4/8/18 discussion about American viewpoints on guilt and the law

Here is the link to a Twitter thread I made in April of 2018 regarding what I saw as various American political viewpoints regarding guilt and the law.

The thread uses the books Redeeming the Dream: The Case for Marriage Equality, Seduction of the Innocent, and The Secret History of Wonder Woman to look at how public opinion about guilt is often shaped more by concepts of the general intelligence of human beings, the general sinfulness or innocence of human beings, and the access human beings have to vice. It counterpoises this public opinion against the concept of due process, which uses evidence and assumes people are innocent until proven guilty.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is pretty badly affected. My apologies.

I also have to say that, even despite the way Twitter has mangled this thread, this is still one of my favorite threads that I've ever written.

4/6/18 discussion about sexual censorship

Here is the link to a Twitter thread I did in April of 2018 about sexual censorship.

This -- very long! -- thread was partly written in reaction to the April, 2018, raid on Backpage, following the passage (not enactment) of FOSTA-SESTA.

My views on FOSTA-SESTA were still mostly focused at that time on the law's effect on freedom of online sexual expression. And I was still trying to work through how my years of study, both with age of consent laws and youth/adult romance and with marriage equality backlash, connected with online sexual expression.

The thread mentions stories such as those of Kaitlyn Hunt, Helen Goddard, the man who tried to marry his laptop, Jocelyn Morffi, Stacey Bailey, Chris Isherwood, Don Bachardy, Mary Kay Letourneau, Vili Fualaau, Ali Michael, and Melanie Martinez. It mentions online expression in conjunction with a Maggie Jones New York Times article on porn and education. And it mentions my own amateur novel, Summer Azure.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is pretty badly affected. My apologies.

4/6/18 discussion of my fanfiction The Direction of a Generation

Here is the link to a Twitter thread I did in April of 2018 that used the engagement of Marc Jacobs and Charly Defrancesco as a starting point for me to talk about my unfinished fanfiction, The Direction of A Generation.

The starting point of the discussion was the fact that Jacobs used the Bruno Mars song "Marry You" to propose. That song is also used in my story. The story is a crossover fanfic about a Jessica Jung-like K-pop character and a Zayn Malik-like British pop character. The thread how I came to write The Direction of a Generation. And it gives a summary of the story as I wrote it. It also discusses why I decided to stop writing it.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is pretty badly affected. My apologies.

4/5/18 discussion about Colorado gun violence security funding

Here is the link to a Twitter thread I did in April of 2018 regarding a $35 million project Colorado put in place to address gun violence in schools.

The thread is based on a number of news articles, as well as the opinions of some of Colorado's legislators. It addresses the debate over putting more security infrastructure and police officers in schools to address gun violence. I state some of my own opinions on this issue.

4/4/18 review of Denver Dems HD5 monthly meeting

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the April, 2018, meeting of the Denver Democrats' Colorado House District 5 monthly meeting.

The thread gives some context on the meeting. The thread gives pictures of, links to websites for, and platform statements by 2018 Colorado Attorney General candidate Amy Padden, Secretary of State candidate Jena Griswold, and US Congress CD-1 candidate Saira Rao. The thread also discusses a presentation by City Council member-at-large Debbie Ortega, and a presentation by Colorado Democrats Chair Morgan Carroll.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is very badly affected. My apologies.

4/3/18 review of Brother Jeff talk with Mike Johnston

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a talk then-gubernatorial candidate Mike Johnston did with Brother Jeff Fard in April of 2018.

The thread gives some background on Mike Johnston and on Brother Jeff. The thread discusses some of the talk's topics, like the Me Too movement in Colorado, Colorado's proposed right to rest law, affordable housing in Colorado, PACs and political campaigns, gun violence, schools and education, the influx of new Colorado residents, and what issues Johnston thought were of the most importance for black Coloradans.

4/3/18 "open letter" to Elon Musk about semiautonomous vehicles

Here is the link to a Twitter thread "open letter" I wrote to Elon Musk in April of 2018 about semiautonomous vehicles.

