As Trump ramps up his attacks on America's founding principles and seeks to destroy our most treasured institutions, the conservative Democrat group Third Way thinks that not-even socialists are the bigger threat. This is a dangerous error, @jtccarroll.flux.community writes:

Third Way “war” on democratic socialism betrays a basic misreading of U.S. politics

An increasingly fascistic Republican Party, not ideas that lie within the continuum of pro-democracy policies, is the true threat to America

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I have a new episode of my podcast Theory of Change out today with two former NIH scientists to discuss what scientists are doing to fight back against Trump's attempts to dismantle American science. Patreon: www.patreon.com/discoverflux... Substack: plus.flux.community/p/how-scient...

How scientists are fighting back against the Trump administration’s attempts to science them | Flux

Sylvia Chou and Alexa Romberg on how scientists are realizing that being apolitical is a luxury belief By Matthew Sheffield Sylvia Chou and

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Trump’s Reflecting Pool vendetta became too ridiculous for Jeanine Pirro Despite the dismissal of the charges, this was still an outrageous abuse of power, @jtccarroll.flux.community writes:

Trump’s Reflecting Pool vendetta became too ridiculous for Jeanine Pirro

The Justice Department's dismissal of laughable charges against a former Olympic athlete shouldn't obscure the basic fact of the president's abuse of power against an innocent man

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Corporations have overrun the federal judiciary. In the latest Theory of Change, @profciara.bsky.social joined @matthew.flux.community to talk about political extremism in business communities and how "corporatocracy" works:

How corporations took over the federal courts

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy on how ‘corporatocracy’ works and why

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More ICE killings are the inevitable result of mass deportations rooted in incendiary claims of immigrant invasion @jtccarroll.flux.community on why Democrats mustn't shy away from letting the public know about Trump's dehumanization of immigrants

Renewed ICE killings are inevitable result of mass deportations rooted in incendiary claims of immigrant invasion

Democrats must pair opposition to ICE lawlessness with unsparing attacks on the GOP's dehumanizing anti-immigrant hatred and propaganda

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Trump’s insane elections speech was really about excusing future authoritarianism Bizarre primetime address presented nothing new, but did lay groundwork for censorship and infringing on states’ rights to administer elections

Trump’s insane elections speech was really about excusing future authoritarianism

Bizarre primetime address presented no evidence, but did lay groundwork for censorship and infringing on states’ rights to administer elections

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Do bees have inner lives? New study suggests it’s a possibility Research shows that bees seem to manifest internal states of pleasure and disgust

Do bees have inner lives? New study suggests it’s a possibility | Flux

Research shows that bees seem to manifest internal states of pleasure and disgust By Andrew Barron It’s easy for us to tell if someone is en

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My latest at @flux.community: The president's plan to spruce up a tourist attraction has mutated into self-serving claims of anti-American vandalism in the heart of D.C. and over-the-top charges against a sacrificial citizen. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/trumps-ine...

Trump's inept attempts to ‘fix’ Reflecting Pool only highlight his authoritarian fixations

The president's plan to spruce up a tourist attraction has mutated into self-serving claims of anti-American vandalism in the heart of D.C. and over-the-top charges against a sacrificial citizen

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On the latest Theory of Change, @adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com joined @matthew.flux.community for a discussion about the need for a positive liberal vision for America--and how to reform our broken institutions:

Liberals want Trump gone, but what do they want instead?

Adam Gurri, founder and publisher of Liberal Currents joins to discuss ‘The Reconstruction Papers’

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Trump's plan to spruce up a tourist attraction has mutated into self-serving claims of anti-American vandalism in the heart of D.C. and over-the-top charges against a sacrificial citizen. Via @jtccarroll.flux.community:

Trump's inept attempts to ‘fix’ Reflecting Pool only highlight his authoritarian fixations

The president's plan to spruce up a tourist attraction has mutated into self-serving claims of anti-American vandalism in the heart of D.C. and over-the-top charges against a sacrificial citizen

plus.flux.community

Beliefs in mind uploading and mechanical immortality are very common within the American tech bro scene. But these are absurd delusions that are not at all supported by biology. We just published a comprehensive rebuttal of this fantasy by biologist and philosopher Johannes Jaeger:

The myth of mind uploading

Minds are what bodies do

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This Independence Day, let's remember that separation of church and state is an all-American idea Freedom of conscience works for everyone—religious as well as non-religious

Separation of church and state is an all-American idea

Freedom of conscience works for everyone—religious as well as non-religious

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Welcome swag for white South African ‘refugees’ reveals blatant racism of Trump’s asylum policy Via @jtccarroll.flux.community:

Welcome swag for white South African ‘refugees’ shines light on blatant racism of Trump’s asylum policy

The Trump administration plans to provide bespoke gift bags to Afrikaners, including materials that encourage an embrace of white supremacy as the ideal way to assimilate into American society

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A politics of powerful love is the only one that can defeat fascism w/o violence. The real divide now is between those who will fight for democracy, and those who will twiddle their thumbs. Voters do not choose based on obscure policy debates, so we must shelve them until the fascists are crushed.

My latest: Thousands of people think their favorite chatbot has a soul, but why does no one ever say the same about Midjourney? Finally finished my essay debunking false beliefs in chatbot consciousness. Please share if you could: plus.flux.community/p/large-lang...

