who Squorch??

i am tori! please avoid my blog if you have astrophobia. i don't want you having a panic attack man. im just a big sucker for space. i also scream about space. enjoy your stay or descend from it

[espanolbot2]

Trump Wants Snitches to Report on DEI. There’s Just One Problem.

Donald Trump wants people to expose diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the federal government. The idea is already flopping.

The threat was loud and clear: Report your so-called “DEI” employees or else. What exactly “DEIA or similar ideologies” means is up in the air, but the message was out there. And so was the email address of the DEIA snitching hotline. Fake emails quickly started to roll in. ‘I don’t care, fuck these McCarthyite bastards,” one BlueSky user said, with an screenshot attached of an email to the hotline where he ironically reported Donald Trump and JD Vance for being “put in their positions solely because of their race and/or gender despite the fact that they are wholly unqualified for their jobs and, in some cases, have criminal records.” “Anyone have a script to fire off a billion e-mails an hour??” another user asked in the replies. “Anyone can email anything of any size even if it crashes the site,” one X user noted. The scope and effectiveness of this latest phase of Trump’s anti-DEI crusade remains to be seen.

[thefingerfuckingfemalefury]

FLOOD THIS :D

MAKE IT UTTERLY UNUSABLE :D

[genderaffirmingslurs]

The email is [email protected] btw

[theygender]

Don't just spam it today. Keep spamming it until they shut it down. Spam it for weeks, months, however long it takes. Queue this post to reblog periodically to remind other people. Set reminders on your phone or calendar to send Trump bullshit. Treat this like a challenge and win it

Don't let the momentum die down. Don't allow the tipline to become useable in a few weeks when this post stops spreading. Don't allow them to harm vulnerable people on your watch

[jewishbarbies]

the “tiktok ban” is not a ban just for tiktok. it gives the gov permission to ban ANY app they deem a threat for any reason. that means any app people go to in place of tiktok that isn’t meta or elon owned is at serious risk of getting banned, mush faster than tiktok bc the ban is already law. they even say in the legislation that if you’re caught using a VPN to access the banned app(s), you will be fined thousands of dollars and serve jail time. I really need people to stop misunderstanding this situation as if it’s another rip to vine moment. this is an egregious overstep of the us government that gives them even more permission to discriminate and control us than they already have. this is part of trump’s incoming fascism. hate it or love it, it doesn’t matter, bc this has never been just about tiktok.

[magicalgirlagency]

Why do you always gotta say "or the internet will die forever" and stuff? Ain't that doomer behavior?

Well yes, but actually no.

It's just that I'm trying to get people to wake up and spread the word much, much faster; I mean, the USA wants to ban TikTok because a vocal group of people is using it to raise pro-Palestine awareness, this is just the beginning.

Oh, and before anyone says "Just use VPNs!", the US is also pushing another law to criminalize VPN usage where you could end up in jail for 20 years, as well as pay a $1million fine for your release, so it's useless to dance around the restrictions.

They blab about how much they cherish freedom of speech, but are actively attempting to silence others in the same breath and even willing to violate its own amendment to get even more minorities murdered.

This wouldn't be a problem if a crushing majority of the internet weren't US-based/centralized; even if you aren't from the United States, this draconian bill WILL majorly and totally affect you in one way or another.

And I would like to take this opportunity to tell everyone that I will NOT answer any more asks until I see more people reblogging the previous post. If you guys can interact with me, than you certainly can reblog/share the post informing of KOSA's threat (however, I did have programmed a post for March 22nd, because while I am scared for this blog's survival, I also wanna know if the crisis has been adverted).

So, I won't say it again: If you guys don't spread the word, this blog, as well as other blogs within this platform, and many other social networks, websites of informative/educational nature (LGBTQ+ subjects, pro-Palestine, abortion/reproductive healthcare, etc.) and even fandom-related spaces...

...WILL DIE.

EDIT: It's sweet that you guys are reblogging this ask of mine, but shouldn't you be reblogging THIS LINK DOWN HERE INSTEAD?

STOP THIS AT ALL COSTS OR THE INTERNET DIES FOREVER.

They've passed a bill to ban TikTok recently, and that was only the first step. If you guys can interact with me and send me asks, then you

[starrykat-z]

Hey!

