Erika Wittekind

@erikalyn@newsie.social
423 Followers
383 Following
2.1K Posts

Contributing writer to The Mary Sue. Freelancer. News junkie. Former nonfiction editor. She/her.

Believer in democracy, science, gun control, local journalism, and empathy. Mom to two cats and two teen boys.

Dane County, WI

https://www.themarysue.com/author/erika-wittekind/

Cover image: My photo of an art installation by Molly Valentine Dierks, Franconia Sculpture Park

Verified Journalist ℠https://www.verifiedjournalist.org/people/@erikalyn@newsie.social
Erika WittekindJul 13, 2024
Sue StoneJul 13, 2024

'Bringing some Dark Brandon energy': Internet loves Biden's fiery rally in Michigan - Raw Story

https://www.rawstory.com/dark-brandon-biden-rally-internet-loves/

'Bringing some Dark Brandon energy': Internet loves Biden's fiery rally in Michigan

President Joe Biden came out swinging at his campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, on Friday, armed with a volley of zingers against former President Donald Trump, self-deprecating jokes about his own age, a laundry list of his policy accomplishments and plans for a second term, and unabashed defianc...

Raw Story - Celebrating 20 Years of Independent Journalism
Erika WittekindJul 13, 2024
Ali VelshiJul 13, 2024

“The Dobbs decision is just the beginning,” reads the foreword of Project 2025, which mentions abortion 199 times. Don’t be fooled by Trump's attempt to distance himself from #Project2025 & right-wing anti-abortion policies. 🚨 #Velshi goes #InsideProject2025.

https://www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/watch/-the-dobbs-decision-was-just-the-beginning-inside-project-2025-214805061511

'The Dobbs decision was just the beginning': Inside Project 2025

“The Dobbs decision is just the beginning,” reads the forward of Project 2025, officially titled "Mandate for Leadership - The Conservative Promise.” The 900+ page document isn’t just some wild conservative wishlist. It’s full of highly detailed policy proposals with plans for how to carry them out if Trump re-enters the White House. Every weekend, ‘Velshi’ digs into a new section or issue to reveal exactly what’s in this “mandate.”  Abortion is mentioned 199 times throughout Project 2025 – the blueprint aims to prevent abortion from “the moment of conception” - which would likely involve establishing so-called “personhood” rights for embryos and fetuses, as well as banning abortion pills and the like. So the RNC’s supposed softening on abortion by not including a federal ban in its official platform is dishonest, at best. After all, by our count, at least seven people who wrote the RNC’s 2024 platform have close connections to Project 2025.

MSNBC
Erika WittekindJul 13, 2024
Aaron RuparJul 13, 2024
Bernie Sanders: “Enough! Mr. Biden may not be the ideal candidate, but he will be the candidate and should be the candidate. And with an effective campaign that speaks to the needs of working families, he will not only defeat Mr. Trump but beat him badly. It’s time for Democrats to stop the bickering and nit-picking.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/13/opinion/joe-biden-president.html?unlocked_article_code=1.600.n-KC.Mzg5aHVGUeEL&smid=url-share
Opinion | Bernie Sanders: Joe Biden for President

Enough! It’s time for Democrats to stop the bickering and nit-picking.

The New York Times
Erika WittekindMay 26, 2024
Jeff JarvisMay 25, 2024

Good Lord. The Washington Post blew this, choosing not to report on the Alitos' (plural) flag at the time, dredging it up now, masking the failure amid background paragraphs. Democracy dies in terrible, irresponsible, credulous, complicit news judgment. Shame.

Wife of Justice Alito called upside-down flag ‘signal of distress’ https://wapo.st/4dS1BCf

Wife of Justice Alito called upside-down flag ‘signal of distress’

In January 2021, Martha-Ann Alito said the flag, a symbol embraced by election deniers, was raised outside her home in response to a neighborhood dispute.

The Washington Post
Erika WittekindMay 26, 2024
Chris GeidnerMay 25, 2024
Saturday's Washington Post report raises many questions — several relating to the fact that the Post, at least passively, made the decision not to reveal the (first) Alito flag story many times since 2021. https://www.lawdork.com/p/washington-post-bombshell-washington
Washington Post bombshell: Washington Post buried Alito flag story for three years

Saturday's report raises many questions, several relating to the fact that the Post, at least passively, made the decision not to reveal this news many times since 2021.

