There are many reasons we’re in this authoritarian pickle,* but one of the most maddening and intractable is the media environment. We discuss that here a lot, so I won’t belabor the point.
For whatever reason, a lot of people don’t know what’s happening. You can blame the media mogul fuckery, and you wouldn’t be wrong. You can blame poorly informed people for not bothering to seek information beyond their social feeds, and you wouldn’t be wrong there either.
The question is what to do about it? How can messages about what’s happening and who’s to blame break through if people are stuck in their self-selected bubbles? I think it will take a heavy lift by a lot of people, including those in power speaking out, parties with standing filing lawsuits, and citizen protests.
Guerrilla messaging by individual ordinary citizens can be useful too. Here are a couple of examples I saw on my Bluesky feed recently.
Another car top sign makes a great point:
I like the idea of putting up posters around town, which lowers the chance of a vehicle being vandalized. Here’s a short and sweet message that was covered in a Maddow episode and also featured on signs at protests covered here on the blog:
A printed version of something like this could work in an empty supermarket egg case:
— Betty Cracker of Florida (@bettycrackerfl.bsky.social) February 17, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Guerilla messaging can’t fill the gaping information void left by media organizations that abdicate their responsibility. It can’t bridge the gap when too many voters don’t bother to avail themselves of the facts that are out there. But, along with elected Democrats speaking out, lawsuits, and citizen protests, it’s a relatively low-risk and low-cost way to raise awareness. I’ve seen it work in my community.
Example: a local family felt screwed over by the care their child was receiving at a chain hospital that serves our town. They created a Facebook page explaining their complaint and put up homemade signs all over the place (highway medians, etc.) to drive traffic to the page. Pretty soon, the shitty local paper had to cover it too because everyone in town was talking about it. I heard the hospital reversed course to avoid further blowback.
Another example: my county’s shitty right-wing sheriff was ousted last year due to a similar grassroots campaign that highlighted the shabby way he treated an injured deputy. It was the first time an incumbent sheriff running for reelection lost since I was in high school.
Nationally, the corrupt crooks who are illegally destroying the federal government seem a tad nervous about Musk being perceived as the face of that effort. Just yesterday, Politico reported that the White House denied in court that Musk is in charge of the DOGE wrecking crew, despite multiple statements by Trump and Musk that unequivocally say the opposite.
Perhaps the Trump people are changing their tune because someone finally told them it’s illegal to put an unelected, unconfirmed billionaire in charge of such an effort. But maybe it’s also because they’re feeling the heat from the collective resistance effort.
If we private citizens can find creative ways to turn up the heat, that’s a good thing. Even if all we do is apply a silly sticker or deploy a homemade sign.
Open thread.
*Beware anyone peddling a simple explanation for our current pickle; they invariably have an agenda that centers themselves in some way. (R. Traister wrote a relevant piece about that here.)
Maybe this is not a hill I’m actually prepared to DIE on. But I am determined to hold it while being pelted with rotten produce and other nasty objects, that’s for sure!
Sally
Life is better with Democrats.
(Baud approved slogan)
Leto
JFC, “I take egg!” Was the laugh I needed today. I laughed way too hard at that. Ty!
zhena gogolia
We’ll have to agree to disagree on this. I cannot see any reason other than racism for our present pickle. The other reasons are excuses.
XeckyGilchrist
CAN Elon be a federal employee? Don’t you have to piss in a cup for that? No way he’d pass.
Sally
Live, Love, Vote
Baud
If you don’t want me here, you could just tell me to my virtual face.
Sally
Don’t boo – vote!
A Ghost to Most
@zhena gogolia: Apparently, your programming prevents you from seeing what is obvious to others.
Trivia Man
Madison used to have the Overpass light Brigade. Simple signs with lights spelling out letters. Each person held one letter.
Overpasses are awesome messaging spaces – public, visible, legal, and limited approaches for better security.
zhena gogolia
@A Ghost to Most: Yes, let’s blame Christianity.
Harris and Walz are Christians.
Baud
@Sally:
I do like it. Unfortunately, I’m out of touch.
Sister Golden Bear
@zhena gogolia:
Racism was an extremely important reason, but not the only one. Otherwise Republicans wouldn’t have spent more than $215 million in ads demonizing trans people in an effort to boost turnout.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@XeckyGilchrist:
Depends on the job and the clearance level. I never had to pee in a cup as an intel officer until I got read onto some higher level stuff.
