Walker acknowledged the state’s role in undermining and discouraging the use of Indigenous languages generations ago.
“I know we need to celebrate where we are, but boy, if you don’t reflect on where you’ve been, it really is only part of the discussion, part of the celebration,” Walker said.
First off, this is not a political post. This is a scam awareness post. Hopefully people help spread the message, considering this is US Voter Registration Day according to today’s Google doodle. You also don’t have to spread this entire post to be helpful, just the two links at the end. I apologize it’s long, it could be as short as “don’t use TurboVote, they give your information to multiple partners who bolster their company value with it, FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST, IGNORE THE TWITTER NOTIFICATION YOU WILL RECEIVE.”
But I also don’t want it to appear as some low-effort grab for attention. This is the kind of thing that needs lots of proof and explanation. People are exploiting the current political environment to scam young Internet users into giving away swathes of personal information to access services that shouldn’t require anything more than a ZIP code.
This one is particularly bad.
Because it will affect millions.
This evening, I got an odd sponsored post on my Twitter feed. It appeared as so:
I’ve seen sponsored links like this before. A large corporation like Twitter would create expedited guides to help their users participate in their national elections, but would also collect this information for figuring out voter behavior and trends. These would then be offered to the political parties so they know where to focus their efforts better. It’s a pretty basic business.
But the thing that caught my attention was that upon following the link, I was immediately asked to fill out personal information.
The landing page takes you here:
“After all, we’re going to be friends.”
Somebody actually approved that copy. Because that’s not creepy or anything.
Already, they are asking for your first and last name. Note that online registration for voting is legal in 39 states, so the first check should be to confirm if the user is even able to utilize the service. Also, to help direct me to a verified site that would be able to process my voting application, it wouldn’t need to know my first or last name, it would just need to know what State I resided in.
The next page gets worse.
I cropped out a lot of text in between, but basically, the next page doesn’t waste any time asking for even more personal direct methods of contacting me. Probably for “special offers” and “updates” from sponsored candidates and action committees buying their way into my inbox.
They’ll surely ask for my State to get the actual process underway, yes?
Nope. Next page is just me confirming that I am a live and active recipient of their “services.” Note they already have my name and Email/phone number, so selecting “Yes” would automatically put me on their recipient list to be pestered. But what’s interesting is if you select “No/I’m Not Sure”…
Hey, there’s the State pull-down menu! But it’s with…ehh, a lot of very personal information that’s definitely not needed to verify if I’m eligible to vote, or to redirect me to an official government source to actually register.
Let’s put in some fake credentials. Note I’ve been using a browser with cleared cache and incognito mode, so it can’t siphon off my browsing history to circumvent my trickery. I am also using a VPN, so they can’t figure out my location either.
Now I’m very concerned.
So I’m not filling in an application at all. As speculated. I’m just giving a whole bunch of extraneous information, and after giving them my name, my phone number, my Email, my street address, and my current voting status, I’m simply provided with links to the actual government resources and registration page.
I’ll register online.
I get kicked back to the landing page. The link does not work. Everything I sent in just returns me to a “null” subdomain.
Alright so this is very suspicious. Who the heck even are these guys? Let’s check the privacy policy.
Confirmation that they do store all the information you sent them. However, they assure that it’s not sold.
They also claim that their partners do not sell the information either, and they are only given that information simply to perform the services they use.
Unfortunately…
What curious findings have we here?
Basically, the company is not going to delete its databases of user information if they’re purchased by another entity. Not even the entire company, just a “division or subsidiary” of the company, like the “database of their collected addresses and user names” division.
Don’t be fooled.
TurboVote is exploiting National Voter Registration Day to data mine you. They claim neither they nor their partners sell user information, but they do collect it, store it, and they will hand it over if an interested party decides to purchase it. Not TurboVote directly, but their “partners” will. They accumulate it, all the while saying they aren’t selling it, and what’s deceptive is they’re telling the truth, it’s not being sold. That is…until they put themselves up for sale, and use that gigantic address book to bolster their company value through the roof.
You don’t have to do this. They do not need your home address to relay you to your registration form. They don’t need to keep your information stored on file. They don’t need your name, your voting eligibility, your party affiliation…any of that information. DO NOT give your personal information to third-party “voter assistance” scams like this. It’s absolutely abhorrent that Twitter is sending mass notifications to people to use this data mining service, when there are plenty of simple non-committal websites already in existence to provide you the services you need.
