Thank you for this response to Nate Silver’s piece. I was furious when I read it and I’m sad to hear it’s caused her pain. We are all trying to drink news from a firehose, it’s messy to say the least. As for dividing Democrats into warring factions, we have always been a big tent full of contradictions. This is not a weakness, it’s a strength when we can harness it.
Diane, thank you. “Firehose” is exactly the word, and I hate that it’s caused her pain too.
And yep, the big tent has always been full of contradictions. The problem isn’t so much disagreement, it’s when it turns into branding and exile. Appreciate you reading.
That fire hose caused me to miss the criticism of Dr. Richardson. I’m a supporter and I fit the parameters you mentioned, as well as being a history major. Ideals are the reason we have this democratic form of government and why we can work to improve it as we go along. We can see errors, find mistakes, and then try to correct them. The critics are not giving enough credit to her/their readers, and showing it by implying that we can’t see what is really going on when we read her daily updates. I read her Letters, then go on to search out more information. I hope (and think) that most of us use her work as a starting point, not a conclusion. Thanks for your post and its reasoned analysis.
Yes, and thank you, Diane Love! Different "factions" = diversity, and diversity is beautiful, natural, and beneficial. The teenager-diarist, Anne Frank wrote, "We all live with the objective of being happy. Our lives are all different and yet the same." The poet, essayist, activist Audre Lorde wrote, "It's not our differences that divide us, but our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." A great Tibetan teacher and "spiritual friend" to me, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, wrote in his book: "Interconnected" in the chapter called "Equality and Diversity": "In Tibetan, we speak of sameness and difference in terms of roots and branches...individuals and societies differ in terms of the branches but not in terms of the root. Since at our deepest level...our roots, we are equal...no real need for us to be the same in all...aspects...the diversity that is found on the level of our branches is actually beneficial and wholesome for our inter-dependent world and for all of us individually... There is no doubt we are all equals on a fundamental human level, but we need to think further about how we are managing our obvious differences... How can we embrace our differences with mutual respect and harmony? ...we need to address several points of confusion. We seem to have a great deal of difficulty distinguishing between being equal and being the same. When we reduce the ideal of human equality to an idea of sameness, great harm results at every level of reality. This is especially true when the ideal we are all encouraged to aspire to has been determined by the self-interests of a few... we have confused difference with deficiency. When that happens, equality gets translated into uniformity and sameness. Our idea of equality must go deeper. Our equality is based not in what we have or how we look, but in who we are. World history records a remarkable diversity of cultures, views, and religions, and encounters between them have had a wide range of consequences, negative as well as positive... The twenty-first century is a century of sharing... Today our diversity is something to be shared and exchanged with others freely... This means learning to truly value one another and recognize diversity as highly productive and beneficial.
This is brilliant! Your characterization of Nate Silver and Ezra Klein as not “empathetic” is spot on, if a bit mild. White-privileged know-it-alls springs to my mind, but what does name-calling accomplish?
There are so many parts of this I want to cite for the clarity and insight.
Thank you so much for this. You are a voice of reason.
Beth, thx. And you’re right to ask what name calling actually does besides scratch the itch. I’m trying to keep the focus on incentives and power, not just vibes.
Also, your comment made me lol because I’m over here compiling the citations I forgot to include, and part of me is like… Nate, if you’re gonna do a hit piece on me, please do it on that so I’ll never make that mistake again. 😅
Nate is an idiot.Ahhhh, you’re right, it does feel got to scratch that itch. There seem so many people focused on what the Democratic party does wrong. They’re fixing a flat tire while the car goes up in flames.(to continue your motoring metaphor). What they lose sight of, but Heather Cox Richardson never does, ist hat We The Prople get to decide what the Democratic Party is.
VERY GRATEFUL you’re on our side. You’re a formidable thinker.
I watch Heather every day. She is an historian who frames current events against historical trends. She has more than earned her recognition. She promotes hope. These ‘conservatives’ doth protest too much.
Exactly! They're 'conservatives', no matter how they might identify as moderates, centrists, or whatever. They're gatekeepers to silence, make invisible, and discipline those in the left-liberal supermajority.
