368 Comments

I just closed my Twitter account in the expectation there will no longer be any moderation of Trump or similar, reactionary propagandists. I hope many others will do the same.

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Musk is calling himself the Chief Twit! Twit means stupid and foolish. He's got that right!

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Let him Sink.

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Cathy, I thought Musk referring to himself as "The Head Twit" or whatever adjective he applies before Twit was so accurate. I think he is trying to claim and redefine the term Twit, but I don't think it is going to work this time. I thought it was a joke by a comedian when I first heard it.

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I've never had a Twitter account, and have no plans to open one. One social media platform (Facebook) is enough for me.

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I closed FB as well. Enuf!

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Susan, I am not a Twitter user either, but I know a lot of folks who are and they depend on it for a lot of their quick communication with family, friends, colleagues, and others in their world. They will suffer under Musk because he does not appreciate the average person since he thinks he is so much smarter, more clever, and just plain better than everyone else just because he has manipulated things to make him richer than anyone else. It's too bad he now has a megaphone much louder than just the media's constant absorption with his shenanigans.

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Oct 31, 2022·edited Oct 31, 2022

Let's not forget, also, that Elon was born on third base. He grew up very privileged, so he had a huge head start and probably believes he deserves everything he has managed to accumulate. Reminds me of a certain former President.

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I deactivated my Twitter account yesterday. Hardly used it much anyway.

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Yipee!, your find (The Verge, Nilay Patel, Oct 28, 2022)--thank you for this! Great perspective, “right on,” Elon has a company that supports bans on social media’s idea of free speech--despite Elon admiring Texas and Florida lawmakers that ban free speech in the name of free speech, “My free speech but not their free speech.” A sh#t show to moderate, aka the job of platforms in providing what people seek, a positive experience, information and truth. It gets confusing if you try template of logic over it. Elon has bought himself--audience as what a social media purveyor IS. Great writing.

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I can't say how happy I am you wrote that, V J! After posting the link twice and search info once, I felt like a shill, but the piece could hardly be more pertinent, thorough, or authoritative—plus, as you mention, insightful. Thanks.

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Me neither with FB and twitter accounts, but I'm a devoted nonmember twitter reader. Can't post—for me a feature, not a penalty—and no ads. Simply choose feeds wisely and skip most comments. I'll miss it bigtime if Musk wrecks it.

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I enjoy the interaction here too—a bit too much, I'm beginning to suspect. I guess moderation just got away from twitter control before they realized how crucial it is. I follow designated feeds like Norman Ornstein, Lawrence Tribe, and, yes, Maggie Haberman, for quick expert analysis, conversation optional.

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I'm on Twitter but I'm afraid to follow anybody for fear of getting loads of notifications. What does following someone entail?

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Janet, I too find this thread interesting, inciteful, and worth my time. Skip Twitter if you can!

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Janet, I suspect Musk may want to sell it off, but who is going to be foolish enough to buy it after he has messed with it?

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Now more than ever we need to know what's being said on Twitter becausse the ruling class, which isn't supposed to exist, is doing their communicating there.

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Oct 29, 2022·edited Oct 29, 2022

A valid concern. That's assuming they're not speakin' in some kind of Mafia code or gibberish unintelligible to outsiders.

Omthin'say ikele istheay! And >that's< very simple. Code-talk is ancient technology.

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DZK, I suspect the "ruling class" won't waste its time with codes and such. They already have control of the media in its variety of platforms. Why waste time with the rest of it unless they just do it for fun because they can and because it's just another platform to conquer or rather to keep under their control. Free speech, they care nothing for it for anyone but themselves.

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It's always been the ruling method, in this country, to divide the people over an issue so they can't rise up.

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As a final thought, whatever said "black shirts" might be, I'm a'guessin' they aren't stupid. They can see what will come of communicating in plain text messaging, by all the guys who are going to be spending the next several years in the can. Although the NSA are expert code crackers, book codes are virtually uncrackable. Working out schemes to imbed them into ordinary messages altogether removed from what the plain text is actually saying is well studied, and virtually undetectable. The kind of guys I'm talkin' about would >definitely< cultivate that ability as a part of the "special" skill set - whatever side of the debate they support.

