House Democrats Pressure TV Broadcasters To Deplatform Conservative Networks

[jimnyc]

This is going way too far IMO. The democrats are trying to use January 6th to eliminate Trump from any future office, and that's not even the beginning of it. Those guilty in attendance, and then 70+ million others, we all need to be deprogrammed. We are all being tied to violence and racism and more. They have long condemned any conservative voices. Then the censorship crap had already started. But now, now they think they have further reason and cause to continue forward. And not just "deprogram", but continued censorship and elimination on much of social media, and the same towards any right leaning media, whether online or television. And the audacity to contact the FCC, and yet more, to try and spread bullshit & to also try and eliminate news stations.

And funny how I see folks on Twitnner replying to news talking about how they should be shut down overnight. :rolleyes: Sure, and when Ted Cruz or Mitch does the same and tries to shut down the doors at CNN for years of lying and omissions and censorship which was harmful to our country. :rolleyes:

Sorry folks, we ain't going around shutting down media we don't like due to their news, or who delivers the news. And if we ever did, we would be in serious trouble as a country, IMO.

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House Democrats Pressure TV Broadcasters To Deplatform Conservative Networks

Two House Democrats sent letters Monday to a dozen television broadcasters suggesting that they stop airing Fox News, Newsmax, and One America News Network, a move which a Republican commissioner on the FCC called a “chilling transgression” aimed at deplatforming the conservative networks.

“Are you planning to continue carrying Fox News, OANN, and Newsmax on your platform both now and beyond the renewal date?” California Reps. Anna G. Eshoo and Jerry McNerney wrote in a letter to the companies.

“If so, why?” they asked.

The letters were sent to AT&T, Verizon, Roku, Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Charter, Dish, Cox, Altice, Alphabet, and Hulu.

Eshoo and McNerney asked the companies what steps they took after the 2020 presidential election “to monitor, respond to, and reduce the spread of disinformation, including encouragement or incitement of violence by channels your company disseminates to millions of Americans?”

The lawmakers blamed the three conservative outlets for spreading disinformation about voter fraud that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6.

They asserted that the cable and streaming companies “have done nothing in response to the misinformation aired by these outlets.”

Brendan Carr, a Trump-appointed commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, called the letter a “chilling transgression” against the networks aimed at stifling editorial decisions and political speech.

“I call on my FCC colleagues to join me in publicly denouncing this attempt to stifle political speech and independent news judgment,” Carr said in a statement on Twitter.

“The Democrats are sending a message that is as clear as it is troubling — these regulated entities will pay a price if the targeted newsrooms do not conform to Democrats’ preferred political narratives.”

https://i.imgur.com/0CbNNGD.png

Rest - https://dailycaller.com/2021/02/22/house-democrats-deplatform-fox-newsmax/

[KarlMarx]

It seems to me that the Dems are asking to be dragged up before SCOTUS. If this is not a violation of the 1st amendment, then nothing is.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KarlMarx]

Amendment I

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

I know this, and I never held public office. And two Congressmen from California don't. You'd think Speaker Pelosi would be reigning these morons in but no, she's worried about the next Capital uprising and getting more National Guard troops to protect her sorry ass.

[Gunny]

One of those shaking my head moments.

[icansayit]

If they are ignorant enough to know about the 1st amendment. Could this be next on their SOCIALIST agenda???https://www.iceagenow.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Book-Burning.jpghttps://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/1933-may-10-berlin-book-burning.JPG/1200px-1933-may-10-berlin-book-burning.JPG

[jimnyc]

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Rep. Bill Johnson: Democrat Efforts to Censor Dissident Media ‘Eerily Similar’ to Communist China

Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) said that Democrat efforts to censor dissident media are “eerily similar” to communist China’s on Wednesday during the House Committee hearing on “Fanning the Flames: Disinformation and Extremism in the Media.”

“Just two weeks ago, China’s national radio and television administration banned BBC World News from broadcasting in China, because it found BBC’s reports, I quote, ‘seriously violate’ broadcast guidelines, including, and I quote again, ‘the requirement that news should be truthful, and fair, and not harm China’s national interests,'” said Johnson during the hearing on Wednesday.

“So I have to say, I am disappointed and seriously blown away by my House Democrat colleagues’ letter to the broadcasters, pressuring them to remove conservative news channels from their networks — a letter that looks eerily similar to the statement released by the CCP when it banned BBC,” the congressman added.

