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America Florida Spicy Tampa Bay The Current Situation The Good Fight

Tips for “No Kings” events in Tampa Bay

Here’s some information and advice — but not legal advice, because I’m not a lawyer — for anyone attending today’s “No Kings” protests.

What’s “No Kings” All About?

From Donna Brazile’s op-ed piece in The Hill:

Millions of Americans opposed to President Trump’s attacks on our Constitution, democracy and the rule of law are expected to join some 2,000 peaceful No Kings Day protests around the nation tomorrow. The protests are a follow-up to the No Kings Day held on June 14  — Trump’s 79th birthday.

The protests are backed by a long list of nonprofits and will draw patriotic Republicans, Democrats, independents and third-party backers determined to defend the principle stated by Republican President Abraham Lincoln “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

The Founders’ genius was creating a Constitution that made America great in the first place — a place where the Bill of Rights guarantees us freedoms that many around the world only dream about. America has often failed to live up to its ideals, most notably with the acceptance of slavery, along with systemic discrimination against Black people, other minorities and women that has lessened, but stubbornly remains.

Unfortunately, Trump doesn’t even try to live up to the ideals or goals of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence; he actively ignores them.

Trump clearly idealizes strongmen like the leaders of Russia, China, North Korea and other dictatorships he so admires, who rule with an iron fist and have immense powers. He contends that Article II of the Constitution, which spells out the responsibilities of the president, gives him carte blanche “to do whatever I want as president.”

Simply put, it is a protest against a president who thinks he should have the power of a king.

Where will the “No Kings” events in Tampa Bay be?

  • Tyrone Square 9:30 to 11:00 a.m.
  • Gulfport Casino 10:30 a.m. to noon
  • Duke Energy Trail overpass 10 a.m. to noon
  • Clearwater mall area at Gulf to Bay & Park Place Blvd. 10 a.m. to noon
  • Largo Central Park at East Bay Dr and Seminole Blvd 10 a.m. to noon
  • Sun City Center 10 a.m. to noon
  • Cortez Rd. in Bradenton 10 a.m. to noon
  • Plant City (location TBD) 10 a.m. to noon
  • State Route 50 & Mariner Blvd. in Spring Hill 10 a.m. to noon
  • Little Rd. in Pasco Trinity noon to 2 p.m.
  • N Florida Ave. in Lakeland 1 to 3 p.m.
  • Tampa City Hall 4 to 7 p.m.

What are Florida’s laws on protesting?

Protesting is protected in the United States by the First Amendment provided streets and government buildings are not blocked, but Florida also restrict protests within 500 feet of a residence, cemetery, funeral home, house of worship, or other location when a funeral or burial has just occurred, will occur soon, or is occurring.

Florida also comes down hard on anything perceived as rioting, with penalties against anyone involved in the protest where it occurred.

And, as of this year, Florida has the HALO Law, which requires everyone to move 25 feet away from a first responder, including law enforcement, if asked to. The law is intended to protect first responders but critics worry that it will prevent anyone from shooting video or pictures of ICE arrests or police brutality.

The “No Kings” website tells participants not to bring any weapons, to always act in accordance with local laws, and de-escalate any potential confrontation with law enforcement or anti-protesters.

The American Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit that defends individual rights and liberties, provides educational resources on citizens’ rights when protesting:
  • Your rights are strongest in what are known as “traditional public forums,” such as streets, sidewalks and parks. You also likely have the right to speak out on other public property, like plazas in front of government buildings, as long as you are not blocking access to the government building or interfering with other purposes the property was designed for.
  • Private property owners can set rules for speech on their property. The government may not restrict your speech if it is taking place on your own property or with the consent of the property owner.
  • Counterprotesters also have free speech rights. Police must treat protesters and counterprotesters equally. Police are permitted to keep antagonistic groups separated but should allow them to be within sight and sound of one another.
  • When you are lawfully present in any public space, you have the right to photograph anything in plain view, including federal buildings and the police. On private property, the owner may set rules related to photography or video.
  • You don’t need a permit to march in the streets or on sidewalks, as long as marchers don’t obstruct car or pedestrian traffic. If you don’t have a permit, police officers can ask you to move to the side of a street or sidewalk to let others pass or for safety reasons.
Here is what the ACLU says about taking photos and shooting videos at protests.
  • When you are lawfully present in any public space, you have the right to photograph anything in plain view, including federal buildings and the police. On private property, the owner may set rules about photography or video.
  • Police officers may not confiscate or demand to view your photographs or video without a warrant, nor may they delete data under any circumstances. However, they may order citizens to cease activities that are truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations.
  • If you are videotaping, be aware that there is an important legal distinction between a visual photographic record (fully protected) and the audio portion of a videotape, which some states have tried to regulate under state wiretapping laws.

