Some might take comfort in the thought that when Trump was first President the United States did not lose democracy. It is true that democratic institutions held and the U.S. Constitution remains the law of the land, but I think the fact that Trump became the Republican candidate for President again is a signal for how much has eroded. In recent past the party would have moved on to another candidate. Perhaps the biggest fears of those who oppose Trump will not come to pass, but I am certain his re-election will further continuance of the current errosion of rights. #

Reading Dave Winer regularly means knowing his crusade about journalism. What Dave doesn't seem to acknowledge is the root cause of the problems with journalism, and for that matter nearly everything else in the United States, which is the corruptive nature of wealth. No change is going to occur in the United States from institutions that are beholden to the prime directive of wealth. There was a reason why at one time there was a "wall" between advertising and editorial in media, but for somehow after the turn of the century that reason disappeared? A society that is all about money is a society that will collapse #