Shutdown Tyranny

Please read comments on this post. @carrigalpin.bsky.social rightfully called us out for our imprecise language. She is a doctor who cares for the poor and her comments are passionate and couldn’t be better articulated.

We will keep striving to be more careful with our word choice.

Again, I wholeheartedly agree with EVERYTHING you are saying. I will be more careful with my word choice going forward.

Ah, I understand how our wires are crossed. I wrote healthcare and should have been more precise in my language. I didn’t mean to throw doctors and nurses under the bus.

Do people understand that insurance is pooling risk? That we pay in knowing we may never financially benefit? That healthcare is a bastard insurance? That we don’t pool our risk with all Blue Cross customers, but only fellow employees? That on ACA we pool our risk with no one?

Don’t forget.

We know @seth23.bsky.social !

Neither of us will tell you who came up with this because we want anyone to use it freely. And to offer it to others freely. A movement builds not by attribution but by contribution without ego.

Sorry for the confusion. I don’t mean to pay for an airplane ticket with cash. Rather, use cash for most purchases.

The Shady World of Surveillance Pricing (Ft. Lina Khan) Should corporations be able to weaponize your personal data to rip you off? Well, they may already be doing that thanks to a shady tactic called “surveillance pricing.” Former FTC Chair Lina Khan explains what we can do about it.

Airlines charge you more for a last minute ticket if you received an email about funeral arrangements.

You read that right.

Opt out. Unsubscribe. Use cash. Use a VPN. Build a privacy stack. And contact lawmakers about ending surveillance pricing.

go.bsky.app/redirect?u=h...

Who’s in? We are.

Thank you!

I love it

I love my Tidal. The multiple playlists they put together for me are on point.

Thank you!

@generalstrikeus.bsky.social
The momentum

ICE is running ads on Spotify.

Boycott. Opt out. Unsubscribe.

We showed up in deep red Southeast, New England, Texas and the Rockies. We brought people who had never been to a protest before. This big guy misted up and wiped away tears because bc it was inspiring. And I felt community. Take a few days to take it in. And let’s get back to work.

Ready to opt out, unsubscribe, boycott AND have a #generalstrike?

They understand only the language of money and power. We can rob them of both.

Yes!

Taking time to get outside and recenter can mean our account loses priority in the algorithm. Please visit our account page and like and repost.

In the meantime, I took out 15 minutes each night to write down what has inspired me, made me laugh and has kept me going.

Thank God for puffy frogs!

Opt the fuck out. Unsubscribe. Stop playing their game.

This is a little glimmer of hope. We have been encouraging people to opt out. Here is another reason why. Price fixing. The algorithms are killing democracy and any frail semblance of a ghost of a free market we pretend to have lived in.

How to Opt-Out, and Why? Oligarchs have kettled the people into submission with the promise of convenience. This is how we take the first steps into fighting back.

We have a lot of new followers. Posting this again.

open.substack.com/pub/shutdown...

Boycotts, Strikes, and the Last Firewall Are we ready for a general strike?

General strike? Simple answer: maybe.
open.substack.com/pub/psychope...

We are partnering with @generalstrikeus.bsky.socia. At shutdown we are educating and encouraging people to move to more ethical platforms and to completely opt out when possible.

WIRED's The Politics Issue

Big Tech's embrace of President Trump has left many of us wondering: What the hell happened to Silicon Valley?

In our new politics issue, we're getting into it.

Also, we're taking this cover across the US in billboards, posters and a mural. Clues to find us in the 🧵: www.wired.com/politics-iss...

The Jimmy Kimmel saga confirms that the only language these asshats understand is money. Boycotts work.

It’s time to prepare. Learn how to build a privacy stack and the more ethical platforms to use.

And when a General Strike is called, you’ll be ready to help others join.

Organize.

For instance, suspend everything except Netflix for a month or two. Watch. Suspend Netflix subscription. Enroll in another. They’re all about to be owned by terrible people. Many libraries have BlueRay and DVD collections for borrowing. If they don’t, help get one started. That’s called mutual aid

Some people have been asking about boycotting streaming services and our thoughts on streaming companies in general. We don’t believe in purity tests. “Greener than thou” environmentalism stalled the movement. Not optimal, but batch processing streaming works. Suspend all but one. Watch one. Switch.

This convergence of cloud infrastructure, data brokerage, AI, and media ownership raises alarms about a closed surveillance–information loop controlled by a single corporate empire.