“CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW…” “Erotic Review” blocks US Internet users to prepare for government crackdown.

Congress recently passed the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act bill (SESTA), and President Trump is expected to sign it into law. SESTA will make it easier to prosecute websites that host third-party content that promotes or facilitates prostitution, even in cases when the sex workers aren’t victims of trafficking.

After Congress approved the bill, Craigslist removed its “Personals” section and Reddit removed some sex-related subreddits. The Erotic Review (TER) has followed suit by blocking any user who appears to be visiting the website from the United States.

“As a result of this new law, TER has made the difficult decision to block access to the website from the United States until such time as the courts have enjoined enforcement of the law, the law has been repealed or amended, or TER has found a way to sufficiently address any legal concerns created by the new law,” the website’s home page says in a notice to anyone who accesses the site from a US location.

Instead of sex workers and their customers screening one another from the safety of their computer screens, I guess they’ll be forced to go back to the streets.

NOW THEY TELL US: Largest Black Lives Matter page on Facebook was a scam: report. “The page had accrued 700,000 Facebook followers — almost double the amount of the official Black Lives Matter Facebook page — and is linked to several online fundraisers which garnered $100,000 in donations, according to CNN. At least some of the money was reportedly transferred to Australian bank accounts. CNN reported that Facebook only deleted the page a week after the news outlet reported it to the company.”

NIKKI HALEY: Russian hands ‘covered in blood’ from Syria attack.

“The Russian regime, whose hands are all covered in the blood of Syrian children, cannot be ashamed by pictures of its victims,” Haley said during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday.

“We must not overlook Russia and Iran’s roles in enabling the Assad regime’s murderous destruction,” she continued.

Nekulturny at best, Vlad.

BLUE ON BLUE: Ex-AG Loretta Lynch alleges James Comey gave conflicting testimony about Hillary Clinton email probe.

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch says fired FBI Director James Comey didn’t raise any concerns when she directed him in 2015 to label the bureau’s probe into Hillary Clinton’s private email server a “matter” as opposed to an “investigation.”

But, nearly two years later, Comey gave a different recollection of events during testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, telling lawmakers that Lynch’s directive “confused and concerned” him.

Lynch drew attention to Comey’s apparent conflicting remarks during an NBC News interview set to air in full Monday night.

“It was a meeting like any other that we had had where we talked about the issues. We had a full and open discussion about it and concerns were not raised,” Lynch said.

I find that unlikely in the extreme.

WELL, GOOD: GOP looks to reduce spending after hearing criticism back home.

Republicans are eyeing ways to rein in spending this week after facing a barrage of criticism back home for swelling the federal deficit with a massive government funding package.

Republican lawmakers who ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility say they are feeling the heat from constituents outraged over government spending.

“They’re upset. They’re saying, ‘What are you guys doing up there?’ ” Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, said of his constituents. “If the Republicans stand for anything, it’s fiscal responsibility.”

“Far-right.”

HOW MUCH LOWER CAN IT GO?

TRUMP SHOULD GET TOUGH ON ILLEGALS LIKE … BILL CLINTON WAS? Yes, it’s instructive to compare how our present chief executive is being excoriated daily for measures to stem the tide of illegal immigration to the U.S. with what the Man From Hope did on the same issue. LifeZette’s Brendan Kirby did just that and what he discovered is quite illuminating for those with open eyes and minds.

JOHN MCCAIN: Trump’s Withdrawal Talk ‘Emboldened’ Assad and Backers to Gas Civilians.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: The Limits Of American Patience.

JOEL KOTKIN: If the tech oligarchs can’t beat the bad press, they’ll just buy it.

What’s an oligarch to do? The putative tech masters of the universe now face unprecedented criticism from both left and right. The reasons extend from wanton privacy invasions of the people once described by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg as “dumb f***ks” to President Trump’s typically hyperbolic assaults on Amazon’s success at tax avoidance.

The public so far still does not disdain the tech oligarchs as they do Wall Street or energy firm but they are clearly threatened, both politically and in their wallets. Their once seemingly unstoppable hold of the capital markets also has started to slip somewhat as investors begin to worry about a potential decline in social media as well as technical failures undermining the value of companies like Uber, Tesla and Snapchat.

Not that the oligarchs will change their ways without coercion. Mark Zuckerberg, amid the uproar, still seems determined to block privacy protections in California or elsewhere. Facebook’s arrogance has even incited tension between the tech overlords, with Apple’s Tim Cook assaulting Mark Zuckerberg for privacy violations. The fact that Cook did this in Beijing, world capital of advanced surveillance, makes the public spanking ever more bizarre.

We need some antitrust enforcement.

A TRIUMPH OF TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: The Texas Supreme Court Tackles the Issue of “Same-Sex” Sexual Harassment. “One of the reasons Texas has such a highly-rated civil justice system and a flourishing business environment is the excellence of its appellate courts, and especially the Texas Supreme Court.”

HINT, ONLY ONE OF THESE WAS ELECTED:  The FBI Escalates Its War on the Trump Administration.

OF COURSE HE DOES:  Twitter CEO Endorses Article Proposing Totalitarian One-Party Rule In U.S.

SIGH. THE MUSINGS OF ACTORS AND THE PHILOSOPHICAL OPINIONS OF GOLDFISH ARE STARTLINGLY SIMILAR:  Facepalm Warning: Musings of Molly Ringwald on John Hughes Films.

ALIENS:  Woman diagnosed with unusual case of ‘vanishing bone disease’.

INJUSTICE AND CHAOS:  What happens when political correctness trumps criminal reality.

IT COULDN’T BE DUE TO UNCERTAINTY OVER A MINOR CHARACTER WITHOUT MARKETING TRACK RECORD – MUST BE RACISM:  There’s an embarrassing shortage of ‘Black Panther’ toys.

UM…  SEEMS LIKE ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO OTHER PEOPLE:  How to take an adult gap year without derailing your career.

I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW IT WAS ENDANGERED:  This class is designed to save your sex life.

NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS FOR ME BUT NOT FOR THEE:  CBS execs are freaking out over looming Charlie Rose exposé.

I LOVE A HERO:  David Harris, a landscaper from Oakland, California.

CHRISTOPHER ROACH: Citizenship Should Count In The Census. It’s at least as important as how many toilets you have.