Amy Helfman
@webczarina.bsky.social
Erstwhile expat eternal New Yorker. Serious theater nerd. Cilantro tastes like soap to me.
Reposted by Amy Helfman
We're in a crisis unlike any since the Civil War.
This is how it stops. This is how it ends.
www.againstallenemies.net/p/how-it-sto...
This is how it stops. This is how it ends.
www.againstallenemies.net/p/how-it-sto...
How It Stops, How It Ends
We are in a moment of national crisis unknown since the Civil War.
www.againstallenemies.net
January 12, 2026 at 3:16 PM
We're in a crisis unlike any since the Civil War.
This is how it stops. This is how it ends.
www.againstallenemies.net/p/how-it-sto...
This is how it stops. This is how it ends.
www.againstallenemies.net/p/how-it-sto...
Reposted by Amy Helfman
This essay by Robin Givhan is about fashion, but it works, too, as an analysis of the ways that our algorithm-fueled world hampers curiosity, dreaming, self-discovery — and the “appetite to be discerning.” I see applications to journalism, for sure. (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/o...
Opinion | Why Is Shopping an Abyss of Blah?
www.nytimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:53 PM
This essay by Robin Givhan is about fashion, but it works, too, as an analysis of the ways that our algorithm-fueled world hampers curiosity, dreaming, self-discovery — and the “appetite to be discerning.” I see applications to journalism, for sure. (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/o...
Saving this:
youtu.be/tcm5pQG5Bio
youtu.be/tcm5pQG5Bio
Pete Townshend "Let My Love Open The Door" - The Late Show's Commercial Breakdown
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtu.be
November 29, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Saving this:
youtu.be/tcm5pQG5Bio
youtu.be/tcm5pQG5Bio
Reposted by Amy Helfman
You work hard while Republicans relax — and our access to affordable healthcare is paying the price. Jeff Nesbit explains.
87 days: The do-nothing Congress’s shutdown strategy
This historic level of inaction is not an accident, a bug, or a well-deserved vacation.
contrarian.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:38 PM
You work hard while Republicans relax — and our access to affordable healthcare is paying the price. Jeff Nesbit explains.
Reposted by Amy Helfman
Have you noticed that Trump thinks information about him (his Epstein ties, his tariffs, or even just approval polling) is his most profound political vulnerability? What this piece presupposes is: what if he’s right? www.offmessage.net/p/you-dont-u...
You Don't, Under Any Circumstances, Have To Play Into Donald Trump's Hands
He has a terrible poker face, and keeps telling us what he believes his greatest vulnerabilities are.
www.offmessage.net
October 29, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Have you noticed that Trump thinks information about him (his Epstein ties, his tariffs, or even just approval polling) is his most profound political vulnerability? What this piece presupposes is: what if he’s right? www.offmessage.net/p/you-dont-u...
Reposted by Amy Helfman
five days and a few hours to go and at this point I'm just gonna be shameless: if you can help signal-boost this thing, I'd be grateful. I've done very well through my own channels, but haven't had much luck breaking out beyond them.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/tom...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/tom...
Our Long National Nightmare by Tom Tomorrow
Relive the trauma of the last five years through the cartoons of Herblock Award winner and Pulitzer nominee Tom Tomorrow.
www.kickstarter.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:46 PM
five days and a few hours to go and at this point I'm just gonna be shameless: if you can help signal-boost this thing, I'd be grateful. I've done very well through my own channels, but haven't had much luck breaking out beyond them.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/tom...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/tom...
Reposted by Amy Helfman
The more focused people are on intergenerational injustice, the more they ignore the underlying issues of class and power. Robert Kuttner responds to The New York Times’ op-ed on the Boomers taking everything:
trib.al/adkzFlz
trib.al/adkzFlz
No, the Boomers Did Not Take It All - The American Prospect
The more that young people focus on supposed generational injustices rather than the real injustices of class and power, the less likely they are to embrace a politics that might make a real difference.
trib.al
October 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM
The more focused people are on intergenerational injustice, the more they ignore the underlying issues of class and power. Robert Kuttner responds to The New York Times’ op-ed on the Boomers taking everything:
trib.al/adkzFlz
trib.al/adkzFlz
Reposted by Amy Helfman
Cleve Jones gave a riveting, rousing speech at San Francisco's No Kings rally yesterday, and he's graciously allowing me to publish it. He began: "The pronouns I use the most are the ones probably understood the least by those in the White House today. They are WE, US and OURS."
