118 Comments

If we can ban TikTok because it's owned by China, can we ban Trump because he's owned by Russia?

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I am simply astonished that the House managed to get the ban through, especially given they have a budget to deal with, and a potential government shut down.

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Oh, Jocelyn, those things aren't important! Why would they care if the US government shuts down, or don't pass a working budget? They continue to show the American people their disdain for doing anything that matters, so why start doing their jobs now?

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ROTFLOL

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Can you spell this out for me? not sure what it means.............

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Rolling on the floor, laughing out loud

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even better than just LOL :)

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Good one!

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Mar 14Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Something we all can do....

I am not sure what the number of subscribers is to Robert Hubbell 's amazingly excellent daily postings but we can give him special thanks for keeping us engaged by doing the following:

Many of us know a young person who is or is just turning voting age. Reach out to them and make sure they are registered to vote and if they are attending college, suggest they use the option to register in the state which needs Blue votes the most. They can make that choice. Then ask them to do the same for one of their friends. And so on. You'd be surprised how this adds up.

The same formula can be applied to adults who need encouragement to vote. Find one person who is voicing protests to "both candidates" or who "isn't interested in politics" or any number of other excuses to not be involved and change their mind. Have them pass on your gift as well.

And once again, thank you Robert!!

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Mar 14·edited Mar 14Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

I'll try to attend Field Team 6' Summit.

"Find one person who is voicing protests to "both candidates" or who "isn't interested in politics" or any number of other excuse....."

How about Facebook? I send "Trump hates dogs" comments or "Trump stole from kids with cancer" on charity sites. Field Team 6 has Voterizer that can register lumpen on the spot.

https://www.fieldteam6.org/voterizer

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Share that RVAT video (link in Teresa's message below), it is powerful because it's average Americans speaking about how they will no longer support/vote for Trump

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I'm working on a couple of people who are protesting both candidates right now. Every little effort helps, and I also post regularly on Facebook for others to see.........

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Send them a copy of Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter today - an excellent summary of the campaigns. I can’t imagine anyone reading it and not getting it. But then I couldnt imagine so many things that have happened…..

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Sending out the Youtube video of former Trump supporters stating they are no longer supporting him and won't vote for him again is very powerful. Please share on Facebook or whatever social media platform you like.

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founding

So, we don't trust China with our data but we do trust Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Larry Paige, Sergei Brin, and Elon Musk and all of their money-hungry minions who have access to their algorithms and our data? What kind of nonsense is this? We need to wake up. All of this data should be owned by a heavily regulated public trust that licenses the use of the data for a fee, or TAX, that would help to reverse the yawning and growing American wealth gap by paying for the delivery of social welfare programs, housing, medical care, free college and other benefits instead of lining the pockets of the billionaire class. Our enemy is from within. You don't think Elon Musk is a national security risk? Give me a break. He stopped Ukriane dead in its tracks by turning off Starlink. He owns X and has designs to make it a still more robust right-wing soapbox. Zuckerman in control of the world's most prodigious propaganda platform? Let's start talking about the real issues instead of all of this China-baiting.

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author

No need to give you a break. You are right. Zuckerberg, Musk, Bezos et al. have turned us (or rather, our privacy) into a commodity for profit and manipulation. The only agencies you left out are the credit rating agencies--which do not rate credit, they collect information about us that they then sell. Ask any privacy expert.

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We must not forget the Cambridge Analytica project driven by Steve Bannon before the 2016 presidential election. Facebook data harvested on 87 million individuals and used to send targeted ads and messages with misinformation to individuals to exploit personal biases and capture votes. Evidence showed ties to Trump and Russian intelligence.

With the continued development of AI, this approach is sure to be used again this year.

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The credit ratings are an absolute scam. And the fact that we don't have control over our information being shared with them is criminal.

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Sad, but true

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Regulating online misconduct is not an either/or matter. Maybe it’s *both*, or all of the above.

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founding

We have to regulate the OWNERSHIP AND USE OF DATA as well as the privacy of data. The data miners have stripped us of ownership and use protection with unconscionable adhesion contracts they call "terms of use," which give them nearly unfettered rights to monetize our data. The electeds are too drunk on tech money to understand how we are being fleeced.

