You can reach emptywheel by email at emptywheel AT gmail.com.

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1321 Upland Dr. #7594
Houston, TX 77043

Please be patient and allow reasonable response time; thanks for your readership and participation at emptywheel.

178 replies
  1. cliff665 says:

    Oops, I screwed up and double posted. Please pull the second one. It didn’t look like the first one went in so I came back later and posted it again. I apologize.

    The ability to respond to posts was useful, any chance you’ll be able to add that? Also, we like to print and read offline. Any chance we’ll be able to do that? Cut and paste to a Word document works, but it’s a pain.

    Thanks for all you’ve done, and continue to do. It takes courage to stand up with a high profile these days.

    Regards,

    Cliff

    Reply
  2. orionatl says:

    can yall put a “home” category under your banner.

    it seems impossible when entering “www.wmptywheel.net” in the google to come up with anything other than a specific ew post.

    thus putting emptywheel under ie “favorites” results in returning later to a single, already-posted essay.

    i cant find a way to access the entirety of the site with one entry in “favorites:

    tx

    Reply
  3. matthew carmody says:

    I see that orionatl beat me to it on the need for a “Home” button to make navigation easy.

    Other than that, I actually like the way the comments look
    I became a member of fdl specifically for your work and I’d like to set up a monthly system with you guys but I refuse to use PayPal.

    Reply
  4. Chacounne says:

    I’ll second Cliff’s request for a printer friendly button for posts :) I know you’re still getting up and running, so no hurry, just when you get a chance.
    Thanks,
    Heather

    Reply
  5. Set says:

    Howdy! I wish there were a “share” button so I could distribute this among all my social networking sites. Keep up the awesome work!

    Reply
  6. pdaly says:

    @Laura:

    Laura,

    I just noticed no one has yet answered your question.
    Marcy T Wheeler blogs under the pseudonym emptywheel.
    M. T. Wheel. ==> it’s her abbreviated name.

    Reply
  7. Cliff says:

    Grist for your mill, as if you needed more.

    “Enterprising law-enforcement officers… can flick a distant switch and turn a standard mobile phone into a roving mic or eavesdrop on occupants of cars equipped with travel assistance systems.”

    Scientific American December 2011 pg 24, “Freedom Fighter – Which side was Steve Jobs on”.

    First time I’ve seen this in print. Usually the discussion is focused on cell phone location tracking, or last week, root kits. The capability to remotely turn a phone into a bug has been part of US “national technical means” since at least the 1950’s. Ironically, the higher the technology, the easier it is to do.

    Moving Bradley Manning to Leavenworth seems to have effectively “disappeared” him.

    Since I’m on a roll, almost 500k people were added to those “not in the labor force” in November. Happy f**** Thanksgiving to them. Household Data, summary table A-1, BLS news release http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

    Thanks for all you do.

    Cliff

    Reply
  8. helen johansen says:

    Judge Cebull’s mere act of forwarding the racist (And, by the way, misogenous-the President’s mother and a dog?!) email is solid cause to demand and get his resignation. At a minimum he should not be allowed to hear any cases involving people of color or women. (His comments are not a defense and further by them he violates the Hatch Act.) He is a disgrace

    Reply
  9. harpie says:

    Hi, Marcy,
    I didn’t notice this until today, and I think no one else mentioned it in the thread…don’t even know if you care at this point, or if it matters, or if there’s anything you can do about it now, but there is a typo in this title:

    SCOTUS and the Designated Strip Sea[r]ch Observers

    Thanks for all the fabulous work you do!

    harpie

    Reply
  10. Theresa Kadlec says:

    A dear friend is currenlty experiencing DOJ/DEA misconduct. I am so disappointed in our government. I have never seen anything like this. If you would like to see prosecutorial misconduct in progress and review this case… I think we would all learn a lot about prosecutorial misconduct and the importance of a “Win” in court for DOJ. This man is truely innocent, I worked with him daily, my name was on every email sent from the company… can you believe that I was never questioned? There are so many things frightening about this out of control department. Please help

    Reply
  11. david says:

    following arizona sherrif and da’s problems does anybody anywhere remember the word conspiricy? why hasnt anybody been charged with this yet?

    Reply
  12. Angelo M Martis says:

    Dear Standard Shartered and ING-Direct,

    I have an deposito slip of $ 900,000,000.00 usd and a certificate of that.I it was send by Johnson Smith and Douglas Flint from the HSBC.
    I have see that you have also I have also ian ING account it can be Huse in the hole world.I want you to contact me directly about it.

    Sign:Angelo Martis

    Reply
  13. Angelo M Martis says:

    Dear Bank,
    Hsbc have transfer my $ 195,000,000.00 usd to my ING account but it is still not reflect and they say that the Netherland Gouvernmet have my funds/money.But the Gouvernmentsay that they dont know about it.Last week ING told me to go to ING whith the documents to claim my money ,but first contact HSBC about it.We are planing to go to the banks because this time have to gif me my money.ING say that if i have all the legal papers i have to go to ING Amsterdam to take my money.

    Sign:Angelo Martis

    Reply
  14. Angelo M Martis says:

    I have let FBI and United Nation to screan and contact all the banks that have my money.They say that they will go to all the banks to make them gif me my money.

    Sign:Angelo Martis

    Reply
  15. Angelo M Martis says:

    Bregmann from FIBI have also my 9 Billion usd.
    IMF have also billions from me you can ask them about it.

    Sign:Angelo Martis

    Reply
  16. Ken Hardy says:

    I’ve been a bit surprised not to have seen any posts on the site on the recent Robert Bales preliminary hearing. I find new info revealed during the proceedings on what was happening–and said–at Bales’ base that night very revealing (not to mention petrifying) about the environment and attitude for our military in Afghanistan.

    Reply
  17. Timbo says:

    Been away from here for awhile.

    Has anyone tracked down whether or not there were prisoners held at the Benghazi US Consulate compound or not? There’s only the youtube video of Broadwell making statements that there were (CIA held prisoners in Benghazi US Consulate) and some claims by CIA that “she didn’t get that right at all”. All rumor—unverifiable or verifiable?

    I’m going to go through your archives now over the next few hours and see if I can find any discussion of this. Am thinking that if that was true than the whole resignation thing/Congressional harping is not what we we’re being told in US media at all…

    Reply
  18. Crowd Source This Please says:

    can someone help me out here please? i cannot listen to this – can someone tell me why D-Day is leaving blogging???

    Firedoglake’s David Dayen: Exiting The Liberal Blogosphere

    The soon to be former blogger, David Dayen, explains why he is leaving blogging. David also asks if the liberal blogesphere losing its added value and how we can hold power accountable in the Obama era.

    http://majority.fm/2012/12/18/1218-david-dayen-exiting-the-liberal-blogosphere-social-security-back-on-the-table/

    Reply
  19. rosemarie jackowski says:

    The Right of the People to Petition Their Government

    I want everyone to know about a new petition on We the People,
    a new feature on WhiteHouse.gov, and ask for your support. Will you add your
    name to mine? If this petition gets 25,000 signatures by January 31, 2013,
    the White House will review it and respond!

    This is a National, an International, and a local issue.

    Please sign, put it on Facebook and Twitter. Time is running out.

    If the petition gets enough support, the Obama Administration will issue an official response.

    You can view and sign the petition here:

    http://wh.gov/UKpQ

    Below is the petition.

    *End the DRONES…Stop the killing of children and innocent
    civilians.*

    The USA has Drone bases in many areas in and out of the US. There is
    probably a Drone base near you. One is located in New York, near Syracuse.
    The Hancock Drone Base must be shut down. Children are being killed in
    Afghanistan and Yemen from bases close to us. This is a war crime and a
    crime against humanity.

    All Drone Bases must be shut down immediately.

    The world will be a better place when we love the children in Afghanistan,
    and all children, as much as we love our own.

