By P.S. White
On Thursday, Donald Trump signed an executive order that directs the FCC to review whether tech companies such as Twitter and Facebook should continue to receive immunity from liability over third-party content. Trump claims that the intent is to "defend free speech from one of the gravest dangers it has faced in American history", but the truth is that this is a punitive measure against Twitter for placing a fact check on his tweets.
Trump has put out multiple tweets opposing mail-in ballots claiming that they lead to significant instances of voter fraud. But that is contrary to the evidence, and some of his claims are outright false, such as his assertion that Michigan illegally sent mail-in ballots to every citizen in the state (applications, not ballots, were sent, and the state has the authority to conduct elections as it sees fit).
There is no sense getting into the weeds with Trump on his false claims and his ongoing tirade against mail-in voting (and pretty much anything that raises his ire). That just derails the debate and takes focus away from what is really happening here.
Trump in no way is trying to protect free speech, nor is he concerned that the tech companies should remain impartial concerning their content. He is blatantly attacking those who oppose him or disagree with him and he is using the federal government as the cane to strike against his opponents. He is clearly misusing his authority in this case, though it is questionable whether this executive order holds any real weight against the social media sites.
But what we cannot ignore is the fact that Trump continues to lash out at any and all that do not show absolute loyalty to him (he has even derided FOX News from time to time) and that he is now leveraging the federal government as his punishment rod. And even if that ultimately falls short because the authority is lacking, the legal entanglements can make life uncomfortable for anybody he goes after and could potentially break them financially.
Donald Trump is in full tyrant mode at this point, and is blatantly misusing his position of power to strike down any opposition. And this will only get worse as the election draws near.
The people of this country must present a unified front against Trump's toxic politics and his reaches at tyranny. We should be protesting in the streets just like the people in Hong Kong, lest our Democracy will be destroyed by a person (and the party that supports him) who fails to understand our free and constitutional system, and who threatens us with the false assertion (his own words): "When somebody is President of the United States, his authority is total."
On Thursday, Donald Trump signed an executive order that directs the FCC to review whether tech companies such as Twitter and Facebook should continue to receive immunity from liability over third-party content. Trump claims that the intent is to "defend free speech from one of the gravest dangers it has faced in American history", but the truth is that this is a punitive measure against Twitter for placing a fact check on his tweets.
Trump has put out multiple tweets opposing mail-in ballots claiming that they lead to significant instances of voter fraud. But that is contrary to the evidence, and some of his claims are outright false, such as his assertion that Michigan illegally sent mail-in ballots to every citizen in the state (applications, not ballots, were sent, and the state has the authority to conduct elections as it sees fit).
There is no sense getting into the weeds with Trump on his false claims and his ongoing tirade against mail-in voting (and pretty much anything that raises his ire). That just derails the debate and takes focus away from what is really happening here.
Trump in no way is trying to protect free speech, nor is he concerned that the tech companies should remain impartial concerning their content. He is blatantly attacking those who oppose him or disagree with him and he is using the federal government as the cane to strike against his opponents. He is clearly misusing his authority in this case, though it is questionable whether this executive order holds any real weight against the social media sites.
But what we cannot ignore is the fact that Trump continues to lash out at any and all that do not show absolute loyalty to him (he has even derided FOX News from time to time) and that he is now leveraging the federal government as his punishment rod. And even if that ultimately falls short because the authority is lacking, the legal entanglements can make life uncomfortable for anybody he goes after and could potentially break them financially.
Donald Trump is in full tyrant mode at this point, and is blatantly misusing his position of power to strike down any opposition. And this will only get worse as the election draws near.
The people of this country must present a unified front against Trump's toxic politics and his reaches at tyranny. We should be protesting in the streets just like the people in Hong Kong, lest our Democracy will be destroyed by a person (and the party that supports him) who fails to understand our free and constitutional system, and who threatens us with the false assertion (his own words): "When somebody is President of the United States, his authority is total."
No comments:
Post a Comment