Bannon

[Curious]

Speaking of Bannon, I saw today he said that the media should "keep it's mouth shut."  That sounds vaguely threatening.  What can we do to ensure we keep our free press alive until Trump is out of office, hopefully sooner than 4 years.

[DaisyD]

The AltEPA and RogueNASA twitter accounts are advocating the same thing for their information on climate change.

How does one tell who's reporting the truth?

[Curious]

10 minutes ago, Destiny said:

For what it's worth, there's a fair bit of planning and discussion of how to resist in our politics forum:

http://www.freejinger.org/forum/466-quiver-full-of-politics/

 

You are always one step ahead of me!  I was just going to grab that link

[Destiny]

2 minutes ago, cstroop said:

And I do take that as a positive sign. I have no idea where it all leads, but I'd rather see evidence of resisting Trump's fascist agenda than pure, immediate capitulation. Maybe we'll get through this. 

For what it's worth, there's a fair bit of planning and discussion of how to resist in our politics forum:

http://www.freejinger.org/forum/466-quiver-full-of-politics/

 

[cstroop]

Just now, Curious said:

I popped on twitter for a second before I logged in here tonight and see there are now a couple WH leaks type twitter accounts.  I think it must be way worse than imagined because people are leaking like sieves and it hasn't even been 1 full week.

And I do take that as a positive sign. I have no idea where it all leads, but I'd rather see evidence of resisting Trump's fascist agenda than pure, immediate capitulation. Maybe we'll get through this. 

[Curious]

I popped on twitter for a second before I logged in here tonight and see there are now a couple WH leaks type twitter accounts.  I think it must be way worse than imagined because people are leaking like sieves and it hasn't even been 1 full week.

[DaisyD]

No. I know for a fact that at least the NPS and USFS ones are/were run by who they said they were (I grew up in those circles). I meant in the news. 

As far as the alt accounts go, I just hope they stay on message. It's easy to devolve into name calling, but it's rarely helpful. 

[cstroop]

1 minute ago, DaisyD said:

The AltEPA and RogueNASA twitter accounts are advocating the same thing for their information on climate change.

How does one tell who's reporting the truth?

If you mean how do we tell if these accounts are run by who they say they are, it is a bit murky. I saw a decent article on these accounts today on Forbes:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2017/01/25/what-the-rogue-epa-nps-and-nasa-twitter-accounts-teach-us-about-the-future-of-social/#1a5123e05dc0

For now I think it may not be too hard to verify the origins of data and reports released by these accounts, but later on in particular we'll need to rely on experts in the relevant fields to verify. 

2 minutes ago, Curious said:

I had thought within 3 months, but I could see it escalating faster since he seems to be pissing off virtually every ally we have.   I did see that a couple Senators are trying to pass a bill that will prohibit him from nuking anyone without a Congressional Declaration of War.   I find it amazing that a law has to be passed to keep a POTUS from nuking someone in 2017

Yes, these are dangerous times. I can see a number of scenarios through which war breaks out. But the resistance we're seeing from within the WH and bureaucracy provides me with a little hope that if Trump goes to do something that destructive, he will be stopped. I can't say that with certainty. But I also don't think it's outside the realm of possibility. The resistance from inside the government is a positive sign. 

[Curious]

5 minutes ago, cstroop said:

For example, Sarah believes Trump will move to use nukes quickly. I think war breaking out is entirely possible, but I'd like to think that if Trump moves to use nukes on a whim those around him would mutiny and prevent it.

I had thought within 3 months, but I could see it escalating faster since he seems to be pissing off virtually every ally we have.   I did see that a couple Senators are trying to pass a bill that will prohibit him from nuking anyone without a Congressional Declaration of War.   I find it amazing that a law has to be passed to keep a POTUS from nuking someone in 2017

[Destiny]

14 minutes ago, Curious said:

This is a great idea.  We are used to being an archive for the fundie stuff because we only delete things here under very rare circumstances.  They have a tendency to try and scrub stuff if they get pushback or realize they put too much info into the public realm (none of them seem to really understand the internet).  This is something we can actively do!

FYI for our members, I back up FJ to several offsite locations at least once a week, just in case, in addition to our regular disaster recovery backups, and this is part of the reason. 