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Exactly! We should not be targeting a specific company, but working to fix the underlying issue - the misuse of user data. Europe has laws in place protecting data privacy. It's something we should be able to do too. The TikToc ban bill has been bought and paid for by its competitors and the politicians fell into the trap. I hate being on the same side as Matt Gaetz and MTG, but here we are.

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Remember that we have an important bloc of voters available to us-Never Trumpers, the recently converted and Haley voters. .

The Lincoln Project started by Never Trumpers does amazing ads. (See below) Republican Voters against Trump (RVAT.org) will spend 50 million to defeat Trump. (Gifted article below) An example of one of their ads is below. Their website has testimonials of prior Trump voters stating how they have changed. This gives a permission structure to others to vote for Biden. I find it comforting to see these potential voters who are available to Joe Biden.

This election will be won on the margins, Never Trumpers and those who have seen the light can make a difference-Simon Rosenberg says so! That’s a good thing!

Gifted article about RVAT’s 50M plan. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/us/politics/republican-voters-against-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ck0.Gcax.KYsTsWMnZb9l&smid=url-share

Lincoln Project- https://youtu.be/xFO-avZGQhM?si=i-DIHtOfJwPcamsy

RVAT https://youtu.be/ahBKWQssQ5o?si=swlmuyykFK8yb3nG

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the RVAT video is very powerful and should be shared often on whatever social media readers choose. Thanks so much for sharing it!

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The election will not be determined by the courts, or outrageous comments and positions by Trump or some single events or campaign advertising. It’s going to be determined by two things which are voter turnout and grassroots organizations knocking on doors and getting voter attention. I am at a point where I am ignoring the political news and commentary because frankly it’s a long 8 months till the election and the Republicans are flooding the zone and it’s only going to get worse. Biden will win the popular vote and it’s up to all of us to make sure he wins the electoral votes which means we need to win in the swing states and that is where our focus needs to be starting right now.

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Absolutely right. I also tune out the endless news and rely on a few sources (like this newsletter). My activism now is to give a few $ monthly to the organizations working to get out the vote.

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Try posting the RVAT video on social media, too. It's very powerful and the link is in Teresa's message below.

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Mar 14·edited Mar 14

I hear you on that! I hate to say it - but in past elections I have devoured political coverage (exactly what every outlet wants) and often been paralyzed by fear. Not this year. I have written 100 campaign postcards ( those were for Tom Souzzi in NY-03) and just bought 300 more stamps to write campaign letters for both Biden and other democratic candidates. I'm going to "Do More, Worry Less!" as Simon Rosenberg says. Just because the media apparatus makes the situation sound dire don't make its so! It bears repeating " THEY DON'T NEED TO HAVE THE LAST WORD!" Let's not let them! We can do it!

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Follow the money and connections of Jeff Yass, billionaire hedge fund manager who owns $21 billion of TikTok and major Republican donor.

https://thedemlabs.org/2024/03/11/trump-flip-flops-on-tiktok-follow-the-money-pay-to-play-politics/

This StoryMap shows the county-by-county impact of President Biden's the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Act, lowering drug prices and protecting healthcare. It also shows how the 2025 Biden Budget takes this vision further by having billionaires pay their fair share of taxes.

"What’s In The Biden Budget For You?"

https://thedemlabs.org/2024/03/13/biden-budget-proposal-2025-impact-map/

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Keep it simple:Unless you vote for Biden, it counts as a vote for Trump/Putin.

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I just want the Biden Campaign and the DNC to focus on curating a collection of Trump's most outrageous (but recent) musing and make them the focus of 1/2 of the campaign's advertising. The other half should focus on the state by state benefits of the infrastructure act. And the last half should be spent on lambasting the Republicans for not signing off on the Immigration Legislation that Mike Johnson has put up on a back shelf in a dark closet.

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founding

This is the best of the best.

