Off Topic > Off Topic
Annoying Orange bans EPA and USDA from updating the public via the press or social media
SlayerZ99:
--- Quote from: Poliwhirl on January 24, 2017, 11:48:46 PM ---yeah
i mean unless im somehow reading into this wrong that's exactly what is happening here
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that's what I was thinking...
otto-san:
--- Quote from: SlayerZ99 on January 24, 2017, 11:43:43 PM ---I haven't looked into it much besides this topic but uhhh isn't this a direct infringement on the 1st amendment....?
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probably not, if the social media accounts are officially run by the federal government, it's totally within the power of the government to say "hey stop posting on social media"
Poliwhirl:
--- Quote from: otto-san on January 24, 2017, 11:56:28 PM ---probably not, if the social media accounts are officially run by the federal government, it's totally within the power of the government to say "hey stop posting on social media"
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ah, yeah i suppose it doesn't really apply since they're a part of the government. still stupid as hell though.
otto-san:
seeing some people calling this censorship of the scientific community, which isn't really too much of an overreaction. the EPA definitely acts as a very nice megaphone for scientific information, as well as providing grants to research. by taking away that megaphone and those grants, the govt is effectively stifling scientific progress in those areas, and that's pretty bad news. i'd be skeptical that the intent was censorship though, this is most likely just to halt things for a little bit while things transition into the Annoying Orange administration. not that that's necessarily a good thing for either of these agencies
Foxscotch:
--- Quote from: SlayerZ99 on January 24, 2017, 11:43:43 PM ---I haven't looked into it much besides this topic but uhhh isn't this a direct infringement on the 1st amendment....?
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the first amendment doesn't exist to allow government agencies to post on social media
it also specifically says that "congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech", and congress has done nothing here
I'm not saying it's right. but it just doesn't have anything to do with the first amendment