What to do if you are stopped or detained for taking photographs:

  • Always remain calm and never physically resist a police officer.
  • Police cannot detain you without reasonable suspicion that you have or are about to commit a crime or are in the process of doing so.
  • If you are stopped, ask the officer if you are free to leave. If the answer is yes, calmly walk away.
  • If you are detained, ask the officer what crime you are suspected of committing, and remind the officer that taking photographs is your right under the First Amendment and does not constitute reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

How to Prepare for a Protest

Protests can be strenuous and intense. They are most effective when we peacefully use our constitutionally protected rights of assembly and speech and properly prepare ahead of time. Use these practical tips to stay safe on the day of the protest.

Prepare Ahead of Time

  • Dress for the weather, including rain, heat, or cold.

  • Wear comfortable walking shoes.

  • Bring a water bottle and snacks.

  • Bring any medications you might need in the next 24-48 hours.

  • Fully charge your phone and bring a battery charger.

  • Ensure you have one emergency contact who knows your location and status!

  • Know your emergency contact numbers by heart – do not rely on your phone!

Protect Yourself Digitally Before & After a Protest

  • Encrypt your mobile device.

  • Remove biometric locking features from your devices and replace them with a strong pin or passcode.

  • Sign out of any accounts on your device such as email and social media.

  • Use a secure communication app such as Signal.

  • Back up your data in case your phone is lost or stolen.

  • Take videos or photos with your phone locked.

  • Scrub metadata before you post anything online.

  • Avoid taking or posting images of protestors’ faces.

How to De-escalate and Remain Safe

A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.

  • Identify the threat – not all agitators need to be addressed. Identify the type of agitator and the threat they pose in order to determine if intervention is warranted. Intervening should be based on your personal risk assessment, how much of a disturbance the person is causing, and the threat the agitator poses.

  • Stay calm – When you see a threat, do not engage, and step away. Alert event organizer or safety lead.

  • Keep your distance – Record only if it’s safe. Alert event organizer or safety lead.

  • Avoid confrontation – Step away or help drown them out with chants/songs. Alert event organizer or safety lead.

  • Remain calm – low tone, non-threatening body language, keep a safe distance

  • Observe – keep eyes on the person’s hands and movements, as well as their proximity to other protesters and/or objects. Are tensions escalating? Are they becoming increasingly irate? Constantly evaluate the situation and adapt to your evolving risk assessment.

  • Listen – most often people act out and get more upset when they are not heard. Approach the person with curiosity and do not cut them off. Acknowledge where they’re coming from (even if you don’t agree with them).

  • Redirect attention – where possible, try to get the person to shift their attention to something else.

  • Create distance – situations typically escalate the more people are involved. If possible, help to guide the person you’re addressing off to the side or at a place further away from the rest of the protestors, without making physical contact.

How Non-Citizen Protestors Can Reduce Risks When Protesting

Please Note: None of the information found here should be construed as legal advice, and you should consult with an attorney or immigration expert about your situation and circumstances.

  • If you are an adult immigrant with a lawful status that requires you to carry proof of that status at all times, bring that documentation with you.

  • Have a contingency plan that includes a contact person who knows your location, your status, and who to reach out to for legal support.

  • Keep a copy of your immigration documents with someone you trust.

  • Carry a paper document that lists contact information about bail funds and contact information for legal support.

  • Memorize your immigration number (“A” number) and share it to a trusted contact.

  • Memorize your contact person’s number.

Know Your Rights

Protestors’ rights

  • The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to peaceful protest.

  • You have the right to protest on certain public property subject to certain localized restrictions.

  • You have the right to protest on private property if you have the consent of the property owner.

  • When you are lawfully present in a public space, you have the right to photograph anything in plain view.

  • Law enforcement may not confiscate or demand to view your photographs or video without a warrant, nor may they delete data under any circumstances.

  • If you are videotaping, be aware that the audio may be treated differently than the visual due to state wiretapping laws. Be aware of audio recording restrictions in your state.

  • The First Amendment does not protect acts of protest that become violent or the destruction of property.

  • Be aware of any curfew restrictions that are in effect.

  • Depending on your state, you may be subject to laws that prohibit wearing a mask.

  • These rights apply regardless of citizenship or immigration status, but be aware that the consequences of unjustified arrests may be greater for noncitizens.

Know Your Rights During An Arrest

  • Stay calm.

  • Record what is happening on your phone or ask a bystander to do it.

  • You have no obligation to speak to law enforcement or answer their questions.

  • You may invoke your Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Say “I am exercising my right to remain silent.”

  • In some states, you must provide your name to law enforcement if you are stopped and told to identify yourself. But even if you give your name, you don’t have to answer other questions.

