So, apparently Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is now accusing “Big
Tech” of conspiring to throw the presidential election to Joe Biden.
According to Cruz, Facebook and Twitter and others censored
and tagged the myriad of lies that Trumpf and his minion were spreading on
social media. They refused to air certain Trumpf ads.
Even worse, “Big Tech” donated “Big Dollars” to the Biden
campaign.
Gosh. It’s almost as though corporations think they are
people or something!
Yes, that’s a reference to the landmark 2010 case of
Citizens United v Federal Election Commission.
In that case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, a conservative
non-profit corporation political action committee successfully argued that
corporations (including non-profits, labor unions, and other associations) have
the same right to engage in political activities as do individual citizens.
Essentially, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the sacred First
Amendment rights of corporations.
“Corporations are people too!”
An odd interpretation of the Constitution, if you ask the
Captain; but then, the Captain is not a constitutional scholar.
And I suspect many on the U.S. Supreme Court aren’t either.
As a result, corporations can pump as much money as they
care to spend into campaign coffers and political action committees; they can
buy ads, they can instruct their "talking heads" to take a partisan position, and basically do whatever they want to do.
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) hailed it as a great decision,
a victory for First Amendment rights!
I guess that is true when it benefits you.
But Sen. Cruz has suddenly discovered that the Citizens
United ruling can also benefit the other guy.
And he’s indignant!
“That’s not fair!”
Hey, the Captain doesn’t make the rules, Ted.
…unless you’re on my ship.
In a related story today, FOXNews’ Jeanine Pirro was whining
because the alternate social media site, Parler, is filling up with imposter
ads.
Captain’s Note: The Captain does not watch nor does
he endorse FOXNews, Jeanine Pirro or Parler. I read about this from a real news source.
She feels sure Melania Trump is not endorsing CBD oils and
VP Mike Pence is not hawking commemorative coins.
Although, they’ll both be out of work come January 21st…
But what did she expect?
Parler was created specifically for people who don’t want
anyone telling them what to do. No censoring their posts, no tagging their lies
– as Facebook and Twitter did during the presidential campaign…
… and continues to do as Trumpf continues to dispute the outcome.
‘I just want a safe space so I can post whatever bullshit I
want to post without anyone telling me I can’t.’
Well, isn’t that what the CBD salespeople are doing?
Enjoying the same freedom you claim you want?
Hey, CBD salespeople are people too!
As me dear ol’ Dad used to say, “What’s good for the
goose is good for the gander!”
The Captain was never exactly sure what that meant, but it
was usually said with a sense of universality: “If you think you deserve it,
then everyone else should get it too!”
Captain’s Note: A quick Google search reveals that
the original quote was, “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.”
The Captain suspects, in that sense, your goose is cooked!
But what did people really expect from Parler?
Did you really think all those numbnuts spouting lies and
conspiracies on Facebook during the campaign were suddenly going to become
little angels when they jumped ship to Parler?
Have you not yet realized that Utopia doesn’t exist?
…can’t exist?
Especially in social media?
I mean, for Utopia, the perfect community, to exist it would
require perfect people to inhabit it...
...a theme the "Star Trek" franchise visited regularly.
Most often, those "Utopias" would denigrate into "Dystopias".
You see where the Captain is headed, mates?
Utopia would require a common sense of purpose.
A common sense of morality.
It would require a respect and care for the needs of the other.
It would require rules…
…yes, even more rules than Facebook and Twitter so weakly
enforce.
But you said you didn’t want that in Parler!
No rules! No censorship! A virtual free-for-all!
So this is what you get at Parler: more lies, more
deception, more violence, more grift.
Lean in here, mates, and let the ol’ Captain pose a thought:
Instead of continuing to demand what we want for ourselves,
perhaps it is time to consider what is best for everyone.
Not just rules that benefit me above others, but rules that
would benefit us all, give everyone a chance to prosper, flourish, blossom.
An ol’ sailor once said, “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
Perhaps we could make that our goal?
