Flotsam and Jetsam - Taibbi, Shellenberger Testify on Govt Censorship

A pretty big day in the fight against government censorship through social media. Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger testified at the House Weaponization Committee (poor Bari Weiss didn't make the cut) and Matt Taibbi release yet another (#18) set of Twitter Files. A Grabien video at Hat Hair shows Michael Shellenberger telling Congress It's no longer a slippery slope -- it's real totalitarianism. The Wombat hosts a number of articles at In The Mailbox: 03.09.23, Twitchy, Jim Jordan Makes It Awkward After Democrat Claims “No Actual Evidence” Of Censorship, Hogewash, Yep, Journalists (and Bloggers) Protect Our Sources, Power Line,  The Democrats Make War On Twitter [Updated], Transterrestrial Musings, Twitter Hearing Bares Hatred And Ignorance of Democrats, and at the The Federalist Democrats Desperate To Implement Censorship Regime Disregard Free Speech In Weaponization Hearing. Also at Da Fed, Tristan Justice, Democrats Desperate To Implement Censorship Regime Disregard Free Speech In Weaponization Hearing. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair highlights The dumbest five minutes of Congress, ever: Dems demand sources from journalists who exposed government-media censorship complex. A high bar, indeed.

Bari Weiss@bariweiss "I am dead. Couldn’t get to D.C., but nothing but love for @ShellenbergerMD and @mtaibbi who do a heroic job of not completely breaking down here." At Red State, Sister Toldja wants you to Watch: Jim Jordan Drops Receipts on House Democrats During Contentious Exchange on Government Censorship. OK, here it is:

Rep. Daniel Goldman (who bought a congressional seat) says "you cannot find actual evidence of any direct government censorship of lawful speech."

Rep. @Jim_Jordan then pulls out an email from the White House to Twitter asking them to censor a tweet from @RobertKennedyJr. pic.twitter.com/HEsr3rQC5E

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 9, 2023

As sundance at CTH notes A Familiar Brand of BS from Former DOJ Lawyer, Turned New York Rep, Dan Goldman. At Victory Girls, Twitter Hearing Bares Hatred And Ignorance of Reps.

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.09.23, at Twitchy, Dem who referred to Matt Taibbi & Michael Shellenberger as ‘so-called journalists’ got called OUT.

Reporter @mtaibbi calls out Ranking Member Plaskett for referring to him as a “so-called journalist”:

“I’ve won the National Magazine Award, the I.F. Stone Award for Independent Journalism, and I’ve written 10 books, including four New York Times bestsellers.” pic.twitter.com/6LNOr9HmlP

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 9, 2023

Also, Real journalists Aaron Rupar and Keith Olbermann dunk on so-called journalist Matt Taibbi. At Da Fed Margot Cleveland explains How House Weaponization Committee Republicans Can Get The Most From Their ‘Twitter Files’ Witnesses "Guide Them So They Tell a Coherent Story." Taibbi, Shellenberger and Weiss will tell a coherent story, if Democrats let them.

Sundance, Matt Taibbi Releases Twitter File Review #18 – Whole of Government Censorship Approach, Including Senate Intel and Legislative Branch "Journalist Matt Taibbi released another Twitter File review today [#18 Available Here] showcasing how the opinion of government interests was pushed toward content censorship regardless of the truth within it." 1. TWITTER FILES: Statement to Congress
THE CENSORSHIP-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. At the Summit Elon Musk Accuses Biden Of “Weaponization Of A Government Agency” Against Him Over Twitter Files. "Biden’s FTC is going after the journalists Musk provided with access to Twitter records"

BullshitSquared (blue check)@xenophonrocks "OK, free speech experiment. I got suspended. Carville called Repubs in Congress wh*te tr*sh (hullo that's offensive?) I tweeted a pic of Bill Clinton basically saying Carville knows wh*te tr*sh ..."

