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Monday, February 27, 2023

Glenn Greenwald on censorship via "Fake news or misinformation" laws

 A major escalation in official online censorship regimes is progressing rapidly in Brazil, with implications for everyone in the democratic world. Under Brazil's new government headed by President Lula da Silva, the country is poised to become the first in the democratic world to implement a law censoring and banning "fake news and disinformation" online, and then punishing those deemed guilty of authoring and spreading it. Such laws already exist throughout the non-democratic world, adopted years ago by the planet's most tyrannical regimes in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. 


If one wishes to be generous with the phrase "the democratic world" and include Malaysia and Singapore – at best hybrid "democracies" – then one could argue that a couple other "democratic" governments have already seized the power to decree Absolute Truth and then ban any deviation from it. But absent unexpected opposition, Brazil will soon become the first country unambiguously included in the democratic world to outlaw "fake news" and vest government officials with the power to banish it and punish its authors. 

Mike Pence, Dick Cheney, and the Constitution

Glenn Reynolds argues that the Vice President is a legislative officer for the purpose of the constitution. 

Nowadays, we tend to think of Vice Presidents – wrongly – as a sort of junior or co-President, but that’s not actually how it works at all.  As I wrote in the Northwestern Law Review piece:

The Constitution gives the Vice President no executive powers; the Vice President's only duties are to preside over the Senate and to become President if the serving President dies or leaves office.  Traditionally, what staff, office, and perquisites the Vice President enjoyed came via the Senate; it was not until Spiro Agnew mounted a legislative push that the Vice President got his own budget line. The Vice President really is not an executive official. He or she executes no laws--and is not part of the President's administration the way that other officials are. The Vice President cannot be fired by the President; as an independently elected officeholder, he can be removed only by Congress via impeachment. 

While I think Glenn is doing God’s work with his blog and this Substack essay (to which I recently subscribed, and everyone should do the same), I will make a modest objection for the sake of the argument.  When Glenn states that “… presiding over the Senate is surely a legislative function par excellence.” he begs the question.  

A Vice president is unquestionably a “spare.”  But if the Constitution does not specify that the Speaker of the House is a member (Article 1, Section 2), it’s possible that the President of the Senate shall not be a Senator and therefore is not a legislator.  After all, he has no vote unless the Senate is equally divided.  In other words, the Vice Presidency is, for all practical purposes, a Constitutional spare, a baby in the womb waiting to be born.  Neither fish nor fowl nor good red meat.    


Media Malpractice

Covid lies

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Vivek on the origins of Covid

Scott Adams on Hotel Jesus

Dinesh D'Souza on secession - the Declaration of Independence and Lincoln's First Inaugural

Saturday, February 25, 2023

Vivak Ramaswamy runs for President

Oliver Stone on who started the war in Ukraine

Be the Party of East Palestine

Jimmy Dore on Ukraine

Sexual insanity; Abortion insanity

Friday, February 24, 2023

Arizona elections

Thursday, February 23, 2023

America First

Biden Team steals women's clothes

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

School choice

Friday, February 17, 2023

Dark Ages

 Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia – and so many urban centers -  are reminders that the “Thin Blue Line” is good enough for a civilized, law-abiding, population.  It is easily overwhelmed when enough people no longer internalize the premises of civilized behavior and the rest of us forget why they are important.  Then Kipling’s “Gods of the Copybook Headings” comes to life and Dark Ages emerge.

A Mostly Peaceful War

 People who have been in battle know the old adage, “war is long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.”  I’m reminded of this when any reporter describes a riot that they approve as “mostly peaceful.” 

Could this be why we’re not deluged by on-the-scene reporting from the war in Ukraine every day?  Is that why we are not getting intrepid CNN reporters filming the “mostly peaceful” war in Ukraine?  The American people should get some feedback from the $100 billion-and-counting treasure we’re sending there, even as the people of East Palestine are getting turned down for Federal relief.    


 


Thursday, February 16, 2023

Wednesday, February 01, 2023

Gun Wars: An Interview with Larry Correia

 Larry Correia is a bestselling author of thriller SF/fantasy fiction.  He’s also a gun enthusiast.  Now he’s written a nonfiction work on gun rights and the Second Amendment.  I read an advance copy and found myself flying through the pages – it’s super-interesting and engaging, even to someone like me who’s been a shooter and gun-rights supporter and part of this world for many years.   The book is In Defense of the Second Amendment, and it comes out on Tuesday.

I thought it would be nice to ask him some questions, which are featured below. As usual, the article is free to everyone, but comments are limited to paid subscribers.

So fiction pays a lot better than nonfiction – as a nonfiction author, believe me, I know – but you took time from writing bestselling fiction to produce a book on gun rights.  Why?  And why now?

The new diversity quota formula? Watch Paul Joseph Watson........