Category Political Corruption

Jul 14 2021

Inflation Data Released Today Shows White House July 4th Price Claims Were Total Crap, Gas Prices Doubled, Annualized Total Inflation Rises to 5.4 Percent and Climbing


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 13, 2021 | Sundance | 115 Comments

On July 4th, a little more than a week ago, the White House made the preposterous claim that holiday food was cheaper than last year. Everyone who buys groceries knew that level of propaganda was unmitigated nonsense and the consumer pricing data released today shows exactly that.

According to the BLS, June prices jumped 0.9%. Every month this year the CPI has been rising faster than the prior month, which essentially means inflation is rising at an ever-increasing rate. Annualized inflation (June 2020 -vs- June 2021) now shows an overall inflation rate of 5.4%.

However, at a 0.9% monthly rate -if the level stabilizes- that means the real inflation rate is 10.8% Yeah, that’s a serious problem.

The BLS data (see table 7) shows that gasoline has doubled in price year-over-year. Unleaded regular gasoline is now 46.4% higher than last year. That level of fuel price increase is crushing the working class and blue collar workforce.

Inflation overall is currently rising three to four times faster than wages. That means real wages are dropping as Americans are paying more for everything, including fast turn consumable products like food and fuel. Again, we repeat… durable good sales will suffer as disposable income shrinks. Additionally, rising housing prices combined with diminishing blue collar wages is an unsustainable trend.

JoeBama economic policies are crushing the middle-class. The multinational corporations, Wall Street and the investment class benefit as Biden policies directly create a U.S. service driven economy {Go Deep}. Under JoeBama, the wage and wealth gap is growing again after three years of Trump policies closing it. Working class wages are dropping, and investment class earnings rise. This is the intentionally created outcome when America-First policies are cancelled.

Overall energy prices have jumped more than 32% year-over-year. This is a direct outcome of Biden policy. Used vehicle prices are up a whopping 45% vs 2020.

The financial media are working overtime to protect Joe Biden from the outcome of policy by deflecting blame to COVID-19, but the issues are far more substantive than their weak justifications. All of this was predictable. After several months of claiming the inflation was transitory or temporary, now the same financial media are shifting the narrative to say we need to just accept long term inflation is the new normal.

I cannot express my frustration adequately as we watch this play out and know how much propaganda is being pushed to justify it.  {Go Deep} and {Go Deep}.  CTH has outlined for years how these direct economic outcomes are a result of actual government policy.

Everything the Biden administration is doing is making things worse, and now we are seeing big drops in real wages as the inflation rate is far beyond wage growth. Under Biden inflation is massive and wage growth is non-existent. This is an exact reversal of the Trump-era outcome where inflation was low and wage growth rates were high.

You might remember when President Trump initiated tariffs against China (steel, aluminum and more), Southeast Asia (product specific), Europe (steel, aluminum and direct products), Canada (steel, aluminum, lumber and dairy specifics), the financial pundits screamed at the top of their lungs that consumer prices were going to skyrocket.  They didn’t.  CTH knew they wouldn’t because essentially those trading partners responded in the exact same way the U.S. did decades ago when the import/export dynamic was reversed.

Trump’s massive, and in some instances targeted, import tariffs against China, SE Asia, Canada and the EU not only did not increase prices, the prices of the goods in the U.S. actually dropped.  Trump’s policies led the largest deflation in consumer prices in decades.  At the same time Trump’s domestic economic policies drove employment and  wages higher than any time in the past forty years.  With Trump’s policies we were in an era where job growth was strong, wages were rising and consumer prices were falling.  The net result was more disposable income for the middle class, more demand for stuff, and ultimately that’s why the U.S. economy was so strong.

♦Going Deep –  To retain their position China, the EU responded to U.S. tariffs by devaluing their currency as an offset to higher prices.  It started with China because their economy is so dependent on exports to the U.S.

China first started subsidizing the targeted sectors hit by tariffs. However, as the Chinese economy was under pressure they stopped purchasing industrial products from the EU, that slowed the EU economy and made the impact of U.S. tariffs, later targeted in the EU direction, more impactful.

