Annoying Orange bans EPA and USDA from updating the public via the press or social media

[SlayerZ99]

yeah

i mean unless im somehow reading into this wrong that's exactly what is happening here

that's what I was thinking...

[Ad Bot]

[otto-san]

I haven't looked into it much besides this topic but uhhh isn't this a direct infringement on the 1st amendment....?

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]

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"

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]

I haven't looked into it much besides this topic but uhhh isn't this a direct infringement on the 1st amendment....?

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

[otto-san]

congressp

i can't think of a joke but i'm going to point out the opportunity for someone else

[Foxscotch]

i can't think of a joke but i'm going to point out the opportunity for someone else

point out what, you big goat

[SlayerZ99]

Okay thanks for the clarification

[Rabbot32]

He's got a reason for this. It'll be stupid and showing how handicapped he is, ergo how he bought the Presidency, but I'm sure there's a reason.

[TristanLuigi]

oh look the alt-right /pol/ folks of the forums seem to have disappeared now that Annoying Orange has done something totally indefensible

hmm weird....

[Tactical Nuke]

I haven't looked into it much besides this topic but uhhh isn't this a direct infringement on the 1st amendment....?

it would be if they weren't government workers
there has to be a reason behind it, otherwise I'm not sure about this
let's wait until the facts come out

[Red Spy]

oh look the alt-right /pol/ folks of the forums seem to have disappeared now that Annoying Orange has done something totally indefensible

hmm weird....

Ok

[Conan]

it would be if they weren't government workers
there has to be a reason behind it, otherwise I'm not sure about this
let's wait until the facts come out

there's always a reason behind everything, but some things require a very good reason to explain, and something totally random like this is one of those things.

there was no event or anything really prompting him to do this - what kind of justification is there to silence government programs which have clearly benefited the public? sure, cutting funding and stuff, there's some political and societal reasons behind that (that people may not agree on), but silencing???

what is he afraid of them saying/doing?????

[IkeTheGeneric]

Day 3 and he's already doing incredibly polarizing stuff. Buckle up for the most exciting four years of your lives

[Bloody Mary]

Yeah, I think this is a terrible move. They're not absolutely crucial but they still provide a great deal of utility to the United States. I fear this is the prelude to a complete gutting of the EPA and USDA; take away their ability to report their findings and receive grants, then annihilate them a few months later when their morale and productivity are at an all time low, claiming they weren't doing any good in the first place.