By Katharine Graham Cracker, a Trail Mix Contributor
Freedom of speech is one thing. Does it mean you are free to say anything you wish? There are certain things you are not permitted to say under the First Amendment.
For instance you cannot say that you are going to kill the president. It is against the law and you can be prosecuted for just saying it. Incitement is another example. Slander and defamation are also not protected. How is blatant racism anything less than the slander and defamation of others?
I’m thinking maybe I should sue the Nazi’s for things they say about the Jews and women. I could do it in small claims court just as people have done for neighborhood nuisance issues.
They may end up having to carry signs that say, “This about the Jews except for Katherine Graham Cracker and everyone else who sued us.”
Why not?
A Swiss court has fined a man for “liking” defamatory comments on Facebook, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind. According to a statement from the Zurich district court, the 45-year-old defendant accused an animal rights activist, Erwin Kessler, of racism and anti-Semitism and hit the “like” button under several comments from third parties about Kessler that were deemed inflammatory.
The comments were made in 2015 during heated discussions on a range of Facebook groups about which animal welfare groups should be permitted to take part in a vegan street festival, the Swiss daily Tages Anzeiger reported. Kessler sued more than a dozen people who took part in those exchanges, a lawyer for one of the defendants, Amr Abdelaziz, said. (The Guardian)
kgc, what a good idea. sue the bastards! [at least it will keep some poor lawyers off the streets]
kudos to jack and mrs jack. well done and most worthy of repost.
https://youtu.be/dwNGJ1CEKyA
My fave is the guy who is suing the repubs for fraud, ‘cuz they didn’t repeal Obamacare as promised.
cnn:
In comments Tuesday on CNN, Speier said there’s “a growing mountain of evidence that the president has been very erratic” and “has shown a mental instability.”
“It was crystallized last week with a combination of his comments about fire and fury that he offered up against Kim Jong-un and North Korea and how we would take him out, followed by his back and forth on Charlottesville and how he really became almost abusive in calling people out when he was really telling from his soul what he thought about the Charlottesville incident,” she told CNN’s Jim Sciutto.
“If you go back in time, like six years, and watch interviews that he gave then where he could put a whole sentence together, but now tends to put a few words together and then goes off into another sentence unrelated to the first,” she added. “It is an indication to me that there is some trouble there that is more than just a one-off.”
Speier, who serves on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, said she is genuinely worried for the American people.
“I am concerned about him having his finger on the button that could send nuclear warheads around the world.”
CNN reached out to the White House for comment Wednesday but has not received a response.
The California congresswoman is among several Democrats in Congress to publicly suggest Trump should be removed from office through a never-before invoked section of the 25th amendment, which allows the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare him unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.
You should do more Posts, Katherine Graham Cracker. Interesting subject.
any chance that the 3 swing states that swung the election were among those “local and state governments make extensive use of the Russian software” mentioned below? how secure were the elections in those states if the Russia foxes were providing cyber security to their ballot box henhouses?
cbsnews: W.H. cybersecurity coordinator warns against using Kaspersky Lab software
Rob Joyce, the Trump administration’s cybersecurity coordinator, said Tuesday the U.S. is lacking 300,000 cybersecurity experts needed to defend the country.
He also had a warning for the public about using software from Kaspersky Lab. U.S. officials believe the company has ties to the Kremlin — and the federal government has vowed not to use its products.
CBS News has confirmed that FBI officials have met with private industry representatives to relay concerns about Kaspersky Lab, which is a Moscow-based cybersecurity company with suspected ties to Russian intelligence.
[….]
“There is a connection between Kaspersky and Russian intelligence, and I’m absolutely certain that Russian intelligence would want to use that connection to their advantage,” said Michael Morell, a former deputy director of the CIA.
The U.S. government already prohibits its use, but local and state governments make extensive use of the Russian software.
