Senator Rand Paul can be both frustrating at times and brutally purposeful at times. While Paul is a legislative enigma and often a hot mess…. When he is incorrect, he is allowing the DeceptiCons to advance; but when he is correct on the core issue, Senator Paul can be brilliant.
Senator Josh Hawley took to the Senate floor yesterday to present a modified version of the “Restrict Act” as an alternative to the complete government takeover of all internet content – a worthy endeavor.
Hawley tried to strip out the DHS takeover component of the Restrict Act, and just present a bill that bans TikTok. Senator Rand Paul refused to permit Unanimous Consent for the bill to proceed immediately to a vote. Senator Paul slows down the Senate deliberations while asking some bigger questions.
The entire Hawley -vs- Paul debate is worth watching (there are two videos, one long – one short). I sense that Hawley’s intent is good, but Rand Paul is on the right side of the argument. The American people have never, not once, benefited from any legislative endeavor such as what is being proposed in the effort to ban TikTok. It’s not about TikTok, it’s about freedom.
The originating debate is below the fold. This segment is the shorter follow-up that follows Senator Paul blocking unanimous consent. If you have time, watch both. If you do not have the time, this first one is solid enough to understand the arguments. Notice how Senator Paul says everything inside this rush to ban is based on “speculation and conjecture.” This is a point DC doesn’t want people to think about. Nothing has been proven, only accused. WATCH:
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WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) – U.S. Republican Senator Rand Paul on Wednesday blocked a bid to fast-track a ban of popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, which more than 150 million Americans use, citing concerns about free speech and uneven treatment of social media companies.
“I think we should beware of those who use fear to coax Americans to relinquish our liberties,” Paul said on the Senate floor. “Every accusation of data gathering that has been attributed to TikTok could also be attributed to domestic big tech companies.”
Republican Senator Josh Hawley had sought unanimous consent for a TikTok ban bill. “It protects the American people and it sends a message to Communist China that you cannot buy us,” Hawley said, adding the app is spying on Americans.
“If Republicans want to continuously lose elections for a generation they should pass this bill to ban TikTok — a social media app used by 150 million people, primarily young Americans,” Paul said on the Senate floor. “Do we really want to emulate Chinese speech bans?… We’re going to be just like China and ban speech we’re afraid of?”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said last week he expects the house will take up a bill to address TikTok but the timing is unclear. It is also not clear what a final bill to address TikTok might look like.
A small but growing number of Democrats and Republicans have raised concerns, citing free speech and other issues and have objected to legislation targeting TikTok as overly broad. (read more)
Longer debate…
The correct way to deal with this is for Congress to designate certain countries (China, NK, Iran, Venezuela) as non grata. Such countries:
Banning Tik Tok is a band-aid. The US needs to amputate the CCP-diseased portions of our cultural and political body politics and apply a tourniquet.
I would rather China have my social debris than the US Government. Then I have a choice about what I watch, read, or buy. Not so with the proposed bill by our “governing” bodies.
Here’s an idea—let the individuals know they are being watched, and let the individuals be responsible.
exactly. one can arrest you and throw you in a hole. One cannot
Tell that to the J6 capitol tourists.
That was his point.
Our government is the more dangerous one.
oh, and BTW, when was the last time a Russian broke into your house, or raped your neighbor? We have to be more choosy about our Boogeymen.
Why not make the individual the sole owner of ALL his or her data?
As sole owner the individual gets to choose who has access to it and what can be done with it.
Anyone who gains unauthorized access should be liable for major damages and criminal charges.
If I write something and copyright it that work is protected against unauthorized use.
Why not grant automatic copyright protection for all electronic data with the rights belonging to the individual?
Personal sovereignty bill of rights?
Interesting thought.
Where are you going to store the data and how are you going to ensure security? Ask Even if you store your data on your own server/machine it will be vulnerable. This may be fine in principle, but it is unworkable in practice.
Unworkable only to those slaves of social media.
There is a thesis running around, “What if Privacy Were Also Property?” it’s up on Amazon. I think it asks and answers your point. I think you may like it. I am not sure about the entire thesis but I need to read it more than once.
What IF? Read the Constitution.
You ARE the owner of your data. You choose to loan it out when you start clicking those social media accounts. Emotional midgets.
This was exactly the system suggested by Tim Berners-Lee, one of the people credited with inventing the World Wide Web. He said we should change the user interface so that you always own your data and choose who gets access to it.
