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The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn’t sell, as lawmakers acted on concerns that the company’s current ownership structure is a national security threat.
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The bill, passed by a vote of 352-65, now goes to the Senate, where its prospects are unclear.
TikTok, which has more than 150 million American users, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd.
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The lawmakers contend that ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok’s consumers in the U.S. any time it wants. The worry stems from a set of Chinese national security laws that compel organizations to assist with intelligence gathering.
“We have given TikTok a clear choice,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. “Separate from your parent company ByteDance, which is beholden to the CCP (the Chinese Communist Party), and remain operational in the United States, or side with the CCP and face the consequences. The choice is TikTok’s.
House passage of the bill is only the first step. The Senate would also need to pass the measure for it to become law, and lawmakers in that chamber indicated it would undergo a thorough review. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he’ll have to consult with relevant committee chairs to determine the bill’s path.
President Joe Biden has said if Congress passes the measure, he will sign it.
The House vote is poised to open a new front in the long-running feud between lawmakers and the tech industry. Members of Congress have long been critical of tech platforms and their expansive influence, often clashing with executives over industry practices. But by targeting TikTok, lawmakers are singling out a platform popular with millions of people, many of whom skew younger, just months before an election.
Opposition to the bill was also bipartisan. Some Republicans said the U.S. should warn consumers if there are data privacy and propaganda concerns, while some Democrats voiced concerns about the impact a ban would have on its millions of users in the U.S., many of which are entrepreneurs and business owners.
“The answer to authoritarianism is not more authoritarianism,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif. “The answer to CCP-style propaganda is not CCP-style oppression. Let us slow down before we blunder down this very steep and slippery slope.”
Ahead of the House vote, a top national security official in the Biden administration held a closed-door briefing Tuesday with lawmakers to discuss TikTok and the national security implications. Lawmakers are balancing those security concerns against a desire not to limit free speech online.
“What we’ve tried to do here is be very thoughtful and deliberate about the need to force a divestiture of TikTok without granting any authority to the executive branch to regulate content or go after any American company,” said Rep. Mike Gallagher, the bill’s author, as he emerged from the briefing.
TikTok has long denied that it could be used as a tool of the Chinese government. The company has said it has never shared U.S. user data with Chinese authorities and won’t do so if it is asked. To date, the U.S. government also has not provided any evidence that shows TikTok shared such information with Chinese authorities. The platform has about 170 million users in the U.S.
The security briefing seemed to change few minds, instead solidifying the views of both sides.
“We have a national security obligation to prevent America’s most strategic adversary from being so involved in our lives,” said Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y.
But Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said no information has been shared with him that convinces him TikTok is a national security threat. “My opinion, leaving that briefing, has not changed at all,” he said.
“This idea that we’re going to ban, essentially, entrepreneurs, small business owners, the main way how young people actually communicate with each other is to me insane,” Garcia said.
“Not a single thing that we heard in today’s classified briefing was unique to TikTok. It was things that happen on every single social media platform,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif.
Republican leaders have moved quickly to bring up the bill after its introduction last week. A House committee approved the legislation unanimously, on a 50-vote, even after their offices were inundated with calls from TikTok users demanding they drop the effort. Some offices even shut off their phones because of the onslaught.
Lawmakers in both parties are anxious to confront China on a range of issues. The House formed a special committee to focus on China-related issues. And Schumer directed committee chairs to begin working with Republicans on a bipartisan China competition bill.
Senators are expressing an openness to the bill but suggested they don’t want to rush ahead.
“It is not for me a redeeming quality that you’re moving very fast in technology because the history shows you make a lot of mistakes,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
In pushing ahead with the legislation, House Republicans are also creating rare daylight between themselves and former President Donald Trump as he seeks another term in the White House.
Trump has voiced opposition to the effort. He said Monday that he still believes TikTok poses a national security risk but is opposed to banning the hugely popular app because doing so would help its rival, Facebook, which he continues to lambast over his 2020 election loss.
As president, Trump attempted to ban TikTok through an executive order that called “the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People’s Republic of China (China)” a threat to “the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States.” The courts, however, blocked the action after TikTok sued, arguing such actions would violate free speech and due process rights.
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Charles Barkley is walking back a threat he jokingly made regarding Black Trump supporters and how punchable their faces are.
