Notices by Teri Kanefield (teri_kanefield@mastodon.social)

I understand the 60 day clock, and the power of the purse, and the War Powers Reolutions, and I understand that Trump's war in Iran is illegal.

However I think the whole "Congress can end this mess" argument is incorrect and simplistic.

To begin with, I don't see any way to "win" at this point.

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Today is an important anniversary.

75 years ago, on April 23, 1951, in Farmville, VA, Barbara Johns led a walkout of her segregated high school to protest the unfair and deplorable conditions of her school.

What?! You don’t know who Barbara Johns was?

She led her walkout more than 4 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, and before MLK, Jr. embraced nonviolence as the way to equality. After she and her classmates turned the rural town of Farmville upside down . . .

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I could see he was curious, but I knew he had no interest in lengthy history lessons, so I said, “I can do it in 15 minutes. I can give you a 15-minute history lesson that will explain ICE and our current politics.”

“Can I use a timer?” he asked.

I said certainly.

I prepared the lesson, and my nephew started the timer.

For what I told him, click here: https://terikanefield.com/let-my-people-in/

My sixteen-year-old Chilean nephew was curious about what’s going on with ICE.

In Chile, the word “conservative” is associated with capitalism, and the word “liberal” is associated with communism. He observed that Donald Trump says he’s a capitalist but doesn’t act like one.

I told him things are different here and labels have different meanings because we have a different history.

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😂
I learned that some people are using AI to generate a summary of my book!

I therefore decided to compete with AI by writing my own summary, which I am calling Over the Cliff Notes.

The Over The Cliff Notes are here:
https://terikanefield.com/over-the-cliff-notes/

I also linked to them on the main page:
https://terikanefield.com/whyextremismhappens/

But nobody ever reads just the Cliff Notes, right?

It’s finished. It’s also not finished because, in the words of Paul Valéry, a piece of writing is never finished. Ultimately it is abandoned.

That’s because writing is thinking, and we’re never finished with that.

Anyway, I figured out what to do with that long blog post: Make it a FREE book.

Making it free meant I had to do the publishing work myself because publishers want to make money. They’re funny that way.

It’s also a YouTube series.

You can find the free book . . .

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I was going to put all the links, but you can find them here: https://terikanefield.com/musing-about-books-law-and-politics-blog/

“Teri, why are you giving away your book for free?”

“Because I’m a rebel. It’s easy to make money in this new information revolution, but, for reasons I explain in the later sections of the book, the pursuit of profit too often leads to click-baity, rage-inducing, bias-confirming content. Repairing the public sphere requires an open exchange of ideas. People shouldn’t have to buy a ticket.”

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I remember the time I turned in a manuscript to this editor and mentioned things like "selling securities" and "mercantilism" and "due process."

My editor was like "This is for 8th graders."

Me: "So?"

I suggested adding text boxes with definitions for hard words and everyone was happy.

My publisher never emails me on weekends, but . . . there was good news yesterday. https://ncte.org/awards/orbis-pictus-award-nonfiction-for-children/

Scroll down for the first honor book.

My editor said it's a big deal so I believe him.

I started with the idea that books should not be written down for young readers. I write the same way for young readers that I wrote for appellate justices. The publisher just makes the font bigger and adds images.

Hi, Mastodon friends,

I've been busy. I decided to turn that long blog post into a free book.

Once I started working with it, I saw a million ways to improve it and make it more readable, so I think it's better.

I had it professionally proofread, copyedited, and fact checked. Any errors are mine because I had to transfer all the marks to the Indesign document.

Anyone wanna advance peek?

I don't know how to put a PDF here, so it's on the blog page:

https://terikanefield.com/whyextremismhappens/

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I really am working on something to do with politics and law, but meanwhile, given the wisdom people have shared with me about AI bots, I have a story.

Last year, my husband and I did a building project. During the course of the project, a building department official issued us illegal orders. I asked to see the statute he was basing the order on. He was misreading the statute.

I made an appointment and tried to explain his misreading. He was completely cocky and arrogant . .

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You can find political messages in interesting places in California.

This painted rock was spotted along a trail in the coastal range.

I have a weekend blog post ready. I finished that thing I've been writing, which now has a new title:

Why Intolerance and Extremism Happen (and how to protect democracy in a divided world)

I take on some big questions. (See the screenshot)

The conclusions are what I’ve been trying to say for several years, but I believe now I've explained it better and with more context.

https://terikanefield.com/whyextremismhappens/

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I have a download code for a free audiobook version of my latest book.

Do I have anyone here who needs audio? Looking for someone with a visual impairment.

PM me.

I've been reading evolutionary biology which is totally cool. I now know that we like sweets for the evolutionary purpose of distinguishing which fruits are ripe, safer to eat, and provide more energy.

This explains why I prefer chocolate and caramel in my coffee. It also gives me a good answer for my horrified Seattle coffee-purist friends.

Adding: Evolutionary biology is also helping me understand today's politics. It's all related you know.

Okay, whew. I've been writing. Some light summer beach reading . . . NOT

I begin by going over familiar territory: The authoritarian personality, what the neuroscientists tell us about our political differences. I even open with a story I’ve told before.
I need this because the new stuff requires context, so please stick with me

I add new research, new conclusions, and venture into new territory including existence pain and the role of the artist.

https://terikanefield.com/heres-why/

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Hi, everyone,

I am traveling so I haven’t been posting (or writing) much.

Here is a first for me: The New York Times Book Review did a full review on my latest book.

Thank you to @Dhmspector and @stevebellovin for the gift link.

I also posted screenshots in case that doesn't work, but I have no idea how to translate the screenshot to Alt Text. If someone else knows how, I will repost.

Gift Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/books/review/rebels-robbers-and-radicals-the-story-of-the-bill-of-rights-teri-kanefield.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Uk8.tprh.cuEsZxD661T5&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Hello Mastodon Peeps.

I have a birth announcement.

(Yeah, I know it's corny, but I've been creating birth announcements for each book, beginning with my firstborn novel in 2001. Back then I didn't have photoshop.)

(Edited because I had the wrong date of my firstborn. My oldest is over 21!)

@clintruin had a party for my first book (before social media) and I used the birth announcements as invitations LOL

@chrisod

Thank you!

Barbara Johns was a librarian. I believe she would love to know that you're supporting your local library.

If you are in Virginia, I'd think my book is in your library. If not, get them to order it! There are schools in VA that assign it.