Good day all. Once again, the People’s Democratic Republic of Californistan is looking to ban words that they don’t like. In this case, they have decided that they want to legislate a ban on so called “Fake News.”
The idea of Fake News came about during the last presidential election. The, what passes for thinking” among the Progressive Liberal Democrats is that one of the reasons Felonia von Pantsuit lost was due to all the web sites writing about rumors of Felonia’s criminality. If these sites had been banned, the “thinking” goes, then the rubes, rednecks, and peons in Flyover Country would have never voted for Donald Trump, and we would now be entering a new golden age of Clintonism.
Needless to say, this is a really dumb idea, but then this IS California, land of the Barking Moonbats and Social Justice Warriors. Here are the details of their latest bit of lunacy from Heatstreet:
Next week, the California Assembly will be one of the first legislatures to try to ban so-called “fake news,” and it could have sweeping ramifications for social media users across the state.
The bill, filed Wednesday in the Assembly’s Committee on Privacy and Consumer Affairs, seeks, essentially, to make it a crime to be wrong on the Internet. The text of the bill implicates anyone who writes, publishes or even shares news stories they know could be false, if those news stories later have an impact on an election.
18320.5. It is unlawful for a person to knowingly and willingly make, publish or circulate on an Internet Web site, or cause to be made, published, or circulated in any writing posted on an Internet Web site, a false or deceptive statement designed to influence the vote on either of the following:
(a) Any issue submitted to voters at an election.
(b) Any candidate for election to public office.
Well, it looks like they plan on putting every single campaign operative in jail, along with about 95 percent of the “Journalists” out there.
The bill does say that you have to “knowingly and willfully” make reference to a set of “alternative facts,” but it doesn’t give details on who would determine a story is “fake news” or, for that matter, what a “fake news” story even is.
Determining who would decide something was “Fake News” would be rather important. I’m sure whoever the California Commissariat selected would be completely honest, above board and always erring on the side of caution.
Based on the approach taken in the wake of the 2016 campaign, “fake news” seems to mean a host of different things, from wrong-headed political opinions, to stories that look fishy and are later proven to be false or misleading. Based on this law, it also seems to include any story posted on social media that appears to be politically biased, or comes from any source with an editorial slant.
And that means arrest warrants for everyone at MCNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, the New York Times, The Boston Globe, etc.
The bill also seems to infringe on Constitutional guarantees of free speech.
And, lately, too, the bill would definitely sweep up mainstream media sources in its “fake news” dragnet.
Fortunately for the cause of free speech, California state legislators are already expressing discontent with the bill, and the Electronic Freedom Foundation—not exactly the most conservative organization—is weighing in, citing Constitutional concerns.
Oh I’m not worried. I’m sure these morons will pass this totalitarian piece of crap and send it to Governor Moonbeam. I also have no doubt that Governor Moonbeam, once he puts his toy trains away, will sign it with a flourish.
As soon as that incompetent boob signs it, someone will be in a federal court getting a restraining order pending a full hearing within about 15 minutes. Unlike the illegal rulings regarding President Trump’s Executive Orders regarding a temporary hold on some visa’s, this is one that the courts can rightfully toss into the ash can. Still, it does demonstrate the utter and complete contempt for the Constitution of the United States that most Progressive have. So, when is California leaving? I’m getting tired of waiting.
Thatisall
~The Angry Webmaster~
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There are severe penalties for frivolous lawsuits. There ought to be severe penalties for legislators writing frivolous laws.
Why should we the people have to bear the burden and cost of seeking to quash such stupid stuff in court? Not saying that the author and supporters of such stupid legislation should be drawn and quartered, but something like a lifetime ban against holding public office at any level above dog-catcher might be the minimum. I know, PDR of Kalifornistan.