Notices by Dan Gillmor (dangillmor@mastodon.social), page 9

Online gambling companies take "proxy bets for Trump’s death" -- and guess who's advising them: Trump Jr.

https://www.citationneeded.news/trump-death-bets/

As far as I can find, only one major journalism organization -- the Guardian -- published an accurate and contextual headline describing Trump's illegal executive order on voting.

What made the difference? The Guardian added the word "unconstitutional".

Come on, journos, do your damn jobs.

Seen at sez.us: "Crypto is Amway for men."

It is sickening but completely on-brand for today's do-much-evil Google that it is highlighting Trump regime propaganda at Google "News" -- a site that once was a relatively honest aggregator of actual journalism.

https://www.cjr.org/analysis/the-white-house-is-its-own-media-outlet.php

"Open"AI is scanning its users' chats and reporting them to the cops.

https://futurism.com/openai-scanning-conversations-police

This is the kind of headline that makes me so disgusted with journalism right now: "After six months in ICE custody, Charlotte woman chooses voluntary removal to Honduras" --

ICE kidnapped and imprisoned her. ICE subjects its prisoners to all kinds of indignities and abuses. She agreed to deportation because of the vile conditions inside.

There is NOTHING voluntary about this. It's like a "confession" after torture.

At the very least, the headline should have put "voluntary" in quotes.

Even as it offers a bit of useful context, the Associated Press adopts Trump regime propaganda, calling the military occupation of Washington, DC, a "law-enforcement surge" -- language that is both a lie and one-sided.

A perfect example of how Big Journalism bends its knee to power.

Must-read:

So-called "age verification" laws are spreading.

They will not protect kids.

They are grossly insecure.

They will be tools of censorship, surveillance, and oppression.

They amount to requiring a license to speak -- and to read.

We have to stop this.

https://www.usermag.co/p/we-must-fight-age-verification-with

Not one major American news organization has had the spine to lay out, as succinctly and convincingly as historian Garrett Graff does here, our dread new reality -- much less lift a finger to save democracy.

The United States has gone fascist.

https://www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-tips-into-fascism-f51000e08e03254d

Another Democratic governor -- and former VP candidate -- who's not afraid to call fascism what it is: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/tim-walz-trump-fascist-policies-1235415337/

Trump's takeover at Federal Reserve is GUARANTEED to undermine the economy -- which is what most of the regime's policies are doing in any case.

For the non-corrupt, there will be no safe harbors from this malicious destruction. But corruption won't guarantee safety either.

Fight this. Now.

At least two major hotel sites -- Marriott and Hilton -- refuse to work (apparently) because I block ads and trackers.

They are telling me they don't want my business. Okay.

One of Wall Street's sleaziest big banks, JPMorgan Chase, helped loot Malaysia's piggy bank "in one of the largest financial crimes of the century" (so far). As is so often the case, the crooks bought their way out of any real accountability.

https://archive.md/r5zfX

#pitchforks

In Trump’s second term, the New York Times has completely normalized fascism.

The "paper of record" is an escalating disgrace to journalism.

What a massively sleazy company Uber is -- see this breakdown of how it profits by systematically screwing drivers and riders.

https://len-sherman.medium.com/how-uber-became-a-cash-generating-machine-ef78e7a97230

Take a taxi, if you can still find one.

Microsoft betrays the naive developers who trusted its word:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/githubs-fall-microsofts-ai-takeover-developer-betrayal-dion-wiggins-oyetc

The Atlantic's headline -- "This Feels Like a Warning", about Trump regime's concerted attacks on former national-security officials -- is the wimpiest possible way to characterize what is happening.

https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/archive/2025/08/bolton-raid-trump-retribution-deep-state/683990/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

It's fascism at in operation, for god's sake. Wake TF up.

I immediately block zero-follower (almost certainly bot) accounts that "reply" to my posts with snark that a) shows lack of understanding of what I said, and b) tries to goad me and others into time-wasting arguments.

Don't waste your time on this stuff. Block and move on.

I strongly doubt I'll back Newsom in the 2028 Democratic race, but I admire what he's doing to counter what Republicans are doing in Texas (and so many other places) to destroy what's left of our democracy.

If you are eligible to vote in California, please vote to save democracy this November.

Quote posts are coming to Mastodon -- I favor this -- and the development team sure seems to be doing this the right way, with user choice at key steps.

https://mastodon.social/@renchap@oisaur.com/115068741796881534