Federal Government Cancer - Freedom of Speech and Twitter and US Government Dictatorial Rule Over Social-Media Companies

[johnkarls]

.

In the normal rush to concoct the monthly Short Quiz (featured in our weekly e-mail of March 2) and the Suggested Answers to the Short Quiz (featured in our weekly e-mail of March 9), there was an inexcusable omission from the Suggested Answers.

Sec. A of the Suggested Answers posited that “Elon Musk” by Walter Isaacson had only framed four public-policy issues – (1) electric vehicles, (2) artificial intelligence, (3) Ukraine, and (4) benefitting American taxpayers for the scientific discoveries of basic research they have financed.

Mea culpa!!!

I overlooked a fifth that straddles Q&A-3 (our previous public-policy campaigns) and Q&A-4 (any public-policy issues in addition to EV’s and AI and our previous public-policy campaigns).

**********
The Cancer That Is The Federal Government – Freedom of Speech and Twitter and US Government Dictatorial Rule Over Social-Media Companies

Three times over the years, we have focused on “Authoritarian Rule by Our Intelligence Services” and Sec. 702(c) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that permits spying on American citizens without even any supervision from the so-called “FISA Court” – a special organism which was created by FISA to confuse the American public whom our pols consider incapable of reading plain statutory language but which Court is routinely disregarded in practice as permitted by FISA.

Our most-recent focus on FISA Sec. 702(c) – our three foci coincided with the required renewals of FISA Sec. 702(c) – was our 5/16/2018 meeting for which our focus book was George Orwell’s famous book “1984” which featured “Big Brother Is Watching You” et al.

It produced a 4-page letter to the U.S. Attorney General which is available for down-load at viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1762&sid=4e3fa78e6 ... 9dbd31d236.

The result???

Freedom of Speech is under greater attack now than in 2018!!!

Not only are we plagued by FISA Sec. 702(c) spying on American citizens without even any supervision by the so-called “FISA Court,” but several U.S. Government Agencies have joined in “Freedom of Speech” suppression by dictating to social-media companies how to behave!!!

The U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment provides –

“Congress shall make no law…..abridging the freedom of speech…..”

FIRST, Law School 101 would conclude that U.S. Governmental Agencies dictating to social-media companies how to suppress “freedom of speech” (1) would itself comprise an “abridgment” and, in addition (2) would make the social-media companies de facto agents of the U.S. Governmental Agencies which, under the Law of Principal/Agent, would also make the U.S. Governmental Agencies responsible for the “abridgements.”

SECOND, Law School 101 would also conclude that the “freedom of speech” abridgements were EITHER (1) the result of laws passed by Congress which authorized the abridgements, OR ELSE (2) the U.S. Governmental Agencies which dictated to social-media companies how to behave ARE ROGUE AGENCIES GUILTY OF EXCEEDING THEIR STATUTORY AUTHORITY!!!

**********
Elon Musk and His Acquisition of Twitter

Chronicled by Walter Isaacson in Chapters 72-74, 78, 81-88 and 90-91, Elon Musk exposed how the U.S. Governmental Agencies dictated to Twitter how to “abridge” Freedom of Speech!!!

Which, of course, led to Congressional hearings during which other social-media companies were forced to testify how they were also forced to “abridge” Freedom of Speech!!!

**********
UNFORTUNATELY, just like “shining light” on FISA Sec. 702(c) abuses does NOT shame the U.S. Gov into halting its “abridgments” of Freedom of Speech, there is no evidence of anything (such as remedial legislation) that effectively prevents U.S. Gov Agencies from dictating to social-media companies how to “abridge” Freedom of Speech.”

AFTER ALL, why should this area be any different than our Southern Border where the U.S. Gov refuses to enforce existing U.S. law???

[BTW, that refusal in defiance, inter alia, of the United Nations 24-year “War on Modern Slavery” which (1) is a larger business for Organized Crime than illegal guns or illegal drugs, (2) involves more than TWICE AS MANY slaves today as were traded throughout the 350-years of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Industry, (3) features an average retail price of a slave delivered in the U.S. in 2019 of only $5,250 which unleashed incredible demand for sex slaves driving the U.S. average price of a sex act down to only $27.50 – THOUGH, OF COURSE, YOU COULD USE YOUR SLAVE FOR ANYTHING INCLUDING ORGAN HARVESTING, and (4) BTW, means the average sex slave is dead by age 35.]

[Our 9/22/2023 letter to President Biden re the UN’s War on Modern Slavery is available for download at viewtopic.php?f=760&t=2402&p=3218&hilit ... d236#p3218.]

But back on topic, our 4-page 5/29/2018 letter to the U.S. Attorney General re “abridgments” to Freedom of Speech under FISA Sec. 702(c) produced no results!!!

So why should the American public be so stupid as to suppose that any legislation purporting to restrict the ability of US Gov Agencies to “abridge” Freedom of Speech vis-à-vis social-media companies would be honored by those Agencies???

**********
Misc Observations

Throughout “Elon Musk” by Walter Isaacson, it is reported that Elon Musk appears to despise Donald Trump.

Accordingly, Elon Musk’s acquisition appears to have nothing to do with Twitter kicking Trump off their platform.

And, as we have observed in the past, how many politicians are wealthy enough to sacrifice their wealth as “Messianic” Figures who are willing to “bear the slings and arrows” of outrageous lawsuits???

MUCH LESS FOUND THEIR OWN SOCIAL-MEDIA COMPANY (“Truth Social”) TO COPE WITH THE U.S. GOV’S “ABRIDGEMENT” OF “FREEDOM OF SPEECH”???

**********
OUR STATUS

We have always prided ourselves in being a “non-partisan public-policy study/action group.”

Which, of course, means we don’t waste time trying to get particular policy makers elected, but “go with the winners” and recommend to them what they should do.

BUT WHICH ALSO MEANS that all of the comments/observations in this posting MUST BE EVALUATED from the public-policy viewpoint of the proverbial “shoe” being on “the other foot”!!!