When China (total communist control over their banking system) devalued their currency to avoid Tariff price increase, it had an unusual effect.  The cost of all Chinese imports dropped, not just on the tariff goods.  Imported stuff from China dropped in price at the same time the U.S. dollar was strong.  This meant it took less dollars to import the same amount of Chinese goods; and those goods were at a lower price.  As a result ,we were importing deflation…. the exact opposite of what the financial pundits claimed would happen.

In response to a lessening of overall economic activity, the EU then followed the same approach as China.  The EU was already facing pressure from the exit of the U.K. from the EU system; so, when the EU central banks started pumping money into their economy and offsetting with subsidies, they essentially devalued the euro.  The outcome for U.S. importers was the same as the outcome for U.S-China importers.  We began importing deflation from the EU side.

In the middle of this there was a downside for U.S. exporters.  With China and the EU devaluing their currency, the value of the dollar increased.  This made purchases from the U.S. more expensive.  U.S. companies who relied on exports (lots of agricultural industries and raw materials) took a hit from higher export prices. However, and this part is really interesting, it only made those companies more dependent on domestic sales for income.  With less being exported there was more product available in the U.S for domestic purchase…. this dynamic led to another predictable outcome, even lower prices for U.S. consumers.

From 2017 through early 2020, U.S. consumer prices were dropping. We were in a rare place where deflation was happening.  Combine lower prices with higher wages and you can easily see the strength within the U.S. economy.  For the rest of the world this seemed unfair, and indeed they cried foul – especially Canada.

However, this was America First in action.  Middle-class Americans were benefiting from a Trump reversal of 40 years of economic policies like those that created the rust belt.

Industries were investing in the U.S. and that provided leverage for Trump’s trade policies to have stronger influence.  If you wanted access to this expanding market, those foreign companies needed to put their investment money into the U.S. and create even more U.S. jobs.   This was an expanding economic spiral where Trump was creating more and more economic pies.  Every sector of the U.S. economy was benefiting more, but the blue-collar working class was gaining the most benefit of all.

♦ REVERSE THIS… and you now understand where we are with inflation.   The Joebama economic policies are exactly the reverse.  The monetary policy that pumps money into into the U.S. economy via COVID bailouts and federal spending drops the value of the dollar and makes the dependency state worse.

With the FED pumping money into the U.S. system the dollar value plummets.  At the same time,  JoeBama dropped tariff enforcement to please the Wall Street multinational corporations and banks that funded his campaign.  Now, the value of the Chinese and EU currency increases.  This means it costs more to import products and that is the primary driver of price increases in consumer goods.

Simultaneously a lower dollar means cheaper exports for the multinationals (Big AG and raw materials).  China, SE Asia and even the EU purchase U.S. raw materials at a lower price.  That means less raw material in the U.S. which drives up prices for U.S. consumers.  It is a perfect storm.  Higher costs for imported goods and higher costs for domestic goods (food).  Combine this dynamic with massive increases in energy costs from ideological policy and that’s fuel on a fire of inflation.

Annualized inflation is now estimated to be around 8 percent, and it will likely keep increasing.  This is terrible for wage earners in the U.S. who are now seeing no wage growth and higher prices.  Real wages are decreasing by the fastest rate in decades.  We are now in a downward spiral where your paycheck buys less.  As a result, consumer middle-class spending contracts.  Eventually this means housing prices drop because people cannot afford higher mortgage payments.

Gasoline costs more (+50%), food costs more (+10% at a minimum) and as a result real wages drop; disposable income is lost.  Ultimately this is the cause of Stagflation. A stagnant economy and inflation.  None of this is caused by COVID-19.  All of this is caused by economic policy and monetary policy sold under the guise of COVID-19.

This inflationary period will not stall out until the U.S. economy can recover from the massive amount of federal spending.  If the spending continues, the dollar continues to be weak, and as a result the inflationary period continues.  It is a spiral that can only be stopped if the policies are reversed…. and the only way to stop these insane policies is to get rid of the Wall Street Democrats and Republicans who are constructing them.

Jul 13 2021

Audit the FED


Posted originally on GrrrGraphics.com on JUL 10, 2021 AT 11:18 AM

Saturday Flashback Cartoon-Ben’s First Cartoon

Hello and Happy Saturday fellow extremists 😉 

Welcome to our first “Flashback Cartoon” Saturday. Every Saturday we will feature one of Ben’s older cartoons.