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Who says it would be the "ruling class?" Don't forget the "black shirts" who participated in 1/6.

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Who ever saw Twitter being such a politicized platform. I never paid much attention to Twitter because only people with large followings are successful at spreading a message unfortunately. I guess we could add a quality rating but we've seen how that tends to eliminate the good stuff and allows the bad or inaccurate stuff to flow. In fact, I never saw it really going anywhere and without Trump it wouldn't have. Yet they banned the very person that made their product successful. To me it always seemed like a bad messaging program because you have no way of insuring delivery to people that would be interested in your message. People used to join groups if they were interested in specific types of info. I think they may still be the better way to reach your audience. Of course Facebook is nothing but a confusing reinvention of the web in one place (AOL 20.22). Trying to be everything to everyone. Except it so unintuitive. I'm perfectly fine just using the real web and ditching most of these apps.

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Just as a follow-on to my previous response: https://youtu.be/0NFEiMFrM7A

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You mean like Evangelical wisdom? Or maybe in tongues where relgious leaders would literally make up languages and speak them as they were possessed by I guess Jesus. I don't think they'd be doing it if they were possessed by the devil. Although I guess based on the sound of the language it might sound more angelic or satanic. Not that I believe in either.

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Oct 30, 2022·edited Oct 30, 2022

Nice take. Hadn't occurred to me. Yep! That'll do it, too! Well done. You may not believe in it - the speaking in tongues - but that doesn't rule out a more cryptographic perspective having nothing to do with what it's presented as being.

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I was permabanned in around 2017 for my alt left views; I got out BEFORE it was cool! (No, I WAS getting pretty aggressive, so I kind of deserved it. Even IF Bunkerboy and crew were making death threats . . . )

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I deactivated mine, too. I hope bazillions deactivate. Someone will develop a new, intelligent and responsible platform.

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As I said to someone else this is the time to pay attention more than ever for they are dooming our future and this is one of the places we can actually see what they're thinking.

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It might make more sense to wait until such a platform is developed before fleeing Twitter & surrendering it to antidemocratic right-wingers.

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While there are many interesting commentators on Twitter, I do not depend on it for important information. Now Substack, that is a different story.

Deactivating Twitter accounts at this time sends several pointed messages. I am not a Musk-ateer😆

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RemovedOct 30, 2022·edited Oct 30, 2022
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Go back to reading your enlightening hate speech. I prefer to read intelligent, thoughtful postings, even ones I do not agree with, than rantings of hateful, traitors and QAnon lunatics.

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Good for you, William for closing your Twitter account. Maybe there needs to be another platform that can be built from the base with regulations in place to keep things civil and bullying extremely limited. We have learned the hard way that regulation, good well-developed regulation is essential in every business because rich folks and others who get power will keep pushing to see what they can get away with until they are stopped.

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founding

Was there some expectation of Twitter being a public platform for free speech and - if so - based on what? (Isn't that like thinking a mosh pit is a venue for free dance expression??)

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Sir, the concern is not a difference of opinion, the concern is about those that are promoting outright lies. We have millions of American citizens that are gullible. People that will believe any allegation that a certain person writes or says even if that person has no proof of what he is alleging. That SIR is a major problem!

