09 January, 2021

Et Tu, Amazon?

Amazon Suspended Parler From Its Web Hosting (buzzfeednews.com)

There are no words. And with Parler down, there literally will be no words. In the space of 24 hours, Big Tech has banned conservative speech.

Not since September 11, 2001 have I been this fearful regarding the future of America.

Apple Becomes What They Used To Be Against

Remember this?

Today, Apple became Big Brother. They shut down Parler for inciting violence. I’m glad I downloaded the app before they cut if off, but I’m sure Apple will find a way to block that too. In the ad, they tell us that 1984 won’t be like “1984”. Instead, 2021 will be.

Remember, Apple has no problem with Twitter, which allows this:

But Parler incites violence. Liberal fascism at its finest, folks.

 

What a sad day to be an American.

UPDATE: Remember this? Good times.



What Democrats SHOULD Do Next

After they’ve tackled the election integrity issue, Democrats should move immediately to classify Facebook and Twitter as essential utilities. That would mean that neither would be able to ban verified accounts, or even limit posts by them.

Something like 75 million Americans said they use Facebook as their primary news source. You may not. I may not. But if that many people do, then it must be possible to hear all viewpoints there. This will be another way to allow people to believe in our elections.

Also, as I’ve documented many times, this is a serious freedom of speech issue. Now, I’m not claiming that it’s a First Amendment issue. That only applies to government entities. Even as an essential utility, they are free to run afoul of the First. It may be a Fourteenth Amendment issue, however. Hard to see that conservatives are getting equal protection under the law right now.

And like the issue on election integrity, if the Democrats refuse to tackle this one, it says that they don’t have a problem with Big Tech censorship.

That should make you scared. Very scared.

Remember your Neimöller.

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me

This is what cancel culture and the crackdowns on free speech are all about. You may not care that some people are being silenced, because you think they’re hateful or spreading disinformation. But next it will be someone else who is described as hateful. And then someone else. And eventually it will be you.

Forget slippery slopes here. We’re halfway down the mountain already. I fully expect the Democrats to do nothing, because those in power are happy with the situation.

Today I weep for America.

What Democrats MUST Do First

47% of all voters think that the Democrats stole this election. 36% say it’s very likely.

I said previously what I thought brought on the protests at the Capitol this week. But the final straw was probably those numbers above. You can not have a functioning democracy, or democratic republic, if the voters do not have faith in their elections.

If the Democrats don’t move to fix this, we will get a repeat in 2022, and again in 2024. Only next time it will be worse.

We need serious election reforms. We need to be serious about ballot integrity and oversight. We need strict chain of custody requirements. If we’re going to continue to allow mail-in ballots (and we really shouldn’t), we must do everything possible to ensure their integrity.

If the Democrats don’t make correcting this problem their first order of business come January 20, it sends a clear message that they are just fine with how things have turned out.

Long term that’s a losing proposition for them, because it will ensure that things get worse, not better. But maybe they figure that by the time that happens that they’ll have restructured the country enough that it won’t matter.

Well, I guess I don’t need Firefox

Mozilla, developers of Firefox: 'We need more than deplatforming' | The Post Millennial

Look. It’s very simple. You either support free speech or you don’t. This isn’t a non-binary issue.

If you support free speech, then that means that you support speech you don’t agree with, even speech that disgusts you. It means you support the right of an individual to say things that you think are mean-spirited, wrong, and in fact lies.

Or you don’t.

If you fall into the “don’t” category, then I have no use for you or your organization.

In Case You Think I’m Making this Stuff Up–I’m not

The Purge Is Here: Twitter Banning Influencers on Right, Removing Followers (redstate.com)

Much more at the link.

More Thoughts On Censorship From the Left

The All-Out Assault on Conservative Thought Under Biden (pjmedia.com)

Big Tech did not remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s accounts when she called for “uprisings” against the Trump administration. Facebook and Twitter did not target Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez when she claimed that allegedly marginalized groups have “no choice but to riot.” These platforms did not act against Kamala Harris when she said the riots “should not” stop.

This week, Joe Biden condemned the Capitol rioters, saying, “What we witnessed yesterday was not dissent, it was not disorder, it was not protest. It was chaos. They weren’t protesters, don’t dare call them protesters. They were a riotous mob, insurrectionists, domestic terrorists. It’s that basic, it’s that simple.”

