One of my favorite books over the past year was Art Green's translation of Zeitlin. It was my first time reading anything by him. I was hooked immediately.

I think my folks would have not been happy with some of the things I was reading, like my Allen Ginsberg phase at 15. But they figured if it was a book it was good for me.

Books are still my favorite escape.

My parents were always very strict about the music I listened to and the movies I watched, but they basically let me read anything I wanted to.

Already had to do it when I got my last driver's license renewal. Insane amount of paperwork for something that used to be simple.

The failure of Western media is certainly a huge issue, I agree. Substitute "Democratic Party" in your post with "Israel" or "the IDF" and you've hit on what many Jews around the world have been screaming since October 7, 2023 (and before, but especially since then).

Inauthentic pandering for votes in public is not the same as actual policy. If you don't think the Democratic party has a problem when a crazy billionaire felon comes off as more relatable, I'm not sure what to tell you.

People believed Bill Clinton's "I feel your pain." That's not today's party.

No. They were definitely doing that, for years. And any attempt to NOT do that before the election came across as incredibly inauthentic and insincere. It's a systemic issue that couldn't be solved in a series of half-hearted attempts in a 100 day campaign.

It was an abject failure because nobody believed it was sincere. Even people who voted for her didn't buy it. Can't be relatable without being authentic.

If you ask me for my vote in a way that sounds like a Judith Butler article, I'm not likely to respond well to it even if I am aligned with you completely on the issues.