"Facebook, whistleblower Frances Haugen says of her former employer, is this generation’s Big Tobacco, 'hooking kids' on its products and lying about its business practices...."

 Althouse  "'It’s just like cigarettes,' Haugen said this week in testimony before a Senate Commerce subcommittee. 'Teenagers don’t have good self-regulation. They say explicitly, "I feel bad when I use Instagram, and yet I can’t stop."'... Society doesn’t have an interest in keeping children away from these technologies entirely as it does with cigarettes; rather, there is a public interest in preventing predatory targeting of minors and a countervailing interest in protecting free expression and encouraging innovation.... Haugen, a product manager until she resigned in the spring, argued that Facebook is even less transparent than tobacco companies in their heyday. For instance, outside scientists could independently invalidate claims about the safety of filtered cigarettes. By contrast, Facebook’s secret algorithms and refusal to fully cooperate with academic researchers protects the company from independent review. Haugen called for Congress to make them open up their black box...."

From "Opinion: Stop comparing Facebook and Instagram to cigarettes" by James Hohmann (WaPo).

"Recognizing the imperfection of the analogy only gets you so far. Clearly, "It’s just like cigarettes" is manifestly false. But then what? That doesn't establish that Facebook must show us its secret algorithms! Hohmann is saying that it's not like cigarettes in one way — cigarettes are physical objects that can be tested independently — so let's legislate to improve the analogy and force Facebook to reveal its secrets. He's clinging to the importance of working with the cigarette analogy. But why?!"

Lengthy discussion on this in the comments section. TD

China has an 'opportunity' to seize Taiwan with Joe Biden as POTUS

 Youtube  "Beijing knows that with Joe Biden in charge it has an "opportunity" to seize Taiwan, according to Sky News host Cory Bernardi."

Xi Jinping’s calculus as he ponders attacking Taiwan, possibly starting World War 3

"China’s aggressiveness in the face of Biden’s weakness could plunge thew world into war. Its dictator Xi Jinping is thinking about issues that few Americans understand or even know about.". . . 

Where Democrats Rule

 

https://www.terrellaftermath.com/

2SLGBTQQIA+ people are ‘running out of letters’   "NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham says the LGBTQIA+ community are “running out of letters” after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid tribute to 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.

“ 'They’ve doubled up the Q – they’ve actually left one out there that’s practiced in NSW high schools, unbelievably,” Mr Latham told Sky News host Andrew Bolt."

Thank You Mitch McConnell For Keeping Merrick Garland Off The Supreme Court

 Legal Insurrection

Did you catch that? “Foment hatred.” Wait, didn’t he just say earlier in the speech that “hateful ideology” would not be the focus? To quote a great sage, “I’ll let you ban hate speech if you’ll let me define hate speech.” The government and Big Tech will be defining “fomenting hatred” in this all-government effort.

. . . "Did you catch that? “Foment hatred.” Wait, didn’t he just say earlier in the speech that “hateful ideology” would not be the focus? To quote a great sage, “I’ll let you ban hate speech if you’ll let me define hate speech.” The government and Big Tech will be defining “fomenting hatred” in this all-government effort.

"It’s pretty clear what is going on here. Team Obama, which weaponized the IRS against political enemies, is running the show, and the guy they wanted on the Supreme Court now is leading the charge at DOJ. Garland is a functionary in this regard, anyone Biden nominated for Attorney General would do the same. But we are much better off grappling with Merrick Garland as Attorney General for a few years, than with Merrick Garland for life on the Supreme Court. We don’t need a functionary on the Supreme Court.

"This all-government effort will be abused, count on it. “Fomenting hatred” will be defined to include lawful non-leftist political opposition (as it already is on campuses). The ideological purge will make Lois Lerner blush.

"Now Garland has proven again his unfitness not only to be Attorney General, but for the role he aspired to on the Supreme Court." . . .

Across America, Parents Refuse To Be Intimidated By Biden’s Attorney General Labeling Them Domestic Terrorists

The attacks are clearly directed at the thousands of parents who have valiantly overcome their own fears of retaliation, public speaking, and confrontation to advocate in defense of their children, from Beaverton, Oregon, to South Kingstown, Rhode Island, only to be made a caricature by media outlets from NBC News to CNN and Saturday Night Live.

