NOT THE BABYLON BEE: Toronto Sketch Troupe Cancels Self. “When that failed to solve racism in the Great White North, The Sketchersons took extreme measures. The long-running Canadian group canceled itself before the woke mob could do it for them.”
Archive for 2021
February 4, 2021
YOU AND I HAVE A RENDEZVOUS WITH SCARCITY: Elizabeth Warren’s Wealth Tax Proposal is ‘Terrible Idea’ with ‘Dismal Track Record,’ Economists Say.
FACT-CHECKING THE FACT-CHECKERS: Check out the rating Snopes is giving stories that point out AOC’s lie about nearly dying at the Capitol.
ROGER SIMON: All Republican State Legislatures Should Follow Gov. DeSantis’ Lead to End Big Tech Domination.
The Big Tech giants have created the most sophisticated and seductive form of fascist mind control in human history.
In so doing, not only have they enabled and promulgated the “cancel culture,” sabotaging the freedom and liberty envisioned in our country’s founding, along with the First Amendment, they have addicted our youth, miseducated, and corrupted them.
They have also, through their dominance, which almost no one predicted, heavily and unfairly influenced elections and become the greatest threat to our democratic republic extant.
Many have complained about this, some with eloquence, but other than unfulfilled rumblings about reforming Section 230—the legalism that shields these companies from being sued for what they publish—nothing has been done. No one has really stepped up.
Until Ron DeSantis.
On Feb. 2, the Florida governor gave a speech outlining a series of concrete proposals for his state that would have a serious impact on these companies. (Details in a moment)
I am writing this column to urge all Republican state legislatures and governors to pay close attention to what DeSantis has proposed and emulate, even expand on, these new regulations and legislative solutions in their states.
This would create pronounced and consequential change, and these legislatures and governors have the power to do it. Twenty-four states are fully under Republican control, and in several more they have a majority in the legislatures.
According to Americans for Tax Reform, states with Republican-controlled legislatures have populations of nearly 186 million, Democrat-controlled only about 134 million.
That’s Republican clout, should the states choose to use it. And they should because federal action on Big Tech is somewhere between unlikely and impossible given the current situation in D.C., not to mention that these companies are the biggest political contributors in history with the deepest pockets.
Moreover, the national Republican Party cannot be relied upon, its congressional leadership being, to be kind, remarkably tepid.
Here are DeSantis’ proposals, as outlined by Breitbart.com:
- Mandatory opt-outs from big tech’s content filters, a solution to tech censorship first proposed by Breitbart News in
- A private right of action for Floridian citizens against tech companies that violate this condition.
- Fines of $100,000 per day levied on tech companies that suspend candidates for elected office in Florida from their platforms.
- Daily fines for any tech company “that uses their content and user-related algorithms to suppress or prioritize the access of any content related to a political candidate or cause on the ballot.”
- Greater transparency requirements.
- Disclosure requirements enforced by Florida’s election authorities for tech companies that favor one candidate over another.
- Power for the Florida attorney general to bring cases against tech companies that violate these conditions under the state’s Unfair and Deceptive Practices Act.
Every one of these proposals is worthy. Undoubtedly more could be added if the Republican states, working together or separately, address the problem.
Governor DeSantis shouldn’t have to do it all by himself, brave as he is.
The transparency issue especially must be delved into. It relates directly to the question of algorithms referred to immediately above it, since everything in our culture is political, not just electoral politics. Entertainment and (most importantly) education are also heavily politicized and subject to manipulation by algorithms.
Missing too is the increasingly dangerous area of data collection, which can lead to people being fired, blacklisted or, particularly for younger people, socially ostracized for their views.
This last has led to an epidemic of depression among the young. We have Big Tech to thank for that.
So, states, do your thing. Don’t wait. This is your time!
Related: From Stephen Kruiser: Can Ron DeSantis Teach Media Relations to Weak Republicans?
FINISHING THAT WALL SEEMS LIKE A REALLY GOOD IDEA: 11 Iranians arrested in Arizona after jumping U.S.-Mexico border.
RIOTS FOR THEE, BUT NOT FOR ME:
● Shot: AOC questions if Capitol Police officer tried to put her in a ‘vulnerable situation.’
—Fox News, Tuesday.
● Chaser: Ocasio-Cortez dismisses proposed $1B cut: ‘Defunding police means defunding police.’
—The Hill, June 30th, 2020.
● Hangover: Why is ‘Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Smollett’ trending?
—The London Sun, today.
UPDATE: As Jim Treacher writes, “If a Capitol Police officer really did threaten Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or any other member of Congress, he needs to be identified. He needs to explain himself. If AOC is telling the truth, he should be fired. If it’s not true… why did she say it? And what should happen to a member of Congress who would lie about such a thing?”
(Classical reference in headline.)
SCIENCE: The Physics of Machine-Gun Fire.
ABOUT TIME: The GayPatriot blog has relaunched!
EVERYBODY LOVES CHICKEN AND WAFFLES: Man denied chicken and waffles for not masking leaves and returns with a gun. “He actually took chicken and before he walked out the door he took syrup for his chicken.”
LIVE NOW: VIP Gold Live Chat with Kruiser, Preston, VodkaPundit.
Hot takes, cold drinks.
ENGLISH LIBERTY AIN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE: UK COVID Cops Arrest Man For Handing Out Free Soup. “Despite it being legal under volunteer exemption.”
MAKE BIG TECH PAY ROYALTIES TO USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA: Here’s a modest proposal for taming the social media giants.
SKYNET SMILES: Boston Dynamics’ Spot Robot Is Now Armed.
DOES RO KHANNA KNOW WHO HE VOTED FOR?
ANNALS OF RIGHTEST AUTOPHAGY: A statement from The Spectator. In regards to a legal complaint from the American Spectator.
LEAVE MY DOGS OUT OF YOUR ANTISOCIAL PATHOLOGIES: Critical Race Theory Is Coming for the Dogs: Katja Guenther’s ‘The Lives and Deaths of Shelter Animals.’
IN 2021, CAN YOU BLAME THEM? Migratory birds getting drunk on fermented berries in Texas.
I LIKE THE CUT OF HIS JIB: North Carolina’s lt. governor shows how to fight back against a corrupt media. “In 2018, Mark Robinson stood up before the city council in Greensboro, North Carolina and gave an impassioned defense of the Second Amendment. That video went viral and led to him entering politics. Last year, Robinson became North Carolina’s Republican lieutenant governor. This year, when a local paper published a cartoon calling the entire North Carolina Republican party a KKK entity, Robinson (who is black) ferociously attacked the newspaper for its dishonesty and ignorance. He needs to give master classes in handling the media.”
Impressive video at the link.
K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Tragic First-Person Accounts of the Effects of COVID-19 School Closures on Children.
HE MEANS ANYONE WHO DOESN’T TOE THE PARTY LINE: Biden Vowed to Fight Domestic Terrorism in Prayer Breakfast Speech. What Exactly Did He Mean?