Large language models and the textual nude Thousands of people think their favorite chatbot has a soul, but why does no one ever say the same about Midjourney? New via @matthew.flux.community:

Large language models and the textual nude

Thousands of people think their favorite chatbot has a soul, but why does no one ever say the same about Midjourney?

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Juneteenth and the failure of Reconstruction are stories we must never forget. Learning about past American injustice is an inspiration to do better. Students everywhere deserve to know the stories of people like Joshua Houston and Samuel Walker Houston.

Juneteenth and the failure of Reconstruction are stories we must never forget

The lives of people like Joshua Houston and Samuel Walker Houston reveal that justice must be a perpetual struggle

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“'Pluralism is the idea that mutual worldviews and life systems can exists side by side,' Simmons writes, calling it 'the root of an unrighteous society.'” The title flags the project. Again, Americans aren't so much divided as they are *being* divided. plus.flux.community/p/the-radica...

The radical Christian nationalist plan to colonize rural America and establish sharia-style governance

Pastor Raymond Simmons’s calls on Christians to eliminate religious freedom and establish adultery and abortion as capital crimes

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Juneteenth and the failure of Reconstruction are stories we must never forget. Learning about past American injustice is an inspiration to do better. Students everywhere deserve to know the stories of people like Joshua Houston and Samuel Walker Houston.

Juneteenth and the failure of Reconstruction are stories we must never forget

The lives of people like Joshua Houston and Samuel Walker Houston reveal that justice must be a perpetual struggle

plus.flux.community

New research suggests how brains help us decide who to trust and why A rare genetic disorder that damages the amygdala is helping neuroscientists rethink the origins of trust and fear

New research suggests how brains help us decide who to trust and why

A rare genetic disorder that damages the amygdala is helping neuroscientists rethink the origins of trust and fear

plus.flux.community

The radical Christian nationalist plan to colonize rural America and establish sharia-style governance through decades of effort Yes, this is a real thing. Via @petemontdc.com

The radical Christian nationalist plan to colonize rural America and establish sharia-style governance

Pastor Raymond Simmons’s calls on Christians to eliminate religious freedom and establish adultery and abortion as capital crimes

plus.flux.community

Many men are struggling economically and socially, but too often, it's only reactionaries like Jordan Peterson or Andrew Tate who blame women and democracy who are speaking to men. That needs to change, @etvpod.bsky.social argues:

As men struggle, progressives should offer answers and solutions

Reactionaries shouldn’t be the only ones speaking to men during a time of social upheaval and economic injustice

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My latest at @flux.community: The race for a Senate seat in Texas highlights how MAGA's authoritarian governance is deeply intertwined with its celebration of a predatory, backwards maculinity. 1/x plus.flux.community/p/in-texas-s...

In Texas senate showdown, Ken Paxton’s rhetoric about masculinity could backfire

The race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico suggests that taking on MAGA requires Democrats to fully engage in fights over values as well as policy proposals

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Vaccines are one of humanity's greatest inventions ever, but despite 300 years of success, antivax people are still using the same debunked arguments. @tomlevenson.bsky.social joined @matthew.flux.community to discuss the political history of vaccines:

Antivax arguments haven’t gotten any better in 300 years

Science writer Thomas Levenson on his new book, ‘A Pox on Fools,’ a history of anti-vaccine movements

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Delighted to join @matthew.flux.community again at Theory of Change to chat about US politics and liberal fantasies of governance!

Flux@flux.community · 4mo ago

The U.S. is inexperienced as a democracy, and it’s showing @drlisacorrigan.bsky.social joins @matthew.flux.community for a discussion of how America's inexperience with democracy is why it is endangered today

In Texas senate showdown, Ken Paxton’s rhetoric about masculinity could backfire for Ken Paxton, @jtccarroll.flux.community writes:

In Texas senate showdown, Ken Paxton’s rhetoric about masculinity could backfire

The race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico suggests that taking on MAGA requires Democrats to fully engage in fights over values as well as policy proposals

plus.flux.community

Delighted to join @matthew.flux.community again at Theory of Change to chat about US politics and liberal fantasies of governance!

Flux@flux.community · 4mo ago

The U.S. is inexperienced as a democracy, and it’s showing @drlisacorrigan.bsky.social joins @matthew.flux.community for a discussion of how America's inexperience with democracy is why it is endangered today

The U.S. is inexperienced as a democracy, and it’s showing @drlisacorrigan.bsky.social joins @matthew.flux.community for a discussion of how America's inexperience with democracy is why it is endangered today

The U.S. is inexperienced as a democracy, and it’s showing

Historian Lisa Corrigan on how Democrats haven’t learned how to wield power to preserve democracy

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Donald Trump has never been more unpopular than now. And yet the Democratic Party is even more disliked. @rickperlstein.bsky.social joined @matthew.flux.community for a discussion on where former Trump supporters might go now, and Democrats' refusal to listen to their own voters:

Trump is at record-low approval, but Democrats have not been able to build their own public support - Flux

Historian Rick Perlstein on how America got this way

flux.community

New research suggests how brains help us decide who to trust and why A rare genetic disorder that damages the amygdala is helping neuroscientists rethink the origins of trust and fear

New research suggests how brains help us decide who to trust and why

A rare genetic disorder that damages the amygdala is helping neuroscientists rethink the origins of trust and fear

plus.flux.community