220

ACLU warns new House bill would give Trump ‘dangerous’ tool to stifle free speech and target political enemies (www.independent.co.uk)

submitted 4 days ago by inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

23 comments fedilink hide all child comments

top 23 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[-] solsangraal@lemmy.zip 31 points 4 days ago

this has been the exact plan for a long time. get ready for "breaking" news about GOP initiatives to also eradicate:

freedom of the press (this doesn't just cover news media. censorship teams will prevent things from even being published--race, gender, science, LGBTQ, things critical of trump, things critical of religion, on and on and on--pretty much anything they don't like is off the table)
freedom of religion (obviously)
consumer protections
right to privacy (yea, this is the case now, but until now you've never had to worry about unwarranted search and seizures)
due process/ habeas corpus
financial aid/social safety nets

there is nothing there to protect you from them anymore. everything that will exist will be to protect them from you

[-] thenexusofprivacy 20 points 4 days ago

This bill can't pass without Democratic support ... but last week, over 50 Democrats voted for it! It didn't quite pass, but now they're trying again ... so please, if you're in the US, please call your Congresspeople!

Here's EFF's action alert. https://act.eff.org/action/tell-congress-not-to-weaponize-the-treasury-department-against-nonprofits

[-] Nougat@fedia.io 24 points 4 days ago

If you're wondering how this works, under this bill:

The Treasury Secretary can "determine" that any non-profit organization "supports terrorism."
The Treasury Secretary does not have to provide any supporting evidence, or even any specific accusation.
The non-profit will have 90 days to "appeal." Without having any idea what they're being accused of.
The appeal can be declined without comment.
The non-profit's 501(c)3 status is revoked. This essentially closes the doors of that organization.

[-] enbyecho@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago

To be clear I think this bill is horrendous, but...

The non-profit will have 90 days to “appeal.” Without having any idea what they’re being accused of.

This is not quite true. In Section 4 C (ii) it states that the secretary must provide "the name of the organization or organizations with respect to which the Secretary has determined such organization provided material support" and in Section 4 C (iii) it states that the secretary must provide "a description of such material support or resources to the extent consistent with national security and law enforcement interests."

That doesn't lessen the chilling effect this bill will have nor will it lessen the damage caused. But I feel accuracy in discussing this is important.

Full text of the bill: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/9495/text

[-] Nougat@fedia.io 8 points 4 days ago

I very much appreciate this, especially the link to the actual text of the bill.

"the name of the organization or organizations with respect to which the Secretary has determined such organization provided material support"

"You've provided relief funds and services to [redacted, national security]."

"a description of such material support or resources to the extent consistent with national security and law enforcement interests."

"Can't tell you, national security."

[-] enbyecho@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Oh very true. But there is still congressional oversight and that means that some Dems will be privy to what [redacted] actually means.

Hey, just try find a few scraps of optimism...

[-] tiefling 6 points 4 days ago

After this bill, Trump will declare antifa, BLM, and pro-palestine movements as terrorist organizations

Then all leftist legal support is dead

[-] enbyecho@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

After this bill, Trump will declare antifa, BLM, and pro-palestine movements as terrorist organizations

Possibly. But per the bill they have to at least make a show of "proving" that the organizations aided designated foreign or domestic terrorist organizations, which is defined by the Secretary of State. Yes, of course they can just define an organization as such but it's not completely evidence-free. I'm a little unclear on the process of domestic vs foreign designations - Executive Order 13224 signed by bush gives both to the Secretary of State. Still that way?

"Then all leftist legal support is dead"

Because people can't get a tax deduction? I'd hope we're slightly better than that.

[-] itsonlygeorge@reddthat.com 3 points 4 days ago

[-] inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 22 points 4 days ago

And this would just be the start of fascism in America.

[-] A7thStone@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago

Continuation, it already started.

[-] tpihkal@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago

The House has already rejected the bill.

[-] Gsus4@mander.xyz 9 points 4 days ago

Good, but 52 democrats voted in favour...wtf?

[-] Maggoty@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

The call is coming from inside the house. We need to start seriously working on an alternative to the Democrats.

[-] Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago

Until they bring it up again after Trump is inaugurated and gives the order to fall in line.

[-] ModestMeme@lemm.ee 9 points 4 days ago

Non-voters, third party throw away voters, and the “low information voters” all got together to let this happen. Participating in society isn’t that hard. Hope y’all figure that out by the midterms.

[-] Catoblepas 2 points 4 days ago

This only has a chance of passing because there are 50+ Democrats on board with it. And it’s not just Democrats from red states and red areas.

[-] queermunist@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 days ago

Trump voters, meanwhile, are blameless.

[-] ModestMeme@lemm.ee 1 points 4 days ago

Dude, basic reading comprehension implies heavily, to the point of truth, that my comment is about people IN ADDITION to Trump voters.

[-] queermunist@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 days ago

There's literally nothing in your comment that actually, directly, blames Trump voters. You have to use your words on the internet.

Also? There won't be any midterms. Elections are over, you need to get with the program and be prepared for something other than playing voteball every two years.

[-] UpperBroccoli 1 points 4 days ago

Yeah?

[-] pivot_root@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

And now we know which 501(3)(c) is going to be targeted in retaliation first...

[-] Maggoty@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Uhh, that's already illegal. This would have just allowed the IRS to revoke status. They can already weaponize the FBI this way. They'll take all the work product, computers, and key personnel. And it will take years of legal fights to get them back. That organization is effectively dead at that point.

this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2024

220 points (100.0% liked)

politics

19118 readers

2563 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

• Register To Vote

• Citizenship Resource Center

• Congressional Awards Program

• Federal Government Agencies

• Library of Congress Legislative Resources

• The White House

• U.S. House of Representatives

• U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

• News