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My February birthday fund-raising campaign for this website, Behind the Black, is now over. Despite a relatively weak initial three weeks, the last week was spectacular, making this campaign the second best ever.

 

Thanks to every person who donated or subscribed. It continues to astonish me that people who can read my work for free like it enough to donate money voluntarily. Words cannot express my appreciation for that support, especially in these uncertain times.

 

If you have been a regular reader and a fan of my work and have not yet donated or subscribed, please consider doing so. I take no ads, I keep the website clean from pop-ups and annoying demands (most of the time). Thus, I depend entirely on my readers to support me. Though this means I am sacrificing some income, it also means that I remain entirely independent from outside pressure. By depending solely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, no one can threaten me with censorship. You don't like what I write, you can simply go elsewhere.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation:

4. A Paypal subscription:


5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652


The Facebook political purge

Link here. The article provides a list of almost 200 of the over 800 political pages that Facebook purged from their site on October 11.

A quick scan of those pages undeniably suggests they are almost all conservative or religious. Some might have been spam distributors, but many were clearly not, especially those with followers of one million and more.

It is Facebook’s right to decide who gets to use their platform. It is everyone else’s right to decide whether they wish to support Facebook. This is another one of many reasons to dump them, and go elsewhere.

This action also confirms my decision to refuse to use Facebook. I don’t deal with unethical companies or organizations (even if it costs me money). And what makes Facebook unethical here is their dishonesty. They claim to be non-partisan, that they are not a Democratic Party leftist operation. Meanwhile, they continually prove by their actions, such as this, that they are lying and that their agenda is to help get Democrats elected and to further leftist policy, while squelching the speech of their opponents.

Life is too valuable for me to make deals with the devil. If it means I will have 30 pieces of silver less in my bank, I think that is a very good deal.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

13 comments

  • hondo

    What could be helpful is a list of good alternatives to various social media entities. I look – I try.
    Mind.com appears interesting.
    It’s kind of like shopping – and generally guys don’t like shopping.
    A little help Bob?

  • mpthompson

    I find email to be the best social media. People to who I send an receive it and people who I don’t want to see it don’t. Works pretty well for me.

    I also hang out on blogs such as this one to see what is up on various topics I’m interested in and as far as I’m aware, none of them have any dependency on Facebook.

    I haven’t touched Facebook in six years and don’t think I’m missing out on anything.

  • NormD

    Bob,

    You keep saying ” is a private company and can do what they want”.

    Not so fast.

    The government exempted these companies from being sued for libel because they were supposed to be like the phone company, ie, not responsible for the conversations they carry. The more they exercise editorial control, the more we should pressure the government to revoke this special protection.

  • NormD: Sure, I have no problem with that. They should lose that exemption, for sure.

  • hondo: I can’t help you. I don’t use social media to keep in touch with friends. Nor do I have a smart phone.

    What I do is arrange or participate in get-togethers with friends where I can see and talk with them. Sometimes I have to ridicule them for looking at their smart phones while we visit, but most of the time they recognize that social activities mean face-to-face socializing.

    I also use email, just as past generations used letter-writing, to communicate with family and friends.

  • pzatchok

    What we need is a conservative internet Ad Company.

    Someplace for Firearm and related manufacturers could spend their Ad money.
    Someplace Conservative groups can advertise with knowing their ads will not be censored because of subject matter.
    Someplace religious groups could advertise without fear.
    Someplace Conservative Politicians could spend their campaign funds without worrying that their ads would be bracketed by Democrat ads. Or not even shown.

    Someplace Even Mr. Zimmerman would feel comfortable with letting advertise here.

    As for social media companies censoring pages. Just wait until they add in an automated photo scanner that removes all hunting photos and maybe even the whole page. How many thousands of FB, instagram, or twitter users are hunters?

  • Brian

    Bob I don’t want to be Mr obvious here, I thought I would point out that at the bottom of what you printed here is a little Facebook icon. I do agree with you though, Facebook is an unethical company.