 

https://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2021/10/07/185656

 The Federalist

Instead of recognizing a mom as the hero that she is for protecting children from porn and pedophilia in school libraries, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has issued a declaration of war on America’s parents.

"Local mother Stacy Langton stood before the Fairfax County School Board in a suburb of the nation’s capital two weeks ago, boldly exposing explicit examples of child porn and pedophilia in library books in area schools, available to children as young as 12 years old.

"Langton’s witness ended in mayhem because the school board failed to do something very simple: listen to the stakeholders — and taxpayers — who are parents. Board members rudely interrupted Langton during her two minutes of allotted speaking time and called a hasty recess, a board member later incorrectly claiming that he faced two “exorcisms” by parents praying during the meeting.

“ 'Shame! Shame! Shame!” shouted parents, horrified at the cowardice of the board members.

"Now, however, instead of recognizing Langton for the hero that she is for protecting children, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has issued a declaration of war on America’s parents.

“ 'I am directing the Federal Bureau of Investigation, working with each United States Attorney, to … [address] threats against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff,” he wrote in a memo to FBI Director Christopher Wray and the U.S. attorneys generals on Monday night.". . . 

I taped a message to the Nat’l Association of School Boards. I am what a domestic terrorist looks like? You owe parents an apology! Politely message them @NSBAPublicEd, 703-838-6722 info@nsba.org. Copy me. We reject violence. I am an #UnapologeticParent ❤️ Like you! @defendinged pic.twitter.com/2cSqzDuj9C

— Asra Q. Nomani “Domestic Terrorist” (@AsraNomani) October 1, 2021

. . . "Garland’s memo may chill free speech – and parental opposition to waste, fraud, corruption, and incompetence by school boards. His association of parents with “domestic terrorism” is not only a slap in the face to sincere parents, it is — tragically — a cruel insult to victims of terrorism around the world. As parents, we are accidental activists in service to our children and our country, rejecting violence and actual terrorism."...

My mother the terrorist   . . . "Our cities are engulfed in crime.  Gasoline is higher and higher.  Inflation is real.  Nevertheless, the Biden administration wants to go after terrorist moms." And George Soros politicians rule our cities!

Biden AG Threatens He’ll Use FBI As a Tool To Intimidate and Silence Parents Who Disagree With School Boards, Administrators Pushing For CRT or Mask Mandates (for starters:) "Attorney General Merrick Garland has instructed the FBI to mobilize against parents who oppose critical race theory in public schools, citing “threats.”

Cruz Grills Biden Official Over Parents’ Right To Protest Critical Race Theory At School Boards

After Latest Report, Decision to Give Up Bagram Looks Worse Now Than Ever Before

Leah Barkoukis  "The ISIS-K terrorist who carried out a suicide attack at the Kabul airport in August, which killed scores of Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, was released by the Taliban from the Bagram Air Base prison just days before the bombing, according to CNN reporting.

"The U.S. handed Bagram over to the Afghan military on July 1, but a little more than a month later, on Aug. 15, they surrendered it to the Taliban, who promptly released thousands of prisoners--the vast majority of whom are terrorists. 

CNN: Kabul airport suicide bomber was released from Bagram Air Base by the Taliban days before the attack that killed 13 U.S. service members. pic.twitter.com/dozG4vzHRm

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 6, 2021

. . . " The Parwan prison at Bagram, along with the Pul-e-Charkhi prison near Kabul, housed several hundred members of ISIS-K, as well as thousands of other prisoners when the Taliban took control of both facilities hours before taking over the capital with barely a shot fired in mid-August, a regional counter-terrorism source told CNN at the time. The Taliban emptied out both prisons, releasing their own members who had been imprisoned but also members of ISIS-K, which is the terror group's affiliate in Afghanistan.

Eleven days later, on August 26, it was one of those prisoners who carried out the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate, killing the 13 US service members, including 11 Marines, one soldier and one sailor. […]

ISIS-K took credit for the attack and named the suicide bomber as Abdul Rehman Al-Loghri. Two US officials confirmed the identity of the attacker. FirstPost, an English-language news site based in India, was first to report that he had been released from the Bagram prison. (CNN)

Joe Biden’s Bungled Afghanistan Pullout Obliterates U.S. Counterterrorism Capabilities . . . "Inserting Special Operations troops into Afghanistan to carry out counter-terrorism missions will become increasingly difficult due to Biden’s poor decision.