Not my usual art content.

But...

Heard of the TikTok ban?

It isn't just about tiktok.

The Restrict bill, aka the Tiktok ban, is a bill that essentially gives the government COMPLETE control over the internet. This means they can censor whatever they want with no repercussions.

If you are caught saying ANYTHING the government doesn't like, you can be charged and/or arrested. This means they can silence natives, lgbt+, and more.

Not only this, but this gives them full permission to access ANYTHING WEB BASED with a million or more users. A million is less than 1% of the US population.

Worst part is, this cannot be walked around using a VPN. In fact, using a VPN gives you MASSIVE fines and even jail time.

So what can you do?

If you are of legal age, VOTE THESE PEOPLE OUT.

SPREAD AWARENESS. TELL OTHERS, REBLOG THIS.

Check who your senator or state representative is, AND CALL THEM IF YOU CAN. Emails work, but calls are MUCH MORE EFFICIENT. If you do call, tell them about the bill, and why they shouldn't vote for it. Tell them that if they will support the bill, you will vote them out IN THE PRIMARIES (if you can legally vote.).

Join a protest, or organize one if you can. Remember the police can be a bit trigger-happy, so make sure to wear all black and cover ANYTHING that can reveal your identity such as hair, tattoos, piercings, etc.

And remember..

If this bill is passed..

IT WILL VIOLATE THE FIRST AMENDMENT. IT WILL TAKE AWAY EVERY AMERICANS RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH, REGARDLESS OF RACE, GENDER, ETC.

DO NOT LET THIS PASS!

[estrogenerational-trauma]

Get loud about this and make sure nobody can scroll without seeing it.

This is what the rising tide of fascism looks like.

The "ban TikTok bill" (officially called the RESTRICT Act) was never about TikTok or national security. It's a prelude to the construction of a "Great American Firewall", just like all that propaganda about a "Great Chinese Firewall".

A few highlights.

- This bill will call for the appointment or a chairman to form a committee with the power to ban just about anything that can be thought of as 'supporting a foreign adversary' with no voter input and no warning. This includes but is not limited to chat clients, media, and digital storefronts.

- You could face a minimum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for using a VPN to bypass these bans.

- It allows for the mass monitoring and censorship of chat clients and media outlets, basically making this the PATRIOT Act 2.0

Read the full bill, please.

Text - S.686 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): RESTRICT Act

Text for S.686 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): RESTRICT Act

Contact state reps. Inform them that you will vote against them in the next primary if they vote in favor of this bill.

Make noise. Make sure that not only Americans, but the international community knows what's going on.

Share the bill around. We can't afford to let this slip by. It will set a very dangerous precedent for the future of the Internet and international trade and communication.

[newsfromstolenland]

Do you think it’s racist to ban TikTok? There is a vague bill like the Patriot act called Resist act that will give the National Security orwellian parts of the government, the ability to ban any foreign company seen as bad. And some parts of the bill are vague enough where they could become abused. And the bill could be used to ban VPNs.

to be clear, I don't like tiktok and I don't use it. HOWEVER:

I think that the panic about tiktok and subsequent attempt to ban it result in part from rising anti-chinese sentiment

people are more worried about tiktok than other social media sites because the company is chinese, even though domestic companies are more capable of being a threat to personal freedoms, because it is your own government that has the power to directly limit your rights due to accessing your data from social media companies.

for example, using social media data to prove someone had an illegal abortionin the states. the risk of that is far higher with domestic (american) social media companies, because they are more likely to collaborate with the american government. if you live in the states, twitter can exploit your personal information more than tiktok can

a lot of people see tiktok as the face of china and the people who live there. politicians and the media in both the usa and canada are stoking the flames of sinophobia, leading people to fear and reject anything that they can associate with china (I'm not trying to take away individual responsibility for sinophobia by referencing politicians and the media- people are still accountable for their bigotry)

the government likes to have an enemy. propaganda relies on identifying an enemy and working people into a frenzy over a caricature of the so-called enemy. this works especially well if the "enemy" is already marginalized

right now the government, media, and ruling class in canada and the united states have identified china and the chinese people as the enemy. they can and will stoke sinophobia, increase military funding, pass bills and sanctions targeting chinese people, and more. they have their scapegoat and they will use sinophobia to their benefit as they see fit

about what you said regarding the vagueness of the bill in the states, it seems that it is vague on purpose:

the government can use it to ban social media sites that compete with american social media sites, increasing the profit of the american ones. they likely will do this on some scale, considering the benefit to their corporate donors

it also can be used to limit what people in the usa have access to online. whether that be communicating with people from other cultures, or accessing foreign news media. I don't think I have to explain why that's dangerous.