Yet he refused to speak in those terms when Black Lives Matter and antifa militants were throwing Molotov cocktails at federal buildings, setting up “autonomous zones,” and burning down cities.

We don’t have to play the “what if the left did this” game. After last summer, we know. Democrats on the Hill did much more to encourage the riots all summer long than Trump did. And yet, it’s Trump that is getting banned and being attacked from all angles.

Welcome to the Land of Biden.

Roger Simon says “Welcome to West China”

Welcome to West China (theepochtimes.com)

Most of the article is behind a firewall, but it’s currently free by entering your email.

I wish I had something to add, but I’ll quote the relevant (to me) bit:

I’m the opposite. I’m a Occam’s Razor guy—what you see is what you get.

And Occam’s Razor tells me the United States is turning into a near clone of the People’s Republic of China.

That’s not communism in the traditional sense. Karl Marx wouldn’t recognize it, not that what he had on offer was any better. For China, the word communism is a kind of paleo-virtue signaling.

What China actually is (and where the United States is headed or has already arrived) is a form of oligarchic fascism. The capitalist market’s fine as long as it’s my capitalist market and you’re a member of my party.

Communist Party, Democratic Party, what difference does it make? As long as it’s ONE PARTY. And we’re in charge. The state über alles.

So forget about personal liberty and free expression and brush up your “social credit score.” Learn to be obedient, if you wish to survive.

And above all don’t say anything critical or even slightly controversial on social media or you’re a dead person—or might as well be because you’ll be canceled.

This is where we are. I’ve been documenting the assault on free speech by the left for more than a decade. Even I didn’t think we’d end up here.

As they say, read the whole thing.

The Powerline Week in Pictures

Read more here.

As Glenn Reynolds Would Say…

That’s different, because shut up.

Remember when BLM rioters were burning down cities and Colin Kaepernick literally called for more violence? And then, instead of banning him, @Jack gave him $3M? | Not the Bee

 

08 January, 2021

Nikki Haley

She ticked off a lot on the right with her words and actions post-November 4, but I still like her over anyone else I see as a potential GOP candidate in 2024

244 Years was a Good Run

Today, 1776 seems like it was when the dinosaurs roamed.

Google Play store suspends Parler as Apple threatens to follow suit within hours

Parler is a Twitter alternative that supports free speech. Personally, I prefer Gab, which is similar, but either/or. At least they aren’t Twitter.

My Response to the “Insurrection” at the Capitol

Trumpism and everything associated with it has always been an effect, not a cause.

What happened this week was the result of the riots all summer long. It was the result of the storming of the Senate during the Kavanaugh hearings. It was the result of the utter chaos after Trump's inauguration. Frankly, it goes back farther than that. It was the result of Occupy Wall Street. It was the result of actual peaceful protests by the Tea Party being described as a threat to the very fabric of society.

It was a result of four years of being told that black is white. Of having the false Russian collusion narrative shoved down our throats for three years. Of a farce of an impeachment that went down to a party line vote even though every single impeachment witness under direct questioning testified that they had no firsthand knowledge of Trump committing any impeachable offenses.

It was the result of trying to convince us that Trump was involved in a quid pro quo while ignoring the established fact that Biden engaged in one himself. It was the result of ignoring the Hunter Biden laptop. It was the result of having to sit through a corrupt Mueller investigation. It was the result of being told repeatedly that there was no fraud in this election or any indication of it.

It was the result of Nick Sandmann being destroyed by the media, when he did absolutely nothing wrong. It was the result of people being attacked in restaurants or on the streets merely for wearing a red hat. It was the result of years of fake racist incidents like Jussie Smollett. It was the result of many people being sick and tired of not being able to stand up and speak their mind. It was the result of years of monstrous attacks on free speech by the left.

What happened was not Trump's fault. And if you think it was, then your stupidity is incurable.

In short, what happened at the Capitol was long overdue. Yes, it's a shame that it happened, but the shame is what led us here.

