voting? it's a travesty! come on CW, show your support for pie by allowing me to write a guest column on the democratic potential of pie-based voting. anything less would be censorship!

JL

Free advice – if you are losing tens of thousands of followers the moment Twitter starts taking down Neo-Nazis and violent insurrectionists, maybe don’t advertise that!

This! Also, the right-wing propaganda media echo chamber are calling for unity and attempting to gloss over their culpability in Trumpism. As we speak, these morons are primarily whining about their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech being violated [spoiler alert: they're not] and whining about losing followers on Twitter and social media.

Dearest right-wingnut morons, uneducated lefties, and those belonging to no political party: You have no First Amendment rights on media you do not own. Full stop. Your ass is allowed there at the pleasure of the owner(s). You have no right to disseminate voter disinformation on any media or to incite violence or riots or sedition against the government of the United States. Full stop.

Where was the rightie concern with First Amendment rights when they vandalized the equipment of the journalists outside the Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, before they moved inside to vandalize the People's House with the intent to delay the People's Representatives that were performing their duties as required under the Constitution of the United States?

There is no absolute right to free speech, and there is not one single right granted to the People under the Constitution that isn't somehow limited... and that includes your so-called "freedom of speech." The First Amendment limits the power of Congress to abridge the freedom of speech. Spoiler alert: Twitter ain't Congress. Parler ain't Congress. Your frequented media sites that you believe owe you a platform aren't Congress either, and they owe you nothing.

Whining about freedom of speech from Republicans should not be taken seriously. They went all the way with cake bakers who didn't want gay marriage messages on their cakes. I'd say Twitter is well within their conservative supreme court established rights to ban liars and haters from their property.

That hurt.

Bill Belichick

I think the solution will involve treating people who voted for Trump with respect.

Lack of respect is not the problem just as "economic anxiety" is not the problem.

It is my hope that some of those Americans will find this blog and engage with us.

It's unlikely that CW's blog is going to be carried by some RW entity or shared widely by Republicans on Facebook. You'll have to settle for your malignant troll buddy and Stucki (who I do not consider to be a troll).

the alternative pathway will only lead to more division and chaos and diminish the prospects for keeping your Republic.

Such drama. This country is perpetually deeply divided unless we have some other country to drop bombs on. Even that doesn't work for very long.

Actually, if you want to see your country move forward to a better place, less divided and more in tune with reality, then it's not very similar, at all.

Actually, the phony Republican call for unity is very much like the call to understand their voters. It is never reciprocated. In addition, it's similarity or lack thereof, is not dependent upon my wants or future actions.

This is about how you begin to persuade people that what they believe has no basis in fact, no connection to reality.

Hmm. It sound likes you're talking about religion. Or maybe white supremacy? Tax cuts pay for themselves? Fat Donny's election lies? You'll have to be clearer about which of the Big Lies that they believe that I have to convince them is baseless.

It seems that in reality, some don't need implants.

If only we had an SF solution.

Tchaikovsky's earlier series, Tales of the Apt, also dealt with issues of fascism and racism, among others, in a fantasy setting.

I think the solution will involve treating people who voted for Trump with respect. It will take a special kind of presidential leadership. And, it will take a lot of hard work by the new administration to get things done quickly to improve the lives of all Americans, including those Americans who don't now trust Biden or, worse, think he is corrupt.

It is my hope that some of those Americans will find this blog and engage with us. But, that won't happen if we close ourselves off to them by disrespecting their views.

Now, do I count the people who stormed the US Capitol as among those Americans who are capable of contributing here in a respectful manner? No, I do not. But, there are 74 million Americans who voted for Trump and many of them should be welcomed at this blog to engage in some friendly debate and discussion about where the country goes from here. Because, the alternative pathway will only lead to more division and chaos and diminish the prospects for keeping your Republic.

"This is about how you begin to persuade people that what they believe has no basis in fact, no connection to reality.

What is your solution?"

I don't know. According to the psychology, the more you point out to them how wrong they are with facts and reality, the more it has exactly the opposite effect, resulting in them clinging even more tightly to their delusional beliefs.

That's why I said you cannot reason with these people as ordinary rational human beings open to persuasion, because that is exactly what they are NOT.

Does anyone know how you counter mass hysteria and delusion? Because that is what it is going to take. To somehow treat millions of people as mentally ill.

It's very similar to the idea that we have to try harder to understand the people who vote for the hate group known as the Republican party regardless of whether or not they win, but the same is never true of Dem voters. The safaris are always to diners in Iowa, not cafes in Philadelphia.

Actually, if you want to see your country move forward to a better place, less divided and more in tune with reality, then it's not very similar, at all.

This is about how you begin to persuade people that what they believe has no basis in fact, no connection to reality.

What is your solution?

And, it is disturbing, if not surprising, to learn how many in law enforcement that day were not only sympathetic to 'stop the steal' rioters but complicit in their actions.

I don't know how you persuade people who believe deeply that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" even when all of the evidence is to the contrary. I know that there are people who just can't believe that Joe Biden got 80,000,000 votes. I mean, I was pretty surprised by that, too - just not for the same reasons. Heh. I'm kidding!

But, seriously, how do you counter the Big Lie?