[Destiny]

18 minutes ago, cstroop said:

The best thing we can do is support quality journalism and commentary. Subscribe to good papers like the Washington Post (even though it's too soft on Evangelicals) if you can, or to local papers (the Tampa Bay Times in my area still does high-quality investigative journalism). Support the work of individual truth-telling journalists, if you can, like Sarah Kendzior, for example, who now often writes for Canadian and Dutch outlets.

I'm going to have a website with a blog up soon, and if anyone else is going to do something like that, I recommend hosting on Swiss servers if possible. That should make it less likely for the government to be able to shut you down. 

Meanwhile, I also encourage us all to start practicing something like an old Soviet dissident style samizdat for the digital age. Anything that might disappear down the memory hole--good reporting, white papers, government science reports--archive through the Internet Archive (now hosted on Canadian servers at arhcive.org), and also save a PDF offline. "Samizdat" literally means "self-printing." It refers to how dissidents behind the Iron Curtain would type copies of banned texts and pass them around. 

While I entirely agree with this, it hurts my heart that I agree and don't see the erosion of freedom of speech and the press as impossible or even unlikely. This is not my America! </3

[cstroop]

It's really hard. Solidarity. Unfortunately we need to prepare for worst case scenarios at this point, but maybe they won't come to fruition. For example, Sarah believes Trump will move to use nukes quickly. I think war breaking out is entirely possible, but I'd like to think that if Trump moves to use nukes on a whim those around him would mutiny and prevent it. Feel free to refer to me as Chris, by the way. Only my current students really need to use "Dr." or "Professor" as far as I'm concerned.

2 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Thank you for the suggestions. I agree that we (the Resistance) are going to have to pull out all the stops. Trump in and of himself is bad enough, but Bannon and Pence are sneaky and far smarter, and are the ones I'm truly terrified of. I have not been big on PDFing stuff and printing, but I think I will start doing so more.  I haven't looked at everything yet, but I hope you'll share your website with the membership here on FJ.

Personally, I've really expanded my news/current affairs circle and have paid and donated more than ever since mid-2016. I already had a WaPo subscription (agreed they are a bit too soft on evangelicals, but they still have hit the anti-Trump drum pretty hard), the NYT, and ProPublica. I've also made my first-ever donation to the ACLU, hoping that every penny will help fight the scary stuff that is going on. I will check out the Tampa Bay Times, thanks for the suggestion!

This is all great. Thanks for your efforts, both to keep abreast of current affairs, and to support advocacy, civil society, and good journalism. One glimmer of hope is how galvanized so many of us have become to be more involved than ever, to actively resist. Let's keep that up. 

[GreyhoundFan]

8 minutes ago, cstroop said:

Good question. In addressing a conference at the Vatican once via videoconference, Bannon spoke of the need for the "church militant" to play an important role in the coming "very brutal and bloody conflict." He's an extremely dangerous man.

We've seen that the Trump administration is moving to control all the information flowing out of the government, to replace government science and reports with what will surely be propaganda. The media will have much less access to the White House as well; this will not be a transparent administration to say the least.

I am unprepared to predict exactly how far the Trump administration will go to control the independent media beyond controlling access, but we're seeing ominous signs from Bannon, Trump, Conway, and Spicer. I suspect that at first, instead of outright censorship, they will try to silence the critical press through lawsuits.

The best thing we can do is support quality journalism and commentary. Subscribe to good papers like the Washington Post (even though it's too soft on Evangelicals) if you can, or to local papers (the Tampa Bay Times in my area still does high-quality investigative journalism). Support the work of individual truth-telling journalists, if you can, like Sarah Kendzior, for example, who now often writes for Canadian and Dutch outlets.

I'm going to have a website with a blog up soon, and if anyone else is going to do something like that, I recommend hosting on Swiss servers if possible. That should make it less likely for the government to be able to shut you down. 

Meanwhile, I also encourage us all to start practicing something like an old Soviet dissident style samizdat for the digital age. Anything that might disappear down the memory hole--good reporting, white papers, government science reports--archive through the Internet Archive (now hosted on Canadian servers at arhcive.org), and also save a PDF offline. "Samizdat" literally means "self-printing." It refers to how dissidents behind the Iron Curtain would type copies of banned texts and pass them around. 

