# Is this potentially the final straw? Please? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 27, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569 "2020-05-27T22:16:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/21 "2020-05-28T18:27:57Z")
> [@susan](#): > > As I read somewhere, and I think it’s a good analogy, his tweets are like shining a laser pointer elsewhere, and we’re the cats pouncing for it. AKA: [Wagging the Dog](https://www.dictionary.com/e/what-does-wag-the-dog-mean/) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/22 "2020-05-28T19:18:00Z")
Twitter’s recent actions have made me vaguely hopeful for the future of good corporate citizenship. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/23 "2020-05-28T20:19:42Z")
If he keeps it up, maybe Twitter would ban him, and Trump’s head would explode in frustration. But I’m an optimist. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/24 "2020-05-28T20:47:06Z")
> [@alnath](#): > > The donald has done many contemptible things in 3 years, and the Senate has protected him along party lines. If tRump carries through with his threat and tries to shut down Twitter for contradicting him, how might he do it? Is there any legal fig leaf he could hide behind? Think it could get him successfully impeached and convicted? That’s what outraged you? How about Trump endorsing a guy who said Democrats should be killed? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/25 "2020-05-28T21:05:22Z")
> [@susan](#): > > As I read somewhere, and I think it’s a good analogy, his tweets are like shining a laser pointer elsewhere, and we’re the cats pouncing for it. This. As I’ve said elsewhere in the past day, he wants us to talk about anything besides the fact that 100,000 Americans have died while he twiddled his thumbs on his phone, dumped the responsibility for our response onto the states, and then basically went to war on the states that were actually trying to do something about it. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/26 "2020-05-28T21:47:14Z")
[The Executive Order is out](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/28/trump-targets-social-media-with-executive-order-after-twitter-fact-checks-him.html). No text yet, but apparently the objective will be to revoke or repeal section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. An executive order alone most likely cannot do this, so legislation (probably also a non-starter) would be required. One thing the regime figures it CAN do is file nuisance lawsuits against any social media companies they deem worthy of harassment, and this has been promised by Att. Gen. William Bar (R-lapdog). So, blatant use of the Justice Department to harass entities deemed political opponents is the order of the day. Are we full banana republic yet? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/27 "2020-05-28T21:52:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > That’s what outraged you? > > How about Trump endorsing a guy who said Democrats should be killed? Now, now, he never said Democrats should be killed; just that dead was the preferable condition. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/28 "2020-05-28T22:03:11Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > [The Executive Order is out](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/28/trump-targets-social-media-with-executive-order-after-twitter-fact-checks-him.html). > > No text yet, but apparently the objective will be to revoke or repeal section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. An executive order alone most likely cannot do this, so legislation (probably also a non-starter) would be required. One thing the regime figures it CAN do is file nuisance lawsuits against any social media companies they deem worthy of harassment, and this has been promised by Att. Gen. William Bar (R-lapdog). > > So, blatant use of the Justice Department to harass entities deemed political opponents is the order of the day. Are we full banana republic yet? Ok, on further reading, seems that it may not involve repeal of section 230 after all, but directs the FCC to “write rules on when and how platforms can remove content from their platform and still maintain liability protection granted them under Section 230”. I must also point out that multiple stories I’ve seen on the topic state that Joe Biden is also opposed to section 230 as it stands. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/29 "2020-05-28T22:06:34Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > [The Executive Order is out](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/28/trump-targets-social-media-with-executive-order-after-twitter-fact-checks-him.html). > > No text yet, but apparently the objective will be to revoke or repeal section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. An executive order alone most likely cannot do this,\*\* so legislation (probably also a non-starter) would be required.\*\* One thing the regime figures it CAN do is file nuisance lawsuits against any social media companies they deem worthy of harassment, and this has been promised by Att. Gen. William Bar (R-lapdog). > > So, blatant use of the Justice Department to harass entities deemed political opponents is the order of the day. Are we full banana republic yet? My bold. It’s already underway. > [@Stupid Republican idea of the day](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day/490897/44439): > > Republicans prepare legislation to strip Twitter of legal liabilities. > [https://thehill.com/policy/technology/499814-republicans-working-on-legislation-to-strip-twitter-of-federal-](https://thehill.com/policy/technology/499814-republicans-working-on-legislation-to-strip-twitter-of-federal-)… > protections From that link: > [@](#): > > …Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Wednesday separately announced they were both working on legislation to strip Twitter of federal protections that ensure the company is not held liable for what is posted on its platform. > > The lawmakers began work on legislation following Twitter’s decision to add warnings to two tweets by President Trump this week in which he railed against California’s decision to expand mail-in voting. Trump tweeted without evidence that mail-in voting could increase voter fraud. > > Both Hawley and Gaetz argued that Twitter’s decision to flag the tweets called its legal liability protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act into question. Section 230 protects social media platforms from facing lawsuits over what users post. > > Hawley sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Wednesday questioning why the platform should be given Section 230 protections and tweeted that he would soon introduce legislation to end “government giveaways” under the legal shield. > > “If @Twitter wants to editorialize & comment on users’ posts, it should be divested of its special status under federal law (Section 230) & forced to play by same rules as all other publishers,” Hawley tweeted. “Fair is fair.” > > Hawley questioned Dorsey on whether Twitter’s “fact check” was part of an effort to “target the President for political reasons” and raised concerns that Twitter fact-checkers were biased against Trump. > … ETA: I’m having a hard time keeping up… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/30 "2020-05-28T22:21:11Z")
