-
2 months ago | 
civic-texts.ghost.io | Alexander Howard |Alex Howard
Good afternoon from Washington, where yesterday’s snowfall is melting faster than ethics standards and watchdogs in the Trump administration. Glad to see more folks subscribing to Civic Texts today: thank you.
-
Jan 25, 2025 | 
civic-texts.ghost.io | Alexander Howard |Alex Howard
Good morning from frigid Washington DC. It was quite a week. Thank you to new subscribers and long-standing members. Like many of you, I have been following the torrent of executive actions Trump has taken since he was sworn in on Monday. If you need to tune out to protect your mental health, I get it. Switching your civic information diet to "slow news" in print may be healthier for many people.
-
Jan 15, 2025 | 
civic-texts.ghost.io | Alexander Howard |Alex Howard
Good evening from Washington, where I’m feeling cautious optimism about a ceasefire in Gaza, followed by a surge in humanitarian aid and return of hostages to their families. Thanks to everyone who has subscribed to CivicTexts since I last wrote, particularly the members who are supporting this work. The information environment we see in the United States in January 2025 is bad. It’s all about to get much worse, I think, at historically hysterical levels.
-
Jan 10, 2025 | 
civic-texts.ghost.io | Alexander Howard |Alex Howard
Good evening from Washington, where more snow is inbound later tonight. If you’re receiving this newsletter, it’s because you subscribed to Civic Texts: so glad to see more of you in this new year! Many thanks to everyone who tuned in, turned on, and kept up in 2024. My analytics say that 50-60% of you consistently are opening each dispatch. Based on my experience sending email newsletters over the past two decades, that's phenomenal and speaks you wanting to hear from me.
-
Jan 9, 2025 | 
civic-texts.ghost.io | Alexander Howard |Alex Howard
Good evening from Washington, where I am still learning and relearning the lesson not to compose newsletters in the content management system. If you're reading this, you're subscribed to the first edition of Civic Texts in the year. Buckle up: I have a few things to say!Last night, I joined a long queue of Americans wrapping around 2nd Street waiting to pay our respects to President Carter at 11 PM on a frigid January night.
-
Nov 14, 2024 | 
civic-texts.ghost.io | Alexander Howard |Alex Howard
Good afternoon from Washington, where I’ve been spending much of the past week reflecting on what has happened and what’s yet to come. Thanks to everyone who has subscribed and become a member. I wanted to make sure you were aware of some important, good news that is likely to be overshadowed by the furor over President-elect Trump’s nomination of unfit nominees: by a vote of 50-46, the Senate just confirmed David Huitema to be the Director of the Office Government Ethics for a 5-year term.
-
Oct 29, 2024 | 
civic-texts.ghost.io | Alexander Howard |Alex Howard
I am grateful to have been able to cycle down to the National Mall tonight to bear witness to history with my daughter, for many reasons. We joined tens of thousands of Americans, as the crowd spilled out of the Ellipse south of the White House and stretched up to the Washington Monument. Young and old, kids with parents, students and friends, in all of the District’s glorious diversity.
-
Sep 10, 2024 | 
nytimes.com | Alexander Howard
While each of these events took place in a different country with its own laws, together they demonstrate a sudden shift in the balance of power between governments and technology companies. We are nearer to the end of impunity for tech titans who have evaded accountability for the offline harms and societal disruptions wrought by the platforms that built their fabulous wealth.
-
Aug 8, 2024 | 
civic-texts.ghost.io | Alexander Howard |Alex Howard
Hello from rainy DC! Alex here with an especially civic text, sent much later than normal. Maybe you’re up late? Or you’re reading this tomorrow morning? Regardless, I have good news about our government that will be overlooked. It‘s the sort of thing that I bet you subscribed to learn about, in fact.
-
Jun 18, 2024 | 
civic-texts.ghost.io | Alexander Howard |Alex Howard
Good morning from shady upstate New York, where I've retreated from the heat and humidity of DC to celebrate Father's Day with my Dad and then his 80th birthday. Alex Howard here, with another civic text. As a reminder, if you find these newsletters interesting, useful, or insightful, I hope you'll upgrade to a paid membership and share them widely with your networks. You can always find me at [email protected] with comments, feedback, questions, or other concerns.
