T.J. Ferguson
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thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
T.J. Ferguson
@thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
210 followers 380 following 1.2K posts
Privacy Attorney and #Technology Nerd / #Democracy / #RuleofLaw / #Privacy / #Cybersecurity / #MSULaw / #Bama

Father of twins navigating chaos in modern day America (or is that just my living room?). Views are my own.
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thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
Started:
"Only I can end the war in Ukraine...I will end it in 24 hours."

to "Ukraine’s fault, they have no cards, they should take this deal."

to "I just got up to speed on Ukraine (literally 9 mo in office)...I don't think Putin is being honest with me."

Going: "start testing nukes again!" 🤦‍♂️
From CriticalMineralStocks community on Reddit Post by Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump on Truth Social: The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years. Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately. Thank you for your attent this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
October 30, 2025 at 2:12 AM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
#Kzoo #NoKings #StandUpForDemocracy
October 19, 2025 at 12:46 AM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
#UnicornsForDemocracy
#NoKingsInAmerica
#StandUpForDemocracy
October 18, 2025 at 5:13 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
Orangeman in Chief clearly has his priorities in order and associated with only the best people.
Grouping of 8 images in 2 columns with 4 pictures in each. On the left, the 3 top images of Donald J Trump are captioned with the words “Nast Woman” and pointing at, in order top to bottom, former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and former Vice President Kamala Harris. The 4th image on the left shows Trump holding his thumb up and smiling with the caption “I wish her well!”. The 4th image on the right shows convicted child groomer Gisilaine Maxwell.
October 9, 2025 at 1:24 AM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
Second 1/2 of email.

Join me in ringing the congressmen’s office to ask when Congress changed the law extending the Medicaid/Medicare services to unlawfully present purposes.

After all, Tom does request your call:

call my office at 517-993-0510
Social Security All people who currently receive Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will continue to receive payments on time. Local offices will remain open to the public. However, reduced services will be provided and you may experience a delay in the processing of any outstanding benefit verifications or disability claims. Social Security Guidance Medicare and Medicaid The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services programs will continue to operate as normal throughout the duration of the shutdown. Your access to coverage will not be impacted. CMS Guidance Veterans Benefits All VA Medical Centers, Outpatient Clinics, and Vet Centers will be open as usual and providing all services. Additionally, VA benefits will continue to be processed and delivered, including compensation, pension, education, and housing benefits. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals will continue making decisions on veterans’ cases. The VA Contact Center will remain open and can be reached at 1-800-MyVA411. Help is also available 24/7 for any veteran in crisis by dialing 988. VA Guidance Mail Delivery The U.S. Postal Service will continue to deliver mail uninterrupted. All Post Offices will remain open for business as usual. Airport Security The Transportation Security Administration will continue to operate. There may, however, be longer than usual waits to go through security at the airport. If you have a flight planned, arriving at the airport earlier is recommended to ensure you get through security in a timely manner. For more information on what services and benefits are available to you and your family during the government shutdown, please visit my website or call my office at 517-993-0510. My team and I are here to assist you and will keep you updated as more information becomes available. For future updates, please make sure you are signed up here: Get Updates Sincerely, Tom Barrett Congressman for Michigan’s 7th District
October 3, 2025 at 12:50 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
This is the kind of messaging boils my blood. Barrett isn’t devoid of brain cells, and yet, he insists in partisan messaging that the MINORITY party (Democrats) in both House and Senate are the culprits.

When your party holds majority across all 3 branches and a measure fails IT IS B/C YOU FAILED.
Screenshot of an email from Michigan congressional representative Tom Barrett: Government Shutdown Resources Dear Tj, Despite my vote to keep it open, the federal government shut down overnight after Senate Democrats blocked bipartisan legislation that would fund the government until November 21. Now, rather than pass this straightforward solution that will pay American troops and federal employees, Democrats are proposing a different plan that could provide free taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants and eliminate $50 billion in funding for rural hospitals. I want to know what you think. Do you support shutting down the federal government over these unrelated policies? Yes, this is worth shutting down the government. No, the Senate should pass the bipartisan bill to open the government. Unsure or undecided. Submit Click here to take Survey Please know I am encouraging my colleagues to do the right thing and put an end to this shutdown. In the meantime, my team and I remain available to assist you. Here are a few important updates about government operations during this lapse in funding. My Offices My offices in Lansing and Washington, D.C., will remain open and operational for the duration of the shutdown. If you need help with a government agency or want to share your opinion, please contact my office by calling 517-993-0510 or filling out my online help form. Unfortunately, responses from federal agencies may be delayed until normal operations resume. Please know my staff and I are doing everything we can to help get the answers you deserve. Additionally, we regret that we are unable to accept White House or U.S. Capitol tour requests while the government is closed. However, if you are planning to travel to Washington at this time, my office will be open to visitors.
October 3, 2025 at 12:42 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
This pretty much sums it up.

