Thread: Ron Paul on the Issues

Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban

Submitted by coffee_sponge on Mon, 05/21/2012 - 02:27
Politics & Law

An amendment that would legalize the use of propaganda on American audiences is being inserted into the latest defense authorization bill, BuzzFeed has learned.

The amendment would “strike the current ban on domestic dissemination” of propaganda material produced by the State Department and the Pentagon, according to the summary of the law at the House Rules Committee's official website.

The tweak to the bill would essentially neutralize two previous acts—the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and Foreign Relations Authorization Act in 1987—that had been passed to protect U.S. audiences from our own government’s misinformation campaigns.

The bi-partisan amendment is sponsored by Rep. Mac Thornberry from Texas and Rep. Adam Smith from Washington State.

Full article is here

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It would seem Faux News isn't doing enough to whip Americans into a jingoistic frenzy, so maybe some official looking communications from the Neocons over at State and the Pentagon will finally persuade enough Americans of our "need" to go indiscriminately kill masses of brown people somewhere half way around the world.

Like the American people aren't inundated with a surfeit of lies and propaganda already.

Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban

Propaganda that was supposed to target foreigners could now be aimed at Americans, reversing a longstanding policy. “Disconcerting and dangerous,” says Shank.

Michael Hastings BuzzFeed Staff
posted a few minutes ago

I know, right? Now tell your friends!


Amy Sly for BuzzFeed

Posted May 18, 2012 4:27pm EDT

An amendment that would legalize the use of propaganda on American audiences is being inserted into the latest defense authorization bill, BuzzFeed has learned.

The amendment would “strike the current ban on domestic dissemination” of propaganda material produced by the State Department and the Pentagon, according to the summary of the law at the House Rules Committee's official website.

The tweak to the bill would essentially neutralize two previous acts—the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 and Foreign Relations Authorization Act in 1987—that had been passed to protect U.S. audiences from our own government’s misinformation campaigns.

The bi-partisan amendment is sponsored by Rep. Mac Thornberry from Texas and Rep. Adam Smith from Washington State.

In a little noticed press release earlier in the week — buried beneath the other high-profile issues in the $642 billion defense bill, including indefinite detention and a prohibition on gay marriage at military installations — Thornberry warned that in the Internet age, the current law “ties the hands of America’s diplomatic officials, military, and others by inhibiting our ability to effectively communicate in a credible way.”

The bill's supporters say the informational material used overseas to influence foreign audiences is too good to not use at home, and that new techniques are needed to help fight Al-Qaeda, a borderless enemy whose own propaganda reaches Americans online.

Critics of the bill say there are ways to keep America safe without turning the massive information operations apparatus within the federal government against American citizens.

“Clearly there are ways to modernize for the information age without wiping out the distinction between domestic and foreign audiences,” says Michael Shank, Vice President at the Institute for Economics and Peace in Washington D.C. "That Reps Adam Smith and Mac Thornberry want to roll back protections put in place by previously-serving Senators – who, in their wisdom, ensured limits to taxpayer–funded propaganda promulgated by the US government – is disconcerting and dangerous."

“I just don’t want to see something this significant – whatever the pros and cons – go through without anyone noticing,”

“ says one source on the Hill, who is disturbed by the law. According to this source, the law would allow "U.S. propaganda intended to influence foreign audiences to be used on the domestic population."

The new law would give sweeping powers to the State Department and Pentagon to push television, radio, newspaper, and social media onto the U.S. public. “It removes the protection for Americans,” says a Pentagon official who is concerned about the law. “It removes oversight from the people who want to put out this information.

There are no checks and balances. No one knows if the information is accurate, partially accurate, or entirely false.”

According to this official, “senior public affairs” officers within the Department of Defense want to “get rid” of Smith-Mundt and other restrictions because it prevents information activities designed to prop up unpopular policies—like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Critics of the bill point out that there was rigorous debate when Smith Mundt passed, and the fact that this is so “under the radar,” as the Pentagon official puts it, is troubling.