Xplisset, thank you, thank you and thank you even more for your concise and illuminating explanation of the blowback Heather Cox Richardson experienced from a single viewpoint she expressed. I so need to hear your perspective as I might be one of those democratic "elites" that subscribe to Heather's Letters. I say "might be" because I'm not rich nor do I have an Ivy League education.
Obviously, growing up white in America, I missed a lot of horrible things going on in my country. Since some comments mentioned "firehoses" that brought a memory to mind. As a young child, I witnessed on TV police using firehoses to literally "hose people backwards to wash them off the streets." I was so upset and crying and asked my parents, "why were the police doing that?"
I won't repeat what they told me. It was something that only evil people would say to a crying child who saw and understood what injustice is. I am grateful that even though I share their genetic background, I do not share their worldview. Plus, I have generation upon generation of "good people" genes in me.
I really value the work you do and the way your mind works. And thanks for defending Heather, she is another gem that helps preserve my sanity in this insane country right now.
Thanks for staying explicit in describing the shadows and the light today. I also noticed, today, a dubious NYT report of the "glorious" trumpian Commerce Department's brag about 3d quarter growth. When one listens long enough, or reads, it's clear this is due (if accurate) to the affluent class (caste) spending on luxury items and such, while the underdogs suffer. It's harder and harder for me to even keep an eye on the many distortions perpetrated by this regime. It's high time for a "perp-walk"...
Thank you For your comment. Research shows that Social and economic mobility in the United States is being transformed into a caste System from which there is no escape. So many excellent articles on the cost of being poor in the United States of America.
Yes, i saw that, too. The rich spend money and "drive up the economy" - the very same economy that is impoverishing everyone else, and especially the already impoverished.
I saw that in an interview with some guy that didn't even seem to be aware what he was doing, giving backhanded compliments that were basically wrong, lol. I have a lot of respect for HCR taking that in stride & staying with what's important. There isn't time to deal with all their insecurities, the work is too important.
Thank you for writing this essay. Everything you said is on point but i especially appreciated this: “People do not subscribe to her for breaking news” and i think this is so important. I’ve been reading HCR’s Letters since 2018…2019 when a friend shared her Letters with me. And I believe she was already doing the Letters for a while back then. A lot of people today think she just popped out of nowhere in 2025 in time for the political turmoil and that she’s a political commentator that can predict the future. She’s a prominent American historian and has been one for decades. She’s not a ‘breaking news’ journalist on legacy media but they treat her like one by writing these traffic tickets. Brilliant essay!
I wasn't there at the very beginning but started reading fairly early on when friends began to repost her Letters. As someone who used to work in a museum house that represented Quaker abolitionist activity in 19th-century North Carolina, I saw in her audience something I saw in many of our visitors: a hunger for real US history instead of fairy tales, a need for context and a better understanding of how we arrived at our own moment in history. She and historian Joanne Freeman together have brought historical perspectives we increasingly need as both grade schools and colleges allow history to slip away from the curriculum. People like Nate Silver look at the world through such a narrow keyhole, they seem to panic when anyone opens the door to a wider view. Quick! Stuff her into a Category Designated by Capital Letters before she can challenge his authority.
Yes! You articulated further what I wanted to say, “People like Nate Silver look at the world through such a narrow keyhole.” They really do. Silver is in the business of “predictions” with his stats, and though HCR always says she can’t and won’t predict the future, she has a much bigger toolbox with all her historical knowledge than he does. And she can give us an understanding that he just can’t, and I think it gets to him.
I tune into HCR and Joanne Freeman every Saturday morning, too! 🥳
“a hunger for real US history instead of fairy tales, a need for context and a better understanding of how we arrived at our own moment in history.” Rebecca, this in a nutshell is why so many of us turn to HCR to begin our day. I know for myself, it’s not the breaking news, but more the historical context of an event playing out in real time which then gives me the background and much needed hope that change will be for the better if we remain informed and loud.
Great essay from start to finish. An effective response to Mr. cross-my-palm, but it goes beyond him to the myth and assertion of being the "Center" and the Pragmatism that does not mean effective-in-the-real-world as much as it means easy-for-me-right-now.