  • Ask them “Am I free to leave?” If yes, walk away calmly.

  • If they say no, tell them you wish to remain silent and ask for a lawyer immediately. Don’t give any explanations or excuses. Don’t say anything, sign anything, or make any decisions without a lawyer.

  • Do not lie or provide false documents to law enforcement. Lying to federal agents is a crime and can carry severe consequences.

  • These rights apply regardless of whether the law enforcement agency is local, state, or federal. They also apply to questioning by the National Guard or other military troops.

After You Are Released

  • When you are able, write down everything you remember, including officers’ badges and patrol car numbers, which agency the officers were from, and any other details. Get contact information from witnesses.

  • If you’re injured, seek medical attention immediately and take photographs of your injuries.

  • If needed, file a written complaint with the agency’s internal affairs division or civilian complaint board. In most cases, you can file a complaint anonymously.

  • If you have been arrested by police, you have the right to make a local phone call. The police cannot listen if you call a lawyer.

  • If you are arrested for a crime, you have the right to a government-appointed lawyer.

Know Your Rights If Confronted by ICE

Please Note: None of the information found here should be construed as legal advice and you should consult with an attorney or immigration expert about your situation and circumstances.

  • Stay calm.

  • You have the right to remain silent and do not have to discuss your immigration or citizenship status with police, immigration agents, or other officials. Anything you tell an officer can later be used against you in immigration court. If you wish to exercise that right, say so out loud. (In some states, you may be required to provide your name if asked to identify yourself).

  • Confirm it’s actually ICE. Ask for badge number, name, and the agency they work for.

  • Record what is happening on your phone or ask a bystander to do it.

  • Adult non-citizens granted a lawful immigration status (like a visa, or green card) must carry their immigration papers with them at all times. If requested by an immigration agent, they must state their status and show their documentation.

  • Nobody should ever present false documents or lie to an official about their status.

  • If an immigration agent asks if they can search you, you have the right to say no. Agents do not have the right to search you or your belongings without your consent or probable cause.

  • Ask them “Am I free to leave?” If yes, walk away calmly.

  • If it’s safe, take notes of the interaction.

  • You have the right to a lawyer. If arrested or detained say, “I need to speak with my attorney.”

Immigrants’ Rights if Detained by Federal Immigration Authorities

Please Note: None of the information found here should be construed as legal advice and you should consult with an attorney or immigration expert about your situation and circumstances.

  • You have the right to consult with a lawyer, but the government is not required to provide one for you if you are charged with a civil immigration offense, rather than a crime.

  • You have the right to contact your consulate or have an officer inform the consulate of your detention.

  • Don’t discuss your immigration status, where you were born, whether you are a US citizen, or how you entered the country, with anyone but your lawyer. While you are in jail, an immigration agent may visit you.

  • Do not answer questions or sign anything before talking to a lawyer. Read all papers fully. If you do not understand or cannot read the papers, tell the officer you need an interpreter.

  • While you are in jail, an immigration agent may visit you. Do not answer questions or sign anything before talking to a lawyer.

Organizing a Community Response

How to Prepare for a Rapid Response Rally

  • Define your message in clear, concise terms.

  • Ensure that you have permission to use the chosen location for the event, including obtaining permits when required.

  • Create a dedicated team to coordinate your event.

  • Plan out your resource needs and prepare ahead of time.

  • Prepare a safety plan.

  • Create a contact list for participants that can be mobilized day of.

  • Create a media contact list, including partners you’ve already built relationships with

  • Select your day/time/location (i.e,. 5pm local time on the day of the rights violation)

  • Select your speakers – give parameters on time and content.

  • Provide updates via social media.

  • Bring a table and provide information to your attendees.

How to Organize Against ICE in Your Community

  • Organize a vigil for immigrant and constitutional rights to draw public attention to the issue.

  • Host a Know Your Rights teach-in to better equip activists with tools and information.

  • Hold training safety seminars for local businesses in preparation for an ICE raid.

  • Build relationships and be present in targeted areas.

  • Talk to your local Sheriff and urge them not to support ICE in disappearing our neighbors.

How to Respond to Federal and/or National Guard Occupation

  • Form a local rapid response network or get plugged into an existing one.

  • Organize a Know Your Rights training.

  • Plaster your city with visual displays expressing opposition, with awareness of local rules/regulations.

  • If you are a veteran, record a video to share with your community, calling out this federal overreach.

  • If you are an elected official, demand transparency. Push back with legal and political tools.

  • If you are a member of the general public, demand accountability from elected leaders at every level of government. Apply pressure on state leaders: Governors, state representatives, state senators, etc.

  • Remember: No matter what uniform they wear, law enforcement and military troops are bound by the Constitution.