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But will they block our ideas and thoughts? I lost acess to Twitter for a month for something I said. I'd argue Twitter's understanding of it because they don't allow talking about suicide at least as it applies to one's self. I know someone saying help me can't be read. But what I said had to do with the programmers at Youtube constanly screwing up the functionality especially moving cvomments to different places and depending your device type you may not even find them at all. What I said was they were such terrible programmerrs, designers, etc that they should collectively hang each other. Obviously I'm saying that a bit tongue in cheek but there's no policy about telling someone else to off themselves which the absence of should be just as concerning as me saying I'm going to off myself wasnever seen because they removed it. Seems that they should have a policy of allowing people thinking of suicide to post everthing they want. They don't even get the policy right. I guess this comes from most of these coprorations being run by immigrants and having different cultural philosophies. None the less they're missing it big time. Musk is an immigran of South Africa. I guess we'll see how he thinks. And since the government will probably be subsidizing Twitter for him it may be even more concerning that he'll be faced with governmental demands in exchange for their money.

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founding

Well... that is the issue unfolding: there's some evidence that platforms (Facebook/Twitter/etc.) can be compelled to edit content in the same way someone running owning a TV station, radio station, and/or billboard would have to; indeed, in some cases they are attempting to do so before being subjected to onerous regulation & unfavorable scrutiny (say, in spite of their sentiments regarding free speech).

Perhaps the social media platform are more akin to a venue like a professional sports stadium than they are actual telecommunications common carriers (as there are no essential services that depend on the existence of social media)...?

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founding

Experts say "it's a slippery slope" - once regulation begins, where does it end?

Your prediction about Section 230 could prove true - but the status quo has been this way despite troubles with AOL, then MySpace, and (these days) Facebook; certainly the idea of content moderation (tens of thousands of people moderating content directly - mostly for the small fraction of social media users that are in America) seems unsustainable... and especially so if users have no recourse, i.e. in the case of misidentification and/or misapplication of rules.

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He still has your PII from the account. >That's< even worse.

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I’ve been off Twitter for about a year, I think. Never used it much, except to retweet things i thought were valuable, but I got sick of being associated with it at all.

This new era is going to be quite a revelation [The Book of Revelation? Eeeek.]

I am a writer. A one-time journalist. From a journalism family. I’ve always felt a sense of participation, but now I’m worried about WHAT will be left to participate in.

These days I mostly edit people’s narratives and work on writing my own novels. Will I retreat from this world into the realm of fiction? Have we all already done that?

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I wish this were fiction Pat. Facts sound the alarm that this is not FICTION.

Some corporations are smart enough and still have moral anchors to stop any advertising on Twit fur! If they can’t face a few dollars lost, we the public must stop supporting any of this non-fiction control by corporate enablers.

We must also get very serious about letting our elected officials in Congress know that we do not tolerate anyone not protecting the laws of this country and we demand that they make laws that hold these power sponges accountable for all hate and harmful rhetoric.

Liability insurance an immediate part of these purchases. Huge liability policies!!! Like ones we get for tornados or hurricanes. We can’t blame Mother Nature for our woes. But we sure as heck can hold a simpleton human responsible. Come on grown up humans! Step up and use your power !

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If this vote goes to R’s, I worry that the power of the people and the vote will wither down to next to nothing. The R’s want to rule. All too many of them are autocrats who think they are MEANT to rule, and we have no “God given” right to challenge them. The are anointed … For two years, Biden’s administration has had to try to move forward with governance while dragging a weighted Congress behind him like an anchor. And people blame him for NOT doing more and think that electing those very obstructionist people will make our government work better!! Where’s the logic??!! [I can give credit to Biden, but even though, DOMESTICALLY, he has done much — I have my own issues with his foreign policies, which are more free of Congressional pressures, but still not to my liking].

This upcoming election, though — I’m seriously worried about what can happen …

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Pat Goudey O Brien ; we have had some illusions, for sure.

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What can we do?

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Oct 29, 2022·edited Oct 29, 2022

Bone up on your hacking skills and kill the Twitter database - the only thing I can think of. Not in my skill set! And I'll be the first to admit - I just ain't smart enough to figure out how to do it myself!

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Good point. No one can manage this Brave New World alone. Perhaps that is the meaning or purpose of it all.

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Vote for pols pledged to do something about it.