Ann, thank you thank you.. “Easy-for-me-right-now” is the whole tell.
That’s what I was trying to name. A lot of the “Center” talk is really comfort dressed up as wisdom, and it always gets sold as realism right when it’s asking the most vulnerable people to pay the price. Appreciate you reading it all the way through. Thx again
Strangely enough - I never saw or heard of this "piece". I dont know if I speak for many or any of Dr. Richarson's followers, but her letters have honestly educated me on so much history, and the commonsense way she writes & speaks not only make it interesting - subjects and stories that I either never heard or ignored when I was in high school - but also states the current "news" in ways that I feel makes more sense. I dont get the impression or feeling that she's telling me how to think or understand any particular issue.
This guy, Silver, is just one more blah blah blah (remember Charlie Brown videos?) Social media has become more an individual or group way to feel important - period.
I'm 87, and yes vote as a Democrat, and the older establishment Democratic Party needs and must be re-structured! I dont have an answer for what has become of the Republican "party" these days. I remember when the two parties actually cooperated and compromised.
And if you truthfully listen - LISTEN - to the members of the GOP? Their current "rule" is never compromise with the other party.
So - exactly how is that statement bad-mouthing the GOP? It's not alternative facts - its the truth!
Maggie, I’m 68 and wholeheartedly agree with you re: the older establishment Democratic party. Specifically, they need to make way for more vibrant and savvy (young) candidates who are not willing to capitulate because of some unrealistic belief that the opposing party will hold up their end of the “bargain”, even though said party has shown again & again they have no interest in doing any such thing.
The police metaphor lands hard. Silver's critique of Richardson feels like prioritization failure when CBS is pulling 60 Minutes segments for political reasons. The irony is that FiveThirtyEight's model-driven approach was supposed to depoliticize analysis but Silver's own framing here (Tea Party comparisons, "Richardsonism") shows how even data journalists operate within narrative wars. What's missing is acknowledgment that Richardson's audience isn't consuming her for breaking news forensics, they're consuming for contextual sense-making in information overload, which is a diffrent editorial standard entirely.
It sure sounds like the pecking order has been disrupted by Professor Richardson, and the old guard resents the hell out of the disruptor being a woman. Why am I not the least bit surprised?
I appreciate the contrast between the traffic ticket (penalizing someone for a minor violation) and the national emergency. But it endorses a toxic underlying assumption.
Continuing with the traffic ticket analogy, this is someone telling us that he owns the street, or at least he has the right to post one-way-traffic-signs on it, and that Dr. Richardson is being a bad person because she is driving the "wrong way" on this street.
People sometimes ask me, old white guy to old white guy, what "privilege" means. I try to respond with examples, and this looks like a good one.
What gives Silver the privilege (the societally-recognized right) to post a "My Way" sign on the road and expect the rest of us to treat it as enforceable?
Dismissing Silver's complaint as if he is complaining about a minor traffic violation cedes to him an acknowledgement that he has the privilege to lay out the facts and the rules of the road.
Getting us used to the idea that he has such a privilege (and others do not) is more valuable by far than whether we actually impose consequences on any one person that he could describe as a violator.
HCR is the only reason I joined Substack when I left the cesspool that Facebook has become a few months ago.
Her measured and well researched daily articles really shine a light on current US political affairs interwoven with historical events (I’m British but hold a horrified fascination for the Trump era)
Her writings will become an important piece of history in their own right in years to come. She is bound to attract criticism as the truth is often very uncomfortable to face if you are on the ‘wrong’ side.
Helen, same. Listen a lot of us came to Substack because we needed something steadier than the social media cesspool.
And I do truly appreciate this outside perspective you lend. Sometimes it takes someone looking in from across the ocean to name how surreal the Trump era has been, and why HCR’s mix of history plus daily reality feels like a lifeline. You’re right too, truth attracts heat, especially from the side that needs the story to stay comfortable.
We have our own problems here in the UK believe me!