How to Respond to Campus Repression

Please note: University campuses are not generally public forums, and every university sets its own policy to restrict access to campus for safety or other reasons. Check with your university before planning an event or activity on campus. 

  • Host a Know Your Rights workshop for students, staff, and faculty to prepare for ICE on campus.

  • Join a student organizing movement to push back against authoritarian practices.

  • Create a sign-on letter or petition to campus leaders, pressuring them to pass a resolution protecting the right to protest.

  • Host events and campaigns to generate engagement on your local campus.

Advocate to Defend the Right to Protest

  • Learn more about the attacks on your First Amendment rights by tracking anti-protest legislation.

  • Protect your right to protest by joining a state advocacy campaign.

  • Join a Federal campaign protecting the right to dissent by applying pressure on Congress to support bills like the Protecting Our Protestors Act of 2025.

Personal Safety Guide

Protest safety isn’t about fear; it’s about surviving long enough to win. Here a plan from a Nashville Redditor with experience in these matters.

Always remember that your priority is getting home safely. We cannot continue to resist if we’re injured, dead, or jailed. This is a safety protocol + rights refresher for those that are headed out to a No Kings protest tomorrow.

1. Stay with your people.

Pick 1–2 people and form a buddy system. If someone has to leave, you all leave. Splitting up = vulnerable.

If you don’t have a friend to go with, make a friend as soon as you get there. I promise it’s NOT hard to make friends at protests like these. Tell them it’s your first protest, or that you don’t have any friends who think like you, and you’re looking to link up to stay safe.

2. Leave before it gets dangerous.

There will be plenty of people willing to stay to the bitter end, let them.

Your goal is to show up and speak up. This is for the long haul; we can’t resist if we’re in jail or the morgue. Safety is our priority if you want to erode the fascist regime.

Don’t wait for things to get bad; leave at the first sign.

If you see police in riot gear lining up, hear loud pops, or see people running, leave fast and calmly. Showing up and marching is just one of the many, many, many ways we can take action. We’ll live to see another day.

3. NO SITTING DOWN.

This one almost should be number one, to be honest, it’s that important. A lot of protest advice going around online advocates for just sitting down if things get violent. This is incredibly bad advice for a number of reasons.

Stay standing, stay moving, keep your eyes up and your ears open. Sitting makes it easy to become a target, get trapped, or get trampled., tear gas also clings to the ground. If you’re tired and need a rest, move to the edges of the crowd and find a safe spot to rest.

Yes, some movements have used linked arms and sitting to resist. We’re not there yet with these protests. Remember, staying safe is our priority.

4. Make an escape plan before you arrive.

The majority of protests tomorrow are going to be peaceful, but there are bad actors in our world. BEFORE YOU ARRIVE at your protest location, you should look at a map and familiarize yourself with the area and the surrounding streets if you are not already. Before you arrive, or as soon as you get there, you and your group should determine a rally point in case you get separated or things become chaotic.

Make sure you know more than one way home if streets get blocked, and be sure you park a bit away from the protest site so if you need to leave quickly, you won’t be in the bottleneck as you leave.

Your entire group should know the plan before you get going

5. Have a code word.

You and your group need to determine a code word that you use that means “no questions, we’re leaving now”.

When someone in your group uses the code word, you don’t debate; you just move to your safe space. You can always regroup and come back if it’s a false alarm. Safety is always your priority. Stay safe, so you can keep speaking up about what is happening.

6. DO NOT TALK TO OR ARGUE WITH POLICE.

This is just a good life lesson in general, but especially at protests: Police are not your friends, no matter how much of a law-abiding citizen you are. This is difficult for a lot of people to conceptualize, but stick around at a protest for long enough and you’ll understand why it’s common to chant “who do you protect, who do you serve”.

Law Enforcement is often emotionally frazzled and instructed not to tolerate drama. They won’t hesitate to escalate situations, so the best way to keep things peaceful is to not acknowledge police unless they’re giving you a LAWFUL order. Even if they’re not giving you a lawful order, the time to argue with police is in the courtroom room not the moment. Most people aren’t able to successfully de-escalate a situation with law enforcement, so the best plan is to just avoid them at all costs.

We’re going to speak up, not get arrested (for now).

7. Stay light + ready to go.

Wear comfy shoes that you can walk or run in. This means NO SANDALS, FLIP FLOPS, OR CROCS IN SPORT MODE. Tennis shoes and good socks. Bring water, ID, snacks, and masks. Nothing you’d be sad to lose.

Leave your phones and smart watches, and anything that connects to the internet, in the car or at home. We bring walkie-talkies to communicate with each other while we’re out and stay connected. If you want to take pictures, bring a DSLR, a Point & Shoot, or snag a disposable camera. Alternatively, bring a GoPro if you’d like. More than likely, there will be press and others with recording devices. You can take this moment as a chance to be present and free yourselves from making tech bro’s richer with the ads you get served while marching.

