More tweets on the decline of newspapers

U.S. local newspapers are dying at a rate of 2 per week. By 2025, a third of them will be gone. If you’re not convinced that’s a doomsday-level threat to democracy, read this state-by-state list of what local reporters uncovered in 2022. It’s a sample of what we stand to lose.
— Joseph Cranney (@joey_cranney) December 23, 2022

great piece by @vivian. The collapse of local news has created vacuums which are being filled by disinformation, "pink slime" and partisan content

https://t.co/9H916JLdW0
— Steven Waldman (@stevenwaldman) December 6, 2022

New by me —>

Alden Global Capital makes for a better Hollywood villain — but the scale of local news destruction in Gannett's markets is simply astonishing.

Staff size is down 59% in 4 years.

At its biggest local papers, paid readers are down 77%. https://t.co/XgnYdMTa3h
— Joshua Benton (@jbenton) March 9, 2023

A long-running story: the decline of local media which covered hometown Members of Congress, allowing some to build personal brands beyond the party label and increasing accountability. Absent this, voters & legislators are more apt to just default to partisan voting patterns. https://t.co/a6WG2ckuhX
— David Karol (@DKarol) March 4, 2023

Based on these figures, the Chicago Tribune lost 82% of its newsroom staff in a 16-year period. https://t.co/fmuRhH7uJW
— Mark Jacob (@MarkJacob16) February 28, 2023

The sole reporter left at the St. Cloud Times is leaving the paper next month, raising questions about how the 93-year-old paper will continue operations.https://t.co/FCpCgk6AmF
— Axios (@axios) January 25, 2023

Interesting op-ed about the nonprofit newsroom boom that is helping to fill local news gaps across the U.S. https://t.co/YXqQo965Nh
— Stephanie Beasley (@Steph_Beasley) November 16, 2022

Trump is evil, not mentally ill

I’m tired of seeing people saying Trump and the other MAGA extremists are crazy. That gives them an out. Murderers say they were crazy and didn’t know what they were doing – this is like that.

Trump knows what he is saying and what he is doing. He’s a terrible person but he’s sane.

I think he’s an evil lying bigoted authoritarian. I don’t think he’s crazy. https://t.co/loYohszMTC
— Harris Levy (@HarrisL585) March 4, 2023

Ricou Browning

Ricou Browning, who played the Creature From the Black Lagoon when he was underwater, passed away. I met him at Blobfest several years ago and got his autograph (shown below) on a booklet from a set of Universal monster films.

RIP Ricou Browning. One of the men who played the Creature From the Black Lagoon (also, I'm told, one of the creators of Flipper!) pic.twitter.com/oXddAEFG04
— Dark Corners (@DarkCorners3) March 1, 2023

RIP Ricou Browning. He was an actor and also a prodigious swimmer, and what makes his underwater performance as the Gill Man memorable is that he’s not just swimming, he’s acting while swimming. You feel like there’s a character beneath those scales. https://t.co/oQfdERFRa3 https://t.co/UMPpiP1uO2
— Matt Zoller Seitz (@mattzollerseitz) March 1, 2023

We just heard that one of the last of the greats has passed at 93.

Ricou Browning was an actor, producer, stuntman, and director, but he's best known for playing the Gill Man in CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON and its sequels. Rest in peace to a legend. pic.twitter.com/wJguoYO5r5
— Hollywood Horror Museum (@horrormuseum) February 28, 2023

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)… Ricou Browning as the Gill-Man pic.twitter.com/BAYdpriM9W
— Hammer Horror Films (@HorrorHammer1) February 6, 2024

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)… Ricou Browning as the Gill-Man pic.twitter.com/hgbQCDsMMY
— Classic Horror Films (@HorrorHammer1) June 17, 2024

Much love and light for him. Eternal in gills. https://t.co/WYcU8j3FHZ
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) March 1, 2023

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)… Ricou Browning as the Gill-Man pic.twitter.com/uNFkFizDxV
— Classic Horror Films (@HorrorHammer1) July 21, 2024

Monsters and Matinees: Celebrating Ricou Browning via @toniruberto @ClassicMovieHub https://t.co/f4biYeaXMg pic.twitter.com/5p2ZW58SqK
— CMBA (@CMBA_Feed) March 11, 2023

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Bubbles (Michael Jackson’s chimp) is still alive!

