Robert, thank you for standing up for Alexander Vindman, who also has a Substack. One way to support him would be to sign up for his Substack and get off of X. https://www.avindman.com/
T and M need muzzles. The best way to do that is to boycott their platforms. My 23-year-old nephew who is not on X, says that it dominates anyway, and he never sees any rival to it. I would love for that to be proven wrong. Tech comes and tech goes.
Seems pretty possible if you just remember when you came in Substack.. how many of us were here & how quickly the safe place became a very complicated neighborhood !
Civil litigation requires an experienced attorney in the defendant's behalf? Are you asking individuals to do this or should someone in Democratic leadership be doing this. What do you suggest?
Thank you. I'm sure he did. However, when you said civil litigation, I thought you meant the public or someone representing the public, claiming the voting machines might have been manipulated.
I never had a Twitter/X account but I signed up for Bluesky. We do have our voice. Now can we get people to not buy Teslas and sell the ones they have?
Thank you Jocelyn. I hope so. Yevgeny is saying that their model is not to block any voices just bots, and that individuals can choose what they want to receive by using settings. Don't fully understand it because I don't use that sort of media. Trustworthiness and tone are settings one can select for. My friend keeps telling me the numbers on X vs. Blue Sky which she has joined, but she feels like she will miss out. I personally think it is effecting her mental health to be on X.
I am having a lovely holiday weekend. I hope you are too.
My friend told me that Blue Sky has just over 23 mil users and X has 611 mil. So, my nephew is 23, I think that is the comparison he is making. My friend is on both platforms because she is reluctant to leave X for fear of missing out. I feel like since the election she has been very testy, and I wonder if it is because she is on X so much and listening to too many negative voices. The milieu seems very unhealthy. I am not on either, but I know how milieu can have an influence. I think she should get off it.
I have grandchildren the same age. I know one uses Reddit. the other one uses Instagram and I'm not sure about the 3rd one. Yes, Bluesky probably has 23 million or so followers, but they have just started. I have registered with Bluesky, however, I am not a serious user yet. I've been on Facebook for years, but have cut my posts to less than half, since Facebook has been screening posts for what they say are biased. Recently, Zuckerberg spent a day with tRump at Maralago said one of the substack authors I follow. That says a lot if true.
I use Substack and YouTube. During covid I attended a conference on disinformation and democracy, and what I got out of it was that Facebook uses sexist, racist, homophobic, anti atheist algorithms as do other social media. Glad that Blue Sky exists. I know that Reddit is supposed to be the number 2 site for that age. I don't know what my nephew uses.
Card Campaign website: www.bigwin2024.com has a great letter that can be sent to senators asking them to not confirm the slate of candidates for the incoming cabinet. It lists the candidates by name.
Another "raising our voices" is John Thune. I never thought I could say something good about him but he has refused to rollover for Trump's "recess appointments" and wants to preserve the Senate's full confirmation hearings ... which may bring down some of the awful heinous bunch. A very important pivot moment.
Musk going after Alexander Vindman is a harbinger of what will come, just the tip of the iceberg. There will be dozens if not hundreds of people being investigated, dragged through the courts, facing congressional hearings, being harassed by the IRS etc., etc. And even if nothing comes off it, the need to lawyer up will mean an incredible, sometimes crushing financial burden.
Maureen defamation lawyers need to be mobilized and encouraged to use the oath they took to defend the constitution. Andrew Wiseman, Neal Katyal are constitutional lawyers, but they need to be contacted to use their influence to help in this effort.
Submitted the word “vindman” to urban dictionary as “a true American patriot who serves with the highest honor, absolute integrity, and extreme bravery; as in “Alexander Vindman and identical brother Eugene Vindman are the original vindmans.
Hurrah for Bluesky! I joined a couple weeks ago and am heartily enjoying it. It's like a 24/7 Substack. I never did use Twitter. Thank you Robert and Jill for all your news and wisdom, and hurrah for the pumpkin pie of which I am about to bake more.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat explains how the younger gen has successfully used “technologies of resistance” in Myanmar.
“Yet today’s resisters have known how to create a sense of digital intimacy that exposes abuses and involves others in their experiences. The young resisters against the military dictatorship that staged a coup in 2021 in Myanmar are a case in point. After the democratic opposition led by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi won the 2020 election in a landslide victory, the military claimed election fraud and took power, forcing Ms. Suu Kyi into house arrest and using violence against protesters.
The wide-ranging and highly effective resistance that appeared almost immediately includes coders and encryption specialists who find workarounds for government censorship. Hong Kong protesters used apps such as Tinder to organize protests in 2019, and Myanmar resisters study the Hong Kong protests carefully.
They can also create apps to weaken the adversary financially, as with the Stay Away app launched by Genxyz in Yangon to allow people to quickly find businesses tied to the military junta and boycott them.