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Here's an option I just came across that sounds effective: https://youtu.be/fhOufyiY4us

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I hope that we have a viable alternative that can compete with Twitter & is very much like Twitter as it has been that we all can join before we all exit Twitter & give it up to all the fascists.

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The problem that most of us experience with Twitter is we can read those that have the attention of the press but few read our Twits and unfortunately this is huge problem. The other day I said Joe Biden was a war criminal and that's important to read but how many did? 2, 5, 11? If I had the noteriety of Julian Assange I would be tortured for saying what I should be able to say in a free speech country and he isn't even an American not subject to American laws and yet here we are with our out of control war criminal government trying to imprison him for a crime he can't commit.

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founding

"Silence is golden"

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Well, he is in a way accountable for how he invests his own money. When you make cars, you can be everything in your company. However, the feds are beginning to think that his driverless car thing is dangerous. It either kills the passenger (by running into a white tractor-trailer) or the driver gets bored, stops watching, and kills someone else. Elon might lose in all.

But when you buy a service like Twitter, it only makes money when people use it. if your customers stop using it for any reason (i. e., they no longer trust it), you goose is cooked. There are already plenty of internet apps that let people spew hatred.

So, when it comes to Elon and Twitter, WE are "in the driver's seat," (excuse the pun). If you don't like it, find another platform or start one yourself. We cannot count on today's courts to do anything but make a mess. So, it's up to us. Let's DO IT!

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"Don't be a Twit!"ter"!! And while you are at it: Kill your Television when it sucks!!!

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"WE are "in the driver's seat."

This guy has enemies, competitors. The fossil fuel military/industrial complex hates Musk. He torments them. They spend zillions undermining climate science. In 2016, Tesla acquired SolarCity, the US' leading provider of solar panels. Today, Tesla sells four solar energy storage and generation products: Powerwall, Powerpack, Megapack, and Solar Roof. Historically Musk was trolled by the right wing. He has to know this. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/04/elon-musk-trolling-us-conservatives-green-tech

Trump has a competitive product -- Truth Social. Trump-- a competing megalomaniac -- will attack.

Musk uses government. His companies had received $4.9 billion in government support as of 2015, according to a report published that year by the Los Angeles Times — much of which came in the form of subsidies. One of the largest beneficiaries of these programs was SpaceX, which, in its first decade, operated on a total budget of $1 billion—about half of which came from government contracts from NASA. And just last year, SpaceX won a $2.9 billion NASA contract to build a moon lander. This activity is antithetical to Republican groups like the Tea Party, which calls this "socialism." . https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/to-infini-tea-and-beyond-tea-party-in-space-aims-to-stop-nasa-s-socialism

I think that Musk will eventually see that "freedom of speech" does not include climate warming deniers and the BIG LIE.

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Why would Trump attack? He would have another free platform,

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Simply by attacking, he will make it onto Musk's platform and bragging rights on his own platform. Problem for Trump: Truth Social will very soon disappear. (It's going bankrupt because Trump and family did their usual thing, kept taking money out of it.)

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You're right, Trump would tank Truth Social if he joins the Twit. But I could see him making "guest appearances" to stay in the news, ALWAYS on their mind.

He's already said he won't join Twit, but I think he can't resist.

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thank you-makessenxe

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In his narcissistic mind, a threat.

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I would've thought that until recently, but there are many recent things he's done or said that are concerning & of an authoritarian bent, & he seems sympathetic to the likes of Trump, Putin & Xi, & if he does side with tyrants like them, it's yet another blow against democracy.

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I hope you're right. But Musk revels in doing his own thing and answering to nobody. Let's see what happens.

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https://joinmastodon.org/

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Mastodon has been around for several years without breaking out of its small “not Twitter” following. Without mass adoption, it acts more like the forums of yesteryear or the Discord servers of today. Just like Twitter, it lacks a use case for most folks.

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For me the interesting question is how the moderation/censorship question will play out. Twitter has a problem that they either need to find rules that apply to all, or give users some choice on the rules (kind of a choice from a menu). Either way is difficult. Mastodon is the naturally environment for smaller communities setting their own rules, which is sth not possible on Twitter. Either way, governance is the big problem. I still have hopes that we learn and develop better methods for governance in P2P networks.