And the answer is probably a mixture of American exceptionalism and the continued degradation of US education + the weaponization of social media to spread misinformation/disinformation.
Screenshot of a post from Pete Wharmby (hiatus) @commaficionado: Post text reads as follows: Why did we bother educating everyone for the last 75 years about nazism and fascism if the next time it appears so many of us look it squarely in the face and decide it can’t possibly be what it obviously is.
October 1, 2025 at 3:15 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
Folks, watch this type of rhetoric. It’s not a far jump to officially trying to classify the opposition party as enemies of the State.

Keep your eyes open and your protection polished. More rocky waters ahead.
Screenshot of a post on X by @FoxNews who posted an image of Stephen Miller (Deputy Chief of Staff to President Trump) with the following caption: Stephen Miller on @seanhannity: “The Democrat Party is not a political party. It is a domestic extremist organization.”
August 26, 2025 at 5:34 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
🤣

@loloferg.bsky.social
Screenshot of a Tweet from X user @elmsbabyy dated 3:39AM Aug 9, 2025: Why was 2019 afraid of 2020? Because they had a fight and 2021 (lots of crying-laughing face emojis)
August 10, 2025 at 3:11 AM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
All hail the savior of the #Markets!

No one else could have saved the Markets from the devastating impacts of the 47 admin’s #tariffpolicy but the person who established the devastating tariffs in the first place!

Praise be for #TACO
Screenshot of a Truth Social post by Donald J. Trump, retrieved from the r/stocks Reddit community: @realDonald Trump The Wall Street Journal ran a typically untruthful story today by saying that Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, explained to me that firing Jerome "Too Late" Powell, the Worst Federal Reserve Chairman in History, would be bad for the Market. Nobody had to explain that to me. I know better than anybody what's good for the Market, and what's good for the U.S.A. If it weren't for me, the Market wouldn't be at Record Highs right now, it probably would have CRASHED! So, get your information CORRECT. People don't explain to me, l explain to them! 225 ReTruths 808 Likes 7/20/25, 12:37 PM
July 21, 2025 at 2:53 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
👇

Russel Vought and the #Project2025 squad aren’t trying to better America. They are actively working to push the US 250 years into the past, back to a theocracy.

When theology reins, science is attacked.
Science literacy is a vaccine against the charlatans of the world that would exploit your ignorance. Neil deGrasse Tyson
July 15, 2025 at 3:58 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
🎯

Many ppl dream of making history…be careful what you wish for.

If you have ever taken a walk through any of the WW2 concentration camps, you should fail to see the humor in the admin’s stupid ass name for this #concentrationcamp in the Everglades.

#NeverForget
Quote from Andrea Pitzer’s MSNBC Opinion article titled Don’t call it ‘Alligator Alcatraz.’ Call it a concentration camp. “Today in Florida, the U.S. is expanding on its own concentration camp legacy. We’re seeing other clues that police-state tactics are intensifying in America. Masked agents in unmarked cars or without warrants who refuse to show IDs are sweeping people off the street. Some who vanish reemerge; others have been effectively disappeared. Meanwhile, the budget reconciliation bill would likely make Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in the words of the American Immigration Council, the “the largest investment in detention and deportation in U.S. history.” This expansion risks quickly making ICE the center of gravity for state overreach.”
July 5, 2025 at 6:43 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
#IndependenceDay2025
#LakeHuron
#Sunset
July 5, 2025 at 3:29 AM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
As we consider our roots and the actions of the current president, and self-proclaimed king, to push the US towards #authoritarianism, I think back to the criticisms laid at King George by the Founders in the #DeclarationOfIndependence and how closely they resemble the actions of 47s administration:
Screenshot from the text of the Declatation of Independence with the last 4 lines highlighted: He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
July 4, 2025 at 8:38 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
“For members of every generation, there comes a moment of complete & completely emptying disgust when it is revealed there is only a hollow. A completely malleable thing whose primary use is not the opposition of evil or administration of justice but the preservation of existing power.“

#OmarAkkad
Front cover of a book written by Omar El Akkad titled “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This.”
June 18, 2025 at 1:01 AM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
The Digital Fourth Amendment: Privacy and Policing in Our Online World by @orinkerr.bsky.social

What better time than now, as the creeping hands of the current govt Admin reach for our information, our money, and our rights. #PrivacyMatters #Privacy
April 28, 2025 at 4:16 AM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
How kind of these businesses to line up for me to avoid.