At the Free Bacon, House Dems Lash Out at Journalist Who Raised Alarm Over Lab Leak. "Three Democrats on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic repeatedly berated former New York Times editor Nicholas Wade, one of the first prominent exponents of the now-widely accepted theory that the coronavirus resulted from a leak from a lab in Wuhan, China. Rather than asking him about the lab leak theory, which has been embraced by the FBI and Energy Department, the members grilled Wade over a 2014 book he wrote that they claim promotes racist tropes about genetics." James Pinker at Liberty Unyielding, cited at Hat Hair, Dems cry 'racism' to distract from lab-leak bombshells. Capt. Ed comments "And that’s all the traction this non-sequitur will get. If anything, that will backfire by drawing more attention to the testimony of Redfield, who has been consistent on this point for at least the last two years." Ace, Former Head of the Center for Disease Control Locked Out of Discussion of Covid's Origin by Anthony Fauci; Fauci Wanted a "Single Narrative" on Covid and Froze Out All Dissenters, "Ahhhh, can you smell that? That is pure sweet Science you're smelling. Science always decides on the "single narrative" first and then picks and chooses which experts will be allowed to opine on the issue depending on whether they support that "single narrative;" didn't you know that, you big Science-Hating Bigots and Transphobes?" Leslie Eastman at LI, Former CDC Director: Fauci ‘Intentionally Ignored’ Requests to Consider Wuhan Lab Leak Claims, "Meanwhile, Fauci-backed EcoHealth Alliance, which funded bat coronavirus tests in Wuhan, claims it’s just a ‘coincidence’ that pandemic began there." I watched Fauci on Cavuto yesterday; he was back trying to pin it on the wet market and denying he excluded Redfield.

From Da Blaze, Tucker Carlson Tells Glenn Beck No Journalists Have Asked Him for Jan. 6 Tapes. Not even at Fox. Capt. Ed, J6 committee co-chair: None of us watched the surveillance video, actually. The let the staff pick out the good stuff. Breitbart, GOP Senators Angry Tucker Carlson Accurately Described January 6 as ‘Mostly Peaceful.’ At Da Fed, the unsinkable Mollie Hemingway complains Dear Mitch McConnell: You Were Not Elected To Do The Bidding Of Chuck Schumer And CNN. At RCP, commentary from Peder Zane says Critics of Fox News Need To Look in the Mirror.

At Am Spec, Dan Flynn calls the Jan. 6 Committee Crude Liars "Even on the small stuff, they warped reality to advance political interests."  Tristan Justice at Da Fed, Tucker Carlson Indicts Nancy Pelosi For January 6 Security Failures. At Am Great Chris Gray warns Beware the Nonresponsive Response to Tucker Carlson, "When someone makes specific claims, and the responses are not specific, the response is not a response. It’s chaff, and it’s meant to cloud the air." At Am Think, Rajan Laad thinks Tucker Carlson now is a target for challenging the Democrat groupthink. At PJ Media Bob Spencer adds 'This Was Insurrection. It Just Was.' Their Bubble Burst, Leftists Rage at Tucker, Kevin Downey wonders Will the 'Tucker Tapes' Make a Difference in How Americans Now View Jan. 6? Ben Shapiro, explores  What We Weren't Shown About Jan. 6 and Athena Thorne hopes Did Tucker Hit a Nerve? Axios Wants to Move on From January 6. 

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.09.23, EBL: Free Q Anon Shaman Jacob Chansley, Louder With Crowder, Whoopi Goldberg Calls For Fox News To Be Shut Down And Employees Prosecuted To Save Democracy, American Thinker: Lies, Damn Lies, and Democrats, Don Surber: The Actual Insurrection In DC Went Unpunished, and at Power Line, A lift too far, Tucker Carlson edition.

At LI, Herr Professor Jacobsen says “QAnon Shaman” Lawyer: Feds Withheld Exculpatory Video Shown On Tucker, "Government withholding the video was “a dagger in the heart of our American justice system”" At Da Wire, ‘It’s Appalling’: QAnon Shaman’s Lawyer Says DOJ Lied, Withheld Videos Aired By Carlson. Althouse, "We did not receive that video footage. We asked for it, and not just once or twice. Whether we asked for it or not is irrelevant because the government had an absolute, non-compromisible duty..." "... to disclose that video and they did not do so. And all the while, they were actively representing to the court and the American people that Jake was a leader, leading the charge into the Capitol....They did not disclose that footage because it ran contrary to their rote narrative...." Ace, Jacob Chansley's Former Attorney: I Repatedly Asked Federal Prosecutors for Video of My Client and They Repeatedly Told Me They Had None. "Prosecute the prosecutors." At NYPo Miranda Devine calls it An egregious denial of due process for Jan. 6 protesters.

