Dan Gillmor

Gene Lyons, the great Arkansas columnist, calls it quits. Why? Donald Trump.

"I just don’t want to spend the rest of my life thinking and writing about him."

https://www.nationalmemo.com/trump-2670718685

Good-Bye And Good Luck: Why I Won't Be Writing Any More Newspaper Columns

After giving the matter some thought, I have decided that I’ve become unsuited to the low art of writing newspaper columns any longer. My deficiencies to participate in the current conversation are many. For one thing, I have never listened to a podcast. I prefer reading things, a more efficient way...

National Memo
Jan 2, 2025 at 12:10amWeb
Show threadDon Raved TipsJan 2, 2025
@dangillmor that 'snippy bitch Siri' lol
Show threadJonChevreau 🇨🇦Jan 2, 2025
@dangillmor many can relate to that!
Show threadBill Sharpe GadflyJan 2, 2025
@dangillmor It dose really suck that we have to see the click bate mug of a old TV wannabe star ENDLESSLY... :(
Bill
Show threadDarren du NordJan 2, 2025

@dangillmor 'Baltimore Sun columnist H.L Mencken predicted all this more than a century ago. “On some great and glorious day,” Mencken wrote in 1917 “the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

Dudes, we’re there. Donald #Trump isn’t merely ignorant, he exists in fear and loathing of anybody who’s not.'

Lyons and Mencken Nailed it.

Show threadR. L.Jan 2, 2025
@dangillmor
I'll second the ''i don't want to think about him"!
Show threadAntonio PetrellaJan 2, 2025
@dangillmor - Quitting over Trump? That’s a weak, cowardly cop-out. Mocking others for avoiding reality while retreating when your own rhetoric loses relevance is pure irony. Writing demands resilience and depth, especially in chaos. Blaming the 'bad man' for quitting is lazy— when beliefs get challenged, a real writer adapts, evolves, and fights harder. Calling it ‘low art’ doesn’t excuse the failure to contribute meaningfully. Maybe quitting is best—good riddance to weak arguments.
Show thread@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNoteJan 2, 2025
@dangillmor It’s a pity he didn’t decide to use his name to help people resist. I get the urge to peace out, I just wish the majority had that option. We don’t.
Show threadPeter BrownJan 2, 2025
@dangillmor soon there will be nothing to write anyway, because dictators don’t like criticism
Show thread4everpushingaboulderJan 2, 2025

@dangillmor I’ve come to the same conclusion myself gradually simce 2016. For me it’s the quote about a near majority wanting it.

“That a near-majority thought him worthy of the presidency is too depressing to contemplate”

I just don’t want to associate with my old colleagues, neighbors, relatives, or many former friends. The knowledge that half of them wanted this, I don’t want to spend another second thinking about them.

Show threadMastokarl 🇺🇦Jan 2, 2025

@dangillmor What a great sentence:

"When chronicles are written about the decline and fall of the American republic, the opening chapters will no doubt describe the founding of Fox News and the cowardly inability of other news organizations to confront the reality of a Soviet-Style propaganda network in their midst."

So so true.