And never had to pee in one in all my years at DOT. That being said, if you’re an ATC, there is random testing, again, depends on the job.
But there we go again thinking that silly little rules apply to our techbro overlords.
Back to BCrack’s thoughts, when I was at Casa Starfish last week, the Freeway Blogger came up, at least I think it came up there. We commented on not seeing much from him so I went to his web site:
freewayblogger.blogspot.com/
He’s been at this for *20* years now. Master class on guerilla messaging.
hrprogressive
A lot of people have bemoaned the fact that social media algos have been destroyed by all the techbro fascists, and that’s true.
But IRL Space – non-digital messaging that is not wholly owned or controlled by the corprofascists, at least, not in the same way, is absolutely something I think all citizens should try to take advantage of.
Enough of this getting through to all those “low info” / “vibes” voters might make a difference.
Especially when those messages can’t be filtered through the “whataboutism” of the corporate media, or hidden by the Fuckerberg algorithms failing to show it to you.
Jay
@XeckyGilchrist:
He’s Schrodinger’s Employee.
And all the files he is stealing are Schrodinger’s files.
Apparently for the Court, they are not actually stolen even if they are posted on the DOGE website, they need to be printed out on paper to be stolen.
Suzanne
I approve of any of the messaging that is funny. We used to have a fairly robust liberal-leaning lineup of humorists with a lot of reach. We’ve lost a lot of that mojo.
different-church-lady
Yet another in the long list of Trump horrors is in order to fight back we gotta do things that only cranks used to do. But if that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes.
FUCKER.
TooManyJens
I think liberals should be thinking about radio more. People do actually still listen to radio! A lot of them!
pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/audio-and-podcasting/
Radio as a misinformation vector, especially in Spanish-speaking communities, has gone pretty much unaddressed. Also, a lot of news and talk radio is local, and the Democratic Party needs that. Our own radio shows would be great, but advertising and calling in to talk shows would help get our message out too.
different-church-lady
@zhena gogolia: Racism is a subset of hatred. It’s the largest part in our society, rivaled only by misogyny. But make no mistake, the hatred is there first, and the racism is an excuse to exercise it — all too often in a deadly fashion.
different-church-lady
I do wonder if Germans in the 1930s were kinda, “Hmmm… well what can we do to reduce Mr. Hitler’s appeal…”
Steve LaBonne
My pessimistic take is that it’s going to take something that seriously harms a lot of people, like a worse-than-2008 recession, for enough people to make a difference to turn against Trump. But messaging can help lay the groundwork for the blame to be placed accurately.
Nukular Biskits
Good evenin’, y’all.
Went by my US Rep’s (Mike Ezell’s) Gulfport District Office today.
Unfortunately, I got there just as staffers were leaving. Turns out that they, unlike their DC colleagues, get off at 4 pm, not 5 pm.
Guess I’ll try again tomorrow.
I do wonder, however, what my reception will be as there was a young woman walking to her car when I got out of the truck and, just as I walked into the building, an older woman walked out of the office and locked the door. When I asked if they were closed, she said, “Yes, at 4 but they’d be open at 8 am tomorrow.” As we both exited the building, I said, “Well, I can’t be here at 8. Some folks have to work so I’ll come back tomorrow afternoon.”
Yeah, I guess I probably sounded a bit like an ass with that but it wasn’t intentional.
Anyway, the younger woman had been sitting in her car the entire time and pulled over to the other woman’s car and was talking to her as I pulled out of the parking lot. In my rearview mirror, it seemed the younger woman had her phone up, but I could be mistaken. Trying on my tin-foil hat for size, I wouldn’t be surprised she took a photo of my license plate.
Starfish (she/her)
@zhena gogolia: She is not explaining the reasons. She is explaining an action that people could take to inform the folks not paying attention. And it is a very Betty choice because it involves guerilla art.
I think Kay was right this morning that a lot of (white) people are going to be mad about the national parks being partially closed or less staffed. These are the family vacations that white folks with large families go on.
Summer Vacation canceled? Thank Trump.
You could do one with a picture of your nearest national park.
You could do one with a picture of whichever plane has crashed.
