Shannon Skinner (she/her) / is on Nostr

Former digital marketing strategist. “Vote Blue No Matter Who” is a stick. I prefer carrots. Americans lack #universalhealthcare and that pisses me off. Yuge #DEVO fan. #TwitterRefugee
Duty now for the future!

[Header: DEVO’s New Traditionalists poster. Drawing of DEVO on stage defending 3 infants from a crowd. 5 approach the stage: a man in a pilgrim-style hat with bible, a woman in bathrobe and curlers with rolling pin, a pirate with sword, a long-haired hippie, and a punk rocker.]

Pixelfed: https://pixelfed.social/i/web/profile/643864411056179838
Pinball Map Admin (Bellingham, WA): https://pinballmap.com/

Last Notes

2024-09-20 01:55:45

Back in 1860, the Pony Express was a fast mail service that covered nearly 2,000 miles from Missouri to California. Its relay system of horses and riders cut the delivery time of mail and news from over 24 days to just 10 days!
In 2024, the US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy pledged the USPS will work “around the clock” and implement “extraordinary measures” to ensure that presidential election ballots are delivered in...7 days.
"DeJoy became postmaster general in June 2020 after being selected by the USPS Board of Governors, all of whom were appointed by Trump."
The National Association of Secretaries of State sent DeJoy a letter expressing “ongoing concerns” about the USPS' “ability to deliver election mail in a timely and accurate manner” this year.
Election officials said they’ve experienced “exceptionally long delivery times” for election mail, including ballots, which could lead to those ballots getting rejected because they didn’t arrive before the deadline. They also wrote that they’ve noticed “higher than usual rates” of election-related mail being marked as undeliverable.
Mail yer ballots EARLY y'all. Preferably, use a drop box if one is available.
#USPol #USPolitics #DeJoy #FuckDeJoy #MangoMussolini #VoterSuppression
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/politics/post-office-mail-in-voting-dejoy/index.html

2024-09-19 16:20:25

MAGAt US House Republicans are threatening to shut down the US government unless Dems cave in to pass the SAVE Act.
The SAVE Act is designed to suppress women's votes: “Roughly 90 percent of married female voters have a different name on their ID than the one on their birth certificate. An estimated 34 percent of women could be turned away from the polls unless they have precisely the right documents.”
The law requires a citizen who does not have a passport or other proof of citizenship with their married name to "produce both a birth certificate (with the seal of the state where it was issued; no copies allowed) and a current form of identification — both with the exact same name on them. That could instantly disqualify about 90 percent of all married women without passports or other proof that matches their birth certificates or proof of a legal name change."
#Misogyny #VoterSuppression #USPol #USPolitics #MAGAts #SpeakerJohnson #VotingRights #Fascism #Democracy #Harris2024
https://hartmannreport.com/p/trump-and-johnsons-shocking-bid-to-1f1

2024-09-13 17:45:36

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#Solidarity
"The agreement included 25% pay increases over the four-year contract, short of the 40% increase pushed by the union."
Gee, 40% sounds like a lot, doesn't it? But context is required, which corporate media routinely and intentionally fails to provide.
“Boeing is saying they are in a tough spot recovering yet their executive salaries haven’t changed. COO [chief operating officer] Stephanie Pope makes over $300,000 every two weeks,” said a Boeing mechanic who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
Workers also were upset that Boeing chose to cut their annual bonuses, which The Seattle Times reported "average just over $6,100 pretax in Washington state and about $7,600 pretax companywide."
"Boeing has spent $68bn on stock buy-backs and dividends since 2010."
"The company has been mired in scandal but has still paid huge salaries to top executives. Outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun received a 45% increase in 2023, to nearly $33m in 2023. Their ousted former CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, left with a golden parachute of $62m."
Boeing's CEO to worker pay ratio is 273 to 1.
#FuckBoeing #WorkersRights #USPol #USPolitics #Business #Finance #Boeing #737Max #UnionStrong

2024-08-23 19:31:12

New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who was not required to relocate from California to Starbucks' Seattle headquarters, will commute weekly by private jet.
"Niccol’s private jet perk has brought some attention to the climate change implications of those flights and Starbucks’ projection as an environmentally friendly business, which recently rolled out new cups that use less plastic and eliminated plastic straws."
Folks, it's gonna take a lot more than thinner plastic cups and plastic straw bans to counter this asshole's George Jetson carbon footprint.
#BoycottStarbucks #Sustainability #TaxTheRich #USPol #USPolitics #ClimateChange
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/23/business/starbucks-ceo-brian-niccol-private-jet/index.html
https://s3.c.im/media_attachments/files/113/013/014/343/370/256/original/66676c541d3eb63a.png