Then Facebook and all of Big Tech and the IC wouldn’t be able to scoop up (steal) all our data. What a concept, personal autonomy.
Problem is…IC was and is behind almost if not all the social media platforms…especially when originated like Facebook. Now of course they are not in or behind Truth Social and some of these other platforms that have taken off since we have uncovered the IC being inbed with Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc.
It’s not that simple. Todays enemies are tomorrows Allies. Moreover, just because they’re our enemies doesn’t mean they’re are our Allie’s enemies. The best way to deal with this is ban the app from government equipment and let the American public choose with information about what happens to their data. We can’t keep saying for government to stay out of our lives and at the same time ask them to control our content based on an arbitrary notion.
However, we do expect our gov to uphold our National Security.
LOL, they uphold THEIR “national security”, and it requires doing away with yours.
THAT’S what “their democracy” really is…its tyranny hiding behind the word democracy. When they say their democracy is a stake…they are really saying our tyranny, our power over the little people is at stake! They might wake up and find out we have been effing them for decades!
Pres. Trump sees things a bit differently. He had done an Executive Order and in it Pres. Trump banned TikTok.
‘He described it at the time as a threat to national security.’
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57413227
The problem is financial. Just look at Wall Street, Tesla, Apple and others highly invested in China.
When the moral fabric has been weakened to the degree that Americans “sell out” to the highest bidder (China) which is determined to destroy us, then there is a serious danger to our Republic. Without belief in God, in family, in the country our system is doomed to fail. Freedom is a treasure guaranteed by our own (collective) moral conduct.
100% with you. Without a moral fabric, freedom becomes license to do whatever. And that’s where we are.
The 10 commandments were guard rails against the precipice.
Without their presence in the public square, a majority are falling off.
I oppose the Restrict Act as it is. But I do not believe all foreign agencies should have commercial privileges in our market. Especially when parental consent is so eroded.
YOU are the product of social media. YOU sell yourself out with every click.
I read yesterday that 400k Chinese military age males have been imported across the border. China owns the ruling regime (and Canada) and they are selling us to them for eradication. But let’s worry about Taiwan.
China would just do an end run around it and use a different country to achieve their purpose of spying.
I may have a different opinion if my OWN COUNTRY wasn’t spying on me, but they are.
Our Corrupticons in the US government created Godzilla, King Kong, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Dracula, et al, unleashed them in our society, and now want them to go back from whence they came. They now see that all of THEIR information, private discussions, texts, every move they make is being monitored.
I’m with Rand Paul on this one.
Look, none of these countries are going to invade us. Why do we constantly need to be making war – economic or physical – on so much of the rest of the planet?
War war war war war. It’s never ending. I’m sick of it.
You may not beinterested in it, but it’s interested in YOU … War, Communism, totalitarianism in all its forms, etc.
We have been asking Congress to protect our privacies especially (plural) ever since the Patriot Act, and their answer is always “NO”.
J6 exists because of the odious NDAA, which egregiously violates the 4th and 5th Amendments, so much so that Congress had to have TWO SEPARATE VOTES ON IT!
And still it remains. Still the J6 remain. 95% of these lazy, corrupt cretins should be tarred and feathered and run out on a rail.
Followed by trials for treason.
And HOW did they GET that “Patriot Act”??
I believe in peace, but the best way to secure it is to be prepared to defend it.
I didn’t suggest war. I suggested that we stop enabling, funding, and helping arm them. They have bought our politicians, academics, and corporations on the “free market.” Furthermore, I’m not suggest that they have to be democracies, democratic republics, or parliamentary. If we think banning Tik Tok will fix the problem of CCP influence on the USA, you haven’t been paying attention. Their money and influence are EVERYWHERE in all facets of our society, from POTUS and scores of other pols, to pro sports, and hundreds of corporations. They are going to destroy us without firing a shot. Forget about Tik Tok. Wait until they cut off our access to the precursor chemicals to make antibiotics.
That won’t happen. Our legislators are making a killing of the difference in economies created by our hard work over the last 250 years. That’s what we have to eliminate.
PDJT was doing it. And he was just getting started. The war is not against him. It is against us
You just saved me a ton of typing. There would be huge consequences if we were to go this route, but there already are if we don’t. We must un-entangle ourselves from a globalist perspective or else we will be rendered dilute in the mix.