Our first cartoon featured is actually the very first political cartoon Ben drew in August of 2009 as he began the long and bumpy road of becoming a political cartoonist.

Interesting this first cartoon was about an AUDIT, isn’t it?

Ben has always supported ending and auditing the Federal Reserve.

What are YOUR thoughts on the Fed?

let us know!

Tina

Jul 13 2021

France Moves to Totalitarian State – End of Tourism


Armstrong Economics Blog/France Re-Posted Jul 13, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

Macron delivered a 27-minute speech to the nation on television. Macron announced a full-blown authoritarian measure that takes France off the tourist list. He has made vaccinations MANDATORY for caregivers, store clerks, waitresses, and all other workers “in contact with the public” with no exceptions for health or religion. On top of that, he has made it also MANDATORY to have his Gates-inspired health pass to enter all restaurants, cafes, theaters, and cinemas. In other words, without a vaccination, you are not even allowed to go to the store and buy anything.

As if this was not bad enough, Macron also announced a pension reform after the epidemic. This is the real reason for all of this. SOCIALISM is dying and what they are really afraid of is an uprising where like in ancient Rome, the mob storms the palaces and beheads the emperor. Their solution – TOTALITARIANISM and there will be a subtle move to eliminate democratic elections in 2022.

Jul 13 2021

Wow, It was McSwain – President Trump Releases US Attorney Letter Notifying Him of Bill Barr Efforts to Block Investigation of Election Fraud


Posted originally on the Conservative tree house on July 12, 2021 | Sundance | 354 Comments

Yesterday we were uncertain if it was US Attorney William M McSwain who notified President Trump of Bill Barr’s corruption and blocking of election investigations. {Go Deep}  Today President Trump released the letter confirming it was McSwain.  [pdf HERE]

In previous comments attributed to AG Bill Barr,  he claimed to have seen no evidence of election fraud.  The Atlantic Article cites Bill Barr stating to an AP journalist December 1st 2020: ” To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” and then the article covers the fallout with the White House from that AP interview.

There’s a big difference between not seeing election fraud and purposefully blocking a United States Attorney from investigating allegations of fraud with a motive not to see it.  This is blood-boiling:

[Source]

You can read the full BACKSTORY HERE.

Jul 13 2021

Milk Carton Democrats Strike Again – Texas Democrats Leave State to Block Legislation, Fly Private Jets to Washington DC for Support


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 12, 2021 | Sundance | 392 Comments

We saw this exact same strategy play out in Wisconsin circa 2011 when the Democrats in state legislature fled the state to avoid showing up to a legislative session.  They left the state specifically to avoid state police arresting them and forcibly returning them to work.   This is how Democrats operate.

In Texas the milk-carton Democrats do not have the numbers to block legislation; however, they can deny a legislative quorum by not showing up to work.  The Democrats took buses to a private airport where they took private charter flights to Washington DC; all of their manipulative schemes paid for by Democrat activist groups.  The cases of beer on the seats is a nice touch.

Meanwhile, Texas citizens are paying taxes to fund the salaries of officials who refuse to come to work.

Texas TRIBUNE – […] “We are now taking the fight to our nation’s Capitol,” the Democrats said in their statement. “We are living on borrowed time in Texas.”

The Democrats convened at a local plumbers union building and boarded a bus that transported them to a private airport terminal. They arrived at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport shortly after 2:30 p.m., driving straight onto the tarmac.

Lawmakers did not speak with the media before they left. Terminal staff kept reporters off the premises and on the street outside. By 3 p.m., several supporters of the legislators were gathered outside the terminal, holding signs that said, “Let my people vote,” and, “Thank you for fighting voter suppression.”

Even if Democratic lawmakers stay out of state for the next few weeks, the governor could continue to call 30-day sessions or add voting restrictions to the agenda when the Legislature takes on the redrawing of the state’s political maps later this summer. (read more)

They appear to be very proud of themselves.

Of course, Texas officials could play hardball, but they won’t.