The Pentagon spends some $4 billion a year to sway public opinion already, and it was recently revealed by USA Today the DoD spent $202 million on information operations in Iraq and Afghanistan last year.

In an apparent retaliation to the USA Today investigation, the two reporters working on the story appear to have been targeted by Pentagon contractors, who created fake Facebook pages and Twitter accounts in an attempt to discredit them.

(In fact, a second amendment to the authorization bill — in reaction to the USA Today report — seeks for cuts to the Pentagon’s propaganda budget overseas, while this amendment will make it easier for the propaganda to spread at home.)

The evaporation of Smith-Mundt and other provisions to safeguard U.S. citizens against government propaganda campaigns is part of a larger trend within the diplomatic and military establishment.

In December, the Pentagon used software to monitor the Twitter debate over Bradley Manning’s pre-trial hearing; another program being developed by the Pentagon would design software to create “sock puppets” on social media outlets; and, last year, General William Caldwell, deployed an information operations team under his command that had been trained in psychological operations to influence visiting American politicians to Kabul.

The upshot, at times, is the Department of Defense using the same tools on U.S. citizens as on a hostile, foreign, population.

A U.S. Army whistleblower, Lieutenant Col. Daniel Davis, noted recently in his scathing 84-page unclassified report on Afghanistan that there remains a strong desire within the defense establishment “to enable Public Affairs officers to influence American public opinion when they deem it necessary to "protect a key friendly center of gravity, to wit US national will," he wrote, quoting a well-regarded general.

The defense bill passed the House Friday afternoon.

Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban

California - Double Check Your Voter Registration Status

Submitted by tsai3904 on Sat, 05/19/2012 - 19:38
California

California

You MUST be a registered Republican to vote for Ron Paul on June 5.

Please double check your voter registration status here:
Check Status of Your Voter Registration - Elections & Voter Information - California Secretary of State

Make sure you are registered as a Republican; otherwise, you will not be able to vote for Ron Paul.

The deadline to register to vote or re-register as a Republican is Monday, May 21. If you need to register, you can do so here: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/register-to-vote/

You will have to print out the form and either hand deliver it to your county elections office by end of day Monday OR take it to the post office on Monday and ask them to postmark it in front of you with a May 21 date. Those are your ONLY two options. Do NOT drop the voter registration form in your mailbox because it will not get postmarked with a May 21 date.

You can find your county elections office here:
County Elections Offices - Voter Registration & Participation - California Secretary of State

California - Double Check Your Voter Registration Status | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

☛ Step by Step guide on how to become a Delegate in ARKANSAS. There still may be vacancies to become a delegate. Find out here

Submitted by sovereignjanice on Mon, 05/21/2012 - 05:17
Delegates
Arkansas

There may still be vacancies for you to become a delegate for the Arkansas Republican Convention on June 9th. I've been helping people in my home state of Illinois:

☛ Attention Illinois residents who still want to become delegates! | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012 and would like to do the same in other states, especially those that I heard the campaign hasn't done much in. Here's a simple to-do list on how you can become a delegate or alternate delegate if there are slots still available to do so.

The first step is to call your county chairman, but most people stop there because they don't know where to get that information or what to ask, so we'll start there:

1) Find the phone number of your county chairman by going here: County Map - Republican Party of Arkansas Click on the county you live in. After you click your county, the phone number of the county chairman (the number you need to call) will appear underneath that map

2) When you call you'll want to ask the person on the other line if you could speak to someone regarding a question you have concerning the state convention in June. The person may need to transfer you to some one else, but when you get to someone who can help you, say "I live in the xxxx county and was wondering if there are any vacancies available to become a delegate or alternate delegate for the convention in June." They will either answer with yes, no, or only alternates.

3) If they say yes or only alternates, ask what the person needs from you in order to do to become one.

4) Then do the obvious, give them what they need and ask ALL questions you want answered. Here are a few suggested questions to ask

4a) Ask: What do I need to bring with me to the convention to show that I am a delegate?