  • Brian: My web guy, when designing the page, included these icons as a matter of course. If others wish to link to this through Facebook, all power to them. And yes, it also benefits me.

    The difference is that I myself do not have a Facebook page, and do nothing on Facebook to promote the page. If something appears to compete with Facebook, it will quickly be added to those icons.

  • Max

    pzatchok said;
    “What we need is a conservative internet Ad Company.
    Someplace for Firearm and related manufacturers could spend their Ad money.
    Someplace Conservative groups can advertise with knowing their ads will not be censored because of subject matter.
    Someplace religious groups could advertise without fear.
    Someplace Conservative Politicians could spend their campaign funds without worrying that their ads would be bracketed by Democrat ads. Or not even shown.”

    That is why a gun company in Utah started their own YouTube type Channel because they were prevented from advertising, had been taken off the Internet.
    https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/
    Or UGETube
    They’ve been excepting videos from everyone thats been taken down, from Gun training videos and cooking videos to church service, political videos and politically incorrect opinions/news.
    On the midterm elections Utah ballot, they are asking the public to raise the gas tax, (for the children) even though the constitution in Utah forbidds taxes from gas stations being used for anything but roads. Raise taxes for the “Insurance companies” just in case they need to take care of the poor that has no insurance.
    Two other constitutional changes which includes the exemption of selected people, who work with government, to be exempted from property tax. The creation of a government run organization to license only selected individuals and companies (Pretend pharmacies) with the complete control of marijuana/cannabis. Anyone caught growing marijuana without the doctors permission will be prosecuted.
    There has been no advertising against the five initiatives has been allowed on the Internet or in the mail, hoping to persuade the population that the government knows what’s best for them and that we need to pay more taxes.
    The crazy thing is that all initiatives are illegal and have no binding enforcement. (our laws are determined by elected representatives, not democracy nor is there any provisions for direct majority rule) if people speak, the elected representatives use that as an excuse for breaking the law and Being blameless when the population in slaves it’s self. (unless the idea is unpopular with the legislature, like when the population voted in term limits, the legislature overturned it the year before it came into effect)
    It is said that Utah is the reddest state in the union, it is not. Every elected representative, except Mike Lee, is a never Trumper or a rhino, or a former Democrat pretending to be Republican. Including mitt Romney who is about to be elected to replace Orrin Hatch. (It is rumored that he has considerable stock in voting machines)

    Facebook is a private company? It receives considerable amount of funding from government organizations funneled through semi Government affiliated companies as well as foreign governments and weapons manufacturers. Think of it as the public face of the deepstate. There is a considerable amount of documentation.

    https://www.rt.com/op-ed/427207-facebook-atlantic-council-nato/
    I would pointed out that a former Utah governor/presidential candidate is the head of the “Atlantic council”. (named after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization NATO)
    John huntsman ran for office to make deals to save huntsman chemical, his billionaire father’s company from going bankrupt over oxygenated fuel that poisoned the ground water in California still giving thousands cancer. Huge economic and environmental disaster, all has been forgiven.
    He worked for Obama to make deals with China as the ambassador while playing with changing parties. Ambassador to Russia currently. Uses Facebook to control elections in NATO countries.
    http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/why-we-re-partnering-with-facebook-on-election-integrity

    https://theantimedia.com/facebook-atlantic-council-democracy/

    https://twitter.com/facebook/status/997107024558264320
    The most important link of all, where they admit the removal of opposition websites to affect elections under the governance of those who know better than you do. You must submit, resistance is futile…
    http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/news/press-releases/atlantic-council-s-digital-forensic-research-lab-partners-with-facebook-to-combat-disinformation-in-democratic-elections

    Facebook is not a privately owned company, it is ran and controlled by political organizations.

