When various doctors and professionals in the healthcare industry were kicked off Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and social media platforms for holding a contrary view of the COVID-19 mitigation efforts, their voices found a way to alternate platforms including TikTok.  At the heart of the government argument about TikTock as a national security threat, you will find this dynamic.

The claims of data insecurity as a reason for government action against TikTok is a false justification.  The reason the U.S. govt is defining TikTok as a national security threat is not because a Chinese firm controls it, the threat is because the U.S. government does not control it.  Thus, DHS involvement in Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google, Apple, Microsoft and more takes on a more accurate perspective.  TikTok is not under DHS control, therefore TikTok’s ability to transmit information without DHS filter controls is a threat.

Bread and circuses.  In this interview with California Congressman Ro Khanna, Maria Bartiromo notes he was one of the only Democrats in congress who wrote a warning to Twitter about the censorship issue.  However, even then, a key sentence in the letter from Khanna to Yoel Roth is ignored.  He’s no hero. WATCH:

The DHS Portal – […] discussions have ranged from the scale and scope of government intervention in online discourse to the mechanics of streamlining takedown requests for false or intentionally misleading information.

“Platforms have got to get comfortable with gov’t. It’s really interesting how hesitant they remain,” Microsoft executive Matt Masterson, a former DHS official, texted Jen Easterly, a DHS director, in February. (link)

It’s not just the First amendment being compromised by this collaboration, it’s also the Fourth Amendment against unwarranted searches of private papers (communication).

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When it comes to congress and the graft that is Ukraine, nothing should come as a surprise.  Last month, the Biden administration asked Congress for another $37.7 billion in support for Ukraine. If that passes, and it certainly will, Congress will have approved more than $100 billion in Ukraine-related spending.

To wit, yesterday congress slipped Ukraine Debt Payment Relief, into the 4,400 page National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which will make the Senate happy as the intent of the upper chamber is to continue the laundry operation.

(Via Fox News) – The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023 passed the House Thursday afternoon in a 350-80 vote. Included in that 4,400-page bill is a section on “Ukraine Debt Payment Relief.”

That section says the U.S. treasury secretary will instruct U.S. representatives of international financial institutions to “use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to advocate that the respective institution immediately provide appropriate debt service relief to Ukraine.”

It instructs Treasury to commence “immediate efforts” with other governments and commercial creditors to “pursue comprehensive debt payment relief for Ukraine.”

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Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced she is changing her political affiliation to “independent”, a smart and strategic status considering her upcoming Arizona election challenge.

As an independent in the Senate, not much will really change as far as the voting and caucusing is concerned. However, from the standpoint of having to gain votes for reelection in Arizona and accepting the complete chaos that is now Arizona voting, the strategy will likely play well.

As a Democrat Sinema was likely to face a well-funded primary challenge from her left, while simultaneously she will likely face a strong opponent from the Republican side, by taking a place to avoid the primary and position herself as a third-party candidate, she can likely carve out enough votes to win a 3-way race.

(Politico) – In a 45-minute interview, the first-term senator told POLITICO that she will not caucus with Republicans and suggested that she intends to vote the same way she has for four years in the Senate. “Nothing will change about my values or my behavior,” she said.

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Comrade rebels, this is as fitting an attribution as one could make, given the state of international affairs.

Time Magazine has decreed their oft coveted “Person of The Year” award to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the world’s richest man as delivered by congress via U.S. taxpayers.

The actor-turned-president was bestowed the honor during an announcement on Wednesday by Time Magazine Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal on the TODAY show.

The media outlet credits Zelenskyy’s courage, leadership and magnanimous stewardship of Ukraine’s defense, as well as victory in framing the international public image of the embattled nation.

(Via NPR) – […] “Whether one looks at this story of Ukraine with a sense of hope or a sense of fear, and the story is, of course, not fully written yet … Zelenskyy has really galvanized the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades,” Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal said when revealing the news on the TODAY show.

The cover features a profile of Zelenskyy in his classic army-green sweater, surrounded by individual figures and crowds of protesters. They are interspersed with bright yellow sunflowers and blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags. (read more)

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California Republican National Committee (RNC) Representative Harmeet Dhillon appears with Steve Bannon to give her expanded explanation of why she wants to become RNC chair and the reforms she views are needed within the national body. {Direct Rumble Link}

Mrs. Dhillon expresses a desire to remove the current divide that exists between RNC national members and the base voters within the states.  Reemphasizing the need for the populist voice to have representation in the Republican Party, Mrs. Dhillon outlines the need to shift priorities in order to align with the base voter. WATCH:

Steve Bannon is correct mid-interview when he says 95% of the donor apparatus to the RNC are globalist Wall Street billionaires and corporations who want the RNC aligned with their financial priorities.  That is a big issue and one not easily resolved.  As long as the RNC emphasizes the importance of money, the voice of the voting base will always be a secondary consideration.

The DNC wants power. The RNC wants money. The DNC uses money to get power. The RNC uses power to get money.  The ideology of the DNC drives their donor activity. The donor activity of the RNC drives their ideology.  This is the essential difference.

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… And if he does, the outlook is worse.

According to both the Senate Intelligence Committee (SSCI), via Chairman Mark Warner, and the House Intelligence Committee (HPSCI) via Mike Turner, the Chinese social media platform TikTok represents a “national security risk” to the United States.  South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, soon to be the vice-presidential candidate for the DeSantis-Noem 2024 ticket, has also called TikTok a national security threat and banned it in the state. Now, think about that carefully.