During a recent episode of Barkley’s show with Gayle King on CNN, the former NBA power forward responded to Donald Trump relying on racist stereotypes and fake solidarity with Black people to woo Black voters during an appearance at the Black Conservative Federation Gala in South Carolina (which unsurprisingly had a white AF audience).
During the speech, Trump, in his usual delusional fashion, claimed Black people are walking around in t-shirts with images of his mugshot, which he got after being indicted on RICO charges for alleged election interference in Georgia. Trump also claimed, “Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against.” He said this in reference to his own legal woes, which, obviously, have nothing to do with racial discrimination, and are rich coming from the orangey-white nationalist who spearheaded the propaganda-reliant attack on critical race theory, Black Lives Matter and DEI.
“If I see a Black person walking around with a Trump mug shot, I’m gonna punch him in the face,” Barkley told King.
Now, the second Barkley said this, we all should have known it would only be a matter of time before he had to make another statement dialing it back. According to USA Today, video clips of Barkley’s remarks got hundreds of views, which means he likely came under fire because folks were more offended by what he said than they were by a demonstrably racist white man who has such little respect for “the Blacks” that he will perform white supremacy right in our faces then turn around and cite anti-Black injustice when it’s convenient for his political campaign.
“Obviously I’m not gonna go around punching random strangers in the face,” Barkley said on his show Wednesday in an attempt to clarify his remarks. Still, he made it clear that he is not walking back his contempt for Trump or the sunken place soldiers who support him.
“When Donald Trump compares his plight with that of the Black person, that is what I had a problem with,” Barkley went on to say. “Now, I do wanna say this. I want to make it perfectly clear… If you’re a Black person and you’re wearing a Donald Trump mugshot, you are a freaking idiot.”
“Idiot” is actually too kind a word to use here. “Sambo Blackey-lackey bowing to their MAGA massa’” is far more appropriate.
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President Joe Biden delivered his latest State of The Union (SOTU) address on Thursday (March 7) and the reactions have come in. As expected, folks on one side are praising President Biden while the other side is taking shots and it appears to be split down party lines.
President Joe Biden delivered what many analysts and observers called an impassioned SOTU address, which appealed to Biden’s base and sparked his detractors to make unfounded claims.
As past addresses have gone, the president is using the carefully orchestrated and televised moment to promote policies, rally the base, and do their best as the nation’s leader to call for collaboration and unity for the benefit of all.
It was another display of a lack of decorum and respect for Biden from Republican Party members in attendance, with some yelling out “liar” and other jabs similar to the responses President Barack Obama endured during these addresses.
Biden made several mentions of former president Donald Trump, who will presumably be his opponent in the presidential election this fall. This garnered sounds of dissatisfaction from Trump supporters, most especially when Biden said Trump failed his presidential duty to “care.”
At the top of the Democratic Party’s list of political concerns is abortion rights, and Biden let off a zinger that also got negative reactions from the Republican throng.
“With all due respect, justices, women are not without electoral or political power,” Biden said. “You’re about to realize just how much.”
Biden was also pointed in his words about the U.S.-Mexico border situation, a highly politicized matter in the era of Trump. Also was the matter of the president’s age, all while noting Trump just four years younger.
Because of the energy shown by President Joe Biden during the SOTU address, some made wild claims on X, formerly Twitter, that the president used Adderall and narcotics to achieve the feat. Adderall began trending on the social media network and we’ve got reactions under that trending topic and SOTU below.
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In the run-up to the Oscars on Sunday (March 10), a coalition of actors, musicians and activists will issue an open letter to Hollywood on the significance of Christopher Nolan’s film Oppenheimer and the real-life threats of nuclear war.
The coalition includes members of Oppenheimer‘s cast and crew, as well as such bold-faced names as Annie Lennox, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, Emma Thompson, Jane Fonda, Julianne Moore, Lily Tomlin, Michael Douglas, Rosanna Arquette and Viggo Mortensen. J. Robert Oppenheimer’s grandson, activist Charles Oppenheimer, also joined this call-to-action. The letter will be posted on MakeNukesHistory.org Wednesday (March 6), and will be printed in a full page ad in Thursday’s Los Angeles Times.
Under the headline “An Open Letter to Hollywood on Oppenheimer and Nuclear War,” the ad says, in part:
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“Oppenheimer depicts the origin story of nuclear weapons, the history of the Manhattan Project, and Robert Oppenheimer’s subsequent warnings against an arms race and the development of even more powerful weapons. Oppenheimer was right to warn us.
