The Clock is Ticking for Tyranny
Author's Note: As a non-partisan, my inclination was to steer this blog clear of politically charged content. Considering today’s political climate, I now feel that a non-partisan point of view is necessary. As you may know, this blog, my books, and this website is about enabling others to be strong and happy. That does not mean that I will sugar coat reality. Instead, I will reveal what you are dealing with and provide the tools and perspective to stoically overcome it. Just to be clear, my perspective comes from a mindset that is neither Republican nor Democrat. It is my strong belief that political parties are the single greatest threat to our Republic. Only the dissolution of these parties will result in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
While political parties may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.
George Washington, Farewell Address, September 17, 1796Today, the Republican lead House of Representatives passed bill H.R. 7521, commonly known as the Ban TikTok bill. The bill was passed with a near unanimous bi-partisan vote. It is surprising that the Congress had time to pass such a bill. After all, with the economy in the death throes of stagflation and the majority of U.S. citizens struggling to get by, you would think our congress has better things to do. I also find it appalling that TikTok was singled out when social media platforms without a stake by the Chinese government enact censorship and spew U.S. government sanctioned propaganda on a daily basis.
Is TikTok Really a Threat to Our National Security?
The justification for passing this bill was that TikToc poses a threat to national security because it is owned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For the most part, this is a false premise. Only 20% of TikTok is owned by Beijing based ByteDance, with 60% owned by international investors. The remaining 20% is employee owned. Since ByteDance is a corporation of the CCP, the U.S. government considers them a threat. It is to this end that the bill specifically bans companies with a minimum of 20% "foreign ownership". I quoted the words, "foreign ownership" because the gist of the bill is to forbade social media companies that are owned by 20% or more by countries defined as "foreign adversaries." Why then did this one statement in the bill omit the word adversaries? I believe it is to leave the door open for the U.S. government to target any social media company with which they disagree. It is a good thing they specified only social media companies, or the bill would ban the Federal Reserve (FED), which is 99% owned by foreign banks. The official narrative from the U.S. government is that the FED is run by a chairman appointed by Congress with 12 participating regional banks. This is smoke and mirrors in that they try to convince you that the people on the board of the FED are the people who own it. In truth, the FED is owned primarily by European banks. So, the U.S. government does not have a problem with nearly 100% foreign ownership of our currency and debt, which I see as a far greater threat to national security and something of which we cannot opt-out, but they do have a problem with only 20% ownership of a social media company that employs a voluntary subscription policy. Nor do they have a problem with the companies listed below, which are majority owned by Chinese investors. I am sorry to say that national security is just a cover. The motivations behind this bill are far more sinister.
Companies with Majority Chinese Ownership
CNBC.com
Chicago Stock Exchange
AMC Theatres (a media company)
Smithfield Foods
Legendary Entertainment Group (a media company)
G.E. Appliances (a tech company)
The Waldorf Astoria Hotel
Strategic Hotels and Resorts
Riot Games (a tech company)
Ingram Micro (a tech company)
Motorola Mobility (a tech company)
Further Justifications
While the bill specifies national security, the U.S. government pushes a wider narrative for banning TikTok. One concern is that TikTok is harvesting data from U.S. Citizens. However, acceptance for them to do so is voluntary. Therefore, if U.S. Citizens who do not harbor confidential information wish to share their data, then that is their right. Conversely, the U.S. government is not concerned with the tsunami of data mining by American social media companies.
The most ludicrous justification is that TikTok is indoctrinating our youth. Many U.S. government websites harbor statement like, "China is using TikTok as an indoctrination machine against America's youth." I find it funny that the government that promotes America's youth as being mature enough to make decisions for permanent body modifications finds the same youth too immature to participate in non-government sanctioned social media.
Why the U.S. Government Wants to Ban TikTok
The answer is simple. TikTok is muscling in on the U.S. government's racket. For decades, the U.S. government has infiltrated social media as a 'social media shadow government."
Missouri v. Biden uncovered astonishing evidence of an entrenched censorship scheme between the federal government and Big Tech that would make Communist China proud. - NYPost.com
In 2021, Facebook performed a study of 700,000 users without their consent. The study concluded that posts can be tailored to manipulate the thoughts and emotions of social media users. This is called manipulating the group mind, and it is nothing new. In fact, Edward Bernays wrote about this phenomenon in 1928. In his book, Propaganda, Bernays wrote, "The group mind has mental characteristics distinct from those of the individual mind. So, the question naturally arose: If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it." Bernays went on to say, "To advertise on a scale which will reach fifty million persons is expensive. To reach and persuade the group leaders who dictate the public's thoughts and actions is likewise expensive." This is how the citizenship has been manipulated by the ultra-rich (elite) since 1913. Today, thanks to social media, Facebook was able to manipulate not 50,000 people at huge expense but 700,000 people with little to no expense. Therefore, a non-censored social media would level the playing field by eliminating the expense that was necessary to reach people on a mass scale.