[eddo-tensei]

STOP THE RESTRICT ACT/TIKTOK BAN BILL

I don't normally post about this stuff, but I feel like this needs to be said or else, everything we know could be utterly eradicated in the name of "security".

For anyone in the know, you're probably aware that the US Government had been trying to either restrict or even ban TikTok. Well, they've crafted a full bill for it and...well...it's even worse than anyone could imagine.

Text - S.686 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): RESTRICT Act

Text for S.686 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): RESTRICT Act

Bill S. 686, otherwise known as the RESTRICT Act, essentially enables the government to look into anything that could access the internet and I do mean ANYTHING. Computers, phones, TVs, tablets, video game consoles, appliances, modems, even things like your Ring light.

More shockingly, it could also criminalize the use of VPNs and if you're caught doing that or breaking any part of the bill, you could have your property seized, be fined for $1M, and even face jail time for up to 20 YEARS. And this could be used for anything, not just TikTok. If the government sees it fit to block any foreign platform, they will not only make it happen, but they could punish anyone who dares to access these sites no matter the reason.

This bill has only just been introduced in the Senate, but there's no point in waiting. For anyone who needs to know what to do, it's a given that you should call up your senators and representatives. However, I feel like we need to take more urgent action. Currently, the bill has been referred to the Senate Committee for Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Committee Members

Here's the list of all the committee members. Please call them or email them. For the sake of it, I'll give everyone a script of sorts to base your statements on.

"Hello [Name of Senator/Representative/Committee member you're calling here],

My name is [Your name]. I am a constituent of the US and I am calling to tell you that you need to oppose Bill S. 686 AKA the RESTRICT Act for it does not sufficiently address the problem it was written for, being the issues with TikTok, and is instead written in a way that could irreparably damage our right to privacy and freedom of expression online.

The government should not be given unfettered access to everyone's devices to ensure the ban of an app. There are other safer ways for Congress to address the privacy issues with TikTok and other apps like it that should be considered.

In any case, if you wish to keep my support for you as a politician, I implore you to reconsider the bill in its current form for it could violate not only my First Amendment rights, but also my Fourth Amendment rights. It is extremely unreasonable for the government to look through everyone's devices just to block an app and people should not be subjected to mass surveillance of this scale. I understand that you wish to keep your citizens safe, but please consider other options.

Do NOT support the RESTRICT Act. Please value the privacy and freedom of your citizens by voting NO on Bill S. 686."

[persephinae]

I just emailed my house representative and senator to NOT support the RESTRICT Act bill (aka TikTok ban) as the way the bill is currently worded it gives the government the right to spy on you and fine you $20,000 for having a VPN

I HIGHLY suggest all fellow US citizens do the fucking same even if you hate TikTok, this shit ain't cool

Christ I hate it here

[hehehe426]

use Resistbot to contact your representatives easily!!! Just now I used it to find and sign a relevant petition and have it be sent to my reps. (i did have to choose a less popular petition tho. The most popular one was loaded with hostile language and focused on what i felt were the wrong issues.) You can text “SIGN PXUADX” to 50409 (resistbot!!) to check out the same petition and resistbot can send it to your reps!!!

[itisiives]

Apps You're Probably Going to Need

Too Good to Go: app that connects you to grocery stores and restaurants that will sell you surplus food at cheaper prices.

Signal: Messaging app that erases messages after an amount of time, and allows images to be viewable once.

Taimi: an ĻGBṬ dating app that doesn't allow screenshots of messages and profiles to be taken.

Bandcamp: a great website for music artists, podcasters, and audiobook creators. They pay artists more of the profits than Spotify, and have Fridays dedicated to giving artists all of the profits from sales.

Proton: app that offers privacy and encryption for emails, VPNs, and a lot more.

Community Garden: an app that helps make community garden development easier.