    For more information contact:
    Rosemarie Jackowski
    Bennington VT
    [email protected]

    Reply
  20. Awaiting Moderation says:

    when you write a piece for another site other than emptywheel.net would you please let your readers know somewhere on your front page??? i would have not known about the below linked essay at Alternet.org if i had not read a comment on one of the threads to a post. that is not very efficient. do not hestitate to toot your own horn when needed – you have certainly earned the right to do so. many thanks for all that you have done and continue to do.

    The Prosecution of Aaron Swartz Paints Obama’s Justice Department as Needlessly Cruel and Capricious

    A powerful indictment of our justice system, the Swartz case exemplifies the sick hypocrisy of persecuting information activists while corrupt corporations and bankers get off easy.

    http://www.alternet.org/activism/prosecution-aaron-swartz-paints-obamas-justice-department-needlessly-cruel-and-capricious?paging=off

    Reply
  21. John Teial says:

    Regarding Zero Dark Thirty, the actress said on the Daily Show that Maya is not a composite character but based on one woman. It seems very likely that “Jen” is Alfreda Frances Bikowsky.

    Both Maya and Frances have red hair and both were close friends with Jennifer Matthews who was killed in the triple cross bombing.

    From Washington Post reporter Joby Warrick, who confirmed that Frances and Jennifer Matthews were close friends-

    “There is a group of very, shall we say, strong personalities within the counterterrorism division, you’ve named 2 of them, they were good friends, they worked together on these cases, and the list of people the IG has identified as potentially deserving of disciplinary review for their actions before 9/11 never been published, but we know from multiple counts that Jennifer Matthews had been on that list…”

    54 min mark at http://www.peterbcollins.com/2011/09/28/wall-st-protests-get-traction-dc-protest-starts-october-6-journalist-joby-warrick-recreates-december-2009-attack-at-khost/

    Reply
  22. j. cale says:

    Dear Emptywheel,

    Did USA open the gates and let the loving arms of ______ ______? Or is it so black out that there’s a “blackout” on the “blackout”?

    re: decision by the Hon. Chief Justice John Roberts to grant Taitz a full Supreme Court Conference on.February 15, 2013 (albeit in secret).

    Case is titled: Noonan, Judd, MacLeran, Taitz v Bowen

    – provided a mountain of evidence of Barack Obama using a last name that is not legally his, a forged Selective Service application, forged long form and short form birth certificates and a Connecticut Social Security number 042-68-4425 which was never assigned to him according to E-Verify and SSNVS.

    On April 15, 2010 Obama posted his 2009 tax returns on line. He forgot to fllatten
    the PDF file and his full unredacted Social Security number xxx-xx-4425 became
    known to the public. This number immediately raised suspicions of Attorney Orly
    Taitz, as it started with 042, a digit combination which was assigned to the
    state of CT and Obama was never a resident of CT. E-verify and SSNVS showed
    that this number used by Barack Obama was never assigned to him. We have an
    individual sitting in the WH as the US president and Commander-in-Chief, in
    control of our nuclear arsenal, while using a stolen/fraudulently obtained
    Social Security number from a state where he never resided. http://www.petition2congress.com/9026/start-immediate-investigation-barack-obamas-use-forged-ids-ct-ssn/

    thanks for your great work!! <3

    Reply
  23. john Bertucci says:

    wow, this is one great link to know – great work, merci Marcy! I just posted link to yr timeline to Peter Dale Scott fb, and he immediately shared with over 7,000 friends – you rock! and I’ll be back regularly

    Reply
  24. lefty665 says:

    Just posted a comment in “incapacitating terrorists…” that’s awaiting moderation. I included @xxxxx.com in my name. DUH. Please be kind enough to remove it while moderating. Thanks.

    Reply
  25. zip29y says:

    When are we going to be able to vote “NONE OF THE ABOVE” and have them counted? There will be no democracy in this country until we have a vote of No Confidence. (And, in the mean time, how about Occupy setting up None of the Above polls at elections. Should make for far more interesting vote returns.)

    Reply
  26. lefty665 says:

    moderator – I just posted with a bad email address, and reposted with good address and minor change. Please send “awaiting moderation” post to the bit bucket. Thanks, and sorry for the inconvenience.

    BTW, does SS/DOJ activity coincide with Swartz’s Bradley Manning FOIA’s?

    Reply
  27. Greg Bean (@GregLBean) says:

    Is there any chance you could make the comments searchable en masse?

    Occasionally I’d like to search comment content for a topic but mostly I would like to search for my name to see if there have been any responses I might be interested in.

    It can be hard to remember articles I’ve commented on and difficult to find if anyone has replied and yet I feel I should do them the service of seeing their reply and responding if needed.

    Thanks, and keep up the great work.

    Reply
  28. What Constitution? says:

    Great article on Scott Block today. FWIW, Any chance that you might be able to redact the address of the author of the letter you linked in today’s Scott Bloch article? Obviously it’s from a court file and is a public record as such, but it probably wasn’t intended for such wide distribution….. just suggesting.

    Reply
  29. john francis lee says:

    I am very glad to have found your blog. Mentioned by Glenn Greenwald … but you’re better than him :)

    Wish you didn’t use gmail … it’s not possible that you missed their promise to read not only all your mail but any I or any one else might send you, is it?

    No matter, thanks for the comment page in lieu of non-gmail.com.

    Oh, yeah … looking for needles in our haystack to repeal the AMUF, to Roll-Back and Re-Do The 21s Century in the USA, actually.

    Reply
  30. Pat S says:

    5 thoughts on “Forbes’ Flawed Report on NPR and Sourcing by Gender”

    Here’s “Forbes'” Flawed Bias:
    redd.it/1dq3nd

    Reply
  31. Tom C. says:

    Were you ever able to obtain a copy of the new (2013) Technical Cooperation Agreement between the US and Saudi Arabia? If so can you email me a copy please?

    Thank you.

    Tom

    Reply
  32. Lake Effect Snow says:

    recently, we have experienced problems executing a simple copy and paste into e-mail – everything gets scrambled and now there is a tag line read more at … the URL is no problem but after than … what’s up???

    Reply
  33. john francis lee says:

    Sorry. I thought you’d closed this page and gmail’d you (I wish you and everyone else would snap out of it and stop feeding all your correspondents’ mail to Google and the NSA !) … because comments are closed on “Aaron Swartz, Plea Leveraging & The Bordenkircher Problem” and today I saw a report at wsws.org that simply took my breath away …

    Mother of teen jailed for Facebook post speaks to WSWS

    Justin Carter’s purportedly “terrorist” post was made in the context of an argument on Facebook related to an online game. Justin was accused of being “crazy.” His response, which his mother contends was just her son’s sarcastic sense of humor, was, “I’m f—ed in the head alright. I think I’ma shoot up a kindergarten and watch the blood of the innocent rain down and eat the beating heart of one of them.” Then Justin wrote, “j/k” (which means “just kidding”).

    The next day, they went in front of the judge to set the bond, and the bond was set at $250,000. It was later increased to $500,000. That’s when I realized it was serious. And it was devastating. I never thought that my son would go to jail, and I certainly never thought he would go to jail for being a terrorist.

    TC: In your son’s case, I understand the prosecutor is offering a sentence of eight years in return for a guilty plea, but is threatening to seek more if the case goes to trial. What is it like to have to make that choice?

    JC: It’s hard to put into words the kind of emotions you have with this kind of thing. Every time we get bad news about the D.A. [District Attorney], and hear what they are trying to push for, whether it is 8 years or 10 years—all I can think of is my son when he was a little boy, and what a good person he is.

    The idea that he would be locked away for 8 years or 10 years—he is not a criminal. He’s not cut out for jail. My first thought when I found out was that someone would kill him in jail.

    It’s hard. He’s almost broken when I talk to him on the phone. He’s lost all hope. He doesn’t think he’s ever going to get out. He told me that if he gets out, “I’ll never take sunshine or grass for granted. I’ll never play video games again. If only I can be free again.”

    The boy’s been in prison since 14 February.