"Groupthink won the day. Satisfying President Biden’s deadline to get out of Afghanistan by the 20^th anniversary of 9/11 without any consideration for security or the need to maintain stability seems to have been the only consideration. Biden refused to allow adequate troops to secure Bagram and to create a security perimeter in Kabul."

And thanks to the Taliban’s capture of U.S. databases it likely knows who provided intelligence to the U.S. military and can now kill them. Signals intelligence isn’t a substitute for boots on the ground or human intelligence.

Giving Up Bagram Might Have Been A Terrible Mistake   "Might have"?

 ...At the time, the Joe Biden administration stated that it was confident that the Afghan forces had what it takes to defend Afghanistan. The Bagram Air Base Prison was under the control of Afghan authority as it had been for years.

..."There are still many unanswered questions, but one thing is clear; the loss of lives on August 26 could have been avoided."...

Department of the Indefensible: Who Decided to Close Bagram Air Base and Why?  . . . "Bagram Air Base had already been abandoned. That decision had been made weeks, if not months, before Afghanistan’s fall. It formally went dark in the dead of night, with no warning given to our allies, on July 5, 2021. Abandoning Bagram meant ending intelligence and air support for the Afghan military, which proved to be consequential as the Taliban routed the military that the United States had spent 20 years building up.

"During the briefing on August 18, a reporter asked Austin about the loss of U.S. aircraft to the Taliban, and Milley about that decision to close Bagram. Austin appeared to be stumped by the question but then proceeded to answer. Milley interrupted and then after Austin finished, defended the decision to close Bagram."...

Additionally, Biden himself is of questionable capacity, is an extremely weak and indecisive man, and has a track record going back decades for getting everything wrong.

Thanks, Joe! Taliban Gives Tajik Jihadis U.S.-Made Weaponry and Vehicles

HORRENDOUS: U.S. General Allegedly Abandoned Allies in Afghanistan for Souvenirs

Jen Psaki Defends Targeting Parents Who Oppose CRT, Responds to Them Being Called ‘Domestic Terrorists’

Trending Politics  "White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki did not refute a teacher’s union’s characterization of parents who oppose Critical Race Theory as “domestic terrorists” and defended the Department of Justice dispersing the FBI to target CRT critics. 

"On Wednesday, Fox News’ Peter Doocy confronted Psaki on the heated controversy:". . . 

Peppermint Patty

. . . “Something you said on Monday after some protesters were hounding Kyrsten Sinema into a restroom,” Doocy followed up. “You said the president stands for the fundamental right of people to protest, to object, and to criticize. So, does the president support the fundamental right of these parents to protest at school board meetings?”...

Psaki didn't like it when Doocy criticized Joe's foreign policy mistakes either.  Hey, it's what Joe does.

Exclusive— Victor Davis Hanson: ‘Open Borders,’ ‘Globalism,’ ‘Tribalism’ Are Reminiscent of Rome’s Collapse

Breitbart  "Victor Davis Hanson, historian, professor, and author of The Dying Citizen: How Progressive Elites, Tribalism, and Globalization Are Destroying the Idea of America, said on Wednesday that “open borders,” “globalism,” and “tribalism” are contributing to a collapse of the United States reminiscent of the fall of Rome.

"Borders, language, and culture are essential for national continuity, Hanson stated in an interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow.

"He remarked, “Every nation that has survived has had borders that were defensible and clear, and the idea was that they have their own space to inculcate their language or traditions or customs, then enhance their constitution. Without that, it’s just short of a migratory, 5th century A.D. Rome where people come across the Danube River and destroy the nation-state.”

"Growth of “identity politics” predicated on ethnicity and race, Hanson warned, would contribute to American collapse if unchecked.

"He stated, “Identity politics is another natural human pathology where we identify by our superficial appearance, and when we start to do that we regress to something like the former Yugoslavia or Rwanda. And that trajectory will be in our future unless we stop it and realize that we’re a very rare multiracial democracy that’s given up — each of us — our primary identities as race or [ethnicity] and have absorbed, instead, the idea of Americanism.”

"American values of civic nationalism transcend ethnic and racial lines, Hanson held.". . . 