Jack & Mrs Jack
Did you catch on the last thread that the URL in the video is incorrect. You may have meant to use Mccoy but on Blogspot it is set up as Mcoy. It will need to be changed in one place or another. Right now the correct URL is
http://mcoyfriendsyamigos.blogspot.com
excerpt from new republic:
Will Republicans Have the Guts to Head Off a Shutdown?
If GOP lawmakers want to keep the lights on in the fall, they’ll have to neutralize Trump. That means working with Democrats.
[….]
It is unheard of for a president to shut down his own government to punish Congress for doing anything, let alone for failing to oblige him on a narrow funding request for a divisive policy goal. More than unprecedented, it would be sheer madness.
Though Trump’s impulses are less restrained than ever, there is next to no chance that Congress is going to finance his border wall. The very fact that GOP leaders take Trump’s veto threat seriously speaks strongly to the notion that he can’t be trusted with the powers of his office. But so long as Republicans are unwilling to remove him from it, they must at least be prepared to take these kinds of decisions out of his hands.
In practice, that would mean not only calling Trump’s bluff by rejecting his demands, but also surrendering significant power to Democrats so that must-pass bills clear Congress with veto-proof majorities. Doing so would call down the wrath of Trump-loyalist media outlets, but the consequences of the alternatives—defaulting on the national debt, enduring an indefinite government shutdown—would be horrific, and to inflict them on the public out of cowardice would be immoral.
Trump gains no more leverage taking his own government hostage than he would robbing a bank holding a gun to his own head. But it does allow him to inflict vast collateral damage out of spite. And this time, unless Congress stops him, Trump may refuse to back down, because spite is all he has left.
I have been trying to create a framework for how SFB went from his beginning to today, and not doing well at that. Much did not fit, even the mental issues or diseases he is suffering from do not explain it. His stated desires, his rants and his raves seem to not fit a typical human from a democracy.
When I took his life as an actor, it still did not fit. Training as an actor provides a great base for performances as multiple personalities. But, nothing like this guy.
What does make his life seem more logical is that he was raised as a white supremacist, a member of the kkk for life from his childhood on. His life was as a dictator, his every want filled, and those he did not want were removed from his presence. Even being a nazi fits when viewed this way. Putin is a dictator, not a Communist so claiming SFB has commie desires is incorrect.
His mental issues are allowing him to live in his little world as a dictator. That is why he sees other strongmen and dictators as favorites. They are just like he is. He is not a wannabe dictator, he is one, at least in his own mind.
He cannot disassociate himself from nazis, kkk, white supremacists, and general slime. They are him.
We have a dictator, nazi, kkk, white supremacist as president. How do you fight that person? How do you protect America during the time that SFB methodically destroys our country?
Fine post and yesterday’s post and comments were also top quality…enjoying reading. Craig, Cracker Barrel has a cult-like following for road travelers. We have a Cracker Barrel here in Las Cruces…hope to see you there someday!
KGC — keep-up the resistance. mel makes a living by suing, we can make a better world by suing, however.
Jamie, Thanks alot for the catching the typo, it has been up there for 3 years and I never noticed it. I’m starting a new blog with the proper URL.
That is what I like about this place smart, intelligent, but most of all helpful folks.
Now back to work
Jack
From the Regression du Jour file —
Perry tilts the energy scale — nuclear and coal clear winners in new US NRG study. Meanwhile, our electrical grid suffers under climate change. Infra structure to build a crappy southern border wall instead of updating or a new grid. Our AC went-out on Monday…two weeks ago our water heat quit. It is a circuit board issue with many of our appliances…and it is so difficult to find retrofits for the aging appliances. We await a part from Phoenix. and swelter. The electrical surges of the summer under sun, monsoon and flood are taking a toll. At our pay grade? We have to keep the old jalopies going.
Also, steve pearce did respond to my email even though I have told him not to bother with answering my letters. He is running for governor and has changed his views…against the border wall and now against trump’s alt right band of thugs.
