Musk PAC’s $100 giveaways put Wisconsin voters to the test
Musk’s super PAC is offering #Wisconsin voters $100 to sign a petition denouncing judges as his #DOGE efforts face pushback from courts.
How is this not bribery? How is this at all legal?
msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/e…
Elon Musk PAC’s $100 giveaways put Wisconsin voters to the test
Musk’s super PAC, America PAC, is offering Wisconsin voters $100 to sign a petition denouncing judges as his DOGE efforts face pushback from courts.Ja'han Jones (MSNBC)
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Republicans at a town hall in Spokane, WA angrily demanded aggression against Canada cease.
Their cowardly #GOP Congress critter is now whining that he wants to have telephone town halls instead. People are too angry at the fascist shit he's supporting. Boo hoo.
#fascism #protests #musk #trump #doge
Whilomgeek likes this.
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I thought my body was safe from microplastics. I was wrong
https://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/the-nature-of-things/i-thought-my-body-was-safe-from-microplastics-i-was-wrong-1.7486007?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into Technology & Science @technology-science-cbcnews
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#PNW & #WashingtonState folx! Police are overreaching again, please take a second to knock them down a peg.
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EXCLUSIVE: Memo details Trump plan to sabotage the Social Security Administration
An internal Social Security Administration (SSA) memo, sent on March 13 and obtained by Popular Information, details proposed changes to the claims process that would debilitate the agency, cause significant processing delays, and prevent many Americ…Judd Legum (Popular Information)
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A couple months ago I needed to visit the nearest social security office. When I showed up about 20 minutes before the doors opened there were over a dozen people in line. Just before opening, a security officer came out and said staff was only seeing people that had an appointment.
He also said anyone without an appointment could come in and wait up to several hours. But all we could do is make an appointment to come back another day.
Tip: The security officer shared the *local* phone number for that SSA office. I went home, called that *local* number and was able to make an appointment.
Note: I previously tried calling the SSA 800 number to make an appointment but the wait was endless and I gave up.
Really good tip. A good friend recently hit 65 and needed to call them to get medicare sorted by the deadline.
It was 4.5hrs on hold. That call only resulted in a grumpy combatitive person giving him an appointment for a call back in a couple weeks. He diligently waited by his phone starting 30 minutes beforehand. then noticed he'd missed a call (didn't know ignore unknown callers was on)
Panic call to the number provided a phone number for the local Ventura SSA office. Only on hold for a few minutes with them before being answered by a pleasant person who was able to help him sort everything.
Social Security Administration to require in-person identity checks for new and existing recipients
In an effort to limit fraudulent claims, the Social Security Administration will impose tighter identity-proofing measures.FATIMA HUSSEIN, Associated Press (WECT)
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Need to emphasize this, since the AP article doesn't even include it...
75,000 to 85,000 additional SSA visits PER WEEK, would cripple the agency if it were at full capacity.
But doing that while simultaneously reducing staffing massively and shuttering offices is pure SABOTAGE.
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The Hill has a list of the 26 #SocialSecurity offices with set closure dates out of the 47 planned to be closed. Most dates are in April, May, or June. And most of them are in states that voted for Trump.
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A big tip others have shared before is to search for the number to your local office instead of calling the main number. That's who is going to help you eventually anyways. The main number just gets the ball rolling, often merely scheduling a call back appointment with the local to you office.
after close to 10 calls in 2 days, I have an in person SSA appointment scheduled for mid-May. I am a savy retired person and this was not easy! Multiple system hangups, 120+ minute phone wait times, website system taking me to the wrong application and a letter telling me erroneous information.
The SSA staff I did finally connect with (I figured out a work around local ph no.!!) were all kind and I was the same to them.
The CNN article is much better than the AP one, FWIW. Includes reference to the Diaz Memo. the already long wait times. etc.
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Young #cedar #tree is all dressed in magnificent #mosses & #lichen 💚
One of the lovely sights you can see & admire, while exploring the coastal temperate rainforests in BC.
#Wsanec #Saanich #VictoriaBC #YYJ #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #PacificNorthwest #Cascadia #PNW #nature #wilderness #forest #green #rainforest #ecological #biodiversity #ecosystems #SaveOldGrowth #WorthMoreStanding #BCForestryReform #ProtectForests #ProtectTheWild #NatureFirst #StopDeforestation #TreesAreEarthsLungs #mosstodon
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Zuck fights besmirching like any rich techbro
Looks like it's up to the fediverse to overcome the metaverse.
aus.social/@fixatedpersonsunit…
Eat the rich
Meta so scared of former New Zealand diplomat's tell-all they're trying to have it banned.And the name of that books is: Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, by Sarah Wynn-Williams.
It would be unfortunate if anyone heard of or read it. For Meta.
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq5zyq…
Meta stops former Facebook director from promoting critical memoir
Social media company wins US emergency ruling preventing ex-director from publicising her book.Katie Razzall (BBC News)
It could be far better and we definitely need more feminism, but the numbers seem outdated, if not wrong:
politifact.com/factchecks/2014…
Do women own 1% of the world's land? No
Women around the world have a hard row to hoe, but do they really own just 1 percent of all the land? That’s the claim i@politifact
As far as I'm concerned, AOC is the leader of the democratic party.
She has my full support.