The rise of the far right is very worrying to witness, with Nigel Farage, leader of the ‘Reform’ party currently way ahead in polls. He is dodgy af and this is why I am a paid subscriber to the journalist Sam Bright who digs deep into his background. I am tentatively hopeful that by the time our general election comes around in 4 years’ time that he will have been completely exposed as the billionaire fraud he is. He would do so much harm to our country 😢
Let what is happening in the US be a salutary lesson to us all when it comes to extreme right wing politics.
Take care and I hope you have a very happy Christmas! 😊
Sorry- HCR helps calm the noise of the daily barrage of “horrified fascination “/ mesmerizing train wreck that is Donald Trump. Just when it seems the administration can get no worse IT DOES! As a voter who has always shown up for the past 49 years to vote at every level-local to national it is horrifying to face every time that our country drifts further and further from the American ideal. Calling my representatives doesn’t make an impact, voting doesn’t make an impact and shouting into the void certainly doesn’t, alas, even protesting doesn’t move the needle. In my world, there are so few of my friends and relatives that have not succumbed to whatever opium MAGA secretes - HCR is an intelligent voice that keeps her cool and reminds me that resistance and focus is important even on the endless long march of history. She is wisdom and clarity personified.
Yikes! Talk about pearl clutching! I look forward to and value reading HCR. Sometimes she seems to project a bit too modern an impulse to this or that historical figure, or try to wedge some historical incident into her take on a modern one. But so what? I can think two things at once. She has a great knowledge of history but if I sense her take goes somewhat astray from the historical, I see it and reserve judgment on her particular slant. It’s not that hard.
Thank you for this response to Nate Silver’s piece. I was furious when I read it and I’m sad to hear it’s caused her pain. We are all trying to drink news from a firehose, it’s messy to say the least. As for dividing Democrats into warring factions, we have always been a big tent full of contradictions. This is not a weakness, it’s a strength when we can harness it.
Diane, thank you. “Firehose” is exactly the word, and I hate that it’s caused her pain too.
And yep, the big tent has always been full of contradictions. The problem isn’t so much disagreement, it’s when it turns into branding and exile. Appreciate you reading.
That fire hose caused me to miss the criticism of Dr. Richardson. I’m a supporter and I fit the parameters you mentioned, as well as being a history major. Ideals are the reason we have this democratic form of government and why we can work to improve it as we go along. We can see errors, find mistakes, and then try to correct them. The critics are not giving enough credit to her/their readers, and showing it by implying that we can’t see what is really going on when we read her daily updates. I read her Letters, then go on to search out more information. I hope (and think) that most of us use her work as a starting point, not a conclusion. Thanks for your post and its reasoned analysis.
Yes, and thank you, Diane Love! Different "factions" = diversity, and diversity is beautiful, natural, and beneficial. The teenager-diarist, Anne Frank wrote, "We all live with the objective of being happy. Our lives are all different and yet the same." The poet, essayist, activist Audre Lorde wrote, "It's not our differences that divide us, but our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." A great Tibetan teacher and "spiritual friend" to me, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, wrote in his book: "Interconnected" in the chapter called "Equality and Diversity": "In Tibetan, we speak of sameness and difference in terms of roots and branches...individuals and societies differ in terms of the branches but not in terms of the root. Since at our deepest level...our roots, we are equal...no real need for us to be the same in all...aspects...the diversity that is found on the level of our branches is actually beneficial and wholesome for our inter-dependent world and for all of us individually... There is no doubt we are all equals on a fundamental human level, but we need to think further about how we are managing our obvious differences... How can we embrace our differences with mutual respect and harmony? ...we need to address several points of confusion. We seem to have a great deal of difficulty distinguishing between being equal and being the same. When we reduce the ideal of human equality to an idea of sameness, great harm results at every level of reality. This is especially true when the ideal we are all encouraged to aspire to has been determined by the self-interests of a few... we have confused difference with deficiency. When that happens, equality gets translated into uniformity and sameness. Our idea of equality must go deeper. Our equality is based not in what we have or how we look, but in who we are. World history records a remarkable diversity of cultures, views, and religions, and encounters between them have had a wide range of consequences, negative as well as positive... The twenty-first century is a century of sharing... Today our diversity is something to be shared and exchanged with others freely... This means learning to truly value one another and recognize diversity as highly productive and beneficial.