The thread imagined semiautonomous vehicles being remotely driven via "drive centers," which would be something like call centers for remote vehicle drivers. The thread was based on the idea that people want autonomous vehicles because they don't want to have to think about their drive at all.

I still believe in the demand situation behind my idea. However, what I didn't consider then, and what I think is very true today, is that nobody would want someone driving their remote vehicle from a call center, given the intense fear around technology, surveillance, and privacy -- despite the fact that hopping into a Lyft or an Uber is the same thing on many levels.

4/2/18 review of film Where The Wild Things Are, dir. by Spike Jonze

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the film Where the Wild Things Are, directed by Spike Jonze.

The thread gives a summary of and some context on the film. It discusses some of the Jungian-feeling and archetypal, yet modern aspects of the film. It discusses some of the film's character dynamics. It discusses the film's poetic and dreamlike aspects. It also discusses the wonderful music of the film.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

4/2/18 review of Rep. Crisanta Duran's 2018 H1B visa lottery kickoff speech

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of an H1B visa lottery kickoff then-Speaker of the Colorado State House Crisanta Duran did in April of 2018.

Speaker Duran's talk was with Dr. Maria Navas Moreno, and was about high-skilled immigrants, the value they add to America's economy, the struggles they face in getting appropriate skill-level work visas, especially when a husband and wife are both high-skilled, and how the H1B visa is therefore of high importance.

4/1/18 discussion of some of Jesus's philosophies

Here is the link to a Twitter thread I did on Easter of 2018 about some of Jesus's philosophies.

The thread was basically directed toward the idea that was being debated pretty heavily in my home state, Colorado, as well as being brought before the Supreme Court: should people have the "religious freedom" to deny service to people whose actions don't agree with the service provider's religion. In particular, the question of that moment was, in the US, should Christians have the "religious freedom" to refuse service to LGBTQ people?

The thread uses specific Bible verses to illustrate that making money is opposed to Christianity; that Jesus divided commerce and religion, so that "religious freedom" does not apply to commerce; that Jesus specifically commands people to love and serve everybody, regardless of their religious beliefs or actions; and that Jesus says Christians are immediately and eternally redeemed, so that any of their further actions, including serving non-Christian people, have no impact on their admittance to Heaven.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order on Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

3/31/18 discussion about FOSTA-SESTA

Here is the link to a Twitter thread discussion I did in March of 2018 about the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017, or FOSTA-SESTA.

This thread came after I'd read FOSTA-SESTA a couple of times and had more time to research the sex work industry and how that industry regards issues about sex trafficking. The thread reflects that thought but also my continuing thoughts on freedom of sexual expression, the sexual expression of LGBTQ people, and the way this law seems to target both of those things online. The thread also asks if the online platforms people use every day have gotten so big, they need to be thought of as vehicles of free speech, not just as companies. And it questions sex- and LGBTQ-related police activity and initiatives in my home state of Colorado.

3/30/18 review of Nancy Drew novel The Mystery at Lilac Inn

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the Nancy Drew novel The Mystery at Lilac Inn, by Carolyn Keene, aka Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams.

The thread gives a summary of the novel and some context on the novel, the Nancy Drew series in its various iterations, and the authorship of the series and this particular novel. The thread discusses the novel's plot and structure, Nancy's personality in the story, the story's sense of action and suspense, and some kind of annoying racism in the story. The thread also examines some of the queer, femsocial, and campy aspects of the story.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

3/29/18 review of 2018 Colorado Business Roundtable gubneratorial panel

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the March, 2018, Colorado Business Roundtable Democratic gubernatorial candidates panel.

The thread gives some context on the Colorado Business Roundtable and its Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates panel. The thread discusses some themes of the panel, like education, workforce development, transportation, energy, growth in Colorado, and healthcare. It discusses the views of the panel candidates -- Mike Johnston, Jared Polis, Donna Lynne, and Cary Kennedy -- on each of these themes. I also ask questions of the candidates in this thread, though, as far as I can remember, I did not receive any answers (or even any likes!) from any of the candidates.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is greatly affected. My apologies.