Backpacks are for basics, not for weighing you down. You never know if or when you’re going to need to move quickly. This is not a picnic in the park; it is a collective move of solidarity to show the establishment that we are in this together against the racist, fascist, and classist policies that are eroding the bedrock of our democracy.

8. If you’re scared, speak up.

No shame in needing to go. Even if nothing looks wrong, your feelings matter. You are at the end of a long chain of genetics from thousands of years of humanity. You may be piecing together a thousand tiny imperceptible things, and you should learn to trust your gut. Safety is our priority. If one person in your group says “I’m done”, be done. Solidarity matters.

9. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.

The constitution does not grant rights, it protects and enshrines them. That doesn’t mean people won’t try and trample them. Your rights are yours regardless who is in office, what the law says, or who tries to trample them. They’re inalienable to you as a person simply because you exist here and now. Learn what your rights are, know them, and stand up for them. Even if you think you know, refresh yourself – knowledge is power.

Here is a good resource to learn more from the ACLU.

Most protests tomorrow will be peaceful. HELP KEEP THEM THAT WAY.

Be kind, watch out, and care for one another, clean up trash, and hold the line.

Protesting is important, but living a beautiful life filled with meaningful connections to people that you love and who love you in return is the thing we’re protesting for. No sense in giving that up yet.

Safety IS resisting. Trust your gut, and keep your eyes up and ears open. We’re in this together.

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America Editorial The Current Situation

U.S. post-election post #1: Concepts of a plan

Election Day in the U.S. was only yesterday, but the results and impact will be big and consequential one, with over half the country voting for what is, in my opinion, recrudescence.

But that’s living in a democracy: sometimes the person you think should win, doesn’t. And modern democracy, as imperfect and crazy-making as it can be, is still preferable system under which to live than most others.

Thanks to yesterday’s “Emotional Support Canadian” post, I’ve been approached by a number of people asking if I could post something on the topic. It’s short notice, but I do have a rough idea of what to do next, or as the President-Elect would say: concepts of a plan.

Here they are in the form of two lists — things to not do, followed by things to do.

(I’ll probably do a more refined version of this article in the coming weeks as my thoughts coalesce.)

Things to not do

  • Don’t capitulate. Yes, concede — once verified, acknowledge the results of the election, because that’s what you’re supposed to do in a democracy. But don’t capitulate. As Timothy Snyder wrote in his book, On Tyranny:

    “Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.”

    Also, don’t self-censor like the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times did when they decided to simply not endorse a presidential candidate. Activist and educator Daniel Hunter provides an important reminder: “Political space that you don’t use, you lose.” Unless it puts you in some kind of danger, do not “sit this one out.”

  • Don’t try and figure out who’s to blame, whether it’s the people who didn’t vote the way you did, or the people who ran the campaign, or the media, or whatever. There will be a lot of popular theories and post facto analysis over the next little while, a lot of which will be wrong, and all of which won’t really matter.

  • Don’t take in the media for the next couple of days. You don’t have to, and really, aside from weather reports, most of the time you don’t need to. Why self-aggravate? Turn off the TV, put down the phone and stop doomscrolling — hell, if you need to, stop reading this article. It’ll still be here when you’re ready to get back.

  • Don’t get despair and analysis confused. Again, Daniel Hunter: “The key to taking effective action in a Trump world is to avoid perpetuating the autocrat’s goals of fear, isolation, exhaustion and disorientation.” I’ll talk more about this a little later in this piece.

  • Don’t storm the Capitol. It’s stupid, and accomplishes nothing.

  • Don’t shut yourself in. It’s stupid, and accomplishes nothing.

Things to do:

  • Freak out, but put a timebox on it. That’s a bit of sage advice from software developer relations guru Scott Hanselman — or more accurately, his mom, who gave him that advice. Feel your feelings, because if you don’t, they will find another, less healthy way to manifest themselves. But set a time limit on those feelings, because after that, it’ll be time to put on the grown-up pants and get gangsta.

  • Learn the new regime’s game plan. They’ve published it in plain sight — Project 2025. Your new game plan is to counter this game plan. (I wrote about Project 2025 here.)

  • Build trust. One of strategies of the Trump campaign was to foment and harness general distrust — of the media, the medical profession, subject matter experts, immigrants, women, and, if you’re not on board with general MAGA philosophy, even yourself. I consider all this a “south-pointing compass” and a guide for whom to trust and to build trust, which comes in a number of forms:

    • Trusting yourself: If you were a kid in the 1970s, you might remember a series of educational shorts on TV called The Most Important Person. One of its main messages (and I think I remember at least a couple of other children’s shows saying this as well) was that you can’t love someone else if you can’t even love yourself. It’s the same with trust, and once again, I’m going to quote Daniel Hunter: “It includes trusting your own eyes and gut, as well as building protection from the ways the crazy-making can become internalized.”

