All things political. Coronavirus Edition. (1 Viewer)

[Maxp]

I fear we are really going to be in a bad place due to the obvious cuts to the federal agencies that deal with infectious disease, but also the negative effect the Affordable Care act has had on non urban hospitals. Our front line defenses are ineffectual and our ability to treat the populous is probably at an all time low. Factor in the cost of healthcare and I can see our system crashing. What do you think about the politics of this virus?

 

[SaintForLife]

Yesterday I got the new vaccine shot. It made my arm sore, but no other problems.



About this Alex Berenson guy. I don't care, don't give a hoot, don't give a damn.

Biden's administration, and what they do is alright by me.



MAGA and assorted Anti-VAX can go pound sand.

Another person for censorship.

 

[cuddlemonkey]

You left this part out:

One employee noted the meeting overall went “pretty good” but “they had one really tough question about why Alex Berenson hasn’t been kicked off from the platform.”

“Any high level takeaways from the meeting? Anything we should keep an eye out for?” an employee asked. (Employee names are redacted from the documents).

Why did you cut that part out? I'm guessing because it sounded bad. Are you comfortable with the Biden White House meeting weekly with Facebook to tell them what they wanted censored?

Brevity. I didn't remove any context, as it was there for all to see and the answer was straightforward.

How about you? Any reason you posted an opinion piece full of tenuous connections as fact?

 

[cuddlemonkey]

That's a lot of word salad to act as if the Biden White House wasn't involved in telling Facebook/Twitter what they wanted censored. That's not the only instance and I'm sure you saw what I posted above:

Biden officials pressured Facebook, Twitter to censor 'misinformation': state AGs

President Biden's administration allegedly coordinated with social media giants to suppress posts about COVID-19 that they deemed misinformation.

www.foxbusiness.com

The narrative so far has been that Twitter and Facebook are private companies so they can choose what they want on their platforms and it's not a free speech issue. I would say it is a free speech issue when the federal government is involved with what they want censored from Twitter and Facebook.

Do you think the government should have a role in censoring or removing a US citizen's social media posts?

According to the email in the screenshot, someone from Facebook contacted someone from the CDC to arrange monthly meetings to get expert opinions on pandemic-related claims made on the platform. Do you think seeking an expert opinion is the same thing as the government actively trying to censor people?

 

[MT15]

SFL- your positions on here simply lack merit. You are willing to draw conclusions on extremely tenuous opinion pieces when it suits you. But when actual wrongdoing by Republicans is reported you go completely silent. You either are hoodwinked by bad actors twisting the truth or you are a willing participant in twisting the truth. I honestly don’t know for sure which it is.

Can you even acknowledge the facts that have been pointed out here that make your accusations seem weak? I will acknowledge this much: if what you say is true it would be a troubling development. It’s not the same as pure corruption and it would seem to come from a place of trying to prevent needless death, though. I think most rational people can make a distinction here. If everything you say is true, it would be a fairly minor scandal.

What you cannot show so far is that what you are accusing the Biden administration of actually happened. You continually listen to slanted stories from people with an axe to grind. And you don’t seem to be able to read and think critically about what you are reading.

In other words- you seem to be eager to take at face value what some pretty unsavory reporters say when it agrees with you. But completely unwilling to examine anything that runs counter to what you want to believe.

My personal opinion is that you are capable of reading and thinking critically, just choose not to. Why, I have no idea.

 

[SamAndreas]

Another person for censorship.

You are?

What do you want to censor?

 

[brandon]

Do you think the government should have a role in censoring or removing a US citizen's social media posts?

Depends on if they're retweeting information they received from a non-US citizen bot account designed specifically to get them to share misinformation.

If the misinformation comes from a foreign misinformation campaign, it doesn't matter if an American shares it. It's still foreign propaganda.

 

[SystemShock]

Because there have been multiple instances of what Democrats and the media claimed were misinformation ended up later being shown to be true.

Is it because of that, or because the Fox headline did it?

Is everything this Berenson guy said factual? Like vaccines don't work? Or that thousands of Israelis died after being vaccinated?