His letter —
Thank you for contacting me regarding the terrorist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.
The car attack by a white-supremacist in Charlottesville on Saturday, August 12, 2017 was an act of terrorism, plain and simple. This violence and hatred has no place in our communities, and I condemn this attack and any like it. Those who promote hateful rhetoric and beliefs are far removed from the goodness that exemplifies the American spirit. America’s diversity of culture and religion is a unique trait that has long been a beacon of hope for many around the world, and groups who preach hate must know they will not separate the common bond we share as Americans.
My prayers are with the victim killed, those injured, and the families affected by this senseless act of violence.
Again, thank you for taking the time to express your concerns. I appreciate having the benefit of your views.
Article on a 2018 movie politically minded might want to see. Filming starts in Atlanta with a great roster of actors. Subject, the Gary Hart scandal that probably started the tabloid journalism that affects campaigns to this day. It might go along with us all bullying Craig into writing “The Messenger Attacks”. lol
The Front Runner
you can sue for defamation in small claims court
http://www.toplawfirm.com/whatisdefamation.html
Death to the American Way of life via a thousand paper cuts of pretty disgusting changes by the trumpence junta —
trump continues to push transgender military ban with guidance to the pentagon. Just like the Muslim ban…we are paying for trumputin’s phobias.
Meanwhile, trump, the racist, retweets the ridiculous meme eclipse of his deplorables…king baby likes shiny objects and the generals keep him busy with his twitter masturbation….while they take-over.
If you are not litigious..perhaps diso is your answer
https://qz.com/1059410/disco-isnt-dead-its-being-used-as-a-secret-weapon-for-disarming-british-neo-nazis/
I think Trump’s AZ performance coupled with his renewed hateful attack on transgender people accompanied by deepening signs of mental instability as a disqualifier for any role involving command and control of our nuclear arsenal, make him unfit for service under the 25th Amendment to our Constitution.
If he contests that finding, it is time to impeach him.
Here’s an excellent example of pwnage: when the white supremacist group VNN Vanguard Nazi/KKK tried to host a hate rally in Knoxville, Tennessee, they were foiled by … clowns!
kgc, thank you thank you thank you. that story on the clowns vs the clods made my day. loved this part:
The clown women thought they finally understood what the Klan was trying to say. “Ohhhhh…” the women clowns said. “Now we understand…”, “WIFE POWER!” they lifted the letters up in the air, grabbed the nearest male clowns and lifted them in their arms and ran about merrily chanting “WIFE POWER! WIFE POWER! WIFE POWER!”
Another good idea
I am opposed to violence but I support fun
KGC, thanks for also pointing-out that white supremacy is a detriment to women along with the primary racist agenda they spew.
I am off to burn another candle on the Mueller altar…my only hope in that the investigation is still alive is that trump keeps trying to get his gov buddies to stop the russian investigation. I doubt they have flipped flynn, but manafort hired another lawyer after the raid…one who deals with fraud and taxes. manafort probably will roll-over and expose the trump soft spot, if he hasn’t already. Then there are the fbi problems during the election….some how tied into all of russian interference and takeover of our election. After comey, styrok is now gone and demoted to fbi human resources during a hiring freeze. Who, what, where and when?
bw, light a Mueller candle for me too. looks like fbi has 20,000 emails to sift thru and find fun with. things are looking up for the investigation.
cnn: Exclusive: Top Trump aide’s email draws new scrutiny in Russia inquiry
Congressional investigators have unearthed an email from a top Trump aide that referenced a previously unreported effort to arrange a meeting last year between Trump campaign officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
The aide, Rick Dearborn, who is now President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, sent a brief email to campaign officials last year relaying information about an individual who was seeking to connect top Trump officials with Putin, the sources said.
[….]
Dearborn’s name has not been mentioned much as part of the Russia probe. But he served as then-Sen. Jeff Sessions’ chief of staff, as well as a top policy aide on the campaign. And investigators have questions about whether he played a role in potentially arranging two meetings that occurred between the then-Russia ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, and Sessions, who has downplayed the significance of those encounters.
