Sunday Morning Reading

There’s a lot going on in this upside down world looking to right itself. Even so it’s time for some Sunday Morning Reading. This edition is heavy on politics, so be warned. But there are other happenings in the shadows beneath all of that. 

On that politics front, David Todd McCarty takes a stab at What Hunter S. Thompson Might Have Said, were he alive to witness the maelstrom we’re struggling through. An excellent read.

David Rothkopf and Bernard Schwartz tell us that Trump Is a Combination of Every Threat We Have Ever Faced. They are correct.

Anne Applebaum is about to release a new book, Autocracy, Inc, this week. I’m looking forward to reading it. Sam Adler-Bell has reviews it in a piece called Why Is Autocracy Thriving? Anne Applebaum Says: It’s The Economy, Stupid.

I run hot and cold on Brian Stelter. This piece, Why The Christian Right Believes Donald Trump is “Anointed by God” is a preface to a podcast on the topic. I rarely recommend audio in this column, but this podcast episode is worth a listen.

Erik Wemple says that Media Scapegoating Is Our National Psychosis. I’m not sure it’s scapegoating if the goat is actually destroying the landscape that allows it to be. 

Edward Zitron gives one of the best summaries of the Crowdstrike crash that crippled so much on Friday in Crowdstruck.

Joe Berkowitz talks about a new documentary called How Music Got Free. Billed as the untold story of Internet pirates who nearly destroyed the music industry, it looks like it’s worth a watch. Berkowitz’s piece is called How Music Lost Its Value and is worth a read.

Amidst everything else grabbing out attention the past few weeks, Apple struck up a deal with Taboola, the Internet advertising racket that has contributed more enshittification to our browsing lives than any other. Om Malik equates Taboola to a venereal disease in Taboola + Apple News? No Thanks. I think Om is correct in his diagnosis.

Back to politics a bit, Dave Winer gives us Dreaming of the super-Democrat, reminding us that our vote is a chess move not a love letter.

And to close this week out with whom we began, David Todd McCarty tells us Why Democrats Need To Risk Winning—For Once. 

If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.  You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.You can also find me on social networks under my own name.

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