Freedom Defeats the Panopticon, at Least Temporarily

July 5, 2023 By E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

By Mopic @ Shutterstock.com

You have read about the virtual Panopticon that is slowly enveloping American life. It’s the ever-widening surveillance and censorship capabilities of government and big Tech that are crimping American freedom of speech. Now a federal judge has sought to limit, at least temporarily, the ability of the Biden administration and social media firms to censor and monitor speech. National Review’s Ari Blaff reports:

Terry Doughty, a Louisiana federal judge, issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday blocking certain federal agencies and officials, including the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services, from communicating with social-media platforms.

The ruling comes after the attorney generals of Louisiana and Missouri filed a lawsuit arguing that federal officials overstepped their mandates and curtailed conservative speech throughout the pandemic.

Judge Terry Doughty wrote that he is likely to side with the plaintiffs on the merits of the case but issued a temporary injunction preventing communication between the government and big tech companies — save for matters pertaining to criminal activity or national-security threats — until the case is resolved.

“The Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits in establishing that the Government has used its power to silence the opposition,” Doughty wrote in court filings published on Tuesday.

“Opposition to COVID-19 vaccines; opposition to COVID-19 masking and lockdowns; opposition to the lab-leak theory of COVID-19; opposition to the validity of the 2020 election; opposition to President Biden’s policies; statements that the Hunter Biden laptop story was true,” the federal judge continued. “All were suppressed.”

“It is quite telling that each example or category of suppressed speech was conservative in nature. This targeted suppression of conservative ideas is a perfect example of viewpoint discrimination of political speech. American citizens have the right to engage in free debate about the significant issues affecting the country.”

The temporary injunction specifically named high-ranking Biden administration officials, including DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leader Jen Easterly.

Senator Eric Schmitt (R., Miss.), who served as the state’s attorney general until January 2023, applauded the decision. “Today’s court win is a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship,” the Missouri Senator wrote on Independence Day.

Action Line: Americans enjoy their freedom of speech, and no one should be able to take it away from them. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter and become a Survivor.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.

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