This is brilliant! Your characterization of Nate Silver and Ezra Klein as not “empathetic” is spot on, if a bit mild. White-privileged know-it-alls springs to my mind, but what does name-calling accomplish?
There are so many parts of this I want to cite for the clarity and insight.
Thank you so much for this. You are a voice of reason.
Beth, thx. And you’re right to ask what name calling actually does besides scratch the itch. I’m trying to keep the focus on incentives and power, not just vibes.
Also, your comment made me lol because I’m over here compiling the citations I forgot to include, and part of me is like… Nate, if you’re gonna do a hit piece on me, please do it on that so I’ll never make that mistake again. 😅
Nate is an idiot.Ahhhh, you’re right, it does feel got to scratch that itch. There seem so many people focused on what the Democratic party does wrong. They’re fixing a flat tire while the car goes up in flames.(to continue your motoring metaphor). What they lose sight of, but Heather Cox Richardson never does, ist hat We The Prople get to decide what the Democratic Party is.
VERY GRATEFUL you’re on our side. You’re a formidable thinker.
I'm with you on the "White privileged know it alls"! AKA "Bros".
As an activist, I have no time for either of them.
I watch Heather every day. She is an historian who frames current events against historical trends. She has more than earned her recognition. She promotes hope. These ‘conservatives’ doth protest too much.
Luv her too
Exactly! They're 'conservatives', no matter how they might identify as moderates, centrists, or whatever. They're gatekeepers to silence, make invisible, and discipline those in the left-liberal supermajority.
https://benjamindavidsteele.wordpress.com/2021/04/07/american-leftist-supermajority/
Xplisset, thank you, thank you and thank you even more for your concise and illuminating explanation of the blowback Heather Cox Richardson experienced from a single viewpoint she expressed. I so need to hear your perspective as I might be one of those democratic "elites" that subscribe to Heather's Letters. I say "might be" because I'm not rich nor do I have an Ivy League education.
Obviously, growing up white in America, I missed a lot of horrible things going on in my country. Since some comments mentioned "firehoses" that brought a memory to mind. As a young child, I witnessed on TV police using firehoses to literally "hose people backwards to wash them off the streets." I was so upset and crying and asked my parents, "why were the police doing that?"
I won't repeat what they told me. It was something that only evil people would say to a crying child who saw and understood what injustice is. I am grateful that even though I share their genetic background, I do not share their worldview. Plus, I have generation upon generation of "good people" genes in me.
I really value the work you do and the way your mind works. And thanks for defending Heather, she is another gem that helps preserve my sanity in this insane country right now.
I actually teared up a lil reading this one thx.
She certainly does.
Thanks for staying explicit in describing the shadows and the light today. I also noticed, today, a dubious NYT report of the "glorious" trumpian Commerce Department's brag about 3d quarter growth. When one listens long enough, or reads, it's clear this is due (if accurate) to the affluent class (caste) spending on luxury items and such, while the underdogs suffer. It's harder and harder for me to even keep an eye on the many distortions perpetrated by this regime. It's high time for a "perp-walk"...
Thank you For your comment. Research shows that Social and economic mobility in the United States is being transformed into a caste System from which there is no escape. So many excellent articles on the cost of being poor in the United States of America.
Yes, i saw that, too. The rich spend money and "drive up the economy" - the very same economy that is impoverishing everyone else, and especially the already impoverished.
Nate Silver’s murderous envy for HCR is in plain sight.
I saw that in an interview with some guy that didn't even seem to be aware what he was doing, giving backhanded compliments that were basically wrong, lol. I have a lot of respect for HCR taking that in stride & staying with what's important. There isn't time to deal with all their insecurities, the work is too important.
EXACTLY.