[…]
And Dearborn wasn’t the only person within the Trump campaign emailing about potential Russia meetings. Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos sent an email to top campaign officials in March 2016 about arranging meetings with Russians, sources said. The subject line was “Meeting with Russian Leadership — Including Putin,” according to the source.
Sources told CNN that senior campaign officials dismissed that proposal. Papadopoulos has not responded to CNN’s previous requests for comment.
[….]
The emails from Dearborn and Papadopoulos were included in the batch of 20,000 emails that the Trump campaign handed over to multiple congressional committees earlier this summer.
CNN has reported that the FBI saw intelligence last summer suggesting that Russian operatives tried to use Trump advisers to infiltrate the campaign. Sources said this intelligence referenced foreign policy adviser Carter Page. Page denies ever working for Russia or having any improper contact with Russians.
Sessions led the campaign’s foreign policy team, which included Page and Papadopoulos.
Published on Aug 23, 2017
There’s a stampede underway. To get as far away from Trump as possible.
Defamation suits are rarely successful for a reason. Unless you have personally been defamed standing is a problem. And if you get past that proving damages (read dollars here) becomes difficult – which is why PI lawyers don’t generally take such suits. But hey, if you win you might get attorney fees.
no lawyer necessary small claims court — used very successfully in neighborhood nuisance suits
keith coins a new epithet: “republic-klans”
that’s got to hurt those few moderates left in the party of lincoln
BW, when it rains, it pours.
Let’s try to save your remaining circuit boards. I urge you to install a whole home surge arrester in your electrical load center (fuse box). Quality arresters are available from Home Depot and similar stores. I am comfortable doing such work myself; many homeowners will want to get professional assistance. They cost less than $100. Considering the electrical environment you are in, I see it as the equivalent of fixing the latch on your seat belt.
For the three major groupings of sensitive electronics in the house (TeeVees and computers, etc) I use always-on back-up power supplies. They insure the sensitive devices connected to them are isolated from the outside lines by generating their 120v 60hz power continuously by the batteries in the back-ups. Good ones cost more than $100.
For the damage you already have. If you can pin it down to a specific event or storm, perhaps insurance can give you some relief.
He did not coin that
kgc, since he didn’t give attribution, I thought it was his own. who did coin it so we can praise their creativity?
I don’t know who first used it but,
Do you think they serve them at Republiklan meetings? from last Sunday’s discussion about NCslaw dogs
I’m against outlawing words. I’m in favor of outlawing actions by people carrying signs worded in such a way that they cause a fighting reaction by normally peace-loving people.
YEEEEHAAAAAW! Wife Power! Wife Power!
KGC… small claims court…. go for it!
I’m waiting to see what happens with the SF march and whether I could still use the Sonoma County small claims I think I can
I also don’t really want to go to the march but I think I will have to and tape it
Funny how to tape something is still in use long after actual recording tape is becoming an obsolete item…..
White Flour!!
Sturg, explore archive.org
so, Trump isn’t villifying the media and his opponents in government because he plans on resigning.
“I alone can fix this” – Ignoramus Trump
Once again, those who complain about the media are among the dumbest participants in the public political discourse, as journalism has NO BARRIERS TO ENTRY. Be a journalist, if you think you can contribute more than those providing you with content.
Despite that, there is a tremendous voulume of thoughtful journalism across various media produced by intelligent, hardworking people, and if there is less of it, today, in traditional media forms like TV and print, it’s only because cheapskates want everything for free.
While we are banning speech, can we ban use of the term, “the media”, por favor? Thanks, in advance.
I enjoy the WSJ tremendously and especially appreciate the clear separation and division of editorial opinion from their first-rate news operation. Their commitment to the arts is also quite noteworthy and appreciated.
Thanks, Flatus.