2024-08-22 17:29:27

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I grew up in Memphis. The tap water tastes amazing because the treasure of Memphis is its water source - an artesian aquifer.
"Memphis, TN is the largest US city that relies 100% on groundwater to meet its every need."
Musk's "gigafactory of compute" stands to destroy this treasure. Memphis is sacrificing its pride and joy, its drinking water that is superior to many other large cities, in the service of a narcissistic billionaire manbaby who doesn't give one shit about anyone who lives there.
Through my connections, I see the positive slant in the local Memphis media. Memphis is forever the victim, its politicians and leaders tragically susceptible to external flattery from rapacious industrialists.
#Memphis #MuskRat #USPol #USPolitics #Tech

2024-08-18 00:02:35

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As a hobby, I paste Ronald Reagan's head, along with an arrow pointing to the date of his inauguration, on graphs that show how his policies led to the obscene level of income inequality we have today.
#RonaldReagan #RonaldReaganWasAPieceOfShit #USPol #USPolitics #IncomeInequality #TrickleDownMyAss
https://s3.c.im/media_attachments/files/112/980/033/038/356/736/original/ce234cac73ab02f9.jpg

2024-08-16 17:41:11

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My favorite Harris proposal that not listed there:
"Remove tax benefits for investors who buy large numbers of single-family rental homes"
That right there is the key to controlling skyrocketing housing costs.

2024-08-11 22:20:29

View from my camp site during a recent 5-day stay at Panorama Point Campground, on the shores of Baker Lake in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington state
#Mosstodon #SilentSunday #BakerLake #Washington
https://s3.c.im/media_attachments/files/112/945/692/966/272/790/original/f0d362e0774f0365.jpeg

2024-06-17 17:00:36

With the ongoing #COVID19 pandemic and #H5N1 deadly Bird Flu on the rise, let's review what we have learned over the past 4 years.
You are on your own.
No one is coming to save you.
No one but your friends and family will care whether you die or become permanently disabled.
Your employer cares more about their bottom line than your life.
Use your brain and the best tools at your disposal (masks, distancing, good ventilation, etc.)
Science deniers, anti-maskers, and conspiracy theorists will scream like toddlers and should be ignored.
Government and business in your country will benefit long-term from data obfuscation and risk denial (ignoring the problem means they don't have to spend money on it).
Assume the worst and act accordingly.
Don't give in to peer pressure - your life is on the line.
Arm yourself with the most recent scientific data and stand ready to combat ignorance when it rears its ugly head.
#Pandemic #BirdFlu #COVIDIsNotOver #COVIDIsAirborne #BirdFluIsAirborne #USPol #USPolitics

2024-05-23 21:05:25

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Washington state
https://s3.c.im/media_attachments/files/112/492/442/293/412/476/original/ddc7e5e462484970.png

2024-05-23 20:53:36

I follow COVID scientists here on Mastodon. I've seen them post links to studies showing waning effectiveness of COVID vaccines after 6 months.
I received the updated booster last October and want to get boosted again prior to some planned travel in July. (Air travel to the MAGA anti-vax cesspool known as Florida)
I have contacted three pharmacies in my area.
One has no COVID vaccines at all and said they won't receive any until fall.
The other two say they will not vaccinate me because they must follow US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines stating that only people 65 years and older should receive boosters at this time.
They won't vaccinate me even if I am willing to pay out of pocket.
Both say I must get a recommendation from my health care provider before they will even consider it.
Less than 20% of people in my state are up to date on their COVID vaccines. For those of us who want to follow the science and not some arbitrary age limitation, why not let us get vaccinated?
#COVIDIsNotOver #COVID #COVID19 #COVIDVaccine #Healthcare

2024-05-21 19:40:36

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Thank you for this statement. I fear I will be in the needy category soon.
Realistically, how steep is the learning curve and how daunting are the roadblocks for someone who has relatively little patience for computer tinkering?
I'm willing to put a reasonable amount of time towards set-up, but how time consuming will the maintenance be?
Also, I worry about compatibility with common software, such as Quicken.
Can someone recommend a comprehensive set of tutorials that aren't spattered with jargon, acronyms, and initialisms (my pet peeve)? I don't even know what a "distro" is.
I detest the trajectory #Spycrosoft is following, and I worry that others, such as myself, will be stuck using their products due to the high hurdle of switching to Linux.
Then again, everybody said "Mastodon is too complicated," and I didn't find that to be the case at all.

