I am disappointed. I am sad. I am afraid. But, you see, I was disappointed, sad, and afraid before the election, too. In and outside of the United States, across the political spectrum, governments are and have been failing their people.
And it is the people who have been fighting not just to protect themselves, their communities, and the things they love, but also fighting for people they’ve never met, in places they’ve never been, living lives they’ve never lived, facing horrors they’ve never faced.
First, take steps to protect yourself. Find community. Take care of your health. Learn how to protect yourself digitally. Find and nurture sources of reliable news and information.
Then: choose your fights. Think about what matters most to you, and look for ways to fight for those things. Find people who are members of communities under threat and/or experienced organizers doing this work already, and ask them what they need. Help the people around you.
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Newsletter: Independent writers are an important facet of the media ecosystem, but a recent legal threat helps to remind me that it’s not the path for everyone.
The Washington Post’s choice not to endorse a candidate is only the most recent example of a bad decision by legacy media outlets prompting people to urge their staff to quit and go independent. I love being independent, but it’s also not without its challenges.
I am my publication’s writer, editor, fact-checker, software team, legal department, customer service representative, social media intern, marketing branch, accountant, and everything else. Not everyone wants to wear that many hats.
But for some people, like me, it’s an enormously rewarding option, and I’m always happy to help others who are interested in pursuing the same dream. The price of independence may be high, but the cost of silence is even greater.
Now to put on my least favorite hat: please subscribe to support my work! Subscriptions are pay-what-you-want, and they allow me to never paywall any of my writing.
Newsletter: Harris shouts out crypto in her “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men”, one crypto exec leaves prison as another enters, and Stand With Crypto bets on the favorites.
Coinbase’s “Stand With Crypto” lobbying group has released a list of 39 candidates they endorse. After noticing some conspicuous absences, I discovered they’re just endorsing candidates with a high likelihood of winning — presumably to later claim a blowout in favor of crypto.
My guess is that Stand With Crypto is setting themselves up for a post-election victory lap. I expect a lot of statements along the lines of “Look at all these crypto voters who made their voices heard!” I wonder if they’ve started drafting them already.
Remember, this is the same group that decided they would fabricate the existence of the “crypto voter” if they couldn’t find evidence to support that these are real (and there isn’t).
This, along with Harris’s recent crypto-friendly statements attempting to appeal to Black voters, and the very tepid launch of Trump’s “World Liberty Financial” tokens, are only some of the things covered in this latest issue.
If you enjoyed this issue, please consider signing up for a free or pay-what-you-want subscription to receive the email in your inbox. It’s so important to helping me continue doing this kind of work. https://www.citationneeded.news/signup/