3/29/18 review of talk by CeCe McDonald and Joshua Allen

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a March, 2018, talk given by CeCe McDonald and Joshua Allen at the University of Colorado Denver on the Auraria Campus.

The thread gives a summary of the talk and some context on McDonald, Allen, and their Black Excellence Tour. The thread discusses a lot of themes from the talk, such as helping LGBTQ people in our own families, checking in with our friends, starting locally with helping LGBTQ people, questioning our own privilege, the disproportionate violence trans people of color face, and the media visibility of trans people today.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency has been moderately affected. My apologies.

3/26/18 review of film Isle of Dogs, dir. by Wes Anderson

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the film Isle of Dogs, directed by Wes Anderson.

The thread gives a summary of the film. It discusses the film's animation style, comparisons between the plot and current events, the use of conspiracy theory in the film, the performances in the film, the characters in the film, the film's soundtrack, and a number of themes from the film.

The thread also discusses how I saw this film at a dog-friendly screening (very fun!) held at the Sie FilmCenter by the Denver Film Society.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

3/25/18 reaction to passage of FOSTA-SESTA

Here is the link to my Twitter thread reaction to the March, 2018, passage of FOSTA-SESTA by the US Senate.

The thread gives a summary and some background on HR 1865, the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, or FOSTA-SESTA, as well as my experience with having gotten to understand it over the preceding month. I provide my own perspective on the history of laws like FOSTA-SESTA, why they don't protect kids, and why they hurt women, the LGBTQ community, and freedom of sexual expression, online and in real life. It also discusses my belief, which I amplified over the coming years, that sex work should be totally decriminalized.

My understanding of sex laws, sex work laws, and child exploitation laws, evolved quite a bit after this thread. So while I agree with a lot of what this thread says, I do feel that some of it misses the mark.

The tweets in some of my threads are twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is greatly affected. My apologies.

3/24/18 review of Denver Democrats County Assembly

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the 2018 Denver Democrats County Assembly.

The thread gives a summary of the assembly and some background on the caucus and elections process in Colorado. The thread gives pictures and discusses the platforms of a lot of the 2018 candidates for office, such as Jared Polis, Diana DeGette, Phil Weiser, Jonah Weiss, Julie Gonzales, Erik Underwood, Chantell Taylor, Cary Kennedy, Joe Salazar, Mike Johnston, David Sedbrook, Alex Valdez, Louis Irwin, Meghan Nutting, Saira Rao, Amy Padden, Lesley Smith, and Jena Griswold.

It's incredible to look back on this thread and think about the great work some of these folks are now doing in office. Almost all the people mentioned here are simply good people.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is moderately affected. My apologies.

3/23/18 review of novel Dolly Dingle, Lesbian Landlady, by Monica Nolan

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of the novel Dolly Dingle, Lesbian Landlady, by Monica Nolan.

The thread gives a summary of the novel and some context on Nolan's Lesbian Career-Girl series. The thread discusses the novel as less of pulp and more of a standard novel, as well as a Christmas novel. The thread discusses the novel's central conflict, characters' dramatic arcs, character dynamics, and general entertainment value. The thread also discusses themes like old friendships mellowing out and the conflict of the old versus the new.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.

3/21/18 review of rally for Alex Valdez

Here is the link to my Twitter thread review of a March, 2018, rally for Alex Valdez during his race for Colorado's State House District 5 seat.

The thread gives some background on Valdez. It discusses his thought process on political issues, his orientation around freedom, his commitment to renewable energy, his stance on gun violence, and his ideas on sustainable development. The thread discusses some good points State Representative Leslie Herod gave about Valdez. And it mentions some other great folks who attended and spoke at the rally.

Valdez did win this race and is currently my state representative. He's done a great job.

The tweets in some of my threads have been twisted out of chronological order by Twitter's platform. This thread's coherency is slightly affected. My apologies.