Lately, and especially after the events in Charlottesville, NPR has been producing what I consider “must-listen” programming concerning social-justice issues framed by “margianlized voices” (I like that term, will continue to use it), themselves.
I have two fine cameras–a Linhof and a Rolleiflex, and several also rans. Problem is, they are all film cameras. And, I have several decent ‘modern’ cameras–a Sony with several lenses a couple of Nikons and some more things. I’ve never become use to taking pictures with them. They all seem geared to ‘hold the button down and you’re bound to produce a masterpiece.’
The film cameras demand patience, thought and skill, both technically and in composition, to produce that masterpiece. That was a large part of the fun of photography.
kgc, please forgive me for praising keith instead of you for using the term “republic-klan” . that picture of the slaw dog must have struck me so dumb I couldn’t see past it.
your comment sunday was very clever, timely and creative. keith knew a good thing when he saw it and stole it.
politicususa: As Trump Mentally Collapses, Battleground States Poll Signals Deep Trouble For Republicans
According to the George Washington University Battleground Poll:
The survey, taken August 13-17, found a large majority of voters — 71 percent — agreed his “behavior is not what I expect from a president” (27 percent disagreed), and 68 percent agreed his “words and actions could get us accidentally involved in an international conflict” (29 percent disagreed).
Almost two-thirds (63 percent) of the registered voters polled said the country is on the wrong track, and a majority (56 percent) had an unfavorable view of President Trump (41 percent favorable). A similar number disapproved of the job he’s doing as president (55 percent), while 42 percent approved, and 56 percent also said he has not been effective as the president, while 39 percent said he has been effective.
Bink, why do you want to ban that useful word. In scanning the linked article, I see little possibility of finding another word that so effectively captures such a broad area of communications concerns:
usa today: Amid mounting bipartisan concerns, debate over Trump’s mental health takes off
[….]
Until now, talk of Trump’s erratic behavior and alleged narcissism was common on social media, late-night talk shows and among political opponents. But Trump’s “fire and fury” comments about North Korea, a raucous rally in Arizona Tuesday and changing response to the violent protests in Charlottesville, Va., crossed a line for some Republicans and brought the conversation into the mainstream, even among some supporters.
A poll by the media and technology company Morning Consult over the weekend showed 55% of respondents said Trump was not stable.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a former constitutional law professor at American University, sponsored legislation in April that would set up an independent commission to determine if any president no longer has the physical or mental capacity to perform the duties of the office. The 25th Amendment to the constitution was ratified 50 years ago and calls for such a body but it was never set up.
The bill now has 28 co-sponsors and while more can’t be added until Congress goes back into session Sept. 5, Raskin says there’s been “a sudden spike after every acute episode” involving Trump’s behavior.
“We need every tool in the constitutional tool kit to be able to deal with the unfolding and accelerating crisis of presidential power in America today,” says Raskin.
Raskin notes the commission would also be in place if future presidents can no longer serve, but former New Hampshire Republican Sen. Gordon Humphrey urged the New Hampshire congressional delegation this month to support it because Trump is “impaired by a seriously sick psyche.”
[….article continues….]
“Bink, why do you want to ban that useful word [media]”
I was being facetious about “banning” it, but the term “the Media” is terribly indescriptive, too broad to have any benefical meaning, implies concerted behavior where there isn’t any, and is used by nefarious and/or ignorant interests to erode confidence in critical voices.
From my estimation, when people typically use the term “the Media”, they really just mean the singular news outlet from which they consume their infotainment, which is usually one of the shitty cable news outlets.
more on that politico/morning consult poll in story from multichannel: Trump’s approval rating falls 8% among Republicans in Politico/Morning Consult survey
President Donald Trump’s approval rating has dropped once again, according to a new poll from Politico/Morning Consult, and a majority of respondents have questions about his stability.