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Although the first line of signing up produces a "Please match the format requested" box without definition and no obvious exclusionary principles when other user names are viewed so I already feel alienated!

Cheers though as a nice idea that will presumably work out for me...eventually...

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btw, this leads to bigger questions: How to finance public goods? How to maintain open source software?

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Arrghs ... I know, this is annoying ... but before you feel alienated think about how hard it is for software that is created by volunteers to compete with multi-billion-dollar big-tech companies .... and progress is being made ... the situation is already much better now than 20 years ago ...

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This looks very dangerous, as the World is not particularly stable at the moment. I am not an US citizen. I appreciate that democracy in your country is in a shaky state at the moment and because I really believe in Democracy I am sorry to see you sinking under combined weight of MAGA, Musk, Putin and Southern Evangelicals..

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Oct 29, 2022·edited Oct 29, 2022

Thank you. I wish the US voters were as clear-eyed. I've been a'harpin' for months about the very forces you've identified. (I have called and will continue callin' 'em neo-Confederates - except for Putin, who calls 'em useful idiots!)

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Would that US citizens and voters were as clear eyed as Europeans, and that we could overcome the obnoxious views of "freedom of speech" granted to us by our Constitution. I firmly believe that freedom was NOT what the founders had in mind. It is sickening that this principle has been corrupted so that ANY speech is considered free, no holds barred, no remark or threat deemed too dangerous to be out. That and our inept non-enforcement of guns per 2nd Amendment are sinking the ship of state like the Titanic!

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and Rupert Murdoch

the fuhrer of Fascism

right here in America

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You aren’t nearly as sorry as most of us here are. This has always been the double edged sword of the internet though. Unfortunately both edges have been taken over by the monies few.

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Ewa—You're certainly more American in spirit than white South African-born and bred immigrant Musk. Anyone know whether he's ever bothered to become a U.S. citizen?

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I'm calling it "shitter" from now on because Musk and how he lies, dissembles and treats people badly is one big SHIT!!

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Hahahahaha!! Good one, Dee!

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Or call it Twatter cuz all that’s left of it will be a bunch of twats.

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I can't possibly "like" this post. It is too horrid. And too true.

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Oct 29, 2022·edited Oct 29, 2022

It's time to eliminate the class of billionaires, isn't it?

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What do you suggest?

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Eat the super-rich.

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I've never tried cooking one, but I doubt that they would taste very good.

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Declare this class unconstitutional and seize all their assets (they can keep $999 million, 3 villas and 1 yacht) above $1billion and put all the money in to one pot to serve the greater good. If they want, they can move their company headquarters from, let's say, California to London, Beijing or Moscow.

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In the past … pitchforks and Guillotines have been notably effective. In the current interval, I suggest that everyone read Dave Troy.

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First, and bear with me here, I gotta get this off my chest, Musk is making a strong bid for the title of Biggest Asshole in the Universe (which Matt Taibbi some years ago originally awarded to Alan Greenspan). Competition is stiff, what with all the fascist, racist autocrats and power-crazed no-talent tinhorns out there, not to mention the far-right extremist billionaires continuing to corrupt our country with their blood money. But Musk, an execrable excuse for a human being and a waste of otherwise perfectly good oxygen, seems determined...

In a more productive vein, see Heather Cox Richardson's Oct. 28 essay for some interesting insight on some practical, real-world constraints Musk is likely to crash into with Twitter (scroll about halfway down if you don't want to read about the attack on Paul Pelosi): https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-28-2022?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email.

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Pretty sure Putin has a lock on that sobriquet

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His puppet Trump could give him a run for that "honor" if he gets back in power.

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If he lives up to any of your adjectives, advertisers will have a hard time supporting Twitter.