What is it about a social media app allowing short video sharing that would constitute a national security risk?  The answer is not about dog and cat videos, or dancing diatribes or funny, weird or goofy content; nor is the national security risk attached to any data of the app users or content providers.  The national security risk is found in the ability to influence public opinion that is not under the control of the United States government, or more specifically the Dept of Homeland Security (DHS).

The need for control is a reaction to fear.  TikTok, as a social media platform, is not considered a national security threat because the Chinese government can control it.  TikTok is considered a national security threat because the United States government does not control it.

For several years CTH has been outlining the relationship between DHS and social media.  Currently, the headlines are filled with stories about Twitter and revelations of censorship and government influence coming from the purchase of the platform by Elon Musk.  I promise you things are not what they seem.

Let me put some context to the dynamic that will hopefully clarify what is going on, and perhaps the context will help explain what you are seeing and what you are not seeing as this unfolds.  There are going to be a lot of citations to fill in the details and understanding the modern Fourth Branch of Government is critical.  The bigger picture also explains why SSCI Chairman Mark Warner said “people will die” if the seized Trump Mar-a-Lago documents become public.

♦ Elevator Speech: Twitter is to the U.S. government as TikTok is to China. The overarching dynamic is the need to control public perceptions and opinions. DHS has been in ever increasing control of Twitter since the public-private partnership was formed in 2011/2012.  Jack Dorsey lost control and became owner emeritus; arguably, Elon Musk has no idea (you’ll see proof toward the end).

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A 446-page transcript of the deposition of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, was released today by State Attorney Eric Schmidt (Missouri) and State Attorney Jeff Landry (Louisiana) who filed a lawsuit alleging government collusion with social media companies during the COVID crisis.

Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and several Biden administration officials were named in a lawsuit filed by Eric Schmitt and Jeff Landry. The deposition shows attorney John Sauer of Schmitt’s office conducting the questioning. The deposition contains 63 exhibits, including confidential emails and media reports. The deposition began at 8:08 a.m. on November 23, 2022, and ended at 5:01 p.m. [Direct pdf HERE]

[Read Transcript of Deposition Here]

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President Donald Trump came under massive amounts of fire recently for saying, “So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great “Founders” did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”

What President Trump is noting, is the exact same reason why Kari Lake’s lawsuit, like every other election lawsuit before it, will fail.   Our U.S. Constitution permits election fraud and manipulation, as long as that state level election fraud and manipulation does not break federal law.  {Direct Rumble Link} – WATCH:

Obviously, it would be frustrating for President Trump to ask legal advisors what can be done about certified results from fraudulently constructed elections.  The reply from the legal advisors around the state certification would frustrate anybody, because the constitution permits fraudulent elections.   The decision on how to conduct elections is entirely up to the states.

The states, via state legislature, determine their election rules, laws and outcomes that eventually lead to state certification.  If a state wants to block voters, impede voters, or manipulate the voting outcome, there is generally nothing in federal law to stop them – as long as the state or county does not break federal laws protecting classes or protected categories of persons.

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Just a short fyi.   On the eve of the Georgia Senate runoff, a race we are told is the priority of the current RNC effort, the RNC lawyer responsible for leading the RNC effort in the Georgia contest will appear on Tucker Carlson to discuss the state of the Republican Party and her efforts to lead it.

Previously, Mrs. Dhillon announced her intent to run for RNC chair.  She has a great deal of support amid the professionally Republican.

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Sooner or later someone, if not Donald Trump, is going to have to start a second party.

Appearing on CBS with Margaret Brennan, incoming House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner walks through the priorities of the new HPSCI committee, to include that President Trump is horrible, Ukraine President Zelenskyy is awesome, Joe Biden is doing an awesome job and Ukraine needs more U.S. money and weapons.

If you listen closely, you might even catch the part where Mike Turner says he is working swimmingly with current HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff and current Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner.  Yes, folks, you just cannot make this stuff up.  Ms. Brennan is absolutely smitten with Mr. Turner, he’s an acceptable republican.  WATCH:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: And we turn now to Ohio Congressman Mike Turner, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. Congressman Turner, good to have you here in person.

REPRESENTATIVE MIKE TURNER: Thank you. Yes. It’s great to be here.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So just yesterday, the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said that Russia was perhaps struggling to keep up with the amount of munitions that it’s using in this war in Ukraine, the cold weather is slowing combat. The Secretary of State, though, didn’t really give hope for diplomacy at this moment. Given what you know, when will this war end?

REP. TURNER: Well, the one thing that we know is that the- the gains that Ukraine is making are real, they’re real in the battlefield. They’re real in the support that they have around the world, they have with democracies on the floor of the United Nations, in condemning this aggression by Russia. But Ukraine really has to be the one that decides that if, when, and how negotiations are entered into, and at this point, you know, they’re battling for their country. They’re losing lives for democracy. President Zelenskyy says, I was just in Ukraine, just before the elections, he says openly, he understands that he’s the frontlines for democracy, and he’s fighting an authoritarian regime. And I think, you know, obviously, Russia has to reevaluate how they look at this conflict and how Putin looks at what he has started–

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