Your Bipartisan Congress

[JackLuis]

Democrats Join Republicans In Bill Criminalizing Speech Critical Of Israel

The latest evidence of that slavishness comes in the form of growing support among Democrats in both Houses for legislation sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and co-sponsored by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer that would make it a felony for Americans to support the international boycott against Israel, commonly known as BDS. Anyone guilty of violating the prohibitions will face a minimum civil penalty of $250,000 and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and 20 years in prison.

According to the ACLU, the Cardin legislation would “bar U.S. persons from supporting boycotts against Israel, including its settlements in the Palestinian Occupied Territories (emphasis mine) conducted by international governmental organizations, such as the United Nations and the European Union. It would also... include penalties for simply requesting information about such boycotts. Violations would be subject to a minimum civil penalty of $250,000 and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and 20 years in prison....This bill would impose civil and criminal punishment on individuals solely because of their political beliefs about Israel and its policies.”

A little harsh, wouldn't you say? I guess Free Speech costs a lot these days?

 

[BotanyBoy]

Democrats Join Republicans In Bill Criminalizing Speech Critical Of Israel



A little harsh, wouldn't you say? I guess Free Speech costs a lot these days?

Isn't that big gubbmint wonderful??

 

[RelentlessOnanism]

As someone who isn't American and doesn't live there, I do find it curious that Israel holds such sway over the American political establishment. I realise it's an ally (and a somewhat beleaguered ally in many respects) and the US wants to back its allies, but this level of seemingly unthinking devotion seems fairly extraordinary.

Wouldn't this law come a cropper in the courts, anyway? Free speech and all that.

 

[jaF0]

As someone who isn't American and doesn't live there, I do find it curious that Israel holds such sway over the American political establishment.

The Capitol of the United States is Tel Aviv.

 

[phrodeau]

The Capitol of the United States is Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv is Israel's capital. The capital of the US is Jerusalem.

 

[Hypoxia]

There's a simple fix for the MidEast dilemma: Nuke everybody. Nuke Tel Aviv, Beirut, Damascus, Jerusalem, Gaza, Riyadh, Mecca, Baghdad, Teheran, Cairo, Istanbul, Kuwait, Qatar, Dubai, Aden, Baku, etc.The schmucks will have nothing left to fight over. Peace will reign. Selah!

 

[sharingfantasies]

Then all the other countries left can go to war trying to get their hands on the oil and minerals of the area. Or at least what is left of them after all the bombing.

So the idea is to punish anyone that follows the international boycotts? Sigh.. who thinks up this stuff?

 

[BotanyBoy]

So the idea is to punish anyone that follows the international boycotts?

Yep, even inquiring about them apparently can get you nailed to the wall.

Sigh.. who thinks up this stuff?

Left wing politicians.

 

[JackLuis]

Yep, even inquiring about them apparently can get you nailed to the wall.

Left wing politicians.

AIPAC actually and they pull Chucky's string.

 

[BotanyBoy]

AIPAC actually and they pull Chucky's string.

Ok...it's still lefty behavior.

What's your point?

 

[RelentlessOnanism]

Yep, even inquiring about them apparently can get you nailed to the wall.



Left wing politicians.

It seems to be a popular position across the spectrum. Both Democrats and Republicans do it. It seems to be the one thing they agree on.

 

[BotanyBoy]

It seems to be a popular position across the spectrum. Both Democrats and Republicans do it.

If you consider D and R the same thing as left and right of the spectrum then sure.

I don't.

This is the government trying to control how people communicate, organize and spend their money, classic lefty bullshit.

It seems to be the one thing they agree on.

Because (R)'s aren't even remotely close to right wing as people like to pretend.

 

[JackLuis]

Write your Senators the Following, I just did.

Dear Senator:
I am writing this to express my outrage at the bill introduced that makes it an offence to have a particular opinion. This is absolutely Unconstitutional and an offence to the general philosophy of American liberty.

It has been reported :
“The latest evidence of that slavishness comes in the form of growing support among Democrats in both Houses for legislation sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and co-sponsored by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer that would make it a felony for Americans to support the international boycott against Israel, commonly known as BDS. Anyone guilty of violating the prohibitions will face a minimum civil penalty of $250,000 and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and 20 years in prison.”


I ask that you personally and forthwith, call the Senators out on the floor of the Senate, read to them the Bill of Rights and ask the Sergeant at Arms to escort the Senators off the floor for UnAmerican Activities contrary to the good order of a civilized society!

Or:

Walk down the hall, slap the Senators with a copy of the Constitution and chastise them for being the sniveling tool of a foreign power!

It goes without saying that you should not support this bill and should do everything in your power to insure that such travesties do not occur again!

I believe that this should also be enough to remove Senator Schumer from any leadership position he holds. He is not a leader I would follow if he hasn’t the integrity to adhere to the Constitution.

Respectfully

The Fucking Assholes!

 

[BotanyBoy]

Write your Senators the Following, I just did.



The Fucking Assholes!

Both of my senators are absolute enemies to the general philosophy of American liberty, they hate that Nazi shit more than just about anything.

So there is little point to writing them about it.

 

[JackLuis]

Both of my senators are absolute enemies to the general philosophy of American liberty, they hate that Nazi shit more than just about anything.

So there is little point to writing them about it.

It irritates Diane, that makes it worth it.

 

[BotanyBoy]

It irritates Diane, that makes it worth it.

https://media.giphy.com/media/6KAxgfdBLzzqM/giphy.gif

 

[JackLuis]

I came across this old article but it is significant today.