I hadn’t heard about Bubbles for a long time.

35 years after Jeff Koons cast Michael Jackson and his chimp pal Bubbles in porcelain, would you believe that Bubbles lives on? In a Florida animal sanctuary. Koons of course lives on, too, in a state of constant & giddy reinvention. A gem by @danielvriley https://t.co/FzxZKRQGZj
— Geoffrey Gagnon (@geoffgagnon) February 23, 2023

Republican hypocrisy on abortion

Republicans not only want to limit abortion access in states they control, they want to limit it everywhere. They believe in states rights except when they don’t like what states are doing.

The want to make abortion a crime.

The anti-abortion movement has always been clear: They believe abortion is murder. They will punish women accordingly. https://t.co/08DamqiuC0
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) February 24, 2023

More than 300 abortion-related bills — a majority of which seek restrictions — have been proposed around the U.S. Doctors are the most vulnerable to punishment.

“You can’t go to jail for screwing up an appendectomy,” one lawmaker said. https://t.co/nLbSOpWR6b
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) February 17, 2023

Since Roe was overturned, the battleground over abortion access has moved to state legislatures — a complex landscape that's constantly shifting.

To help make sense of it, read @MegMcCloskey latest guide to the bills on the table and emerging trends:https://t.co/sAmv42zJJO
— Kavitha Surana (@Ksurana6) February 8, 2023

Republicans aim to decimate abortion access in post-Roe haven states https://t.co/CvtcHK4XPQ
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 5, 2023

After GOP underperformance in November’s midterm elections, the Republican National Committee passed a resolution pushing the strictest antiabortion legislation possible.https://t.co/OLpgSgekcF
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 30, 2023

Instead of banning abortion through state law, Senate Bill 65—introduced by Kansas Senator Chase Blasi—would give local authorities the power to pass abortion restrictions. This would defy Kansas voters’ desire to keep abortion rights intact. https://t.co/9xsBWtgpyn
— The New Republic (@newrepublic) January 25, 2023

NEWS: Kansas lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allow cities + counties to ban abortion — despite the August referendum where Kansans voted overwhelmingly in favor of protecting abortion rights. pic.twitter.com/VYIj2JEElE
— Caroline Kitchener (@CAKitchener) January 20, 2023

GOP candidate Kevin Adams as “no comment” on wether he supports Youngkin’s proposal to imprison doctors and women.

“Adams’s campaign manager, Kendyl Parker, did not answer a question about asking whether he would support Youngkin’s abortion proposals.”https://t.co/FPRLAvi9bC
— Virginia Democrats (@vademocrats) December 16, 2022

Just to be clear on what this means, Alliance Defending Freedom is asking a hand-picked, Trump-appointed district judge in Amarillo to effectively block legal access to Mifepristone on a nationwide basis.

Stunningly important — and stunningly cynical. https://t.co/cEvCkmbOxv
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) November 18, 2022

The lawsuit by a conservative group claims that the FDA lacked the authority to approve mifepristone, the drug used in more than half of the abortions in the United States, and did not adequately study it to determine it’s safety. https://t.co/xI69sATVfQ
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 19, 2022

A South Carolina woman was arrested and charged with “performing or soliciting an abortion” this week after allegedly taking abortion pills to end her pregnancy in October 2021 https://t.co/Y0dL0NeSD5
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) March 3, 2023

New: South Carolina Republicans have introduced a bill that would allow women to be executed if they have an abortion. The bill is also vague enough to potentially include miscarriages. https://t.co/EMaeJz9EA3
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) March 3, 2023

Jackson, Mississippi still has water problems

The problems in the pipes: Jackson, Miss., residents still have no reliable water as government tries to untangle generations of systemic failure, by @newsbysamuels @eh_mah_nwel w/ photos by @joshua_lott https://t.co/xkEuD7wrVG
— Juliet Eilperin (@eilperin) February 18, 2023

