I used Coughlin as the anchor character in the last chapter of mine. :)

I spent a lot of time reading old Coughlin docs and press clippings for book research hoping there would be some more satisfying solution but it really was a combo of govt revoking his newsletter's second-class mailing privileges for print propaganda, and then overwhelmingly in-group Church action.

Coughlin grew progressively more extreme: Kristallnacht was really the Jews' fault, etc. He supported the Christian Front. Aligned with fascist leaders.

It was eventually primarily in-group action that dealt with the mass media demagogue: Church hierarchy told him no more political broadcasting.

Are you planning to publish the current list?

17M impressions. Probably half crypto and porn bots but still.

Yes but detracking is associated with progressive education policy more broadly. “8th grade algebra” is the meme he’s referencing and it became the story of national mockery but the association is broader.

It got framed as “anti-racist education” at the time (hence “8th grade algebra is racist”). Covered in NYT as some kind of positive experiment before the backlash — which only happened when moderates got fed up.

Locally, though, people did care about this by the end. Incl techies.

Well, couple things are true. One, education policy is decided locally so there’s no reason for a national-race pol to weigh in on this. But also it was an example of moderates in SF letting left flank do something egregiously stupid & initially being afraid to push back. It got ridiculed online.

Is your argument that Dems are wrongly associated with detracking policies, or that you don’t think they’re associated at all and this is a too-online take? Do we agree that the policies are wildly unpopular?

lol I personally filed FOIAs bc my kid was in that district during that garbage policy. I know this firsthand. you don't. bye.

Then there was the 2023 state curriculum wars. It was really a mess. Newsom said nothing IIRC. This was framed as a progressive policy. It was moderates who pushed back but it was incredibly destructive and the ongoing curriculum wars continue to poll terribly.

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

maybe you're a mitwit only capable of focusing on one thing, I'm not similarly plagued

Nationally? Oddly DeBlasio hired the school chancellor who got it done but then he did a 180 on his own policy and started pushing Algebra for All in NYC. Detracking convo in NYC focused on GATE (SF cut that too) instead of gutting math.

This was not some random act of Fox News nutpicking this was hailed as something to be emulated and those of us who said it was utter lunacy and a complete failure were slammed and smeared every step of the way. So no no no we are not rewriting history on this story. No district should do this.