Oh sure.,After decades of sending our technology and money to fund their factories and research, we pull the plug? How juvenile. If China cuts off our pharmaceutical supplies, our access to cheap machine and auto parts, we’ll be back scratching the dirt in 6 months with a broken economy and civil unrest.
Geat real Rambo. It’s a worth goal, but we must be as disciplined and controlled as the Chinese in our response.
We had American citizens and their contacts x2 monitored thru a Secret Court provided by FBI/DOJ illegally. This same info was provided to atleast four firms.
No one was held accountable. None of the victims were contacted and provided a remedy. The firms were never made public and the personal records were never accounted for.
So…..is TikTok the problem?
6 & 7 are very important as that will cut off all University “Donations” and remove all Chinese professors and students from our universities.
I don’t understand why they don’t just keep it simple.
If they reckon ticktock is a CCP security risk why don’t they just block it.
Other countries block certain sites, it can’t be that difficult.
And it’s not like there are no alternative similar sites people could use.
Other countries don’t have a governmental process intended to ensure they can’t “just” do stuff.
Minor Detail …. but during Pre-Tik Tok days and the “official regime” of Comrade Obama, 2008-2016, there were news stories about China Inc. rummaging through US Government Data Bases and personnel files on are regular bases.
… but the Awan Brothers were managing Hillary’s and DNC servers and Microsoft did announce China Inc. beta testing their Social Report Card software.
Just sayin’ …
And Congress did NOTHING ABOUT IT.
Rand Paul the most outstanding Senator in the Senate. He’s truly a “Chip off the old block.”
He allowed Mitch to keep the Senate in continuous session, to preclude any recess appointments, when ONE OBJECTION would have nullified this.
He’s a pompous ass who can never be depended on to vote truly constitutionally. What a hypocrite.
Missy & LambGrahm, he also sided with McTurtle over Matt Bevin when Bevin was challenging McTurtle’s Senate seat.
And who gets to decide what and which is dis-information? That is the biggest problem…….you or me?
“Summit for Democracy Prevention”
It’s DC Rand, facts are denied, twisted, and distorted all the time — that’s what DC does!
Whatever happened to freedom of choice and informed consent? Make companies inform the public on what happens to
Their data and let people choose. There are several ways that China can control a company without founding it or ceding it in China. This is another example of people trading freedom for security. Terrible decision.
It’s all gone. Facebook is the perfect example of a multi billion dollar company that creates nothing. They mine your personal data and sell it to anyone. It is very dry and bland reading, but try reading a privacy disclosure of any of the many apps you use, you will learn very quickly.
Absolutely!
Bills of Attainder!
Now the discussion in Congress may be going somewhere!
From Dr. Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty (sign up for free email alerts about US govt tyranny)
STOP the RESTRICT Act
Disguised as a bill against a Chinese-owned social network, the RESTRICT Act would silence free speech by allowing the government to criminalize any speech they deem to serve a foreign interest.
This would allow the Biden administration to control speech on the Internet, with the threat of you being prosecuted with a 20-year federal felony and up to a million dollar fine.
DEMAND your representative and senators OPPOSE this Trojan horse of tyranny.
https://www.chooseliberty.org/stop-restrict-act/
Click on the link and it gives you a quick way to send a message to your US Senators and Representative
With the inclusion of all that verbiage about interfering in results or reported results of a federal election, I fear that this is also designed to preempt any work by the citizens of this country to prevent the theft that happened in 2020.
“I think we should beware of those who use fear to coax Americans to relinquish our liberties,” Paul said on the Senate floor.
—-
We see you, Lindsey Graham.
Paul is right on just about everything.
Sen. Rand Paul is our greatest U.S. senator and he works very hard to do what he believes is right. Even if people disagree with him at times, he still deserves enormous credit for his achievements, his intelligence, and for his bravery in standing strong against the swamp. We need to pray for more leaders who can do likewise.
Stand-by; Rand Paul is a Chinese commie in 3, 2, 1. Hawley is usually correct but seems awfully blind in this instance
I sometimes like Rand Paul but then I remember that no senator ever called for a recess when Trump was in the Whitehouse.
Mega-dittoes.
I world be interested in knowing the threats McConnell used to enforce that.
And just think if the Congress (and the other two branches) had actually obeyed the Constitution all along; a lot of these arguments would never have taken place nor there ever be a need to. What a concept!
Hawley should know better. He is 1) a lawyer 2) a senator. Good grief.
