Tag: Evil Bastards

Muzzling Free Speech

Corporate Fuckery, Legal Stuff

…and also causing financial harm.

I seldom regard lawsuits with the same awe that the Powdered Wig Brigade may do (except when it comes to gun rights), but I think I’ll make an exception here:

In what could become one of the most significant free speech and digital rights cases in American history, Wimkin Social Media and its founder, J.C. Sheppard, are initiating a massive class-action lawsuit. Their targets are a formidable alliance: Big Tech companies, their advertisers, the Biden administration, and legacy media giants. This landmark legal action isn’t just about one company’s survival; it’s a defiant stand against what they call the “systematic silencing, blacklisting, and demonetization” of conservatives in the United States.

Wimkin’s legal action seeks to recover staggering financial losses while serving as a rallying point for every conservative content creator, publisher, and platform that has been censored, banned, or financially crippled by the combined power of Silicon Valley, Washington D.C., and their media allies.

Wimkin’s legal action is a comprehensive effort to hold those responsible accountable for a coordinated campaign to suppress conservative viewpoints. The defendants include Apple, Google, Meta (Facebook), YouTube, X, TikTok, the Biden administration, and major advertisers and aligned media outlets. The lawsuit claims this coordinated effort, disguised as “safety” and “misinformation control,” has caused severe financial and reputational harm, directly violating constitutional protections. Due to the ongoing nature of these losses, Wimkin’s legal strategy invokes equitable tolling to preserve the statute of limitations, ensuring that damages as far back as 2019 can be claimed.

No, I’d never heard of Wimkin before, either.  But anyone who takes on The Man — in this case, Leftists and their corporate lickspittles — has my support.

But wait!  There’s moar!

Sheppard’s fight doesn’t end in the courtroom. He is also drafting a bill for Congress that would demand “real reparations” for conservatives who can prove financial losses from 2019 to the present because of politically motivated censorship or deplatforming. Sheppard draws a sharp contrast between this initiative and progressive calls for slavery reparations. “The left demands reparations for events that happened over 150 years ago, when no one alive today experienced them firsthand,” Sheppard states. “We’re talking about real, provable, measurable damages that have occurred in the last six years—damages that have destroyed livelihoods, stifled innovation, and robbed millions of Americans of their right to speak freely.” Sheppard believes the total recovery could exceed a staggering $500 billion.

Good luck, my son.  Hit them where it really hurts:  their fucking wallets.  Stick it to The Man, bigly.

Quote Of The Day

Patriotism, Resistance

Talking about the current brouhaha in Britishland over local town councils taking down British or England flags while leaving Palestinian flags flying:

“If raising your own country’s flag is seen as an act of rebellion, then maybe your country is under foreign occupation.” — Alex James

Thank goodness we have laws about this kind of thing Over Here, because let me tell you that any similar reindeer games by local municipalities would result in both lawsuits (if they were lucky) and possibly gunfire.

If I (or any other proud Americans) want to fly our national flag, it will be flown regardless of whom it might “offend” or “trigger”.

Of Course, It Would Be

Corporate Fuckery, Drive Time

…Volkswagen, who are taking that extra step towards eventual self-immolation:

Auto Express reports that German automaker Volkswagen has introduced a subscription-based model for unlocking the full potential of its ID.3 electric car, a new model available in the UK. While the ID.3 Pro and Pro S models are listed on the configurator as producing 201 horsepower, buyers must pay a monthly subscription fee of £16.50 ($22.29) to access the car’s maximum output of 228 horsepower.

Considering that sales of the ID.3 outside Yurp can probably be measured in single figures per month, nobody Over Here should care about this.  (And if this lawsuit succeeds, well…)

But in this case of bastardy, it’s very definitely the principle of the thing that matters.

Fuck them, and the batteries that power their accountants’ laptops.

Gotta say that it’s this kind of chiseling that makes me want one of these oh so badly:

Anything without a chip or batteries will do, come to think of it.  Even a replica with a (non-electric carburetor-fed) VW Beetle engine.

Never Justified

Anti-Gun Nannies, Rights, The Gun Thing

I see that someone in the Golden Shower State has come to their senses:

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a mandate Thursday overturning California’s “one-gun-a-month” restriction.

The Second Amendment Foundation noted the “one-gun-a-month” restriction allows law-abiding citizens to purchase only one handgun or semi-automatic centerfire rifle (or combination thereof), from a licensed dealer within a 30-day period.

Here’s the thing about this ridiculous law.

Quite apart from its prima facie  Constitutional illegality, the 30-day restriction just makes absolutely no sense — I mean, what are they trying to achieve (other than a broad restriction, of course)?  Are they trying to stop someone from arming a group or gang? (I know, nonsensical.)

As with all laws like this, it should be looked at as part of a whole.  What is intended is to make a thicket of laws like this so that the breaking thereof becomes an inevitability — and the side-benefit (to the anti-gunners) is that the people most likely to fall foul of this nonsense would be gun owners.  (We always talk about lawful or law-abiding gun owners, but what we sometimes forget is that to the anti-gun set, all gun owners are evil, and not just the criminals.)

Anyway, it’s gone away, and good riddance.  Best of all is that because of this ruling, it’s going to apply to any and all other states who have similar nonsense in their raft of laws;  and all that’s left is for the SAF guys bring suit in each of them.

