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Elon Musk attacked democracy defender and superstar court lawyer Marc Elias as “undermining civilization,” taunting him by asking if he suffered “generational trauma.”

Elias’s response was brilliant and worth amplifying:

Mr. Musk,

You recently criticized me and another prominent lawyer fighting for the rule of law and democracy in the United States. I am used to being attacked for my work, particularly on the platform you own and dominate.

I used to be a regular on Twitter, where I amassed over 900…

This

summation of Trump's villainy in his first four weeks is so thorough and scathing that I can't even choose what to quote from it. Everything that needs to be said, in a three-minute read. Go for it. lnk.thebulwark.com/3QN1…

America Joins the Jackals

I’ve read and analyzed every executive order signed by Trump since the inauguration, and painstakingly taken tons of notes and written a pretty okay article about it if I do say so myself. Please read it if you’re interested, my substack is and always will be 100% free, I just want to empower others with knowledge. I attempt to make some sense of loads of insanity. It’s out now.

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Inside DOGE’s Dumbest Cut Yet

Contrary to what some in the far-right echo chamber have been saying this week, I have not been silenced. I’m right here folks. And I am ready to get started!

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Hallo

Today I start using Substack

I used to like Twitter but always felt very constrained by the 144 limit

This brought problems for the irony-challenged, who misunderstood a lot of what I was trying to say

This is a particular problem for me because I seem to be regarded as ‘on the left’ by people on the right, and' ‘on the right’ by people on the left

Apparently this makes me controversial, and therefore box office poison

Here is my 2025 In & Out list. I think 2025 will be a year of contraction:

IN

  • Membership clubs, charter cities, conventions, symposiums, scenes, the local (if you’re lucky to live in the right city)

  • Group chats, servers, IRL > Timeline / FYP

  • Small, intimate streams with IRL components ("communities")

  • Trying to connect physical objects to online worlds, like adult Webkinz, with varying success

  • Internet culture analysts

  • Self-critical politics (reflective in the mainstream and extreme/binary thinking on the fringe as a gatekeeping tactic)

  • Radical feminism (soft, commodified version)

  • YouTube

  • Big tech invests in AI companions, bifurcating offline and online further

  • This ⬆️ causes problems for the mentally ill and elderly

  • Tech-y people continue to find companionship in Claude

  • Accelerationism

  • Fictosexuality and imaginary friends

  • Networks & bundling

  • Longevity tech goes mainstream, replacing filler/thinness as a status marker

  • Continuing to blame the phones—online vs. offline bifurcation grows

  • Social media continues to trend downwards

  • Anti-Discord sentiment

  • Exploring abandoned malls / bringing “liminal spaces” and “weird core” IRL, urbex

  • Gen Alpha experiments with AI-generated personalities

  • Terrorism increases

  • Rebuilding your attention span

  • Immersive storytelling experiences (but we haven’t cracked it yet)

  • Narrative in general

  • Zines

  • MEAN trolling, like we have not seen since earlier days of the Internet

  • Fast food

  • Magic and the supernatural

  • Renaissance for SNL, NYT, WaPo, etc.; all gatekept media reinvents itself, WaPo in particular

  • “Meaning,” “spirituality,” “values,” “what does it mean to be human?” “magic”

  • “Alt media” continues its path to legitimacy

OUT

  • Transgender identity/gender ideology recede as culture war issues

  • Millennial irony

  • TikTok and Instagram, social media

  • The Manosphere

  • “Democratization”

  • Botox and filler (but facelifts remain in)

  • Podcasts, being a “Creator”

  • Being prolific online, quality > volume; network > content

  • Individuals being famous/influencers, you need to offer more (e.g., a network or 'immersive' experience). Doesn’t mean they’re all gone, maybe an influencer will host SNL. (h/t my sis, but it’s changing)

  • Ordering on Amazon (friend tells me she has started to see 'not available on Amazon' stickers)

Jan 3
at
6:07 PM