    Truly it’s the cops, the prosecutors, and the judges who should be in jail!

    Reply
  34. john francis lee says:

    Buried on page 33 is this : Dzhokhar Tsarnaev indicted on 45 counts in Boston Marathon bombing.

    Apparently it was Dzhokhar who ‘radicalized’ himself using the internet. No mention of CIA honcho Graham Fuller’s deep involvement with ‘radicalizing’ Chechen rebels, including Dzhokhar’s uncle Ruslan, who married Fuller’s daughter and operated the Congress of Chechen International Organization out of Fuller’s house when he was Fuller’s son in law.

    I have seen nothing other than the wsws.org report of the indictment.

    Are they going to get away with this? Fuller was the guy behind Iran-Contra. He wa on the ground floor with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan … the “Godfather of Al Qaeda”. He ‘retired’ from the CIA after Iran-Contra … the only way you retire from the CIA is feet-first … and then ran the Chechen Mujahideen.

    How can all of that be swept under the rug? The CIA is up to its neck in the Boston Bombing but the corrupt DOJ is going to try to ignore it.

    Are they going to get away with that? MT Wheel?

    Reply
  35. Laser the Liquidator says:

    If you ever want to know what Goldman Sachs is settling the NY Sup Ct ebc1 case (Under SEAL) – and Romney was a “retroactive” CEO…

    please feel free to contact me…

    Scott Bloch knew all of this stuff too
    (It was in the file he received and destroyed)

    Reply
  36. Tim Breaux says:

    Hi,

    You wrote a post a while ago about the US-Saudi Technical Cooperation Agreement…did you ever get a copy of the new one? From all the articles in the newspapers it seems like the CIA drones and Special Operations are pare of the new program. Maybe that’s why the State Department won’t post the new copy?
    Tim

    Reply
  37. This Hour And The Next says:

    Be careful all … someone could be watching and listening in your home in your daily function of living… preparing meals, washing dishes, doing laundry, bathing, personal care, during sexual intercourse, ect; and of course there are all kinds of games being played by telephone communication, through the mail, or even in your automobile. We are being watched as we shop. You may be ‘tracked’ and under surveillance and not have a clue to it – There are people who have this kind of technology are using it to ad nauseum. They are socially inept and are perverts, sociopathic and psychopathic deviants.

    Reply
  38. JoeP says:

    Marcy & colleagues,

    Would you please consider a brief/modest post reminding the world about CIA torture whistleblower John Kiriakou, who is rotting away inside FCI Loretto in Pennsylvania?

    At the very least a reminder of who he is and perhaps a link to/excerpt from his “Letters from Loretto” + his address (if even a small % of your readers were to send John a card or even just a “Stay Strong!” message scrawled on a single-page of college-ruled notepaper, I’ve no doubt that would be a great boost to his morale!!

    John entered the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Loretto, Pennsylvania on February 28, 2013.

    He can be reached at: John Kiriakou 79637-083, Federal Correctional Institution, Loretto, P.O. Box 1000, Loretto, PA 15940. [PLEASE note: the writer’s name + return address MUST be clearly printed on the envelope for an inmate to actually receive the mail! So be sure to include a return address!!]

    He is permitted to receive mail from anyone, and soft cover books and magazines only from individuals. Hard cover books may be received directly from a publisher, a bookstore or Amazon.com.

    John endeavours to answer every piece of mail he receives from the Outside World℠ and genuinely appreciates hearing from folks.

    I’m sure you and your colleagues have a lot “on your plate(s)” but I respectfully and humbly ask you to make even a brief posting on John, especially as we’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of his incarceration (and he’s depressingly served this year inside a proper federal prison “gladiator academy” w/ “hardened” criminals rather than in the “work camp” white-collar Club Fed to which he was originally ‘sentenced’).

    (“CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou: Prison Broke Promise of Nine Months in Halfway House, Will Resume Letters” – http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2014/01/06/cia-whistleblower-prison-broke-promise-of-nine-months-in-halfway-house-will-resume-letters/)

    Thanks.

    Reply
  39. James Oberly says:

    Hello, Marcy: Can you register me, please, as a commenter on Emptywheel posts? Neither your old nor new system recognizes my username as ‘joberly’ Thanks…

    Reply
  40. TomVet says:

    Hi Marcy,
    I just spotted this on Stars and Stripes and it scares me to no end.
    Wanted: Cyberwarriors, no experience or knowledge necessary

    It seems they’re looking to build a force of trained monkeys/cyborgs/robots to run their cutely codenamed programs for them because they can’t afford real techies from Silicon Valley who are too expensive. Not to mention that the real techies might have some ethical considerations the DoD is not fond of.

    Reply
  41. byron greene says:

    i was poison and my home was illegally wire tap. i have evidence of this, made allegations to NCIS now i have find out i am the one being investigated.

    Look at youtube under (navy poison)

    Please help Byron

    To whom it may concern:

    This is what happens when a member of the military comes forward and reports a sexual assault.
    I have contacted federal agencies and been informed NCIS has jurisdiction over this case, what does any citizen to do when a federal agency does not investigate the allegations. The strong arm tactics of the agent in charge to drop this case, no been able to file a complaint against any of the agents through the NCIS IA department, the agent in charge telling me I am not allowed to talk to a Federal Prosecutor. The U.S Navy investigating their own and not showing any attempt to investigate this case is where I find myself.

    I contacted agent Ryan Heflan (732) 866-2235 gave him the detail of my case in Nov/Dec of 2011, I have spoke via phone about six or seven times with him throughout the year 2012. Beginning of 2013 Agent Dart Kelly (732) 866-2166 took over, he needed everything in writing regarding the case in question, which I did about Jan 2013. I got in contact with Agent Kerry Nelson (571) 305-9787 (Internal Affairs) Oct /Nov of 2012 to file a complaint against Agent Heflan and after Agent Kelly took over I attempted to file a complaint against him to, with no success. Agent Nelson did not allowed me to file a complaint against the agents in question; I spoke to Agent Nelson about ten times 2012 through 2013 every time she informed me I needed to talk to the Agent in charge.

    To resolve this:

    The Justice Dept or the FBI need to get involve.

    Reply
  42. lefty665 says:

    BMAZ, Nice guidance the other day to anonymous about registering and using a consistent id. I trust you’re aware that some information on the registration screen is viewable from the main blog. For example: If there’s a web site listed it’s a hot link off the user id. Ain’t exactly anonymous. Some of us don’t care so much, but it might be a surprise to others.

    Reply
  43. Me says:

    Hi Marcy, do you have a snail mail PO box address for those of us who don’t have e-mail and couldn’t figure out encryption anyway? Thanks, want to send you a short private message

    Reply
  44. El Cid says:

    Dear Marcy,
    I read your erudite letter to the New York Times this morning. I agree with the substance of your letter, namely, that all there is regarding the so-called Russian interference is innuendo from somewhere in the intelligence community. I would add that we are in the 21st century and that statecraft and warfare have never been so dominated by information and information technology. It was surprising to me that no one had criticized the Clintons are the DNC for their inept handling of confidential information. To me this makes them unfit to govern. The fact that the Russians (and other adversaries and even friendlies) are constantly hacking is not news and should not be news. Nor is the insinuation even backed up, namely, why would Putin help Trump, and how did Putin help Trump. It seems fairly evident from a distance that 1) the DNC ran a weak candidate, 2) that huge amounts of money were dedicated to destroying Mr. Trump’s image, 3) Mr. Comley’s allegations 3 weeks ahead of the vote were the most damaging, and 4) there was fire where there was smoke, e.g. the Clintons are suspect on many levels. More over, Obama gave the Russians everything the asked for during his tenure–he did a ‘reset’. In the end, the whole smoke screen is weird, and it is amazing that the American people pay attention to it our that the mainstream media presents conspiracy theories as facts.

    Reply
  45. allan says:

    The PayPal link doesn’t work – when it connects at all,
    it’s to a generic page that doesn’t seem to do anything.