NeverTrumpers and other establishment types have been hoping for years that they could just ride this out and that Trumpism would go away. I think that's the real reason they're upset. They've just realized that Trumpism isn't going away. This isn't a fringe movement that will just die out. It's going to get stronger, not weaker. You can either be a part of it, or get run over by it.

Today, it seems to me that far too many have chosen to get run over. So be it.

And yes, I'm mad as Hell and I'm not going to take it anymore. You don't like it? I don't give a f*ck.

I Hate Social Media

BREAKING: Twitter Permanently Bans Trump From Platform | The Daily Wire

You know, there was a court case that Trump lost. He was blocking people on Twitter, but the courts ruled that the public had a right to see Trump’s tweets. Why doesn’t that same ruling apply here?

Remember, Republicans are the Fascists

Facebook just deleted anti-Democrat 'WalkAway' page from platform, founder Brandon Straka said

I’m not sure the country can handle four weeks of this, much less four years. The liberals are flexing their muscles.

I told you so.

Biden’s America

BREAKING: Journalist Elijah Schaffer banned from Facebook and Instagram | The Post Millennial

I told you so.

You WILL Comply

Whoa... Apple is allegedly threatening to ban Parler from the App Store if they don't start censoring.

I really don’t recognize my country today.

The Gestapo Has Arrived Here in America

WATCH: WV State Delegate Apprehended By FBI Gestapo After Livestreaming Capitol Storming

And President Joe Biden (D-USA) hasn’t even taken office yet. Buckle up tight. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Let Me Know When Protests Are Patriotic Again

I’m having a hard time keeping score. Are they patriotic, or racist, or part of a needed #resist movement, or making a statement about social injustice or part of an insurrection?

Come enjoy this video compilation of the media defending riots, looting, and violence — when it's libs doing the damage

And this is Why I left Twitter & Facebook

Aaaand here come the Twitter bans. General Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell both just got the hammer.

It will be an interesting four years. I wonder if the country will survive.

Coke Is It

 

Questions for Coca-Cola:

  • Was it offensive when the liberals stormed the Senate during the Kavanaugh hearings?
  • Was it offensive when we had country-wide riots after Trump’s inauguration?
  • Was Occupy Wall Street Offensive?
  • Was it offensive when Antifa took over parts of Portland, OR?
  • How about the hundreds of riots all over America this last summer? Were they offensive?
  • Or is this just a one shot, last dig at Trump?

I think I know the answer.

How Does This Man Still Have a Job?

Ok, I know the answer. He works at CNN.

CNN’s Most Special Flower Jake Tapper Calls Republicans ‘Selfish Dipshits’

Biden is Right—Just Not The Way He Thinks

Black Lives Matter Protesters Would Have Been Treated ‘Very Differently’ Than Capitol Rioters, Biden Says

There’s truth to that. There would not be screams from everywhere about BLM Protestors. And if a cop had shot and killed a BLM protestor, we’d have riots in the streets for days in every city in America, along with a constant drumbeat for charges against the police officer and demands for various people to resign.

I Look Forward to the Counter Suit

…and discovery.

Prediction: this suit never sees a public hearing, and never has a public resolution

Sidney Powell sued by Dominion for $1.3 billion over vote-fraud claims.

Democrats on Riots

Let me know when protests are patriotic again.

 

Irony, Meet Simon & Schuster

S&S have canceled Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) book on censorship.

Brilliant.

From Sharyl Attkinson:

One observer on Capitol Hill who did not wish to be named for fear of retaliation says that corporate and political interests are "working to punish and silence anyone who isn't espousing the correct narratives," particularly those supporting President Trump, and called it a "stunning assault on free speech in America."

Hawley's book, "The Tyranny of Big Tech," was to be published in June. Simon and Schuster has deleted mention of the book on its website.

This is only a “stunning assault on free speech” if you haven’t been paying attention. The left has given up even providing lip service to the idea of free speech for quite some time. This is why I continue to say that I will never even consider voting for a Democrat again for as long as I live.

I am the closest thing to a free speech absolutist that you are likely to ever meet. If you are against free speech then I have no use for you whatsoever.

I know, I know

This will be about the 10th time I’ve said that I’m blogging again.

But this time I really mean it! Smile

Seriously, I have officially abandoned Facebook and Twitter. So this will be my place to vent.