 

[MT15]

The people SFL is quoting are obviously making what was an effort from social media to get the facts straight - although their effort IMO was wholly inadequate and pitiful - into a dark plot by the Biden Administration to ”censor” social media. It’s laughable clown show performative BS from these people, but that’s all they have. They have to manufacture these “scandals”. It’s embarrassing for them.

 

[UriUT]

Interesting study that supports our suspicions: repubs were killing their voters by pushing lies.

 

[SaintForLife]

Brevity. I didn't remove any context, as it was there for all to see and the answer was straightforward.

How about you? Any reason you posted an opinion piece full of tenuous connections as fact?

I posted the editorial because it referenced the evidence that came out during discovery that showed the Biden administration pressuring Twitter to ban Berenson.

 

[SaintForLife]

According to the email in the screenshot, someone from Facebook contacted someone from the CDC to arrange monthly meetings to get expert opinions on pandemic-related claims made on the platform. Do you think seeking an expert opinion is the same thing as the government actively trying to censor people?

They could have gotten an expert from someone outside the government, but it's not just some simple fact checking. We know the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress have long been publicly calling for Twitter and Facebook to get rid of misinformation which is just a guise for censorship. The government has no place telling or working with a company on who and what to censor.

Also from the article I linked earlier:

The communications already provided by the Department of Justice to the plaintiff states show, as the joint statement points out, a vast “Censorship Enterprise” across a multitude of federal agencies. In response to Missouri and Louisiana’s interrogatories, defendants identified 45 federal officials at DHS, CISA, the CDC, NIAID, and the Office of the Surgeon General (all of which are contained in either DHS or HHS) that communicate with social media platforms about “misinformation” and censorship.

 

[SaintForLife]

Is it because of that, or because the Fox headline did it?

Is everything this Berenson guy said factual? Like vaccines don't work? Or that thousands of Israelis died after being vaccinated?

No Berenson is a horrible person and was big on spreading actual misinformation. But the Biden Administration shouldn't have been involved in pressuring Twitter to ban him.

 

[SaintForLife]

SFL- your positions on here simply lack merit. You are willing to draw conclusions on extremely tenuous opinion pieces when it suits you. But when actual wrongdoing by Republicans is reported you go completely silent. You either are hoodwinked by bad actors twisting the truth or you are a willing participant in twisting the truth. I honestly don’t know for sure which it is.

Can you even acknowledge the facts that have been pointed out here that make your accusations seem weak? I will acknowledge this much: if what you say is true it would be a troubling development. It’s not the same as pure corruption and it would seem to come from a place of trying to prevent needless death, though. I think most rational people can make a distinction here. If everything you say is true, it would be a fairly minor scandal.

What you cannot show so far is that what you are accusing the Biden administration of actually happened. You continually listen to slanted stories from people with an axe to grind. And you don’t seem to be able to read and think critically about what you are reading.

In other words- you seem to be eager to take at face value what some pretty unsavory reporters say when it agrees with you. But completely unwilling to examine anything that runs counter to what you want to believe.

My personal opinion is that you are capable of reading and thinking critically, just choose not to. Why, I have no idea.

I posted the opinion piece because it referenced the evidence that came out from discovery that showed that the Biden administration was pressuring Twitter to ban Berenson. Are you claiming the WSJ writer just made that up out thin air?

Axe to grind? I figured that was coming. You have no room to question what other people sources they are posting considering the sketchy characters you normally post. I mean can you stop with the constant complaining about the people I post and just address or show where they are wrong? I get that it's your shtick to try to deflect from subjects you don't want to talk about, but it's so predictable and constant from you. Reminder of some of the people you post, glass houses and all:

Does Trump ever do any jail time?

Everything I've seen and heard says that the split second Donald Trump is no longer president there will be flood of charges waiting for himAnd if he resigns and Pence pardons him there are a ton of state charges as an understudy waiting in the wings if the fed charges can't performWhat do...

madaboutpolitics.com

Does Trump ever do any jail time?

