Hey, if you can get away with banning a sitting president of the US, I guess anything goes nowadays.
Excellent post by Yves Smith as always.
The infowar/psyops/strategic communications, etc. (euphemisms for "propaganda") is getting so thick that only the brain dead would believe it. In Russia the word going around the street is that the US media is now worse that Pravda in the days of the USSR when no Russian believed it anymore. Unfortunately, since the infowar against it, Russia has deemed it a security requirement needed to be to be addressed with similar controls. The Chinese figured it out long ago and closed their information space. Now the US is following suit. The excuse that the government is not doing it so it, which would contravene the Bill of rights, but it is permissible for private media to regulate their space, because it's non-government and there is plausible deniability of government involvement. That is BS.
BTW, FT reports that Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter at its current market capitalization of 43 billion US.
Naked Capitalism
Twitter Re-Ban of Scott Ritter, Kafkaesque Support of Impersonator, Is All About Anti-Russia Propaganda
Yves Smith
BTW, FT reports that Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter at its current market capitalization of 43 billion US.
Naked Capitalism
Twitter Re-Ban of Scott Ritter, Kafkaesque Support of Impersonator, Is All About Anti-Russia Propaganda
Yves Smith
Another good one by Yves.
Financial Times Screeches at China’s “Propaganda” for Sticking to Zero Covid Policy
Financial Times Screeches at China’s “Propaganda” for Sticking to Zero Covid Policy
41 comments:
This is impressive
The United states of arms in one graphic
Shows the flow of arms from 1950 - 2017
https://mobile.twitter.com/MnarMuh/status/1514075492189720589?cxt=HHwWmsC-sezoiYMqAAAA
The US has killed more than 20 million people since WW2 for “freedom and democracy”.
Not to mention how many countries they have performed regime change and call it liberal democracy. When it is Democracy at the end of a gun.
Murdered 20 million people while
a) Americans were fighting each other in America due to left or right.
b) Americans were asleep, brainwashed to the point of being brain dead.
It's an easy thing to do. The British Empire and third Reich showed just how easy it is to hypnotise their populations by their flag.
Private property is private. If you want free speech, that belongs in the commons.
That being said, there are competitors offering more open platforms - consumers have only themselves to blame, for not taking up these offers.
If you want to see what the budget would look like under a Republican.
Then it's here all broken down for you.
https://www.heritage.org
Budget Blueprint for Fiscal Year 2022 then click on policy proposals.
Itemises the whole budget for you.
I've even heard some Republicans push a lot of these policy proposals in public. Mike Pence rattled off at least a dozen of these propsals.
National Defense:
Transition the Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools and Allow for School Choice for Military Families -$700M
Rebalance the Air Force towards Increased Relevant Capabilities + $31,699M
Reform the Basic Allowance for Military Housing -$14,720M
Increase the Capacity and Capabilities of the Army + $61,941M
Reform Military Health Care -$60,317M
Preparing the Navy for Great Power Competition. + $115,924M
Replace Military Personnel in Commercial Positions with Civilian Employees -$19,600M
Combine Military Exchanges and Commissaries and Reduce Commissary
Subsidies -$2,627M
Cut Non-Defense Research from the Defense Department Budget -$14,470M
Implement Cost-Saving Reforms at Environmental Management Cleanup of Defense Sites
-$12,000M
International Affairs:
Eliminate Funding for the United Nations Population Fund. $0
Eliminate the African Development Foundation and the Inter-American Foundation
-$710M
Cut U.S. Development Assistance Programs -$32,709M
Eliminate the State Department's Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia (AEECA) Account -$7,700M
Eliminate $53.6 Million in Programming in the 44 Countries Where Total U.S. Foreign Aid Per Country is Under $5 Million -$536M
Reduce Funding and Reevaluate U.S. Membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) -$115M
End Funding for the United Nations Development Program -$800M
End U.S. Funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees -$3,183M
End Funding for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change -$100M
Eliminate the U.S. Trade and Development Agency -$918M
Enforce the Cap on United Nations Peacekeeping Assessments -$1,840M
General science, space & Technology:
Eliminate NASA's Office of STEM Engagement -$1,440M
Reduce and Rationalize DOE Office of Science -$24,717M
Cut and Cap Funding for the National Science Foundation -$29,095M
Energy:
Eliminate the DOE Office of Fossil Energy -$8,567M
Reduce the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy -$5,808M