Only 39% of those polled approved of the job the President is doing, compared with 56% who disapproved. That was down from 44% and 52%, respectively, from the week before. More than half — 55% — said Trump isn’t stable.
The poll was released Wednesday morning and conducted after the President’s various statements on the violence in Charlottesville, which drew heavy criticism from the media, Democrats and members of the President’s own party.
But it came before the President defended his comments at a Phoenix campaign rally Tuesday night during which he blamed the media for misreporting words that were “perfect,” then attacked them anew — CNN, the New York Times, ABC, the Washington Post — to a cheering crowd. That speech prompted Republican strategist Rick Wilson, a Trump critic, to opine on CNN that the speech was “an astounding chain of lies tied together by lunatic asides by a man who obviously is mentally unstable.”
Most of the week-over-week decline came from Republicans, among whom the president’s approval rating dropped 8 points to 73% from 81% the week earlier.
A majority of respondents (though in three cases, given the margin of error, it could be roughly half or slightly below) had numerouos criticisms of Trump’s character: 51% said he is not a strong leader, 53% said he isn’t moral, 55% said he isn’t stable, 58% said he is reckless, 52% said he isn’t honest; 52% said he doesn’t care about ‘people like them’ and 56% said he can’t unite the country.
Okay, if Mexico won’t pay for the wall, maybe russia will. Would they build a bigly byuuutiful wall along the border to prevent US influence in Latin America ? Quien sabe.
China knows a helluva lot about walls. They might be willing to build us a destination wall.
Oh, right. The border is a destination already. Never mind.
BW – Maybe they meant WINE POWER!
bid & bw… alt-rt believes more in WHINE power than wine power.
Patd
I don’t know if he stole it or not…it’s an obvious observation in these days. I’m surprised more people haven’t used it. After all great minds often think alike….
ap via msn: Zinke won’t eliminate any national monuments
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said he’s recommending that none of 27 national monuments carved from wilderness and ocean and under review by the Trump administration be eliminated.
But there would be changes to a “handful,” he said.
Zinke told The Associated Press that unspecified boundary adjustments for some monuments carved out of wilderness and ocean over the past four decades will be included in the recommendations he planned to give President Donald Trump on Thursday. None of the sites would revert to new ownership, he said, while public access for uses such as hunting, fishing or grazing would be maintained or restored.
He also spoke of protecting tribal interests and historical land grants, pointing to monuments in New Mexico, where Hispanic ranchers have opposed two monuments proclaimed by President Barack Obama.
Zinke declined to say whether portions of the monuments would be opened up to oil and gas drilling, mining, logging and other industries for which Trump has advocated.
If Trump adopts the recommendations, it would quiet some of the worst fears of his opponents, who warned that vast public lands and marine areas could be lost to states or private interests.
But significant reductions in the size of the monuments, especially those created by Obama, would mark the latest in a string of actions where Trump has sought to erode his Democratic predecessor’s legacy.
“There’s an expectation we need to look out 100 years from now to keep the public land experience alive in this country,” Zinke said. “You can protect the monument by keeping public access to traditional uses.”
[…story continues…]
Toby on critter alert, Southern Command
just saw interview on msnbc with plame. here are some stories on what she’s up to. go, baby, go! a great big “atta girl”!
usatoday: Valerie Plame Wilson wants to buy Twitter and ban Trump from it
and
businessinsider: Outed CIA agent Valerie Plame has started a crowdfunding campaign to buy Twitter to boot Trump
Former undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson is looking to crowdfund enough money to buy Twitter so President Donald Trump can’t use it.
Wilson launched the fundraiser last week, tweeting: “If @Twitter executives won’t shut down Trump’s violence and hate, then it’s up to us. #BuyTwitter #BanTrump.” The GoFundMe page for the fundraiser says Trump’s tweets “damage the country and put people in harm’s way.”
As of Wednesday morning, she had raised less than $6,000 of the billion-dollar goal.
In an emailed statement, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the low total shows that the American people like the president’s use of Twitter.
