Vicky Austin
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vlaustin.bsky.social
Vicky Austin
@vlaustin.bsky.social
300 followers 880 following 88 posts
Retired tech educator and union negotiator, feminist, lover of democracy, activist. Onward. 💙
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vlaustin.bsky.social
Yes on Prop 50!
October 16, 2025 at 2:11 AM
vlaustin.bsky.social
Yes on CA prop 50. Your turn to do your part for democracy.
A hand putting a ballot in a drop box
October 10, 2025 at 6:34 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
I guess it can be a kakistocracy and an authoritarian government at the same time. Lucky us 🙄
August 16, 2025 at 2:19 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
In the running for least surprising
August 3, 2025 at 4:48 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
#OneMillionRising courage can start small and build:
-wear a flag pin upside down
-talk about economic boycotts with people you know
-invite someone to go to a protest with you
...and go from there
July 31, 2025 at 1:06 AM
vlaustin.bsky.social
There's an idea
adambonin.bsky.social Adam Bonin @adambonin.bsky.social · Jul 18
Lindsey Graham's Senate seat in South Carolina, where Colbert grew up and where his sister ran for Congress last decade, is up in 2026.
schooley.bsky.social Schooley @schooley.bsky.social · Jul 18
Colbert should just run for President. I mean, it worked for Trump when his show was cancelled.
July 18, 2025 at 3:04 AM
vlaustin.bsky.social
What could go wrong? 🙄
justinbaragona.bsky.social Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · Jul 14
Last week, Grok was calling itself MechaHitler while handing out rape/murder instructions because it was following Elon Musk's prompts to not be "politically correct."

Today, it's announced that the Department of Defense has signed a contract to use Grok.
July 14, 2025 at 5:52 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
"Of 78 people arrested, only one had been flagged for prior removal."
July 9, 2025 at 4:11 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
Summer reminder
trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · Jun 19
Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.

slate.com/technology/2...
Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning
Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.
slate.com
June 20, 2025 at 1:55 AM
vlaustin.bsky.social
Please note this resource remains available
gusdforall.bsky.social GUSD Parents @gusdforall.bsky.social · Jun 18
The news is overwhelming. Grateful for @rainbowyouth.bsky.social whose crisis line REMAINS OPEN to ALL who need it today. Please share widely. Note: the graphic indicates CA but the line is available NATIONWIDE.
OUR SCHOOLS USA Hotline & Text Support for California Students & Families 866-975-8870 Someone is available to talk to you 24/7. Waiting for Your Call Our Schools USA & Rainbow Youth Project USA have partnered on a crisis hotline and text message support for all LGBTQIA students and staff impacted by school district policies targeting you. We are here for you
June 18, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Vicky Austin
gtconway.bsky.social
I had no idea Siri could be such a wiseass, but here’s her (and my) last reminder for DC Bar members to vote for Diane Seltzer (and not Brad Bondi) before the end of the evening on Wednesday, June 4. Maybe I should change the settings on my iPhone???
June 2, 2025 at 1:04 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
Seems obvious
May 30, 2025 at 1:54 AM
vlaustin.bsky.social
Well, stealing things that are not yours should have some consequences, no?
May 26, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Reposted by Vicky Austin
stevevladeck.bsky.social
Make it seven:

DOJ just sought emergency relief from #SCOTUS in the AFSCME/mass-RIFs case. It’ll be docketed as 24A1106.

In case you’re keeping score, this marks the 15th emergency application from Trump in 16 weeks.

Across 16 *years,* the GWB and Obama administrations filed a total of … eight.
lawrencehurley.bsky.social Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · May 16
There are now emergency applications pending at SCOTUS on SIX different Trump policies. That must be an unprecedented number.

-birthright citizenship
-agency firings
-Alien Enemies Act
-TPS for Venezuelans
-DOGE access to SSA data
-Ending parole for 500k immigrants
May 16, 2025 at 5:23 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
We can't afford Hegseth.
ronfilipkowski.bsky.social Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · May 7
WTF is going on? Where’s Hegseth?
May 7, 2025 at 12:45 AM
vlaustin.bsky.social
Welcome to the resistance, NYS Catholic Conference
briantylercohen.bsky.social Brian Tyler Cohen @briantylercohen.bsky.social · May 3
“Do not mock us.”
May 3, 2025 at 8:05 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
It's a poll tax
hornish.bsky.social Michele Hornish @hornish.bsky.social · Apr 28
A story from our DMs:

A woman in SW Missouri was trying to get a Real ID. She brought her original marriage certificate, but bc it wasn't certified the DMV turned her away. She has to pay for a certified copy from the county clerk.

