Follow all of the Alt- and Rogue- Government Twitter handles

As a philosopher, I tend to expect that my research might be socially relevant in 3 to 21 generations. Unless cryogenics speeds the fuck up, I won't be around to see it. Nothing's perfect.

In this post, though, I have something to say that's relevant yesterday: you need to follow all of the Alt- and Rogue- government Twitter handles. Here are the ones I know of, as of 27 January 2017:

@Altforestserv, @alt_fda, @RogueNASA, @AltHHS, @ActualEPAFacts, @AltUSDA

There will be more.

Here is why you need to follow them: the Trump administration has issued gag orders to many government agencies that are meant to supply citizens with the truth. Officially, they are now meant to clear everything they say to media, on social media, etc. with the administration.

Let me be clear: THIS IS NOT NORMAL. In fact THIS IS HOW CRIMINALS TREAT THEIR VICTIMS. I've spent the last year studying the ways in which knowledge gets distributed in social networks. One very clear pattern is that hubs in star networks tend to abuse their power. A star network is a communication network in which one actor controls whether and to what extent each of the other actors is able to communicate (about what) with other members of the network. Star networks are associated with all the evils. Sexual predators are often the hubs in star networks (DJT, anybody?). The reason is obvious: if A knows that B sexually assaulted C, A will be wary of B. But if B can limit the communication (or, more importantly, the extent to which communication is trusted) between A and C, B can undermine A's wariness.

Star networks are also associated with a variety of other sorts of malfeasance, including financial fraud, academic fraud, and terrorism. The point is that the hubs of star networks have immense power. Not all of them abuse it (e.g., many medical doctors and therapists), but many of them do.

The Trump presidential administration is a classic example of an abuser of hub power. In the last few days, this administration has insisted that scientific branches of government cease all independent communication with the public. All communication is meant to flow through the White House. This is the equivalent of your abusive boyfriend saying that you can't talk with any of your other friends now; anything you want to say has to go through him. 

If we put up with this, we are the moral equivalent of a "friend" who says, "You say your boyfriend hits you, but no one else told me that. In fact, lots of his friends said that you're a lying bitch."

Don't fall for it.

Fortunately, you don't have to navigate this new landscape alone. Into the breach, we have the Alt- and Rogue- institutional accounts. These will be essential for organizing against the Trump administration.