You could do one with a picture of a forest fire.
bbleh
I think it’s a GREAT idea! It makes a point, it’s obviously not mass-manufactured, and it makes people smile. And seeing something like that — just like attending a rally or whatever — is inspiring: you’re not alone in this.
There is no One Weird Trick that’s gonna save us, nor any one institution. Right now it’s a bunch of people doing a bunch of things, mostly together but individually if necessary, and we build on that.
It’s a long haul — we’re only a month in, there’s already a lot of pushback and resistance, and if I had to guess I’d say a lot of them are behaving like they know they don’t have much time. Just keep it building.
Chris
Guerrilla messaging has to do more than get around the media. It has to target the media, too. Half the reason the media’s message does so much damage is that it’s uncritically accepted as “liberally biased” by the vast majority of people, which then lends extra cred to anything they say to criticize Democrats and takes much of the bite away from anything they say about Republicans.
Getting around the media is ultimately not going to go anywhere as long as most people continue to think Big Media is in the pocket of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and everyone else they’ve assassinated.
(Of course, given the diminishing value of the mainstream media in favor of social media, they may eventually become irrelevant: it’s probably a much easier sell to tell people that Twitter and Facebook, at the very least, don’t have the same agenda that they’ve all been told CNN and the New York Times do).
Starfish (she/her)
@Nukular Biskits: This is the type of service that Mississippi elected officials provide. They don’t want you to be in touch.
Nukular Biskits
@Sally:
Baud would never say such a thing. He would, however, say this:
Sally
@Starfish (she/her): Holidays are better with Democrats
Nukular Biskits
@Starfish (she/her):
Someone else on my BS feed (and if you’re a Jackal, I apologize I can’t remember your name) told me they showed up at Ezell’s office and got a very cool reception for his troubles.
If staffers don’t like constituents showing up demanding (politely, but firmly, of course) answers, then they need to tell their boss he/she better start interacting with constituents who aren’t campaign donors.
Nukular Biskits
@XeckyGilchrist:
Silly person. Laws like that are for little people.
kindness
Betty is so correct. There are no Walter Chronchites anymore. And even if there were their editors and producers would be doing just what the NYT did to Paul Krugman. We have to figure out a way to get the messages out without the MSM.
Starfish (she/her)
@Sally: Yes, that is a positive version!
But I think with these staunch conservatives that cannot handle their Lord and Savior Trump being criticized, we need to rub their nose in the mess they have made a little bit.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@different-church-lady: this.
Someone over at LGM posted the famous saying of robber baron Jay Gould, who had hired the Pinkertons to shoot strikers, upon being told the nascent communists were organizing among his striking workers, when he reported said, “as long as I can hire half the working class to shoot the other half, I don’t need to worry about communism.” And the commentator noted, turns out you don’t need to pay half the working class to shoot the other half.
Demonize Black people, brown people, trans people, gay people, migrants, single women, eventually everyone Jewish or Asian – and now you don’t even need to pay half the working class to shoot the other half. They’ll volunteer.
Turns out all the billionaires needed was better propaganda.
As one of the perpetually marginalized targeted people used to say, who knew?
Chris
@Suzanne:
I agree in general, but the problem is that a lot of these humorists dabbled pretty heavily in what in the nineties/2000s was euphemistically called “political incorrectness” that has pretty good reasons not to fly today, see also Bill Maher and Jerry Seinfeld’s ever-increasing whining about how the woke kids just can’t take a joke.
I’d like to believe that there’s a way to bring back the irreverant humor without bringing back the racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and insert phobia here. I’ll just note that… basically, there are reasons the Prominent Liberal Humorist bench isn’t what it used to be, and they’re not all bad reasons.
Jeffro
I put up homemade signs (“NO ONE ELECTED MUSK!”, etc) all around my town two weeks ago
Felt GREAT
SpaceUnit
The messaging approach assumes that truth will be the most effective mover of public opinion and political sensibilities if we can just find the right vehicle / slogan.
I think we’re currently in a post-truth society. People are moved by fear and fantasy. They want feels, dammit, and that’s what rightwing media delivers. Fantasy and bugbears.
I unfortunately agree with those who suggest that things are going to have to go completely to shit before anything turns around.
Suzanne
@Chris: I agree. But comedy moving forward doesn’t have to look like it did in the Obama days or the Clinton days. It shouldn’t. There’s new voices out there, and new aesthetics will emerge.