If you’re like me, I like to poke around before jumping into a trend. But here, Don Jr sits on the board and the website connects you with pro-Trump biz and makes clear who they want as customers.

Happy to not support fascism. #Democracy
The company also acknowledges its purpose of letting people use their dollars as political and cultural leverage. “PublicSquare is on a mission to restore the culture through the power of commerce,” its website says under a section called “Purpose with every purchase.” “This isn’t about boycotts, it’s about helping you switch to something better.” As a consumer, PublicSquare’s website is easy to use. You just enter your ZIP code and it pulls up businesses near you that want to be publicly associated with Trump and his values. The company, which launched in 2022, has direct connections to Trump, too: Its board of directors includes Donald Trump Jr., who also is an investor.
April 26, 2025 at 11:26 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
@orinkerr.bsky.social it would seem the eldest twin finds your book interesting as well…but I think she has some critique on the lack of pictures…and #DadLearnsALesson about leaving his books out. 🫣🤣

So, I thought I’d share her “Riley v California” art:

#TheDigital4thAmendment #OrinKerr #Privacy
Picture of a page from the book “The Digital Fourth Amendment: Privacy and Policing in Our Online World” by Orin Kerr. The right page has been colored on with a blue crayon in the shape of a 3 year old’s hand.
April 20, 2025 at 2:39 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
Still appreciating Judge Wilkinson’s small ray of sunshine in these stormy days of our democracy.

The Trump-Bondi DOJ tried to slither away from the SCOTUS’ order, but CoA hit them with that English 101.

#Lawyered
Screenshot of a judicial opinion. The image displays the following text: The Supreme Court’s decision does not, however, allow the government to do essentially nothing. It requires the government “to ‘facilitate’ Albrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” (The next sentence is highlighted in the image.)“Facilitate” is an active verb. It requires that steps be taken as the Supreme Court has made perfectly clear.
April 18, 2025 at 10:37 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
Shout out to @loloferg.bsky.social for surprising me with this after I nerded out about it this week!

My inner privacy and criminal justice nerd is very excited! 🤓

Thanks to @judgedillard.bsky.social for sharing his post so it caught my attention!
Picture of a book titled “The Digital Fourth Amendment: Privacy and Policing in Our Digital World” by Orin Kerr. The book is laying on a light brown bamboo desk.
April 8, 2025 at 6:49 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
No no, he means straight lines like these:
Screenshot of a map of the eastern US, from Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana on left of the image all the way to the east coast on right. FL is not depicted on bottom of the image. Top of image runs along the border of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The borders of many of these states are very crookedly drawn.
March 21, 2025 at 4:29 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
This. Right here.

@ezrakleinbot.bsky.social was on point when he pointed out we have an NPC problem.

Non-Player Congress members have just given up any pretense at executing their jobs as *representatives* of American citizens, including defending the Constitution. The silence speaks volumes.
Screenshot of title 5 USC 3331 oath of office: §3331. Oath of office An individual, except the President, elected or appointed to an office of honor or profit in the civil service or uniformed services, shall take the following oath: "I, AB, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God." This section does not affect other oaths required by law. ( Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 424 .)
February 25, 2025 at 5:34 AM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
The added benefit is Libby will track how many books you’ve read/listened to, in case you’re trying to hit a certain personal goal:
Screenshot from the history tab of the Libby mobile application. The image is of the poster’s history timeline showing a chart of the books read in 2024 (46) and 2025 (4).
February 17, 2025 at 4:26 PM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
February 16, 2025 at 3:18 AM
thatprivacyguy.bsky.social
Thanks for helping preserve a little faith in humanity.

My children’s Gramma Bear has taken quite a different stance. 😵‍💫
Text conversation: Message 1: Is there really nothing you can see wrong with the actions taken by the current administration? Nothing that raises a red flag for you? Message 2: Not as much as the previous administration did Message 3: God has a plan and undoubtedly it includes President Trump and Vice President Vance. I trust what God has planned. Message 4: Because God famously never tested his followers.
February 14, 2025 at 6:53 PM