Law Dork
Erika WittekindMay 18, 2024
Peter GleickMay 18, 2024
Map of US train system in 1890 and today.
Erika WittekindMay 12, 2024
emptywheelMay 12, 2024

Another Maggie Haberman NYT Story Covers Up Oleg Deripaska's Role

https://www.emptywheel.net/2024/05/12/another-maggie-haberman-nyt-story-covers-up-oleg-deripaskas-role/

Another Maggie Haberman NYT Story Covers Up Oleg Deripaska's Role - emptywheel

NYT and other media outlets are burying the truly scandalous details of Trump's willingness (and second thoughts) about bringing Paul Manafort back onto a campaign role: his role (witting or not) in Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

emptywheel
Erika WittekindMay 10, 2024
ClareMay 10, 2024
I don’t have dark skies anymore, but if you do, and have clear skies, keep an eye on the night this weekend. A G3/G4 solar storm is predicted this weekend. That could spark Aurora all the way down to the southern US.
Show threadErika WittekindMay 8, 2024
@JamesWNeal It's on the old Foxconn site. That alone makes it big news throughout Wisconsin. I'm seeing some national coverage too.
Erika WittekindMay 4, 2024
Black IntellectMay 4, 2024
Why did colleges call the police on student protests? - https://www.vox.com/24147461/columbia-gaza-encampment-campus-protests-police-crackdown-pro-palestinian-students
Why did colleges call the police on student protests?

Deescalating conflict around protests was possible — but many colleges turned to law enforcement instead.

Vox
×
Peter GleickMay 18, 2024
Map of US train system in 1890 and today.
Show threadPatrick Johanneson 🚀 🇨🇦May 18, 2024
@petergleick Passenger trains, one assumes. I imagine the freight network has a lot more in common with the red spiderweb in the first image.
Show threadRichard Martin-NielsenMay 18, 2024
As @pjohanneson guesses the overall network is denser but very little is used for passenger traffic. I also suspect that the “capillaries” of sidings and short lines weren’t visible in the older map and are largely gone today. Map from @openrailwaymap
@petergleick
Show threadPatrick Johanneson 🚀 🇨🇦May 18, 2024
@rmartinnielsen @openrailwaymap @petergleick The times I've traveled on Via in Canada, one major component of the experience was waiting for not-insignificant chunks of time for a freight train to pass so that we could continue.
Show threadglasspshrMay 18, 2024

@rmartinnielsen @pjohanneson @openrailwaymap @petergleick

attn @12thRITS

Show threadChu 朱May 18, 2024

@petergleick

#Capitalism was supposed to make life better, no?

This is just corruption to the core.

Show threadJonathan D. Cope, Esq.May 18, 2024
@chu @petergleick
No. Making life better for those other than the owners of the means of production under any definition of traditional capitalism cannot be inferred.
Show threadJonathan D. Cope, Esq.May 19, 2024
@chu @petergleick
The problem lies with traditional capitalism which has been around for 400 years. But tens of millions of workers could receive excellent wages and Nordic-style social benefits under #CommonsCapitalism which would substanially increase their standards of living. The poor would be raised up out of poverty. Ownership of the means of production would stop accumulating in the wealthy.
Show threadJairaj DevadigaMay 19, 2024
@chu @petergleick Ah yes, capitalism is when the government consolidates twenty railroads into one monopoly.
Show threadBob DavidsonMay 18, 2024

@petergleick

as late as the 1960s we used to take the train from Washington state to visit relatives in San Antonio, Tx. It seems like things really fell apart in the 1980s under Reagan’s deregulation.

Show threaddr_aMay 18, 2024
@wa7iut @petergleick I think a pretty good case could be made that Regan and spiritual heirs are some of the worst things that ever happened to the US.
Show threadJohn Watson 🇺🇸🇨🇦May 18, 2024
@petergleick But hey, we now have poorly run airlines so we’re good…
Show threadAshley ReynoldsMay 18, 2024
@petergleick I’d love to boost - can you add AltText, please?
Show threadunlucio 🌍 May 18, 2024
@petergleick I'm surprised they have trains in the south and they don't think is some demonic thing out to get them.
Show threadBenjamin EuniceMay 18, 2024
@unlucio @petergleick They don't even show in that map the I-20 corridor rail that will connect Meridian, MS through North Louisiana to Dallas. I was surprised that there are some mayors on the corridor that are actively pushing for an Amtrak service to run through.
Show threadDrew GilmoreMay 18, 2024
@petergleick that’s not even today - it’s a proposed new expansion map. (I can tell because it shows Amtrak in Nashville. I wish!)
Show threadHiker Geek 🌲💻🌲May 18, 2024

@petergleick

I found this map of active rail lines as of 2023. Is it wrong?

