The spread of the dangerous QAnon conspiracy theories

A poll by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Interfaith Youth Core found that 15 percent of Americans say they think that the levers of power are controlled by a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles, a core belief of QAnon supporters. OMG!!!https://t.co/mY1noBuDrW
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) May 27, 2021

This is exactly how dangerous right wing media is to democracy https://t.co/D6EKjFal2E
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) May 27, 2021

This chart is terrifying https://t.co/Tg3zMtUuBY pic.twitter.com/iO1ZcwCsEI
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) May 27, 2021

Nearly 1-in-5 Americans believe QAnon conspiracies, according to a new survey released by PRRI-IYFC.⁠ @chucktodd: "Based on these numbers, QAnon isn't just a conspiracy, it's a constituency. And it's largely concentrated inside the Republican Party."⁠ https://t.co/RfLwCEqDPJ
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 27, 2021

New poll on QAnon beliefs: 23 percent of Republicans polled say the government, media, and finance are "controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles." https://t.co/apqwkymDuH
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) May 27, 2021

Great tweet thread by by Nate Cohn on the limits of election reform

One theme in my replies yesterday is an assumption that plausible reforms under consideration–ending gerrymandering, DC/PR, HR1, etc.–would so fundamentally change the electoral incentives that the GOP would have no choice but to moderate
I don't think that's clear at all
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) May 28, 2021

Blobfest 2021 will be virtual again

It’s called “House of Harris” because the producer was Jack Harris. Blobfest is great, even in virtual form. Tickets and merchandise are on sale now.

We invite you to be a part of #Blobfest 2021: House of Harris. Tickets for the virtual event are now on sale. The official merchandise store is also up.
.#Blobfest2021HouseofHarris details linked to our profile. pic.twitter.com/MGYIGXb8wZ
— Blobfest (@TheBlobfest) May 28, 2021

‘BEWARE THE BLOB!’: Colonial Theatre's #Blobfest will be virtual again this year, tickets on sale May 28 https://t.co/YqKmeZmq9l via @MLmedianews
— The Colonial Theatre (@colonialtheatre) May 27, 2021

I wrote to CNN yesterday

Too much coverage of Trump, not enough of Biden.

cnn Download

Unemployment benefits are not why people have not returned to work

Perspective: Study after study has debunked the myth that emergency benefits and stimuluses keep people out of the labor force. https://t.co/D3LJfwzOc2
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 14, 2021

Really useful research on the important question of whether the $600 UI boost is having a meaningful disincentive effect on employment. The short answer is: no. https://t.co/BKo8RJ3DEs
— Betsey Stevenson (@BetseyStevenson) August 4, 2020

JPMorgan economist: States ending unemployment early is 'politics, rather than economics' https://t.co/2qO8ZU7wE2 by @denitsa_tsekova pic.twitter.com/pqlKbXj41m
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) May 27, 2021

Workers are expected to suffer every difficulty thrown their way—even life-threatening ones—and to be satisfied with the wages they’re offered. https://t.co/aH4YTQOK6c
— The New Republic (@newrepublic) May 16, 2021

– 21 states are now canceling the federal unemployment programs
– 3.6 million workers could see their benefits slashed or eliminated
– $21.6 billion in unemployment benefits at stake (Source:@pelhamprog)https://t.co/BXUEhZBQ9D pic.twitter.com/4Yq5HjUwOD
— Denitsa Tsekova (@denitsa_tsekova) May 18, 2021

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What economists fear will happen without more unemployment aid: https://t.co/vmjIuOnjkA
— FiveThirtyEight (@FiveThirtyEight) August 11, 2020

Streaming makes it hard for musicians to make money

It’s convenient for users but doesn’t pay artists well. This problem got worse during the pandemic when they couldn’t do live concerts.

From the New Republic: Music for Nothing

David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker has written about this often.