    Here is a warning from an unlikely source. As a capitalist, I cannot think in this form of language. Very interesting and damning when the socialists are running scared from Facebook.
    https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/09/08/atla-s08.html
    “That Harbath—a former digital strategist for the Republican Party Senatorial Committee—can speak of the Atlantic Council as having a “stellar reputation” dealing with “hard problems” shows that Facebook is being staffed with functionaries of the US political establishment. In reality, the Atlantic Council has a reputation as a clearing house for political and ideological propaganda—”

    Another quote from the website;
    “The Atlantic Council’s DFRL is staffed by a team of “disinformation” specialists and former US intelligence establishment technology staffers. Its stated mission, as published on the website digitalsherlocks.com, is: “To identify, expose, and explain disinformation where and when it occurs using open source research; to promote objective truth as a foundation of government for and by people; to protect democratic institutions and norms from those who would seek to undermine them in the digital engagement space.”
    Anyone familiar with the history and role of the Atlantic Council knows what this language from the DFRL really means. It has nothing to do with establishing objective truth or protecting the democratic rights of the people. These are the established euphemisms of US imperialism that have been used for decades to cover up CIA-sponsored skullduggery, assassination and political manipulation in every corner of the globe.”

    Wow…

  • It’s telling that Facebook is apparently chock-a-block with True Believers when they merely need to look up the Peninsula to see how Progressive government actually ‘works’.

  • Cotour

    I FOUND THE WORD OF THE DAY: TECHNOCRACY

    TECHNOCRACY IS THE WORD OF THE DAY!

    Technocracy, that is the word that describes the thinking of the Liberal Democrats and their Leftist American dreams. The word technocracy is actually not a new word as you might expect, it is the invention of an engineer from the year 1919. Henry Smyth first used the term Technocracy in his 1919 article “‘Technocracy’—Ways and Means to Gain Industrial Democracy,”. (“Industrial Democracy”, sounds so warm and fuzzy :)

    Technocracy seems to be what Aldus Huxley so accurately described in his visionary book “A Brave New World”. In the world of sci fi TV, technocracy might be the germination point of evolution in how the Borg came to be.

    https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057%2F978-1-137-44541-4_3

    The closest real world country that is actively implementing the principles of technocracy today? That would be China, a country that now has what is called a “Social rating”. This is where all citizens of the country and their social media and internet activity is monitored and used to generate your social score. Have a low social score? Then you can be denied travel, denied a good school for your children and that is just the tip of the ice berg. Don’t support the Communist party who now controls it all? Chilling.

    And you have to assume that Google, Apple, Facebook and the like are in some way facilitating this great leap forward in social evolution in China where the government is primary and the people are just modern day slaves who’s sole purpose in life is to ensure the survival of the entity that enslaves them. Sound familiar America?

    Now technocracy ultimately usurps the concepts of political government operatives I.E. politicians and in its purest form eliminates these human power sponges in favor of “science” and industry and pure logic running the affairs of man. Sounds like fun.

    Aldus Huxley really was a visionary and saw all of what we are all hurtling towards due to the level of technology we are at and approach, and the only thing that has any chance of stopping it out to some reasonable degree?

    The Constitution. And we all know the one thing that the Democrat leadership desperately wants and needs to “adjust”. Yes, they must “adjust” the Constitution as written by the founders.

    You thought I was going to say the Democrat leadership? That’s what you thought I was going to say that was going to save us all from “Technocracy”, isn’t it? No, you were wrong, today’s Democrat leadership who is now almost fully Leftist and anti American in nature, who’s quest for power and what they are willing to do for it is unquenchable and unlimited has latched on to these philosophies of power acquisition and control long ago and they want, no they need “Technocracy” in all of its glory.

    So the word of the day is “Technocracy”.

    MAGA

  • wayne

    The rise of the Administrative State.

    “Philip Dru: Administrator: A Story of Tomorrow, 1920-1935”
    Edward M. House 1912

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Dru:_Administrator

    “…..in which a benevolent dictator imposed a corporate income tax, abolished the protective tariff, and broke up the ‘credit trust’—a remarkable adumbration of [Woodrow] Wilson and his first term.”[4]

  • Cotour

    All of this is really just talk…………………until the actual technology exists to make it manifest.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

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Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

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