Power Grab

Come With Me, If You Want To Live

The Senate has introduced a bill that would establish a federal agency to regulate AI. This agency would be Federal Law enforcement, complete with police powers, and there is no doubt in my mind that it would have a SWAT team with a million rounds of ammunition. That is because they want you to believe that AI will someday send Terminators out to kill you.

“There’s no reason that the biggest tech companies on Earth should face less regulation than Colorado’s small businesses – especially as we see technology corrode our democracy and harm our kids’ mental health with virtually no oversight,” [the Senator who introduced the bill] said in a statement. “Technology is moving quicker than Congress could ever hope to keep up with. We need an expert federal agency that can stand up for the American people and ensure AI tools and digital platforms operate in the public interest.”

Experts like the ones at ATF who ruled that a shoestring was a machine gun? Made pistol braces illegal after more than a decade, turning 40 million gun owners into felons overnight?

Nope, to understand what the new law is for, simply read the bill and not the hype. Here is a pdf copy of the bill that I got from Bennett’s Senate page. The bill would “empower a new federal agency to create a board that establishes ‘applicable codes of conduct’ on social media and AI platforms. This board will include ‘disinformation’ experts’ whose job it will be to determine what is true, and what is not. That which they deem to not be true will be illegal.

What can they regulate? Here is one definition:

The term ‘‘digital platform’’ means an online service that serves as an intermediary facilitating interactions between users

Twitter, Gab, YouTube, even blogs would fall under the purview of this commission. First Amendment, you say? Well the media (as defined by the commission) gets a carve out:

The term ‘‘digital platform’’ does not include an entity whose primary purpose is the delivery to the public of news that the entity writes, edits, and reports

The Commission shall have jurisdiction over any digital platform, the services of which—
(1) originate or are received within the United States; and
(2) affect interstate or foreign commerce.

So basically, the commission has jurisdiction over the entire Internet. So what will the commission be doing?

The purpose of the Commission is to regulate digital platforms, consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity, to promote to all the people of the United States, so far as possible, the following:
(1) Access to digital platforms for civic engagement and economic and educational opportunities;

(5) A robust and competitive marketplace of ideas with a diversity of views at the local, State, and national levels.
(6) Protection for consumers from deceptive, unfair, unjust, unreasonable, or abusive practices committed by digital platforms.

I wonder who gets to define what is deceptive, unfair, unjust, or unreasonable? Volunteers that the commission selects, of course.

The Commission, for purposes of monitoring violations of any provision of this Act (and of any regulation prescribed by the Commission under this Act), may—
(i) recruit and train any software engineer, computer scientist, data scientist, or other individual with skills or expertise relevant to the responsibilities of the Commission; and
(ii) accept and employ the voluntary and uncompensated services of individuals described in clause (i).

Those people online who constantly are offended at anyone expressing an opinion that they don’t like? Yeah, they will be volunteer Social Media law enforcement.

The law also requires that social media verify the age of everyone on their site. This means that you will have to provide ID in order to post on social media. That is when this becomes important:

SEC. 14. INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may inquire into the management of the business of digital platforms subject to this Act, and shall keep itself informed as to the manner and method in which that management is conducted and as to technical and business developments in the provision of online services.
(b) INFORMATION.—The Commission may obtain from digital platforms subject to this Act and from persons directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by, or under direct or indirect control with, those platforms full and complete information necessary, including data flows, to enable the Commission to perform the duties and carry out the objects for which it was created.

Since the media site will have a copy of your ID, I am betting that a person that posts what is determined to be “disinformation” will then receive a friendly visit from the FBI. Repeat violators will then be vzyali.

Even worse? There is a private right of action, meaning that someone claiming to be offended can sue a digital platform and receive damages.

Any person claiming to be damaged by any digital platform subject to this Act may—

(1) make complaint to the Commission under subsection (b); or
(2) bring a civil action for enforcement of this Act, including the rules promulgated under this Act, in any district court of the United States of competent jurisdiction.