“Today, 13,000 nuclear weapons are held by nine countries. Some are 80 times more powerful than the ones that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
“As artists and advocates, we want to raise our voices to remind people that while Oppenheimer is history, nuclear weapons are not.
“At a time of great uncertainty, even one nuclear weapon — on land, under the sea, in the air, or in space — is too many. To protect our families, our communities, and our world, we must demand that global leaders work to make nuclear weapons history — and build a brighter future. Please join us — before our luck runs out.”
This is part of a multipronged “Make Nukes History” campaign launching this week, leveraging the attention on Oppenheimer to elevate the conversation about the nuclear threat.
This week, billboards, murals and wheatpastes are popping up around Hollywood, calling attention to the risks of nukes. In the coming days, there will be an art installation at the Original Farmers Market near The Grove in Los Angeles. Backed by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, the campaign aims to raise awareness about the risks posed by today’s nuclear arsenals.
The campaign is taking place across Los Angeles and includes, in addition to billboards, a mural in West Hollywood and more than 1,000 street posters, proclaiming “Oppenheimer Started It, We Can End It” and “13 Oppenheimer Nominations; 13,000 Nuclear Weapons.”
For more information on the campaign and to read the open letter, visit MakeNukesHistory.org
Some of these signees to the open letter have been anti-nuclear activists for decades. Nash and Browne were among the organizers of No Nukes/The MUSE Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future, which were held in September 1979 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Fonda also participated in that event. A triple-disk live album from the concerts was released in late 1979 and made the top 20 on the Billboard 200.
Douglas and Fonda starred in the 1979 thriller The China Syndrome, about a fictional accident at a nuclear power plant. The film, which Douglas produced, was released theatrically on March 16, 1979, 12 days before the Three Mile Island nuclear accident proved that the film’s premise was not far-fetched.
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Super Tuesday results are in and as much of America knew to expect an inevitable President Joe Biden and Donald Trump showdown once things settle, there was a twist here and there. Although it won’t amount to much at the polls, Biden lost the American Samoa contest, a region that carries six delegates and its residents are not allowed to vote in the general election.
Super Tuesday was not packed full of the drama of days of the past as much of the primary races for the presidential race were known to be dominated by the incumbent Biden and Trump on the other side. Biden lost his first primary race of the year in American Samoa to Jason Palmer, a businessman and political newcomer. While the Biden campaign probably isn’t enthused by the news from a front-facing standpoint, it shouldn’t put much of a dent in Biden’s momentum.
What was interesting is the uncommitted protest vote in Michigan, launched due to the White House’s support of Israel during its clash with Hamas. Other states that had either an “uncommitted” line, no preference, or write-in portion were Alabama, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Vermont. Despite this, Biden looks poised to secure the Democratic Party nomination with several wins with little resistance under his belt. Biden also won Iowa, which has been a tough state for him to carry.
Trump, hasn’t hardly broken a sweat against his Republican Party primary opponents and already has 995 delegates of this writing, needing 1,215 delegates in all to earn the nomination. Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley appeared to have momentum on the campaign trail and was seen as being miles above the other candidates but Trump’s power at the polls remains strong as ever. Haley is now leaving the campaign trail considering the numbers.
Biden has 1,497 delegates and needs 1,968 to earn the Democratic Party’s nomination. There isn’t a roadmap that suggests that Biden won’t win despite the surging “uncommitted” protest vote movement that could have some effect on the vote in November.
The primaries also set the stage for U.S. Senate races in Texas, with Colin Allred set to take on incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, who saw little threat to his seat from inside his party. In California, Rep. Adam Schiff is leading the Democratic Party primary so far with his Republic Party opponent Steve Garvey leading on his side. Rep. Barbara Lee also entered the U.S. Senate primary race but is trailing last in her party’s race as results continue to come in.
There are 10 California U.S. House of Representatives contests that will get a lot of attention this fall, along with five North Carolina seats, and six Texas seats. Alabama has two seats, including one district that could flip Democrat in November. The House is a critical series of races for Democrats, who hope to wrestle control of the chamber away from Republicans.
As more results come forth, we will update this post.
[h/t Associated Press]
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After Tennessee announced a new law in February that would make it harder for same-sex couples to get married in the state, singer-songwriter Cassadee Pope is taking her last name to heart. In a Reel posted on her Instagram on Monday (March 4), The Voice alum shared her distress at Tennessee’s new law. “I don’t […]
Taylor Swift is once again using her platform to encourage her millions of U.S. fans to vote.