Eliminate the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy -$13,722M
Eliminate the DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy Program -$4,830M
Eliminate DOE Loan Programs -$395M
Reduce the DOE Office of Electricity -$500M
Auction Off the Four Remaining Power Marketing Administrations -$273M
Auction Off the Tennessee Valley Authority -$105,002M
Rescind Unobligated Balances from the Enrichment Corporation Fund -$1,300M
Liquidate the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the Northeastern Home Heating Oil and Gasoline Supply Reserves -$1,772M
Natural Resources and Environment:
Eliminate the Stratospheric Ozone Multilateral Fund and Reduce Domestic Programs
-$148M
Reduce Federal Stationary Source Regulations activities and Federal Support for Air Quality Management -$548M
Reduce Funding for the EPA's Atmospheric Protection Program -$950M
Reduce EPA Grants to Reflect Progress and Actual Risk -$28,787M
Scrap Superfund to Address Defects in Program Design -$1,761M
Reduce EPA Research Programs -$2,140M
Reduce the EPA's Geographic Programs -$6,192M
Reform the EPA $0
Freeze Federal Vehicle and Fuels Standards and Certification Program -$142M
Transform Water Resources Policy -$53,297M
Eliminate the Land and Water Conservation Fund -$20,000M
Agriculture:
Eliminate the USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service -$1,304M
Eliminate the USDA Conservation Technical Assistance Program -$8,226M
Repeal the USDA Catfish Inspection Program -$25.3M
Eliminate the USDA Market Access Program -$2,000M
Eliminate USDA Revenue-Based Crop Insurance Policies -$37,928M
Eliminate USDA Marketing Orders and Checkoff Programs -$207M
Eliminate the USDA Sugar Program -$155M
Reduce Premium Subsidies in the Federal Crop Insurance Program -$31,800M
Repeal the USDA Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage Programs
-$42,055M
Eliminate Section 5 Discretionary Spending Authority under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act. $0
Commerce and Housing Credit:
Eliminate Census Bureau Funding for the Annual Supplemental Poverty Measure Report
-$75M
Eliminate the Small Business Administration -$10,875M
Cut Taxpayer Funding for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission -$3,533M
Eliminate the Commerce Department's Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership
-$1,688M
Eliminate the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration
-$3,794M
Reform the Securities and Exchange Commission. $0
Eliminate the Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency -$550M
Replace Costly Provisions of Dodd-Frank -$19,500M
End the Conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. -$76,000M
Eliminate the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program -$6,900
Transportation:
Close Down the Transportation Department's Maritime Administration and Repeal the Maritime Jones Act -$10,078M
Phase Out Grants to the National Rail Passenger Service Corporation (Amtrak)
-$19,505M
Eliminate Subsidies for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
-$1,693M
Privatize the Transportation Department's Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation -$428M
Eliminate the Transportation Department's Capital Investment Grants -$22,732M
Eliminate the National Infrastructure Investment (RAISE) Program -$11,287M
Eliminate the Transportation Department's Essential Air Service Program
-$1,582M
Transform Aviation Policy -$99,107M
Eliminate Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair -$2,259M
Highway Trust Fund Reform -$16,763M
Community and Regional Development:
Eliminate Regional Commissions -$2,380M
Eliminate the Community Development Block Grant -$39,222M
Eliminate the Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund -$3,056M
Reform Federal Disaster Policy -$127,603M
Education, Training, Employment & Social services:
Eliminate Taxpayer Funding for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
-$432M
Privatize the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -$5,349M
Eliminate the Corporation for National and Community Service -$12.7B
Eliminate Funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services -$2,913M
Eliminate Bureau of International Labor Affairs -$960M
Eliminate Department of Labor's Women's Bureau -$140M
Bring National Labor Relations Board Funding in Line with Caseloads -$1,843M
Cut the Annual Smithsonian Institution Subsidy by 30 Percent and Cap It at That Amount -$5,080M
Eliminate Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Job-Training Programs -$39B
Eliminate the Job Corps -$19,901M
Eliminate Susan Harwood Training Grants -$136M
Eliminate Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars -$165M
Eliminate Taxpayer Funding for National Endowments of the Arts and Humanities
-$3,785M
Reduce Funding for the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights
-$943M
Block Federal Spending on Racially-Discriminatory Education Programs in District of Columbia Public Schools. $0
