Putting the pieces together- an epidemic of emergency no-bid contracts in 6 months and what it means for the country's future. www.kitchentabletalk.org/blog/emergen...

Under-reported downgrade of US democracy and freedoms. Unprecedented, important, and there's lots we can do to reverse the fall. Time sensitive though. www.kitchentabletalk.org/blog/https/w...

We support democracy, checks and balances, separation of powers, and the rule of law. Find out how to #resist incursion into these and other "blessings of liberty".

Thought for the day. Engaging with others can bring understanding and widen perspectives. Point is to learn something and think critically, rather than to convince.👇

We support empathy, truth, respect, and learning how to discern fact from fiction. Great advice below.👇

Separation of Powers refresher. The American system of checks and balances cannot balance, or exist, if one branch (Legislative, Executive, or Judiciary) takes over the sole functions of another.

Separation of Powers refresher.

Good advice and empathy from our Australian allies. "There are no ideologies in a fire shelter." #StrongerTogether

Some good civics information. What is the Department of Justice's mission?👇

@pkrugman.bsky.social provides a necessary and smart analysis of the administration's actions on medical research and public health. The risks to our health have increased and are likely to continue to do so.👇

So if we want egg prices to come down, we need NIH to be able to jump into research to determine how best to address the #H5N1 bird flu. But the Trump administration has shut down NIH. Sounds like a pretty big problem.

Our latest piece looks at newly-inaugurated President Trump's #healthcare changes. "Plan" or concepts of a plan so far consist of rescinding Biden's Executive Orders. Is this good for the US and the world?

This is a fascinating look at how some Americans get their news. We made similar findings in our talks with voters around the country. Some older Republican voters got their news from podcasts and Fox News. Many young people, regardless of party, from TikTok, Twitter, X, Apple feed, and podcasts.

Important, clear discussion of #disinformation and Meta's recent decision to abandon fact checking. Disinformation is dangerous. We advocate for facts and truth.

We think #January20 will be a watershed moment. Here is our wishlist for life in America in Trump 2.

Bad news from Meta for truth and the country coming together. Great and mammoth victory for disinformation, conspiracy theories, and eventually (or soon) violence. Meta shuts down #misinformation prevention system.

Interesting discussion here about the "personalist" leader from Ezra Klein; replacing experts with cronies. Return of the #SpoilsSystem seems to be coming soon in a country near you.

Disrespect and lack of civility matter greatly. We used to be uphold basic graciousness in such situations. If we can't, we are lost as a society.

Great, essential list of actions to take, including some of what KitchenTableTalk recommends: be careful about news sources, learn to detect #misinformation, dialogue with others who don't agree with you. Talk to a younger person, and anyone from a different age group, background or life situation.

Necessary read about the value of litigation to defend democracy and the need for us all to learn civics and how the US government is supposed to work. Get "know-nothings" to know more.

This is going to save hospitals a lot of money ! www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-re...

Important change in how we get our news. #SocialMedia now equal to news articles. But can't be nuanced, and often inaccurate. Also, it reduces attention span. Bad trend for knowledge.

It's a problem when the elected president is a purveyor of misinformation, especially misinformation that creates hate.

What to read next? Good recommendations here.

@joycewhitevance.bsky.social has a great and smart piece about the need for #civics education and getting involved in local school boards.

Should be front page news and of concern to all Americans. US cedes victory in information war and propaganda to our enemies.

Kitchen Table Talk in the news: interesting article about AI and dispute resolution/addressing partisanship.

We warned about this happening. Trump is filling the swamp with spoils.

Medicaid expansions at risk? KFF has great data and info about healthcare in the US.

Trump’s entourage wants to impose an archaic vision of gender on America, @sophiegilbert.bsky.social writes. The plan won’t just harm women—it will destroy a generation of men, too:

What's going to happen to free speech in America in 2025? Brendan Carr, the #FCC nominee, has some ideas, many of which don't seem based in law or fact. First amendment rights for misinformation spreaders? Support for his ally Elon Musk and X, and more. www.kitchentabletalk.org/blog/content...

Most people don’t realize that the FBI does not have a legislative charter. It is a creation of the Justice Dept and operates under rules promulgated by the Attorney General (the AG Guidelines). Those guidelines — which seek to protect civil liberties and baseless investigations— can be rescinded.

Few adults play musical instruments, and even fewer do so in a group, @mimbs.bsky.social writes. What health benefits might they be giving up? theatln.tc/bqRV5Nlr

X, Facebook, Instagram, Threads algorithm downgrades, hides, and suppresses real journalism per @anneapplebaum.bsky.social, whom we trust.

Great video about #Project2025 and Trump II.

Should be essential listening for American citizens. @anneapplebaum.bsky.social and Ezra Klein on guardrails and autocracy.

Good to see the Times picking up on a theme some of us have been hammering for a while: Trump's tariffs, and especially an opaque exemption process, will be an engine of massive crony capitalism 1/ www.nytimes.com/2024/11/23/u...

Study shows spoils system was already at work in Trump 1 for tariff exemptions on Chinese goods. Get ready for round 2, on steroids. #spoils Cronies get richer, opponents get punished. www2.lehigh.edu/news/politic...

www.nytimes.com/2024/11/22/o... Great discussion of #constitution and attempts at recess appointments.

Why we need to pay attention to meanness online and online-disinhibition. Critical information needed now more than ever #resist. www.kitchentabletalk.org/blog/online-...

Great post from the brilliant @anneapplebaum.bsky.social. So true. #factsmatter

Looks like those disavowals of links to #Project2025 were in fact false. We dove into the spoils system and Schedule F a while back. Read to see what could be coming. www.kitchentabletalk.org/blog/negativ...