    Reply
  46. Patrick says:

    hello! I found out about this website from Democracy Now! Does the website have an RSS feed so that I can be notified of and receive new articles as they become available? thank you so much for the hard work you are doing.

    [You can add this site to your feed reader using this URL: https :// www. emptywheel. net/ feed — just remove the blank spaces from the URL. Hope this helps. /~Rayne]

    Reply
    • Kevin says:

      I second this request for an RSS feed. Thank you.

      [You can add this site to your feed reader using this URL: https :// www. emptywheel. net/ feed — just remove the blank spaces from the URL. Hope this helps. /~Rayne]

      Reply
  47. Michael T says:

    Is there an email newsletter than I can subscribe to? I’d love to get your content in my gmail account every day.

    Keep up the great coverage.

    Reply
  48. SYLVIA says:

    PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN AN EXCLUSIVE ON A CIVIL RICO/AETA CASE INVOLVING POLICE PERJURY, JUDICIAL MISCONDUCT, PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT AND MORE. THE LATE NAT HENTOFF WHO WAS RENOWNED AS AN AUTHORITY IN CIVIL RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL LAW SAID IN HIS 60+ YEARS OF RESEARCHING CASES, HE HAS NEVER SEEN SO MANY DUE PROCESS AND CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS.

    Reply
  49. SYLVIA says:

    BMAZ – I DID WRITE TO NICK WHEN NAT WAS STILL ALIVE BUT I RECEIVED NO REPLY. I BELIEVE HE WAS HAVING PERSONAL ISSUES AT THAT TIME. WHAT I AM CURRENTLTY PURSUING IS WANTING TO GIVE AN EXCLUSIVE TO GET THE STORY OUT TO THE PUBLIC.

    SEVERAL YEARS AGO, THE NYS ATTORNEY GENERAL, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NYS HISTORY, SUED THE TOWN AND ULTIMATELY GOT THE FEDS TO MONITOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. THE NY TIMES WROTE SEVERAL ARTICLES ABOUT IT.

    MY CASE IS TOO BIG AND LEGALLY CONSUMED IN MASSIVE CORRUPTION AND CONSPIRACY TO DESCRIBE IT IN A POST.

    BTW, I KNOW OF ANOTHER TOWN RESIDENT, AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN, WHO WAS VICTIM TO A BURGLARY TWO YEARS AGO, RECEIVED NO RESPONSE HE KNOWS WHO COMMITTED THE CRIME. THE POLICE HAVE FINGERPRINTS, YET ARE IGNORING THE CASE.

    Reply
  50. Trip says:

    Just an FYI:
    I read this article on Raw Story, and they mentioned “The New Jersey Globe” as the source.  I searched the name to make sure that it wasn’t a fake news site.
    (Aside: Instead of Trump, they sent a Fox News personality, and went bust):
    New Jersey Republicans went broke throwing doomed fundraiser at Trump’s golf club
    https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/new-jersey-republicans-went-broke-throwing-doomed-fundraiser-trump-golf-club/

    So I found this about the NJ Globe:
    Kushner-allied editor joins forces with Bridgegate mastermind
    Ken Kurson, the former editor of Jared Kushner’s Observer who helped draft Donald Trump’s 2016 AIPAC speech, has joined forces with David Wildstein, the mastermind of the Bridgegate scandal, to relaunch a news site Wildstein created six months into his court-ordered probation…In 2007, when then-Observer Media Group owner Kushner was 26, he bought PolitickerNJ from Wildstein, who published the influential website under the pseudonym Wally Edge and employed a team of reporters that at one point included Steve Kornacki, now a host and political correspondent for MSNBC…By the time Kushner hired Kurson, a longtime aide to Rudy Giuliani, to edit the Observer in 2013, Wildstein was long gone, serving as a top ally to then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. ..Wildstein now lives in Florida, where he previously said he’d gone to “retire.” He’s looking to hire a New Jersey-based reporter to contribute to his new site. This week, visitors to Wildstein’s PoliticsDW were forwarded to the New Jersey Globe. …Another New Jersey Democrat attributed the news site’s arrival to “the death of local reporting.”But he wouldn’t speak on the record, out of fear.“Those guys are f—ing dangerous,” he said. “I don’t want to get anywhere near that.”
    https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2018/03/01/kushner-allied-editor-joins-forces-with-bridgegate-mastermind-288086

    Is it possible Kushner is pushing out negative stories on Trump? Or does Wildstein have an axe to grind with both Kushner and Trump?  Maybe ex- Gov Christie is leaky?
    (Kushner bankrupted his old site)

    On Blog, an Ex-Christie Ally Showed Approach to Politics
    While David Wildstein had few intimates, Wally Edge had many in New Jersey politics. His sources — including the United States attorney at the time, Chris Christie — plied him with tips and poured out their souls in emails and instant message conversations at all hours, knowing little more about him than an email address..It was an audacious move to start a politics website in 2000 — before blogs, long before websites like Politico. Mr. Wildstein started PoliticsNJ.com on his own, adopting the pen name Wally Edge, after a long dead New Jersey governor. After two years, he began to hire reporters without their knowing who he was. It quickly became a must-read. One Democratic strategist recalled receiving an email from Wally Edge saying Gov. James E. McGreevey was about to announce he was gay and resign. He checked with other Democrats, who insisted it must be wrong, until they saw the governor on television 20 minutes later.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/nyregion/on-blog-an-ex-christie-ally-showed-approach-to-politics.html

    Bill Stepien is still at the WH as Political Director, even though he was involved in a previous conspiracy with “Bridgegate”.

    (2016) Trump Camp Hires Ex-Christie Aide Caught Up In Bridgegate
    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-campaign-hires-bill-stepien-field-director
    About Stepien:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Stepien
    Stepien was connected to another data collection tech company, which also gave an assist to right-leaning candidates in foreign countries, FLS:
    https://www.flsconnect.com/our-team/
    https://www.flsconnect.com/

    I wonder where they got data from?

    Are the Morris County Republicans leaking, themselves?
    Just a bit of political intrigue with longtime players, involved in prior conspiracies of their own, and of course, Trump making bank on his private business while putting the screws to even his own party. I don’t know if this background plays into any Kremlin connections, but it is dense with Giuliani and Christie friends. Old operatives never die, they simply reinvent themselves.

    Reply
  51. Nehoa says:

    I apologize for my recent comments which led some to believe I was advocating violence. I do recommend threats of violence against those who threaten me. It is a much better deterrence against violence than waiting until you have been injured. My life experience is that no one is going to prevent violence against you except you. My high school graduation gift from my parents was reconstructive surgery so I could breathe through my nose again.
    In college, I had so many death threats because of my actions against corruption that potential girlfriends said they were afraid to be seen with me. And they were right! They went after my friends, and only when I had a credible counter threat did they back off. The deal was to mutually back off. Except that I have to get periodic updates on the love life of the daughter who hates her father. 40 year later.
    I apologize that my recent comments seemed to incite violence. What I was hoping to achieve was a willingness to stand up to those who would injure you or kill you. That is what we are facing.
    I have lived alone in foreign lands. It is me or nobody. All your privileged commenters need to understand that the next few months are going to be more like my life than theirs.

    Reply
  52. cavenewt says:

    Is there any way to register for the site? Mostly I’d like to be able to get notifications of replies to my comments, rather than having to go back and do a search on my username on each post!

    Reply
    • bmaz says:

      FWIW, there is a registration process, I’ll see if it can be clarified. To my knowledge, no, we do not have a “you have received a response to your comment” feature and are not likely to do so for security purposes for all of us and you.

      Reply
      • cavenewt says:

        OK then, never mind. I did find where I could get notified of new posts which doesn’t appear to be the same as registering. I can’t really find a place to register but it doesn’t matter if there’s no comment notification. Thanks.

        Reply
  53. Mel says:

    Hi there!

    This is Melaenis and I am a certified illustrator.

