The Threat To Democracy Is Real — And Imminent December 19, 2024 So says Senator Chris Murphy: . . . I don’t think there are signs that the media is folding. They are folding. They are. We’re watching them fold. I don’t exactly know why Elon Musk decided to fold his entire operation into the White House, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that he got rich off of government policy, whether it be tax credits on electric vehicles or subsidies for his space business. He’s just much better off being integrated into power. I don’t know why Comcast decided to sell MSNBC, but maybe it has to do with the fact that they decided they don’t want to get crosswise with Donald Trump because they have lots of business interests that intersect with the government. I don’t know why Jeff Bezos, for the first time ever, told The Washington Post not to endorse, but maybe it’s because his bread is often buttered by government policy. I don’t know why ABC decided to settle a bogus lawsuit, but maybe … Listen . . . when the media decides to start hedging, or not telling the full story, combined with people being reluctant to engage in political opposition because they fear they will land in jail, that’s just not a democracy any longer. And it’s not like we’re six months away from that. It feels like we might be a month away from a world in which people start to retreat from politics for fear of criminal prosecution, and the media just uses kid gloves in dealing with the regime. Worth reading or listening in full. So what do we do? I called 1-800-CHATGPT. (No joke.) “How do we keep from losing our democracy?” I asked. “That’s a big question,” she replied, and proceeded to give me a sensible response, albeit no silver bullet. She concluded by asking me “what sparked your interest in this?” I said, “The possible prosecution of Liz Cheney.” And off she went with another interesting response about the rule of law. I have no idea how 1-800-CHATGPT and “LLMs” can possibly work, but it is clear we are hurtling toward a brave new world. I would like to see it be a world of democracy and decency. “Stay engaged,” 1-800-CHATGPT advised.