And to illustrate what Mr. Yang is talking about. Here are the rates paid by all the streaming services last year. https://t.co/3emy3vmUF0 pic.twitter.com/LzqlT65Vbo
— David C Lowery (@davidclowery) July 25, 2020

Hard to disaggregate. They pay through a different federal compulsory license. But it is actually significant. That's why you don't see anyone complaining. See chart. SDARS is almost 100% Sirius money. This is for @TheBandCracker pic.twitter.com/CQxGCNiAey
— David C Lowery (@davidclowery) July 25, 2020

Covid has ended the revenue stream that animated an entire music ecosystem. The broad middle class of independent artists, record labels, venues, and other small businesses must now rely on—and increasingly pay—monopolists for access to bands and fans. https://t.co/Q6YjLE0QjP
— WIRED (@WIRED) May 24, 2021

Dead voters for Trump

Two people are known to have voted for dead people in 2020.

One guy in PA voted for his dead mom.
One guy in CO is accused of murdering his wife, and then voting for her.

Both voted their dead relatives for Trump.

In summary, his statement is a total lie. pic.twitter.com/0GLsjSPura
— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) May 27, 2021

Anti-vaxxers are resisting mandates

The Americans lodging complaints against covid vaccine mandates are diverse, from North Carolina to Wisconsin.

But their resistance is woven together by a common thread: the involvement of a New York law firm closely tied to the anti-vaccine movement. https://t.co/eUZrRjUkvQ
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 26, 2021

The claim: Employers, businesses and the government can't mandate COVID-19 vaccines until they've been evaluated for two years. ✅

Our rating: Partly false ❌https://t.co/SQJqURzMH0
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) May 26, 2021

University of Virginia to mandate coronavirus vaccines for students https://t.co/nosl3fjq3z
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 20, 2021

Why @IndianaUniv decided to mandate the Covid-19 vaccinehttps://t.co/F3yItNp9iI
— R😷ss D. Silverman💉 (@phlu) May 23, 2021

On Friday, IU announced COVID-19 vaccines will be required in the fall. Today, 19 Indiana legislators wrote a letter asking Gov. Holcomb to block the mandate.

More for @idsnews : https://t.co/6zXFXN75bk
— kaity radde (@kaityradde) May 25, 2021

🔑 Takeaways:
Phased reentry to working on campus begins 7/1 thru 9/30
Expect contact tracing, testing & booster vaccinations
COVID-19 vaccine mandate is likely
No plans for furloughs or layoffs
Student convocation & fall classes will be in-person.
— UC Irvine (@UCIrvine) May 20, 2021

Every hospital in the United States should mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for their employees and staff. Most already do this for influenza vaccines. This is a patient safety issue. https://t.co/nAQhKrqKFT
— Jonathan Reiner (@JReinerMD) May 20, 2021

The university is the first in Wisconsin with such a mandate. https://t.co/Fy7BeqiIhQ
— NBC15 News (@nbc15_madison) May 19, 2021

88% of respondents (734 votes) support a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all university employees. pic.twitter.com/o65dXpqXgN
— Denis Wirtz (@deniswirtz) May 20, 2021

Community college students and staff in Virginia will not be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the Virginia Community College System announced today.

The system includes Tidewater Community College.https://t.co/ybZKaxVHeD
— The Virginian-Pilot (@virginianpilot) May 25, 2021

Great cartoon on Fox News

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New poll shows Republican Party is still a Trump cult

New Quinnipiac polling mirrors research from Trump's own pollster: about two-thirds of Republicans are in lock-step with Trump and only about half of the rest reject him entirely. https://t.co/o5BvSId6zV
— Philip Bump (@pbump) May 26, 2021

NEW Q POLL: 66% of Rs want to see Trump run in 2024. 66% of ALL adults (including Rs) do NOT want Trump to run. 85% of Rs want their candidates to mostly agree with Trump. By the way, Q stands for Quinnipiac, not QAnon. Looking at the GOP numbers, it's hard to tell.
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) May 26, 2021