Spencer Brown at Town Hall, Here's How Elise Stefanik Turned the FBI Director Into a Stammering Mess. 

I just secured FBI Director Wray’s commitment to stop stonewalling @HouseGOP's investigation into the politicization and weaponization of the FBI, by agreeing to provide a witness for the upcoming @Weaponization hearing.

Accountability is coming. pic.twitter.com/oTvVWwGRqT

— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) March 9, 2023

Stewart Baker at the Volokh Report, sees a Vicious Cycle "How Press Bias Fed FISA Abuse in the Trump-Russia Panic." John Sexton at Hat Hair reads the NY Times: Prosecutors tell Trump's lawyers criminal charges are possible over Stormy Daniels payment. Legal harassment continues.

CNS News reports DNI’s Annual Threat Assessment Mentions ‘Climate’ 26 Times but ‘Terrorist’ and ‘Terrorism’ Only 14 Times.

Stacy McCain introduces us to The Antifa Scum in Atlanta. "Degenerate offspring of wealthy capitalists — it’s an all-too-familiar tale in a nation where liberalism has become the religion of the elite." PJ Media's Chris Queen sees a Far-Left 'Activist' Justify Domestic Terrorism in Atlanta.

A report from Lincoln Brown at PJ Media on how A California County Went Full-Eliott Ness to Spy on a Church During COVID.

Duane Patterson at Hat Hair VIP thinks we have A White House truly in disarray, if we had a media to report on it. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.09.23,  Weasel Zippers: Biden Claims “MAGA Republicans Are Calling For Defunding The Police”, Kamala Harris Frets Over “Climate Mental Health”, MSNBC’s Joy Reid Blathers: “If It Ain’t White, It Ain’t Right in DeSantistan”, and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) Doesn’t Want To Hear About The Hurt Inflation Is Doing To American Families. KT at Hat Hair notes Jill Biden presented a "Woman of Courage" award to a man on International Women's Day. Clearly, men are even better at being women than women. 

Victory Girls see Senators on Both Sides Block DC Crime Bill. Ace, Schumer Will Bravely Vote with GOP to Repudiate DC Crime Decriminalization Bill

Schumer was going to vote, along with all other Democrats, to uphold DC's bill decriminalizing crime. But after a Democratic congresswoman was attacked in the elevator of her own apartment building by a homeless drug addict and career criminal constantly turned out on to the streets to victimize more citizens, Democrats began getting queasy about once again voting in favor of crime, while pretending to not be part of the Defund the Police/Throw Open the Prison Doors left.

Ace, Oh No! Mitch McConnell Hospitalized After Tripping and Falling at a DC Hotel. Bob Spencer thinks It's Time for Mitch McConnell to Retire. So much for the tie in the Senate. On the other hand, 'Bonchie' at Red State thinks The John Fetterman Situation Just Got Much Weirder. The staff is issuing stuff in his name. What's weird about that? That's how the Senate works, but in most cases the Senator isn't in a mental hospital, and unavailable to see what's being issued in his/her name. 

Vicky Marshal at Da Fed reports Kevin McCarthy Signs Bill Killing Biden’s ESG Rule For Retirement Plan Investments. 

Eric Lendrum at Am Great reports 6,000 Public Schools in the U.S. Hide Students’ Gender Status from Parents. John Sexton thinks About that USA Today poll on Republicans' understanding of 'woke'. At Reason, Cops Harass Parents Who Let 6-Year-Old Daughter Take a Walk Outside, Arrest Dad "He did "what any dad would—he went to hug his crying kid," says town councilman Keith Kaplan." My parents would have died in prison.