    • Being trustworthy. Tell the truth as you see it. Speak truth to power. Educate yourself, so that if you need to shoot off your mouth, your brain isn’t loaded with blanks. Be someone on whom your friends, family, and community can count on.

    • Build networks of trust. With distrust comes isolation and loneliness, and authoritarian leaders rely on that, and the new regime is relying on the nation’s epidemic of loneliness to get what they want.

      Here’s the thing: Authoritarians thrive in conditions where people are feeling social isolation and atomization, when people don’t form bonds, acquaintanceships, friendships, and trust.

      I was incredibly young when it happened, but I distinctly remember the feeling of people turning inward when President Marcos declared martial law in the Philippines, a lot of what kept him in power for the next dozen years was a breakdown of social trust.

      Around the same time and across the ocean in Chile under General Pinochet, people took care introducing themselves at social gatherings by name or forming anything more than casual acquaintances at those gatherings. One of them could be an informant or at least inadvertently get you on the radar of Chile’s National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) or other authorities. (And you’d better believe that there are MAGA people looking at Pinochet’s tactics approvingly and taking notes.)

      And even if we didn’t have an authoritarian incoming government, there’s still a reason to build networks of trust: isolation and loneliness lead to deaths of despair.

      Again, I turn to Daniel Hunter: “Get some people to regularly touch base with. Use that trust to explore your own thinking and support each other to stay sharp and grounded.” Get to know your neighbors.

      And not just your neighbors on your side of the political fence, but people on the other side too! You probably know a family that had been staunchly anti-gay until a relative came out of the closet and then slowly inched towards acceptance. I have neighbors who initially viewed me with suspicion, but got to know me — one of them even refers to me as “his first Oriental friend.” You’ll find that what we have more in common than we’ve been told by campaigners.

  • Stand with minorities. There are people who are being targeted as “the problem” — immigrants (not just the undocumented ones, but Dreamers and documented ones as well), visible minorities, anyone in the letters LGBTQ+, and more. We’ll need to step up, and Pastor Martin Niemöller’s poem First They Came is truly applicable today.

  • Stand with women. Depending on the circles you move in, you may know a few — or many — women who will be distressed by the election results, and in my opinion, rightfully so.

    There’s been a cultural shift towards having women step back into more traditional roles, for some people because it’s Biblically ordained, and for others because it’s their destiny as decreed by biology. Look at the “tradwife” trend, or the fandoms of Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan (or Lex Fridman, who’s the Luigi to Rogan’s Mario), that idea that Sydney Sweeney ended wokeness with her very nice breasts or most concerningly, the way both the incoming President and Vice President talk about women. The Republican campaign capitalized on this to capture the vote, remembering Andrew Breitbart’s doctrine: politics is downstream from culture.

  • Stand up for institutions. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and even the NOAA (National Oceaning and Atmospheric Administration, a valuable resource for hurricane warnings) are under threat by the incoming government. Speak out for them!

  • Focus on your health. If you want to make change, you have to be healthy, and it’s going to be more of a challenge soon. RFK Jr. — or maybe someone else; Trump operates on whim — will start monkeying with health policy in all sorts of ways; I’m imagining a national Surgeon General like the quack we have here in Florida or Trump’s dictation-taking personal physician. Get in shape, eat well, or at the very least, brush more often with a fluoride or hydroxyapatite toothpaste, because RFK Jr. has bought into the fluoridation conspiracy.

  • Get involved. Politics isn’t a thing you do at the ballot box every couple of years; it’s something you do every day. Every action you take, every word you say, every dollar you spend — each one of those is a vote for the kind of world you want to live in.

    And politics isn’t just a thing at the national level, but the local level as well! The book bans in Florida happened because people who wanted those book bans started showing up at school board meetings — even if they didn’t have kids in those boards’ schools, or even if they didn’t have kids. And you can do more at the state level, especially now, with the emphasis on states’ rights — but only if you organize and get involved.

  • Pragmatic, Machiavellian tip 1: Invest! Wall Street looooves what happened last night. Times will get tougher if you’re on the bad side of income inequality, especially if the promise to put Elon Musk in charge of government efficiency comes true. You might as well harness the investor class’ love of the current situation to make your own situation better.

  • Pragmatic, Machiavellian tip 2: Wait. Donald Trump and Elon Musk — the world’s most politically powerful evil  overlord and the world’s most financially powerful evil overlord — may be a nightmare buddy combo right now, but remember that both are easily-butthurt raging narcissists.

