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Charles Bastille's avatar

Thanks. That's the real one.i was hoping my reference to Trump as a bonobo would be sufficient to reveal the satire, but this insane administration has pretty much killed satire.

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@GPE (BlueSky) - WNY via CO&NJ's avatar

I went to sleep just after I read this last night, and woke up still thinking about it. My conclusion was that this was an email from the Onion and you hadn’t looked closely at the “from” address. It’s a sorry state of affairs when you can’t tell Onion headlines from real news.

Well written - at least someone is telling the truth! Way better than the drivel that showed up in my inbox.

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Charles Bastille's avatar

Yeah, I did some forensics on the real email to see if it came from SSA. When I saw it was real, I decided to write what they really wanted to write.

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Cliff Lake's avatar

Yours has substantially more information than my own copy. I cannot explain the discrepancy.

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Charles Bastille's avatar

Probably a little snafu caused by all the firings.

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Cliff Lake's avatar

I can think of several more deserving of de-employment.

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Sioux Fleming's avatar

Yeah, I hadn’t seen it until I read this but I got it too. Un-fucking-believable.

Edit at 11:10pm PDT

I just saw this in USA Today:

https://apple.news/Awme7-To5SnWTIL8SK4PVOA

For those for whom the Apple News app link won’t work here’s the headline so you can search for it in your own way:

Unusual Social Security email touts Trump bill. Here's what to know. It’s written by Ben Adler, published online sound 4pm EDT.

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Valerie Starr's avatar

Didn’t get one. It’d be interesting to graph the states of those who’ve received it. Obviously a farce/prank. The logo is a bit off and ss uses physical mail as a rule.

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Charles Bastille's avatar

The original “real” one is not a farce. This one I created as satire is. However, I did use their original email as the basis for the layout/design. I only changed the text.

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Valerie Starr's avatar

Reminds me of the Lazlo letters.

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Charles Bastille's avatar

I had to look that up. Sounds vaguely familiar. I sometimes wonder what it might be like to create a Substack account that appeals to MAGA, but in ridiculous ways. I bet I could cash in! Lol.

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Valerie Starr's avatar

It was the work of Don Novello aka Father Guido Sarducci on Saturday Night Live. He wrote letters to a variety or recipients from KFC to McDonald’s to Billy Graham to Richard Nixon. Always signed fight fight fight, Lazlo Toth, American (they’re fabulous!)

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Charles Bastille's avatar

Lol! Now I remember! Thanks for that. I loved Father Sarducci!

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Valerieleep's avatar

I will not fly my flag at all while Trump is in the White House. Neither did I fly it in his first term. on this Fourth of July, there is nothing to celebrate and nothing to be proud of except for the Resistance to this corrupt, and immoral imposter.

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Pmbluemoon's avatar

Yes, I got one of these too. I wondered what kind of poo was going on there, thank you for sharing this so we know what it was all about!

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Kay-El's avatar

I wish I’d received the one you did. At least it would have been more honest than the clickbait phony one.

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Charles T Quinnelly's avatar

Received.

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Ellen Pepper's avatar

In effect, this is all true.

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areader's avatar

Your posts as well as others subscribed to don't show up in my notes/feed, although liking recent posts. Substack's chat gives nonsensical answers.

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Charles Bastille's avatar

I’m having the same issue. Something is wrong with their algorithm.

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Dick Dowdell's avatar

Your satirical version is funny, but the fact that the current administration really is sending out SSA promotional propaganda announcements at taxpayer expense is rather chilling. As is M. Trump's underlying assumption that “L’État, c’est moi.”

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Charles Bastille's avatar

I’ll admit to mixed feelings about writing satire during this age of satire-as-real-life, but in the end, I find myself unable to help myself because it’s therapeutic and, frankly, probably helps keep me alive.

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Dick Dowdell's avatar

Amen! I'm 79 and still working and writing.

Cheers!

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Charles Bastille's avatar

Awesome! I hope I can say the same when I reach that ripe young age!

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Pmbluemoon's avatar

Here's one my friend got

"The Social Security Administration (SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans.

The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits, providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation's economy.

“This is a historic step forward for America’s seniors,” said Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. “For nearly 90 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for older Americans. By significantly reducing the tax burden on benefits, this legislation reaffirms President Trump’s promise to protect Social Security and helps ensure that seniors can better enjoy the retirement they’ve earned."

The new law includes a provision that eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples. Additionally, it provides an enhanced deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and older, ensuring that retirees can keep more of what they have earned.

Social Security remains committed to providing timely, accurate information to the public and will continue working closely with federal partners to ensure beneficiaries understand how this legislation may affect them."

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Kathleen MacMurray's avatar

Yup, and I was gobsmacked to get it. I thought, how did some MAGAloon get my email address? But it appears to have really come from the SSA, with which, by the way, I just signed up. Let’s see if anything actually lands in my bank account. I prefer this truthier one, yes.

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Charles Bastille's avatar

Mine was more fun, but sheesh, I couldn’t believe I received the real one. I had to do some forensics on the original email to be sure it really came from SSA. It did.

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Pmbluemoon's avatar

I think this was possibly from Doge getting into the SSI administration and getting all of our information?

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a1063_6j37.pdf

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Charles Bastille's avatar

The real one may have been. Mine was satire based on that real one.

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Pmbluemoon's avatar

It was really good satire! 🙂

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Charles Bastille's avatar

Thanks. Based on some comments, I should have been a little clearer that it was satire.

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Pmbluemoon's avatar

Well, honestly not that far off in truth though. It's one of those things that is so good it was believable, that's the sign of good writing!

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Theodora's avatar

LOL! Mine is different! Satire? AI, perhaps? press release:

https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/releases/2025/#2025-07-03

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Charles Bastille's avatar

I think theirs is satire! :-)

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Theodora's avatar

😆

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