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3 weeks ago | 
andrawatkins.substack.com | Andra Watkins
What gave me HOPE this week:Anyone who’s learned another language (especially later in life) knows it comes and goes. I have one conversation where I’m killing it; everything flows from brain to tongue; and it is beautiful. In the next conversation, I ask for a woman’s crotch full of gelato (coño = woman’s crotch; cono = cone.)But I had a lovely conversation with a cab driver this week.
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3 weeks ago | 
andrawatkins.substack.com | Andra Watkins
In China, “state-sanctioned moral values" comprise WeChat’s Social Credit Score. It is the imposition of a specific code of morality on the Chinese population. That code includes following government orders without question, never saying anything negative about the government or anyone in it, and constantly proving one’s loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. These laws will make up every American’s Social Credit Score and will be non-negotiable.
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3 weeks ago | 
andrawatkins.substack.com | Andra Watkins
Yesterday, our Democracy Reading Group had the honor of sitting down with Dr Marcel Dirsus to discuss his book How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive. A recording of this video interview for Paid Subscribers is included at the end of this newsletter. Paid Subscribers, please join us!If I can provide a link for everyone, I will. I’m also speaking with Blue Tennessee on 12 June. Wednesday. 11 June 2025. Noon eastern. Substack LIVE event with . Why are so many Americans drawn to asshole leaders?
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3 weeks ago | 
andrawatkins.substack.com | Andra Watkins
Don’t forget today’s Democracy Reading Group discussion with Dr Marcel Dirsus for Paid Subscribers! Noon eastern TODAY (3 June 2025.) Zoom link went out yesterday. Click below for the Zoom link:And tomorrow. 4 June 2025. Noon eastern. Join our Substack LIVE with . He is killing it on ideas for Democratic Party messaging. His Substack posts give me a whole new lens to process what’s happening.
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3 weeks ago | 
andrawatkins.substack.com | Andra Watkins
The Zoom link for our Democracy Book Club discussion with Dr Marcel Dirsus is at the bottom of this message. This link is for Paid Subscribers. Please don’t share it with anyone.
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3 weeks ago | 
andrawatkins.substack.com | Andra Watkins
Tomorrow! 3 June 2025! Noon eastern!Our Democracy Reading Group will host Dr Marcel Dirsus, author of How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive. Read more about this event at the link below. I will send out the Zoom link to Paid Subscribers later today. If you aren’t a Paid Subscriber, upgrade to paid at the link below and join us! $8 for one month. $60 for one year. Most readers probably expect me to write about Joni Ernst’s Gaslighting Cemetery Stroll today.
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4 weeks ago | 
andrawatkins.substack.com | Andra Watkins
We are fortunate to have Dr Dirsus join us to discuss his very timely book. I’m looking forward to this discussion. He has been a delight to chat with via email. Paid subscribers, please make plans to attend. WHAT: Democracy Reading Group discussion of How Tyrants Fall and How Nations Survive by Dr Marcel DirsusWHEN: Tuesday, 3 June 2025TIME: Noon easternWHERE: Zoom (I will send out the Zoom link to paid subscribers 24 hours before the live event.)Author discussions are for Paid Subscribers.
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4 weeks ago | 
andrawatkins.substack.com | Andra Watkins
This week has been heavy, hasn’t it? Writing about Project Esther was A LOT. But always remember: Heavy isn’t Hopeless. Fascists and dictators want us to feel HOPELESS. They beat us down and keep us outraged until we give up and say, “What’s the point? It’s hopeless.”What gave me HOPE this week:Sometimes knitting gives me hope. Specifically, my ability to fix colossal screw-ups that seem to happen no matter how many times I count or how much attention I pay.
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1 month ago | 
andrawatkins.substack.com | Andra Watkins
For fifty years, they’ve worked diligently to make 21% of American adults illiterate and ensure that 54% of American adults read below a 6th grade level. (Source: National Literacy Institute)For examples of writing at a 6th grade level, GO HERE. I’ve included a one-paragraph sample below:In the freezing ocean waters of Antarctica, the planet’s largest seals make their home in a frozen world.
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1 month ago | 
andrawatkins.substack.com | Andra Watkins
For the sake of this exercise, let’s say the named group is transgender people, those who provide them healthcare, those who advocate for them, and those who support them. Strategic Objective. The following concrete strategic objective directly supports realization of our strategic goal:Dismantle the (transgender) support network’s infrastructure across America, including but not limited to propaganda, organizations, funds, access, communications, platforms, and people. Desired End State (ES).