Everything I've seen and heard says that the split second Donald Trump is no longer president there will be flood of charges waiting for himAnd if he resigns and Pence pardons him there are a ton of state charges as an understudy waiting in the wings if the fed charges can't performWhat do...

madaboutpolitics.com

 

[SaintForLife]

The people SFL is quoting are obviously making what was an effort from social media to get the facts straight - although their effort IMO was wholly inadequate and pitiful - into a dark plot by the Biden Administration to ”censor” social media. It’s laughable clown show performative BS from these people, but that’s all they have. They have to manufacture these “scandals”. It’s embarrassing for them.

The government shouldn't be involved in what people can or can't say on social media unless you want an authoritarian government.

 

[cuddlemonkey]

I posted the editorial because it referenced the evidence that came out during discovery that showed the Biden administration pressuring Twitter to ban Berenson.

It showed a single question from a single person and nothing was done by Twitter for four months. Does that sound like pressure to you?

 

[cuddlemonkey]

They could have gotten an expert from someone outside the government, but it's not just some simple fact checking. We know the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress have long been publicly calling for Twitter and Facebook to get rid of misinformation which is just a guise for censorship. The government has no place telling or working with a company on who and what to censor.

Also from the article I linked earlier:

The communications already provided by the Department of Justice to the plaintiff states show, as the joint statement points out, a vast “Censorship Enterprise” across a multitude of federal agencies. In response to Missouri and Louisiana’s interrogatories, defendants identified 45 federal officials at DHS, CISA, the CDC, NIAID, and the Office of the Surgeon General (all of which are contained in either DHS or HHS) that communicate with social media platforms about “misinformation” and censorship.

Why does it matter if the expert works for the government or not? Does being employed by the government somehow prevent these people from being experts on the subjects they are speaking about?

 

[MT15]

I posted the opinion piece because it referenced the evidence that came out from discovery that showed that the Biden administration was pressuring Twitter to ban Berenson. Are you claiming the WSJ writer just made that up out thin air?

Axe to grind? I figured that was coming. You have no room to question what other people sources they are posting considering the sketchy characters you normally post. I mean can you stop with the constant complaining about the people I post and just address or show where they are wrong? I get that it's your shtick to try to deflect from subjects you don't want to talk about, but it's so predictable and constant from you. Reminder of some of the people you post, glass houses and all:

Does Trump ever do any jail time?

Everything I've seen and heard says that the split second Donald Trump is no longer president there will be flood of charges waiting for himAnd if he resigns and Pence pardons him there are a ton of state charges as an understudy waiting in the wings if the fed charges can't performWhat do...

madaboutpolitics.com

Does Trump ever do any jail time?

Everything I've seen and heard says that the split second Donald Trump is no longer president there will be flood of charges waiting for himAnd if he resigns and Pence pardons him there are a ton of state charges as an understudy waiting in the wings if the fed charges can't performWhat do...

madaboutpolitics.com

Except, as we‘ve been pointing out what you are posting doesn’t prove that the administration was pressuring anyone. Your sources are twisting facts to make it look like something was there that wasn’t. Like making it seem that the government had orchestrated periodic meetings in order to apply pressure to FB when the truth is that FB sought those meetings in order to get help with the disinformation. What you are posting is some pretty wild speculation that pressure occurred. It’s obviously speculation. I have no idea why you cannot see that.

I don’t post people‘s thoughts because of who they are, I post them when they say something interesting and cogent. I don’t know why you would refer back to the time you objected to Tom Nichols as a “grifter” lol. That was embarrassing for you. You posted no evidence of his “grift” and the only thing you could point to was that his opinions on a subject have evolved over the years.

I am not sure you know what proof of anything is anymore.

 

[SystemShock]

No Berenson is a horrible person and was big on spreading actual misinformation.

So you should not have put disinformation in quotes.

But the Biden Administration shouldn't have been involved in pressuring Twitter to ban him.

So when an agent propagating disinformation/propaganda (foreign propaganda at that) causes financial loss, deaths, and great burden to our healthcare system across the country, the government should just sit there and allow it to happen?

Did the government force Twitter to ban Berenson? Did the government threaten Twitter like the previous president did? Where you appalled about Trump threatening U.S. businesses?