The continued assault on conversatives

[Grand58742]

Not surprising. While these are merely "questions" as to why companies are still carrying Fox, OANN and Newsmax, it's almost like the implication of "boy, that's a nice company you got there. It'd be a shame if something happened to it..."

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/0...rmation-470863

Two House Democrats pressed a mix of cable, satellite and streaming providers on Monday about their decisions to carry Fox News, One America News Network and Newsmax, accusing the right-leaning outlets of serving as “misinformation rumor mills and conspiracy theory hotbeds that produce content that leads to real harm.”

Crossing a line: The letters from members of the Energy and Commerce Committee reflect continued anger in Congress about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, as well as Democrats' concerns that misinformation fueling the riot spread on conservative news outlets in addition to social media.

The letters: Reps. Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney, both from California, sent the letters to AT&T, Verizon, Roku, Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Charter, DISH, Cox, Altice and Hulu as well as Google's parent, Alphabet.

"What moral or ethical principles (including those related to journalistic integrity, violence, medical information, and public health) do you apply in deciding which channels to carry or when to take adverse actions against a channel?" the Democrats asked. They also asked the carriers if they are "planning to continue carrying Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN."

[markm]

The bombardment of lunatic left wing spin is unbelievable. It's across the board. 2 stories from yesterday:

1. AZ Valley Fever cases are up.... possible cause? CLIMATE CHANGE.

2. Flags at half mast in D.C. because of the 500k deaths from Rona... Probably well over half fraudulently assigned a Corona cause of death.

It's unbelievable how little fact is reported, and how much blatant propaganda.

[Grand58742]

And then there's this...

https://conservativebrief.com/ruleagain-35667/

An Obama-era initiative called Operation Choke Point was a politically unpopular measure that essentially went after businesses that Democrats did not like.

The Obama-era rule was designed as a way to choke off firearms dealers and payday lenders through Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation guidance that amounted to strong-arm tactics.

As noted by Forbes contributor Norbert Michel, it was “an egregious affront to the rule of law.”

During his term in office, former President Donald Trump ended the operation, which had begun in 2013.

Trump actually took it one step further to protect the Second Amendment and issued the “Fair Access Rule” in January, which was designed to preclude another such round of intimidation.

While a late-January statement from the Biden administration’s Office of Comptroller of the Currency noted:

“The OCC’s long-standing supervisory guidance stating that banks should avoid termination of broad categories of customers without assessing individual customer risk remains in effect,” the office still announced it was pausing the Trump administration’s Fair Access Rule.

“Pausing publication of the rule in the Federal Register will allow the next confirmed Comptroller of the Currency to review the final rule and the public comments the OCC received, as part of an orderly transition,” read the Jan. 28 notice.

So, we go back to banks being pressured to cease business with industries and things they don't like.

[TomMcC]

Doubt banks need any pressure. They are probably chomping at the bit to apply their wokeness to all things gun and white.

[Black_Sheep]

“misinformation rumor mills and conspiracy theory hotbeds that produce content that leads to real harm.”

The same could be said of CNN, MSNBC, UNIVISION, etc...

[SteyrAUG]

Ironic that the Democrats have now abandoned "first amendment" considerations almost to the extent of Republicans abandoning "second amendment" considerations as an absolute "core" principle.

[prepare]

It's plain to see that this divide leads to massive destruction and one side forcing their will on the other. Its only going to escalate until we are in a full blown conflict.

[AndyLate]

Its a war. They have effectively removed the Conservative voice from popular social media without a peep from the Supreme Court, so of course the next move is traditional "conservative" media sources. I'm not a constitutional scholar like Barak, but I believe members of the government pressuring media companies to supress a dissident voice is definitely in violation of the 1st Amendment. Now its not "private companies setting their own policies".

Of course, if you can steal the election, who cares about the constitution.

Andy

[Grand58742]

The DoD's definition of "extremism" is rather vague. I read it myself and it doesn't instill confidence it can't/won't be abused.

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/0...remists-471291

The Pentagon is launching an unprecedented campaign to root out extremists in the ranks after dozens of military veterans took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

But confronting white nationalism and other far-right ideologies is proving to be a political minefield for an institution that prides itself on staying out of the nation’s partisan wars. There's a growing sense of anxiety within the Pentagon that this push could feed the perception that it is policing political thought, favoring one political party over another or muzzling free speech.

The Pentagon has not yet disclosed all the training materials it is providing commanders, but that hasn't stopped lawmakers and right-wing commentators from accusing the Defense Department of initiating a witch hunt on behalf of the Biden administration to purge political opponents. While there is no evidence to support a politicization of this effort, there are concerns among the top brass and senior retired officers that it could backfire if the Pentagon doesn't clearly define exactly what "extremism" means.

The day-long event is one in a series of steps the Pentagon has initiated in recent weeks to try to get a handle on the problem. The military, which has been accused of a "haphazard" approach to weeding out extremists, is also assessing the extent to which the problem has permeated the ranks, and has begun a series of reviews to determine if new training or regulations are needed to screen out extremist elements.

[scottryan]

Justice Amy Barrett is the next Sandra O'Conner.

What were people expecting when you nominate a woman from chicago?