Missouri: where being married is both fetishized and penalized.
April 28, 2025 at 6:21 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
Goals
50501movement.bsky.social 50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 @50501movement.bsky.social · Apr 17
You’ve probably seen people mention the 3.5% Rule. But do you know what it really means? 1/
White text on black background with a big 50501 logo at the bottom. The 50501 logo is a blue circle within a white circle within a red circle. The blue circle has "50" over another "50" and a big "1" to the right of those 50's. The blue circle also has a ring of white start near its outer edge. Text at the top reads: "What really is the 3.5% Rule?" White text on black background with a small 50501 logo at the bottom. Text reads: What is the 3.5% Rule? Political scientist Erica Chenoweth (they/them) studied over 300 violent and nonviolent campaigns. They found that when 3.5% of a population joins in a “peak” action, movements have been highly likely to succeed at “maximalist” goals, such as removing a national leader. The 3.5% rule helps us imagine what’s possible. In the U.S. that’s about 11.7 million people or about 107 people in every city and town. We don’t need everyone. We just need enough. Source: Erica Chenoweth, “Questions, Answers, and Some Cautionary Updates Regarding the 3.5% Rule” (2020) White text on black background with a small 50501 logo at the bottom. Text reads: The 3.5% Rule; Maximalist Goals; Historically, when 3.5% of a population has joined together in non-violent action, success at achieving “maximalist” goals has often followed. Maximalist goals are the most ambitious demands a movement can make such as removing a national leader from office, ending an occupying force, or achieving territorial independence. These goals seek to change who holds power or control, rather than making policy reforms within the existing system. Source: Erica Chenoweth, “Questions, Answers, and Some Cautionary Updates Regarding the 3.5% Rule” (2020) White text on black background with a small 50501 logo at the bottom. Text reads: The 3.5% Rule; 3.5% is based on peak participation, not cumulative participation; Many people mistakenly think the rule refers to everyone who ever joined the movement. Chenoweth’s statistic is about how many people were involved at the movement’s largest moment of visible, act of resistance. The rule is descriptive, not prescriptive; Chenoweth only noticed the 3.5% pattern after the fact, when asked how many people it takes to win. The number was not part of the original hypothesis or a forecast; it emerged from the data. Source: Erica Chenoweth, “Questions, Answers, and Some Cautionary Updates Regarding the 3.5% Rule” (2020)
April 19, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Reposted by Vicky Austin
danshafer.bsky.social
REMINDER: Wisconsin has same-day voter registration.

So, if you haven’t registered or recently moved or anything like that, you can register at your polling place (with ID and proof of residence) TODAY.

Every state should do this. It’s great that Wisconsin does this. Go vote.
April 1, 2025 at 2:26 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
So this is where we are
March 29, 2025 at 1:58 AM
vlaustin.bsky.social
What's next?
March 26, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Vicky Austin
murshedz.bsky.social
This is art. 🤗
Sharing an excerpt of facebook screenshot of Amanda Gailey: As someone who uses Signal every day, I need to explain how totally committed to being an absolute dumbass multiple people had to be in order for this security leak to happen. Okay, so in Signal if you want to talk to multiple people you have to create a group and give it a name, for example "JD Vance Humps His Couch." You then add people from your contacts to the group. If you are a competent user of Signal, you can then restrict the permissions so that only designated admins can add people. If you are an absolute dipshit whose only job qualification is pwning the libs on Twitter, you would create a group about war plans and not know about or activate this functionality. If you are in a group and are allowed to add members, either because you are an admin or because the admin was raised on lead paint milkshakes, you then must do the following to add someone: Click on "JD Vance Humps His Couch" Scroll down to "Add Members." Select one or more people from your phone's contact list. Click "Update" Confirm that yes, you want to add that member. This is impossible to do accidentally. Then, once you have gone through the multi-step process of adding a member, an announcement appears on the screen for literally everyone in the group to see: "JD Vance Has Added Chairry to the Group." This sentence is a line in a single-stream text thread and if anyone is reading their messages they cannot miss it. (If they are not reading their messages, one might wonder why they have been included on the chat to begin with.) At this point, anyone can say in the chat or privately, Hey JD, why are you adding the bedroom-eyed plush chair from Pee-Wee's Playhouse to our chat about your upholstery problem? Yet nobody in the war bro chat said a thing about the new member added to the group.
March 26, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Reposted by Vicky Austin
benwikler.bsky.social
HEY! Today is the final day for online voter registration in Wisconsin before the April 1 Supreme Court election—where, by electing Susan Crawford, we can beat Musk, Trump, and MAGA.

Check your registration, update it, or register online here: myvote.wi.gov
Home
myvote.wi.gov
March 12, 2025 at 8:47 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
March 11, 2025 at 10:13 PM
vlaustin.bsky.social
Apparently "just make stuff up" is what passes for policy these days. Utter nonsense. No proof.
justinbaragona.bsky.social Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · Mar 10
Elon Musk says "10% of federal expenditures" are due to people having fake Social Security numbers, claiming it is "half a trillion dollars."
March 10, 2025 at 9:11 PM