Then the commission gets to:

If, after hearing on a complaint under this paragraph, the Commission determines that any party complainant is entitled to an award of damages under this Act, the Commission shall make an order directing the digital platform to pay to the complainant the sum to which the complainant is entitled on or before a day named.

Even worse, is that the platform doesn’t actually have to do anything in violation of the act, all that has to happen is that the commission thinks that the platform will do so at some time in the future.

If the Commission believes that a person has violated or will violate this Act, the Commission may issue and cause to be served on the person an order requiring the person, as applicable—
(A) to cease and desist, or refrain, from the violation; or
(B) to pay restitution to any victim of the violation.

Make no mistake, this bill is intended to give the left full control over social media during the 2024 election year and beyond. This is repugnant to the First Amendment, but the likelihood that there will be a resolution in court before the election is nil. Our court system is too slow for there to be any meaningful resolution. We best hope that this doesn’t go anywhere, or free speech is dead.

By Divemedic, ago

Threat to Democracy

The Democrats claim that Trump was a fascist dictator because he ignored Congress and said the press was fake news. He was a threat to Democracy because he, they claim, wanted to end run around Congress and the electoral college.

Yet Biden is ignoring Congress and the law while Democrats in Congress are calling the SCOTUS an “illegitimate court.” How that doesn’t count as doublethink, I will never know. We have always been at war with East Asia.

The Constitution is just a piece of paper that they need to figure out how to circumvent.

By Divemedic, ago

Blogger and the Old Site

I got a series of emails last week from Blogger, notifying me that some of the posts on my old site have been deemed to be against blogger policy and have been removed from the old blogspot site. The emails all looked the same:

As you may know, our Community Guidelines
(https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy) describe the boundaries for what we allow– and don’t allow– on Blogger. Your post titled “xxx” was flagged to us for review. We have determined that it violates our guidelines and deleted the post, previously at <link, now dead>

Why was your blog post deleted?
Your content has violated our Regulated Goods and Services policy.

Please visit our Community Guidelines page linked in this email to learn more.

So here are the offending posts, so you can read them yourself:

  • This is open? published January 2010 A post critical of the Obama administration
  • Indoctrination published October 2016 A post exposing that schools were requiring teachers to discuss the benefits of being a sexual deviant to children. (This one wasn’t deleted, but is now behind a “trigger warning” page in order to view it)
  • Discrimination published June 2012. A post about a man being removed from Barnes and Noble because men aren’t allowed into the children’s book section of the store unescorted.
  • More Receipt Madness published December 2014. A post on how I refuse to show receipts to the door trolls at stores.
  • Difficult to Keep Up With published January 2021. A post about the National Guard buildup for Biden’s inauguration
  • Identify Those Guns published October 2019 A post asking readers to identify a pair of handguns. They deleted this one more than once in a ten minute period.

Just so we are on the subject, I provide for reference the Blogger Regulated Goods and Services policy, retrieved from here on May 7, 2023 at 1542 eastern time.

Regulated Goods and Services

Do not sell, advertise, or facilitate the sale of regulated goods and services. Regulated goods and services include alcohol, gambling, pharmaceuticals, unapproved supplements, tobacco, fireworks, weapons, or health/medical devices.

Note that not a single one of those posts was attempting to sell, advertise, or facilitate the sale of any goods and services. No, this is an attempt by Blogger to eliminate any opinion with which they or their employees disagree. They are slowly shutting down anyone with an opposing opinion.

This is exactly why I decided to move this blog to its own server.

That is why I set up this website on its own server. The idea here is that I setup and maintain the server for my use. That server has a lot more capacity than my blog is using, but costs a good chunk more than I can justify spending on a blog. So I came up with the idea of sharing that server.

This is what I did:

  • I set up a server in a country that won’t submit to US takedown requests. Being across the pond makes the websites run a tad slower, but they are more resistant to being shut down.
  • The server is backed up nightly.
  • There is a mirror server in a second country.
  • The entire thing is owned by a corporation.

