So who's correct here; Wired or Tina Smith? I think in Iwo days in might have been nice for our beloved Wonketeers to have come up with something more definitive than "Your guess is as good as ours."
The rest of the world needs to cancel Xitter. Too many world governments are still using that platform as their primary news outlet. Hell, too many non-US corporations are as well. Prior to Bluesky there were not any viable alternatives - but that platform is stable enough that it could support becoming a primary communications outlet for any other governments and non US corps (and some US corps.)
Okay. So. My disabled sister has a Google account, only because she has her own profile. We managed to teach her how to use (free - she doesn't care about the commercials) Spotify and Zoom so she could attend church services remotely, then had to switch her over to an unlimited phone plan because she would exhaust 10 GB of music before the end of the month.
How the fuck are they going to link someone's SSI account to an email address and thus a Twitter account? Twitter is legally not allowed to ask for your social security number. If someone had the bright idea about including asking for that in an X registration, it would be sued into oblivion the next day. That's probably why this got shot down.
This question may have already been asked, but since we don't have specific details from the SSA, does this mean that they'll no longer be sending communications to SS recipients by mail?
well? i tried to open an SSA account for my dad today (for financial reasons, not for any SSA test). he's been getting SSA for like 30 years - he's 90. to open the online account, he will need to verify his ID by snail mail - 5 to 10 days.
i'm not sure if this is doge or actually making sure he's not being scammed.
Jeez, I've had my login.gov account for years, so don't remember how I proved my identity when I first set it up to check my income history. That was back when they actually answered their phones, though. 🙄 Good luck to you and your father!
People should NOT sign up for X in response to the social security announcement. That is compliance with a policy aimed at harming social security recipients and driving more customers to X. Information about federal programs should
be freely available to the public. No one should have to make an account with a commercial company in order to access information about government programs, especially those who are contributing or receiving benefits from a government program.
About the office closings, there was a notice on the official SSA website as of yesterday, 4/11/25, talking about the fact that media reports of local office closings are FALSE. No such thing is happening, per the notice. Instead:
"From time to time, SSA must temporarily close a local field office for reasons such as weather, damage, or facilities issues, and it reopens when the issues are resolved."
Even more of a concern for those of us living outside the US (including citizens). I just hope Carlos, the SSI guru at the Embassy in Mexico City keeps his job. Or are we going back to the bad old days when you had US citizens in the 80s having to trek in from some small town out in the hinterlands to the nearest consulate (sometimes an overnight trip) just to "prove" they were still alive.
I refuse to do jack-Xitter. and needless to say, fucking Truth Social, even though I am already on SS, getting a pension, and VA disability benies.
The sabotage is coming from the inside.
" someone noticed what the children at DOGE were doing and stepped in."
I would agree except they are adults who are committing crimes, so criminals not children.
I was going to call my senator tomorrow and ask for guidance on how to download X onto my mom's landline phone.
So who's correct here; Wired or Tina Smith? I think in Iwo days in might have been nice for our beloved Wonketeers to have come up with something more definitive than "Your guess is as good as ours."
The rest of the world needs to cancel Xitter. Too many world governments are still using that platform as their primary news outlet. Hell, too many non-US corporations are as well. Prior to Bluesky there were not any viable alternatives - but that platform is stable enough that it could support becoming a primary communications outlet for any other governments and non US corps (and some US corps.)
Okay. So. My disabled sister has a Google account, only because she has her own profile. We managed to teach her how to use (free - she doesn't care about the commercials) Spotify and Zoom so she could attend church services remotely, then had to switch her over to an unlimited phone plan because she would exhaust 10 GB of music before the end of the month.
How the fuck are they going to link someone's SSI account to an email address and thus a Twitter account? Twitter is legally not allowed to ask for your social security number. If someone had the bright idea about including asking for that in an X registration, it would be sued into oblivion the next day. That's probably why this got shot down.
This question may have already been asked, but since we don't have specific details from the SSA, does this mean that they'll no longer be sending communications to SS recipients by mail?
well? i tried to open an SSA account for my dad today (for financial reasons, not for any SSA test). he's been getting SSA for like 30 years - he's 90. to open the online account, he will need to verify his ID by snail mail - 5 to 10 days.
i'm not sure if this is doge or actually making sure he's not being scammed.
I got my snail mail verification in a week, 3 weeks ago. I think it’s legit. Whether any benefits ultimately ensue is an open question. Good luck!
Jeez, I've had my login.gov account for years, so don't remember how I proved my identity when I first set it up to check my income history. That was back when they actually answered their phones, though. 🙄 Good luck to you and your father!
Wow. Do I like Tina
I am not now, nor have I ever been a fan of twitter, I will get all my SS news from patrons at Denny's "early bird special"
People should NOT sign up for X in response to the social security announcement. That is compliance with a policy aimed at harming social security recipients and driving more customers to X. Information about federal programs should
be freely available to the public. No one should have to make an account with a commercial company in order to access information about government programs, especially those who are contributing or receiving benefits from a government program.
you nearly gave me a heart attack
have “ The wingnuts currently stripping all the wiring and fixtures from the federal government” gone to work on the DoD yet?
I don’t trust the X site and I don’t trust Elon. I cancelled my Twitter/X account when he bought it. I will not use X, we need a different choice.
I now trust Wired on these issues far more than I do the government.
About the office closings, there was a notice on the official SSA website as of yesterday, 4/11/25, talking about the fact that media reports of local office closings are FALSE. No such thing is happening, per the notice. Instead:
"From time to time, SSA must temporarily close a local field office for reasons such as weather, damage, or facilities issues, and it reopens when the issues are resolved."
Wonder who was in charge of writing THAT??!
There is no war in Ba Sing Se.
Even more of a concern for those of us living outside the US (including citizens). I just hope Carlos, the SSI guru at the Embassy in Mexico City keeps his job. Or are we going back to the bad old days when you had US citizens in the 80s having to trek in from some small town out in the hinterlands to the nearest consulate (sometimes an overnight trip) just to "prove" they were still alive.
I think the whole point, going forward, will be to make everything as difficult as possible for citizens, wherever they are.