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commonsensecure.bsky.social
On Substack https://ghostoftompaine.substack.com Veteran of a foreign war. Now a soldier in the one here at home. Share name w/ NY Times writer. It'd be far too confusing. Lifelong fan of Paine, so... We Have It In Our Power To Begin The World Over Again
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Great essay by @brianklaas.bsky.social that complements my post re: using people's stories to build a counter-narrative to Trump's lies, extolling good govt can do. Appreciating govt systems only after they're gone is a recipe for disaster...sometimes literally. www.forkingpaths.co/p/doge-and-t...

submitted 5 hours ago • 0 comments

V-Coding is barbaric & in saner times a 100% clear violation of 8th Amendment. They still move prisoners by busses...with tires that deflate...on open roads that can be blocked, right? Linked to reddit forum discussing v-coding in case anyone feels like throwing up. www.reddit.com/r/asktransge...

submitted 2 hours ago • 0 comments

The cruelty is the point. Never forget it.

submitted 3 hours ago • 1 comment

Great essay by @brianklaas.bsky.social that complements my post re: using people's stories to build a counter-narrative to Trump's lies, extolling good govt can do. Appreciating govt systems only after they're gone is a recipe for disaster...sometimes literally. www.forkingpaths.co/p/doge-and-t...

submitted 5 hours ago • 0 comments

I agree with you. We're up against true believers now, those who've been so seduced by evil they think they're a superior species w/both a right & a duty to rule the rest of us. A look at history tells us this kind of struggle's usually long & bloody. My 💗 bleeds for Ukraine & Gaza.

submitted 13 hours ago • 0 comments

Happened upon this interview as I was finishing up this post. Apparently today's theme is elevating people's stories to build a better narrative. (That & punching Nazis) After watching Elon's drug-addled act at CPAC, both seem appropriate. Time to bury this garbage RW fascist ideology. rb.gy/6dh64s

submitted 20 hours ago • 0 comments

Need more of this sort of framing. Don't say 'tax cuts for the wealthy' - too vague & doesn't put a face to what is actually happening. Stories of huge personal costs to Americans losing medical care vs. billionaires buying a new yacht/airplane/mansion is clear juxtaposition people need to see.

submitted 23 hours ago • 0 comments

Two simple rules that work for almost every scenario we’re facing: 1. It’s always projection. 2. Follow the money. When you look at their actions in the context of a cabal of fascistic billionaires set on destroying this country, they all make sense.

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Building a narrative. Knitting together stories of fired federal employees with those that highlight how government can help people (or loss of important programs can hurt them) is how we create a narrative capable of taking down both Trump & right-wing propaganda. open.substack.com/pub/ghostoft...

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

"Not every problem we name can be faced, but zero problems that we refuse to name can be faced." @anatosaurus.bsky.social talks to Anand Giridharadas re: political messaging; who is doing it right, who is doing it wrong, and how we can all do it better. Worth the watch. substack.com/home/post/p-...

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

Yet another move that will harm rural Americans (who largely voted for Trump) the most. If Dems (or anyone aspiring to lead) can't communicate a message built around these stories of harms being done & how government was actually helping people, they are wasting their platform. It should be a layup.

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

I will use every tool at my disposal to protect this country from Trump. I will litigate to defend voting rights until there are no cases left to bring. I will speak out against authoritarianism until my last breath. I will not back down. I will not bow or scrape. I will never obey.

submitted 1 day ago • 678 comments

Millions of Americans treat their tax refunds as part of their annual income. It’s often used for things like home improvements, big ticket purchases (e.g., appliances, cars, etc.), vacations and paying down debt, which means these cuts will also impact the supply side of the economy.

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

When Mona Parsons, from Nova Scotia, was imprisoned for being a part of the Dutch Resistance during WWII in Holland, she was tasked with knitting socks for German soldiers. She knit knots in the soles to create blisters on their feet as an act of defiance. I think about that a lot. Knots.

submitted 2 days ago • 4 comments

Absolutely. There is too much talk about how unfair/hypocritical right-wing media is (I'm guilty of this too), rather than just using similar tactics, minus lying. Planes are falling from sky after Trump publicly took ownership of FAA & fired 100s of employees. How are these not #TrumpPlaneCrashes?

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Anyone wanting to understand what is going on in the Social Security Administration with extra SS#'s and 1875 dates of birth Elon & MAGA are screeching about, here is another Reddit forum that covers it really well. www.reddit.com/r/fednews/co...

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

I need to hurry up and finish my dystopian sci-fi series before these weirdos turn reality into something worse than my fiction. I swear, when book 2 comes out, I'm referencing back to this and it will be completely clear why to anyone who has read it. Unreal.

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

They were never going to lower prices. They never cared about egg prices. It's the same lie as CRT. They want us chasing their bullshit while the real mission is to disassemble the government so the rich can get richer. They are on a mission to destroy it all. It's beyond a coup.

submitted 3 days ago • 483 comments

The American Toxic Event @mikeljollett.bsky.social

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

This doesn't happen with bullshit like #VoteBlueNoMatterWho. It happens by pushing tepid & cowardly Dems to do better or primarying them out of existence. Let's hope their tepid & cowardly response to naked voter suppression & election fraud doesn't end up being a crippling blow to democracy.

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

I hope America is as lucky as the delta jet - everyone survives but the right wing explodes

submitted 4 days ago • 1065 comments

I have no sympathy for Trump voters getting fired who assumed someone else would be abused and fired and were ok with it.

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

See also: the drone hysteria in December. It's almost like the media can still shape narratives just by talking about something over and over

submitted 3 days ago • 7 comments