Jay
There was one I saw recently, that is appropriate for National Parks and other public lands.
It’s the traditional Smokey the Bear Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires with the shovel
With the tagline, “seriously, it’s only you, we have been defunded and fired.”
Baud
@SpaceUnit:
What fear or fantasy would you propose to bring new people in?
Baud
@Jay:
Heh.
Nukular Biskits
One caveat to your suggestion, BettyC, at least WRT vehicle-borne messaging: Be careful about where you intend to display it; i.e., public vs private property.
Lesson learned: When I ran for public office (county sup) back in 2010, I had a campaign sign in the back of my truck and drove to work at the shipyard in Pascagoula (Ingalls, for those who care). No sooner than I had parked, the Ingalls Shipyard Gestapo pulled up and told me I couldn’t park in the parking lot with campaign messaging on the vehicle because of “policy”. When I asked to see such policy, they (ridiculously) told me they couldn’t share the policy with me as I wasn’t a member of security and that the parking lot was private property (segue here to note that’s debatable as the county’s GIS showed, at the time, that section of the parking lot belonged to the county and was leased to the shipyard).
Second story: Same campaign but I had parked my truck with sign in the parking lot of the community center only a couple of miles from my house. Mind you, this was indeed public parking and would get a lot of visibility … which it did. The incumbent, a crotchety old bastard who had quite a colorful history in county politics, including fisticuffs with other supervisors, called me on the phone to demand I move my f***ing truck or he’d use a county dump truck to drag it off into the woods. When I told him I’d file a criminal complaint against him for threatening destruction of private property, he hung up on me.
Moral of the story: Be sure you know where you can and can’t display your guerrilla messenging.
ETA: One more thing – If you live in a neighborhood run by a bunch of Nazis (an HOA), be mindful of the rules.
SpaceUnit
@Baud:
I got nothing.
Starfish (she/her)
HOT MAGA SUMMER
(Picture of forest fire)
(Picture of plane crash)
(Picture of AC bills)
I mean we could include picture of roofers or farm workers, but we know MAGA doesn’t care about actual humans that do work.
Captain C
If and when Lone Skum is removed, I hope they do it Casino-style.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: Cosigned.
Sister Golden Bear
@different-church-lady:
Actually some of them did: The queer surrealist lovers who took on the Nazis
TBone
I’ve been following the escapades of this guerilla messenger for decades. He does not give up. His manifesto:
freewayblogger.com/manifesto.htm
I discovered him online during Operation Desert Storm and fell head over heels for his messaging & technique. Highly recommend.
Chris
@SpaceUnit:
I honestly wonder how even something like the 2008 crisis plays out in a post-truth world.
Part of what happened in both 2008 and 2020 is that the crisis hit so hard and so fast, and the Republican attempts to deal with it were so manifestly inept and disastrous, that even the mainstream media was temporarily shocked out of its usual tendency to run cover for Republicans. Not to the point of actually saying “yeah guys, the Democrats are the only serious choice and it’s not even close” (there’s a reason “this is good news for John McCain!” became a running joke in 2008), but enough to approach the election more or less even-handedly and to cover the unfolding crisis more or less factually. There’s also the fact that social media wasn’t a right-wing puke funnel in 2008 (that was changing in 2020, but it still wasn’t nearly as bad as it’s gotten just four years later). Voters got to make their decisions in a media environment much closer to actual reality than the one they usually get.
If something like 2008 or 2020 happens today, part of me suspects that instead of doing that, the Musks and Zuckerbergs of the world just hit the bot and troll farms as hard as they can to flood the zone with “everything is DEI’s fault” “DOGE discovered that the economy’s bad because the liberals gave all our money to illegal immigrants” “this plague started with Haitian immigrants eating dogs” type messages, while the Bezos and Sulzbergers of the world just keep killing any opinion that makes the White House upset while obsessively talking about the Democratic candidate’s choice of suits or something. Responding to 2008 or 2020 elections with 2000 or 2016 level coverage, in effect.
Does it work? Maybe it doesn’t, maybe the crisis plus the American people’s brain-dead tendency to blame whoever’s currently in the White House is enough to overcome it. And maybe it does. It’s concerning enough that it might very well work, though.