Show threadHiker Geek 🌲💻🌲May 18, 2024

@petergleick

I was reading a little more about passenger rail in the US and it seems buses have a slightly lower carbon footprint per mile than trains. I was surprised.

They are both a lot less than cars. Forget about planes' footprint.

Show threadHiker Geek 🌲💻🌲May 18, 2024

@petergleick

That was for passenger travel.

For shipping rail is 4x less CO2 than using trucks.

Show threadsmxiMay 20, 2024

@HikerGeek @petergleick you can look up carbon and energy use per passenger mile. Cars are obviously worst by far, and bicycles best, but air travel is surpringly competitive on some routes. High speed rail however is not great by that metric. But has advantage that can be fully electrified thus offering diverse energy sources, not just carbon fuels.

Many come down to occupancy, particularly relevant in buses trains. Airlines can't make profit if planes aren't near full so optimized.

Show threadMichael MarekMay 18, 2024
@petergleick My state has had zero rail passenger service for so long, nobody would be likely to use it if it magically came back.
Show threadNicole ParsonsMay 18, 2024

@petergleick

Why did a world leader in rail technology abandon that lead?

Robber barons killed off the US railway system by not investing in innovation and by sucking profits out of the business. Vulture capitalism.

Timothy Mellon is too busy funding a fascist movement instead of focusing on his businesses.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/timothy-mellon-top-donor-to-trump-super-pac-used-racial-stereotypes-to-describe-african-americans-in-his-autobiography/2020/06/18/89206c5a-a742-11ea-b619-3f9133bbb482_story.html

https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2024/05/01/railroad-owned-by-rfk-jr-s-megadonor-repeatedly-violated-environmental-and-safety-laws/

https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/us-politics/timothy-mellon-and-the-political-peril-of-dynastic-wealth/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Railways

https://www.notus.org/2024-election/timothy-mellon-rfk-trump-donor

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/10/06/timothy-mellon-texas-border-wall/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1981/10/07/timothy-mellon-rushes-to-build-rail-network/f6e66c63-50c4-4a00-8a25-75aa40b6292f/

Timothy Mellon, top donor to Trump super PAC, used racial stereotypes to describe African Americans in his autobiography

Mellon, whose family fortune dates to the Gilded Age, gave $30 million in just five months to support Trump and Republicans.

The Washington Post
Show threadNicole ParsonsMay 18, 2024

@petergleick

A history of how incompetent heirs of dynastic wealth drive businesses into the ground.
Tim Mellon would rather fund an anti-democracy movement than run a business successfully.
https://www.rawstory.com/timothy-mellon/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am_Railways

https://www.trains.com/ctr/railroads/timelines-book-reviews/delaware-hudson-the-final-years-1968-to-1991-book-review/

https://www.trains.com/ctr/railroad-stories/railfan/guilfords-dave-fink-cast-a-long-shadow/

Texas has raised $54 million in private donations for its border wall -- and almost all of it came from this one billionaire

An out-of-state billionaire who has previously bankrolled attempts to defend controversial immigration laws is responsible for nearly all the donations to Gov. Greg Abbott's $54 million border wall fund.A member of one of America's richest family dynasties, Timothy Mellon, contributed nearly 98% of ...

Raw Story - Celebrating 20 Years of Independent Journalism
Show threadcthululemonMay 18, 2024
@petergleick
Why you gotta do us like that on a Saturday?
Show threadLeoMay 18, 2024
@petergleick This cannot be true, right? How is that possible? It looks very much like just a map of the most important lines or something
Show threadGraham WattMay 18, 2024

@petergleick

A nice pair of maps would be China then and now, of their adoption of rail.

Show threadGodfrey642May 19, 2024
@petergleick
Jeez
So Wyoming and Idaho have a good as no #railways at all??
Staggering at a time when ppl need to transition away from FFs..
Show threadNazaniMay 19, 2024
@petergleick
Unused railroad tracks are a good place to look for endangered plants, such as remnants of the original prairie.
Show threadplanetf1May 20, 2024

@petergleick even with such a smaller land area, I lament the loss of many lines we had in the UK 60 years ago. And even worse the fact many routes were then not protected, and sold off for housing/commercial development - so no chance of reinstating.

The lately we tried HS2 (our second high speed ie > 125 mph line). That's half canned.

This is one area that is AMAZING in china. Travelled on high speed (300/350 kmh) over there multiple times. fast, prompt, clean, brilliant.