Political Stance & Accusations - Texas Democrats accuse Republicans of authoritarianism, mirroring Donald Trump's tactics [3] - Republicans are allegedly avoiding accountability for their actions, including gutting Medicaid and Medicare, increasing taxes on working-class families, pushing tariffs, shutting down rural hospitals, and considering privatizing Social Security [4][5] - Republicans are accused of rigging the game to steal the 2026 midterm elections [6] - The governor is criticized for using flood relief as a political tool [15] - The richest people in the country are allegedly hijacking the government [13] Legislative Actions & Disputes - The Texas House voted to authorize arrest warrants to compel absent members to return [1][2] - The governor is threatening fines and prosecution against Texas Democrats who left the state [2] - The special session was supposed to be about flood relief after 137 Texans died, but focused on political districts [4][10] - Democrats advocate for nonpartisan redistricting committees to ensure accountability for elected officials [17][18][19] Democratic Response & Strategy - Texas Democratic legislators are portrayed as heroes defending democracy at great personal expense [7] - Texas Democrats are prepared to fight and use available tools to hold Donald Trump and his administration accountable during the 2026 midterm elections [8][20] - Texas Democrats are staying outside of Texas to fight redistricting [9] - A redistricting defense fund is established to support the Democrats' efforts [9]

So after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent end of the Cold War, many experts predicted that democracy would flourish and spread and that Soviet authoritarianism was an aberration. Well, we've had 35 years now to run this natural experiment and to ask whether or not that was actually true. And we're now in a position where we can ask the question, is democracy spreading.And unfortunately the answer to this question is not really. Over the last several decades democracy has faced many many headwi ...

One feature of Germany’s “defensive democracy” is a constitutional provision to ban extremist parties. Many MPs, and over a quarter of Germans, wish to apply it to the hard-right Alternative for Germany, the country’s second-most popular party https://t.co/mlQo2LkpHH ...

The global wave of elections in 2024 was heralded as the first of the artificial-intelligence era. But opinions about what that meant varied. Now one academic panel is explaining the impact of the technology on democracy https://t.co/8cWQyy7VUA ...

RT Elon Musk (@elonmusk)@Mick_O_Keeffe Ireland should leave the EU.All countries should imo. It is destroying democracy in Europe. ...

The targeting of a sitting judge in a functioning democracy is unprecedented. It coincides with additional tariffs on Brazilian imports, justified, according to Donald Trump, by the political persecution of Jair Bolsonaro https://t.co/OtPPL9HOns ...

Media & Tech Industry Dynamics - The internet disrupted blue America, leading to a collapse in newspaper revenue from approximately $70 billion in 2000 [1] - Tech companies are challenging the state's traditional roles, leading to conflict as their share of the global pie expands [2] - The media industry's hostility towards tech stems from the shrinking of their share of the American pie as the network's influence grows [2] - The shift from state to network is exemplified by individuals moving from traditional media outlets like the NYT to platforms like Substack [2] Journalism & Media Criticism - Legacy media is defined as the non-consensual invasion of privacy for profit, with multi-billion dollar media corporations acting as dotcoms [4][5] - Journalists are often portrayed as con men who flatter individuals to gain information and then twist it to create negative stories [5] - The traditional media model is being challenged by individual creators who are building their own distribution channels to avoid distortion [11][12] - Blue journalism is a network of blues, and the blue journalists deny that Substack is journalism [97] Tech Industry Strategy & Future - Tech companies should focus on building their own distribution to avoid distortion by traditional media [11][12] - The industry needs to build internet-first media based on decentralized cryptographic truth to replace the paper record [34][39] - The future involves a ledger of record with cryptographically verifiable feeds and AI-generated articles, offering a stronger form of truth [37][39][44]

We are so fortunate to live in a country built on capitalism and democracy. ...

Ukraine’s latest political drama ended with what felt almost like an anticlimax. But the outcome is a clear win for the country’s democracy https://t.co/1ttfoWRJah ...

Joining me now is Texas Democratic Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher. Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.Thanks, Kristen. I'm glad to be with you. Well, we're really glad to have you.Let's start with your event with Leader Jeff today. Both of you saying, "Look, there are a lot of ways to fight this new map." I'm curious, what do you think is the best strategy. How do you see this flight playing out.Well, I think there are a couple of things, Kristen, and I'm really glad tha ...