Thank you for the suggestions. I agree that we (the Resistance) are going to have to pull out all the stops. Trump in and of himself is bad enough, but Bannon and Pence are sneaky and far smarter, and are the ones I'm truly terrified of. I have not been big on PDFing stuff and printing, but I think I will start doing so more.  I haven't looked at everything yet, but I hope you'll share your website with the membership here on FJ.

Personally, I've really expanded my news/current affairs circle and have paid and donated more than ever since mid-2016. I already had a WaPo subscription (agreed they are a bit too soft on evangelicals, but they still have hit the anti-Trump drum pretty hard), the NYT, and ProPublica. I've also made my first-ever donation to the ACLU, hoping that every penny will help fight the scary stuff that is going on. I will check out the Tampa Bay Times, thanks for the suggestion!

[Cartmann99]

8 minutes ago, cstroop said:

I'm going to have a website with a blog up soon, and if anyone else is going to do something like that, I recommend hosting on Swiss servers if possible. That should make it less likely for the government to be able to shut you down. 

Meanwhile, I also encourage us all to start practicing something like an old Soviet dissident style samizdat for the digital age. Anything that might disappear down the memory hole--good reporting, white papers, government science reports--archive through the Internet Archive (now hosted on Canadian servers at arhcive.org), and also save a PDF offline. "Samizdat" literally means "self-printing." It refers to how dissidents behind the Iron Curtain would type copies of banned texts and pass them around. 

It breaks my heart that we are at the place where we are seriously discussing these issues. I don't doubt you or Dr. Kendzior, but I guess I'm still processing this in some ways. 

[cstroop]

Yes, they are known to do that! It's very good to archive fundie stuff to keep them honest. 

Sarah Kendzior is a really wonderful, caring, selfless person. She also has a very grim outlook on where we are now. She has a book for sale, and a PayPal.Me for donations. If you can support the work of people who are telling the truth, that helps. We will need to do a lot at the grassroots level now.

[Curious]

2 minutes ago, cstroop said:

like Sarah Kendzior, for example, who now often writes for Canadian and Dutch outlets.

I love Sarah Kendzior.  We (the FJ account) follow her on Twitter.  I'm hoping to snag her for a Q&A at some point, as well. 

 

4 minutes ago, cstroop said:

Anything that might disappear down the memory hole--good reporting, white papers, government science reports--archive through the Internet Archive (now hosted on Canadian servers at arhcive.org), and also save a PDF offline.

This is a great idea.  We are used to being an archive for the fundie stuff because we only delete things here under very rare circumstances.  They have a tendency to try and scrub stuff if they get pushback or realize they put too much info into the public realm (none of them seem to really understand the internet).  This is something we can actively do!

[cstroop]

Good question. In addressing a conference at the Vatican once via videoconference, Bannon spoke of the need for the "church militant" to play an important role in the coming "very brutal and bloody conflict." He's an extremely dangerous man.

We've seen that the Trump administration is moving to control all the information flowing out of the government, to replace government science and reports with what will surely be propaganda. The media will have much less access to the White House as well; this will not be a transparent administration to say the least.

I am unprepared to predict exactly how far the Trump administration will go to control the independent media beyond controlling access, but we're seeing ominous signs from Bannon, Trump, Conway, and Spicer. I suspect that at first, instead of outright censorship, they will try to silence the critical press through lawsuits.

The best thing we can do is support quality journalism and commentary. Subscribe to good papers like the Washington Post (even though it's too soft on Evangelicals) if you can, or to local papers (the Tampa Bay Times in my area still does high-quality investigative journalism). Support the work of individual truth-telling journalists, if you can, like Sarah Kendzior, for example, who now often writes for Canadian and Dutch outlets.

I'm going to have a website with a blog up soon, and if anyone else is going to do something like that, I recommend hosting on Swiss servers if possible. That should make it less likely for the government to be able to shut you down. 

Meanwhile, I also encourage us all to start practicing something like an old Soviet dissident style samizdat for the digital age. Anything that might disappear down the memory hole--good reporting, white papers, government science reports--archive through the Internet Archive (now hosted on Canadian servers at arhcive.org), and also save a PDF offline. "Samizdat" literally means "self-printing." It refers to how dissidents behind the Iron Curtain would type copies of banned texts and pass them around. 

[Cartmann99]

Just wanted to add that Bannon and the people he associates with really scare me.