Raised with Instagram, TikTok and other platforms, they use memes and create eye-catching slogans and story lines to attract international media attention for their cause. The coup is “so bad, even introverts are here,” read one sign at a Feb. 2021 protest; “We pay you to protect us, not kill us,” read another.”
Right now,, my concerns are many. I take no pleasure in saying this, but it appears that Trump is lining up his social media moguls to leverage his and their ability to speak to the masses and spew propaganda and instructions with impunity. Although it might be wise to ditch X and Facebook for one's sanity and to send a message to these wannabe oligarchs, I worry that newer options like Bluesky will become Echo chambers for us like-minded folks, much like what happens on Substack, in which I find refuge. It may well be that these alternative platforms will be in the cross hairs, so we should be prepared to fight for them. As for Vindman, God be with him and all those who have and do oppose Trump and Musk. I strongly suggest posting on Vindman's account voicing our support. But also making our outrage at the poorly veiled threat against him known to our elected Federal officials in the House and Senate and the FCC. Maybe if they have any backbone they will call Trump on allowing this level of threat to go unchecked. As always, I'm praying to Almighty God to help us in this battle against the scourge of autocratic rule that Trump and his minions are hoping to unleash.
Is anyone else wondering where Democratic Party leadership is? They should be undermining Trump’s legitimacy by constantly pointing out that he received less than 50% of the vote and vowing at every announcement Trump makes that they will do all they can to halt his agenda. But nothing. Grassroots work is valuable but we need someone with high national stature who can amplify our concerns. The longer it takes Democratic leadership to respond, the more this right wing agenda gets baked into the mediasphere.
I agree. Harris ran a great campaign - better than what could have been expected given the circumstances. But now she needs to be one of the leaders in opposing the Project 2025 agenda. I feel that by their failure to mount a loud and frequent opposition, Democratic leaders are betraying the millions of volunteers who worked so hard for Democrats up and down the ticket.
That's exactly the problem. Democrats don't have the luxury of having a leadership in flux. They can't wait until Feb. 1 (as they've indicated) to elect new leadership. It'll be too late by then. Kamala Harris as the most recent Democratic Presidential candidate needs to step up, lead the charge and create an infrastructure to coordinate Democratic opposition. And if she won't do it, someone in the Senate or the Governor of a big state needs to grab the reins.
The Democrats have to ask themselves who is listening to the rhetoric from people like Musk, Kennedy and Miller and what is there plan or strategy to counterbalance the rhetoric because it can’t continue to go on with out some response. The key has to be communicating not with us the readers of this newsletter but the millions of voters who get limited exposure of factual news. The messaging to the voters who abandoned the Democratic Party must start now and build over the next two years. We can’t afford to wait. We also need after the first of the year new Democratic leadership to step up and be heard and be counted.
I agree it is despicable but are we playing into their hands with our outrage? Isn’t this what they want? Should we say something slightly different like: Musk distracts with outrageous claims while he quietly shifts the ultimate tax burden of his schemes onto you. He will get richer and you will pay more and get less. He thinks you won’t notice.
You are spot on about the cabinet appointments. I read the comments on articles in the NY and Post and there are some shocking revelations about RFK jr. In particular which I did not know. Hope they are grilled thoroughly by the Democratic Senators. PS the verb "bask" does not apply to the PNW at this time, with highs in the low 40's.
Robert, thank you for standing up for Alexander Vindman, who also has a Substack. One way to support him would be to sign up for his Substack and get off of X. https://www.avindman.com/
Another new platform that someone in Democrats Abroad exposed me to today, is called Sez Us. Here is a link to this platform comparing itself to X. https://sez.us/about?uuid=1446639e5aba478dbc8e731ec92e1f87
Here is a podcast interview by Joe Trippi With Yevgeny Simkin, one of the founders of Sez Us, explaining how it works. https://youtu.be/XyfDnMOH9iM?si=xIMK3gxwKB9m-lr6
T and M need muzzles. The best way to do that is to boycott their platforms. My 23-year-old nephew who is not on X, says that it dominates anyway, and he never sees any rival to it. I would love for that to be proven wrong. Tech comes and tech goes.
This is a window of opportunity for Vindman.
@Daniel Solomon can you please explain why you say that?
Defamation. Can take his businesses.
Thanks that would be wonderful except musk could stall as long as possible. Paying lawyers would be nothing to him.
so the fuck what, do it anyway. that's what he wants. duh.
Maybe we can collectively ruin his businesses in the meantime.
Seems pretty possible if you just remember when you came in Substack.. how many of us were here & how quickly the safe place became a very complicated neighborhood !
Daniel, how so?
Civil litigation.
Civil litigation requires an experienced attorney in the defendant's behalf? Are you asking individuals to do this or should someone in Democratic leadership be doing this. What do you suggest?