And remember. Please vote. If you’re confused about ballot measures and local election information without the hyperbolic nonsense blasting out of the TV ads, and wish there was some sort of Ballot-type Wikipedia site out there, Ballotopedia is a fantastic source that lays out all the information you need for every ballot out there. Even you, Mr. Ezekiel Zebadiah Abraham of Muttonbutt County, Kentuckabama, they’ll even have comprehensive guides to help justify re-electing Officer Fuzzwhistle The Cat for his fifth term as mayor.
Again, I’m fully aware this is such a long post. Hopefully this helps you guys figure out how to get involved in the legislative process, and moreso, provides you the links necessary to give actual help to others without compromising their security. You don’t have to send them this post (please don’t, it’s gigantic), just the alternate site suggested at the end.
Thanks.
Hey, Twitter, this is how the Russians get their info.
DO YOUR PART TO CHANGE THIS STATISTIC WHEN IT MATTERS IN NOVEMBER!
are u fucking kidding me hey kids following me please make sure yall are voting in this fuckin midterm jesus louisus (with all due respect, of course)
REMEMBER THAT THIS COULD BE LIFE OR DEATH
FUCKING VOTE
And if you can’t physically go vote, look into voting by mail! It’s never to early to register to vote and it’s never too early to find out about voting by mail!
Even if you think you’re registered, they’re illegally deregistering people. Make sure you’re registered. It’s super fucking easy. Just go to turbovote.org.
Checking registration is easy. You will need a DMV number to register/update or request an absentee ballot online. If you don’t have that (like me now), it will generate prefilled forms to print out and mail in.
If you’re registered/needing to register in another state, doing a quick search should find you the relevant official state website with the info you need.
I put together a half batch of these earlier, partly because I had an open pack of tofu that needed used up. (You don’t absolutely need the tofu, but a little does help keep things moist. Don’t really notice it otherwise.)
I’d made similar seasoned patties before, but not with the teriyaki type sauce/glaze, and that was definitely well worth a try. The red wine approach was intriguing. As usual around here, I cut the sweetness by about half, since Mr. C doesn’t like very sweet sauces. It was good enough that I may have to try the sauce with something else.
Another easy and tasty dish to go with it and some rice: Steamed Broccoli with Miso Butter. (Plus plenty of garlic and red pepper flakes.) I just used about a lb. of micro-steamed frozen broccoli, and guesstimated the seasonings accordingly. Turned out great, in less than 10 minutes even as slow as I can be in the kitchen 🙄
One of my cousins did get diagnosed with whooping cough when we were maybe 4, well before the antivax BS had started rolling. His pediatrician couldn’t figure out how he would have even been exposed to it, when they hadn’t had any other reported cases anywhere nearby for years at that point.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if his problem had really been a particularly nasty bout with the exact same Family Asthma Hell set off by a cold/flu. (Pretty much that whole side of the family does it.) Which was how I spent most of every winter from the time I started school, with the constant exposure to minor bugs.
(And it went unrecognized/untreated as asthma until I was about 14, precisely because it does sound like some terrible hybrid between croup and whooping cough. Antibiotics do nothing, but they kept trying escalating courses anyway on the basis that something that awful sounding had to be coming from a chest infection. They just were not looking for asthma nearly as much then, especially dealing with girls.)
But, I’m still boggling at the contrast between when we were kids and now. “Where the hell could this kid have even caught it?!” to whooping cough parties 😱
Oh yeah, and as I recall my cousin was apparently put under health department home quarantine for a while. Because that’s how much they wanted pertussis spreading, even with pretty much everyone vaccinated then.
One of my cousins did get diagnosed with whooping cough when we were maybe 4, well before the antivax BS had started rolling. His pediatrician couldn’t figure out how he would have even been exposed to it, when they hadn’t had any other reported cases anywhere nearby for years at that point.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if his problem had really been a particularly nasty bout with the exact same Family Asthma Hell set off by a cold/flu. (Pretty much that whole side of the family does it.) Which was how I spent most of every winter from the time I started school, with the constant exposure to minor bugs.