Go to it, guys.

Side note:  I have more than one friend who won’t give money to any gun lobbying group like the NRA or even GOA.  But they give lots to the Second Amendment Foundation because Alan Gottlieb and his guys are doing the work where it matters most:  in the courts.

Think about it.

Different Strokes

Legal Stuff, Rights

…different folks.

Background:  a little while ago, this happened:

Chinese and other foreign citizens could soon be barred from purchasing homes in Texas under a bill greenlit by the Texas House on Thursday [and since signed into law by TxGov Abbot].

The measure, which passed the Republican-led chamber in a largely party-line vote, was significantly narrowed-down from the original version. Lawmakers voted to add exemptions for individuals residing in the United States legally on temporary work or student visas. Dual citizens and permanent residents are also not included in the ban.

The legislation would block any other citizens of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran from purchasing homes, buying land or leasing apartments in Texas, and give the governor power to add other countries to the list.

Now, via Insty, this little development:

A pair of Chinese citizens asked a federal judge to block a new law banning Chinese nationals and people from a select number of other countries from buying or leasing property in Texas.

In a lawsuit filed July 3, Peng Wang and Qinlin Li, two Chinese citizens currently in the United States with visas, called Senate Bill 17 unconstitutional and racist.

Because of course.

Both plaintiffs said that while they plan to stay in the United States legally, they have no clear path to permanent residency and would be hurt by the law.

In its initial response to the lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office argued the state was using its “police powers” to prevent foreign governments from gaining a foothold in Texas. The attorney general’s office argued that Wang and Li won’t be affected by the law because they are already in Texas lawfully and wouldn’t be prohibited from real estate transactions.

The complaint, however, argues that the law is centered around where people claim their domicile, or permanent home. People in the U.S. on student or work visas, like Li and Wang, can’t claim their home is in Texas, attorneys wrote.

That’s not the part which get up my nose, however;  it’s all legal stuff and whatever happens, happens.

Because this is the Houston Chronicle, the reported decided to provide a little “balance”, or what we conservatives would call “whataboutism”:

As of 2023, Chinese investors owned or leased about 277,336 acres of U.S. agricultural land, according to the USDA. Of that, 123,078 acres were in Texas. Most of the land was associated with wind energy investments, the agency said.

Other foreign countries own far more land in the U.S.

Canadians own or lease about 15.3 million acres of U.S. land, according to the USDA. The Netherlands, Italy, United Kingdom and Germany hold a combined 13 million acres.

Yeah.  The difference, however, is that unlike the Chinese, Iranians et al., the Canadians, Dutch, Italians, Brits, and Germans aren’t likely to use the land they purchase as a springboard to cause mischief.

And a huge percentage of the land already owned by the Chinese coincidentally(?) happens to be adjoining U.S. military bases.  What are we to deduce from this little factoid?

One last thought.  Both the plaintiffs aren’t exactly wealthy:  one is a salaried employee and the other a recently-graduated student.

So I’d like to know who, exactly, is paying the costs of this lawsuit.  Let me go out on a limb here, and suggest that once you peel away all the shell organizations or individuals who purport to be paying the legal costs, the thing is being funded by the fucking Chinese government.  I may be wrong, but somehow I doubt it.

Which is the precise reason for the law in the first place.

Tricksies & Accomplices

Legal Stuff, Resistance

From Reader Mike S., news of this little reindeer game:

As Republicans in Texas move full steam ahead with a plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts, Democrats are privately mulling their options, including an expensive and legally dicey quorum break.

If they go that route, it appears they will have the backing of big-dollar Democratic donors.

By fleeing the state to deprive the Legislature of enough members to function, Democrats would each incur a fine of $500 per day and face the threat of arrest. Deep-pocketed donors within the party appear ready to cover these expenses, according to three people involved in the discussions.

The donors’ willingness to foot the bill eliminates a major deterrent to walking out — the personal financial cost — and could embolden Democrats who might otherwise hesitate.

Two people involved in the latest Democratic fundraising strategy sessions, who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations, claim their legal teams have found a way to disburse the funds to the members but declined to provide any additional details.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas Democrat who was part of the 2021 quorum break, sees a path to circumvent the campaign finance rules: With minimal limits on external income, Texas lawmakers can simply accept the donations as another salary, she said. As one of the most prolific fundraisers in the U.S. House, Crockett said she’s willing to tap her donor base — and her $3.7 million war chest — to cover the expenses.

On private donor calls, members of Congress, including Rep. Greg Casar of Austin, have been making the case for high-stakes Democratic resistance, including a quorum break, according to two people familiar with the calls.

Well, yes… except:

Attorney General Ken Paxton has also called for fleeing Democrats to be arrested and offered his office’s services in “hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office” by breaking quorum.

And as Reader Mike points out, the last time these assholes tried this, they were tracked down in their little out-of-state hidey-holes by the Texas Rangers, arrested and brought back to Austin.

Maybe they could go to Cuba.  They’d fit right in, especially that Commie bitch Crockett — and by the way:  that “war chest” of hers?  It’s against the law to use campaign funds in this manner.

Should be fun.  And the gerrymandered districts are going to be redrawn eventually, anyway.

Idiots.