Like Sundance said; he most likely has good intentions but it does make one wonder?
This isn’t how logic works. Our senators, especially those with an education such as Lawyer, are our representatives. For everyone who has forgotten, representative means that when they think, they think of us, not for us.
The whole of DC has been applying band aid after band aid at best or slap after slap in our face at worst. When one of them does something so incredibly foolish, why would you ever think it’s out of good intentions?
For goodness sakes, I have no education beyond reading our founding documents and even I can see how stupid this bill is. No, there is no one in DC left representing us. They may have good intentions, but what’s the wisdom about that? Oh right…path to hell.
If China and Russia is our enemy we made it so.
Enough of this excrement my enemy is the United States Federal Government and it’s attachments.
I can’t think of any problem that was ever solved by giving the government more power.
To the contrary, most of the problems we have now, were CAUSED BY MORE POWERFUL GOVERNMENT!
We have no privacy! Your purchases, your online activity, your banking, who you text with, what you text about, who you call, what you talk about, nothing is sacred. Like it or dislike It social media has caused addictive habits with people young and old. More import Facebook, twitter, tic toc, will be the demise of a generation or two of kids if not more.
Dig into the proficiency levels of kids who graduate public school in you area, are kids are failing in math, reading, english and science, we have a generation of kids coming up who cannot give you change from a twenty dollar bill at a cash register. Go into a restaurant and look around you will see whole families checking out their smart phones, we have all seen that scenario before and it is not good.
It’s too bad Rand can’t tell you the real truth. This is the tail wagging the dog. All of this stuff is already being done on an almost infinite scale. This bill is just a clumsy attempt to codify it after the fact
Did anyone see Jesse Watters smash Lindsey Graham in the teeth on his show last night? It is worth a watch.
I listen to Hawley here and every single assertion would be true of our own government, yet this act would actually grant vastly greater powers to our own Communistic government.
How could he possibly not know that?
He has to, he isn’t stupid.
So one can only presume that he is striving to rapidly advance this bill with minimal review and debate in order to impose this digital tyranny.
TikToc is the cheese, RESTRICT Act is the trap.
So Hawley is playing the party of a murderous rat, playing us with the fraudulent assertion that we are a democracy.
It’s worse than the patriot act
Time to get of all these”acrss”
Doesn’t the federal government collect all of Americans data right now? Isn’t it illegal to spy on Americans by the federal government? Yes, but they do it anyway. Put our house in order first Hawley.
They always want to play around the edges. While leaving the core necrotic center diseased as hell, they tinker.
Apple could just remove Tic Tok from the app store. Problem solved.
I have a phone,tablet,computer, etc.
I DON’T have TIKTOK.
Do a public announcement
Massive PR ..that if YOU sign up and install the app…. what the consequences are!
Just because people refuse to actually be parents and refuse to let their children install TIKTOK…….
This is the best reason that our Government can come up with to take away our free speech??
Oh good grief 😔
Insanity.
Sundance has schooled us well in the arts and sciences practiced by the Senate UniParty Machine.
1a. So, just who, exactly, are the parties that wrote this bill?
1b. How many pages are there?
1c. Is this a single topic bill that we can expect to morph into 10K pages of sneaky add-ons, to be read and voted on within a window of 24 hours?
#2. Has any Senator READ the bill under discussion?
#3. Who is telling our illustrious Senate members what to do and what to say during the discussion period?
#4. Who will have given them the answer to the test question when the Bill comes up for a floor vote?
#5. Who is in charge of manufacturing the mechanics to launder money from it?
Lindsey Graham, if he is to be believed, did not even know that he’s listed as a co-sponsor.
Recognizing that this was a committee meeting, I’m just lining up the scenario for the general brawl.
Brawl indeed.
Well merited.
I listen to Josh Hawley, and his intentions seem good, but he seems like the kind of American who thinks that because they use Facebook Messenger that their conversations are private.
Which is just utterly stupid and dangerously naive. I still have FAMILY members who think that using Messenger means they’re having a private conversation. The problem with fighting this bill is how utterly stupid most people are about the damage Fakebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others are doing to our civil liberties.
There’s nothing he is saying about TikTok that hasn’t been done by Twitter – at the specific direction of the FBI, CDC, and other Government departments – for YEARS.
“The Chinese Communist Party is able to access the private data of American citizens AT ANY TIME THEY WANT!” – Sen. Josh Hawley.
