Tag: Instagram

Meta Claims Federal Trade Commission Structure is Unconstitutional

“Meta respectfully requests that this Court declare that certain fundamental aspects of the Commission’s structure violate the U.S. Constitution, and that these violations render unlawful the FTC Proceeding against Meta.” Reported by AP.

U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D) reportedly stated “In the face of a potentially massive fine, Meta’s adoption of extreme, right-wing legal theories to challenge our country’s premier consumer protection agency reeks of desperation.”

The political bullshit aside, this is a serious problem. We now have mega corporations openly attacking the legitimacy of the agencies meant to regulate them. What fucking nerve. Corporations are people? When was the last time you saw a regular person have the balls to argue in court, through a LAWYER, that an executive agency created 109 years ago is unconstitutional? Who does that? Usually the sovereign citizens. The free men of the land. The people that have no respect for the law, society, or the various mechanisms available to effect change under the current system.

The scary thing is this could fly. Legitimization and power is a tricky thing in human social dynamics. It doesn’t matter if you’re the strongest, the smartest, the bravest, or anything else. All that matters is people’s perception of you. For example, with my wild-man publishing strategy, I made it possible to get all this information out into the public in such a way that it silenced the other side’s lies. After the incident in 2021, I decided to incorporate what had happened to me into the strategy, and decided we could “coin flip” it, and if people accepted what I was writing and pumped me up with support to go fight the fight we really need to fight in our field, I could make real ground very rapidly (math omitted). The alternative was things could go very, very badly and everybody could laugh off the mentally ill man making the “ridiculous,” albeit true, claims. So I set the stage such that if things go well, yay for stenographers and small businesses. If things go poorly, you can all just outcast me so it doesn’t stain you 🤷🏻‍♂️. My strongest supporters, consciously or subconsciously, realized this is the case and threw in money and time to help — still do to this day. But there is a percentage of people who mock and deride me, mostly quietly away from my ears, but sometimes within earshot of my 1,000-person network. I’ve given up on the spitballers. They are too stupid to identify the coin flip or understand how it benefits them. There’s still a pretty huge middle ground that hasn’t heard of me or doesn’t care right now, so who really knows what the future holds?

But the point on legitimacy: Anything could’ve happened. Anything can still happen. And it stops people from opposing me publicly because in the end they’re not sure which way the coin will land. This is a microcosm of our larger political situation in the United States and this Meta situation. It’s a coin flip. If enough people, or the “correct” people (judges), accept Meta’s arguments, we may very well see a crushing blow to the FTC in our lifetime. Alternatively, people could freak on Meta for attacking their country’s legitimacy and Meta would be forced to backpedal to keep its legitimacy, if it even could. Of course, the truth is that a lot of people haven’t heard of this Meta situation or don’t care right now, so who really knows what the future holds?

This is all further complicated by the fact that humans are not persuaded by facts, they are persuaded by propaganda. Something that Martin Luther King, Jr. likely understood. Something that science is beginning to understand. This is just how our brains work. Even mine. You can build truth seeking into your worldview to help diminish susceptibility to propaganda, but in the modern world we’re bombarded with information all day, every day, so if even just 1% of that tricks you because you are very smart, you get tricked at least 3 times a year, and most of us don’t think about it.

I’ve thought a lot about power dynamics over the last few days. Our community’s very own James McAllister, someone that has worked tirelessly to bring steno into more languages and recruit more stenographers, an amazing man, wrote me something last night I’d like to close on and share with all of you, because I believe that all of you should see it:

“We Are Power!”

(Inclusive of everyone reading.)

Be Smart With Social Media

Social media is a powerful tool. Like any tool, it needs to be handled properly. We have had unions, associations, and individual reporters growing their online presence and using it to get details and ideas out to fellow stenographers. All that said, whether you’re posting a joke or creating a professional networking masterpiece, it’s time for some advice on social media.

First, realize that people will see what you post. You’ve got to be pretty comfortable with anyone and everyone seeing it, from your best friend to your worst enemy. What you do on social media is largely not private, no matter the group, setting, or structure. As a new person, this can be intimidating and dissuade you from participating in discussions. We’ll get into why that’s a bad idea, but first let’s run over some quick tips to make your use of social media enjoyable.

    If you are freelancing, posting directly about your agency can bite. In every group, there is a person, persons, or Parsons that will leak your post to your agency to curry favor or because your post offends their sensibilities. If you have a delicate piece of information that you want published, seek out a confidant or method to anonymously publish the information. If it’s newsworthy or going to help stenographers, then it’s worth protecting yourself first.
    If you are freelancing, posting about setting rates or conspiring to fix rates can get you in legal trouble. It’s called price fixing, and it’s a concern because we are not considered workers or employees, but independent contractors on the same level of business as agencies. We all know that the power and reach we have as individuals is different. That doesn’t change antitrust law.
    If you’re working as an employee or even freelancing, posting about a job can hurt you badly. We are supposed to be neutral, and in some states there are ethical rules we can break if we are not careful. There is a line between talking about a political idea or law and talking about an actual case that you reported on. My advice? Don’t cross the line. Imagine screen shots of what you say being printed in news.
    Be kind. The family members or friends of whoever you talk about may be watching. Easy example, I once posted about a stenographer losing their job. Someone who was close to that person reminded us then and there, we all struggle in life, don’t rush to judgment.
    Test your own beliefs. You will see crazy claims out there on the Internet. Rarely should you dismiss what people say out of hand or make final conclusions. Perfect example, I saw a transcript I thought was page padding. I came to learn that that was that state’s mandated page layout. What you think is not always what is true.
    Controls can help. Social media is a tool. Privacy settings can screen out some people from seeing stuff. You can choose who to follow, who to block, and all sorts of other content preferences. Spend just one afternoon reviewing your settings and make sure you’re getting the most relevant info in your feed.

So now we get to the logical end: This stuff is stressful. Why don’t I just delete my social media? You can. There is no law against that. But social media is this amazing tool for staying current and tuned into what the field is doing. We get the great marketplace of ideas, dispatches from agencies, and food for our own thoughts. Life is stressful, but very few of us run off into the wild to live off the grid. Why? Because the benefits of society are greater than the simplicity we’d otherwise have. Similarly, the benefits of social media are greater than the peace gained by never engaging. That said, engage smartly so that your tool never gets used as a weapon against you.