Will Shetterly's Blog, page 72

A few thoughts about how to protest

Why am I surprised that Cory Doctorow, Laurie Penny, and Patrick Neilsen Hayden are demonizing the working class?

I just sawPeople who voted for Trump knew their shot at the elites was fired through the guts of their neighbors / Boing Boing. Cory Doctorow approves of Laurie Penny's elitist sentiment in a post that he found thanks to Patrick Nielsen Hayden. I suppose I'm disappointed because I thought they were too smart to believe the reason the Rust Belt voted for a black president in 2008 and 2012, and

understanding the election—the best links I've found

Among Republicans, Trump supporters have slightly lower incomes. But what really differentiates them? Debunking myths about Trump voters, with exit polls.: "Trump’s Voters Don’t Support Deportation. And other surprises." Trump did surprisingly well among groups he was thought to have fatally offended. He got 8 percent of blacks (Mitt Romney got only 6 percent in 2012), 29 percent of Latinos (

A reminder for Clinton fans that the polls were right all along

From a post I wrote shortly before the election: This would've been a boring election if the Democratic establishment hadn't been committed to nominating another neoliberal.In May, Sanders was polling with the general public at 10 points over Trump. That wasn't a fluke.In the many polls of public opinion taken from July 2015 to May 2016, only six showed Trump having an advantageand only one

Alan Moore's joke behind naming the Marvel Universe the 616 universe

Some people believe the Number of the Beast is 616. SeeNumberof the Beast - Wikipedia: "The Number of the Beast (Greek: Ἀριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου, ArithmostouThēriou) is a term in the Book of Revelation, of the New Testament, that is associated with the Beast of Revelation in chapter 13.[1] In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the beast is

Thoughts after learning a fan killed herself because she feared she would lose her health care

I just found out that a fan of our work killed herself yesterday. She had depression and she was concerned about her health care. I will take a moment before I continue. Emma and I are concerned about our health care. She has type 1 diabetes. I hate to think what would happen if we lost our health care through the state of Minnesota. But while there are many reasons to be worried about

In defense of "agreeing to disagree"

I just saw someone on Facebook say he didn't like the phrase and thought it was used by people who could not defend their position. I'm a great fan of the phrase. I use it when I choose to be merciful, which is more often than my readers may realize. I would prefer to have brambles in my view than scorched earth. One meaning of the phrase is "you are not worth my time." But the more common

Essential data for analyzing the 2016 election

CBS News Exit Polls: How Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency - CBS News: Exit poll voters were asked whether most illegal immigrants working in the U.S. should be offered a chance to apply for legal status or deported to the country they came from. Fully 7 of 10 voters said they should be allowed to apply for legal status. Similarly, more people opposed building a wall along the U.S. border

A quick reminder for gay and trans folks that most Americans are still on your side

Americans Want Legal Protections For Transgender People, Poll Says - The Atlantic: A poll released today by the Public Religion Research Institute found 72 percent of Americans now favor passing laws to protect lesbian, gay and transgender people from discrimination, including three-quarters of Democrats and two-thirds of Republicans. A majority of Americans also oppose so-called “bathroom

Two versions of "Here in This Land" by Karl Kraus

On Facebook, John Michael Colón shared this translation of Karl Karus's "Here in This Land": Here in this land no one is deemed absurd but who should speak the truth. And all defenseless he stands before the sneering, grinning herd, which holds a sense of honor senseless. Here in this land, where God is bought and sold and manhood is pursued with execration, all infamy is coined to purest gold