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
Hi guys. First time visiting the blog in a while. I finally got a car and a fulltime job here in Florida. Now to get my own place. I should be happy but I’m scared of what’s gonna happen to gay and mentally ill people like me. Really need to make some new friends in the Tampa area. Hugs to all.
TBone
@Captain C: 😍
Quinerly
President Trump signed 3 EOs tonight on live TV.
Weird.
One declared that only the AG or the Pres can speak for the U.S. when interpreting the meaning of laws carried out by the Executive Branch. White House staff secretary and one of Trump’s attorneys, said this EO “reestablishes a long-standing norm” in the U.S. I want to find this one on line and read the actual EO.
He also signed an EO expanding access to in vitro fertilization. I have no further details.
Third EO requires federal agencies to report waste, abuse that’s uncovered and to detail programs that are eliminated. I have no further details.
Trump also said that he will move forward 4/2 with tariffs of roughly 25% on foreign cars and pharmaceuticals. Didn’t name which nations could be targeted.
NBC reporting
Nukular Biskits
Serious question:
Should such guerrilla messaging promote preposterous lies about Republicans?
I mean, my better angels say “No” but even they have to admit that lying gets more attention, goes viral sooner and apparently carries little to no consequences (at least for Republicans).
Nukular Biskits
@rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun):
Take care of yourself and be careful.
Chris
@Captain C:
That is one of these scenes that you just can’t appreciate quite as much as it deserves until you’ve worked in customer service. My God there are a lot of people in the world who could use an Ace Rothstein dismissal.
Starfish (she/her)
@Nukular Biskits: Yes. Republicans are lizard people.
SpaceUnit
@Chris:
At this point I think things will have to get so bad that even the comfortable classes are seriously impacted. Which means that things will be hellish for the rest of us.
It’s a dark view, but that’s where I am right now.
Captain C
@Chris: As someone who’s worked in customer service my whole life, I heartily agree.
TBone
Thank you for platforming the Rebecca Traister piece, B.C.!
Chris
@Nukular Biskits:
Frankly, if it helps, yes.
“I know he’s [edited to add] not a pig-fucker. Make him deny it.” [see? It works so well even I’m doing it!]
The real answer is probably “it depends on the outlet;” some outlets need to remain credible while others need to just be good old-fashioned shit-shitters.
But if nothing else, we need more good stuff like the couch-fucker joke against Hillbilly Elegy Man.
Nukular Biskits
@Starfish (she/her):
How rude … to lizard people.
TBone
@rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun): nice to see you here again and go with my best hopes for safety and all success in your endeavors!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Quinerly:
I’d like to know how this is a “long-standing norm in the US”. Marbury v. Madison is over 222 years old, nearly as old as the US itself
Nukular Biskits
@Chris:
Actually, reading that, I was momentarily paralyzed with laughter at the thought of a bunch of constituents asking their Republican rep or senator at a town hall meeting, “Does Donald Trump really smell like shit?”
zhena gogolia
@Starfish (she/her): I’m trying to think of some kind of signage for when the snow melts. My unimaginative idea is to just put my Harris-Walz sign back up. But there has to be something punchier, I guess.
Dan B
For guerilla messaging I think having fundraisers for either Trans or for laid off government workers would likely generate media, social and mainstream. The recent Fire fundraisers did. Having fun builds organization.
Suzanne
@Nukular Biskits:
I was commenting on the thread downstairs about rumors flying around on X about Elon Musk. One is that he’s got a botched penis implant, another is that he’s trans and he is the birthing parent of all of those kids, and his harem is cover.
The second one bothers me because of transphobia. The first one leaves me eminently unbothered. Spinning-in-a-field-of-daisies unbothered.
TBone
I said I’d wait six months before discussing anything election-loss related (target: April Fools Day) but over and over in my mind I keep hearing him from that clip where he says “We don’t need the votes, we don’t even need the votes …”
Earworm from HELL.
Suzanne
@Dan B:
Funny people are more appealing, in general, and I think that matters a lot when trying to attract normies. The “general perception” matters as much, maybe more, than the candidates themselves, I think.
TBone
@zhena gogolia: there are literally hundreds of ideas here at link.
Some old, some new if you poke around. I stole an idea for yesterday’s protest sign from here from his newest guerilla freeway signage.
freewayblogger.com/visitorsgallery.htm
He wouldn’t mind my spreading of his word
Starfish (she/her)
@zhena gogolia: Jasmine Crockett apologized to MAGA for not believing in any Job Stealing Immigrants (Elon Musk.)