    Remember, I work in developer relations, and I see this kind of personality clash of overpaid, over-entitled, under-worked , and un-self-aware assholes on a regular basis. Those two jamokes are eventually going to step on each other’s dicks, and the very stupid, very public spat will look like a big, overblown version of this:

     
  • And finally, I have a motto for how to live in interesting times that you should adopt. It’s from poet Dennis Lee, a fellow Canadian:

Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation.

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“SEO Don’ts, Myths and Scams” at Search Engine Strategies 2008 Toronto

Search Engine Strategies 2008 Toronto logo

Here’s another set of notes I took at Search Engine Strategies 2008 Toronto. These are from SEO Don’ts, Myths, & Scams. Here’s the description of the panel:

Whether it comes from a cold call, a spam e-mail, or just misguided advice on a forum, there is some information that is just plain wrong. Other “tried and true” tactics are way out of date. Panelists address and debunk their biggest SEO pet peeves, and address your questions and comments in the Q&A.

Myths (Jill Whalen, CEO of High Rankings)

Lessons from the Buddha

Medicine Buddha

A number of lessons from the Buddha apply equally to SEO:

  • Do not believe anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many
  • …or because it’s found written in your religious (or in this case, SEO) books
  • …or merely on the authority of your teachers.
  • Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.

But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

Search Engine Myths

You have to submit URLs to search engines. Search engines will find you if people link to you. If people are linking to your site, you don’t have to go around submitting its URL to Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and so on.

You need to provide a Google site map. It’s nice, but it’s not really going to help. “Most sites are spiderable the way they are.” If you have a site with millions of pages that changes often and your system can auto-generate a map, then mmmmaybe…

Frequent spidering helps rankings. If it’s already indexed, getting it spidered again isn’t going to do much.

PPC ads will help organic rankings! PPC ads will hurt organic rankings Google keeps its search engine and Adwords divisions separate and it appears that your ranking are not affected by whethe ror not you’ve bought pay per click ads.

Keyword Myths

Your site must have a keyword-rich domain. Having applicable keywords in your site’s domain name help, but it’s not make-or-break.

Your site must use keyworded URLs. These may give you a slight boost, but they’re not they key to high rankings. They’re good for usability, though.

Header tags — <h1>, <h2>, <h3> and so on — are necessary. For headlines, make sense to people, put keywords in them, but don’t worry if your CMS doesn’t use header tags for headings.

Words in your site’s meta keywords tag must also appear in its content. Actually, that’s the opposite of the intent of meta tags — they were meant for extra words that describe your page but might not actually appear in its text (they’re also good for handling common misspellings). They’re useless anyway — Google ignores them.

Content Myths

Content needs to have a minimum number of words in order to be indexed. The number that gets thrown around as the minimum is “250”. I made that up at a conference, when someone tried to get an exact number out of me! It’s a good number of words to get a basic point across, though.

You content must have a specific keyword density. Nope.

You should optimize each page for just one keyword phrase. Most SEOs out there do this — it’s a big waste. It’s hard to write copy for just 1 phrase; in fact, it tends to make pages sound spammy.

You must optimize content for the long tail. Another half-right/half-wrong myth (there are many of these). Just write an article! You’ll get found for the words you used. SEO is really about optimizing for keywords that will get used a lot (which is the opposite of keywords in the long tail).

Duplicate content will get your site penalized. A big myth out there. Duplicates are filtered in search engine results pages because they don’t want to show ten copies of the same article. They’ll show what they perceive to be the most important version. At worst, they might not show your version in the results.

Design Myths

The HTML on your pages must validate to W3C. It’s a good thing to do, but not for boosting your search engine rankings. Crawlers don’t care about web standards. You pages just have to be indexable.

Navigation must be text links, not images. Engines have been able to follow image links since image links have existed. Use the alt attribute for anchor text.

Don’t use Flash. Half-right, half-wrong. It true that you shouldn’t make make your whole site in Flash, because it’ll either be non-indexable or indexed poorly.

Linking and PageRank Myths

Google’s link: command is useful for finding out who links to you No! Ignore it! It often returns no results for pages with plenty of incoming links. Use Google Webmaster tools or Yahoo! Site Explorer to see who links to you instead.

Pages rank in PageRank order. “Toolbar pagerank” — the PageRank that the toolbars display for a site — doesn’t mean a whole lot.

Your site will get ranked higher if it’s in a directory like DMOZ/ODP or Yahoo! Directory. No.

Don’ts (Lyndsay Walker, Web Analytics and SEO Coordinator, WestJet)

Big red button labelled \"Do NOT push this button!!!\"

Between the <head> Tags

Don’t use the same <title> tags on every page. Make the page’s <title> tag content relate to the page. You have about 65 characters to work with weith <title> tag content before the search engine stops reading it.