Trump Former Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham does MSNBC and CNN's work for them

"The fact they need to stoop so low to make up verifiably false stories about a shooting victim and his family to paint a false picture of the Trumps tells you everything you need to know about their credibility." Steve Scalise

Stephanie Grisham called out by Steve Scalise for bold-faced lie in her anti-Trump tell-all book   "Among the string of jerks who resigned from President Trump's administration in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, leaving their colleagues to do all their work while they attempted to rejoin the swamp, Stephanie Grisham, an ex-White House press secretary and ex-press secretary to Melania Trump, was one of them.

"Now she's got a tell-all book out, looking to make some money off her eight-years-in-the-Trump administration experience, and more likely to sidle back into the good graces of news outlets such as MSNBC, possibly to win a commentator slot. Tell-all books are useful vehicles for that.

"But is she telling all? Turns out she's making things up.". . . 

Steve Scalise

@SteveScalise

·

Oct 4

Replying to

@SteveScalise

This is another pathetic attempt by a disgraced former staffer to tell lies in order to sell books. If her publisher or a single outlet covering this story had done any fact checking, they would’ve learned it was fake. But they didn’t because it fits their fake narrative.

 . . . "So what the hell was she talking about? She seems to be trying to perpetuate an already-favorite trope of the left that Melania Trump is some kind of compassionless ice princess with indifference to her duties as the first lady in the Trump White House. Her gracious record as the first lady never supported that slimy stereotype, but Grisham seems to want to impress the leftist talk shows now, so she's giving them what they want. Truth is secondary."...

How can any honorable American want to do the work of CNN and MSNBC for them?

Ex-Donald Trump Aide Sues Former Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham Over Claim He Was Physically Abusive   ..."Grisham claimed that he became physically abusive as she ended their relationship, but he has responded by filing a defamation lawsuit against her on Tuesday."...

The COVID Survey That Should Have Rocked the World

 

https://www.terrellaftermath.com/

Rothwell’s quote should have set off alarm bells in the Times newsroom. As the survey made clear, a misinformed and paranoid electorate was driving policy decisions in Washington as well as in every blue state and in every major city within a red state. Editors should have asked just who was misinforming these people and why.

American Spectator  "In March 2021, a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, the New York Times shared the results of a comprehensive survey of 35,000 Americans done by Gallup and Franklin Templeton. True to form, the Times refused to face the survey’s epic implications.

"The Times started pulling punches in the headline, “Covid’s Partisan Errors: Republicans tend to underestimate Covid risks — and Democrats tend to exaggerate them.” This equivocation papered over the real news hook of the story, namely that health officials and their media enablers scared policy makers, especially in blue states, into making catastrophic, fear-based misjudgments.

“ 'To many liberals, Covid has become another example of the modern Republican Party’s hostility to facts and evidence,” wrote reporter David Leonhardt, unaware that he just delivered a laugh line. In assessing the GOP worldview, Leonhardt, like most of his media colleagues, saw hostility in just about every Republican gesture.

"Later in the article, for instance, he observed, “Conservatives tend to be more hostile to behavior restrictions and to scientific research.” An unbiased copy editor might have rewritten that sentence, “Conservatives tend to have a strong belief in individual freedom and can be skeptical of scientific research.” Unfortunately no such copy editor exists at the Times.

"To his humble credit, Leonhardt surprised his audience by admitting that “conservatives aren’t the only ones misinterpreting scientific evidence in systematic ways.” Yes, Virginia, “Americans on the left half of the political spectrum are doing it, too.”

"As noted in the subhead, conservatives appear to underestimate Covid risks while Democrats overestimate them. Leonhardt assured the reader that “underreaction has been the bigger problem with Covid.” Yet every bit of evidence he presented subverts his thesis."...

More...

Doctors are getting angry at their patients  "One of the more bizarre twists in the saga of the COVID pandemic has been doctors growing increasingly frustrated 

and even angry with patients asking for medical treatment rather than wholesale vaccination. We have been told for almost two years that COVID is a deadly disease. Naturally, when people test positive for COVID, they want to be treated to avoid serious illness. Instead, they are sent home to quarantine, with no medical treatment until they become seriously ill.