I know another 6-letter app that does this and also starts with a T: TWITTER, which we are now learning is really just a subsidiary of the US Government.
He is either being played or he’s playing us.
I don’t believe he’s stupid, so must consider it the latter.
I agree. He decides to try mockery of Sen. Paul because he cannot admit that all that stuff about “the Constitution” he’s spouting? All those rights? The US Government has been abusing the rights of the American people on social media every bit as bad – AND WORSE – for years. Sen. Hawley’s concerns ring hollow because here, in our own country, our own Government is using social media apps to find, fix, track, target, engage, and destroy what the Government perceives to be its political enemies.
Hawley knows this, but he cannot say it. Frankly. RAND PAUL knows this, but notice that he does not cite the recent testimony of Matt Talibi and all the reporting that the FBI, DOJ, CDC, FDA, US Senators, Reps. from the House, etc. ROUTINELY contact US social media companies to ban speech critical of these organizations.
They can’t say it because a lot of people around them will “die suddenly”. You know, like a Congressional aid to Rand Paul getting stabbed.
The US Constitution is a limit on the US Government. Sen. Hawley knows this, but he cannot say it because the IC dictates what he can and cannot say.
A performance. An act.
I wonder who the director is..
The American people are in a fight for our lives and liberty now.
Socialists are attacking with a dizzying blitzkrieg of multiple attacks coming fast and furiousm
The plandemic kicked it into high gear, a medical tyranny combined with a two-part engineered bioweapon system, forced on us with propaganda, censorship, psyops, and coerced bioweapon injections. The decimation is profound, and still continuing.
S.686 is yet another attack on our liberty. Incredible that we even have to defend against this Trojan horse that would complete the totalitarian police state.
Gird your belt, put on the armor of God, and stand up. Defend liberty. The evil attacks are getting worse.
The Fourth Branch wants the kids. They need to force kids away from anything they can’t govern.
It must be under Google’s umbrella, like YouTube where kids can now post TikTok/Likee/Instagram style ‘shorts’.
I skimmed the text of that bill and what concerned me, in addition to the obvious, was the inclusion of election interference (if I remember the term used correctly) and the part about all cases being solely decided by the DC Court of Appeals. DC courts? You could drive a truck through the (unspecified) definition of election interference.
A Derp State garbage truck!
Bottom line: What is the difference between a foreign government demanding our private information and our own government demanding our private information?
imho, the latter is worse because we U.S. citizens are supposed to have a Constitution that ensures that we’re “secure” in our “persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” This right “shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. ” Our government is currently seizing without warrant our personal information. What about that Senators?
We’re gonna end up with another Patriot Act in overdrive if this thing passes, at least in the Senate form. The House version is a far cry from this one.
Many times, Hawley says the right things but proposes the wrong solutions.
The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs to seat in comfort a favored few, who both booted and spurred ride them to the ground like a cruelly driven horse. The republicans need to focus on budget and hearings. Otherwise, stay out of our lives. Controlling the dollars spent will control most everything.
I dont give a doodly squat what they do with Tic Tok…I dont use it.
I would give them all 2 choices, Them = Tic Tok, facebook, google and the rest.
1 Stop all data gathering and spying period
2 Be shut down.
I’m much more concerned with our government having my info than I am with china … Our govt just gives it to them anyway so wtf…
Here’s the thing…. China is also gathering up Americans’ DNA. For what purpose? Another bio-weapon?
We ARE at War! We SHOULD care! We need to STOP allowing the enemy’s propaganda and subversion to freely destroy our next generation under the umbrella of ‘Free Speech’. Free Speech is OUR RIGHT…not the enemy’s when they are using it to destroy our future which is our children.
This is similar to the churches that want to be ‘nice’ to everyone. They turn their backs on Scriptural instruction:
MT. 18:
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
Perhaps, if the churches would follow God’s instruction rather than trying to be ‘the nice guy’ all in the ‘name of love’, a Standard would be raised.
I stand with Rand on this. He’s backing the Constitution, free speech and individual rights. Josh is backing government control. The current administration and most of congress are beneficiaries of the globalist big money influencers and fund the agenda madness while disregarding their constitutional oath and the concerns of their constituents. Very simply put the only thing that matters is verifiable elections to eliminate the cheating. Unfortunately that is disregarded like our open borders and massive deficits.