Eliminate Competitive/Project Grant Programs and Reduce Spending on Formula Grant Programs -$201,441M
Wind-Down the U.S. Department of Education. -$332,975M
Allow Universities to Cap Borrowing -$9,044M
Remove Cap on Interest Rate for Student Loans -$12B
Eliminate Mandatory Add-On for Pell Grants -$57B
Place Lending Caps on All Federal Loan Programs -$33B
Sunset Head Start to Make Way for Better State and Local Alternatives -$63,800M
Eliminate the PLUS Loan Program -$39B
Decouple Federal Student Aid from Accreditation -$9,400M
End Student Loan Forgiveness -$28B
Eliminate Federal Support Educational Opportunity Grants -$10,166M
Expand the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. -$961M
Eliminate GEAR Up -$4,212M
Health:
Put Federal Medicaid Spending on a Budget. -$1,213,000M
End the Enhanced Federal Match Rate to Non-ACA Medicaid Expansion States
-$16,361M
End Medicaid Provider Taxes -$497,000M
Eliminate ACA Insurance Subsidies and Medicaid Funding. -$929.7B
Eliminate ACA Congressional Subsidies -$1,142M
Reduce funding for the Title X Family Planning Program -$50M
Medicare :
Expand Medicare Site Neutral Payments. -$63,240M
Reduce Taxpayer Subsidies for Wealthy Medicare Recipients. -$511,415M
Harmonize Medicare's Age of Eligibility with Social Security. -$29,000M
Consolidate Medicare Physician and Hospital Programs -$106,900M
Modify Medicare Advantage Payment System. -$42,008M
Convert Medicare to a Premium Support System -$1,004,588M
Update Medicare Premiums. -$514,000M
Income Security:
Eliminate Funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program -$42,327M
Eliminate Funding for the Community Services Block Grant -$8,528M
Return Control of and Fiscal Responsibility for Low-Income Housing to the States
-$351,806M
Reduce Funding for the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity -$412M
Federal Personnel Reform: Eliminate the Special Retirement Supplement -$10,600M
Federal Personnel Reform: Bring Retirement Benefits in Line with the Private Sector
-$236,542M
Eliminate Supplemental Security Income Benefits for Children -$116,000M
Eliminate Funding for the Community Eligibility Provision -$1,174M
Eliminate the “Heat and Eat” Loophole in Food Stamps. -$5,700M
End Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility for Food Stamps -$28,536M
Reduce Fraud and Marriage Penalties in the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit -$161,472M
Enforce and Strengthen Work Requirements for Able-Bodied Adults Food Stamp Recipients -$110,639M
Eliminate Funding for the Social Services Block Grant -$16,154M
Strengthen Work Requirements in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program
$0
Eliminate Concurrent Receipt of Retirement Pay and Disability Compensation for Veterans -$160,000M
Social Security:
Update Social Security's Eligibility Age and Index It to Life Expectancy -$76,400M
Gradually Shift Social Security to a Flat Benefit -$667,000M
Allow Workers to Opt Out of Social Security's Earnings Test. $0
Give Workers an Ownership Option in Social Security. $0
Disability Insurance: Offer an Optional, Private Disability Insurance Alternative
-$15,200M
Disability Insurance: Update the Official List of Available Jobs in the National Economy -$7,000M
Disability Insurance: End Direct Payments to SSDI Representatives -$8,300M
Disability Insurance: Eliminate the Medical Improvement Review Standard (MIRS) in the CDR Process -$1,860M
Disability Insurance: Eliminate the “Grid” Qualifications -$34,200M
Disability Insurance: Allow Use of Social Media $0
Disability Insurance: Apply Administrative Law Judge Reforms -$3,800M
Disability Insurance: Strengthen Continuing-Disability Reviews (CDRs) -$12,600M
Disability Insurance: Shift to a Flat, Anti-Poverty Benefit -$218,000M
Disability Insurance: Establish Time-Limited, Needs-Based Benefits -$4,600M
Disability Insurance: Limit Retroactive Benefits to Six Months, Instead of 12 Months
-$18,100M
Disability Insurance: End Double-Dipping Between Disability Insurance and Unemployment Insurance Programs -$5,400M
Veterans Benefits & Services:
End Enrollment in VA Medical Care for Veterans in Priority Groups 7 and 8
-$66,800M
Cap GI Bill Flight Training Benefits -$137M
Put a 10-Year Time Limit on Initial Applications for Disability Compensation for Veterans -$20,000M
Narrow Eligibility for Veterans Disability by Excluding Disabilities Unrelated to Military Duties -$37,600M
Administration of Justice :
Eliminate the Legal Services Corporation -$5,248M
Eliminate Grants Within the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs
-$23,594M
Rescind Unobligated Balances from the Justice Department's Crime Victims Fund
-$16,804M
Rescind Unobligated Balances from the Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture Fund
-$16,934M
Eliminate the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
-$3,772M
Eliminate Violence Against Women Act Programs and Grants -$5,769M