"Some patients take exception to this approach and ask for ivermectin, which is being used outside of the United States to treat early COVID. There is a significantly lower incidence of serious cases of COVID in countries that use ivermectin for early exposures.". . . 

They're Not Defending Their Best

 George Floyd (Eight convictions, including a prison sentence for an armed home invasion. He has more statues and murals than Thurgood Marshall, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan combined.)

Ann Coulter

"Last Friday, two elected congressional Democrats, Reps. Cori Bush and Emanuel Cleaver II, wrote to Gov. Mike Parson of Missouri demanding that he pardon a triple-murderer on death row because, I quote:

"Like slavery and lynching did before it, the death penalty perpetuates cycles of trauma, violence and state-sanctioned murder in Black and brown communities."

"Two sitting members of Congress say the reason a heinous murderer was on death row is because of white supremacy -- and they are not denounced by their party. They ought to be censured. Why aren't they getting the Steve King treatment? This deranged letter didn't even make the news.

"Could the Democratic Party tell us: Under what circumstances may a convicted murderer who is black be put to death?

"The murderer in this case -- or victim of slavery, as per the Democrats -- Ernest Lee Johnson, savagely killed three employees of a local convenience store in 1994. Mary Bratcher, 46, had been stabbed in the hand 10 times with a screwdriver, eight of the wounds going clear through her hand, and smashed on the head with a hammer a dozen times. Fred Jones, 58, had been shot in the face, nonfatally, then hit on the head with a claw hammer nearly a dozen times, including the claw-side, collapsing his eyeball into his skull. Mabel Scruggs, 57, had been bashed on the head 10 times with the claw hammer.". . . 

Biden’s Dishonesty And Dementia Are Causing Problems For Him – And The Nation

To anyone who has followed Biden’s political career, this is part of a pattern. Over several decades, he has become infamous for gaffes, blunders … and lies. And eventually, the habit of lying began to overlap with clear evidence of cognitive decline.

Issues & Insights   "As both a baseball fan and an observer of politics, I often hark back to Yogi Berra’s memorable quip, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” However, I think I nailed it in this concluding paragraph of an April article:

One thing is for certain; we can expect to see continuing validation from
President (Joe) Biden of the old quip, ‘How can you tell when a politician is

lying? His lips are moving.’ But in the same way that you can’t take your eyes off a train wreck in progress, it will be fascinating to see whether the salient feature of Biden’s presidency will be his mendacity or his dementia — or some incendiary admixture of the two.

"It seems clear that we’re seeing the effects of both.

"First, some recent examples of Biden’s ongoing unfamiliarity with the truth. His insistence that there was “unanimity” among his civilian and military advisers about the disastrous plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan and about the “success” of his border and immigration policies is patently absurd. Military leaders understand how to conduct strategic withdrawals, and our southern border leaks like a sieve. The president’s Sept. 24 comments about the costs of the massive “infrastructure” legislation favored by the administration were both ludicrous and barely coherent, both of which are current Biden trademarks:

“ 'We talk about price tags. The – it is zero price tag on the debt.  We’re paying – we’re going to pay for everything we spend.  So they say it’s not – you know, people, understandably – ‘Well, you know, it started off at $6 trillion, now it’s $3.5 trillion. Now it’s – is it going to be $2.9? Is it …’
 
“ 'It’s going to be zero – zero. Because in the – in that plan that I put forward – and I said from the outset – I said, ‘I’m running to change the dynamic of how the economy grows.’” 

"A zero price tag? As Gerard Baker observed in a Wall Street Journal column, “The Biden bill is paid for by the largest tax increase in history. . . ."

"The Biden Agenda" from July, 2016 has this comment on Biden:  That March, declassified documents seized in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden included an unexpected insult: bin Laden had advised assassins to spare Biden and target Obama, telling them, “Biden is totally unprepared for that post, which will lead the U.S. into a crisis.” That summer, a survey by the Pew Research Center and the Washington Post asked people to come up with a single word to describe Biden; the most frequent responses, nearly equal in number, were “good” and “idiot.” Republicans rejoice in casting Biden as the consummate pol, careless, blustery, and a fogy. “Vice-President Joe Biden’s in town,” Senator Ted Cruz said, at a dinner for South Carolina conservatives last year. “You know the great thing is you don’t even need a punch line? You just say that and people laugh.”