We had a great, wide-ranging discussion yesterday about everything from reflexive control to Tennessee to Clarence Thomas to the intel leak. Here are some things I referenced that might be worth checking out, even if you missed the discussion:
We speculated whether the intel leak could be a savvy state actor employing reflexive control or just some yahoo in his mom’s basement. From today’s reporting in the Washington Post, it looks like a yahoo in his mom’s basement (which was my vote).
Re Tennessee: If you aren’t following David Pepper on Twitter (or aren’t on Twitter) you can check out his Substack, Pepperspectives . David is the author of Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call From Behind the Lines and he has been sounding the alarm for a while that the fascist threat is coming from inside the (state)house. (He’s also my law school classmate and I am hoping will be a guest speaker for the class soon!)
There’s often too much legal stuff for even me to keep up with. We discussed the abortion decision and I told the class that Steve Vladeck ‘s Substack, One First is my go-to to get up to speed on the nuances of legal issues as they head towards SCOTUS, and also for insight into the inner workings of SCOTUS itself. Steve has a book coming out, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic (I already preordered my copy, I can’t wait to read it!)
We discussed how we believe the children are our future: I recommended following Victor Shi on Twitter, or checking out his YouTube show, On the Move, to have a pulse on what the kids are thinking these days.
Finally, join me on Notes! I’m still figuring it out, but it’s a new space on Substack for us to share links, short posts, quotes, photos, and more. I plan to use it for things that don’t fit in the newsletter, like work-in-progress or quick questions. Hopefully I can wean off of Twitter! Head to substack.com/notes or find the “Notes” tab in the Substack app. As a subscriber to The Freedom Academy with Asha Rangappa, you’ll automatically see my notes. Feel free to like, reply, or share them around!
You can also share notes of your own. I hope this becomes a space where every reader of The Freedom Academy with Asha Rangappa can share thoughts, ideas, and interesting quotes from the things we're reading on Substack and beyond.
We also discussed how the news can get depressing and make you feel like putting on sweatpants and day drinking. If so, turn OFF the news and social media and get some fresh air — it’s gonna be a long fight and we need you!
Thank you for considering my question. I find the unprecedented manipulation we are experiencing these days to be important. And I'm looking for answers wherever I can. Thank you for having me here.
That photo of you with the captain reminds me of a time when I was in New York wrangling some unicorns at some deep-state function; I made my way to the back of the house and there stood their goddess. She put one of those paper bracelets on my wrist and it gave me special powers: I could drink beer all night and it didn’t cost a dime.
*yes, I always tipped the bar tender