Cleve Jones: "This Is Our Country"
This is the first guest essay at Meditations in an Emergency. I'm proud to bring you yesterday's speech by the great Cleve Jones, who has for nearly half a century been a key organizer for the global ...
www.meditationsinanemergency.com
October 20, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Cleve Jones gave a riveting, rousing speech at San Francisco's No Kings rally yesterday, and he's graciously allowing me to publish it. He began: "The pronouns I use the most are the ones probably understood the least by those in the White House today. They are WE, US and OURS."
I’m backing @tomtomorrow.bsky.social ‘s Kickstarter because his work helps me survive the insanity! www.kickstarter.com/projects/tom...
Our Long National Nightmare by Tom Tomorrow
Relive the trauma of the last five years through the cartoons of Herblock Award winner and Pulitzer nominee Tom Tomorrow.
www.kickstarter.com
September 30, 2025 at 5:48 PM
I’m backing @tomtomorrow.bsky.social ‘s Kickstarter because his work helps me survive the insanity! www.kickstarter.com/projects/tom...
Reposted by Amy Helfman
I've said before that a Kickstarter is the cartoonist's version of doing a stage dive and trusting the audience to catch you, and well. So far, so good.
September 30, 2025 at 5:27 PM
I've said before that a Kickstarter is the cartoonist's version of doing a stage dive and trusting the audience to catch you, and well. So far, so good.
Just another weekend in the USA...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
At least one dead and nine injured after shooting at Mormon church in Michigan
Church on fire in violent weekend with shootings also in North Carolina, Texas, and New Orleans’ Bourbon Street
www.theguardian.com
September 28, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Just another weekend in the USA...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Count on @therickwilson.bsky.social to tell it like it is: therickwilson.substack.com/p/dont-you-d...
Don’t You Dare: Why Democrats Must Shut It Down
Advice Democrats Won't Take On The Shutdown Fight
therickwilson.substack.com
September 8, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Count on @therickwilson.bsky.social to tell it like it is: therickwilson.substack.com/p/dont-you-d...
"MLM foreshadows the failure of a society that entrusts the care of its citizens, their independence, the administration of democracy itself to the forces of capitalism. Rather than deliver infinite abundance, the majority will lose."
This was a fitting Labor Day read: bookshop.org/p/books/unti...
This was a fitting Labor Day read: bookshop.org/p/books/unti...
Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America
How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America
bookshop.org
September 1, 2025 at 11:48 PM
"MLM foreshadows the failure of a society that entrusts the care of its citizens, their independence, the administration of democracy itself to the forces of capitalism. Rather than deliver infinite abundance, the majority will lose."
This was a fitting Labor Day read: bookshop.org/p/books/unti...
This was a fitting Labor Day read: bookshop.org/p/books/unti...
A joyous anniversary!
www.broadwayworld.com/article/Vide...
www.broadwayworld.com/article/Vide...
Video: A CHORUS LINE Celebrates 50 Years With A Cast Flash Mob in NYC
A 5, 6, 7, 8! A Chorus Line is currently celebrating its 50th Anniversary! This afternoon, to celebrate the milestone past cast members of the show gathered at Lincoln Center to perform some iconic mo...
www.broadwayworld.com
July 26, 2025 at 3:45 AM
A joyous anniversary!
www.broadwayworld.com/article/Vide...
www.broadwayworld.com/article/Vide...
Reposted by Amy Helfman
Hooray for The Writers Guild!
Alt text included!
July 18, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Hooray for The Writers Guild!
"Accepting that the populist far right cannot be satisfied with normal political compromises is a first step towards engaging with our real circumstances, which are becoming clearer every day...There simply isn’t a middle ground between this worldview and a liberal belief in human rights."