Thank you for writing this essay. Everything you said is on point but i especially appreciated this: “People do not subscribe to her for breaking news” and i think this is so important. I’ve been reading HCR’s Letters since 2018…2019 when a friend shared her Letters with me. And I believe she was already doing the Letters for a while back then. A lot of people today think she just popped out of nowhere in 2025 in time for the political turmoil and that she’s a political commentator that can predict the future. She’s a prominent American historian and has been one for decades. She’s not a ‘breaking news’ journalist on legacy media but they treat her like one by writing these traffic tickets. Brilliant essay!
I wasn't there at the very beginning but started reading fairly early on when friends began to repost her Letters. As someone who used to work in a museum house that represented Quaker abolitionist activity in 19th-century North Carolina, I saw in her audience something I saw in many of our visitors: a hunger for real US history instead of fairy tales, a need for context and a better understanding of how we arrived at our own moment in history. She and historian Joanne Freeman together have brought historical perspectives we increasingly need as both grade schools and colleges allow history to slip away from the curriculum. People like Nate Silver look at the world through such a narrow keyhole, they seem to panic when anyone opens the door to a wider view. Quick! Stuff her into a Category Designated by Capital Letters before she can challenge his authority.
Yes! You articulated further what I wanted to say, “People like Nate Silver look at the world through such a narrow keyhole.” They really do. Silver is in the business of “predictions” with his stats, and though HCR always says she can’t and won’t predict the future, she has a much bigger toolbox with all her historical knowledge than he does. And she can give us an understanding that he just can’t, and I think it gets to him.
I tune into HCR and Joanne Freeman every Saturday morning, too! 🥳
“a hunger for real US history instead of fairy tales, a need for context and a better understanding of how we arrived at our own moment in history.” Rebecca, this in a nutshell is why so many of us turn to HCR to begin our day. I know for myself, it’s not the breaking news, but more the historical context of an event playing out in real time which then gives me the background and much needed hope that change will be for the better if we remain informed and loud.
Great essay from start to finish. An effective response to Mr. cross-my-palm, but it goes beyond him to the myth and assertion of being the "Center" and the Pragmatism that does not mean effective-in-the-real-world as much as it means easy-for-me-right-now.
Ann, thank you thank you.. “Easy-for-me-right-now” is the whole tell.
That’s what I was trying to name. A lot of the “Center” talk is really comfort dressed up as wisdom, and it always gets sold as realism right when it’s asking the most vulnerable people to pay the price. Appreciate you reading it all the way through. Thx again
Strangely enough - I never saw or heard of this "piece". I dont know if I speak for many or any of Dr. Richarson's followers, but her letters have honestly educated me on so much history, and the commonsense way she writes & speaks not only make it interesting - subjects and stories that I either never heard or ignored when I was in high school - but also states the current "news" in ways that I feel makes more sense. I dont get the impression or feeling that she's telling me how to think or understand any particular issue.
This guy, Silver, is just one more blah blah blah (remember Charlie Brown videos?) Social media has become more an individual or group way to feel important - period.
I'm 87, and yes vote as a Democrat, and the older establishment Democratic Party needs and must be re-structured! I dont have an answer for what has become of the Republican "party" these days. I remember when the two parties actually cooperated and compromised.
And if you truthfully listen - LISTEN - to the members of the GOP? Their current "rule" is never compromise with the other party.
So - exactly how is that statement bad-mouthing the GOP? It's not alternative facts - its the truth!
Thank you so much, X
really good post!
Maggie
Agree. I never saw Silvers post and I think of him as irrelevant.
HCR is a daily refreshing read for me.
I share that frustration Maggie. Trump and the maga GOP deserve all the criticism they get. That's not "moral purity", it's truth.
Maggie, I’m 68 and wholeheartedly agree with you re: the older establishment Democratic party. Specifically, they need to make way for more vibrant and savvy (young) candidates who are not willing to capitulate because of some unrealistic belief that the opposing party will hold up their end of the “bargain”, even though said party has shown again & again they have no interest in doing any such thing.
Well said. One side can lie about a stolen election while perfection is demanded from the other
And too often Democrats fall into bothside-ism…We need to start telling maga-ites to STFU.