Vero: an Instagram alternative that doesn't use algorithms, data mining, or advertisements. An alternative to go to when Instagram worsens in the upcoming years.

Hygiene Locator: a database for low-income people to find distribution sites giving away hygiene products.

Triller: a TikTok alternative to go to if TT outright bans certain topics.

Little Free Library: an app that locates little free libraries for you.

Evidation: it's a "health app" in which you collect points for activities like walking, but you can just complete their weekly and daily surveys. Basically, it's a beer-monęy app because you can only get $10 for 10,000 points, but if you have time to kill and need to earn extra cash in the upcoming eçonomic crash, evidation is an option.

Farmish: an app to help you locate your local farmer's market.

Boycat: an app that helps customers determine which brand is participating in unethical human rights violations and which isn't . It has recently partnered with the BDS movement!

Bluesky: You've already heard of it, right? It's an alternative to Twịtter, except it gives you the option to mass block MÅGÅ, genocide supporters, and the like. (My profile is itisiives, if you want to hang.)

Food Co-op Finder: As the name says, you can use this app to find your nearby food/grocery co-ops. Since co-ops mostly sell locally grown and made foods, this would be helpful in the looming deregulation of food safety.

[socialistexan]

Some things I think people are overlooking in the tiktok ban bill, because it's not just a tiktok ban:

It gives the US government the ability to ban *any* app, website, or company they believe to be "controlled" by an "adversarial power" which can change whenever they want

It allows the President and the Administrative branch almost unilateral power to designate *any* app, website, or company to be under the control of an "adversarial power" (and just think about how that can be used un the hands of, say, Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis)

They have to offer little to no evidence for this. For example, tiktok - a Singaporean-headquartered and ran company, partially owned by US interests, incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and whose userdata is stored Austin, TX - is apparently controlled by the Chinese government

It also gives the Federal Government the ability to investigate and shut down any provider who gives access to these banned websites or services, including VPN. They will have unilateral power to dismantle VPNs through outrageous fines what will essentially force them to not operate in the US

A lot of the Congressional Representatives who supported this bill have large donors and/or stock in US Tech companies like Meta, Google, or Palantier who would benefit from the downfall of tiktok or the ability to purchase it and monopolize the market

Those same tech companies which sell our data constantly anyway, including to "adversarial powers"

This is so much more than just a tiktok ban.

[escuerzoresucitado]

[ryanthedemiguy]

Doesn't the same bill make VPNs illegal?

[arctic-hands]

[Image Described: the two panel iCarly meme where Carly and Sam are addressing Spencer off-screen, saying "Um...watcha got there?" To which it pans to Spencer in the elevator, standing next to a live ostrich and holding a smoothie. Spencer is labeled "U.S. government, and the ostrich is labeled "A bill allowing them to access/censor/shut off all of your data and devices connected to the internet without your knowledge". Spencer's dialogue, which originally simply said "A smoothie," has been replaced with "A TikTok ban". End I.D.]

[fidelesir]

The 'Insanely Broad' RESTRICT Act Could Ban Much More Than Just TikTok

Digital rights experts told Motherboard the RESTRICT Act, which may be used to ban TikTok, could impact many other types of services too, in

[thoughtportal]

the Restrict act

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/686?s=1&r=15

[taviokapudding]

THE US GOVERNMENT IS MOVING TO MAKE VPNS ILLEGAL, HAVE DONE STOCK MARKET MANIPULATION, & HAVE ALLOWED META EXTREME OVERREACH

IF US TIKTOK GOES, US TUMBLR IS NEXT

And yes @staff this isn’t like last time where we all poked fun at Elon and walked away with our silly little crabs and checkmarks, you guys need to be ready for your US staffers to be laid off too

IF YOU ARE FROM THE US AND KNOW ANYBODY THAT IS 18+ WHO USES ANY SOCIAL MEDIA THAT ISN’T META

Find the March 23, 2023 hearing footage against tiktok and make them stomach as much as they can so they understand how Congress will treat ALL non-Meta social media platforms and those working in the social media industry moving forward

Get them to call their state and federal representatives and tell them

I will not be voting, donating, or supporting you nor you party in the upcoming primaries- I will be supporting your opponent

Congress hasn’t taken away public access to stock trading & being able to read bills being made yet but with everything that’s transpired we need to be ready for full blown censoring of it & I encourage non-US users to inform their US followers, friends, and family members because this isn’t going to be shown on public television or NPR.