“So, this begs the question,” Johnson continued. “Does the American government have the authority to dictate what can and cannot be broadcast to the American people? I suggest it does not, but Democrats here on this committee seem to think that it should.”

The congressman went on to ask Professor Jonathan Turley of the George Washington University Law School if it is “constitutional for members of Congress to pressure private businesses to do what Congress cannot legally do itself.”

Professor Turley acknowledged that the Democrats” behavior is “an attack on free speech.”

“Well, it’s constitutional in the sense that it isn’t expressly prohibited by the First Amendment,” said Turley. “But it is an attack on free speech. We should be concerned when members are trying to do indirectly what they cannot do directly.”

The professor continued:


And this creates what is sometimes referred to as the “little brother problem.” We do have a really good system in dealing with “big brother,” and avoiding state media. But what we’ve seen in the last few years is that the use of private companies like Twitter and Facebook is far more damaging to free speech. It’s no accident that recently Vladimir Putin called out Twitter and Facebook, and said, “You’re endangering Democratic institutions.” This is one of the most authoritarian figures in the world, he obviously cares nothing about Democratic institutions, but he seemed to indicate an almost begrudgingly respectful view that Twitter and these companies could achieve this level of control, something that exceeds his own abilities.

Rep. Johnson responded by mentioning that, “from the other side of the aisle, if I didn’t know better, I would think that Fox News or Newsmax issued a direct rallying call to storm the Capitol on January 6.”

Rest - https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2021/02/24/rep-bill-johnson-democrat-efforts-to-censor-dissident-media-eerily-similar-to-communist-china/


Rodgers Slams Dems Pressuring Companies to Censor Conservative Outlets: Like ‘Chinese Communist Party’

House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) on Wednesday slammed Democrats for wanting to censor conservative media outlets after they sent a letter to cable, satellite, and streaming companies pressuring them to combat “disinformation.”

“In all my time on this committee, there’s never been a more obvious direct attack on the First Amendment,” McMorris Rodgers in opening remarks at an Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Wednesday scheduled by Democrats to address “disinformation and extremism in the media.”

She called it a “hyperpartisan hearing to shame and blame” and Democrats’ efforts to censor conservative media “like actions from the Chinese Communist Party.”

“I’m not only disappointed in this hearing, I’m deeply troubled by it,” she said, adding:


Every journalist, from MSNBC and CNN, to the New York Times should be concerned by the majority’s actions. And anyone who values free speech and a free press should be worried. Elected officials using their platform to pressure private companies to censor media outlets they disagree with? That sounds like actions from the Chinese Communist Party. Not duly elected representatives of the United States Congress.

Here we cherish free speech and a free independent press. We believe in dialogue and in the battle of ideas. Rather than censor and silence constitutionally protected speech, the answer is more speech. That’s the American way.

McMorris Rodgers asked Democrats whether CNN should be censored for hosting New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), whose response to COVID-19 may have directly resulted in nursing home residents dying.

“For months, media lauded him and legitimized his lethal response to COVID-19. He even won an Emmy for his use of TV to spread misinformation,” she said, pointing out that a balance of networks uncovered misinformation by Cuomo.

She also asked if MSNBC should be carried “after years of pushing the false Russia collusion narrative.”

“Thanks to independent journalists and a robust free press, we’ve learned the reporting was false,” she said. “It’s un-American when you’re setting control for you to redefine for yourself what is true.”

She blasted attempts to censor free speech as part of the “woke authoritarian system” pervading American culture:


Now more than ever we must uphold the First Amendment. It states Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. It’s unique to Americans. It’s been fought for. It’s been defended. It’s foundational to our personal rights and liberties. We should all be troubled by what appears to be an attack on the First Amendment. It’s an abuse of power. Ours is a country for we the people, not a few in a position of authority dictating to the rest.

Today the media is the target. But where does it end? We’ve already seen liberal ideology pushed in our schools, where we work, the books we read, who we communicate with, how we practice our faith. It’s frightening.

People are afraid of a woke authoritarian system that is getting them fired, canceled, and shamed. And so they’re being silenced. They have no voice. They can’t trust the broken institutions to protect them. This culture of fear is unjust. And this committee should not be using this committee to force everyone to be the same or be destroyed.

“It’s abuse of power and it’s a force of a state religion of liberal ideology. I embrace all of us to embrace our fundamental rights that lie at the foundation of a free government by free men,” she said.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/02/24/rodgers-slams-dems-pressuring-companies-to-censor-conservative-outlets-like-chinese-communist-party/#