K-Space

We are in the New Browser Wars. This time there’s a helluva lot of money up for grabs, because a lot of it is about running those ads. Monopolies are bad for consumers.

AdNauseam is an adblocker that generates false clicks on the ads it blocks, which costs the corporations that pay for them money.

Privacy Possum messes with the tracking data collected about you, rendering it essentially useless

TrackMeNot generates random search terms across sites, meaning that any data collected about things you actually search is buried in a sea of random bullshit. Makes it very hard for people to figure out what you’re actually doing. You can block terms in the options, which means it won’t search for anything incriminating on your behalf (I think the word bomb is blocked by default)

WhatCampaign replaces tracking analytics used in website code with data that can’t be used to track you. I’m pretty sure it replaces it with “fuck off” by default.

- An adjunct professor

- A lawyer

- A real estate agent

- A state legislator

- A CEO of a company

A LOT of these people, thorough their occupations, family connections, what-have-you, all had varying degrees of institutional power to inflict their menacing politics on people and harm them. Do you think a MAGA real estate agent is gonna help a black family looking for a good home at a fair price without regards to whatever the neighborhood is? Do you think that MAGA teacher or that MAGA university adjunct professor is treating his non-white students fairly? Are you sure that MAGA CEO gives a single fuck about creating a safe working environment or not discriminating against employees that aren't white? We all know the power of a racist legislator, but even a single racist, with the backing of the white supremacy system, can ruin a life pretty effortlessly.

White supremacy is a cancer. It infests and infects every aspect of a person's life. It is truly insidious.

I don't know how to wrap this up conclusively but maybe this tweet thread will sum it up better

if you haven’t heard, tr*mp is refusing to help the postal service financially during this pandemic (and beyond) in an effort to starve it of funds/resources and kill it off so it can be privatized. also:

obviously this is not great, as tons of us rely on the USPS for all kinds of different reasons, and the privatization of this essential service would have a dramatic effect on the entire nation. namely: voting by mail would become nonexistent (❗️), and the cost of shipping mail and goods will change astronomically.

if this sounds terrible to you (and if you live in the us, then it should!), then text USPS to 50409 to sign the petition and instantly send a signed letter to your senators and representatives. it’s fast, easy, and it’s action that you can take right now.

the letter urges your senators to make the financial support of the USPS a priority, and outlines why the USPS is an essential service in our country that must be defended. here’s my letter:

don’t want to use the text service/send an electronic letter? mail a paper letter to your senator’s office.

you can also call your senators and house representatives at (202)224-3121 and urge them to support the USPS financially.

you can also buy a roll of stamps right now to help financially support the USPS on an individual level!

in conclusion: please take a minute to help support the USPS in any way you can. this is an important issue that affects all of us here in the US.

it would be AWESOME if you could reblog this & spread it, or if you’d rather not reblog this post, then i encourage you to make your own post on the social media of your choice and share with your friends.

The American Postal Workers Union has a good explainer on this, as well as Last Week Tonight. Even before Trump’s DRASTIC directive to screw over USPS, a 2006 law from the Bush administration and Republican-led Congress has basically slowly led to the US postal service’s decline, and this is a final nail in the coffin.

The TLDR is that that 2006 law required the USPS to pre-fund postal workers health care benefits for 75 years, which meant they had to have money for employees who weren’t even BORN yet.

Here is more on this issue:

Also, the issue with Trump’s latest target at the USPS isn’t just refusing coronavirus aid. His new appointee to lead it is now purposely handing down directives to restrict employee overtime and late delivery trips so that mail delays start to pile up. The guiding slogan was “every piece, every day.” Now it’s “get in, get out.” Just like Betsy Devos forcing schools to reopen, this will destroy trust in these systems, force reliance on private companies, which is exactly what Trump and the businesspeople he appoints want a) as capitalists and b) to surpress people further as they become more reliant on worse and more expensive services.

Contact your senators! Just send them a quick email telling them to get their butts in gear! pass S. 2965