Eric J. Korpela @SETIEric@qoto.org

Two op-eds in the NY Times today illustrate the growing threat Trump world poses to journalism.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/14/opinion/mississippi-press-freedom-republicans.html

and

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/14/opinion/the-apprentice-trump-movie.html

If the NY Times NEWS pages understood the threat, or cared more about it, maybe they'd do their jobs better.

But business as usual requires only occasionally doing articles, rather than concentrating on the even larger threat -- to democracy itself, which after all makes freedom of expression possible.

Tesla shareholder meeting this week.

Actual Journalism Has No Place In Samuel Alito's America | The Supreme Court justice takes aim at ProPublica.

https://abovethelaw.com/2024/06/actual-journalism-has-no-place-in-samuel-alitos-america/

@luckytran

A program initiated and undertaken by Trump.

Biden subsequently terminated the disinformation campaign in the first quarter of his inaugural year.

For those who would eagerly heap the blame on both factions seriously ask yourself how long it would take an administration to audit, intepret, craft policy and enact it. Given that team Biden had no specific clue what nasty skeletons Trump had packed into the Executive Branch's closet. 3 months is a hair-pin turn in an institution as large as the federal executive branch.

This is the option on the ballot in 2024.

@luckytran On Trump’s watch, right? One assumes this was to protect American corporate profits? Follow the money. Who paid whom (corruption) to make that happen? (This is after getting past the macabre consequences).

This is *terrible.* Stanford buckles under to Jim Jordan & litigation, dismantling the Stanford Internet Observatory (retreating to safe subjects like child porn). Alex Stamos & Renee DiResta, both gone, call this "a quintessential example of the weaponization of government." h/t Casey Newton
https://www.platformer.news/stanford-internet-observatory-shutdown-stamos-diresta-sio/

"My weekend plans..."

Some of the folks talking about the Pentagon’s horrifying influence operation in the Philippines getting people to distrust Chinese COVID vaccines, masks, etc. really don’t want to talk about:

1) Who was President back then

2) Whether they think the guy who is President now would have done the same thing

Why is this happening? (Hint: they want to interfere with elections and bring incipient fascism into full bloom in the U.S. as soon as possible and disinformation is their most effective tool.)

SCOTUS: We have concluded that you in fact have a right to not be hunted through the forest for sport by right aristocrats

SCOTUS, one day later: We have decided that it is unconstitutional to breathe air

In a joint stmnt, Stamos & DiResta said their work involved much more than #elections, & that they had been unfairly maligned.

“The politically motivated attacks against our #research on elections & #vaccines have no merit, & the attempts by #partisan #House cmte chairs to suppress #FirstAmendment protected research are a quintessential example of the #WeaponizationOfGovernment.”


#law #disinformation #NationalSecurity #CyberSecurity #InfluenceCampaigns #propaganda #election #Congress

Breaking: In honor of Flag Day, Mrs. Alito releases her newest custom insurrection flag.

Trump turns 78 today, which ironically is the same number as his outstanding felony counts.

Goodby #AAS244 and #MadisonWI.
I had fun and learned a lot. I also ate a lot of cheese.
See you all at #AAS245!

Trump Adviser Stephen Bannon Cites Podcast Duties as Reason He Should Not Be Required to Report to Prison

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trump-adviser-stephen-bannon-cites-podcast-duties-as-reason-he-should-not-be-required-to-report-to-prison

Eight-month-old Rosalinda Martinez died last year after a July 2023 indictment says she was shot during a fight between her parents over a handgun.

Police arrested the baby's parents. Then, they lost a key piece of evidence—and not for the first time. https://www.texasobserver.org/san-antonio-lost-bullet-police/

#police #news #GunViolence #Texas #SanAntonio

US Income Tax Revenue: $2.2 trillion
US Imports: $3.8 trillion

This would be a $1 trillion annual handout to the top 1%, paid for by massive inflation in consumer goods, something like 55%-60%.

Breaking the economy to give the richest even more, that's the Republican way.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/13/trump-all-tariff-policy-to-replace-income-tax.html

One aspect of this story I haven't really let myself get angry about until just now: this particular SpaceX Crew Dragon trunk that dropped garbage on Sask. was from the Axiom 3 "private astronaut mission."

"Private astronaut" = billionaire space tourist.

Billionaires own companies that other billionaires pay for joy rides that drop potentially lethal garbage on us from orbit. This is fine.

I already knew billionaires are horrible, but this particular situation really lays it out starkly.