Sunday, December 18, 2022

Flotsam and Jetsam for Sunday

Not a lot of original material today. Of course, the Battle of Twitter is still the dominant topic. Althouse takes note of  NYPo, "The FBI and other law enforcement organizations treated Twitter as a 'subsidiary,' flagging numerous accounts for purportedly harmful 'misinformation'..." "ALSO: There's this other article in the NY Post: "Twitter’s top ranks riddled with ex-FBI employees" ("More than a dozen former feds flocked to the company in the months and years prior to Elon Musk’s purchase of the social network in October")." Fox, Republicans respond after 'Twitter Files 6' reveals FBI flagged users and tweets: 'A lot to answer for'. Grabien, cited at Haut Hair, hosts Tammy Bruce asking Bruce Comer "Are you gonna expand this investigation" into the FBI and Twitter? Yep. Donald Trump Jr. @DonaldJTrumpJr "Of course Special Agent Pronouns was the person at the FBI colluding with Twitter to censor conservatives!!!"

Insty, HE’S NOT WRONG, YOU KNOW: Dinesh D'Souza@DineshDSouza "The mainstream media can’t risk covering #TwitterFiles. If they admit rampant collusion between govt agencies and Twitter, they’ll have to inquire about Facebook, YouTube, Apple, Google. The whole censorship regime would unravel. Better to pretend nothing’s happening! Sarah Arnold at Town Hall thinks The FBI Has Lost All Forms of Trust and Credibility thanks to Twittergate. But it was pretty well shot after Russiagate. Haut Hair finds an FBI agent blasts Twitter's "gross subservience" in Twitter files in Taibbi's article in Da Mail.  At ET, Twitter Censorship Contributed to Destructive Pandemic Policies and Is Criminal, Says Former White House COVID Adviser, Dr. Scott Atlas. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya AT Unherd, What I discovered at Twitter HQ, "Someone had put me on the trends blacklist." Capt. Ed at Haut Hair has a poll, Harvard-Harris: 64% believe Twitter engaged in "political censorship," interference in 2020 elections -- and 74% want prosecutions. Jonathon Turley notes as well,  Harvard/Harris: Two-Thirds of Voters Believe Social Media Engaged in Politically-Motivated Censorship and Demand Congressional Action

Once again, however, the major networks and newspapers have largely ignored the story. There has been a full mobilization of media, political, and business interests against Elon Musk and Twitter to oppose the restoration of free speech protections at the company. The media is heavily invested in suppressing this story after years of denials of any problems of censorship. Previously, they denied censorship was occurring. When such censorship became obvious, they denied that there was any involvement of the FBI and the government. Now that such involvement is confirmed, they are simply not covering the story.

Bari Weiss, The Twitter Files and the Future of the Democratic Party With Silicon Valley's Congressman "Ro Khanna on why we should be skeptical of Big Tech's power.  Althouse cite Ro Khanna, seemingly the sensible Democrat "I think it's a lazy response to say that Twitter’s a private company. That may get you a good grade in high school..." "Said Ro Khanna, quoted in an interview with Bari Weiss titled "The Twitter Files and the Future of the Democratic Party/With Silicon Valley's Congressman Ro Khanna on why we should be skeptical of Big Tech's power" (The Free Press)." Insty, QUESTION ASKED: How did free speech become a right-wing value? "In early May, I explored the left’s reaction to billionaire Elon Musk potentially buying Twitter and his vow to make it a free speech platform again. Since then, Musk and his vision have repeatedly been portrayed as “right-wing.” It’s the damndest thing." Christine Rosen at Commentary, on How Disinformation Journalists Practice Disinformation.

Matt Taibbi responds to some criticisms in Notes on FBI/Twitter Story: Link to Text Version of Twitter Files ThreadMehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan "Is this a joke? Taibbi is doing a new Twitter Files thread while continuing to ignore what Musk has done to journalists on this platform for the past 24 hours? Even Weiss has called him out, but Taibbi seems to want to tweet through it. Wow." 

I actually wasn’t silent about it (see last night’s Substack piece), but even if I had been, so what? These Twitter Files stories that are coming out are getting at issues that have nothing to do with Elon Musk, Keith Olbermann, Aaron Rupar, Barney the Dinosaur, or anyone else.