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Musk already put out a statement to Twit's advertisers, that freedom of speech was his 1st priority & it "wouldn't turn into a hellscape..." I'm kinda here for it, they can start over once he destroys it. Lesson learned, in front of the entire world.

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Clean up the Internet - tax 1 penny every tweet, like, post, email. etc.

It's a Free-for-All because it is free for all.

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How about an "excise tax" on political expenditures? Say 35% on the $9 bn. spent this cycle.

Spend it on good governance education.

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Yes, isn’t it devastating the money being spent (that goes back into the pockets mainly of the wealthy who own print and broadcast media).

I think about all the good uses that money could be put to, like child tax credits, food for people who are food insecure, affordable housing and health care, etc.

Those who want to give me an economics lesson: don’t bother.

Somehow there is always money and a way to spend it for military adventures.

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The issue was framed for me years ago by a member of parliament in India. He pointed out that at that time the money spent on a single U.S. presidential election exceeded to the annual budget of the the country of India.

Election media has become both a playground for the ultra wealthy and, with small donors, yet another means to transfer wealth for the less to more wealthy.

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Indeed, it is another means of wealth transfer. Thanks for making that point.

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Now this is a great idea!

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Can we direct that money toward education?

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Not for charter schools!

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Absolutely not. They're a pox on education, although they're great for fomenting a theocracy. Also, I might add and not for homeschooling either. (retired teacher bias, but I still think, in my dotage, that public education is the surest way to ensure a chance at a working democracy)

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Thank you. I agree 100%.

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Too late for that. Better put it in the CO2 mitigation hah

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This country & world already favor the rich & inconvenience the poor too much.

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An unregulated Internet is as unrealistic as an unregulated marketplace. The tricks are getting the right regulations and enforcing them.

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Musk has already walked back the free speech diatribe. His going to have a council decide the rules of the game. He said Ye was allowed back on Twitter before he took the helm of the company.

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the EU is planning on keep-

ping a Close eye on Elon

with Hatespeech and Mis-

information in their Sights

and they've Not been

Sheepish in impos-

ing Substantial

Fines to Big

Tech. good.

.

now if only

We might be as

Brave as Olde Europe

.

but for the McMitch

KkKonnell Court...

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Ye can't be "allowed back"—was never banned

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I just cancelled my Twitter account.

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You are a brilliant, if depressing, analyst

of our changing world. Please put your

talented mind to work on how to

overcome these dangers.

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I've gotten on Twitter yesterday and the day before and the postings were 90% garbage. None of the intelligent postings I grew used to seeing but rather the stuff that lurked in the corners, much like the MAGAts who came out of the woodwork when Trump gave them the power to be publicly dumb, violent and racist.

I suspect that the number of Twitter followers will decline dramatically until Trump is allowed back on, and then it will be Trump's s**tshow and his maggot followers will exult in Trump temporary victory, and as the former guy once put it, 'get tired of winning.'

In the end, though, the Musk Melon will lose most or all of his investment and eventually either fade away or run for high office because, as narcissists seem to believe, they're so wonderful that everyone is supposed to stand up and cheer for them and what better way to gain the applause (if you don't sing or dance) than to gain the highest office in the land?

The greatest threat to what's left of America is an uninformed or misinformed populace that doesn't recognize fascism when it hits them on the nose.

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Well said, Porter!

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Trump has his own. He won’t apply to get back on Twitter. Getting older by the minute and hyper-focused as always, he has his own platform, groupies, mirror.

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Overconsolidation and monopolies are the death of capitalism.... yet, republicans just say, "Get out of thier way".

The rich and corporate have purchased an entire party.... with no room or tolerance for personal integrity, beliefs, ethics, or patriotism.

Tim Michels has spent overs 20 million of his own money, 97% of the whole, to BUY THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. HE IS TRYING TO BUY A STATE.

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Inherently hostile to democracy. See a pattern here? They >really are< enemies of the state.