The police metaphor lands hard. Silver's critique of Richardson feels like prioritization failure when CBS is pulling 60 Minutes segments for political reasons. The irony is that FiveThirtyEight's model-driven approach was supposed to depoliticize analysis but Silver's own framing here (Tea Party comparisons, "Richardsonism") shows how even data journalists operate within narrative wars. What's missing is acknowledgment that Richardson's audience isn't consuming her for breaking news forensics, they're consuming for contextual sense-making in information overload, which is a diffrent editorial standard entirely.
It sure sounds like the pecking order has been disrupted by Professor Richardson, and the old guard resents the hell out of the disruptor being a woman. Why am I not the least bit surprised?
Thanks for your analysis.
I appreciate the contrast between the traffic ticket (penalizing someone for a minor violation) and the national emergency. But it endorses a toxic underlying assumption.
Continuing with the traffic ticket analogy, this is someone telling us that he owns the street, or at least he has the right to post one-way-traffic-signs on it, and that Dr. Richardson is being a bad person because she is driving the "wrong way" on this street.
People sometimes ask me, old white guy to old white guy, what "privilege" means. I try to respond with examples, and this looks like a good one.
What gives Silver the privilege (the societally-recognized right) to post a "My Way" sign on the road and expect the rest of us to treat it as enforceable?
Dismissing Silver's complaint as if he is complaining about a minor traffic violation cedes to him an acknowledgement that he has the privilege to lay out the facts and the rules of the road.
Getting us used to the idea that he has such a privilege (and others do not) is more valuable by far than whether we actually impose consequences on any one person that he could describe as a violator.
Very very good point Cem.
HCR is the only reason I joined Substack when I left the cesspool that Facebook has become a few months ago.
Her measured and well researched daily articles really shine a light on current US political affairs interwoven with historical events (I’m British but hold a horrified fascination for the Trump era)
Her writings will become an important piece of history in their own right in years to come. She is bound to attract criticism as the truth is often very uncomfortable to face if you are on the ‘wrong’ side.
Long may she continue her great work!
Helen, same. Listen a lot of us came to Substack because we needed something steadier than the social media cesspool.
And I do truly appreciate this outside perspective you lend. Sometimes it takes someone looking in from across the ocean to name how surreal the Trump era has been, and why HCR’s mix of history plus daily reality feels like a lifeline. You’re right too, truth attracts heat, especially from the side that needs the story to stay comfortable.
We have our own problems here in the UK believe me!
The rise of the far right is very worrying to witness, with Nigel Farage, leader of the ‘Reform’ party currently way ahead in polls. He is dodgy af and this is why I am a paid subscriber to the journalist Sam Bright who digs deep into his background. I am tentatively hopeful that by the time our general election comes around in 4 years’ time that he will have been completely exposed as the billionaire fraud he is. He would do so much harm to our country 😢
Let what is happening in the US be a salutary lesson to us all when it comes to extreme right wing politics.
Take care and I hope you have a very happy Christmas! 😊
We have similar "dodgy" players in Canada, exploiting the same techniques Charlie Kirk used to indoctrinate college youth. Dreadful people.
She brought me to Substack, too.
HCR
Sorry- HCR helps calm the noise of the daily barrage of “horrified fascination “/ mesmerizing train wreck that is Donald Trump. Just when it seems the administration can get no worse IT DOES! As a voter who has always shown up for the past 49 years to vote at every level-local to national it is horrifying to face every time that our country drifts further and further from the American ideal. Calling my representatives doesn’t make an impact, voting doesn’t make an impact and shouting into the void certainly doesn’t, alas, even protesting doesn’t move the needle. In my world, there are so few of my friends and relatives that have not succumbed to whatever opium MAGA secretes - HCR is an intelligent voice that keeps her cool and reminds me that resistance and focus is important even on the endless long march of history. She is wisdom and clarity personified.
Nate Silver does not matter.
Yikes! Talk about pearl clutching! I look forward to and value reading HCR. Sometimes she seems to project a bit too modern an impulse to this or that historical figure, or try to wedge some historical incident into her take on a modern one. But so what? I can think two things at once. She has a great knowledge of history but if I sense her take goes somewhat astray from the historical, I see it and reserve judgment on her particular slant. It’s not that hard.