Rescind Unobligated Balances from the Treasury Forfeiture Fund -$4,420M
Limit USCIS Fee Waivers and Exemptions -$5,900M
General government:
Federal Personnel Reform: Eliminate the 25 Percent FEHB Premium Requirement. $0
Federal Personnel Reform: Tie Pay Increases to Truly Market-Based and Performance-Based Measures -$30,953M
Federal Personnel Reform: Eliminate “Rest of U.S.” Locality Pay -$2,690M
Federal Personnel Reform: Eliminate FEHB Retirement Benefits for New Hires
-$41,293M
Prioritize Legislative Branch Spending. $0
Repeal the Rum Excise Tax Cover-Over -$7,089M
Multiple Jurisdictions:
Reform the Interior Department. $0
Eliminate the Rural Utilities Service -$12,583M
Eliminate the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
-$1,282M
Eliminate Allocations to the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund
-$4,333M
Safeguard Private Pension Insurance and Protect Taxpayers from Private Pension Bailouts. $0
Adopt a More Accurate Inflation Index for Social Security and Other Mandatory Programs -$280,700M
Retain the Hyde Amendment and other Pro-Life and Conscience Rights Riders
-$300M
Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act -$118,622M
Limit Taxpayer Funding for Government Agency Public Relations and Increase Transparency $0
Direct Funding to Health Centers not Entangled with Abortion $0
Stop Paying Federal Employees to Work for Outside Organizations -$2,170M
Musk offering 54 yet twtr trading at 45…
Where else have you ever seen this except with something involving Trump…
Just tell all these people to go over to Truth Social … trump approaching 1M followers over there …
Truth subs ready to 🚀 stop wasting time on twtr…
Private property is private. If you want free speech, that belongs in the commons.
The public/private distinction is false other in minimal cases like personal property.
Everything economic stems from the commons, and especially everything that has to do with use of the public "air waves." On top of that public institutions are required for private business to operate.
"Liberalism" not withstanding. This is an ideology justifying oppression by privileged elites.
I am a libertarian of the left, which means maximum freedom for all without impinging on the freedom of others, based on rights and responsibilities, and accountability. This requires a context of genuinely democratic institutions, where rights protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority.
Finally Changes to the Tax Code:
Create Universal Savings Accounts -$36,840M
Repeal Energy Tax Subsidies. + $145,784M
Continue Expensing for Investments in Research and Development -$128,487M
Make Full and Immediate Expensing for Capital Investments from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Permanent -$213,400M
Repeal the Death Tax -$293,900M
Index Capital Gains for Inflation -$143,800M
Neutral Cost Recovery for Investment in Structures -$10,500M
Repeal the Research and Development Tax Credit.+ $241,834M
Repeal the Work Opportunity Tax Credit + $8,495M
Repeal the Tax Credit for Employer FICA Taxes on Employee Tips. + $17,020M
Repeal the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit. + $8,781M
Repeal the Railroad Maintenance Tax Credit. + $407M
Ensure the Individual Tax Relief from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is Made Permanent
-$1,603,733M
Repeal the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. + $98,122M
Repeal the State and Local Tax Deduction.+ $1,114,192M
Repeal the Tax Credit for Orphan Drug Research.+ 64,109M
Repeal Place-Based Economic Development Tax Subsidies.+ $11,147M
Repeal Education Tax Subsidies.+ $141,153M
Repeal the Exclusion for Workers' Compensation Benefits.+ $28,590M
Repeal Tax Exclusions for Certain Employee Fringe Benefits.+ $59,430M
Repeal the Additional Standard Deduction for the Elderly.+ $43,050M
Repeal Childcare Tax Subsidies.+ $31,060M
Repeal Tax Exclusion for Interest Income on Infrastructure Bonds.+ $153,300M
Lower the Corporate Tax Rate and Increase the Qualified Business Income Deduction
-$960.838B
This is a great exercise and gives you a very good idea what a Republican budget would look like and what their priorities are ....
You will start to hear a lot more of these things.
Listen to Mike Pence
@ Tom
We either create a commons version of Twitter etc. or we limit ourselves to respecting private property and their rules. In the case of social media, there is competition. It's up to consumers to act intelligently. There's an argument to be made to stop using social media altogether.
Libertarians are supposed to value property rights above all else. Minimal government, and as little regulation as possible.
Maybe Elon should consider opening his own free speech alternative(s). There's opportunities to seize.
He's willing to pay for the Twitter brand. Most consumers are sheep and flock to what is already popular. How did Twitter, FB, YT become so dominant? Herd behavior.
Libertarians are supposed to value property rights above all else.