2024-04-24 18:13:23

To all the brave university students protesting the ongoing genocide in Gaza, I see you, I hear you, and I applaud your resolve. Also, please protect yourselves.
It is my duty now for the future to point out that the band DEVO formed in the early 1970s "in response to the failed promise of utopian progress peddled by post-WWII politicians and consumer culture" and amid the turmoil surrounding Vietnam war protests in the US.
The core members of DEVO were friends with two of the four students who were shot by gas-masked National Guardsman at the May 4, 1970, Vietnam war protest on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio. Three founding members of the band attended Kent State at that time.
Gerald Casale (co-founder, co-lead vocalist and bass player) said that was "the most DEVO day of his life." The theory that humankind is evolving in reverse. That was the first evidence that hit him square in the gut and the heart and the mind that this was true.
"In the next two years, I realized that the system was rotten to the core. That everything I believed was an illusion."
#DEVO #WeAreDEVO #USPol #USPolitics #KentState #AntiWar #Gaza #GazaGenocide #Protest #BoojiBoy
https://s3.c.im/media_attachments/files/112/327/534/734/253/950/original/204e523510e501e4.png

2023-10-15 00:02:37

In October 2021, Trump launched Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) and TruthSocial, along with an ambitious plan to build a media empire that he claimed would compete with the likes of Twitter, Facebook, and Netflix. To do this, he would need to raise some serious cash. Enter Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), a shell company to raise money and identify a merger target to take it public.
Fast forward to October 2023. Digital World is collapsing, and it’s taking Abu Dhabi-based ARC Global Capital LLC and other investors down with it. After Digital World initially raised $1 billion in private investments to merge with TMTG, it is now returning $533 million back to investors.
Shares of Digital World dropped to $15.54 on the news from a peak of $97 in March 2022. Digital World’s 2022 Annual Report, published April 26, 2023, reveals that ARC Global Capital owned 3.8% of Digital’s Class A common stock and 76.4% of Class B common stock, amounting to 14.8% of the SPAC’s total shares outstanding.
According to ARC Global’s website, “Since its inception, ARC Global Investment Capital LLC has invested in transactions totaling in excess of $2bn in combined enterprise value achieving top quartile returns and no losses to date.” That’s probably gonna need an edit pretty soon.
Digital World still owes its independent accounting firm, Marcum LLP, $361,660 in fees incurred during 2021 and 2022.
Perhaps that’s why Marcum stated in its audit of Digital World’s finances that “the company cash and working capital as of December 31, 2022 are not sufficient to complete its planned activities for a reasonable period of time.” As of December 31, 2022, Digital World has accumulated a total stockholders’ deficit of almost $31 million.
Digital World originally set a deadline of September 2022 to merge with TMTG. However, the US Securities and Exchange Commission threw a wrench in those plans. Turns out, when you form a SPAC, you’re not supposed to have a predetermined acquisition target; the SPAC is supposed to seek potential acquisition targets rather than identify a target beforehand, as Digital World did. This, and many other legal missteps doomed the SPAC to multiple regulatory investigations.
The SEC settled its case in July 2023, ruling that Digital World violated the antifraud provisions of federal securities laws, and assessed an $18 million penalty.
Curiously, just before TMTG received subpoenas from the SEC and a New York grand jury, Trump resigned as board chairman, and Donald Trump Jr., and former Trump administration official Kash Patel resigned from TMTG’s board. Trump still owns 90% of TMTG.
In 2022, the Southern District of New York investigated TMTG for money laundering, after finding it received a $8 million in loans: $2 million from Paxum Bank, based in Dominica and chartered under the Offshore Banking Act No. 8 of 1996. Paxum is partially owned by a former Russian government official who now runs a maritime agency under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation. The other $6 million came from “ES Family Trust” which shared a director with Paxum.
Investors are now backing away, leaving Digital World with only $293 million – an amount that would be transferred to TMTG if the deal ever closes. That amount could dwindle as the potential for investors to request further redemptions remains.
Losers include not only Trump, who won’t be realizing his dream to build a media juggernaut, but also early investors, such as Georgia congressional representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who invested between $15,001 and $50,000 in Digital World at $94.20 in 2022. Her losses based on current stock valuation of $15.54 amount to -84%. Hope it was worth it, Marge.
Count Devin Nunes among the losers as well. Devin Nunes (remember him?) vacated his congressional seat in favor of clinging to Trump’s disintegrating coattails as TMTG CEO. Nunes, despite representing California for nearly 20 years in Congress, is best known for losing his defamation lawsuit against a satirical Twitter account named Devin Nunes’ Cow. He can now add failed social media company CEO to his resume.
TruthSocial, Trump’s “Twitter alternative” social media platform has managed to garner only about 2 million monthly active users. For comparison, X (formerly known as Twitter) has about 245 million daily active users. Facebook has about 3 billion monthly active users. Even Mastodon and its larger group of interoperable servers known as “The Fediverse,” which is owned by no single individual or company, has 10.7 million registered users of which 1.5 million are daily active users.
So, it is safe to say that Truth Social and its parent TMTG can join a long list of Trump’s other business failures.
#Trump #SPAC #DigitalWorld #TMTG #Finance #SocialMedia #USPol #USPolitics #News #Bankruptcy #Business #Investing #MarjorieTaylorGreene #DevinNunes