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Mar 14·edited Mar 14

And he did it again last night with Swalwell's video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzsliVV5oCo starting about 10 min in

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More and more, I worry that we are playing into the Republican Trump playbook! Trump and his GOP lost in 2020 in the presidential election, handily, and in the elections of 2022, and in subsequent local elections! And yet the Press obsessively repeats that Biden is too old, while Trump is only a few years younger, refuse to recognise Biden’s accomplishments, and we all seem to fall for it! In fact, we have a highly successful president, a record of incredible accomplishments, and we are on a winning streak. I think we need to lean into that more.

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I think most of the “too old” talk was dispelled by the SOTU. I've seen little to none in the past week.

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Yes write in the comments of every article written disparaging Biden’s age about what he has done and will continue to do—and/or what evil trump continues and will bring.

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Impermanence is the ONLY ELEMENT in this life of yours, this world of ours, which is reliably permanent. I have faith in the tempered optimism generated daily by our smart citizens like Robert Hubbell and others, who offer instructive and cautionary guidance in my plan going forward. Alert, active as you know how, and then carry on. Faith in your fellow American allies. There are more of us than there of them. Far more! Embracing impermanence in your life can yield increased awareness of your own “present moment”.

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Helping others to grasp the profundity of our constantly changing moment to moment existence is my gift, my present to you, if you will. Ex: That breath you just took will never come your way again. Examples are literally endless. Doing so might seem counterintuitive much of the time, as in the mix lies each of our own passing. On this note then, use your time wisely.

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Mar 14Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

I very much appreciate the way Robert points to President Biden as the example we can follow. He's not at home moaning with worry, he's out there, communicating and campaigning. Action really is the antidote to anxiety! Thank you for this important reminder. Unfortunately, you'll have to remind us many times more before November... as anxiety tends to persist.

Thank you as well for cranking up the volume on your audio. Very helpful!

I can't get Alexei Navalny out of my mind - his courage, his steadfast commitment, his integrity. It's a tragedy akin to the assassination of Dr. King; a loss so painful to the human race. Writing this, I remind myself, look around. There are so many individuals standing tall. So many examples to lead us forward. The mainstream media may not acknowledge them, but with a little effort, we can find them. (And even give them our support.)

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Mar 14Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

It's hard to get riled up about Tiktok's U.S. security risk when The Predecessor (America's immediate flaming orange democracy threat) wanders around, loud and loose.

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Don't forget North Carolina as we struggle to become BLUE!

Hey folks those of us in NC will need some help this year especially when it come to elect a new governor. This is incredibly important given that a Democratic governor is the only thing we have to protect us from the MAGA controlled legislature. If you have an opportunity through various organizations to kick in some time it will be greatly appreciated. To those of you who may think "I'm crying wolf" check our this article on the MAGA candidate for governor:

https://www.vox.com/politics/24092798/mark-robinson-north-carolina-governors-race-2024

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Robinson is DeSantis on steroids.😱

Simon Rosenberg ➡️North Carolina is the most important 2024 expansion state.

✍️Write Letters with VoteForward

Overview: Encourage young voters (35 and under) in North Carolina to vote in the 2024 general election.

https://votefwd.org/district/NC_2024_C3_STATE

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Anderson Clayton (NC party Chair) urges us to check out this link.

https://www.realmarkrobinson.com/?refcode=ncdpwebsitebanner

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Tik tok is the sound we use to indicate a time bomb. How blatantly honest can they be. As honest as saying “I ll be a dictator on day one”.

Thank you for the clear explanation of one concern about Tik Tok, the data harvesting.

Another is that it is easy to manipulate the content that is shown. They are already showing content that is intended to divide us and support one candidate.

It should be easy to explain to the public that we would be idiots to let the wolf in because it is dressed like grandma.

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I would liken Tik Tok to the Pied Piper. We know how that story ended.

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Mar 14Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

I feel our collective anxiety makes us weak. We constantly need reassurance which suggests we are spending a lot on worrying. As Simon Rosenberg pointed out last night, Trump’ problems are staggering, so staggering that he does not believe Trump can win. Besides looking at the day’s events that can hurt Biden, maybe we should look at the ones that hurt Trump - the bloodbath of the and the shutting down of black voter outreach, his promise to reduce social security, the escalating Republican discontent and the ultimate showdown over Ukraine.

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founding
Mar 14Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Winston Churchill saved his country. Now let's save ours.

Keep Calm and Carry ON.!

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