"Those to the left of the populist, nativist right must articulate a competing, values-based vision to give everyone else a true alternative to reaction. And part of this story will be about how dangerous, how utterly society-destroying, the far right’s story is."
www.thebulwark.com/p/when-moder...
www.thebulwark.com/p/when-moder...
When Moderation Becomes Appeasement
If your chief goal is to find a middle ground with the far right on social issues, you’ll end up condoning its values—just ask Keir Starmer.
www.thebulwark.com
July 9, 2025 at 8:09 PM
"Accepting that the populist far right cannot be satisfied with normal political compromises is a first step towards engaging with our real circumstances, which are becoming clearer every day...There simply isn’t a middle ground between this worldview and a liberal belief in human rights."
Reposted by Amy Helfman
Spiritual warfare and the roots of political violence ... sharp piece !! open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
Spiritual warfare and the roots of political violence
American democracy is under attack from an authoritarian movement.
open.substack.com
June 17, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Spiritual warfare and the roots of political violence ... sharp piece !! open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
If you need a break from all the...everything:
youtu.be/OlWFWWMPOQY
youtu.be/OlWFWWMPOQY
"Listen to the Music" - The Doobie Brothers (LIVE on The Late Show)
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtu.be
June 11, 2025 at 6:27 PM
If you need a break from all the...everything:
youtu.be/OlWFWWMPOQY
youtu.be/OlWFWWMPOQY
FACT: No one under age 50 remembers anything before Ronald Reagan. If Democrats are to win again, they need to tell the story like @aoc.bsky.social and @sanders.senate.gov have been doing:
americanprospect.bluelena.io/social/907ed...
americanprospect.bluelena.io/social/907ed...
Polling Conundrums: Activist Government, Sí; Democrats, No!
The Latest from the...
americanprospect.bluelena.io
June 4, 2025 at 12:30 AM
FACT: No one under age 50 remembers anything before Ronald Reagan. If Democrats are to win again, they need to tell the story like @aoc.bsky.social and @sanders.senate.gov have been doing:
americanprospect.bluelena.io/social/907ed...
americanprospect.bluelena.io/social/907ed...
"This is not mere corporate negligence. It is the willful endangerment of national security for personal profit and corporate gain."
prospect.org/power/2025-0...
prospect.org/power/2025-0...
How Mark Zuckerberg Endangered U.S. Security in Pursuit of Profit
Facebook has exposed Americans and American security to Chinese surveillance.
prospect.org
May 15, 2025 at 9:10 PM
"This is not mere corporate negligence. It is the willful endangerment of national security for personal profit and corporate gain."
prospect.org/power/2025-0...
prospect.org/power/2025-0...
"The fox is not just guarding the henhouse; it has changed the locks." Senator @warren.senate.gov, what's being done to stop this technocratic invasion?
contrarian.substack.com/p/not-with-a...
contrarian.substack.com/p/not-with-a...
Not with a bang but a backdoor
DOGE’s quiet access to government networks is a counterintelligence threat in plain sight.
contrarian.substack.com
April 22, 2025 at 2:44 AM
"The fox is not just guarding the henhouse; it has changed the locks." Senator @warren.senate.gov, what's being done to stop this technocratic invasion?
contrarian.substack.com/p/not-with-a...
contrarian.substack.com/p/not-with-a...
Reposted by Amy Helfman
Okay, but does the judge have "root" on the SSA servers? If the Musk fanboys do and the courts don't, who's really been blocked?
April 18, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Okay, but does the judge have "root" on the SSA servers? If the Musk fanboys do and the courts don't, who's really been blocked?
Reposted by Amy Helfman
It's #NationalLibraryWeek! And there ARE easy things you can do to help the world be better. #1, right now, GET A LIBRARY CARD. Even if you don't think you'll use it. Check out LIBBY and HOOPLA that let you borrow ebooks, audiobooks and magazines!! You don't even have to go into the library...
April 9, 2025 at 4:05 PM
It's #NationalLibraryWeek! And there ARE easy things you can do to help the world be better. #1, right now, GET A LIBRARY CARD. Even if you don't think you'll use it. Check out LIBBY and HOOPLA that let you borrow ebooks, audiobooks and magazines!! You don't even have to go into the library...