mtutiger

People associate Twitter with politics, but like cable, it's the sports content that gives it it's power.

There's a lot of truth to this.... large brands are large brands.... until the market says they aren't.

Not actually Larry Sabato, fwiw... but still, the same is kinda true of Fox News where people are shamed if they don't use or consume the product under the guise of "understanding" the other side. Life is short and discourse on Twitter, while never great, has become really really toxic. Particularly if you end up on the "For You" tab, which the app seems to push me toward every time on log in. The ability to use the product to the product as a news aggregator for things that aren't politics has steadily gone downhill in the time since Musk has owned the product, undoubtedly in large part to changes made (such as eliminating blocking, among other things). Maybe the explanation is as simple as the product just sucks and has gone downhill, just as has happened to many brands over the years. And maybe alternatives are picking up steam because they provide a different experience for users who don't have time or inclination to wade through all the BS that the current environment that Twitter throws at you. In other words, the market is doing what the market does.

https://x.com/notlarrysabato/status/1857062141213204633 I've seen about eight versions of this argument over the past 2-3 days (vis a vis people migrating over to Blue sky) and it remains equally uncompelling every single time. It really isn't about politics or exposure to ideas, it's about wanting to follow different subjects including politics, but also sports or movies or music) without having one's feed turned into a constant stream of angry BS. Maybe people are just tired of it, and maybe to the extent that Twitter (or X) loses usership, it's just the market at work.

A lot of noise about this House Ethics report possibly breaking containment....

Looks like Matt Gaetz to me.... but YMMV

Gaetz looks like the Mom from Brazil... Way too much plastic surgery going on or something

Also find all the AI imagery that seems increasingly associated with RW Twitter accounts (including Elon's) to be both strange and revealing.

We're going to find out. Either way, as much as we bend over backwards to blame campaign strategy, the inconvenient truth is that the voters are the one who walk into the booth and pull the lever or fill in the box. And much of what we saw today was broadcasted ahead of time.

Days like today really make the preening and concern trolling from some about the campaign (and decisions that the campaigns made) seem so much more meaningless. Campaigns obviously have a responsibility to fight for every vote and do what is effective obviously. But I'm not a member of a campaign, so I'll say this, whether it's politically correct or not: This is what Donald Trump was broadcasting he would do this entire time. He couldn't have been any more clear. His opponent actually did highlight this stuff as well (even if some feel "that stuff doesn't matter") At some level (or even most level), the voters have to bear responsibility for this. We all tiptoe around it, but it's reality. And we are all collectively going to live the consequences. It's hard for me to even be mad at it honestly... He put it all out there.

15 minutes on BlueSky and it already seems more low stakes and fun than Twitter is... makes me wonder whether this is what Twitter was at the beginning (I didn't get more involved until 2015 or so)

He only needs 50.... Higher chances than Robert Kennedy for sure.

A couple of things. 1) Even beyond knowing what will happen four years from now, there's a pretty established pattern of what tends to happen in Midterm elections, regardless of economic conditions: Elected (or Reelected) candidate overreaches, loses their honeymoon level of popularity then subsequently takes it in the shorts in the Midterms. The two exceptions I can remember are: Bill Clinton's Second Midterm, Impeachment Backlash Joe Biden's Midterm, combination of ****ty candidates and Roe backlash Nobody should be surprised if this happens to DJT again in his second term. 2) This election is the last time Donald Trump will be on a ballot.... some of the trends, particularly with Latino voters, may have a degree of permanence to them, but it remains a fact that in downballot races almost everywhere, Democratic candidates overperformed in this election. And that is at least in some in part due to low propensity voters who showed up, checked the box for DJT, and then proceeded to leave everything black and walked back out of the booth. All of this is to say that after 2020 and 2024, it's pretty clear that DJT comes with his own impacts as a candidate that aren't necessarily replicable without him on a ballot. We need to keep that in mind when we think about future elections IMO

Trump apparently plucked his next Secretary of Defense from the Fox and Friends couch. Truly idiocracy-esque

He'd be hard at work trying to nullify American votes. Just like last time

Michigan has vouchers and I would move back in a heartbeat.... I just don't think it's good policy and, contrary to what you are saying, there are clear winners and losers. It's benefits are not universal.

If you live in a rural corner of the state that doesn't have easy access to a charter school, you are pretty much at a disadvantage to someone who lives in suburban Indianapolis or Fort Wayne or wherever because you are unlikely to avail yourself of a voucher if you live a significant distance from a charter school. Or if you are Catholic and live in a town that is predominantly Lutheran (like I was growing up) The parents of kids that would avail themselves of a voucher in that situation would also take tax dollars out of their community, which rural communities rely heavily on as employers, which in turn harms everyone else who isn't so lucky as to have that opportunity readily available to them. I get why vouchers are appealing and do not doubt that the can be helpful to those who are able to avail themselves of them. But I'm just not going to pretend that they are equally beneficial to everyone, because they simply aren't.

So, we suck tax money out of the public school system, in some cases even sending it outside of the community that the student resides in... but don't worry, if you aren't lucky enough to get a voucher, "we have public schools for the public" Incredible stuff.

Even setting aside the Separation of Church and State issue, if you're in a town that is 65+% LCMS, they have the only parochial school in town and you are Catholic, doesn't that seem like a bit of an issue? Not a hypothetical either, this was my own life experience

That all sounds great for the voucher recipients.... How about everyone else?

I am from the Thumb.... it was a good place to grow up, but I'm glad that I grew up when I did. Things are a lot harder for local school districts now than they were 15-20 years ago. School consolidation is another big issue.... some of that may be necessary to a degree just due to declining populations, but it's still a drag on outcomes. Voucher proponents never really address areas like the one I grew up in.... to the extent they have benefits, it tends to go toward people in higher density populated areas at the expense of those in Rural America.

2024 Kentucky Amendment 2 Vouchers were on the ballot in Kentucky last week.... same ballot as Donald Trump. Result: 65-35% against, losing every county in Kentucky, all but one county a double digit margin.

I've maintained it for a while, but if Democrats were serious about making inroads in rural America, vouchers would be something they should use as a wedge. Though the suburban nature of the party complicates that a bit.

Conversely, what do you say to the kids who live in places like I grew up in (rural, 30 miles from the nearest city of significance, school district one of the largest employers in town) where voucher dollars suck money out of the local school systems and subsequently lower the quality for everyone not lucky enough to have the opportunity to get into a charter school? I understand the pros of vouchers, but let's not pretend that their impacts play out as a net plus for everyone in society.

People were pissed off at Joe Biden and not motivated to show up? Particularly in states like New York and Illinois which weren't competitive? It's like you aren't even bothering to read my posts lol