    (content of message deleted)

    [Hey Melaenis / Meleane / Melea / Melisha / Melanie / Melangelle / Meleeora / Melcia / Mela / Melia / Melynda / Mellie / Meleana (whatever M name you’ve chosen to use today), so-called “certified illustrator” or “certified photographer” or “certified illustrator and photographer” (whatever role you’ve picked for yourself this time):

    Your claims are being treated as phishing attempts. Images used at this site are either Creative Commons, public domain, or posted under Title 17 USC 107 – Fair Use.

    You’ve also said repeatedly, “And I won’t give you a prior notice again.” So stop, seriously, after +10 times, cease and desist harassing this site.

    Stop wasting our time and yours.

    Sincerely,

    The Moderation Team]

    Reply
  54. Randy Miller says:

    Been reading this site for a couple years and like it a lot, especially posts about the Jan 6 Insurrection. I was so motivated by shock and anger at the attempted coup that I made a 17-minute video and posted it on my YouTube channel yesterday. I think Ms. Wheeler would be interested- the focus is on the attacks at the Lower West Terrace arch entrance, and I was able to find names of perpetrators and isolate their violent acts. Can I post the URL of the video and/or title here? Thanks.

    [Assuming the video is directly related to content in Marcy’s post, you can add it in Comments under that post. Comments are moderated. Thank you. /Rayne]

    Reply
    • Randy Miller says:

      Thanks. It would correlate strongly to her Updated List of Assault Defendents, where a lengthy list of offenders is given. However, comments are closed on that post.

      [Add it to the thread of most recent post most closely related to the topic./~Rayne]

      Reply
      • Randy Miller says:

        Ok, just now I did a post to link my video, related to January 6. I used “MossyBanks” as my name, not wanting to use my real name which is Randy Miller. Thanks.

        Reply
  55. Ewan says:

    Regarding the posts about Luke Harding’s article(s), did you contact him? In my experience Guardian’s journalists are easy to get in touch with (by email for example).

    Reply
  56. Leoghann says:

    A bidness question: what is the method of subscribing that costs emptywheel.net the least amount of money (preferably no money)? Feel free to answer me here or direct it to my email address.

    Reply
  57. Steven French says:

    I have been reading this marvellous site for several years, but with my posts I had an unfortunate start with Rayne. I do not do social media, I have no FB etc… this is the only site I have ever posted on and some of my posts have been clumsy.
    I think my intentions have been misunderstood, which is clearly my own fault.
    I have claimed for many years that sophisticated ideas can not be expressed in “nine bullet points” (a Trump quote), nor even in a ‘one-pager’, so I set out to prove myself wrong.
    I have attached a one-pager on CRT. If it works, feel free to use it, I think Ed might have some interest.
    I don’t know how to link it so I’ll cut and paste.

    Critical Race Theory – WTF – Steven French, ACMA, M.Bus, PhD, new-radical.com https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=E1gbnLEAAAAJ
    I claim to be a Frankfurt School Critical Theorist. At least I would like to think this is a fair description, but the original scholars are long gone to their reward and I wonder what would they would think?
    What has this to do with Critical Race Theory? – well everything.
    I have finally put ‘pen to paper’ (FMD), because of my frustration with listening and watching pundits talk about Critical Race Theory (CRT) and butcher their explanations of what CRT is and why it presents no danger to anyone, especially school students.
    When you write a higher research degree, it is necessary to provide a philosophical framework which forms the base or structure for your specific research. Philosophy asks two fundamental questions: what is it that we can know? we call this ontology and how is it that we can know it? we call this epistemology. Research is generally seeking answers to questions that are ontological (what is it that we can know?) and to justify the research it is necessary to answer the epistemological question, how is it that we can know this?
    There are many acceptable epistemological frameworks or methods that have been academically justified over the years, a “positive” frame such as; science or pure mathematics… but “post-positive” frames are also available, and one is Frankfurt School Critical Theory. I have written extensively about this, see the link above, and the net has much useful information to offer.
    Max Horkheimer, who was an early leader of the Frankfurt School, wrote an essay in 1937 in which he described Critical Theory as an approach which combined rather than separated the poles of philosophy and the social sciences.
    He claimed that to be a Critical Theory it must seek emancipation for the oppressed (is this the post Marxist concept that has sent the American Right into fits of apoplexy?).
    Specifically, any theory can be considered a Critical Theory if it meets Horkheimer’s three criteria:
    “It must explain what is wrong with current social reality
    It must identify the actors to change this
    It must provide both clear norms for criticism and achievable practical goals for social transformation” – theory and practice (praxis).
    What can possibly be wrong with these goals? Any theory that meets these three criteria can be considered a Critical Theory. It provided a framework for me to build my ideas on modern management theory and practice (praxis) for my PhD, an area of management theory called Critical Management Studies (CMS). My PhD “Re-framing Strategic Thinking, Emergence Beyond the Box” is sub-titled “A Critical Management Study”. It utilizes Critical Theory and Complexity. Any theory of race that utilizes the epistemology of Critical Theory can be called a Critical Race Theory (CRT).
    So why does this send the Right apoplectic? Because the scholars of the Frankfurt School in the 1930’s were post-Marxist. Note post – Marxist. They realized that the ideas of Marx had failed and they wanted to understand why. Mention Marx and the Right go apoplectic… But none has read Marx and none has understood that the socialist economics of Marx and the capitalist economics of Adam Smith are based on the same fallacious linear assumptions.
    Can you imagine trying to explain these ideas to your 11-year-old?

    The layout is wrong, but I hope this is read and I can be accepted back into the EW community,
    Best wishes the…
    new-radical

    Reply
  58. Termagant says:

    Hello EmptyWheel,

    I sent an email (to the GMail address at the top of this page) about a week ago, and I haven’t seen a response. Could you please check your SPAM folder to see if it went there? The subject was “Highlight new comments”.

    Thanks.

    Reply
  59. cmarlowe says:

    I have been following emptywheel the past couple of months. The information therein has provided me with infinitely better understanding of what’s going on with respect to DOJ and J6. Thanks to all the knowledgeable contributors.

    There have been a few comments alluding to juries, but what seems to be missing for me is any discussion by experts of the impact of a potential jury on cases against top level seditionists (maybe that discussion has already happened and I just missed it). It seems that DC (fed cases), Fulton county, and NYC are good locations for having fewer Trumpnuts in the jury pool, but still it only takes one to hang a jury. Can this be handled by the prosecutor during jury selection or is it all just pot luck?

    Reply
    • bmaz says:

      You pick the best jury you can within the limits (See Batson v. Kentucky case). But, yes, one juror can sketch the whole thing. That’s just the way it is. So far though, juries have done their job, see Stone and Manafort. So, would not fear this too much.

      Reply
  60. Christopher says:

    Long time follower from afar.

    Would like the ability to donate direct through internet banking if possible.
    Have used Paypal but abhor it…

    Stay well.

    Reply
  61. xy xy says:

    To Rayne
    Followup to your “Drive for Show, Putt for Dough, Cheat for Tax Deductions”, in 3/13/22 Philadelphia Inquirer (inquirer.com) look for article “Chester County land trust helped Trump save millions. That’s just one of its deals.” by Jacob Adelman.

    Reply
    • Rayne says:

      Thanks. Community member Eureka already tipped me off to that and another Inquirer piece about Trump+real estate which were published in the last week. You can leave this kind of stuff in a comment thread rather than here in Contact where more generalized questions about the site are typically expected.