Instead of helping Jackson escape its water crisis, Mississippi House Republicans are snatching judicial power from this majority-Black city. They "passed a bill to create a separate, unelected court system in the city of Jackson."https://t.co/EqqVtDwxEM
— Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) February 12, 2023

Congress sent $600 million to Jackson to help fix its water system. Some are warning that new legislation could funnel the money out of the city. https://t.co/byOqxcBmiD
— ProPublica (@propublica) February 15, 2023

Tweets on the police

My latest for @thedailybeast on the militarization of the police, the criminalization of protest, and the state's escalating use of deadly force against antiracist, antifascist, and environmentalist activists like Manuel #Tortuguita Terán.#CopCity #StopCopCity #PoliceBrutality https://t.co/42qIvSV00m
— M. Gould-Wartofsky (((@mgw@mas.to))) (@mgouldwartofsky) February 5, 2023

The views of Democrats overall on issues of race and policing mirror those of Black Americans.

More Republicans say they see Whites facing discrimination than say that of Blacks.https://t.co/uyzCw7Mje3
— Philip Bump (@pbump) February 7, 2023

Nearly 150 cops violated NYPD rules during George Floyd protests — and tally would likely be higher were it not for officers covering badge numbers and supervisors losing track of where they were assigned, according to scathing reporthttps://t.co/ut185mXLWl
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) February 6, 2023

Our govt. must pass police reform that keeps people safe by holding cops accountable, says @nytimes ed. board. & “The single most important change Congress can make is to write out of existence the misbegotten legal doctrine of #qualifiedimmunity.” https://t.co/Vrl14BrGMU
— The Campaign to End Qualified Immunity (@campaigntoendqi) February 7, 2023

Reagan was terrible – don’t believe the GOP hype

Current Republicans idolize Reagan. This is revisionist crap. He was awful. The first thread does a great job of reminding us about what he did.

Republicans have built a fictional halo around Ronald Reagan. But the fact is, Reagan was bad for this country. This thread offers 8 key reasons why, from AIDS to deficit spending to “welfare queens” to Iran-Contra. pic.twitter.com/Q15g67f1FH
— Mark Jacob (@MarkJacob16) February 6, 2023

.@KevinMKruse: Reagan delivered his damage with a smile, while Trump did it with a scowl. But the outcome was still the same. https://t.co/wupdREHWaN
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 10, 2022

One of the hardest Wikipedia thumbnail texts ever pic.twitter.com/AOKH6NN2ZG
— V (@Vint13) February 9, 2022

This is exactly right. John Roberts got the victory today over the meaning of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act that he was deprived of back in 1982 when he was Ronald Reagan's point person to try to water down protection for minority voters. https://t.co/ldHFTWAdSn
— Rick Hasen (@rickhasen) July 1, 2021

On the first day of White History Months, we honor Ronald Reagan, the racist, xenophobic, “welfare queen” spewing, “ghetto”-targeting addled-brained president who your favorite member of the Lincoln Project still hails as the Republican Messiah.#WhiteHistoryMonths337 pic.twitter.com/0HouHwlbGm
— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) March 1, 2021

The GOP spent most of 2020 rejecting science in the face of a deadly pandemic; now it's rejecting democracy in the face of a clear election loss. How did we get to this point? One step at a time, of course. But I'd argue that the wrong turn began under Reagan 1/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 11, 2020

"In reckoning with Trump, we need to reckon with Reagan’s legacy. And that began with his appeal to white voters in Southern California."

(via @latimesopinion) https://t.co/mtY0Zsu2Se
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) July 21, 2020

In so many ways, this president* is simply a louder and more profane Ronald Reagan. https://t.co/XwkpmqzZps
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) April 20, 2020

Someday it will be crystal clear to all just what a terrible president Ronald Reagan was–he stuck the knife in the heart of the American dream, launched us toward our polarized society, was racist, corrupt, fiscally irresponsible, bad at the job. https://t.co/ZZDQpl9Kcn
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) December 17, 2019

Imagine a racist governor w/ a disdain for a proposed Black Studies course or department. Calling it frivolous. Attacking it to possibly further presidential ambitions. Could just as easily be discussing CA Gov Ronald Reagan in the 60s as FL Gov Ronald DeSantis today. A thread 1/ pic.twitter.com/EGldmqVZuQ
— Ibram X. Kendi (@ibramxk) February 6, 2023

Our national debt was $908 billion (32% of GDP) in 1980.

