Yes, there were stresses and overreach: Authorities cracking down on pool halls, net bars, etc., shutting down stores and street vendors. Corruption was rampant, and people in power routinely used their authority to squash business competitors or evade punishment by the law.

This is what many people don't get: Prior to Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party survived because it wasn't heavy handed or intrusive. You could do pretty much whatever you wanted in China as long as it didn't involve politics or religion or challenge the Party in any way.

Xi Broke the Social Contract That Helped China Prosper https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/01/opinion/china-covid-protests.html

If this had been in place in previous elections, the candidacies of Sanders, Warren, and Pete! would have died in childbirth, and many others would have died in infancy.

Biden urges Dems to scrap Iowa, elevate South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan in early presidential primaries https://politi.co/3XT2mmn

Appeals Court Scraps Special Master Review in Trump Documents Case https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/01/us/politics/trump-special-master.html

Kanye West’s Deal to Buy Parler Has Been Terminated https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/kanye-west-parler-deal-terminated-1235447337/

Uvalde officials say local prosecutor impeded investigation into police response to shooting https://www.texastribune.org/2022/12/01/uvalde-school-shooting-lawsuit-city-district-attorney/

Wordle 531 3/6*

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60 years ago, Billboard #8 for the week of Nov. 26, 1962: He's A Rebel - The Crystals https://youtu.be/aF7V2dSvxpo

50 years ago, Billboard #9 for the week of Nov. 26, 1972: The Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin https://youtu.be/9muzyOd4Lh8

The underlying subtext here is that the conviction dramatically increases the odds that Donald Trump himself may be charged in relation to Jan. 6. The trial was a proof of concept. Now that the jury has weighed in, it makes a trial of Trump more viable.

It Was a Conspiracy. And It Was Sedition. by Charlie Sykes https://open.substack.com/pub/morningshots/p/it-was-a-conspiracy-and-it-was-sedition

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The (Nonpartisan) Polls Were Fine, Actually https://www.thebulwark.com/the-nonpartisan-polls-were-fine-actually/

Twitter has become the premier place on the internet to find this. Without news providers or newsmakers, the other sites will never fill this niche.

I get the fact that some people like the lack of scale at Mastodon and CounterSocial, but the main value of Twitter to me has been its scale. When looking for a Twitter alternative, I'm not looking for chat or messaging. I'm looking for interactive news and commentary.

Elon Musk’s Twitter Politics Add to Pressure on Tesla’s Brand Image https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musks-twitter-politics-add-to-pressure-on-teslas-brand-image-11669764014

What about media companies like HBO and Netflix? They are able to survive on user fees. However, they can do so only when they are able to offer premium, high-demand content that cannot be found anywhere else. That's why Netflix is now in trouble.