      Reply
  62. Keith VanCleave says:

    Which is easier for you – check or paypal donation? Thank you for your work! ~kvc

    [We’ve found checks take much longer than expected, and in some cases may have been delayed because of the U.S. Postal Service. PayPal is promptly received as is Square Cash (a.k.a. CashApp). Link to payment methods from the Support button: https://www.emptywheel.net/support/ Thanks for your readership and your support. / The Team at Emptywheel]

    Reply
  63. Richard Nagle says:

    Hello,
    I would love to donate but can only do so with a credit card. I could add a few dollars to cover the fee. I hope you will consider adding this payment option to the choices you offer. I detest paypal and do not use checks.
    Thank you,
    Richard

    Reply
  64. Rob Konkle says:

    You should comment on the implications of the recent 5th circuit decision regarding the government regulatory reach. I follow your posts all the time. I am not an attorney. However, one would need to be blind not to see what the conservative justices are doing to the regulatory infrastructure as we speak. As fascinating as all this Durham reporting is, there are insidious things being done that, I, for one, would like to hear your

    Reply
  65. Rob Konkle says:

    You should comment on the implications of the recent 5th circuit decision regarding the government regulatory reach. I follow your posts all the time. I am not an attorney. However, one would need to be blind not to see what the conservative justices are doing to the regulatory infrastructure as we speak. As fascinating as all this Durham reporting is, there are insidious things being done that, I, for one, would like to hear.

    Reply
  66. chetnolian says:

    Fool!

    New to Paypal I may have asked for money instead of sending it.

    If the request goes through can you let me know and I will correct and try to contribute

    BMAZ knows my identity in case it is needed..

    Reply
  67. LargeMoose says:

    Hi Rayne,

    I didn’t want to pollute the thread with this, since I’m not a regular, and don’t have the kind of
    deep insights you value here. But, I am a die-hard Bullwinkle fan, and this is one of the all-time greatest things they ever did, IMHO. Rocky is elected to Congress. Priceless.

    I apologize if this annoys you, or isn’t the right place, etc., I won’t do it again, or, as per your instructions. I know you folks are very busy. I hope you enjoy it. I don’t know how old you are, but I grew up watching these cartoons, and Bullwinkle is the apex of great wit and storytelling, with, unfortunately, some of the lousiest animation ever done. It took me years to get the “Pottsylvania” joke.

    This stuff may get removed, due to copyright, etc., so I list all relevant info in case you need to search in future, or for other episodes.

    “Rocky & Bullwinkle Starring In The Saga Of The Kirward Derby”
    URL is set to start at the relevant part, so don’t erase the trailing digits.

    Part of the overall “Missouri Mish Mash” story. Episodes #25, #26.

    Rocky elected to Congress:
    https://youtu.be/R-meJ8ZZbI4?t=5288
    Play to 1:28:55

    Cheers.

    PS: Try to find episodes of “Tom Terrific” on YouTube. Very imaginative. For kids of all ages.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puD_w94RHuE

    LM :-)

    Reply
  68. Kester says:

    Good morning Rayne/Bmaz.

    I was wondering if there is a setting on mobile that would allow me to read all the comments. As people reply to other people’s comments the formatting takes the convo to the right and it cannot be accessed or read.
    Is there a setting, or an update that would format the comments to be readable past the 4th reply?

    [Thanks for your comment. In the future, post questions regarding site administration under the Contact link at the top right — we do read ALL comments.

    We are still looking at what changes should be implemented to the site’s source code to improve comments. There is not an immediate solution but this matter is on the list. In the mean time, community members should keep this challenge in mind and avoid posting off-topic material in dedicated threads as it makes threads overlong for users on mobile devices, and avoid getting into protracted discussions which are more than four comments deep. /~Rayne]

    Reply
    • Nick Barnes says:

      I also read on mobile (iPhone) and have the same problem. It’s not nearly as bad in landscape mode, though (rotate the phone!).

      Reply
    • skua says:

      Suggest trying using the device in landscape orientaion rather then portrait – less tech jargon version; turn the screen on it’s long edge.
      (I’m currently on a 8″ phone-tablet which can fit 4th replies on the portrait orientated screen. But pretty sure about 7th reply I’ll just have a columnof randomish letters.)

      Reply
    • blueonred says:

      I ran into this issue today on my phone. I sent an email to emptywheel with some CSS that I wrote which fixes the comment formatting issue on mobile for arbitrary depths. Hopefully this or something similar can be incorporated!

      [Thanks for your email and suggestion. As this comment system is WordPress’s default offering, we’d prefer to implement WP solutions first over custom code. We’ll take up your suggestion with the developer in the near future. /~Rayne]

      Reply
  69. JohnnyO says:

    Hi, the Timeline Collection link in the header does not have a link to the “Trump Document Theft Resources” page, whereas the Timeline Collection link in the page footer does. Can you add it for convenience? Thanks!

    Reply
  70. Russalnyde says:

    Hello Team Fantastic,
    First, I want to change my name to be 8+ characters as shown above: Russalnyde

    Second, I’m not sure how this would (or should) fit into any threads on EMPTYWHEEL so I’m posting as a message directly to you – the choir – the link below for an essay by Jonna Ivin….as a sort of response to Marcy’s retweet this morning of BartenderHembry.
    I found this essay at some point back in ’17 or ’18 and, being born and raise in a somewhat upwardly mobile lower middle class family in a small Arkansas town, amongst definitely non-mobile lower class families, found it resonated immediately and immensely. I still find it doing so when I searched for it just yesterday to text the updated link to a couple of friends of mine as we conducted a text chain rant. I’ve turned both of them onto EMPTYWHEEL and while we are definitely not lawyers we all find it challenging yet fulfilling to follow your daily posts. I often need a drink or two at the end of the day after spending it checking frequently for updates.
    Sorry for the poor grammar/construction and run on babble here, but back to the point….this essay. How to dissminate? One of my friends bemoans the fact that when she forwards stuff like this to her folk in Arkansas (she lives in NYC as I did for years – I met her at the University of Arkansas years ago) they seem to immediately pull the ‘god card’ and find a religious reason to blunt the conversation.
    Thanks to you all for your stewardship, your clarity….and your humor!

    https://medium.com/@jonnaivin/i-know-why-poor-whites-chant-trump-trump-trump-2ce38056cba4

    [Thanks for updating your username to meet the 8 letter minimum. /~Rayne]

    Reply
    • Rayne says:

      Yes, it is. Please send checks by snail mail to:

      emptywheel, LLC
      1321 Upland Dr. #7594
      Houston, TX 77043

      Thank you for your support which helps maintain the site’s hosting and web administration, as well as funding resources Marcy needs for her reporting — transcripts can be quite costly. Thank you, too, for your readership.

      Reply
  71. Samren says:

    Greetings,

    I don’t know whether you accept guest posts, but we are planning to place an in-depth guidance on the latest technology that we think will be relevant to your audience.

    We’re glad to hear if you can provide guidance on the requirements and pricing of sponsored posts on your website: emptywheel.net

    If you’re interested in publishing the post or want more information, contact me today.

    Samreen :)

    Reply
  72. Ted says:

    Can you share more about the conspiracy theory streak of Stanley Woodward you’ve mentioned a few times in your posts/tweets? I knew him years ago and he wasn’t a conspiracy theorist back then. I’m intrigued to know what happened to him.

    [Welcome to emptywheel. Please use a more differentiated username when you comment next as we have several community members named “Ted” or “Teddy.” Your unique username should contain a minimum of 8 letters. Thanks. /~Rayne]

    Reply
  73. e.a.f. says:

    While commenting on a blog–Canadian, a regular asked how I got by Rayne with just using e.a.f. They informed me it was now required we use at least 8 letters. (they recognized my initials from both blogs)
    wasn’t aware up until then that was required. My explaination wasI perhaps bmaz liked my taste in music or Rayne was being nice to me. I was ill for several months and didn’t read a lot of blogs during the time.
    Now that I know of the requirement I will change it to e. a. foster. I think I used [email protected] as my email address. I’ll have to find my pass word for that or change it to aol.com

    Next project figuring out how to change my name on the comments, guess I’ll just type in the new one and see what happens. I’m very incompetent when it comes to my computer and how it works. Know how to turn it on, type on it do emails, read blogs and comment. and that is about it.