I'm sure lawyers would KILL to get that case. I'd come out of retirement.....
Daniel, who should file the claim?
Vindman.
Thank you. I'm sure he did. However, when you said civil litigation, I thought you meant the public or someone representing the public, claiming the voting machines might have been manipulated.
Thank you, Linda. I was unaware Alexander Vindman has a substack. I'm not on X though just subscribed to Vindman's substack. Much appreciated.
I never had a Twitter/X account but I signed up for Bluesky. We do have our voice. Now can we get people to not buy Teslas and sell the ones they have?
Linda, it does seem like BlueSky is heading in that direction. I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving.
Thank you Jocelyn. I hope so. Yevgeny is saying that their model is not to block any voices just bots, and that individuals can choose what they want to receive by using settings. Don't fully understand it because I don't use that sort of media. Trustworthiness and tone are settings one can select for. My friend keeps telling me the numbers on X vs. Blue Sky which she has joined, but she feels like she will miss out. I personally think it is effecting her mental health to be on X.
I am having a lovely holiday weekend. I hope you are too.
Linda, tell him Bluesky is taking twitter refugees by the thousands.
My friend told me that Blue Sky has just over 23 mil users and X has 611 mil. So, my nephew is 23, I think that is the comparison he is making. My friend is on both platforms because she is reluctant to leave X for fear of missing out. I feel like since the election she has been very testy, and I wonder if it is because she is on X so much and listening to too many negative voices. The milieu seems very unhealthy. I am not on either, but I know how milieu can have an influence. I think she should get off it.
yep and i bet half of those 611 million if that is a correct number are bots.
I read that after the election ended a lot of those Russian Bot accounts disappeared.
I have grandchildren the same age. I know one uses Reddit. the other one uses Instagram and I'm not sure about the 3rd one. Yes, Bluesky probably has 23 million or so followers, but they have just started. I have registered with Bluesky, however, I am not a serious user yet. I've been on Facebook for years, but have cut my posts to less than half, since Facebook has been screening posts for what they say are biased. Recently, Zuckerberg spent a day with tRump at Maralago said one of the substack authors I follow. That says a lot if true.
I use Substack and YouTube. During covid I attended a conference on disinformation and democracy, and what I got out of it was that Facebook uses sexist, racist, homophobic, anti atheist algorithms as do other social media. Glad that Blue Sky exists. I know that Reddit is supposed to be the number 2 site for that age. I don't know what my nephew uses.
Card Campaign website: www.bigwin2024.com has a great letter that can be sent to senators asking them to not confirm the slate of candidates for the incoming cabinet. It lists the candidates by name.
Another "raising our voices" is John Thune. I never thought I could say something good about him but he has refused to rollover for Trump's "recess appointments" and wants to preserve the Senate's full confirmation hearings ... which may bring down some of the awful heinous bunch. A very important pivot moment.
Fingers crossed that he doesn't back down. Not that it will stop the confirmations, but at least the Republican senators will be on the record.
Musk going after Alexander Vindman is a harbinger of what will come, just the tip of the iceberg. There will be dozens if not hundreds of people being investigated, dragged through the courts, facing congressional hearings, being harassed by the IRS etc., etc. And even if nothing comes off it, the need to lawyer up will mean an incredible, sometimes crushing financial burden.
And unfortunately most of them can't afford to delay and delay and delay like someone else we wish we didn't know.
Maureen defamation lawyers need to be mobilized and encouraged to use the oath they took to defend the constitution. Andrew Wiseman, Neal Katyal are constitutional lawyers, but they need to be contacted to use their influence to help in this effort.
Unless the lawyers work pro bono, which ought to be a possibility.
i see many gofundmes in our future.
Submitted the word “vindman” to urban dictionary as “a true American patriot who serves with the highest honor, absolute integrity, and extreme bravery; as in “Alexander Vindman and identical brother Eugene Vindman are the original vindmans.
There's a brief clip of them as immigrant boys in Ken Burns's documentary about immigrants.
Hurrah for Bluesky! I joined a couple weeks ago and am heartily enjoying it. It's like a 24/7 Substack. I never did use Twitter. Thank you Robert and Jill for all your news and wisdom, and hurrah for the pumpkin pie of which I am about to bake more.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat explains how the younger gen has successfully used “technologies of resistance” in Myanmar.
“Yet today’s resisters have known how to create a sense of digital intimacy that exposes abuses and involves others in their experiences. The young resisters against the military dictatorship that staged a coup in 2021 in Myanmar are a case in point. After the democratic opposition led by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi won the 2020 election in a landslide victory, the military claimed election fraud and took power, forcing Ms. Suu Kyi into house arrest and using violence against protesters.
