Sudden agreement

So congress can't agree on a budget, can't agree on securing the borders, can't solve the issue of twenty-two veterans a day checking out of our existence, can't solve the veteran homeless crisis, can't help the homeless, but they can agree to ban TikTok 352 to 65!?  Now let's not be narrow focused here though as the bill is actually called “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.” or H.R. 7521.  The depth of this is from the Congressional website:

Providing services to distribute, maintain, or update such foreign adversary controlled application (including any source code of such application) by means of a marketplace (including an online mobile application store) through which users within the land or maritime borders of the United States may access, maintain, or update such application.

 "Foreign adversary" is a rather vague descriptor, technically a Native American could easily be labeled one as each reservation is technically a separate country.  Once you label a nation as an adversary it is very hard to take this away after the propaganda has been turned off.

Providing internet hosting services to enable the distribution, maintenance, or updating of such foreign adversary controlled application for users within the land or maritime borders of the United States.

This basically says you can't provide a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to allow access to a blocked service.  So we can't have a border wall but we can have a Great Firewall?

Data and information portability to alternative applications.—Before the date on which a prohibition under subsection (a) applies to a foreign adversary controlled application, the entity that owns or controls such application shall provide, upon request by a user of such application within the land or maritime borders of United States, to such user all the available data related to the account of such user with respect to such application. Such data shall be provided in a machine readable format and shall include any data maintained by such application with respect to the account of such user, including content (including posts, photos, and videos) and all other account information.

Okay, let me be honest this does not read well let alone be entirely intuitive.  One thing that jumps out though is "machine readable format" this means set up so that another computer system can use a crawler to quickly look for key words and phrases.  It also appears that they want all account information, due to how electronic devices operate that will include your device's MEID number or Mobile Equipment Identification Number Which is unique to every device and allows one to locate the carrier and by default who owns said device so anonymous accounts won't be.

FOREIGN ADVERSARY CONTROLLED APPLICATION VIOLATIONS.—An entity that violates subsection (a) shall be subject to pay a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed the amount that results from multiplying $5,000 by the number of users within the land or maritime borders of the United States determined to have accessed, maintained, or updated a foreign adversary controlled application as a result of such violation.

With TikTok having a user count of  150 million in the United States that means if ByteDance does not sell out they are looking at a fine of $750,000,000,000 this is obviously designed to force a sale.

FOREIGN ADVERSARY CONTROLLED APPLICATION.—The term “foreign adversary controlled application” means a website, desktop application, mobile application, or augmented or immersive technology application that is operated, directly or indirectly (including through a parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate), by—

(A) any of—

(i) ByteDance, Ltd.;

(ii) TikTok;

Now I am no lawyer but as I understand it U.S. law prohibits naming specific companies or people in a law.  So right here the intent is clear that this is targeted legislation.

FOREIGN ADVERSARY COUNTRY.—The term “foreign adversary country” means a country specified in section 4872(d)(2) of title 10, United States Code.

Okay, so they do slightly clarify but it means looking up another law, that knowing Congress probably leads to another law.

INTERNET HOSTING SERVICE.—The term “internet hosting service” means a service through which storage and computing resources are provided to an individual or organization for the accommodation and maintenance of 1 or more websites or online services, and which may include file hosting, domain name server hosting, cloud hosting, and virtual private server hosting.

So they are targeting Oracle now too?  Oracle is the host for the U.S. version of TikTok and all servers are in Texas.

the President determines, through an interagency process, precludes the establishment or maintenance of any operational relationship between the United States operations of the relevant foreign adversary controlled application and any formerly affiliated entities that are controlled by a foreign adversary, including any cooperation with respect to the operation of a content recommendation algorithm or an agreement with respect to data sharing.

If I read this right it looks like every-time we change presidents we can probably see the rules changing!  I mean it's not like presidents have used their power to attack their rivals before...right?

From CNN

Chew added that 60% of ByteDance is owned by global institutional investors such as the Carlyle Group, General Atlantic and Susquehanna International Group, while 20% of the firm is owned by Zhang and 20% owned by employees around the world. Three of the company’s five board members are Americans, he said.

So is TikTok owned by a foreign adversary?  On the surface it does not appear to be.

So Congress says it is a "national security threat" but they won't say why.  Now some speculation; 

With about half of all U.S. citizens on the platform could we the people actually be the threat the Congress is concerned about?  (Can't have us rabble talking or we might get ideas)

Could Congress really be afraid of the reach people have with their free speech as many of us as there are on the platform?  It is possible.

It is also very likely for key Congress members to have been paid off by other social media companies--don't pretend it doesn't happen.  The issue with finding paid off Congress critters is following the money is not easy and beyond the scope of this writer so I will not say they were or were not paid off but could have been.

Could it be that an offshore parent company scares Congress because they have no control over it and thus cannot force censorship on it much like The Twitter Files proved was done?

Regardless of the why, this is very fishy.  Legislation does not pass this fast and if memory is correct has not passed this quickly since December 8, 1941.  When Congress can agree on something but not tell we the people; "why?"  We the people should start asking some very hard questions.  We have too many real problems in this country and this is where they are focused.

"The word bipartisan usually means some larger-than-usual deception is being carried out."

George Carlin

Maura out

Things that happened that would get you arrested now

I heard something this morning over on Tik Tok, “As Gen-X what did your parents do or have you do that if done today would have you arrested?”

Wow, this is a list!

• Go to small stores, gas stations, Kwik Marts, and get dad’s cigarettes ($0.68 a pack back then) and/or beer. I was maybe six years old when this started.
• Ride in the open back of a pick-up truck going down the interstate.
• Ride in the back of the station wagon where there were no seats.
• Ride on the package shelf of a sedan.
• Rode home from the hospital in mom’s arms.
• Steered the car from dad’s lap.
• Elementary school was 1.3 miles or 2.09 Km from home and from kindergarten through fifth grade I got myself to and from school via my own two feet everyday.
• Stayed home alone on non-school days.
• At seven years old I was raising an infant and a toddler whenever mom and dad were not around, which was often. Like 08:00 to 22:00 on Saturdays.
• I was mowing lawns for money at seven years old. I also washed and waxed cars–I had one neighbor who on Fridays would leave the stuff out for her car to be washed and waxed every Friday along with $10–this was 1977, and $10 was a butt load of money back then and especially for an MG!
• At seven I became my dad’s HVAC/R apprentice, he owned his own company but it was just him so if he needed help I was kept home from school–I missed most of fifth grade, but still passed.
• I always had “unexplained injuries” when I went to school.

I’m sure there are more, but those are off the top of my head.

Want to add? The comments are open as always.

Maura Out