 NYPo, Drudge Report slams Elon Musk over Twitter bans: ‘Is he tripping on drugs?’ At NewsBusters, Twitter-Suspended CNN Journo Warns Of 'Chilling Effect' "With no sense of irony, guest host Paula Newton wondered if Musk is so sensitive, would he ban President Biden or French President Emmanuel Macron next, “Yeah. I mean, the point is -- Donie, it's you today. Is it the president tomorrow? Is Biden going to say something? Is Macron going to say something to criticize him? I mean, there is a lot at stake here.” Nick Arama at Red State reports CNN's Oliver Darcy Comically Cries About 'Condition' Musk Placed to Lift Media Suspensions “A notice on @donie’s account said he’d been suspended for violating Twitter rules. It required him to delete a tweet before he’d be allowed to post, with option to appeal.” Oh, my, do they have to delete the tweet that got them in trouble? The horror! I don’t think we’ve ever seen that before — except every time anyone has ever been suspended for a tweet." And WATCH: Keith Olbermann Is so Upset With Elon Suspending Him, He's Gone to the Dogs, posting from his dog's Twitter account. At Twitchy, Check out these hilarious replies to Kyle Griffin announcing that he refuses to leave Twitter. Who? OH MSNBC, right.  'Bonchie' at Red State sees  Clown Behind 'ElonJets' Harassment Openly Tries to Extort Musk on CNN. He demands a new Tesla to stop posting Musk's flight information. "Yeah, I’m not sure announcing that you are trying to commit criminal extortion on national television is a smart move, but it’s a move Jack Sweeney made on Saturday evening." Mike Lindell@realMikeLindell, "I'm back!! Thank you @elonmusk and by the way MELT DOWN THE ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES AND TURN THEM INTO PRISON BARS!"

KT at Haut Hair catches Biden telling tall tales again, Biden told a tall tale to veterans that his uncle "won" a Purple Heart but the story doesn't add up. In the Biden Report Card Paul Bedard at WaEx hears  Joe concede he’s ‘f***ing old’. WaT notes Biden second-quarter job numbers off by 1 million, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank says and the Free Bacon has a Poll: Majority of Americans Believe Biden’s Economy Will Get Even Worse in 2023.

At Breitbart, Exclusive – Trump Backs McCarthy for Speaker, Tells Opponents to Stand Down: ‘I Think He Deserves the Shot’, besides, nobody else wants it. Ryan King at WaEx, Trump likens US to 'person dying of cancer' in fiery tirade against FBI. He has good reason to be leary of them. Althouse, "We are fighting for the gay community, and we are fighting and fighting hard" — said Donald Trump. "Quoted in "Scenes from a celebration of the same-sex marriage law — at Mar-a-Lago/'We are fighting for the gay community, and we are fighting and fighting hard,' Donald Trump told a Log Cabin Republicans gala" (Politico)." He was pro-gay before Hillary and Barack. Also, "[T]he Trump cards will feature... the former president’s face grafted onto reasonably fit male bodies, clad in various costumes of masculine bravado..." "Writes Philip Kennicott in "Trump NFTs are not art. Unless you consider grifting an art form. These $99 trading cards are laughably bad. That’s the whole point" (WaPo). Hey, that got surprisingly intellectual!"

Sundance at CTH hosts Video - Governor Ron DeSantis Advocates for Politicians to Be Owned by Billionaires, Laments Campaign Finance Limits and Video, Tucker Carlson Is Asked Trump or DeSantis for 2024? The Response Is Refreshingly Authentic. Suffice it to say, he  is not a fan. 

Natalia Mittelstadt at JTN reports Top Maricopa election offices couldn't reconcile 15k disparity in outstanding votes: internal email, ""Unable to currently reconcile [Secretary of State] listing with our estimates from yesterday," Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer wrote in a Nov. 10 email." Only 15,000? Jack Phillips at ET, Maricopa County Files Motion to Dismiss Kari Lake’s Election Lawsuit. From the Conservative Brief, Kari Lake Gets Win From Arizona Judge Over Katie Hobbs In Ballot Inspection Case. Also at ET, Pennsylvania County to Recount 2020 Election Results in 2023 "Persistent questions from voters and a petition with 5,000 signatures have convinced the Lycoming County Commissioners in Pennsylvania to recount its 2020 election results." At JTN, North Carolina Supreme Court rules that state Senate map must be redrawn, "Decision affirms the state House boundaries meet standards set by the state Supreme Court, but not Senate."

Twitchy, Tucker Carlson roasting outgoing Rep. Adam Kinzinger for fury over Catturd™ meme is ‘sheer poetry’

Jazz Shaw at Haut Hair, Court rules in favor of trans Connecticut boys beating girls in track.

“A Christian leader has blasted the Biden administration for ‘creating an atmosphere of lawlessness’ by ignoring attacks on churches and houses of worship nationwide, which have nearly tripled over the last four years, according to a startling new report. These assaults ranged from deadly to defacing, covered every region of the country and denominational background, and often sprang from pro-abortion domestic terrorism or other forms of left-wing enmity against biblical morality.”
If the authorities were as afraid of Christian nationalism as they purport to be, they’d be doing a lot more about these attacks.

Roger (L) Simon at ET wonders Has American Democracy Been a Hallucination for Nearly 60 Years?, in response to questions about the JFK assassination raised by recent releases (and telling not releases) from the JFK files which suggest the CIA may have been lurking around the edges.

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