After 8 Reagan budgets, it had tripled to $2.8 trillion in 1989 (50% of GDP).

Just a reminder that Republican Presidents have no history of taking deficits and debt seriously. It’s all talk. https://t.co/BDPY6Ck9YB
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 6, 2023

Total revisionist history. Ronald Reagan did more to ruin higher ed in America than any other figure. His troops tear-gassed the Berkeley campus, and he started the movement to take UC from an oasis of affordable college to homelessness and debt https://t.co/8GmJwiwTi5
— Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) January 15, 2024

See that big white line in the middle, the one where everything started to go to absolute shit?

That's ronald fucking reagan.

It is almost impossible to explain to people how badly reagan fucked this country. They don't believe it, because the gop has turned him into a saint. https://t.co/ONG7qZMY0i
— Roger ZenAF (@RogerZenAF) April 13, 2024

Anti-vaxxers are winning the coverage war

For all material purposes, the antivaxxers won. Their decades-long goal to seed their lies into the mainstream and get moderates to bothsides a hate campaign on the backs of people grieving unrelated death has been an unbridled success. This will become apparent in the primaries.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) February 2, 2023

For the 4000th time, the anti-vaxxers are winning.

They're winning because liberals stopped pushing back, allowing their ideas to secure a foothold in "credible" mainstream circles, while Musk enlarged their platform and DeSantis built their influence network. https://t.co/lc6vHWuSkv
— Will Stancil (@whstancil) February 2, 2023

because people blame long term health effects *from covid* on the vaccine. Until our leaders (and the media!) are honest abt COVID’s long term effects, average ppl will believe anti vaxxers who say strokes, heart attacks, etc are all from the vaxx https://t.co/FyyIaB4uHH
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) February 2, 2023

Anyone who has reviewed literature or cared for patients knows that COVID-induced cardiovascular harm VASTLY outweighs the very limited & (mostly) self-limiting vaccine induced harms.

We should continue to study both, but anti-vaxx community doesn't care about data or evidence. https://t.co/yOYgGLrzv5
— (((Howard Forman))) (@thehowie) February 2, 2023

I feel like a lot of people don't trust the COVID vaccine (mRNA=scary) but are fine with other vaccines, so I don't know if I'd call it a complete victory for the anti-vaxx movement, but some people who weren't anti-vaxx have certainly become anti-vaxx
— Thor Benson (@thor_benson) February 2, 2023

DeSantis’s terrible Florida book ban

Elon Musk's Twitter wants you to think liberals are exaggerating Florida's book ban. But they aren't. The policy treats all classroom books as banned until they can be combed over by censors. https://t.co/JMRFb0RCGx
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) January 25, 2023

1. Florida teachers are being told to remove all books from their classroom libraries OR FACE FELONY PROSECUTION

The new policy is based on the premise that teachers are using books to "groom" students or indoctrinate them with leftist ideologies.

🧵https://t.co/SzHzgelT64
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) January 23, 2023

Whether the new laws explicitly say which books are banned or not, the result is the same. A chilling effect on the 1st Amendment. The exact opposite of FREEDOM. https://t.co/wRz3i948Cf
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) January 24, 2023

Photo of a classroom library at Bayshore High School in Manatee County, Florida after they banned all classroom libraries. Florida considers books to be more dangerous to students than assault rifles. This is truly a dystopian state. pic.twitter.com/CizSGR40ub
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) January 23, 2023

These posts from FLORIDA teachers having to remove every book from their classrooms because of Republican bannings are heartbreaking. Some schools are banning kids from bringing in any books because they're afraid teachers might go to jail.

This is modern day America. pic.twitter.com/KkcKIfhlby
— Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. (@WillieETCarver) January 20, 2023