This is an information war. Only one side was fighting. Now Gavin Newsom has gone full meme warfare—but is that enough to save American democracy? www.theframelab.org/from-maga-la...

Is Trump's DC takeover an 'Epstein Escalation'? Some thoughts on Trump's constant use of narrative warfare, and how to fight back. www.theframelab.org/is-trumps-dc...

The Pollution Blanket. Say it loud. Say it often. Say it again.

Trump's wannabe dictator playbook: 1) Create fake emergency 2) Bypass Congress and public debate 3) Grab emergency powers 4) Repeat (from June) www.theframelab.org/trumps-fake-...

We still have time. But not much.

There was a three week news cycle dedicated to this complete vaporware

ICE is also the fault of a complicit press. How, where and who did ICE recruit? Why isn't every newspaper in the country devoting themselves to finding out who is in this brand new secret police force that now terrorizes America? It's the definition of newsworthy. The answer is: they're afraid.

As @george-lakoff.com says, Republicans don't follow the polls. They try to change them. And they often do!

This split reveals the fundamental instability of authoritarian coalitions built on competing narcissisms. New from me in @gillduran.bsky.social and @george-lakoff.com 's @theframelab.bsky.social on the Trump/Musk tiff:

When you repeat a false argument, even for purpose of saying it’s “not true,” you help make the argument stronger in the minds of your readers. Because of the way your brain’s neurocircuitry works, you activate the frames you are trying to negate. www.theframelab.org/cut-the-not-...

NEW: It does matter. Defending the rule of law in the Trump era is essential. Trump cannot ignore constitutional limits on his power — or any court order enforcing those limits. We must keep saying so. Tonight at Law Dork, I make my case:

The war on empathy is a war on democracy www.theframelab.org/the-war-on-e... lol

Trump can’t help remind the world why limiting and then removing his power is the only feasible response to an insatiable lust for domination. New from me in @gilduran.com and @george-lakoff.com's @theframelab.bsky.social Trump Has a Plan—Now Democrats May Finally Have One Too

Important point. The press generally allows the right-wing to frame issues — and then accepts the framing and helps to spread it.

The best post is book post. #Booksky

How do we actually *think* about politics? George Lakoff in conversation with Robert Reich www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcy8...

"A strategic initiative is a plan in which a change in one carefully chosen issue area has automatic effects over many, many, many other issue areas." - @george-lakoff.com For decades, the right has figured out how to use one horrible goal to achieve other horrible goals that they can't say aloud.

In 2018, an HBO host blasted a guest for saying Trump is nicer in private than he is on TV: “He’s running the world now. What does it matter that he was nice to you at Thanksgiving?” The host? Bill Maher. Now he’s the one cozying up to Trump. Why? www.theframelab.org/how-donald-t...

Elon Musk and strict father politics: 1. Cruel dominating father (who Musk both hates and emulates) 2. Pronounced lack of empathy (he considers empathy a weakness) 3. Strict hierarchical worldview amplified by a messiah complex (Musk believes he is the savior) www.theframelab.org/tech-authori...

Repeat after me: these budget cuts are theft. Our elected officials are stealing from us. They work for us, and they are breaking what we hired them to protect.

President signs Exec Order to raise temperatures and sea levels, burn down homes, raise the price of food, make insurance unaffordable, make Earth unlivable. Oh, and poison your kid’s tuna fish sandwiches with mercury. #climatecrisis

Nazi legal theorist Carl Schmitt — one of Peter Thiel's favorites — wrote about a "state of exception." That's when an "emergency" allows a dictator to suspend rules & seize power. Trump's strategy is clear: Create fake emergencies to justify extreme policies. www.theframelab.org/unveiling-tr...

What happened to "weird?" For @gilduran.com & @george-lakoff.com's @theframelab.bsky.social, I autopsied the word the base loved & consultants killed. Looking forward, I think this shows how Dems fixate on swaying "moderates," which is untenable as Musk/Trump focus on scamming non-voters.

Once again, direct use "strict father" metaphor. cc @george-lakoff.com

Please take 30 minutes & listen to my convo with NERD REICH editor @gilduran.com - one of the few people who understands WHY Trump, Musk, & the broligarchy are celebrating America's economic collapse. It sounds scary & absurd, but Gil has all the receipts. thelefthook.substack.com/p/why-musk-a...

What can the rise of "WEIRD" and its quick murder at the hands of consultants teach us about the Democrats' messaging crisis? For @gilduran.com and @george-lakoff.com's @theframelab.bsky.social, I looked at why elected Democrats fear pleasing their base.