Former President Jimmy Carter Says America Has Become an Oligarchy
July 31, 2015 at 9:26 am

Carter had this to say.

“… I have felt that my own communications are probably monitored. And when I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write the letter myself, put it in the post office, and mail it.”

When asked about the supreme court’s ruling to allow unlimited corporate spending in politics, Carter had this to say:

“It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it’s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president. And the same thing applies to governors, and U.S. senators and congress members. So now we’ve just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election’s over… The incumbents, Democrats, and Republicans, look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves. Somebody who’s already in Congress has a lot more to sell to an avid contributor than somebody who’s just a challenger.”

Even Vice President Joe Biden ironically admitted that money fuels politics.

“You have to go where the money is. Now where the money is, there’s almost always implicitly some string attached […] It’s awful hard to take a whole lot of money from a group you know has a particular position then you conclude they’re wrong [and] vote no.”

The 29-term congressman John Dingell also had some heavy words on spending in politics before his retirement:

“Allowing people and corporate interest groups and others to spend an unlimited amount of unidentified money has enabled certain individuals to swing any and all elections, whether they are congressional, federal, local, state […] rarely are these people having goals which are in line with those of the general public. History well shows that there is a very selfish game that’s going on and that our government has largely been put up for sale.”

So lets just call it over then? Is the Second Amendment our only option? Or will Bob help out the country?

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

"Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S. 720), was introduced by Cardin on March 23. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that the bill “was drafted with the assistance of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC]” … The bill’s co-sponsors include the senior Democrat in Washington, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, his New York colleague Kirsten Gillibrand, and several of the Senate’s more liberal members, such as Ron Wyden of Oregon, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Maria Cantwell of Washington. Illustrating the bipartisanship that AIPAC typically summons, it also includes several of the most right-wing Senators such as Ted Cruz of Texas, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and Marco Rubio of Florida."

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligence...ake-it-a-federal-crime-to-boycott-israel.html

Just sign it, because it is from AIPAC ?


Josh Ruebner expertly detailed when the bill was first unveiled, “the bill seeks to amend two laws — the Export Administration Act of 1979 and the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945,” and “the potential penalties for violating this bill are steep: a minimum $250,000 civil penalty and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and 20 years imprisonment, as stipulated in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.”


https://theintercept.com/2017/07/19...-support-for-boycott-campaign-against-israel/


07/31/17

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said Monday she will not back the Israel Anti-Boycott Act “in its current form” until it is revised to make clear that it does not penalize any efforts by individuals to boycott the Middle Eastern nation.

http://observer.com/2017/07/kirsten-gillibrand-israel-boycott-legislation/

 

[JackLuis]

Gillibrand Now Says She Won’t Support Israel Boycott Bill ‘In Its Current Form’

“But as I said, there must be ambiguity there because otherwise the ACLU wouldn’t reach their conclusion…so I’m gonna urge them to rewrite it to make sure it says, ‘This does not apply to individuals,'” Gillibrand continued. ‘This is only applying to companies. This applies to those working to undermine U.S. foreign policy.'”

"Corporations are people too, my friend." She must not have gotten that memo.

 

[JackLuis]

Israel’s New Boycott Law and U.S. Law: Like Apples and Orangutans

Comparing the boycott law passed Monday by the Israeli Knesset with US anti-boycott law is like comparing apples and orangutans.

Apples and orangutans indeed have things in common. Both occur in nature, both words start with a vowel, and neither one looks anything like a frog. Likewise, US law and the new Israeli law have things in common: both include the word “boycott,” both relate to Israel, and neither has anything to do with frogs.

Defenders of Israel’s anti-boycott law want to end the story there. This comparison, they argue, proves that the U.S. law and the Israeli law are in essence no different, and ipso facto, that the new Israeli law is nothing out of the ordinary in a democracy.

Anyone with any common sense knows that a pomaceous fruit is not the same as a great ape. Unfortunately, that same common sense seems to be lacking in the comparison of the two laws. This could be because — let’s be honest — not everyone knows how to go about researching U.S. law. It could also be because even reasonable people assume that nobody would have the chutzpa to blatantly lie about something that can so easily be fact-checked.

In researching the Senate bill I found this> Apparently Israel pass a law and perhaps that's Why AIPAC is pushing for the US bill? Do they need political cover for their own jackboots?

 

[magicalmoments]

Yep, even inquiring about them apparently can get you nailed to the wall.



Left wing politicians.

No they're not.

 

[BotanyBoy]

No they're not.

Yes they are.

If they were right wing they would hold firm that it's none of the governments fuckin' business who you associate with or how you spend your money.

 

[phrodeau]

Yes they are.

If they were right wing they would hold firm that it's none of the governments fuckin' business who you associate with or how you spend your money.

Man, you sure have that right.

http://twitchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/clintonlynch.jpg

 

[JackLuis]

Man, you sure have that right.

http://twitchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/clintonlynch.jpg

Apples and Orangutans, Phrodou. Just like the Israeli Law. Although I agree that the Rethuglicans are hypocrites too.

 

[BotanyBoy]

Man, you sure have that right.

http://twitchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/clintonlynch.jpg

LOL you think Republicans are Right wing?? LMFAO!!!

They are barely capitalist or even conservative anymore if not arguably at all as a party.

They are about as right wing as the (D)'s are "Progressive"....they talk a good game but neither follows up on that talk, they both turn around and sell out as hard as they can to keep that money flowing.