The Pitch:

Last year, I moved to this new server and became my own IT guy. Because of this, I was able to realize significant cost savings that I am passing on. The cost is $15 per month. For that rate, this is what you get:

  • You get your own blog, run on the widely available and customizable WordPress software.
  • You get one email address with up to 1gb of storage. More options and storage are available for a nominal fee. The email address is attached to your blog, for example: You@yourblog.com
  • I will migrate your blogger or WordPress blog to this server.
  • You can use your own web address if you have one, or we can find one. There may or may not be an extra charge for that, depends on what you want to use. Some cost more than others.

What you don’t get:

I am not a web designer, graphic artist, computer expert, or any sort of artist. For that reason, I can’t offer custom websites, web design, or any of that. I recommend that you use any of the available WordPress custom themes that are widely available online, or that you go with one of the stock themes that comes with the software.

The only catch or rule here is that you can’t run a porn site. The risk for underage porn and the large amount of resources that they use just make that too much of a hassle. I just don’t want to be in the porn business or involved with that sort of thing. Other than that, I am hands off. Free speech and all of that.

How to sign up:

Email me to make the arrangements. Divemedic (at) areaocho (dot) com.

By Divemedic, ago

Unprofessional

For Fox News to leak “blooper” reels of Tucker Carlson to Media Matters so as to discredit him is beyond the pale, and indicates that Fox is perfectly willing to work with the very leftist organizations that they are nominally opposed to in order toss conservatives that they don’t like under the bus.

This is probably why I no loner watch any network news show or channel. They all have their agendas, and aren’t shy about misrepresentations in order to get what they want.

Remember when I reported on January 5, 2021 that hosts like Hannity, Levin, Shapiro, and Bongino were all threatened with their jobs if they ever mentioned that the election was disputed. They caved. Tucker Carlson is an illustration of what happens to hosts who won’t.

By Divemedic, ago

SCOTUS and the Revolution

News broke yesterday that Jane Roberts, wife of the Chief Justice, was soliciting large sums of money from powerful law firms in exchange for recruiting lawyers. More than $10 million in eight years. There was a lot of speculation during those years about Roberts being compromised. Theories were bandied about, some involving blackmail. Turns out it was good old fashioned grift.

Now that is going to cost SCOTUS. The left is involved in a political coup against the conservative justices. I don’t think that there is enough there for an impeachment, but after the 2024 elections, who knows?

By Divemedic, ago

Pass an Amendment

Congress wants to pass a law requiring that SCOTUS adopt a code of conduct. I don’t think this is Constitutional. Any rules for SCOTUS would be in Article III of the Constitution, and there is nothing there granting Congress authority over the Supreme Court. If they want to do this, an Amendment would be required.

It will be interesting to see how SCOTUS reacts to this. The left wants badly to bring this court to heel, or even impeach a justice or two.

By Divemedic, ago

Shutting Down Unapproved Media

There is an election coming. Time to silence anyone who opposes the left. We all know who is behind this.

Tucker Carlson has been kicked off of Fox.

In somewhat related news, I got several emails this morning from blogger. A dozen of my posts were deleted from my old blog over there. (For example, this post) The reason given? They violated an unstated community standard. I haven’t posted over there in two years. It doesn’t matter. Every one of my posts on Blogger moved to this server when the blog moved, because I knew this was coming.

By Divemedic, ago

Theatrical Arrest

Whether or not the Air Force intel weenie actually committed the crimes he is accused of, his arrest was pure theater, as is the press coverage of the arrest.

Seriously, half a platoon of heavily armed troops supported by at least two armored vehicles? Who are they arresting: an Air Force chairborne commando, or John Rambo? And is that a belt fed machine gun? You need full auto support weapons?

Then there is this quote, from the article:

Members of the “Thug Shaker Center” group said in interviews with the Times that the online community has been a place for teenage boys and young men to bond over their love of guns, play war-themed video games and swap memes, some of them racist.

OMG, he loved guns and was a racist!!eleventy!!1!

‘Not knowing his mental state, going up against a trained military person in a house with weapons was not an ideal scenario.’

Wait? Am I missing something here? He was in Intel, not a fucking commando.