In a Tuesday (March 5) post on Instagram Stories, the 34-year-old pop star pointed out, “Today, March 5, is the Presidential Primary in Tennessee and 16 other states and territories.”
“I wanted to remind you guys to vote the people who most represent YOU into power,” she continued. “If you haven’t already, make a plan to vote today.”
In addition to Swift’s home state, Tuesday finds Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont and Virginia holding primaries for the Republican party. All the same states, plus Utah, are having elections for the Democrat Party.
“Whether you’re in Tennessee or somewhere else in the US, check your polling places and times,” Swift added, including a link to Vote.org.
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The “Anti-Hero” singer has long been encouraging American Swifties to fulfill their civic duty using Vote.org, a non-profit, non-partisan voter registration organization that aims to increase election turnout and reach underserved and underrepresented voters. In November, she directed followers to the site ahead of Election Day in Colorado, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia, quipping, “Voters gonna vote!”
Since first breaking her silence on politics in 2018, Swift has had a proven impact on voter registration numbers. After she reminded fans to sign up on National Voter Registration Day in September, Vote.org reported a 22.5% increase in voter registrations compared to the year prior, with the site showing a 1,226% jump in participation just an hour after the pop star posted.
“I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country,” Swift wrote in a 2018 Instagram post, in which she endorsed Tennessee’s Phil Bredesen for Senate. (He ended up losing to Marsha Blackburn, which inspired the singer to write her Miss Americana single “Only the Young” about her hope for young people to reclaim the political landscape in the face of such losses.)
“I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG,” she continued at the time. “I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent.”
Sinead O’Connor’s estate and longtime label Chrysalis Records are speaking out and expressing their disgust after Donald Trump used her 1990 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” during recent campaign rallies in North Carolina and Maryland. “Throughout her life, it is well known that Sinéad O’Connor lived by a fierce moral […]
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Kristen Welker, now some months into her hosting duties for political talk show Meet The Press, sparked the wrath of X users after making a statement about Donald Trump. Welker stated during the broadcast that Trump allegedly tried to overturn the November 2020 elections, causing the reporter’s name to trend on X with loads of commentary.
Kristen Welker was on Meet The Press on Sunday (March 3), with Republican Party presidential hopeful Nikki Haley and Democratic Party congresswoman Rep. Debbie Dingell as guests. During one segment, Welker explained that Trump allegedly attempted to overthrow the November 2020 election results, which the business mogul lost to President Joe Biden.
Almost immediately, Kristen Welker saw her name trending with users highlighting instances in which Trump denied the results and essentially egged on his supporters to express the same sentiment via the so-called “Stop The Steal” movement, which helped spark the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that left five dead, more than 170 people injured, and lead to several arrests.
Of course, Welker’s use of the phrase is proper in the legal context but the pushback largely stems from Trump’s history and his brash public stance about what took place on that fated day on Jan. 6, 2021. As one X user noted, Welker’s use of the word “allegedly” is properly used thus the outrage is somewhat misplaced.
Several of the replies on X, formerly Twitter, directly speak to the events around the insurrection as evidence that Donald Trump was attempting to switch the election results in his favor.
We’ve got all the reactions listed below.
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“I never had dinner with the president!” – Ice Cube (“No Vaseline”)
O’Shea Jackson’s jab at Eric Wright on the scathing diss track aimed at his former N.W.A family carried significant weight in 1991. At the time, the president represented the power that was oppressive to the Hip-Hop community. A group like N.W.A didn’t participate in a lunch benefiting the Republican Senatorial inner circle, which was hosted by then-President George H. W. Bush. And the idea that Eazy-E did just that painted him out to be a traitor to the community.
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We fought the power for change in our community, we didn’t fraternize with the power in an attempt to join their fraternity. And any individual in the Hip-Hop community who didn’t adhere to these unwritten laws was subject to being publicly tarred and feathered. No questions asked.
Fast forward to 2024 and, as The Notorious B.I.G. once said “Things Done Changed.”
The power that we were up against in the 80s and 90s has changed shape over the years. It’s a little more complicated to figure out who “The Power” is now when the economics and landscape have been modified, altered and remodeled. In some ways it has changed for the better but, as they always say—the more things change, the more they stay the same.
“Sharing our platforms and our audiences with individuals who have spent the majority of their careers in the spotlight disparaging the very communities we come from is a dangerous proposition.”