This is the crucial difference between Libertarians (libertarians of the right) and libertarians of left. The former hold that property rights are absolute, and the latter that they are relative to other rights, responsibilities, context and conditions. For libertarians of the left, no right is rigidly absolute, whereas for the hardcore Libertarians, the non-aggression principle and property rights are rigidly absolute and sufficient in themselves.
He's willing to pay for the Twitter brand. Most consumers are sheep and flock to what is already popular. How did Twitter, FB, YT become so dominant? Herd behavior.
Well, Truth Social is a startup launched to meet this need. While it would be simpler to acquire an existing brand, a major shareholder of Twitter has nixed a Musk takeover.
Musk already has 80m followers…. This is worth about 30b if they were all on you own social media…
Twtr thru Trump off he had almost 100m subs while whole twtr had 200m….
So Trump has no choice but Musk doesn’t just want to walk away from his 80m subs without at least trying to buy twtr out to retain them…
Trump is up to 955k subs over at his Truth social so he has taken since Feb 21 to get only 1% of his twtr subs back…
Musk knows he has value in his 80m twtr subs…
Trump now up to 960k subs over at Truth he is only onboarding about 20k per day last few days…
Going to take 5,000 days to get his 100m subs back …. At this rate..,
Not an insignificant task… Musk can avoid it if he can take twtr private…
His next best move is to delete his Twitter account. His followers have no incentive to do anything if he keeps his Twitter account.
But public figures are loathe to give up that amount of exposure.
Why is this considered important?
Free speech implies speech, rather than Twitteresque quips.
And having to rely on the ideological leanings of a billionaire to keep free speech is a less than optimal situation...
Why is this considered important?
Free speech implies speech, rather than Twitteresque quips.
Not in the US. Free speech is interpreted broadly by the courts.
The right to free speech includes other methods of expression that communicates a message. As new methods of communication are developed, they have presented unique challenges to First Amendment doctrine.
https://definitions.uslegal.com/f/freedom-of-speech/
However, the Bill of rights only applies to government in the US. The question is what influence the government has on other venues. The Scott Ritter-Don DeBar interview I put up today goes into that.
Ritter claims that the government has a huge amount of influence behind the scenes and he gives instances from his own experience. Anecdotal maybe, but it leads one to think that this is pretty pervasive.
America's governance is based on corporate statism, a form of oligarchy that falls under plutonomy. That's what neoliberalism is.
And having to rely on the ideological leanings of a billionaire to keep free speech is a less than optimal situation...
Yes, another reminder that money is the most powerful from of expression, which is deadly for genuine democracy.
Note also that the right to freedom of expression is not absolute in the US. There are instances where the courts have decided that government can legitimately prohibit expression.
Private speech is also limited civilly, e.g., by libel laws.
If Twitter were an essential service, then it could be regulated.
Net neutrality on behalf on ISPs is far more important than these squabbles.
Ritter claims that the government has a huge amount of influence behind the scenes and he gives instances from his own experience. Anecdotal maybe, but it leads one to think that this is pretty pervasive.
Then don't use those services.
The apathy of consumers is such that governments can get away with indirect censorship.
In Canada, whether public or private, the mainstream media are state propaganda outlets. That in itself has destroyed free speech in the country.
Of the platforms I'm aware of, only LinkedIn and Substack are worthy of being designated essential services.
I would add video/podcast hosting sites as forming part of a media commons. Those venues however, would have to conform to 'community standards'. There would have to be restrictions and segregation for pornography and other obscene material. The criteria would be what is/isn't social commentary. What is deemed to be journalistic, versus entertainment.
Twitter, FaceBook and the like are entertainment venues. They were not designed to facilitate the free exchange of ideas. They are designed to facilitate dopamine hits, and socially unproductive behavior.
TWTR is what’s called a “microblogging site”…
I find it VERY useful to quickly keep informed of current developments in topic areas I’m interested in…
All you have to do is take a few seconds to thumb thru your TL a few times a day and get the gist of what is going on.. within the topic areas you are interested in…
An RSS feed can do the same.
Twitter, FaceBook and the like are entertainment venues. They were not designed to facilitate the free exchange of ideas. They are designed to facilitate dopamine hits, and socially unproductive behavior.
Agree, which is why I spend little time on them, Twitter less than FB where I stay in touch with some friends and also belong to some interest groups related to non-political matters of interest to me, including MMT.
However, both these sites are highly influential politically, so deplatforming makes a difference. How many of SR's followers will bother to follow him on Telegram? Chris Hedges was deplatformed at YouTube. Yeah, he could post his archives and new posts at Rumble, but again the reach is not there.
Deplatfofming is highly effective in narrative control.
“
An RSS feed can do the same.”
It’s not the same or as easy
It’s not the same or as easy
Okay boomer :)
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