Trivia Man
@TooManyJens: I dont have the time any more, but i used to call into wngnut radio a lot. A shorty, pithy point. Say it, repeat it if you can. The hang up, talk over you, move goalposts, put words in your mouth… repeat your point.
Not every listener is a lost cause, there are often unwilling listeners as well.
Sister Golden Bear
@Quinerly:
I’ll just note that Oyzemic comes from Denmark. Of course with RFK Jr. planning to go after it and many other drugs, the price spike may become moot…. Which will hasten the need to send all of us who use it to
re-education campswellness farms to grow organic food until we learn to do without. (I wish I was joking about the last bit, RFK Jr. has talked about doing exactly that.)Trivia Man
@SpaceUnit: look at how much traction Shady Vance couch jokes got
Matt McIrvin
@Suzanne: viz. every show on Dropout. Pay attention to those kids.
TBone
@zhena gogolia: his newest endeavors
freewayblogger.blogspot.com/2025/01/signs-posted-in-december-2024.html?m=1
(You have to click to embiggen.)
Starfish (she/her)
After seeing the videos where MAGA is convincing themselves that Elon is going to cut them checks come tax time, I really need you all to know that the tech wizard Musk is using 5G to control Trump.
SpaceUnit
@Trivia Man:
Yeah. Problem is that Democrats are held to different standards.
Media figures were soon clutching at their pearls over the whole couchfucker thing. The same folks who basically shrugged over claims that migrants were eating pets.
Starfish (she/her)
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: We did not get eaten by any avalanches on our drive home, and we bought a replacement faucet for that bathroom on our way home. I will try to install it in the morning.
Quinerly
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Cray cray. They are just making shit up. I was going to look at the actual language but really have been on line and BJ too much today. Need to stop for the evening. I have a bunch of stuff to do early in the AM before JoJo las Orejas and I hit the road heading south. Hope to unplug and do some serious hiking, eating, drinking, talking to strangers…..starting tomorrow with that Green Chile Cheeseburger and fries in tiny San Antonio, New Mexico before I hit Elephant Butte Lake State Park, Truth or Consequences, Silver City, Pinos Altos, and Reserve, NM.
Hope you are doing well. Hang in there.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: You don’t think misogyny also played a role? I do.
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
@Nukular Biskits: Thank you :)
Baud
Running government like a business.
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
@TBone: Thank you :)
WaterGirl
@rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun): Glad for your good news. You are in good company with your fears about the future, and we have to try to celebrate the good things even while other things suck.
Dan B
@rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun): You’re not alone in being afraid of what President Muskrat and Stephen ‘Gestapo’ Miller are going to do. I only hope that Richard Grenell, Thiel, and other guy’s presence slows it down.
Suzanne
@SpaceUnit:
Which spread it further. And, for the rest of his life, he’s the Couchfucker. His kids will someday ask him, “Daddy, did you really stick your dick in a couch?”.
Quinerly
@Sister Golden Bear:
Hi there! Been trying to catch all your comments and I do believe I owe you an email. Hope you are feeling better.
Speaking of RFKJr….this jumped out at me today.
“To earn the vote he needed to become the nation’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a special promise to a U.S. senator: He would not change the nation’s current vaccination schedule. But on Tuesday, speaking for the first time to thousands of U.S. Health and Human Services agency employees, he vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases.”
And
“Nothing is going to be off limits,” Kennedy said. He added that pesticides, food additives, microplastics, antidepressants and the electromagnetic waves emitted by cellphones and microwaves are going to be studied.
apnews.com/article/childhood-vaccines-schedule-kennedy-trump-hhs-4d5e6c52c602f5edbcd837748605e9d0
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
@WaterGirl: I appreciate your kind words.
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
@Dan B: It’s interesting that LGB peeps are the one group Trump hasn’t really badmouthed or targeted. It’s entirely possible that we might get lucky. OTOH, I refuse to allow my trans, POC, and other fellow minorities to stand alone so who knows, my big mouth might still get me in trouble.
different-church-lady
@Chacal Charles Calthrop:
Zuckerberg stumbled across the most efficient way to manipulate public behaivor than ever before, and the rest has followed.