The Texas AG could issue subpoenas post them to each office-holder for 72 hrs, then the state governor Greg Abbott could issue XO arrest warrants for non-compliance.  It won’t happen because those running the state of Texas are purple, not red (it’s an open secret down there).  Texas is not as conservative as people think; exactly the opposite is true… just review their conduct during COVID.

Texas is to Republican as Republican is to Mitch McConnell.

Jul 13 2021

Major Escalation – Biden Allies and DNC Instructing Cell Phone Carriers to Filter and Censor Text Message Content


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 12, 2021 | Sundance | 478 Comments

All Your Communication Are Belong to Us

Buried in a Politico article about the White House and Biden Regime planning to aggressively confront anyone who attempts to counter their demands of vaccination, including direct confrontation toward any media outlet that would distribute any counter message conflicting the regime narrative, there is this little alarming notation (emphasis mine):

Politico […] …”Biden allied groups, including the Democratic National Committee, are also planning to engage fact-checkers more aggressively and work with SMS carriers to dispel misinformation about vaccines that is sent over social media and text messages. The goal is to ensure that people who may have difficulty getting a vaccination because of issues like transportation see those barriers lessened or removed entirely.”.. (link)

Yes, you read that correctly.  Fact checking your SMS text messages through your carrier, your cell phone or internet provider.

This is a rather remarkable escalation in totalitarian censorship instruction.  Not only will Big Tech social media networks (Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter) censor, delete, and look into any content placed in their “private sector” domain, but the implication is now that AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, T-Mobile etc. etc. will deploy monitors and fact-checkers to control what you are allowed to say in text messages to your friends and family.

We have noted in past discussion that ISP providers have been enlisted to use their control nodules to steer and restrict internet travel; even placing landing warnings on websites that are arbitrarily deemed dangerous to approved government messaging.  However, taking the leap to control the content of all communication platforms is another level entirely.

Another aspect to this is how the Intelligence Branch is closely connected to the private-public partnership.  None of these control mechanisms would work if the corporate private sector was not willingly going along with the demands of intrusive government.

Jul 13 2021

Wells Fargo – Banking Crisis?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Banking Crisis Re-Posted Jul 12, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

It has begun. Wells Fargo has told all its customers that it is shuttering down ALL personal lines of credit. The bank has made it clear that it is shutting down ALL existing personal lines of credit and it will no longer offer such products. That includes revolving credit lines, which typically let users borrow $3,000 to $100,000. The bank used to sell these products as a way to consolidate higher-interest credit card debt or to pay for home renovations. This also included avoiding overdraft fees on linked checking accounts.

Customers have been given a 60-day notice that their accounts will be shut down. Wells Fargo has declined to comment when asked by Reuters. Previously, Wells Fargo suspended home equity loans, claiming it was due to the economic uncertainty with COVID. Wells Fargo has been struggling with a tarnished reputation following a series of consumer financial scandals. In 2016, the Wells Fargo account fraud scandal led to the resignation of CEO John Stumpf and resulted in fines of $185 million by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Despite the fact that Wells Fargo Bank likes to portray it was formed on March 18, 1852, the truth is that it was simply a freight company back then. It was in New York City where Henry Wells and William G. Fargo joined with several other investors to launch their idea of a freight company to cover the trade between the East and West Coasts. What sparked the idea was the discovery of gold in California in 1849. They recognized that there would be a demand for cross-country shipping. Wells Fargo & Company was formed to take advantage of this great opportunity.

In July 1852, Wells Fargo & Co began its first loads of freight from the East Coast to mining camps scattered throughout northern California. The company contracted with independent stagecoach companies to provide the fastest possible transportation and delivery of gold dust, mail, and other various valuable freight. Wells Fargo began buying gold dust, selling paper bank drafts, and providing loans to help fuel California’s growing economy.

In 1857, the business was so profitable that Wells, Fargo & Co. formed the Overland Mail Company, known as the “Butterfield Line,” which provided regular mail and passenger service. The company earned a reputation as a trustworthy and reliable business. It adopted as its logo the classic stagecoach which became famous even in later movies. Wells Fargo & Co. would also send an employee on horseback to deliver or pick up a message or package which became known as the Pony Express.

