As you say, the problem is the sleight of hand. They say "This is a ban TikTok bill", but it's really not. That shows they aren't being forthright with their intentions. If they wanted to ban TikTok, they could just write up a one-line bill. But they don't want to ban TikTok, they want to use banning TikTok as the excuse to take even more power.
Brad, you say "that China believes it’s in an ideological war with America". To an outsider who believes in American exceptionalism, it's distressing to see that America appears in an ideological war with itself.
All your points about TikTok are well made. For me, the biggest absurdity is that China can ban Google, Facebook, Twitter etc, without blinking an eye. And yet America is supposed to allow TikTok to operate unhindered. This is just nuts.
And if you think China believes it's simply in an ideological war with America, you should broaden your outlook. I strongly recommend Michael Pillsbury's "The Hundred Year Marathon", detailing China's strategy to become the leading global superpower. And then check out its island building and militarisation of the South China Sea.. while promising Obama this island building was for peaceful purposes. Yeah, right..
The RESTRICT bill is NOT the answer. It would be used to restrict more American freedom, like a $250,000 fine for using a VPN and 20 years in prison, for searching certain things. I won't be happy to give up my internet completely, but I will, because this bill will turn the USA into a China clone.
one issue that is never brought up about China is the Fentanyl crises.
we know that all the illegal fentanyl originates from Chinese laboratories that get shipped to Mexico where it is then bought by the cartels and eventually processed and sent into America.
I have yet to hear any American leader bring this issue up on either left or right.
unless I’m missing something (very possible), what is going on?
I’ve read dozens of articles about this issue in the last year alone. yet no one follows the money back to the CCP. I think at this point it’s obvious that the CCP is letting this happen. why wouldn’t they?
a communist country could crack down on an illegal fentanyl lab much quicker than anyone in the West.
I completely agree. I wrote a novel about the opioid epidemic. It's an issue that people only care about insofar as it affects them personally, and it's terrible. We need to build a 100 foot wall along the border.
I think that in the (near-ish) future, TikTok will be seen as the first example of effective use of an AI system designed to weaken another country from a societal standpoint. Unfortunately, it's doing a remarkably good job.
What really gets me is when I try to tell people, "Hey, man, you know that the Chi-Comms are data-gathering all your info if you use that, right?", the most I'll get is pure indifference. Why don't we care that our information is being harvested by an adversarial government? Beats me.
"But I don’t think we should ban TikTok because it’s digital fentanyl that’s frying the brains of our young people". It is however a dire reality that 'TikTok Brain' caused by the continuous rush of feel-good chemicals is feeding students on a diet of mental candy crack, while asking them to consume comparative broccoli in the classroom setting. TikTok Brain is killing students' ability to learn: Every single aspect of education is tied firmly to the ability to pay attention. Once the capacity to pay attention is lost, everything else in educational approaches or curricula will cease to matter. See my post TikTok-Time is running out for saving our children's brains.
You know,it's almost like tictok is doing exactly what all the western tech companies have done for the last six or seven years, and what our own media censorship complex has been doing for fifty years. This is almost comedy, if it weren't so hypocritical on the part of the current faux admin. Everything the chicoms are doing, they learned from us. Twitter files, anyone?
Sadly, I don’t trust our government to do anything that is in the best interests of we, the people. They will lie, cheat and steal and then tell me that it’s to protect me and “democracy”. I’m tired of paying them to lie to me.
As you say, the problem is the sleight of hand. They say "This is a ban TikTok bill", but it's really not. That shows they aren't being forthright with their intentions. If they wanted to ban TikTok, they could just write up a one-line bill. But they don't want to ban TikTok, they want to use banning TikTok as the excuse to take even more power.
I knew my favorite civil libertarian would say that.
I'm nothing if not predictable! (Principles are funny that way!)
Brad, you say "that China believes it’s in an ideological war with America". To an outsider who believes in American exceptionalism, it's distressing to see that America appears in an ideological war with itself.
All your points about TikTok are well made. For me, the biggest absurdity is that China can ban Google, Facebook, Twitter etc, without blinking an eye. And yet America is supposed to allow TikTok to operate unhindered. This is just nuts.
And if you think China believes it's simply in an ideological war with America, you should broaden your outlook. I strongly recommend Michael Pillsbury's "The Hundred Year Marathon", detailing China's strategy to become the leading global superpower. And then check out its island building and militarisation of the South China Sea.. while promising Obama this island building was for peaceful purposes. Yeah, right..
The RESTRICT bill is NOT the answer. It would be used to restrict more American freedom, like a $250,000 fine for using a VPN and 20 years in prison, for searching certain things. I won't be happy to give up my internet completely, but I will, because this bill will turn the USA into a China clone.
one issue that is never brought up about China is the Fentanyl crises.
we know that all the illegal fentanyl originates from Chinese laboratories that get shipped to Mexico where it is then bought by the cartels and eventually processed and sent into America.
I have yet to hear any American leader bring this issue up on either left or right.
unless I’m missing something (very possible), what is going on?
I’ve read dozens of articles about this issue in the last year alone. yet no one follows the money back to the CCP. I think at this point it’s obvious that the CCP is letting this happen. why wouldn’t they?
a communist country could crack down on an illegal fentanyl lab much quicker than anyone in the West.
I completely agree. I wrote a novel about the opioid epidemic. It's an issue that people only care about insofar as it affects them personally, and it's terrible. We need to build a 100 foot wall along the border.
Right on, man.
I think that in the (near-ish) future, TikTok will be seen as the first example of effective use of an AI system designed to weaken another country from a societal standpoint. Unfortunately, it's doing a remarkably good job.
What really gets me is when I try to tell people, "Hey, man, you know that the Chi-Comms are data-gathering all your info if you use that, right?", the most I'll get is pure indifference. Why don't we care that our information is being harvested by an adversarial government? Beats me.
"But I don’t think we should ban TikTok because it’s digital fentanyl that’s frying the brains of our young people". It is however a dire reality that 'TikTok Brain' caused by the continuous rush of feel-good chemicals is feeding students on a diet of mental candy crack, while asking them to consume comparative broccoli in the classroom setting. TikTok Brain is killing students' ability to learn: Every single aspect of education is tied firmly to the ability to pay attention. Once the capacity to pay attention is lost, everything else in educational approaches or curricula will cease to matter. See my post TikTok-Time is running out for saving our children's brains.
https://schooloftheunconformed.substack.com/p/tiktok-time-is-running-out-for-saving
and TikTok brain sure with three ingredients: parents, school, and getting real https://schooloftheunconformed.substack.com/p/tiktok-brain-cure-with-three-ingredients
You know,it's almost like tictok is doing exactly what all the western tech companies have done for the last six or seven years, and what our own media censorship complex has been doing for fifty years. This is almost comedy, if it weren't so hypocritical on the part of the current faux admin. Everything the chicoms are doing, they learned from us. Twitter files, anyone?
Sadly, I don’t trust our government to do anything that is in the best interests of we, the people. They will lie, cheat and steal and then tell me that it’s to protect me and “democracy”. I’m tired of paying them to lie to me.
Well done Brad! Quality