[irrealisms]

hey where’s that post about how it’s important to be aware before recommending/calling suicide hotlines that They Will Call The Cops On You. i have it saved somewhere but i can’t find it & i want to reblog it today For No Particular Reason

[irrealisms]

note that Trans Lifeline doesn’t call the police on actively suicidal people so if you’re trans that can be a good resource! and if you’re Catholic, priests aren’t allowed to break the seal of the confessional for any reason, and things said in confession are exempt from all mandated reporting in most U.S. states (and in the ones where they aren’t exempt, they’re mandated reporters of child abuse but not of suicidality AFAICT—still, worth checking your state laws in more detail first, I don’t know the details for every state). you can also go to confession as a non-Catholic but idk how they’d handle that, I never went before converting

if you’re not trans or Catholic you might be out of luck—most mainstream suicide hotlines (including the Trevor project) allow calling the cops on you if you’re actively suicidal (although the line for when they do this varies from organization to organization and volunteer to volunteer— it’s overall fairly unlikely ime but it’s a risk). followers feel free to add Suicidality Resources That Won’t Call The Cops No Matter What if you have any

also i’m aware this is very America-centric (<- American who mostly knows American resources and laws, writing this bc of the flood of posts aimed at Americans in crisis due to the American election) but if anyone has details on how non-American suicide hotlines work or the level of risk of cop involvement or forced institutionalization for various crisis options in other countries feel free to add that as well

[irrealisms]

and I haven’t looked into it much but one of my uk followers says samaritans might be good for the UK!

[feralcringeman]

PROOF IN CASE YOU NEED IT

[feralcringeman]

Been seeing some people confused on what this means SO added this on to the post

Hope this clears it up

[feralcringeman]

Insanely happy with how far this post is going but I need everyone and I mean EVERYONE WHO SEES THIS POST TO PLEASE

DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS

We can’t just let this man get away with this and go completely free we NEED to fight back against this.

Here’s what you can do

1.Follow the instructions in the picture (alt text is included)

2.SPREAD THIS,SPREAD THIS LIKE CRAZYREBLOG,REPOST ON OTHER PLATFORMS, MAKE VIDEOS ON IT,TIKTOKS ON IT IT DOESN’T FUCKING MATTER JUST SPREAD THIS AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

3.CONTACT ANY ONE YOU MIGHT KNOW CAN HELP

Your government officials,people who run news websites FUCKING ANYONE

I know shit may seem hopeless right now but that is no reason to atleast TRY to make a difference

[iiota]

refraining from a lot of election joke posting and instead I just donated $55 USD to gaza soup kitchen and i encourage anyone else to consider donating even a couple of dollars to the people who will be affected the most from whatever outcome happens

you can also donate to care for gaza here

[tpup]

gazafunds is another good way to help; it shows you vetted campaigns that are low on donations

[bundibird]

In case any Americans are not aware of this: the rest of the world is FUCKING TERRIFIED of how this election is going to go. If trump wins, it affects more than just America. If trump wins, it will fuck so many other countries in so many ways.

So first of all, PLEASE VOTE. The rest of the world doesn't get to vote in your election, but we do get directly impacted by your election, so please do what we can't, and vote.

Secondly, remember that you're not just voting for America. You're voting on behalf of the all the countries that will be impacted by this election.

Please, for the love of God, vote blue, and save not just America from a second trump term, but the whole goddamn world.

[msaprildaniels]

Oh, so you like GENOCIDE?!

[bundibird]

I know you tagged this as sarcasm, but just a reminder to anyone who is still hesitant over voting blue because of the Palestinian genocide:

Palestinians are literally asking you to vote for Harris.

Theyre asking this, because TRUMP WILL BE WORSE FOR THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES.

Trump is friends with Netenfuckwad. Netenfuckwad WANTS TRUMP TO WIN. Trump thinks that America needs to go further in supporting Israel. Trump has spoken openly about "finishing" Gaza. Trump and his family have spoken openly about the "real estate opportunities" that are opening up in Gaza.

Don't like genocide? VOTE HARRIS. Palestinians are literally asking you to.