(And it went unrecognized/untreated as asthma until I was about 14, precisely because it does sound like some terrible hybrid between croup and whooping cough. Antibiotics do nothing, but they kept trying escalating courses anyway on the basis that something that awful sounding had to be coming from a chest infection. They just were not looking for asthma nearly as much then, especially dealing with girls.)
But, I’m still boggling at the contrast between when we were kids and now. “Where the hell could this kid have even caught it?!” to whooping cough parties 😱
I just saw the phrase “whooping cough party” and I can’t… I can’t.
Okay, so here’s the thing. Whenever someone asks me “how are you still alive” my favorite
flippancy is usually “spite”, but in all honesty it’s vaccines. Spite
and vaccines.
And not just me being vaccinated, but everyone
around me too, because there are some vaccines I cannot safely have and I
rely on everyone else around me being vaccinated to avoid it.
Things
like, oh, say, whooping cough, which I actually had as a child because I
went to school with the victims of antivaxxers, and we all got super
sick and coughed so hard the blood vessels in our eyes ruptured and
every fit felt like you were going to die choking for breath.
And
tonight, a friend of mine who happens to be a mother, hauled me into an
argument on Facebook where people in her neighborhood group were hosting
a “whooping cough party” cause one of their kids got sick, and the tag
line was “come on over and get it over with lol”, and words cannot
convey how much visceral hatred I had for this person in that moment. If I could have set them on fire with my brain, I probably would.
Because I
can wholly remember sitting in bed clutching my little
chest, desperate for the pain to stop, making that horrible wheezing
sound, with tears streaming down my face, utterly convinced I was going to die if I couldn’t draw breath. And that went on for months
because even with treatment, the cough can take up to three months to
subside. And that is a horrible thing for a child to go through. I
cannot stress enough how painful and terrifying it was and my parents
for all their faults could do nothing. They’d done everything they could
to keep me safe from other illnesses. I had all my other vaccines, I
just couldn’t have that one.
And the thing is, you can get it
again, it’s not a one time deal. You can get it more than once, and
doctors actually recommend you get a booster shot for it every ten
years, and I can’t do that. I cannot protect myself from it. I rely on
other people being responsible, and taking the necessary steps to keep
whooping cough outbreaks low, and the only way to do that is through
regular routine inoculation.
And these fuckers are throwing a party??? What???
Let me be clear, it is through profound measures of willful ignorance, hubris, and yes privilege,
that people have allowed for things like measles and whooping cough to
make a come back. It is a privilege to live in a healthy society where
you can expect all your children to make it out of infancy. It is a
privilege to not die young from TB, it is a privilege that many people
before you had to suffer for and work hard to bring about, all in the
hopes that another child wouldn’t have to go into the iron lung from
polio. And through the privilege of never having had to suffer, you have
elected to do harm. You have elected to allow for the resurgence of
mumps, and measles and coughs that sound like a death rattle in the
lungs of infant children, and then you have the absolute audacity and
malice in your souls to celebrate and throw “sickness parties” because
you’d rather let your child suffer through unnecessary illness than be
vaccinated?
How dare you. You have a moral and social
obligation to protect your children and the people around you, and not
only have you chosen to wave this responsibility, but you are actively endangering others?
How dare you.
And
the thing is I know, I know in your own misguided way you think you are
doing what is best for you child. But if the road to hell truly is
paved with good intentions, I can tell you now with absolute certainty
that you fuckers have got your own burning stars on the walk of shame.
Vaccinate
your god damn kids. And get your booster shots while you’re at it. You
might just save someone’s life without ever knowing or trying.
(Note: This is not aimed at people who cannot be vaccinated or whose
children cannot be vaccinated. I know that struggle, I know it is real
and I’m so sorry other people are putting you and your loved ones at
risk.
Also yes, I know chickenpox parties used to be a thing, I
went to one of them as a kid. Thankfully there is now a vaccine for that
too! Isn’t living in the future neat!
And just so you know, if
you come onto this post telling me that vaccines cause autism, you will
be afflicted with the condition known as my foot up your ass. I will not
engage on discourse over this, there is no discourse to be had. You are
wrong. And that is the end of the discussion.)
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
You must be logged in to post a comment.