Solid Communications

04/11/2022

For those of you who have joined (or were trying to join) my group "Alarmed Independents" we have had the second group shut down as well. No warning, no reason, no offer to review. I've been told by some members that it's the most polite and well-behaved political discussion group they've been a part of. So the whole thing is inexplicable.

That's the bad news. The better news is that I'm considering moving our group of polite people and curated news (which Facebook clearly doesn't deserve) to Proboards. It's a little more awkward and basic than Facebook (think, 1990's forums) but it also doesn't have the annoying let-us-think-for-you mentality. I've used Proboards before successfully, and it has many advantages, including the ability to create sub-categories for certain kinds of topics. It will be easier to start a book club and feature guests, which is something I was planning to do on Facebook. I have done that before on Proboards as well, featuring several wine luminaries.

Right now, however, I have a lot on my plate and a lot I need to accomplish in the next 2-3 weeks. I'll work on it in my spare time and keep you updated.

I will tag as many of you as I can, and post the names of other former members if I can't tag them, so hopefully some of you can reach out and direct them to this page.

Joan Dean Mark Hutchenreuther Kathleen Joyce Hayes Devenie Camps Gayl Tracy Duane Bowman Trisha Schnatterly Aaron Palmer Charlotte Raby Robin Birdfeather Mary R Ferraro Al Osterheld Mark Meyers Sue Collins Jaye Teitzel Omage Paquita Rupp Teri Kleine Sanchia Qandisa Allain Glenna Thompson Bonnie Thompson Denny Colbert Tyler Haas Angela Bray Sarah Goldstein Brian Sharples Eileen Meinhart Anderson

08/31/2021

My latest article.

Arkansas food companies may be spreading Covid variants across the US

08/01/2021

Today's Medium article:

Trump supporters have short memories, but the virus is here to stay.

07/27/2021

In 2020, over 47,500 wildfires burned nearly 8.6 million acres in the U.S.

12/28/2020

A little late for fire season this year, but at least I've got this article ready for next year! All I'll have to do in June 2021 is update the statistics. ;)

Where do they start? Why? Who is responsible for suppressing them?

12/28/2020

Brad Parscale was never a "digital genius" or a "secret weapon". He even admits it himself.
He just utilized the same marketing concepts that every newbie marketing intern is expected to learn:
* Do your demographic profiles
* Go where your customers are
* Tell them what they want to hear
* Create multiple points of dissemination
* Constant messaging
* Leverage already viral input
* Do your A/B testing, and do it quickly
* Get the most spread for the least money

Now the question is: What does this mean for the future of politics?

Are ideals and ideologies out the window?
Replaced by personal brand magnetism?
Is that what voters really want? Movements by Mavericks -- instead of steady leadership and experience?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/24/us/politics/brad-parscale-trump-campaign.html

Mr. Parscale, President Trump’s former campaign manager, was angry after he was demoted last summer, and wanted out of politics. That didn’t last long. He is starting a new political data company.

12/20/2020

A year ago, I published this article. It didn't get a lot of traction, nor did I expect it to. It also wasn't my only piece on Burisma. But I just got my October readership stats, and over the period between Oct 28 and Nov 1 there was a HUGE spike of 300-700 hits every day. The stat report does not show an originating link--only search engine hits from Google, Bing, etc--and no keywords.

Am I crazy to suspect that agitprop/nashibots were searching for keyword combos like Pelosi/Burisma in the week leading into the election?

If so, I'm sure they were disappointed with this result. 😉😁

PS. Patrick Howley currently writes for Epoch Times.

There is a disinformation campaign going around that a Pelosi worked for Burisma. It’s false.

11/18/2020

Where is Trump going to hole up after January 20th?

08/25/2020

Today's article in Alarmed Independents. This is the only story on Pebble Mine that details the involvement by Trump's sketchy fund-trader friends David Iben and Jeffrey Vinik.

It's a long article (11 minute read), and not one I set out to write. I was curious about a short 4-paragraph article in the Hill, and so I Googled Pebble Mine---and then I fell down this rabbit hole. These people are as crooked as an old fence.

A shocking EPA decision, a sketchy trader, a clandestine meeting on Air Force One, and a cluster of hedge fund employees all point back to…

08/25/2020

My recent article in Medium publication Alarmed Independents:

Trump Jr. leveraged the presidency for profit, and took unsupervised private meetings with world leaders

03/11/2020

The Trumps lied about Hunter Biden. Why? Not just because his father is Trump's opponent. They lied to cover up what Trump Jr was doing in real time ... while he was writing this book.

How Trump Junior Managed to Turn a Conspiracy Into Libel, and Expose His Own India Trip

11/18/2019

Probably my #2 all time 'Mistakes in Branding'.

Right after Chevrolet's "Nova" which they tried to market in Mexico as an economy car, but the name means "no go" in Spanish.

“South Dakota spent nearly half a million dollars of taxpayer money on an anti-meth campaign. This....is the actual slogan they came up with. https://t.co/Z8qH4TLXPP”

10/22/2019

The recent Facebook operation that was shut down this weekend is reported on in full at Graphika.com.

Facebook noted of this operation that it “had the hallmarks of a well-resourced operation that took consistent operational security steps to conceal their identity and location.”

These online measures seek to infiltrate ALL points of view, but they focus on those sectors that they see as most vulnerable and easily persuadable. (See attached list.)

https://graphika.com/uploads/Graphika%20Report%20-%20CopyPasta.pdf

10/02/2019

This is how disinformation is spread by black market PR firms.

"Based on the predictions of the researchers, it seems we are transitioning from an era in which you can't believe everything in the media to one in which you can't believe anything at all."

Study finds it’s cheap and easy to get fake news stories published in reputable media outlets

09/16/2019

For Trump, it’s only about the money.

09/05/2019

09/05/2019

This Twitter thread explains exactly why most political campaign 'branding' and communication fails.

“p.s. I never particularly cared about being anonymous. I made up a screenname when I joined. It stuck. So I stuck with it. If I had valued being anonymous, I wouldn’t have left so many breadcrumbs that made it possible to figure out who I am. Another thing Berners got wrong.”

08/26/2019

Canadian and international journalists are being refused entry to the US for work assignments by US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).