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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 18h

"For the right, now in power, the abandonment of the American idea is license to build an authoritarian regime. The left, having spent decades proving that the idea is a sham, can hardly protest its dismantling."

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

I Don’t Want to Stop Believing in America’s Decency

I want to feel, as Walt Whitman did, that America and democracy are inextricable.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 18h

"The only way to be a patriot is to work together with those fools, your fellow Americans, to stop this growing tyranny so that we have a chance to redeem ourselves."

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

I Don’t Want to Stop Believing in America’s Decency

I want to feel, as Walt Whitman did, that America and democracy are inextricable.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 18h

"To be a patriot in Donald Trump’s America is like sitting through a loved one’s trial for some gruesome crime."

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

America Needs Patriotism

The experiment only works if people believe in it.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 18h

"All of these changes are part of a larger shift, a revolutionary transformation in the way Americans present themselves to the world, and the way they are therefore perceived by others."

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

The Beacon of Democracy Goes Dark

For nearly 250 years, America promoted freedom and equality abroad, even when it failed to live up to those ideals itself. Not anymore.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 18h

"Perhaps expecting Americans to live up to the extraordinary ideals that they proclaimed in the 18th century was always unreasonable, but that language nevertheless shaped the way we thought about ourselves."

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

The Beacon of Democracy Goes Dark

For nearly 250 years, America promoted freedom and equality abroad, even when it failed to live up to those ideals itself. Not anymore.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 18h

"Nonviolent protests put authoritarian regimes in a lose-lose situation: Either cede the streets to the protesters, or crack down in ways that weaken your legitimacy. If a movement seeks only to please its own radicals, it fails."

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

America Needs a Mass Movement—Now

Without one, America may sink into autocracy for decades.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 18h

"If you think Trumpism will simply end in three years, you are naive. This could be the rest of our lives, and our children’s, too.
So why are we doing so little? Are we just going to stand in passive witness to the degradation of our democracy?"

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

America Needs a Mass Movement—Now

Without one, America may sink into autocracy for decades.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 18h

"For 250 years, the essence of America’s democratic system has been that no one is above the law. Public officials’ first duty is to put the law before the satisfaction of their own selfish impulses. That concept is alien to Trump."

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

America Needs a Mass Movement—Now

Without one, America may sink into autocracy for decades.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 18h

"Trump offers people an identity, status, self-respect, and a comprehensive political ethic. Populists are not trying to pass this or that law; they are altering the climate of the age. And Democrats think they can fight that by offering some tax credits?"

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

America Needs a Mass Movement—Now

Without one, America may sink into autocracy for decades.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 12d

"He never left the house without a book. He never left the house without a gun. Both were equally unthinkable.”

www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture...

Two Years After Cormac McCarthy's Death, Rare Access to His Personal Library Reveals the Man Behind the Myth

The famously reclusive novelist amassed a collection of thousands of books ranging in topics from philosophical treatises to advanced mathematics to the naked mole-rat

www.smithsonianmag.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 15d

"It’s no longer an interesting question as to why Trump is an almost perfect inversion of the moral teachings of Jesus...What is an interesting question is why those who claim that the greatest desire of their life is to follow Jesus revere such a man?"

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Fully MAGA-fied Christianity

Politics, especially culture-war politics, now provides many fundamentalists and evangelicals with a sense of community and a common enemy.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 18d

"The Justice Department should never have brought such an astoundingly shoddy case. The decision to do so, under intense pressure from the president to harass his old enemy, is an indication of how thoroughly Trump has been able to corrupt the department."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Comey Indictment Is an Embarrassment

The Justice Department should never have brought such a shoddy case.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 19d

"As it turns out, you can’t sell your soul to Trump and keep your spine; they’re a package deal."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Lower Than Cowards

The surrender of America’s elites

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 19d

"One by one, American leaders supposedly committed to principles of free speech, due process, democracy, and equality have abandoned those ideals when menaced by the Trump administration."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Lower Than Cowards

The surrender of America’s elites

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 20d

"What can we do to prevent authoritarianism from becoming our way of life? How can we change the habits of our heart and our society?"

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

America’s Zombie Democracy

Its trappings remain, but authoritarianism and AI are hollowing out our humanity.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 20d

"Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us that, after two and a half centuries—about the length of the Roman republic in its glory—American democracy is disappearing."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

America’s Zombie Democracy

Its trappings remain, but authoritarianism and AI are hollowing out our humanity.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 20d

"Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us that, after two and a half centuries—about the length of the Roman republic in its glory—American democracy is disappearing."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

American Tyranny

Free-speech hypocrisy is a symptom of the democratic decay that leads to authoritarianism.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 20d

"We are living in an authoritarian state....

It sometimes seems as if the only check on Trump’s power is his own attention span."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

American Tyranny

Free-speech hypocrisy is a symptom of the democratic decay that leads to authoritarianism.

www.theatlantic.com

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Reposted by Scott Stossel

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 22d

Most Fed experts “have never contemplated what could happen if an institution with so much unchecked power came under the control of one man,” Rogé Karma writes. “Perhaps it’s time to start imagining.”

Taking Over the Fed Could Give Trump Unimaginable Power

If Donald Trump takes over the central bank, he will have extraordinary power to reward his friends and destroy his enemies.

bit.ly

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 22d

"Richard Nixon’s attorney general, John Mitchell, served 19 months in prison for his crimes during Watergate. If Trump’s hold on power loosens, Pam Bondi could share Mitchell’s fate."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Trump Might Be Losing His Race Against Time

The president is gambling that he can consolidate authority before the public turns too sharply against him.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 22d

"The idea that the Democrats can take back the Senate in 2026 without fielding candidates who are willing to publicly renounce some left-wing orthodoxies is delusional."

www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Democrats Don’t Seem Willing to Follow Their Own Advice

Party leaders know they need to moderate on cultural issues to win back working-class voters—so why don’t they?

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 25d

50 percent lower risk of reincarnation!

(Autocorrect strikes again)

Chris Aiken, MD @chrisaikenmd.bsky.social · 25d

Should we start meds for #opioid use disorder like buprenorphine in jail?

Yes. Associated with 50% lower overdose risk and lower risk of reincarnation:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40929...

Evidence grade: Moderate (5/10)
chrisaikenmd.com/ebm/

▪ 13% of US jails provide it
Art: Van Gogh

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 26d

"Goldberg suggested in his interview with David Letterman that Jimmy Fallon was a less 'sharp-tongued' critic of Trump than other late-night hosts. Letterman shot back, 'Why do you think that is? Has something to do with IQ, is that what you’re saying?'”

www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

David Letterman’s Jimmy Kimmel Reaction: ‘We All See Where This Is Going, Correct?’

The comedian spoke about Kimmel’s suspension from late-night TV at The Atlantic Festival.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 26d

Robert McNamara "was a war proponent in the Johnson administration and a war opponent in private, at once driven by a lust to succeed in the president’s eyes and horrified by the human toll of what he came to see as an unwinnable war."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The War Hawk Who Wasn’t

Newly discovered documents reveal Robert McNamara’s private doubts about Vietnam.

www.theatlantic.com

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Scott Stossel @stossel.bsky.social · 26d

"What happened to Jimmy Kimmel is not about one comedian who said something he should not have said. The Trump administration and its enforcers want to control your speech, your behavior, even your public expressions of mourning."

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Constitution Protects Jimmy Kimmel’s Mistake

Free speech is under assault.

www.theatlantic.com

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