Even Pravda and Izvestia during the heyday of the Soviets weren’t this heavy handed with their propaganda. Isn’t amazing that they found this guy in a matter of five days, but can’t verify Hunter’s laptop or find the person who planted the bombs on J6, even years later? They can’t find the person who leaked the recent SCOTUS decision on abortion?

This smells to high heaven. The FBI knows exactly what kind of training he has, and they know damned well that he wasn’t this much of a threat. What else are they lying about? I have to assume they are lying about all of it. This guy is a patsy.

Next, will the FBI be raiding the Biden homes to look for documents? Isn’t it ironic that Biden, whose family has likely been peddling US intelligence information for years, is the one ordering more security for classified documents? Next, there will be an EO that all classified material must be stored in Biden’s garage, where it will be safe from the Chinese.

By Divemedic, ago

Coincidences Keep Piling Up

The 14th mass shooting of the year was the school shooting in Nashville. Against overwhelming odds, one of those killed was a close friend of the Tennessee Governor and his wife. The shooting happened shortly after the Tennessee Governor signed laws that pissed off the left, including the banning of lewd drag shows in front of children. What happenstance!

Exactly 14 days later, the 15th mass shooting of the year was in Louisville. One of those killed was a close friend of the Kentucky Governor. Less than a month prior, the Governor signed state passed a law banning sex change medical procedures on children.

The odds of any mass shooting including a friend of a Republican governor [of a state] recently passing a law pissing off the left are long. Even longer that two mass shootings in a row accomplish the same thing. The killings are close enough to the Governors in question to make them personal. It’s almost like a message is being sent. Perhaps the next one will be a bit closer? If it is, we can then be sure that these shootings aren’t random.

By Divemedic, ago

The Law, Justice, and Insurgency

Aesop responds to my post on the destruction of the rule of law, and it brought to mind some interesting thoughts on the law, or more accurately the reasons why faith in the law is deliberately being undermined.

The law, and by extension law enforcement, exists to ensure that people get a fair trial and a punishment that is proportionate to the crime. In order for the law to work, the people that the law is supposed to represent have to believe that the law is fair and just.
Once law fails in that responsibility, or in the absence of law, the people will take the law into their own hands. What we have here is an entire segment of the population (blacks) who believe that the law is unfair and doesn’t protect them. Right or wrong, perception is reality. So they are taking the law into their own hands.
Once that becomes widespread, the targets of their version of justice can either capitulate or push back. In either case, the widespread disillusionment with the law is exactly what those who would bring down the nation want. As I have been pointing out for three years now, the left is following the CIA insurgency manual almost to the letter. What we are seeing here is the result of Fifth Generation Warfare.

The final stage of the overthrow of a government is easy to see in retrospect, but difficult to see while it is happening. Scholars have identified signals of this crisis state to include a decisive loss of legitimacy by the government, financial collapse, breakdown in authority, strong symbolic actions, and perception of dual sovereignty or provisional authority, among others. It begins modestly- assassinations, disappearances, unexplained deaths that aren’t fully investigated, and seemingly random attacks.

The goal of the insurgency is twofold: to convince the citizens that the government is powerless or unwilling to protect them, and that the insurgents ARE and WILL protect them. They need to create a failure of basic government services, like the rule of law. When enough people become restless and convinced that the rule of law has failed, that critical mass of people will look for a savior. That is when those who would overthrow the government step forward and offer to do what the people think that the government cannot.

This story has played out again and again. It isn’t my idea. Every single bit of this plan is right out of the CIA insurgency manual. You can find a PDF copy of it on the “training manuals” page, linked right at the top of this blog. Heck, the CIA weren’t the first to use it. Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals,” which in itself followed Lenin’s “Stages of a Revolution,” which was also a modification of Mao’s own theories on Communist revolutions. Hitler did it, too, although the Germans and their “Beer Hall Putsches” turned it into a national sport before Hitler was even a Corporal.

As I pointed out this morning, things are gonna suck. All we can do is ride it out. Just try to live long enough to read about it in a history book.

By Divemedic, ago