"Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one". --A. J. Liebling (like I own this Blog, & Suckerberg doesn't) --DA
"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." --Cyril Connolly
"The most important political office is that of the private citizen."--Louis D. Brandeis
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”--Martin Luther King Jr.
1-202-224-3121
Main Switchboard 24/7-365, individual office hours may vary. Remember that they can also be reached in their home state offices.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Innocents Abroad -- Mark Twain
"It liberates the vandal to travel--you never saw a bigoted, opinionated, stubborn, narrow-minded, self-conceited, almighty mean man in your life but he had stuck in one place since he was born and thought God made the world and dyspepsia and bile for his especial comfort and satisfaction." - The American Abroad speech, 1868 - Mark Twain
Travel has no longer any charm for me. I have seen all the foreign countries I want to except heaven & hell & I have only a vague curiosity about one of those. - Letter to W. D. Howells, 5/20/1891 - Mark Twain
The title of this post makes the case for maintaining an old-school, personal Blog.
Sure, a personal blog is never going to have the reach of the big, mainstream social media platforms, but then there is this:
"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." --Cyril Connolly
I encourage any / everyone fed up with the BS on commercial social media platforms to return to speaking their mind on their own Blogs.
Escape the subjective, anti-free speech, anti-democracy restrictions imposed by some rich frat-boy punk whose lone concern is their personal profit & the greed of their conservative shareholders whose lone concern is the bottom line of quarterly reports.
Stop being the product that those social media platforms profit from and sell. Without you, they have little to nothing to contribute / hustle to advertisers. They don't 'produce' anything. YOU are the product that they sell.
One decent reference for both those new or experienced, is this book: "WordPress the missing manual" 3rd Edition by Matthew MacDonald
Register your own Domain (or not) too. Select a hosting service (carefully) or go full DIY by hosting it on either a rented server or roll your own. Use disparate resources (domain registrar, server farm, colocations, etc) or look for a turnkey resource.
I deleted my FB account sometime ago and have never missed it since. Two tier memberships have grown more common with large social media CORPORATIONS, typically a restricted freebie, and a paid account with a few perks beyond the freebie version. If you post something to a freebie account that a paid, typically more conservative member takes exception to some more liberal opinion you express, the CORPORATE social media provider will do the paid subscriber's bidding by targeting your account for restrictions. Be done with all that nonsense by posting to a personal blog platform instead, and thus rendering the social media platform impotent (& less profitable).
This particular blog has no paid advertisers, sponsors, branding, etc. If your intent is freedom of expression, rather than profits, then forgo monetizing your Blog. That way, you're more difficult to target by those who oppose your humble opinions, too (no advertisers to complain to). Here is a quote which relates a bit:
"Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one". --A. J. Liebling
I'm just sayin', own a Blog, speak your mind, tell detractors to, "suck it". ;-)
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." --Sinclair Lewis
"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." -- James Madison
"When the government fears the people it is a democracy....when the people fear their government it is tyranny..." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders...tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger." – Herman Goering - Nazi
"patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels." - Samuel Johnson
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