the "free" press

 In the ongoing attack on freedom of the press. isn't Facebook the "press" in a manner of speaking, there are more calls for regulation. Senator Blumenthal, Democrat with an estimated net worth of over one hundred million dollars, now proclaiming Facebook is facing a big tobacco moment. That statement based on a whistleblower testimony and assorted documents. Well because the Democrats love whistleblowers and documents, always proof positive of nefarious activities. If that isn't enough a search through high school yearbooks often provide some more clues. 

 So what is this big revelation? Facebook has put profit before safety. Well maybe Nascar should just use bumper cars, you know in the interest of safety. And the NFL, well no more contact allowed. no running either, someone might trip and get hurt. What about McDonalds selling french fries and Big Mac's to children, is that safe? They even used a clown to market that toxic products! Oh, and they all knew about it. So the government should now regulate what can and can not be posted on Facebook and other social platforms. We will not teach our children to deal with any negativity on their own, we will simply not allow that to happen! After all it was mentioned, in testimony, that there was body shaming going on! Really, that's something new? 

 I can only hope that people are paying attention. This really isn't about Facebook, algorithms or safety. This is about control of information. A method to silence the critics! Just as with lottery tickets, it's for the children. Isn't it always for the children or the elderly or the disabled or the animals that can not speak for themselves. The whistleblower, in her testimony, claimed this is about algorithms, and how you can not change them. All you can change is your response to the information they provide. She is right about that. Sometimes called market research these formulas tell the businessman what sells. They want to know that in order to maximize profits. News flash, safety is not the number one consideration when selling a product, that's why all the legislation regarding warning labels and disclosures. Read that paper that comes with your prescription and consider that safety. Most will say, if condensed, will be of benefit unless it kills you. If they were concerned about safety first, they wouldn't be selling that. But the thing is, risk and reward. That's the formula for safety.

 Blumenthal and his "big tobacco" moment analogy is just ridiculous. I thought it was ridiculous when the tobacco companies were made to pay. I don't believe it was a surprise, a new revelation, that using tobacco products was bad for your health. Yes those companies did studies and research into all of that and didn't broadcast the results. I believe there is an awareness that alcohol isn't very good for your health either, yet no one is being sued over that. There should be absolutely no advertising that product, ever, a total blackout, so as not to influence the children from trying that. Still the government just keeps taxing tobacco, one their favorite things to tax, because. well, people are going to use it anyway. Also the reasoning behind legalizing pot, people will smoke that anyway. I'm certain that is perfectly safe.

 You see the problem with Facebook and other social media sites is control of the press. The only way they can control what is being said is by limiting their users. Users are customers. It really isn't hard to figure out. Social media is the Free Press of the 21st century. It's an issue. The big difference between the free press of a hundred years ago and today is the ability to reach millions of readers almost immediately. It is true that people react to emotions faster than logic. When the companies do not restrict what is being said emotional responses may be negative. The solution is to control the emotional response irrespective of logic and reason. That's the reason children, the elderly, and all of that is so often employed. Facebook, among others, are not doing that. The push is now for the Government to control that information, that press, and in so doing doing control the emotional response in the population. Worked real well in Nazi Germany. That is how Hitler got so many to go along with his plans. Combine that with control of wealth, control of healthcare and personal security and just like that, you are in control. Facebook and others are social media platforms, free to use, or not. It is imperative that they remain that way. "We need a free media, not just freedom of speech." (Tom Scholz) I agree wholeheartedly. The main stream media certainly doesn't fit the bill anymore, being controlled by the most money. by, gasp, profits. We have all become capable of being that Free Press, a right we should exercise unrestricted. As I have written in the past, "emotions are great motivators, but seldom good guides." You can't settle anything without the ability to talk about it. All you can do is go on emotion.