SpaceUnit
@Suzanne:
I hope so. No one has yet presented evidence that he didn’t stick his dick in a couch.
different-church-lady
@SpaceUnit: Absolutely correct. The old solutions no longer apply, and too many of our party leaders are still fighting on the old battlefield assuming the old rules.
Dan B
@Nukular Biskits: I’d say no to lying but what they’re doing is outrageous enough lying is nit necessary however it’s good to ask questions like: What’s next? What are they hiding? Are these accusations true? Who’s next? Are you, or your family, next?
There’s a cartoon where a guy is thanking a gay activist for helping take away trans rights. The gay guy asks ,Who’s next? The anti trans guy just looks at the gay guy who realizes that he’s next on the chopping block.
Suzanne
@SpaceUnit:
It would be irresponsible not to speculate.
I think of poor Katie McVady, the hot dog lady. The Vice Presidency lasts for an administration. Rumors last forever.
Dan B
@Suzanne: I met some of the Chicago Seven and the people close to them. They were either fun to be around or outrageous. They got liked and they kept people surprised.
Sister Golden Bear
@Quinerly: Feeling a bit less adrenaline wired these days, although I had a not-fun adrenaline crash much of the weekend.
Saw the cardiologist today, and she’s chalking up my heart issues to stress and anxiety (ya think!), since thankfully nothing serious turned up in the various tests. (In fact my heart performed better at the end of the cardio stress test.) Although we’ll see if the heart monitor I’m wearing for another 10 days finds anything funky.
BP is down considerably, albeit still a touch higher. My pulse is still highly variable, and races at times, although it’s just within acceptable limits. Needless to say if this doesn’t go away, I’ll be nagging my doctors about it.
TBone
@Dan B: BJ is truly a full service blog! Wow, am in awe.
Sister Golden Bear
@rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun): Congrats on getting ahead. I totally get feeling scared rather than happy. Hang in there.
TBone
@different-church-lady: 🎯
MobiusKlein
@Sister Golden Bear: I had the racing heartbeat thing, ended up getting a surgery to burn my heart into better shape. Take your time, listen to your cardiologist. Consider buying one of those heart monitors like iwatch you can use the moment you feel a twinge
Dan B
@different-church-lady: There’s a book, Mindf*ck, by the gay guy who helped launch Cambridge Analytica that spells out the tactics of manipulation. One method is to look for people who are moderately sociopathic and lacking empathy, but also love conspiracies. Feed them more elaborate conspiracies and steer them to acts that cause chaos. You don’t need to persuade more than a small percentage of the populace to cause serious chaos
The author of thr book figured out the downsides of CA and exposed it.
Betty Cracker
@rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun): Hey there! Good to see you, and I’m glad to hear you’re building a new life as you’d planned since you last checked in.
I’m not in Tampa anymore but did live in and around it for many years. If you’re interested in suggestions on how to connect with like-minded folks and free/low-cost fun stuff to do in the area, please email me at bettycrackerFL -at- gmail.com.
Keep in mind I’m a tired, old, crabby swamp crank and no longer strictly local! But I do know the area and will help if I can!
SpaceUnit
@different-church-lady:
I don’t necessarily fault our elected Democrats. They’re simply held to a different standard than Republicans by the media.
They’re not permitted to go in front of the camera and just spew bullshit, and I really don’t want them to.
I don’t have a solution.
Sister Golden Bear
@MobiusKlein: Ugh, sorry hear to that.
I’ve definitely been using my iWatch to track my pulse the past couple weeks, even if I hate wearing it 24/7.
I also just bought a high-quality arm cuff BP monitor. I already had a wrist BP monitor, but apparently those are less accurate, however, I’ll put in the car since it’s portable. Both synch to an app, so I’ve got a shareable record if needed.
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
@Sister Golden Bear: Thank you :)
TONYG
@zhena gogolia: Well, there’s misogyny too. But mostly racism.
Quinerly
@Sister Golden Bear:
Sounds like things are better. Been thinking about you.
As I have said in the past, I have real difficulty discussing/asking about health in this kind of setting.
Just know that I am interested and am sending positive thoughts.
Will be in touch. I promise.
Starfish (she/her)
USDA Employees Handling Bird Flu? You’re fired.