I am totally against this ‘Restrict Bill’. However, I will maintain my stance that something must be done to stop the enemy, China, from destroying …and recording…all of our children on TikTok and other similar ‘gadgets’.
After the Patriot Act, I will never trust government again. Without knowing a thing about this new Act, I looked at the creatures that sponsored it and I KNEW it was aimed at American citizens. Can anyone now deny that this govt is the enemy of the people?!
Greater minds than mine can perhaps answer: Does this Restrict Act hold the possibility of imprisoning President Trump for 20 years? Consider, from the text:
“(D) TIMING.—The term “covered transaction” includes a current, past, or potential future transaction.”
“(a) In general.—The Secretary, in consultation with the relevant executive department and agency heads, is authorized to and shall take action to identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate, or otherwise mitigate, including by negotiating, entering into, or imposing, and enforcing any mitigation measure to address any risk arising from any covered transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States that the Secretary determines—
(1) poses an undue or unacceptable risk of— …
(C) interfering in, or altering the result or reported result of a Federal election, as determined in coordination with the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of Treasury, and the Federal Election Commission; …
(b) Procedure.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the relevant executive department and agency heads, shall review any transaction described in subsection (a) …”
So, the way I read this, as soon as it’s enacted the “executive” branch can begin to “investigate” any “transaction” that interferes in a Federal Election, even if it was a PAST “covered transaction,” or if it promises to potentially interfere in a current or future one. (The odd use or non-use of commas make the sentence about election interference difficult to interpret, perhaps by design.)
Does this give the executive branch the authority to immediately begin to spy upon and preemptively investigate President Trump for a future “transaction”, since they already claim that he interfered in the last election and continues to “lie” about its results? Is it coincidence that the media are already writing stories predicting that Trump won’t accept the results of the next election and will start a “civil war” by doing so?
I’m just sayin’. We know all about Lawfare. We know how the Devil is always in the details. RINOs and Democrats are on board, so then trick the Republicans who may not be on board and voila! They hand the special counsel a “law” to use against President Trump and his past and potential future “covered transactions.”
Am I just being paranoid? Here’s the link to the text: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/686/text?s=1&r=15
Listened to the longer video. What is Hawley’s reaction to what happened to Sharyl Attkisson? Chinese may spy on our journalists, but what’s worse–the Chinese doing so or our own government doing so?
The Bill of Attainder principle seems extremely overdue for a court challenge, with the endless harassment of Donald Trump by the State.
Laws are moral principles, or they are excuses for attacking your enemies, or races or religions out of favor.
The leftist hypocrites, so exercised about their concept of racism, do not accept the precept of equality before the law.
Donald Trump (and his family, and his inner circle) will be open to persecution to the end of their days unless the Bill of Attainder (a poor name for a great moral idea) legal principle is rigorously argued and defended.
Listen, I’m no lawyer but isn’t there also something about ex post facto laws? The text of this bill makes a past “covered transaction” something that can be investigated and “mitigated.”
BTW*** IDK where else to post this, but I’m sure the word will get out:
PRES. TRUMP HAS BEEN INDICTED
If this report is correct:
Trump indicted in Stormy Daniels hush-money case:
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3909113-trump-indicted-in-stormy-daniels-hush-money-case/?email=06b5fc81803b6b5f7213fa380cb82bd4761b40d6&emaila=95b8e6366e9d262f67c011ae49b06395&emailb=81b098483feea88e4e4bfad79baf146ebd609cf6dcb27d329d1f5020d47787b3
Here’s another:
Grand jury votes to indict Trump in Stormy Daniels hush money case:
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/grand-jury-votes-indict-trump-stormy-daniels-hush-money-case-report
They’ve chosen to Indict Pres. Trump just ahead of the same weekend that the ‘trans’ are having their ‘Day of Vengeance’.
NOT A COINCIDENCE!!!!!!
SET-UP!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t understand Paul’s 1st amendment hand wringing here. Exactly what “speech” are the opponents of Tik Tok trying to ban? Tik Tok is not speech, it is merely a vehicle, one of several, such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. Banning Tik Tok would affect an avenue for speech, true. But the reality is that a hostile power provides this avenue for the purpose of the continual aggression it is waging against this country. Yet, Paul diminishes and trivializes the national security concerns and harps on the fact that the vehicle involves speech and rides in as a hardcore constitutionalist protecting the natural rights guaranteed by the first amendment. I find his argumentive unpersuasive and even almost strawman-ish.
