I'm optimistic about politics long-term because facts beat ideology, eventually. #LiberalValues

Libertarians who hold up the Constitution as ideal need to address the Articles of Confederation. It's a problem for them because it proves most of the Founders they usually revere accepted the view that they had been living with too little federal government power. And there was contentious debate about these changes and no clear answers and what we ended up with was only a compromise. Understanding our past as history and not religion should empower a healthier civics today. #LiberalValues

If you're fine with Trump skipping the debate, why did you make such a big deal about Biden needing to debate Trump in 2020? is it ok for Biden not to debate RFK Jr? Or for Hotez etc to refuse to debate RFK Jr?

I want to find a way to make it a norm that every public intellectual of any sort feels obligated to publicly engage in good faith with their most qualified critics regularly. #LiberalValues

“Mr President, you have people that submit information and we have our people that submit information. And then it comes before the court and the court then has to make a determination. We have to stand by our numbers. We believe our numbers are right.”

This is epistemology. What's "true" depends on integrity, curiosity and empathy. A refusal to lie or be bullied. The desire to know and will to find out. An acceptance that other good faith perspectives might be as valid as yours. #LiberalValues

"Mainstream" just means the media personality or outlet is the recipient of a boost to their reach from wealthy people and corporations. It doesn't mean they are popular with the public, but just that they are saying something the monied interests want more people to hear. #SellingOut

Decentralization, no ads or algorithms, eliminates their power to turn money into attention. It will continue to be strongly resisted by them and their willing collaborators for exactly this reason. #LiberalValues

The opposite of a liberal (Enlightenment thinker, not lefty) is a #troglodyte (cave dweller, ala the Allegory of the Cave). Not a careful media consumer or critical thinker. Someone unwilling to engage with HQ criticism from other perspectives. Kinda an NPC or sheeple but w/o any ideological or partisan spin. And it implies the ability to change, to leave the cave. Not dumb, but some combination of being unaware they're misinformed or too scared/lazy to challenge their own biases. #LiberalValues

"Nothing appears more surprizing to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers. When we enquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find, that, as Force is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion." - David Hume #LiberalValues

Corporate #media is a problem, but one imo we're addressing via #decentralization and by moving to models of more direct support of #journalism. We have to be careful though & not allow that switch to mean we only increase the demand for coverage that serves our biases. Support has to be thought of as provided in the public interest.

So what about the other major way we understand the world, #science (mainly funded by govt grants AFAIK)? How do we ensure that's done fairly too? #LiberalValues

I'm here on the #fediverse cause I want a town square and I don't think anybody else wants to provide that. It's not possible with ads, outsourced algorithms or nuanced moderation focused on anything more than eliminating assholes. #LiberalValues

Capitalism is the conspiracy in plain site. That one's ability to concentrate wealth should lessen their need to compromise with others else as equals. That we would allow anyone to corner the market on anything. This is why you tax billionaires out of existence and disallow mega mergers. Cause it's bad for democracy. #LiberalValues

Frustrated with my fellow lefties being unwilling to accept that a SCOTUS that doesn't give them the rulings they want can still be legitimate. Based on what the law says, these were proper decisions AFAIK. We may want a different world, but it's not up to the courts to make that happen. Yes, it sucks, but it's how this needs to work to maintain a functional democracy. #LiberalValues

We're all blind men feeling up the elephant, screaming that it's like a rope or a wall or a tree or a snake or a spear or a fan, limited by our subjective experience of what is probably an objective reality. We only know better through good faith conversation, relaying what we understand to be true and incorporating the perspectives of others. That which helps us do this better, moving us along our only sustainable path to a better life for all, are #LiberalValues. Curiosity, Integrity, Empathy.

Dangerous ideas do exist and are not going away. With a more decentralized media environment, we will also not be able to stop people from accessing them if they choose. Attempts to censor and avoid them in public conversation will only make them seem like an enticing form of forbidden knowledge. We must improve institutions, increase the critical thinking skills of the public and make it our civic responsibility to share our perspectives with those we disagree with in good faith. #LiberalValues

I understand why #RSS is awesome, but I see #ActivityPub as an evolution of it. It lets us forward on the best items and comment on them. I'm frustrated that people see AP as about community and not news. In truth, they are inseparable. We feel connected to others when they acknowledge a shared understanding of the world. That's why defederating is so unhelpful. We need both to have working democracy, empathy and accepted facts to reason about together. #LiberalValues

A history of severe discrimination has ripple effects long beyond when it ends as a practice. Bias will always exist and have unfair effects on some groups. IDK the best way to deal with these problems ASAP as a society. #SCOTUS #affirmativeAction #LiberalValues

So I'm supposed to listen to you about who I should not listen to? This can only lead to tribalism, where groups decide who is off limits and we get stuck in information and opinion bubbles. I recognize there are mental traps people can use against us, but please just educate the public about them and help us use those critical media consumption tools. Democracy will crumble when we allow any class to decide for the rest of us which exchanges of ideas are considered unsafe. #LiberalValues

So what's the libertarian or conservative solution for having really shitty air caused by other countries, maybe even those separated from you by oceans? Where does "freedom" fit into the conversation? Say it's not caused by climate change, but just bad forest management. Humans with basic empathy and reasoning, unclouded by ideology or misled by billions of dollars in propaganda, don't remain mired in these kinds of problems. #LiberalValues

Reason works but empathy must come first. #LiberalValues

I fear what happens when the media decentralization advocates here realize that they are laying the groundwork to allow the people they hate like #RFKjr to reach billions on a completely level playing field to the mainstream gatekeepers they love. But so far, the big name dissidents don't seem interested in the revolutionary tech here either. #LiberalValues

I'm a Dewey man myself. I think we can overcome these problems with a civics education that goes beyond the basics, teaching #LiberalValues at the high school level.
https://www.noemamag.com/the-new-media-goliaths