BOMBSHELL report from Washington Post finds that DOGE cuts at the Social Security Administration are killing the agency. They’re making SSA dysfunctional so that they can privatize Social Security.

Sometimes the framing of events or leaders is more important than the details the stories about them contain. In this episode we talk with Framelab's @gilduran.com about the dangers of amplifying authoritarian-friendly framing when covering Trump. newsliteracy.psu.edu/podcasts/cal...

The “abundance” slop fails for a basic reason: Politics is a clash of moral worldviews, not a spreadsheet of policy options. Period. People vote their values, not their infrastructure preferences. If people consistently voted for economic bounty, only Democrats would win.

What are the economic, technological, & aesthetic characteristics of gilding an age? Opening a new arc with @jeffreyinsko.bsky.social @annakornbluh.bsky.social @gilduran.com @ecourtem.bsky.social @jordanscarroll.bsky.social @profdgd.bsky.social @jeffjarvis.bsky.social

What I’m reading: “Owned: How Tech Billionaires on The Right Bought The Loudest Voices On The Left” by @eoinhiggins.bsky.social A stunning exposé about the power of tech money to corrupt. Anyone else reading and wanna compare notes? www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/eoin-...

How can we neutralize Trump's fear mongering and save what's left of our democracy? POWER IN NUMBERS A simple plan to make America more progressive, fast. New from me in @gilduran.com and @george-lakoff.com's @theframelab.bsky.social newsletter.

“It makes no sense that a President would crash the economy while allowing a foreign-born billionaire to rip apart the government. This goes against every rule in politics. Trump’s poll numbers are sinking yet he’s taking no steps to correct. This is the logic of a suicide bomber.” @gilduran.com

The thesis of my new book is that broligarchs are doing to the US what they've BEEN doing to offshore financial centers for decades: incl literally drafting laws for captured legislatures to rubber stamp. Worked great on fragile post-colonial states. Now the imperial boomerang has brought it home.

Thousands of people are ditching Tesla. Here’s one of them with a message you can see from space. Location: Black Rock Sands, Wales, UK By "Led By Donkeys"

Please listen to this chilling talk with @GilDuran.com about his research into what Elon Musk and Silicon Valley’s “Cognitive Elite” have in store for us: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

31 years after Jamaica Kincaid gave me a signed copy of the @newyorker.com and told me to never stop writing, I finally made the grade. I discussed tech’s hostile takeover of the USA with @janemayer.bsky.social , @sbg1.bsky.social on the Political Scene pod. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Did you ever notice how moving to "the middle" usually means a Democrat must embrace Republican positions? That's because there is no actual "center" in politics. It's a false concept that somehow only tilts politics to the right. Republicans never move an inch, except further toward extremes.

The White House’s ambush of President Zelenskyy was a staged humiliation designed to make him appear ungrateful and unworthy. It was also a thin smokescreen for Trump and Vance’s weakness and subservience to Vladimir Putin, writes @gilduran.com www.theframelab.org/trump-vances...

This by @gilduran.com is as efficient summary of the method in Musk's chaos as I've seen. www.theframelab.org/elon-musk-do...

Mump are trying to gaslight us into believing they have unlimited power. They do not. Fascism succeeds by making it hard for people to envision the alternative. Our job is to help people see the real reality: that Trump and Musk can, and already are, being stopped. open.substack.com/pub/reframin...

It's @george-lakoff.com's Truth Sandwich. An essential skill for anyone who does any communications. Yet, over and over, people start by privileging their opposition's message or just outright lies. Only way to deal with guys like Elon and Trump.

Trump is waging war on earth and its people — but the people mostly don’t know it. We can fix this, and we must. @george-lakoff.com @framelab.bsky.social @gilduran.com

" The 'Daddy Trump' chorus isn't a quirk or a joke – it's a window into how millions of Americans process political reality." - @gilduran.com

This is literally Lakoff’s strict father moral structure. Saying the neuro cognitive framework out loud is just, wow. @gilduran.com @lolgop.bsky.social

No foreign power has ever posed as massive and immediate a threat to the United States as the current administration.

Tips to keep democracy alive in 2025: 1. Be Brave. Avoid helpless/hopeless talk. Authoritarians want you to feel powerless because it makes their work easier. Courage, faith, and optimism are essential. Fascism feeds on cynicism and pessimism. Starve it. www.theframelab.org/how-to-thriv...

"All politics are moral politics, and people respond to values more than facts alone. Frame the issue in moral terms. Rule by the rich is a betrayal of the American promise of democracy, fairness, and opportunity." - @gilduran.com