Bill Arnold
@XeckyGilchrist:
Has he taken the oath (or affirmation) of office? Or the similar USA naturalization oath (or affirmation)?
He’s willfully violating both of them, FWIW. There’s very little dispute about that. He’s violating both federal law, and the USA constitution.
Also, his boss, or flunky (and autopen), DJT, violated his oath (affirmation) of office by taking it. As an insurrectionist, he is disqualified from the position of POTUS (or most federal elected positions), so, if not already an oathbreaker (spoiler, he was), he definitely became one at 12:00 PM Jan 20.
rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun)
@Betty Cracker: Thanks-just sent you a message
TONYG
@XeckyGilchrist: I don’t think that Elon is officially a federal employee at all. The fact that he and his bad of Incel Clowns can do any of this at all is because they are being ALLOWED to do it, contrary to law.
Trivia Man
@Dan B: Rules For Radicals might have some ideas to recycle
Jay
@Sister Golden Bear:
And it came out of a 10 year NIHS year study, into a protein in Gila Lizard proteins, and while a “diet pill” it’s a diabetes treatment.
MomSense
I love this! Thank you BC!
Had a bit of a reprieve tonight. Youngest is doing a radio show starting Friday and he asked us to add songs to a playlist. I’ve been dancing around my house.
TooManyJens
Assuming they’re still speaking to him by then.
different-church-lady
@Quinerly:
What a shit show.
Bill Arnold
@Sister Golden Bear:
I use a pulse oximeter that graphs the last 6 seconds or so, “Innovo Deluxe iP900AP Fingertip Pulse Oximeter Blood Oxygen Saturation Monitor with Alarm, Plethysmograph and Perfusion Index”, about $35.
If I’m feeling PVCs (or PACs, difficult to differentiate without an EKG) they are easily confirmed with the graph.
Next step up would be an EKG.
Gretchen
@Sister Golden Bear: I have periods of irregular heartbeat. I sheepishly told my cardiologist about a home EKG thing I bought, thinking he’d tell me it wasn’t worth my money. He asked to look at the EKGs it produced. Not as accurate as the in-office 10 lead, but apparently something. You can request their cardiologist to read it or send it to yours. https://www.kardia.com
Kayla Rudbek
@Jay: it also appears to be effective for other addictive behaviors (excess spending for one)
Jay
@Kayla Rudbek:
Yeah, and it was a Apartheid Clyde tweet rage, that the Gov spent money studying Gila Lizard venom.
Sister Golden Bear
@Bill Arnold: Thanks, I’ll check it out. Turns out the PVCs weren’t occurring very often, although it was mentioned in the test results.
@Gretchen: I asked my cardiologist about Kardia. Apparently, it’s good for detecting afib, and she’d recommended for those at risk for it. But since apparently that’s not an issue for me, she didn’t think it was a priority for me to get. I figure I’ll wait to see the results of the current heart monitor they have me wearing, and then see if it makes sense to get one.
Gretchen
@Sister Golden Bear: hopefully your multi-day monitoring will give you & doc a good picture of what’s going on and a path forward on what to do next. It’s pretty amazing the level of understanding they have these days. Good luck and keep us posted!
RandomMonster
I’ve got some designs for stickers/posters. Anyone know the penalty in DC for getting caught putting them up?
Jeffg166
@kindness:
Krugman has his own substack now and is unleashed.
https://paulkrugman.substack.com
You don’t have to subscribe to it. Most all of his posts are free.
AM in NC
I’ve been thinking of little guerrilla actions I can do, and currently I am using small sticky-notes with hand-written messages.
Sticky notes because it is easier on retail employees who are tasked with removing the stickers people put up. Hand-written because then it’s obvious it’s coming from a real person.
“I didn’t vote for higher prices, did you?”
“I didn’t vote for King Musk, did you?”
“Team USA or Team Unelected Billionaire? which side are YOU on”
And stick them on gas pumps and in grocery stores, bus-stops, everywhere.
Miss Bianca
@rebelsdad (aka texasboyshaun): Late to the thread, but yay, you!
@Nukular Biskits: Just tell the truth about Republicans, and everyone will *think* it’s a preposterous lie.
TerryC
@Gretchen: I have one of those Kardia EKG tools; it is excellent and easy to use. ER folks last month were wary of it at first but very pleased when its results were confirmed by their equipment.