Don’t overuse <meta>. The one that really counts is the description tag. It may not help with your ranking, but it may be used as the description of your site in the Google results.

You don’t need to specify GOOGLEBOT=index,follow in the robots meta tag. That’s the default behaviour.

Don’t stuff keywords in meta tags: they’re not really factored in.

Don’t use hidden text (text with the same colour as its background). They know this trick.

Don’t use doorway pages (landing page strictly for search engines).

When someone tells you to make a page for engines that doesn’t match your content, that’s a warning sign.

Google treats subdomains as completely separate sites. example.com, www.example.com and blog.example.com are treated as three separate sites by Google.

Don’t publish before you’re ready.

Don’t bury your links in JavaScript.

Don’t use too many parameters in your URLs. Use mod_rewrite if necessary.

Don’t stuff keywords into alt attributes. If this practice continues, alt might get weighted less by search engines, and that would be a loss for everyone.

Don’t use images when CSS will do.

If you want to use specific fonts for things like headlines, try sIFR!

Don’t use inline CSS.

Don’t use Flash to replace content. Engines can’t read it.

Links

Don’t attempt to get hundreds or thousands of links at once, especially paid or automated. Search engines “know” about this type of scam. The rule of thumb is that “Natural is good”.

Don’t engage in non-relevant link exchanges.

Don’t participate in link directories. Why would you want to put your link in a page that has just a bunch of other links on it? The links that you want are on pages relevant to your content.

Don’t participate in link farms. It won’t help.

Don’t focus all your links on landing on the home page. Put SEO on every page.

Don’t register lots of domains using fake names and addresses.

Don’t get “green pixel envy” — don’t obsess over PageRank. PageRank covers only link input/output and only updated once every couple of months

Behind the Scenes

Don’t guess what you should do with robots.txt. Use Google Webmaster tools for help!

Don’t have multiple URL variations pointing to the home page. Remember, Google considers “www.homepage.com” and “homepage.com” to be two different sites. Use a 301 redirect to clarify what your preferred domain is.

The Boss Wants It!

When the boss or your client insists on doing something that’s “black hat”, it can pose a dilemma. Remember that they hired you to be the expert — they should trust your judgement. Taking a risk means risking your job.

Do it right the first time. Follow the webmaster guidelines. Fight the good fight. Resist the temptation to go to the dark side.

Be patient. It can take months to get good rankings, but they last!

Build your brand — don’t gamble with it!

Get ahead of the search engine algorithm updates — chances are, if you’re following the guidelines, you’ll be okay.

Who are you optimizing for? For the engines? No! The users!

Don’t forget to communicate with your development team. Be good to them, and they’ll do what you ask!

Scams (Amanda Watlington, Owner, Searching for Profit)

Scam artist wearing a black hood carrying a wad of bills.

Watch for SEO firms that guarantee rankings. How can they make such a claim? They don’t own the search engines nor maintain them. You have to wonder what keywords might they be able to do this for.

Watch for firms that present proof of achieved rankings. These spots were achieved for very long-tail keyword combinations and non-competitive keywords and phrases. “It’s just fancy footwork.”

When an SEO firm suggests creating entry pages, doorway pages, hallway pages that don’t link to your navigation and may be hosted on other domains, run!

Beware of claims of “secret sauces” or when they say “we can’t tell you how we do it”. That’s a good indicator that they’re black hat SEO. Remember, it’s your site and your business’ reputation!

Watch out for claims of special relationships with insiders at search engine companies — “Oh, I know Matt Cutts!” Matt Cutts is a friendly, gregarious guy, and lots of people have at least met him. Google doesn’t have relationships with SEOs and neither do the other serious search engine companies.

Another warning sign: Linking schemes or things that sound like them. These require you to link to other clients of the same SEO as well as the SEO’s site. They may also offer paid link programs, which have recently come under fire. They promise lots of links via submissions to fake or obscure search engines, focusing on creating lots of links through “free for all” link pages. They claim to automatically get you links from blogs or social media sites. They’re scams!

If a firm claims to advertise for “hundreds of clients”, yet has only been around a very few years and has only a handful of employees, be wary.

Also be wary if the SEO doesn’t outline how they’ll spend your money. These people typically use it on paid ads and try to pass them off as organic search results.

Social media is a new can of worms — black hat SEOs view them as new toys to play with.

Remember, if it extracts value through trickery, it’s a scam. Fake content is a scam and fake blogs are scams.

“I’m a real believer in litmus tests.”

Flash intro pages: bad idea. Why are you putting “skip intro” on your landing page, the most valuable piece of real estate? (Try Googling for “skip intro” or “download flash”) Put indexable content on your landing page!

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