The goal is to remove a tool used by a hostile foreign power, acting without the agreement of its users, to spy on those users. That American companies often do the same thing, illegally, establishes no justification for a hostile power, whose very laws allow such behavior, to perpetuate the practice.
Paul’s lack of nuance is a pattern. He even goes so far as to conflate the banning of Tik Tok with the monstrosity of the RESTRICT act, which Hawley is obviously not arguing for and in fact says that we do not need. That our own government runs amok and presents an often and clear danger to our rights does not argue for allowing a hostile government, with the same motivations, to do the same thing. As Hawley rightly notes, there is no 1st amendment, constitutional carve out for a spy operation, dressed up in high tech though it be.
Rand Paul is being foolish here. Trump was right – Tik Tok needs to be banned. If we do not, it will provide the casus belli for an outrage like the RESTRICT act, which will make the threat of Tik Tok look like a minor consideration.
THANK YOU!!!!!!
I’m not sold at all on Hawley’s good intent. He’s no dummy but rather too smart for his own good. The uniparty wants this bill passed. Hawley knows that. He thought he’d get in the uniparty’s good graces and fool his base by talking up a Tik Tok ban. He’s starting to look like another Ted Cruz.
take a look at how meta (facebook) is reacting to the newly proposed EU mandates about collection of personal data (and then selling it to the highest bidder). This is an interesting intersection of the entire issue that appears (with caution) the EU to be a forewarning of SOME of the issues that the US will have to navigate.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/03/facebook-gets-to-decide-whether-eu-users-can-object-to-invasive-targeted-ads/
The DPC’s rulings came after an EU consumer rights group, NOYB, filed numerous complaints against Meta for sweeping data collection that violated the GDPR. In January, NOYB Senior Attorney Romain Robert told Ars that Meta’s plan to use a “legitimate interests” basis for data collection would require much more transparency from the company. Robert said it was unlikely that Meta would be inclined to share enough information or release previously unknown details about its data processing that it could satisfy EU regulators under the “legitimate interests” legal basis
noting: ireland is one of the preferred nation states for massive data farms for many tech giants, because of it’s long held liberal (read: willing to look the other way) laws and regulations related to data …as well as it being a tax haven for the super wealthy. These things are changing! Go Ireland.
God Bless America
This smells to me like Lindsay’s push last year for an abortion ban with a minority senate and Congress. Except I wouldn’t be surprised if Republicans push through this bill that serves to do the uniparty dirty work by advancing the interest of the US surveillance state. And subsequently they will be labeled with it for the next election cycle. Let’s be honest if the user is okay with Facebook, Twitter, then they are already consenting to surveillance and narrative control, what difference does it make if people want to watch stupid videos on a Chinese app. Our own so called president takes payments from them.
We would all be so much better off if the government would stay out of our business, if the media would report the truth and if our representatives would actually READ the bills, understand what they mean and be judicious in legislating.
I’m so sick of the politicians and the corrupt Federal Government. Leave me alone! If I have the honest facts, I can make decisions that are best for me and my life.
I agree!
If people don’t want TIKTOK….let the people decide for themselves.
No one is forcing them to sign up for TIKTOK.
Put a Warning ⚠️ label when people have to sign up.
Stupid. It’s all ridiculous.
Doesn’t our Government have better things to do?
Agreed
It is imperative that an individual become responsible…TicToc is a CCP owned Spy Agency.
But the language in the Bill restrains all IT Apps and…
CONTROLS THE USE OF OUR MONEY! The Bill needs to be rewritten and used to protect Americans!
Thank you very much, Sundance. We have a great deal to reflect on. As an elderly citizen and military man, I know the value of living inside your opposition’s head. Sun Tsu waxed ellaquent on the value of understanding your enemy.
Reflecting upon my childhood and the wisdom of my elders, I recall admonishments such as “Loose Lips Sink Ships”.
The paramount question, I believe, is education to afford our children and future leaders the opportunity to understand why and when we must be vigilant and protective.
Wisdom is the most necessary commodity to maintaining a family and our family is currently put upon by multiple enemies.
Let those who have ears, let them hear, it’s never too late to educate as Loose Lips Sink Ships.
The biggest threat to my freedom is not China or Russia, it’s the people in DC.
IDK how many are aware of this, but Pres. Trump had done an Executive Order and in it Pres. Trump banned TikTok.
‘He described it at the time as a threat to national security.’
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57413227