The wide-ranging and highly effective resistance that appeared almost immediately includes coders and encryption specialists who find workarounds for government censorship. Hong Kong protesters used apps such as Tinder to organize protests in 2019, and Myanmar resisters study the Hong Kong protests carefully.
They can also create apps to weaken the adversary financially, as with the Stay Away app launched by Genxyz in Yangon to allow people to quickly find businesses tied to the military junta and boycott them.
Raised with Instagram, TikTok and other platforms, they use memes and create eye-catching slogans and story lines to attract international media attention for their cause. The coup is “so bad, even introverts are here,” read one sign at a Feb. 2021 protest; “We pay you to protect us, not kill us,” read another.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/lucid/p/technologies-of-resistance-from-nazi?r=fqsxl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
I highly recommend Alexander Vindman’s memoir. It will make your blood boil for sure but also remind you what a brave, loyal patriot should be.
There is something to be said for buying Vindman's book, and increasing sales.
Good point!
Right now,, my concerns are many. I take no pleasure in saying this, but it appears that Trump is lining up his social media moguls to leverage his and their ability to speak to the masses and spew propaganda and instructions with impunity. Although it might be wise to ditch X and Facebook for one's sanity and to send a message to these wannabe oligarchs, I worry that newer options like Bluesky will become Echo chambers for us like-minded folks, much like what happens on Substack, in which I find refuge. It may well be that these alternative platforms will be in the cross hairs, so we should be prepared to fight for them. As for Vindman, God be with him and all those who have and do oppose Trump and Musk. I strongly suggest posting on Vindman's account voicing our support. But also making our outrage at the poorly veiled threat against him known to our elected Federal officials in the House and Senate and the FCC. Maybe if they have any backbone they will call Trump on allowing this level of threat to go unchecked. As always, I'm praying to Almighty God to help us in this battle against the scourge of autocratic rule that Trump and his minions are hoping to unleash.
Is anyone else wondering where Democratic Party leadership is? They should be undermining Trump’s legitimacy by constantly pointing out that he received less than 50% of the vote and vowing at every announcement Trump makes that they will do all they can to halt his agenda. But nothing. Grassroots work is valuable but we need someone with high national stature who can amplify our concerns. The longer it takes Democratic leadership to respond, the more this right wing agenda gets baked into the mediasphere.
They are too busy blaming Harris and finding a way to “work” with Trump. Too afraid to oppose.
I agree. Harris ran a great campaign - better than what could have been expected given the circumstances. But now she needs to be one of the leaders in opposing the Project 2025 agenda. I feel that by their failure to mount a loud and frequent opposition, Democratic leaders are betraying the millions of volunteers who worked so hard for Democrats up and down the ticket.
Democratic leadership is in flux.
That's exactly the problem. Democrats don't have the luxury of having a leadership in flux. They can't wait until Feb. 1 (as they've indicated) to elect new leadership. It'll be too late by then. Kamala Harris as the most recent Democratic Presidential candidate needs to step up, lead the charge and create an infrastructure to coordinate Democratic opposition. And if she won't do it, someone in the Senate or the Governor of a big state needs to grab the reins.
The Democrats have to ask themselves who is listening to the rhetoric from people like Musk, Kennedy and Miller and what is there plan or strategy to counterbalance the rhetoric because it can’t continue to go on with out some response. The key has to be communicating not with us the readers of this newsletter but the millions of voters who get limited exposure of factual news. The messaging to the voters who abandoned the Democratic Party must start now and build over the next two years. We can’t afford to wait. We also need after the first of the year new Democratic leadership to step up and be heard and be counted.
If Musk goes too far in doing or saying things, I think
don-old will find someone else so he can be top banana. The star, Antares, looks like a big eye watching us from space.
I hope that you are right but some of trumps pics have said equally dangerous things. We need to speak up.
Yes. I absolutely agree with you. It is necessary to always call him out on all the things he says and does.
I agree it is despicable but are we playing into their hands with our outrage? Isn’t this what they want? Should we say something slightly different like: Musk distracts with outrageous claims while he quietly shifts the ultimate tax burden of his schemes onto you. He will get richer and you will pay more and get less. He thinks you won’t notice.
I am suggesting action, not merely outrage. Let his $40 billion investment in Twitter evaporate.
And so it must!
Thank you Robert. I reposted this message and plan to contact my reps in MA.
I stopped using Twitter when Jack Dorsey let Trump malign innocent people. I am constantly dismayed that people continued to use it.
And that light from Antares began its journey to us as Columbus was planning his brave journey across the Atlantic….
You are spot on about the cabinet appointments. I read the comments on articles in the NY and Post and there are some shocking revelations about RFK jr. In particular which I did not know. Hope they are grilled thoroughly by the Democratic Senators. PS the verb "bask" does not apply to the PNW at this time, with highs in the low 40's.
Stay warm!