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That’s the thing isn’t it? No longer does the Republican party have any interest in democracy, it doesn’t even have any interest in a functional sustainable capitalism.

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amongst their self-destructive tendencies

is Over-reach* which damn near cost

them the Midterms had it only

happened a little later and

may Still.

*Adios Roe.

they'll sacrifice Capitalism too

they just cannot Help it

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I guess there are many incentives for them to keep going to extremes

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the Nazis're

Knocking.

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YES, they are making their play to steal our country... every republican all in on tryanny, hatred, fear, and division... and all for the MONEY>

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i don't think tht is true.I ws speking mostly of R's in Congress --their policies..

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when the Citizenry's Monitized

why Not just Buy it?

it's Billionaire Rule.

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Even before Elon took over twitter, I thought of removing myself. Yesterday I did remove myself from twitter. It is a worthless media and now even moreso.

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Done! 🤸‍♀️

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I quit Twitter months ago when I read that EM had made an offer to buy it and make it a privately owned, uncontrolled entity. I have long ago disconnected from TV Networks and prefer to live in a world of fiction via streamed "foreign" TV and movies where I can pretend to live in a world where people have ordinary problems, a social safety net and socialized medicine even if only for a few hours. I read fiction for entertainment and posts like these.

I feel that the two main newspapers (NYT and WAPO) that I have read for my entire adult life have recently changed from being quasi-liberal to more conservative and filled with verbal nonsense and meanness. For now, I will keep my NYT subscription for the Crossword, Spelling Bee, Wordle, and Letterboxed and some occasional OPED pieces. Few writers other than Jennifer Rubin keep my interest in the WAPO and I will let the subscription run out.

I know in my heart that these changes have occurred since the gap between the very wealthy and the rest of us has exponentially widened with decisions like Citizens Unites and Corporate greed. I'm sick to death of hearing about the hatefulness of Trump and his GOP sycophants and the Catholic decisions of SCOTUS.

At almost 82 years old, I can say that I've lived a lot of our "history" but I now have little hope for our country to remain a Democracy when and if the GOP manages to take control of our Government in November. I wish I could be more hopeful for my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren but I'm not.

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Jean, at the same age, I am standing in your footprints. Brava!

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At a young 76 I feel the same as you. We got the good out of what WWII left us, with some exceptions, and now our progeny are left with a husk maybe because we weren’t vigilant enough? Who knows at this point.

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Having survived the inadequate food supply during WWII, I can empathize with the growing number of American children today who face food insecurity. That experience has made me value the compassion I have for those not as lucky as I have been. But it also makes me somewhat skeptical of those who loudly proclaim to have the right not to be immunized or wear a mask, as if that is the biggest problem they face in today's world, not Covid or climate changes or loss of Democracy or control over one's body.

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Jean, I had to check the name because I thought I had written it but couldn't remember doing so. Raising a glass to my doppleganger.

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Thank you Robert Keesecker. It is comforting to know there is a kindred spirit out there somewhere.

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Elon is just 1 of the 1,000s of Oligarchs controlling our news.

This October, segments of the stock market rose at a near record rate. So far this month, the rise is the best since 1978. Also, at the same time America's 3rd quarter GDP rose 2.6%. My point is that the "Biden crash" has not occurred, and the business news oligarchs will not explain that to the American public. Instead, they explained the rise in the market to the projections that Biden will lose control of the House and Senate this November. This is very bad. During the 1930s there were 1,000s of American NAZIs inspired by such Oligarchs like Henry Ford, whose Dearborn press blamed almost all of the world's problems on the Jews. Hitler praised Henry and awarded him the highest honor that Germany can give. I know a lot of you don't think America has oligarchs, but that's because American oligarchs are not as bad as Russian oligarchs.

Don't fool yourself. The vast majority of American news is controlled by oligarchs, like Elon, who shape most of public opinion. Their goal is to divide Americans and create chaos. So far it is working.

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He just happens to be the richest of the many—while lacking the gravitas to inspire them to kiss the ring.

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