4b) Ask: What's the best way to contact you if I think of any questions or have an issue in the future.

4c) Ask: What is the address of the convention and what time should I get there.

4d) Ask: Is there a fee, what is the fee and how can I pay?

That's it. If you are still able to become a delegate that's how you do it. They'll have the information you need and those are the questions you should ask. Honestly, it's really not any more complicated than that.

Please post any questions and/or success stories if you are able to become a delegate in the comment section below.

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Arkansas GOP rules: http://www.arkansasgop.org/?a=Files....3-b61bb34a0842
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Indiana guide to become a delegate: ☛ Attention INDIANA residents who still want to become delegates! Don't know what to do? Here's what to do. | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

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Illinois guide to become a delegate: ☛ Attention Illinois residents who still want to become delegates! | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

☛ Step by Step guide on how to become a Delegate in ARKANSAS. There still may be vacancies to become a delegate. Find out here | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

☛ Step By Step Guide On How To Become A Delegate In New Mexico! There Still May Be Vacancies To Become A Delegate. Find Out Here

Submitted by sovereignjanice on Mon, 05/21/2012 - 05:59
New Mexico

There may still be vacancies for you to become a delegate for the New Mexico Republican Convention on June. I've been helping people in my home state of Illinois:

☛ Attention Illinois residents who still want to become delegates! | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012 and would like to do the same in other states, especially those that I heard the campaign hasn't done much in. Here's a simple to-do list on how you can become a delegate or alternate delegate if there are slots still available to do so.

The first step is to call your county chairman, but most people stop there because they don't know where to get that information or what to ask, so we'll start there:

1) Find the phone number of your county chairman by going here: http://gopnm.com/counties/ Click on the name of the county you live in. After you click your county, the phone number it gives you, along with other contact information, is the one you need to call. The number is not necessarily next to the chairman's name, but rather may be near the address of the GOP county building.

2) When you call you'll want to ask the person on the other line if you could speak to someone regarding a question you have concerning the state convention in June. The person may need to transfer you to some one else, but when you get to someone who can help you, say "I live in the xxxx county and was wondering if there are any vacancies available to become a delegate or alternate delegate for the convention in June." They will either answer with yes, no, or only alternates.

3) If they say yes or only alternates, ask what the person needs from you in order to do to become one.

4) Then do the obvious, give them what they need and ask ALL questions you want answered. Here are a few suggested questions to ask

4a) Ask: What do I need to bring with me to the convention to show that I am a delegate?

4b) Ask: What's the best way to contact you if I think of any questions or have an issue in the future.

4c) Ask: What is the address of the convention and what the exact date & time should I get there? (the NM gop website lists it as Sat June 9th starting at 9am at the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid, but ask to make sure that's correct)

4d) Ask: Is there a fee, what is the fee and how can I pay?

That's it. If you are still able to become a delegate that's how you do it. They'll have the information you need and those are the questions you should ask. Honestly, it's really not any more complicated than that.

Please post any questions and/or success stories if you are able to become a delegate in the comment section below.
-----------------------
Indiana guide to become a delegate: ☛ Attention INDIANA residents who still want to become delegates! Don't know what to do? Here's what to do. | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012
-----------------------
Illinois guide to become a delegate: ☛ Attention Illinois residents who still want to become delegates! | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012
-----------------------
Arkansas guide to become a delegate: ☛ Step by Step guide on how to become a Delegate in ARKANSAS. There still may be vacancies to become a delegate. Find out here | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012


☛ Step By Step Guide On How To Become A Delegate In New Mexico! There Still May Be Vacancies To Become A Delegate. Find Out Here | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012

Step By Step Guide On How To Become A Delegate In TEXAS! There Still May Be Vacancies To Become A Delegate. Find Out Here

☛ Step By Step Guide On How To Become A Delegate In TEXAS! There Still May Be Vacancies To Become A Delegate. Find Out Here | Peace . Gold . Liberty | Ron Paul 2012