April Fool…Oops, Never Mind – That Was True

By Daisy Luther

Survival Saturday is a round-up of the week’s news and resources for folks who are interested in being prepared.

This Week in the News

I thought we’d celebrate the April Fool’s edition of Survival Saturday with stories that should be pranks but are painfully true.

Could  You Go to Jail for Being Wrong on the Internet?

California (because where else?) suggested a law that would make it illegal to pass on “fake news.”  You wouldn’t even have to write the “fake news” – you could get in trouble for merely sharing it on Facebook or Twitter.

This little tidbit was tucked into The California Political Cyberfraud Abatement Act:.

18320.5. It is unlawful for a person to knowingly and willingly make, publish or circulate on an Internet Web site, or cause to be made, published, or circulated in any writing posted on an Internet Web site, a false or deceptive statement designed to influence the vote on either of the following: 

(a) Any issue submitted to voters at an election. 

(b) Any candidate for election to public office.

Ah, California. The home of Free Speech movement of the 60s now wants to silence anything with which they disagree.

When I read this, here were my questions:

• Who gets to decide whether a statement is “false or deceptive?
• How will the decision-makers be assessed for bias?
• Does this mean we can’t talk badly about Jerry Brown anymore? Because he’s the most horrible governor ever.

Luckily, saner cooler heads prevailed and the bill was pulled. For now.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation kinda thought it was an April Fool too, stating that it was “a censorship bill so obviously unconstitutional, we had to double check that it was real.”

World Net Daily reported:

Explained EFF, “In other words, it would be illegal to be wrong on the Internet if it could impact an election. The bill is unconstitutional under U.S. Supreme Court case law (see our opposition letter for more information on that), and likely to draw immediate and costly lawsuits if it is signed into law.”

…

The organization issued a warning about the idea: “This bill will fuel a chaotic free-for-all of mudslinging with candidates and others being accused of crimes at the slightest hint of hyperbole, exaggeration, poetic license, or common error. While those accusations may not ultimately hold up, politically motivated prosecutions – or the threat of such – may harm democracy more than if the issue had just been left alone.

“Furthermore, A.B. 1104 makes no exception for satire and parody, leaving The Onion and Saturday Night Live open to accusations of illegal content. Nor does it exempt news organizations who quote deceptive statements made by politicians in their online reporting – even if their reporting is meant to debunk those claims. And what of everyday citizens who are duped by misleading materials: if 1,000 Californians retweet an incorrect statement by a presidential candidate, have they all broken the law?”

I don’t know about you, but I’ll bet the Fake News bill will be reworded and put back on the table, despite these dire warnings.

You can pay these ladies up to $100 a month to teach you how not to be a racist.

A couple of ladies are making so much money with this gig that they were able to quit their jobs. In the spirit of subscription boxes like Birchbox or Ipsy, you can get a “Safety Pin Box” for $25-$100 a month.

In an interview with The Cut, Marissa Jenae Johnson explained how they came up with the idea. She and her business partner, Leslie Mac, were discussing how silly that whole safety pin trend was. Johnson said:

“…when we started to see the bumper stickers and necklaces on Etsy, we had a conversation about how the commercialization is not only problematic in its own right, but that all of these things are most likely just going to [benefit] privileged white people. And that’s what brought us to say, if people want to actually do something useful, they can pay us reparations. And we can literally tell them what to do even though we’ve already been telling them, and they haven’t been listening.”

They explained how the whole thing works.

“The $25/month subscription box is an electronic form of solidarity, with one emailed task per month and exclusive calls to action. The $50/month subscription box is more like a pen-pal partnership between two white people that collaborate on tasks for the month together. Our $100/month subscription is a premium box and you get three full tasks, access to our biweekly podcast, and quarterly webinars with high-profile black women.”

So, basically, you can give people money just because you’re white. They get the money just because they’re black. Don’t be a racist. This is real.

Drug companies can experiment on you without telling you.

We all know that there are clinical trials in which people are given experimental drugs. Many people are willing to do this for money, while others do it out of desperation. The currently approved options aren’t working for them and they are willing to try anything to resolve their symptoms.

Now in a fantastic, almost unbelievable new spin, our dear friends who are “representing” us in Congress have passed a bill that waives the requirement for informed consent. So, they’re still testing new drugs on humans, but now, the humans don’t have to be told the drug is experimental.

This was one of the last bills that President Obama signed into law. How sweet that he gave us one last sneaky Christmas surprise. You can go here to read more about Section 3024 of the 21st Century Cures Act.

This Week in Preparedness…

Spring has sprung all over the place, and you’re probably thinking about ways to become more self-reliant. This is an article I wrote last year, and with more than 300 links, I’m certain you’ll find something that you can do to increase your self-reliance regardless of where you live.

Here are some articles in the preparedness realm that you may find of interest.

• Prepper Stories: Adventures in Adaptability – This was my most popular article of the week, containing all sorts of great stories from readers about overcoming difficulty.
• Is There Lead in Your Water?  Lead was discovered in the water from a school drinking fountain when a service dog refused to drink it.
• Healing Herbs: What You Need to Know About Mint – I’ve always been a peppermint tea fan for a few different ailments, but there are many more things it can help that I didn’t know about until now, thanks to this article.
• Starting Seeds Indoors – Let Laurie walk you through the process of starting a thriving garden for a fraction of the price of heading to the nursery.
• Bone Broth for Nourishment During Hard Times – Bone broth is a big health trend these days, but did you consider using it to stretch a dime when times are tight? Check out how easy it is to make.
• 15 Reasons to Prep Even if Doomsday Never Arrives – This was one of the most popular articles I shared on Facebook this week – and for very good reason. If you ever wondered whether you might be wasting your time and money, you have to read this. If others ever accused you of wasting your time and money, here’s your rebuttal

If you haven’t checked it out yet, my new book, The Prepper’s Canning Guide, is a number one new release.

Check out a new documentary that promises us it will provide a balanced discussion about the pros and cons of vaccinations. You can go here to be notified when it’s available for a free screening.

[thrive_link color=’teal’ link=’https://go.thetruthaboutvaccines.com?ref=fbe4ab44-6dc2-45c8-a865-b46030e445ab’ target=’_blank’ size=’medium’ align=’aligncenter’]The Truth About Vaccines.[/thrive_link]

Other Articles of Interest

These are some posts from around the web which I found interesting.

• Explosive Report: Flynn Prepared To TESTIFY Against President Trump And Russia Ties In Exchange For Immunity
• The Ticking Time Bomb That Will Wipe Out Virtually Every Pension Fund In America
• 12 Signs That American Has Become a Politically Correct Madhouse
• How to Protect Your Online Privacy Now That Congress Has Sold You Out

Anything to add to Survival Saturday?

Do you have any news links you want to share? What are your thoughts on the topics above? Now’s the time! Please post your links in the comments section below and join the discussion!