Congressional News

Censorship, January 6 and an update on political prisoner John Strand

Below are excerpts from the executive summary of the Interim Staff Report of the Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government U.S. House of Representatives. The new report is titled:

THE WEAPONIZATION OF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: HOW NSF IS FUNDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATED TOOLS TO CENSOR ONLINE SPEECH “AT SCALE” AND TRYING TO COVER UP ITS ACTIONS

This 79 page report is damning.

Our misinformation service helps policy makers at platforms who want to . . . push responsibility for difficult judgments to someone outside the company . . . by externalizing the difficult responsibility of censorship.”

(The above statement is from the) Speaker’s notes from the University of Michigan’s first pitch to the National Science Foundation (NSF) about its NSF-funded, AI-powered WiseDex tool.1 This interim report details the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) funding of AI powered censorship and propaganda tools, and its repeated efforts to hide its actions and avoid political and media scrutiny.

In the name of combatting alleged misinformation regarding COVID-19 and the 2020 election, NSF has been issuing multi-million-dollar grants to university and non-profit research teams. The purpose of these taxpayer-funded projects is to develop artificial intelligence (AI)- powered censorship and propaganda tools that can be used by governments and Big Tech to shape public opinion by restricting certain viewpoints or promoting others.

Non-public documents obtained by the House Judiciary Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government demonstrate that these federal bureaucrats, “disinformation” researchers, and non-profit groups understood that their actions— “content moderation” and combatting so-called misinformation—amounted to “censorship.” And yet, NSF forged ahead, supporting new technologies that would essentially enable the censorship of online speech “at scale.”

But NSF’s taxpayer funding for this potential automated censorship is only half of the story. The Committee and the Select Subcommittee have also obtained, via document requests and subpoenas, nonpublic emails and other documents that reveal a years-long, intentional effort by NSF to hide its role in funding these censorship and propaganda tools from media and political scrutiny. From legal scholars such as Jonathan Turley to conservative journalists, NSF tracked public criticisms of its work in funding these projects. NSF went so far as to develop a media strategy that considered blacklisting certain American media outlets because they were scrutinizing NSF’s funding of censorship and propaganda tools.

The First Amendment prohibits the government from “abridging the freedom of speech.” Thus, “any law or government policy that reduces that freedom on the [social media] platforms . . . violates the First Amendment.” To inform potential legislation, the Committee and Select Subcommittee have been investigating the Executive Branch’s collusion with third party intermediaries, including universities, non-profits, and businesses, to censor protected speech on social media. The Committee and Subcommittee have uncovered serious violations of the First Amendment throughout the Executive Branch, including:

• The Biden White House directly coercing large social media companies, such as Facebook, to censor true information, memes, and satire, eventually leading Facebook to change its content moderation policies;

• Stanford’s Election Integrity Partnership (EIP)—created at the request of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)—working with the federal government to flag thousands of links and submit recommendations directly to large social media platforms to censor Americans’ online speech in the lead-up to the 2020 U.S. election

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) harassing Elon Musk’s Twitter (now X) because of Musk’s commitment to free speech, even going so far as to target certain journalists by name.

As egregious as these violations of the First Amendment are, each still faced the same limitation: the censors were human. Senior Biden White House officials had to spend time personally berating the social media companies into changing their content moderation policies. Social media executives expended considerable time and effort responding to the White House’s threats and evaluating the flagged content. Stanford had nearly a hundred people working for the EIP in shifts flagging thousands of posts, which was only a fraction of the number of election related posts made in the fall of 2020.

But what happens if the censorship is automated and the censors are machines? There is no need for shifts or huge teams of people to identify and flag problematic online speech. AI driven tools can monitor online speech at a scale that would far outmatch even the largest team of “disinformation” bureaucrats and researchers. This interim report reveals how NSF is using American taxpayer dollars to fund the tools that could usher in an even greater threat to online speech than the original efforts to censor speech on social media. The NSF-funded projects threaten to help create a censorship regime that could significantly impede the fundamental First Amendment rights of millions of Americans, and potentially do so in a manner that is instantaneous and largely invisible to its victims.

The Committee and the Select Subcommittee are responsible for investigating “violation[s] of the civil liberties of citizens of the United States.” In accordance with this mandate, this interim staff report on NSF’s violations of the First Amendment and other unconstitutional activities fulfills the obligation to identify and report on the weaponization of the federal government against American citizens.

The Committees’ and Select Subcommittees’ investigations remains ongoing.

“A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to.”

– Laurence J. Peter

The second piece of Congressional news comes from the Office of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Press release as follows:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 1, 2024

WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is proudly introducing the Matthew Lawrence Perna Act of 2024, named in honor of Matthew Perna, a victim of the cruel and unusual treatment inflicted by Joe Biden’s Department of Injustice, tragically leading to his untimely death.

This vital legislation is a critical step in ensuring that the political persecution witnessed in the aftermath of January 6th is curtailed by the law. The Matthew Lawrence Perna Act enacts several essential reforms, including:

• Prohibition of Detention for Nonviolent Political Protesters: This bill bars the unjust detention of nonviolent political protesters and allows for civil action against any violations.

• Fair and Speedy Trials: Ensures fair and speedy trials for defendants while providing remedies against malicious over-prosecution.

• Limiting Government Surveillance and Investigation: Restricts the government's ability to use national defense or foreign policy justifications to deny citizens knowledge of government surveillance or investigation.

• Consistent Sentencing Guidelines: Mandates that judges impose sentences consistent with applicable guidelines for defendants involved in covered political protest offenses.

• Transfer of Venue: Permits the transfer of venue in criminal trials for nonviolent political protestors in Washington, D.C.

The punitive and unconstitutional treatment of January 6th defendants by Biden’s Department of Injustice exposes a deeply flawed two-tiered justice system weaponized against American citizens. With 1,314 individuals charged so far, Matthew Graves is set to charge one per day this year, highlighting the unjust targeting of peaceful protestors. At the same time, violent Antifa and BLM criminals remain on the streets and evade accountability.

“Having personally witnessed the abuses in the DC jail, where patriotic Americans are left to suffer by the very government meant to protect them, it is evident that reform is urgently needed,” stated Congresswoman Greene.

Matthew Perna's tragic death serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of unchecked government brutality. His life could have been spared if not for the relentless persecution by the Biden regime.

The Matthew Lawrence Perna Act is a beacon of hope, ensuring that Matthew did not perish in vain and holding the Biden regime accountable for its crimes against American citizens.

This bill was originally introduced in the 117th Congress by former Congressman Louie Gohmert, Congresswoman Greene was the only co-sponsor of the legislation. Now, the sole sponsor of this bill in the 118th Congress, Congresswoman Greene urges all of her colleagues to sign on as a co-sponsor and ensure no non-violent political protestor is ever treated with such inhumanity in the United States ever again.

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Please contact your Congressional Representative in support of the The Matthew Lawrence Perna Act, sponsored by MTG.

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True story.

I consider John Strand a friend and a hero. He could have taken a plea deal and served a couple of months in jail. He refused on principle.

The government then slapped on a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding and he is now serving a 32 month prison sentence. Only recently has he been allowed to see his attorney - after at least six months in prison.

Found guilty by jury on 9/27/22 of five charges. Strand was found guilty of the felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding, as well as misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

The MSM articles on John are salacious smear pieces, reminiscent of the National Enquirer in its hey day. They are sickening to read.

For a different perspective on January 6th, please watch The Epoch Times Documentaries:

The Real Story of January 6

Part 2 features John’s story

The Real Story of January 6 Part 2: The Long Road Home