If social media were in the hands of the people, then it would topple the elite's 100-year monopoly of control.
As far as the U.S. government is concerned, if social media were in the hands of the people, then it would topple the elite's 100-year monopoly of control. Therefore, social media must be controlled by the government, which in turn is controlled by the elite, via the corporate oligarchy. TikTok is a threat because the U.S. government does not have control over TikTok's algorithms. I do not use TikTok, but Adam Curry of the No Agenda Podcast does. According to Adam Curry, TikTok's algorithm differs from all others. Instead of trying to convince or force-feed people views alternative to their own, the TikTok algorithm provides posts from similar thinking people. Therefore, instead of manipulating the thoughts of users, TikTok allows users to think for themselves. In predictable form, the U.S. government tried indoctrinating citizens to believe that TikTok is guilty of indoctrination. To the government's dismay, Gen Z refused to swallow the pill. So, once again, the U.S. government removed the vail of freedom and is forcefully banning this platform under the guise of national security.
Photo attribution. Unilad.com via fair use
Why Gen Z is So Important
Gen Z represents the future. When the rest of us are gone, Gen Z will run the world. Therefore, it is critical that Gen Z get with the program. Otherwise, it would put at jeopardy the tens of trillions of dollars spent on controlling people for the past 100-years. Worst of all, it would topple the oligarchy and bring the elite down to the same level as the rest of us, which is their greatest nightmare. For better or worse, Gen Z created their own little micro verse in TikTok. They see other platforms, like Facebook and X, as their parent's social media platforms and do not want to be forced onto them, which is what this bill will do.
On another note, I predict that the U.S. economy will crash within the next few years (see my upcoming post, The Coming Currency Crash). When this happens, the U.S. Government will blame greedy corporations for the crash. Then the FED will come to the rescue with a new digital currency. At this critical time, the U.S. government will need to rally their entire army of media, big tech; and pretty, empty headed, twenty-year old fact checkers to sell their story. The last thing our government will want is a free platform to expose that they caused the economy to crash in the first place.
Does This Bill Violate the First Amendment and Freedom of Speech
Absolutely. Even those who voted for this bill know that it violates the first amendment and freedom of speech. If they did not, then they would allow the bill to be challenged legally up to the Supreme Court of the United States. Instead, the bill stipulates a 180-day statute of limitations for legal challenges. The bill goes on to stipulate that all legal challenges must be made with the current administration's kangaroo court - the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The bill further states that the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any legal challenges to the bill. Hence, no other court, including the Supreme Court of the United States, is allowed to rule on this bill. Why the restrictive language? I believe it is because the framers of this bill know they are violating the rights of every U.S. Citizen.
A ban on TikTok would be unconstitutional, violate users’ First Amendment rights and make the U.S. look like China. - Senator Rand Paul
Follow the Money
The Ban TikTok bill was the brainchild of congressman Michael Gallagher - R. Wisconsin. Gallagher, who is loved and protected on both sides of the aisle, was the perfect stooge to bring this bill forward. Sadly, thanks to our two-party system, the quality of politicians is such that they will not do anything unless there is something in it for them. In my mind, Gallagher is no different. For instance, Gallagher was sure to include a section titled, "Data and Information Portability to Alternative Applications." In a nutshell, this requires TikTok to allow users to port their content to other social media applications. Considering TikTok's format, the majority of this content is likely to wind up on Instagram and YouTube. Instagram is owned by Meta (a.k.a. Facebook) and YouTube is owned by Google. According to emarketer.com, Meta and Google stand to make between $1-$2 billion each from the death of TikTok. I do not think it is a coincidence that the two biggest competitors that got their clocks cleaned by TikTok are the ones likely to benefit should this bill become law. Stranger still, according to Opensecrets.org, Google is congressman Gallagher's second biggest donor. Gallagher has since announced that he will retire from politics when his term is up. Is this coincidence as well? Or could it be that Gallagher pushed this bill at the behest of Google and is now leaving politics to cash out? I feel it is the latter.
We Are No Different Than China
For decades, the U.S. government has propped itself up on a faux moral high ground by touting that China censors their Internet. In 2021, the U.S. government bragged that they figured out a way to burst through China's internet censorship in order to deliver news and other vital information to the Chinese people. As with everything else, this was all propaganda. How can we claim moral high ground when our government has manipulated social media platforms like Facebook for years and is now banning a platform of which they cannot control.
Banning TikTok would also set a dangerous precedent, with the U.S. beating the Chinese Communists by becoming like Chinese authoritarians and banning it in our country. - Senator Rand Paul
Look at the Shiny Object
The bill must be passed by the Senate before becoming law. I have no doubt that our senators are just as opportunistic as our congresspeople, and they will pass this bill with an almost unanimous vote. In my opinion, this bill is nothing more than a diversion to have us think that Congress is tough on China while they sell our country out to China behind closed doors. Shame on them!