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We have to be honest and pragmatic
With the USA reneging on support treaties. Calling #Ukraine the aggressor threating #Canada #Panama and #Greenland with annexation (invasion). Forcing all the allies to act counter to #trump and form an opposing alliance. And calling #Putin and chairman #Kim mates while criticising #Trudeau #zelensky and other #Democratically elected leaders. One thing is obvious
#USA is now a member of the #axis of evil states and not part of the time free world
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Buy Nothing Friday
Don't go to Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Bing, Google search (or other search engines with sponsors). Washington Post, Google News, or other billionaire owned sites get paid when you put eyes on their website. Are you using AI? This Friday don't if your work and life will allow it.
Admittedly, I think this rebellious act is equivalent to throwing toothpicks at titans. And those titans will probably find it more amusing damaging. But, hey, maybe they'll token-rage at us and it will make another nutcase go off on another CEO.
Wokeness Gone Mad? I Had To Specify My Preferred Pronouns on This Sex Offender Registration Form
I’m old enough to remember a time when freedom of speech meant something in this country. Nowadays, our culture has been completely usurped by leftist lunatics who want to cancel us for even the slightest transgression, and we have to constantly walk…Tim Sheard (The Hard Times)
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thedevilspanties.com/archives/…
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Very good read, however largely framed around the US experience.
maxmurphy.xyz/p/goodbye-survei…
I will say his 3 solutions at the close of that piece overlook what self-hosted community-centred infrastructure can bring, and is already bringing, to the table. I don't think switching to dumbphones is the way.
But it is good to be clear with ourselves, that breaking from the toxicity and building & using the digital surface we want won't come without some degree of initial pain.
(Thanks Mix for link)
Goodbye Surveillance Capitalism, Hello Surveillance Fascism
First they stole your data. Now, they’re stealing your futureMax Murphy (The Murphy Memos)
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Ethan Marcotte, who is one of the most principled and thoughtful people I have ever known and also a dear friend, has resigned from his job at 18F after being asked to meet with shadowy gov-dismantlers. The whole post is worth reading.
ethanmarcotte.com/wrote/leavin…
Apparently necessary: Do not be an asshole in my replies about something you’d didn’t even bother to read or understand, this is not Facebook.
Moving on from 18F. — ethanmarcotte.com
I had a wonderful job, until I didn’t. This is about what happened—and what is happening.ethanmarcotte.com
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Returning to Friendica after 13 years
Hi. I'm Lance or Whilomgeek on fedi. I'm a long-covid-force-retired user researcher living in the Seattle, WA area. I'm also an amateur photographer, nature lover, virtual table-top RPGer, best dad to 2 dogs, a cat, and my teenage daughter. I've been dipping my toes into 3D printing, laser-cutting, and CAD.
I first signed up for a now long dead Friendica instance back in 2012, hoping for an alternative to FB which I didn't trust even back then. This is my second or third try with Friendica. I can also be found at @whilomgeek@pixlmo.com and @Lance
#3dprinting #naturephotgraphy #vtt
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SpaceLifeForm
in reply to Ann1944 • • •I would follow her but she is not on Mastodon.
#Mastodon #Fediverse
Canadian Crone
in reply to Ann1944 • • •Captain Jack Sparrow reshared this.
Snowshadow 🇨🇦
in reply to Canadian Crone • • •Canadian Crone reshared this.
Captain Jack Sparrow
in reply to Ann1944 • • •trump wants to turn the clocks back - to 1930's Germany.
#trumpfascism #fascistUSA
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Nazo
in reply to Ann1944 • • •That is the long and the short of it, but we have to remember that its opponents think all that is good. They think the poor should remain uneducated (and the poor people who support this think they are the exceptions rather than the rule) and that rich people should all go to private schools that focus more on teaching religion than anything else.
The right *LOVES* the uneducated...
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Cainmark Does Not Comply 🚲 reshared this.
I wonder...
in reply to Ann1944 • • •@MissGayle
#Alt4You #RealAitText
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Charlie the Anti-Fascist Dog
in reply to Ann1944 • • •Nils Skirnir
in reply to Ann1944 • • •#boycottCantorFitzgerald
#boycottstarlink
#boycottusa
#boycottnazi
#boycotttexas
#boycottflorida
#boycottradicalzionist
#boycottUSstocks
Margret Kuarell
in reply to Ann1944 • • •GaelicGrime 🇺🇸 ♓ 🐉
in reply to Ann1944 • • •The people in power ***NEED*** unddr to uneducated masses to remain in power though.
Isn't it our job to make sure they and their wealth hoarding buddies get more of our bliid, sweat, and tears?
Musta dawned on me thusly
in reply to Ann1944 • • •Randulo.com
in reply to Ann1944 • • •Rep Sylvia Garcia
Let's be clear: the Department of Education exists because states wouldn't fund poor schools, wouldn't protect kids with disabilities, wouldn't follow civil rights law, especially in the South. Anyone calling to abolish it is calling to turn back the clock and we can't let that happen.
Aral Balkan
in reply to Ann1944 • • •@RepSylviaGarcia
Let's be clear: the Department of
Education exists because states
wouldn't fund poor schools,
wouldn't protect kids with
disabilities, wouldn't follow civil
rights law, especially in the
South. Anyone calling to abolish
it is calling to turn back the clock
—and we can't let that happen.