    [Thanks for updating your username to meet the 8 letter minimum. This is a soft rollout, I’m not going hard on a change until we have a new interface; there will be exceptions, like persons who use names too similar to long-term community members. /~Rayne]

    Reply
    • e. a. foster says:

      Thank you Rayne and bmaz. I’ll go with the e. a. foster so it will work in any future changes.

      Thank you to both of you and the others who make this blog work. It provides factual information, which these days is great. Well it always was important and great but these days its harder and harder to get just straight news.

      Have a great Thanksgiving

      Reply
  74. LuckyCat says:

    Hi emptywheel! Will you no longer be using twitter? I have never had an account and since you have marked your account as protected I am no longer able to see your tweets.

    No biggie if that is just the way it is for now, but I enjoy your analysis so I’d hate to miss something.

    Thank you for all that you and everyone here at the site do!

    Hope everyone had a lovely thanksgiving!

    Reply
    • Michigander says:

      I found that message on twitter today, too, and am equally sad but understanding if that’s the way it’s going to be. I have no desire to sign up for a twitter account, but am very interested in and appreciative of the work you do.

      Looking forward to your reply to Lucky Cat.

      Reply
  75. Jean McKee says:

    Re , just wanted to point out that Rho Khanna represents CA-17 (Biden +47). Encompassing the bottom of the SFBay and thus good chunks of the southern peninsula and East Bay, it is likely home to well over 10% of Twitter employees. Getting 10% of their political donations is not out of line, especially assuming wealthier execs spread large donations outside their home districts.

    Reply
  76. Desidero says:

    FYI, for some older items (4 days? 4th part of the Gerth story in this case) the Reply link still appears even though the thread is already closed.

    Reply
    • Rayne says:

      Thanks for the heads up, we’ll put this on the list of things a developer needs to look at. IIRC, comments close on posts based on how active posts there are, not the number of days.

      Reply
  77. Spencer Dawkins says:

    I see that this website offers a login link at the upper right corner on my laptop screen.

    May I ask how to obtain login credentials? I thought the login page might include something like “don’t have a login yet? Click here to create one”, but it doesn’t seem to.

    Best,

    Spencer

    Reply
    • Rayne says:

      You do not log in here in order to comment. Only contributors have logins. I’ll make a note this is something we should change on the front page so as not to confuse you.

      What are you trying to do with a login that you can’t already do since it’s clear you can comment?

      Reply
      • Spencer Dawkins says:

        Hi, Rayne,

        Thanks for the speedy feedback, and for offering to confuse me less. My wife would love it if I was less confused, most days.

        What are you trying to do with a login that you can’t already do since it’s clear you can comment?

        Well, I don’t need to contribute, so that isn’t it! ;-)

        What I was hoping for, was to be notified if someone replied to a comment I posted.

        I’ve poked around on notifications, and I see that I can be notified about new posts, but I check almost every day to see if there are any new posts anyway, so that’s not quite right.

        I’ve also seen that if I was a contributor, I can be notified about new comments under my own posts, but I’m not a contributor, so that’s not quite right.

        When I comment (as I did up there ^^^^), asking a question, or for clarification, I know that people might reply to my comment (as you did up there ^^^^), but the only way that I know how to see those replies, is to make a mental note to check back “later”, find “spencer” on the page, to locate my comment, and see if there are any replies (as I did, just now). .

        Does that make sense?

        And am I missing an obvious way to do this? It seems possible (given that I provide an email address when I post), but I know not everything that is possible is doable.

        Best,

        Spencer

        Reply
        • Rayne says:

          I’ll add this to the community members’ wish list but I don’t know if this is something doable with a minimum of programmer hours and a minimum of privacy concerns.

          You provide an email address, but you’ll note you’re never forced to provide a valid email address. It’s part of your identity here — if you can’t provide the same one (valid/invalid) each time without telling us you’re changing your email (and we do ask about it), you’re either not committed to commenting in good faith or some entity is attempting to spoof you as a commenter. If we need to get in touch with you, we ask in comments if your address is valid and you have the choice of telling us Y/N.

          We don’t ask much of our commenters except to use a simple 8-letter minimum username and the same one along with email address every time a comment is published. That minimal ask to protect both commenters and the site comes with a higher cost on commenters’ part — like keeping track of their own comments and replies. On our end we do our best to keep spam out, trolls to a minimum, protect users’ privacy and security, and keep the place running. This approach distinguishes us from sites using comment platforms like Disqus, which is difficult to moderate, crams ads down users’ gullets in its freemium model, and has harvested users’ data as part of its business model. Considering the topics we tackle here, security is a considerable concern; your monitoring replies to your own comments has been a tradeoff for not selling out your personal privacy and security.

        • bmaz says:

          Yes, and we prefer an actually valid email address. We have never been known for abusing that, and never will.

        • Paul Spencer Dawkins says:

          Rayne, thank you for the extended and informative response.

          I probably didn’t say this clearly enough, but I reached out because I assumed this capability already existed. Now that you’ve told me it’s on a wish list and explained why, I understand completely what’s up.

          Thank you for the clue!

          [Heads up — You’ve used a different username on this comment. Is this what you intended or is it a slip? Please advise. /~Rayne]

  78. rip no longer says:

    Would it make sense to write up a general usage guide for new (and some of the older posters) that explain all of the requirements for establishing and using/re-using a user name?

    I think it took me a couple of years thinking that that WordPress “Login” button at the top would be something that I should do as a mere mortal. I may have tried 3-4 different versions of saved login names but the system would never remember me. I think I also made contributions hoping that that would buy me a pass to be a real user.

    It seems that Rayne and sometimes someone else spends hours each month explaining to people that they should memorize their names and re-use them (or lengthen them to the new requirements.)

    Perhaps a simple statement when someone clicks on “Post Comment”:
    “If you have posted here before, use the ‘Name’ and ‘Email’ that you have used previously. Please remember your ‘Name’ since we do not keep track of it for you.

    Our ‘Name’ requirements are that it be 8 or more characters and be unique from any other names in use.”

    (Altho how would a poster know what’s been in use?)

    Reply
    • Rayne says:

      I will post something soon wrt new users how-to and what the site will be working toward in a comments update.

      Don’t worry about the time the moderation team spends; it’s better that users see us monitoring comments than not.

      Thanks for your feedback.

      Reply
      • rip no longer says:

        Thanks, Rayne. I’ve moderated a few sites in the past – some that get a ton of trash. It’s not easy but it helps all of the other participants have a better experience.

        Reply
  79. way2busy says:

    I’ve read that people are not thrilled with Mastodon and leaving Twitter isn’t alway practical. Jack Dorsey had begun a project when he was still Twitter’s CEO, to build a “decentralized” social media system, in which no single person or company controls the experience. I read in WaPo that his Bluesky (blue sky, not bluski) is now starting to take applications -or invites. The article is in WaPo at https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/04/28/bluesky-social-twitter-dril-aoc/ (a free link that is only good for 2 weeks: https://wapo.st/3AHybEC )

    I don’t comment in here (I’m not worthy), but I recall the old Firedoglake days and I love this place!

    Reply
  80. Karen Green Stone says:

    Hi,

    What has happened to the Tweet section? It’s a good source for information from all the emptywheel folks.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Rayne says:

      The widget in the right-hand navigation column which featured latest tweets by emptywheel contributors no longer works because Elon Musk has changed the business model at Twitter, requiring users of Twitter’s API to pay $42,000 to continue to do so.

      That kind of money can buy a lot of original reporting as well as platform updates and hosting.

      The original developers of that widget also stopped servicing it years ago. It will be replaced at some time in the near future.

      Thanks for your readership.

      Reply
      • RipNoLonger says:

        I believe some other more liberal outlets have also lost some ability to use twitter with musk’s takeover. Do you know if EW et.al. are looking at other platforms? I’ve blocked all twitter-related hosts from my browsing so it isn’t really vital to me, just hoping there’s another more open/fair place to get these types of texts out there.

        Reply
  81. drhester says:

    I’ve donated via paypal before. Back in March I had a small dustup with Bmaz. Am I really not allowed to post here anymorre?