“Her ridiculous attempt to shut down his First Amendment is the only clear violation and expression of hate and intolerance in this equation,” the statement read.
Wilson wrote on the fundraiser’s GoFundMe page that she hopes to raise enough money to buy a controlling interest of Twitter stock. If she doesn’t have enough to purchase a majority of shares, she said that she will explore options to buy “a significant stake” and champion the proposal at Twitter’s annual shareholder meeting.
A note to the reader: Not all oppostion interests are as foolish and myopic as Valerie Plame. Thank you!
Easier & cheaper: Boycott twitter until he gets the boot.
bink, she’s not foolish to wake the public up to how dangerous trump’s tweets are with regard to nuclear war threat. what you might term “foolish” notions sometimes get other people thinking and acting.
bid, I wish boycotting would do it, but his tweets are heard round the world and affect a lot of lives. his tweets have been a threat to the economy, to morale in the military and intelligence community, to the safety of some of our citizens…. etc.
I disagree with Valerie Plame. It’s because of those tweets that we (and the world) know how crazy SFB is… that’s like saying the press shouldn’t cover him. If he becomes invisible it doesn’t mean he isn’t doing any damage. IMO, let the sun shine in!
vanity fair:
Inside Valerie Plame’s Quixotic Mission to Buy Twitter—and Shut Down Trump
Can the ex-spy take away the president’s megaphone before he tweets the world into Armageddon?
Nearly 15 years after former C.I.A. operative Valerie Plame had her covert status leaked to the press by members of the George W. Bush administration, the outed spy has a new national security mission: saving the world from Donald Trump. She has been keeping busy in the years since she retired from the C.I.A. and moved, with her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, from Washington to Sante Fe, writing spy thrillers and raising teenage twins. She turned one of her books, a memoir about the 2003 scandal that bears her name, into a movie starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts. But it is her obsession with nuclear weapons that has inspired her most recent, and most quixotic, bout of activism.
This week, Plame, who works closely with counter-proliferation group Global Zero, announced a new crowd-funding campaign to buy a controlling stake in Twitter and force the company to ban Trump from the platform. “Time and again his use of this huge global platform has major consequences in the real world,” Plame writes on her GoFundMe page. “Trump has already brought us closer to nuclear war than any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis. We can’t take Trump’s nukes away (yet!), but we can take away his biggest megaphone and stop him from tweeting armageddon.”
The plan is ambitious, to say the least. Plame is seeking to raise $1 billion, in what would be the largest crowd-funding campaign of all time. Similar plans went nowhere when a group of shareholders petitioned Twitter to sell itself to its users earlier this year, nor when Mexican currency traders floated a bid to buy the company and immediately shut it down. Still, Plame is deadly serious about the idea—and thinks her activist investor strategy, as unrealistic as it is, is the best possible way to push Trump off the platform. (If she can’t buy a significant stake in the company, Plame says she’ll donate 100 percent of the money she raises to Global Zero.) Here, the ex-spy talks to the Hive about the limits of free speech, how she would use the $1 billion, and why threatening nuclear war should violate Twitter’s terms of service.
The Hive: How did you come up with this idea?
Valerie Plame: Well, John Oliver joked last week about how we never imagined that the invention of Twitter would lead us to the brink of nuclear Armageddon. A good chuckle, but the people who understand how crises escalate—I worked on counter-proliferation at the C.I.A.—we’re not laughing very hard. It is deadly serious. The threats he has posted with regard, most recently, to North Korea—”fire and fury,” this sort of casual use of this platform—is appalling. And I’m seriously afraid that we will stumble into a nuclear war with North Korea.
I’ve been working with Global Zero. They are a great organization leading the resistance against nuclear war and the elimination of nuclear weapons. And we came up with the idea of, “Wait, we can do a GoFundMe site and try to buy a controlling interest in Twitter.” Because their rules do say that they do not allow violence. And nuclear war, I think, falls into the rubric of violence.
