59 Comments

Hey Bari and Nellie,

Because winning a raffle is not something that I have typically experienced, I wanted to thank you for turning me on to Liel's, "The Turn" and to Nellie for the strong recommendation to attend the discussion between Walter and Liel hosted by Tablet - - I learned today that I won the raffle for Russ and Daughter's Brunch Basket - yippee! The real win though is finding Common Sense and the opportunity to challenge my thinking in an engaging manner.

Many thanks,

Rick

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I just sat down and read about half of your recommended essays for 2021. They were fantastic! Thanks for creating such an interesting place to visit and learn.

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The really cool thing about Successor Ideology is that you don't have to be smart, work hard, or prove your ideas. You just have to make them up and publish them and, viola, you are a cultural icon. Idiocracy, we have arrived. We need bigger rolls of duct tape!

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The Shadi Hamid essay on progressive omicron panic grows out of that painful dominance of our discourse by one of the great poseur publications and figures of our time, Vox and Ezra Klein. But Batya Ungar-Sargon has graciously skewered him and Vox for us:

https://quillette.com/2021/10/28/the-vox-effect-telling-privileged-people-what-they-already-think-and-calling-it-information/

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Thank you so much for what you are doing. I recommend your work to all my friends. It is the very best in large part I think because it is so balanced. I could go on and on. We love your work.

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What a photo! And thank you so much Bari for your voice and for the voices that you share. You're one of a handful of people in media that make me feel like the "Classical Liberal" world I loved isn't gone. We can disagree, agree, laugh, criticize, all of that is what I crave and you always deliver. Your speaking voice is absolutely gorgeous as well. Happy New Year Pioneer!

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Binge watching the latest Netflix series? Or, college football bowl games? Nah! Why would you when you can binge read "Our Favorite Essays of 2021"? Just make sure you are wearing comfy clothing and have plenty of snacks on hand. Commenting out loud on each essay is highly encouraged. Reading, after all, is an interactive sport. Thank you Bari!

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With just ten hours left to 2021, I feel confident that discovering Bari Weiss and Common Sense will be the best thing that happened to me this year. And I've had a pretty good year. Thank you!!

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Dear Bari,

Thank you for creating Common Sense, and advocating the same. Your articles have exposed me to numerous writers and journalists that I was not familiar with. It is deeply reassuring to discover that proper journalism is still very much alive. It’s just harder to find these days.

I have shared the article “ Favorite essays of 2021” with my teenage daughters, in hope that the essays will help povide a broader context, and instill a desire for facts and objective truth.

Thank you again for doing this.

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I like the mixture here-- and the actual, honest-to-God, wit. People will differ on masks, however. Maybe 13 days ago, an athletic, gym-going, robustly healthy 65- ish woman, vaccinated and boostered, cheerfully maskless indoors, in stores, in homes, and everywhere else, managed to contract Covid and give it to no fewer than ten people-- right before Christmas. One is severely ill in the hospital. The infector feels awful. Is the very sick person the cost of business? I've never been remotely hypochondriacal, but when my doctor tells me Covid will kill me, that I would have a "very poor prognosis," I tend to listen and wear an N95 mask. And a shield. And do curbside. That way, the onus is on me. Those who are healthy but asymptomatic or experiencing the milder cold reaction, may not want give it to somebody else. While Omicron may in fact be the way out of this hell, people are still dying. They're still dying of Delta. And of omicron. The numbers are fewer, sure, but if it's you or your husband or your husband or your sister,it's not a dress rehearsal.

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Thank you, Bari (and Nellie) for leaving the NYT and starting this amazing Substack adventure! It’s invaluable! And thank you for the list of interesting and provocative essays - as another commenter remarked, my reading list for today is now full. Wishing you both a fantastic New Year and a great 2022!

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Hi Bari, I am so thankful for your great work. I read your resignation letter from the NY Times and I was surprised that a younger person would be so prescient to make such a clear explanation. Thank you again for this new great source of rigorous and thoughtful journalism and editorial for our country at this time. -Natalie

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Dear Bari, I say thank you to you and your team! From a mom who moved her family two years ago from the Midwest plains to a rapidly/radically changing Oregon. You’ve helped me feel sane in this chaotic time in history… and in my state. One example-the never ending saga in Newberg. Or witnessing over 100 nights of Portland burning last summer. I have an American Flag on the front of my house and I was told by a local, “Wow, that’s rare.” Where (in school) my ten year old has to deconstruct her gender/sexuality and know how to define a dozen gender terms including two-spirit. She was told by her teacher how she’s both oppressed because she’s a girl and an oppressor because of the color of her skin. Where 50% of her friend’s Girl Scout group has come out together as trans. This is progress?

I’m a child of the eighties and nineties and I wonder what the hell happened to America. The world has gone mad and we need liquid courage.

During the pandemic my blinders fell off and momma bear was awakened.

I share your articles and podcasts to friends and family and follow many people you interview. My hope for 2022 is a growing ripple effect of the courageous to stand up, speak truth and unite across political parties. And hope for a future where my daughter doesn’t have to live in a country full of cowards and the illiberalism of The Elect* (*coined by John McWhorter).

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Thank you Bari, I’ve really enjoyed what you have published this past year. The articles present difficult topics in a refreshing and Common Sense manner.

What I really enjoy the most though, are the discussing with other members of this group. They are very insightful and respectful. Learning other people’s perspective on these difficult subjects helps me “check” my perspective - and that is valuable to me.

Happy New Year !

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Damnit man…I haven’t had a cigarette in 40 years. After reading Britain Needs a Cigarette, I need one too!

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The Turn was outstanding!

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