There were other competitors. John Bamber first advertised July 12, 1858, as the only authorized for daily and weekly newspapers. On September 9, 1870, Bamber incorporated as “Bamber Express Co.” with four other trustees.  Then on January 1, 1874, a change in ownership was announced. On July 6, 1874, it was announced that Whitney & Co. Express had purchased the company.

Wells Fargo & Co. began a merger and acquisition taking over other Pony Express and stagecoach lines. Wells Fargo took over the Overland Mail Company in 1860. Six years later, Holladay Express was added. By this time,  Wells Fargo & Co emerged and the leader in transportation in the West. When the transcontinental railroad was completed three years later, the company began using the railroad to transport its freight. In 1905, the company split whereas the freight business stood separately and they embarked on banking. Wells Fargo took over the Nevada National Bank and established new headquarters in San Francisco. By 1910, the freight company was covering 6,000 locations from the Eastern urban centers connecting them to the Midwest farmers and then ranchers and miners from Texas to California as well as the Pacific Northwest where the lumber mills operated.

During World War I, the U.S. government nationalized Wells Fargo’s shipping routes and combined them with the railroads into the American Railway Express. This actually terminated Wells, Fargo & Co. as a transportation and delivery business. The banking side was hit by the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, but the vaults held up while the building collapsed. After World War II, the Wells Fargo Bank American Trust Company reduced its name to just Wells Fargo Bank in 1962.

Wells Fargo from its split which was decided in 1904, peaked on the 112-year cycle in 2016. While it elected two of the near-term Yearly sell signals, the first long-term resides at $28.80. A year-end closing below that will be the kiss of death for Wells Fargo.

Jul 13 2021

CDC’s Attempt to Take Over The United States Slapped Down by Federal Judge


Armstrong Economics Blog/Conspiracy Re-Posted Jul 13, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: The CDC acts like it has government power to issue legal rules, and enforce them.
Yet, research into the topic only results in confusion concerning its power.
Much insisting that the CDC is actually a private entity, but then, again, more, insisting that it is an agency created legally by government.
I would really like to see some detailed and enlightening words on this confusing situation.

DC

REPLY: The press never wanted to publish a court decision by Judge Steven Merryday in Florida v. Becerra. On June 18, 2021, Judge Merryday, of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, temporarily suspended cruise industry restrictions issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC’s challenged provisions established testing, vaccination, quarantine and isolation, and social distancing requirements. In its complaint, the state of Florida argued that the “CDC does not have the authority to issue year-and-a-half-long nationwide lockdowns of entire industries,” adding that “even if it did, its actions here are arbitrary and capricious.”

Judge Merryday sided with Florida, finding that the CDC had exceeded its authority: “Never has CDC implemented measures as extensive, disabling and exclusive as those under review in this action.” Under the terms of Merryday’s ruling, the CDC’s restrictions were set to become guidance after July 18, 2021. Merryday gave the CDC until July 2, 2021, to propose narrower restrictions.

There is no question that under the pretense of a pandemic, the health agencies tried to usurp unconstitutional power. Ever since that decision, you will notice that the CDC began to make “recommendations,” but could not exercise dictatorial power that superseded even the president of the United States and Congress. This has been the clear attempt of the Deep State to take over the country and put an end to any form of a representative form of government. The CDC and FDA did their best to hide the efficacy of Ivermectin in the Prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19. They DELIBERATELY caused people to die by withholding treatment to make the crisis worse so they would gain power. These people really should be hunted down and criminally charged just like the Nazis in Nuremberg. They have acted without fear because they assume the Great Reset will end democratic forms of government and bring about a new era of totalitarianism.

Jul 13 2021

The Hypocrisy of Congress


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law Re-Posted Jul 13, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

If Ashli Babbitt, who was unarmed and shot point-blank and killed, was black and this was on the street, there would be national riots everywhere. The policeman would be identified, and demands to be prosecuted would echo down every airwave. But she was a white veteran and the Democrats tried to call it an “armed insurrection” when nobody had a gun. This is a disgrace. Most police departments in the nation are required to release an officer’s name within days of a fatal shooting. Not the U.S. Capitol Police, which is controlled by Congress and answers only to Congress. It can keep the public in the dark about the identity and investigation of an officer involved in a shooting indefinitely.