Raising $1 billion would give you an 8 percent stake in Twitter, at its current valuation. That’s a bigger position than many activist investors take before seeking changes at a company. What’s the end goal?
It’s a very ambitious goal. I recognize that. One billion dollars is a whole bunch of money. But the real hope in launching the campaign is to shine a spotlight on how dangerous Trump’s use of Twitter really is. We don’t have to sit by while Trump uses his enormous global platform to undermine our national security. We would love to be able to actually force Twitter’s hand to live up to its rules, explicitly forbidding hate speech and encouraging violence.
It seems like if this were successful, it would inevitably incite a political fight with the president.
He has lots of other platforms! And he can use Twitter. I am just objecting to the fact that we could potentially stumble into a nuclear war. Whatever you think of Trump, I think most people would agree he is impulsive, and we certainly have an impulsive leader in North Korea in Kim Jong-un. That’s an unholy combination.
But the ultimate goal is to kick Trump off?
I think we would try to convince Twitter to live up to their rules. Perhaps he would tone it down a little bit. Look, again, the goal is really ambitious, but no matter what happens, I’m not keeping this money for myself, I’m not going to financially benefit in any way, I’m donating every last penny to Global Zero.
[….interview continues…]
renee, this is another way to wake people up. it’s an attention getter. she’s not banning speech, she’s trying to keep the twit from yelling “fire” in the crowded theatre so to speak and blowing up the world.
those tweets are considered official statements of the president of the u.s. other nations take them seriously.
Give money to Jack’s charity, instead?
Give money to Jack’s charity, instead?
Yeah, Bink… I’m in favor of that!
BTW… there’s a category 3 hurricane bearing down on Texas this weekend…. it might make a direct hit on Houston. And SFB hasn’t named a FEMA director yet. Oh I do believe in Karma… I do, I do believe in Karma…
Tammy Duckworth on the transgender ban.
When I Was Dying it didn’t matter who saved my life
Flate, many thanks……that’s a heck of a site…..
Renee
about the hurricane, we do know someone who has tugs and barges hunting for safe harbor. I do hope the young men working for Jax have found a safe harbor to ride out the storm. I do wonder how the stir things up vote is working for Jax. But the Obama economy is still riding high.
Jack
You’re not actually hoping folks die, are you?
If so, sorry to disappoint you, but other areas of TX are sending first responders, equipment, and other resources to the coast.
Shelters are being set up in N TX for evacuees.
They are already airlifting preemies from the NICU in Corpus to Dallas.
Charities always partner with the grocery stores to make it easy to donate.
It will be sad for anyone or anything in its path.
Gas up now. Oil refineries will be shutting down, too.
Where to send your money?
Yes I will welcome all help.
But for political donations where you can have the best bang for the buck. Look for local folks just starting out. Mrs Jack and I had a rule of thumb. For a house party fund raiser we assume we would spent $50 for entertainment that night anyway. If we really believed in the candidate we gave more. In some ways politics is like baseball. There are a lot of little leaguers who are never going to play in the professional ranks but if we don’t support the little leaguers then soon there is no base ball. The same goes for politics. If you want a strong party then you need people working their way up through the ranks.
So first, give local
Jack
BID
It is a cat 3 hurricane, several years ago Mrs Jack rode out a cat 3 hurricane in Norfolk VA, She was totally unimpressed. After all we live on the edge of the great plains, We see some real weather. Just sayin’
Jack
speaking of “hard rain” We have had 2 6inch plus rain events in August. It is good to live high on a hill in times such as these.
some really young dylan
May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.
Bed time see you all in the morning
Jack
Just saw Michael Moore’s “The Terms of My Surrender.” It was extraordinary. Mrs. P loved it for her birthday.
He hates our “president” as much as I do. Maybe more.
Btw, Jack, you and Michael agree on how to get the Dem party off TDC.