Joe Winter

@joeventures.bsky.social

137 Followers 259 Following

Atlanta-ish. BBA Business. BS Urban Policy Studies. Now in Software. Random thoughts are my own and not necessarily my opinions, or yours.

Is there anything I can say to convince you to support my campaign for Governor?

What if I told you that the latest polling shows me 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 my billionaire opponent?

What if I told you my opponent just made a 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗩𝗘 $𝟴𝟳 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗩 𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘆 to attack my campaign and crush our lead?

What if I told you I’m facing a 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟯𝟭, so it’s never been more urgent that we show how strong our campaign is?

Every donation we receive right now helps us fight back, reach more Georgia voters, and prove we have the grassroots strength to win.

𝗦𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲, 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟯𝟭 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 $𝟱 𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗮 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲?
(URL redacted)
—Keisha Lance Bottoms
Democratic Nominee, GA Gov

Stop2End

Why people compare this to the Constitution
You’re noticing a real parallel in Enlightenment thinking:

Political System vs Economic System:

Competing factions balance each other
Competing self-interests balance each other

Power checks power
Markets check greed

No one faction dominates
No one firm dominates (in theory)

Both systems assume something similar about human nature:

People are not perfectly virtuous

So the system should channel imperfect motives into productive outcomes

That philosophical symmetry is one reason the founders were heavily influenced by thinkers like Adam Smith.

In Washington, Republicans and Democrats alike have been slow to act. Under President Joe Biden, the Environmental Protection Agency in 2024 established the first PFAS drinking water protections. The Trump administration has announced plans to roll back some and delay enforcement of others.

A post on the site formerly known as Twitter, by Brian Allen @allenanalysis: "Marjorie Taylor Greene entered Congress in 2021 worth roughly $700K. She'll walk out in 2026 with around $25 million. Washington isn't public service, it's a wealth-accelerator for people who learn how to trade policy like stocks."

Do not take the PSC election yesterday as some kind of "Wave Event". It was not about the "D" or the "R" beside the name. It was about the "I". If the Votgle debacle has taught us anything, it's that for decades, the Southern Company has managed the PSC instead of the PSC managing the Southern Company. This was an anti-incumbent vote to restore some necessary balance to the commission. If there is a "Wave event" in Georgia, it will happen in 2026.

HOUSING: Which of the following is the main reason for the housing affordability problems some people in the metro Atlanta area are now facing?

Answers:
Investors are buying properties to rent out: 35.3%
Existing residents are opposed to building affordable housing in their neighborhoods: 7.6%
Developers are building units that are too expensive: 44.0%
Local zoning laws don't allow for enough housing to be built: 4.3%
Other: 3.9%
DK/NA: 5.0%

New York Times report: "The National Weather Service warned that the height of tsunami waves can't be easily compared with the height of standard surf because of the depth of the waves. "A one-foot wave can have an incredible amount of energy," it said on social media. "They cause issues similar to large tides and large storm surge: i.e. coastal flooding and dramatic water level changes in harbors."

A post from 9 hours ago: "Texas officials appeared to be almost entirely issuing vital emergency alerts about the deadly Kerr County flooding via Facebook and Twitter/X. Utter malpractice to restrict these alerts to social media platforms that huge numbers of people don't use anymore.

A frame of John Lithgow's eyes bulging out of his head in fear, from Twilight Zone: the Movie.

Headline from Axios: "Florida attorney general calls for deportation of U.S. congresswoman. (2 days ago) -- Florida Attorney General James Utmeier called for the deportation of a U.S. congresswoman for criticizing President Trump's military parade

Screenshot of "spam and blocked" text messages. They're all from political campaigns.

A search for "CDC closed China office" yields two results: stories from Reuters about key staffing cuts to the CDC's China office before the outbreak of COVID.

Several rows of chairs in a conference hall ballroom, with approximately 40% of the seats empty.

Quoting Douglas Adams: "There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovered exactly what the universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."

From an article at https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/thousands-turn-out-across-metro-atlanta-protest-against-presidential-policies/57LWK6CKSFDFJL56QRYM64VVUM/

Josh McKoon, the Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party told Channel 2's Eryn Rogers that he respects people's right to free speech. However, he said there are no surprises in the president's agenda.

"This president has been remarkably frank and transparent about what his agenda would be if elected, and he is very systematically implementing that agenda," McKoon said. "This is what the American people voted for."

A brief clip from the movie "Trading Places" where Randolph and Mortimer Duke are laughing. There is a subtitle that says "Condescending laughter ensues..."

A link to an article posted on Facebook, with the headline, "Bernie Sanders is drawing record crowds as he pushes Democrats to 'fight oligarchy'."

A photo accompanying the article shows two people as part of a much larger crowd of people in an arena, where an illuminated sign reads, "fight oligarchy."

A description of the article is above the photo: "Sen. Bernie Sanders has emerged as a leading voice for voters opposed to President Trump's rapid push to dismantle the federal government -- and frustrated with the Democratic Party's response.

A screen capture from the NYT Spelling Bee game shows a score of 98, which is in the "amazing" range.

A Truth Social "statement" post from Donald Trump reads: "We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It's amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don't want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace." The post has 10.2k "ReTruths" and 42.4k Likes. A timestamp on the post reads Feb 28, 2025, 1:16 PM.

An older man with a big mustache, wearing a cowboy hat and vaguely cowboy-looking clothes, sitting at the bar in a bowling alley. He's looking at someone to his right in a way like they're crazy. This is a meme and it makes it look like the guy is saying, "You elected a billionaire that is appointing other billionaires to fix the system that made them billionaires? You're a special kind of stupid aren't you?"

A Facebook post by Joe Winter, March 8, 2022: "Is there a name for the logical fallacy that a counterintuitive conclusion must be correct because it is counterintuitive?" The post has 21 comments.

A sticker with Joe Biden's photo. Biden is pointing to the left, and the words "I did that!" are underneath his image. To the left of the sticker, a reading from a gas dispenser showing $67 for 20.813 gallons of gas.

A screenshot of a form to unsubscribe from emails from BlueWaveAmerica. There is one form field, with the label "Please tell us why you are leaving (optional)." In the field, I wrote, "I never signed up for this. Please learn the value of giving people the space to opt in. That might help you stop losing so many elections."

A paragraph from a news story reads:

"I don't care if you're a Republican, a Democrat, a Libertarian, Green Party -- if people are breaking the law and illegally influencing an election, particularly to the extent that they did, that should upset you," Georgia Ethics Commission Executive Secretary David Emadi said after the board's unanimous vote.

A still image from the 1980s sitcom Cheers. Cliff Clavin and Norm are smiling toward the camera as they each hold half-consumed pints of beer.

A fake music festival poster generated by instafest.app. The title of the festival is "Minimalismfest" and it lists three days' worth of featured artists, all of whom are Philip Glass.

Blue sky and clouds reflecting off a glass office tower. Top-left corner of the building has the word, "Microdata".

Sign at Costco, advertising Purlisse Pumpkin Cleansing Balm. $24.99, minus a $10 rebate, for a total cost of $14.99.