Ashli Babbitt was unarmed on January 6. Giving up the policeman who murdered her goes against the entire narrative the Democrats want to portray. This was an insurrection, and allowing the officer to stand trial would undermine the Democrats and the commission they appointed for the purpose of using this in the next election. So Babbitt’s death will never be addressed. She is collateral damage for the Democrats, for the term “JUSTICE” to them is really “JUST US.”

This all gets far worse. I believe Nancy Pelosi is out of control. She has used her power to create another law enforcement agency that will never be subject to review and can act totally outside the Constitution. She has been using January 6 to expand her power calling this domestic terrorism to be able to go after any political opponent. Pelosi is placing satellite field offices for the DC Capitol Police in key regions around the country. She is bypassing the FBI, which answers to the president and has field offices all over the country. Pelosi has transformed the Capitol Hill police into a national secret police force that answers to her and is exempt from all other laws, as we see by withholding the name of the officer who murdered Ashli Babbitt.

Nancy Pelosi is expanding the federal law enforcement mechanism for Capitol Hill into an unconstitutional legislative branch which she is targeting specific areas where they can investigate political opposition armed with legal authority that is unchallengeable. The law enforcement under the Separation of Power belongs to the Executive Branch. The Legislative Branch has no such power that Pelosi is exercising.

Jul 13 2021

Trump’s Lawsuit Against BigTech – Is it Viable?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law Re-Posted Jul 13, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

Anything Trump does the media will call a joke. This lawsuit they all claim Trump will lose. But their bias blinds them to two important points one of which he makes which is that they are acting under the color of law which means that the First Amendment would apply to a private person or entity. Big Tech is claiming they can do as they like because the constitution only applies to the government – not them. This may be true ordinarily, but not if someone is acting with the sanction of the government. In other words, you hire someone to kill somebody and they claim you did not kill anyone. The assassin did so under your orders so you are still liable for the murder.

This is a very loose example of what would be acting under the color of law. The central claim in Mr. Trump’s class-action lawsuit states that the defendants should be treated as state actors (under color of law) and are bound by the First Amendment when they engage in selective political censorship. This is a valid claim. Their censorship constitutes state action because the government granted them immunity from legal liability. They have clearly engaged in selective censorship nullifying free speech. That is not a frivolous claim, but I question if Trump’s lawyers have really done a good job on this issue.

Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.

Secondly, Trump has sued Facebook and Twitter for violating his First Amendment rights. If you actually look at Section 230, it does NOT authorize censorship of political speech or canceling someone because they were against vaccines or Fauci. We typically hear that Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996 preempts any such state laws and shields Big Tech 100% from any lawsuits. However, that line of thought is what Big Tech wants people to believe, and it benefited Democrats sho they pretended they were correct.

However, read the statute and you will see that this is one massive misapplication of Section 230. This section only shields Big Tech from civil liability suits regarding the censorship of sexually obscene or excessively violent material. They have embarked on a political agenda that is the same method of the Communist revolutions to silence all opposition. In the vast majority of cases, political speech and cultural commentary are not sexually obscene or excessively violent.

Trump has challenged Section 230 as unconstitutional. I would argue that it is unconstitutional as applied and the censorship is in violation of 230(b)(b)PolicyIt is the policy of the United States—(1)to promote the continued development of the Internet and other interactive computer services and other interactive media;(2)to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market that presently exists for the Internet and other interactive computer services, unfettered by Federal or State regulation;(3)to encourage the development of technologies which maximize user control over what information is received by individuals, families, and schools who use the Internet and other interactive computer services;(4)to remove disincentives for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to restrict their children’s access to objectionable or inappropriate online material; and(5)to ensure vigorous enforcement of Federal criminal laws to deter and punish trafficking in obscenity, stalking, and harassment by means of computer.

The “intent” of Congress was NOT to allow censorship of free speech. Therefore, how Big Tech is using Section 230 is unconstitutional as applied to their practices. Most people do not know that back in 2019, BEFORE Covid,  a settlement was reached in a lawsuit brought against YouTube by the state of New York and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which required YouTube to pay $170 million for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). The settlement not only resulted in the fine but a bunch of new rules that content creators must comply with.I do not see Section 230 as unconstitutional on its face, only as applied by Big Tech.