I’d be okay if twitter emulated the Straight Dope example on this - threaten litigation against the site and you’re instantly banned. This could go well beyond Trump to any Republican member of congress pursuing punitive regulation. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/31 "2020-05-28T22:50:55Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Now, now, he never said Democrats should be killed; just that dead was the preferable condition. He said Democrats should be dead. I can’t think of anything that would cause Democrats to become dead that wouldn’t be described as killing them. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/32 "2020-05-28T23:31:43Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’d be okay if twitter emulated the Straight Dope example on this - threaten litigation against the site and you’re instantly banned. This could go well beyond Trump to any Republican member of congress pursuing punitive regulation. I would be good if Twitter just used a consistent standard. If you are a Chinese diplomat making tweets about the US Army introducing Covid-19 into Wuhan, no problem and no fact check…at least not for 2 months until repeatedly having it pointed out. Hell, not even all of Trump’s ridiculous posts are fact checked consistently, and that’s just one poster. If our moderators were this ridiculously chaotic and arbitrary no one would still be posting here. Myself, I don’t think it’s our moderators job to fact check posts, merely to keep things on an even keel and the conversations at least semi-civilized. Twitter, by fact checking sometimes but not others opens themselves up to accusations of bias, because, frankly, they are. You’d have to be if you went this route. This is not a two wrongs make a right btw…I agree with the Facebook CEO, that these kinds of media platforms shouldn’t be the arbiters of what is or isn’t fact, but by the same token Trump shouldn’t be opening his big, stupid mouth yet again on something like this and threatening a US (or any other countries) companies like he’s a mafia boss. To me, both are in the wrong, but in Twitters case, I wish they were using our mods for this stuff and our standards. Of course, they are mega-billionaires while the SDMB is barely hanging on, so I guess they are the ones doing it right in these modern times. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/33 "2020-05-28T23:37:09Z")
> [@alnath](#): > > The donald has done many contemptible things in 3 years, and the Senate has protected him along party lines. If tRump carries through with his threat and tries to shut down Twitter for contradicting him, how might he do it? Is there any legal fig leaf he could hide behind? Think it could get him successfully impeached and convicted? His fellow Republicans will think “mmmm, will this give me more power and money if he gets away with it?” There’s your answer. OF course they will support him. There is NO FINAL STRAW. The Republicans know that this is the last kick at the can. They are all in now on vote tampering, suppression of votes, shutting down the media, and on and on. They will stop at NOTHING to maintain power at this point, because they know that if investigations start, they are all going down. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/34 "2020-05-28T23:40:17Z")
> [@rejemy](#): > > Trump doesn’t want to shut down Twitter, he loves Twitter. He just wants to bend it to his will. This. It’s simply a shot across the bow by Trump’s allies: “You social media platforms better allow me to do and say any bullshit lie I want (and censor my opponents), or I will destroy your business.” That’s really all you need to know. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/35 "2020-05-29T00:40:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > He said Democrats should be dead. I can’t think of anything that would cause Democrats to become dead that wouldn’t be described as killing them. Lightning? Shark attack? Natural causes? Sorry, I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/36 "2020-05-29T01:24:06Z")
The diabeetus? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/37 "2020-05-29T01:27:21Z")
Twitter is his crack, no way would he want to shut it down. Now that he’s been cut off from having rallies in front of his adoring cult members, tweeting is the only joy he gets out of life. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/38 "2020-05-29T02:28:21Z")
There cannot be a “final straw” if the purpose is to break the camel’s back. Do you really want to know what it would take for Trump to lose support? He would have to act like a reasonable adult that truly cares about the welfare of the country and its peoples. He would have to apologize for all the vicious lies, racism and sexism he has supported. He would have to hire those that are qualified. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/39 "2020-05-29T17:18:13Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > He said Democrats should be dead. I can’t think of anything that would cause Democrats to become dead that wouldn’t be described as killing them. I think Trump should die of a hamberder-induced heart attack. If that occurs it wouldn’t be me killing him; it would effectively be suicide. That said, Trump was definitely calling on his thugs to murder people for him. Because, once again, the big baby fancies himself a mob boss. (And the entire republican party fancies themselves his mob underlings, apparently.) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569/40 "2020-05-29T20:23:57Z")
I’m starting to think American camels are made of Silly Putty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-potentially-the-final-straw-please/854569.md?page=1)