    Reply
    • Rayne says:

      You just posted successfully. To contribute to comment threads successfully, read and apply #commentpolicy, avoid the topics of RICO and treason because whatever the subject it’s almost never either of those, and don’t get into arguments with moderators who include bmaz.

      Thank you for your continued readership and donation. Please also note we do not charge for participation nor do we sell your personal data for revenue.

      Reply
      • drhester says:

        Thank you for the advice. And my apologies to you personally about that dustup….
        I tried to post earlier today in Marcy’s thread and my comment auto -disappeared. So if you fixed that, thank you.
        hester

        [Give your comment time to appear, it may have gotten trapped in auto-moderation and released when one of us moderators were able to free it. I see harpie had a similar problem this morning. /~Rayne]

        Reply
  82. Datnotdat says:

    Ed,
    I also remember Dick Biondi (and the joke he supposedly got bounced for). I’ve lived in Mishawaka the last 30+ years. Now I’m spending almost all my time in California… That’s were my Grandkids are! Hope you have a good Fourth. And, I read all your posts.
    Datnotdat

    Reply
  83. Ichibod Crane says:

    I just noticed that the copyright date on the site is old (2019). I have no idea if that really matters, but in case it fell through the cracks, FYI.

    [Moderator’s note: Thanks for your feedback. /~Rayne]

    Reply
    • Rayne says:

      Thanks for letting us know. There are software tweaks going on in the background right now and they may cause brief burps in service. We appreciate your patience.

      Reply
  84. Ray Harwick says:

    Low priority question: When someone posts a comment, there doesn’t seem to be a mechanism in which you get notified if someone else responds to it. I posted my very first comment recently and got a couple of responses, but I didn’t know I had received those responses until I went back to the article and scrolled down in the comments and found them only then. This is not a complain. If that’s the way it is, fine. But if people actually do get a notification (like email) alerting them to a response to a comment, I haven’t received any such notifications. I had to go back to the article and check to see if there was any response. I assume, based on my limited interaction here, that I’ll have to check to see if anyone responds to *this* question. It means I must always keep track of where I posted. Does everyone have to do that?

    Reply
    • Rayne says:

      This site does not and will not have reply notifications. You can come back and check for replies (and it sure sounds like a “complain” about having to do this).

      Think very carefully what is required for notifications of replies: community members must provide a valid email to a site which is regularly scanned by hostile foreign entities and some hostile domestic entities.

      This would also require an additional level of administration and management for a site run on a shoestring with volunteer moderators.

      Reply notifications are not going to happen. Make a note of your comments, follow up on your own. Do not ask us to violate community members’ privacy and security, expose this site to greater risks, while we offer content for free without advertising.

      Reply
  85. RipNoLonger says:

    Not something you don’t already know, think about…
    If you want to enforce some arbitrary character limit on the ‘Name’ field why not make that part of the form’s script? I’m sure WordPress (yech) has thousands of ways to do that.

    There’s a bit of me that appreciate you not moving past the 1990’s technologies but it seems it brings you more headaches that it’s worth.

    Reply
  86. drhester says:

    Hello Moderators. Thanks for all you do. Can you advise me on the length of my comment moderation probation? Thanks a bunch. hester

    Reply
  87. NVGrumps says:

    Just my opinion, the bulk of your readers (myself included) are not aware of the many contributions that ‘you’ (all) have done over the years.

    One condition

    Banner: Home, ABOUT, Posts, Timeline Collection SUPPORT

    Mandatory reading:
    ABOUT https://www.emptywheel.net/about/#top

    Emptywheel Contributors

    Marcy Wheeler https://www.emptywheel.net/author/emptywheel/

    BMAZ https://www.emptywheel.net/author/bmaz/

    Ed Walker https://www.emptywheel.net/author/masaccio/

    Jim White https://www.emptywheel.net/author/jim-white/

    Peterr https://www.emptywheel.net/author/peterr/

    Quinn Norton https://www.emptywheel.net/author/quinn/

    Rayne https://www.emptywheel.net/author/rayne/

    POSTS by …. click on the above links

    Reply
  88. Bardi says:

    I try to login but I keep getting a “you have been temporarily locked out”.
    I hope I have not violated any rules, but, why?
    Thank you

    Reply
  89. rvhishere says:

    More to the point, why are my posts removed. Other folks ask the same and don’t have their posts removed.

    [Moderator’s note: Your comments are going directly to moderation because you screwed up your name and it takes a while for the algorithm to be retrained. A human volunteer must validate your comments before freeing them to publish. Your whiny “why don’t you like me” note won’t be released because it’s an example impatience harassing volunteer moderators; you’ve already chewed up a lot of their time today because you couldn’t use the same username. Acquire patience or find another venue because this site is not geared to hold hands and stroke egos.]

    Reply
  90. theartistvvv says:

    Paypal link gives this:

    We can’t find this profile
    Make sure the link’s right and profile hasn’t been turned off.

    Reply
  91. Barry Wright says:

    I’ve posted comments on your site over the past few days. It would be nice to have an account and login. However I’m being blocked. I really don’t care but if you want me to contribute to your dialogue, and you do need help, I’d like to be able to login. If you don’t do this, I’m not going to participate in the future.

    Best regards,
    Barry Wright, PhD

    Reply
    • Rayne says:

      We don’t require logins of commenters. Your comments go into auto-moderation until a human volunteer can free them primarily because you’re still new to our site.

      Simply type in the same username and same email address each time you comment in these fields, allow time for your comment to be cleared if it should go into auto-moderation.

      EDIT — 6:30 PM —

      I’m going to send an email to you to point out what’s triggering moderation. I hope the email address used is correct.

      Reply
  92. LargeMoose says:

    I monitor EW’s RSS feeds, but no entries for two months. Have you stopped supporting RSS, or is this a bug? Thanks.

    Reply
  93. AtticusFlinch says:

    To Rayne,

    It’s been a long time since my last comment — that email hint was all I needed. Lots of email addresses for specific purposes and I’m always going to use VPNs (which necessarily change from time to time as their performance/practices/policies change) to protect my privacy. Sorry to hear that my current go-to counts spammers among its customers, but it’s hard to imagine that all the big ones don’t get flagged too. Either way, I appreciate the help and saved these credentials so I’m confident one mulligan is all I’ll need.

    Thanks again.
    Not Gregory Peck

    [FYI – community members provide three pieces of information to construct an identity here (emphasis on construct as we don’t ask for real names or valid/working email addresses). Commenters’ IP addresses can and often do change, but when one of the other pieces of constructed identity don’t match AND the IP address is provided by a server flagged for spam, I have no choice but to act in the best interest of the site and community especially since trolls have spoofed identities. I use a VPN myself; when I run into problems with my server being rejected, I change my routing. I suggest you do the same. /~Rayne]

    Reply
    • AtticusFlinch says:

      Hi Rayne,

      Totally fair. This was simply a case of me not remembering which of my too-many email addresses I originally chose to use HERE — and my determination not to guess wrong, possibly creating the APPEARANCE of suspicious activity, rather than just copping to a brain cramp. Appreciate your privacy-first hint.

      Because so many major financial and streaming sites, for so many different reasons, are increasingly fussy about “flagged” IP blocks — even with mainstream VPNs — I’m constantly flipping between a half-dozen “favorite locations” within my main VPN’s server map. Going forward, I’ve saved my 2 static identifiers for emptywheel in this browser’s auto-fill, so — if I understand the above — as my IP continually changes, it shouldn’t matter.

      Thanks for taking time to offer the detailed explanation and advice. ; )

      [If another community member’s identity hadn’t been repeatedly spoofed here, I wouldn’t care quite so much. But given the number of influence operations attacking US voters’ perception, we have to be more careful about identities even if constructed. /~Rayne]

      Reply
      • AtticusFlinch says:

        Understood and no complaints whatsoever about your determination to keep out troublemakers. I’ll go back to being super-low-maintenance now. Thanks again.

        Reply

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