UPDATED — 04.30.2022 @ 9:30 AM EDT: I apologize. I should have led with this reminder. But it came to me, just now as I was pouring my hot black coffee… to add the cream and sugar. We — John and I, have done this precise dance before, a decade ago, related to the estimable Newton Minnow. [I think he was right — 60 years ago, when three networks controlled all broadcast television content. It was “a vast wasteland” designed solely to sell products. And so, public television was born. Here, over a half-century later, there are quite literally millions of ways to “broadcast television” or thought, more precisely — around the globe. So that time (the one John yearns to return to) has fallen, forever silent now — to… immutable… US history. The idea is no longer… relevant, in the 2020s. What Hinderaker clammers for is a “conscripted audience” for his agitprop. No one need provide that, any longer. Certainly not, if the “broadcaster / platform” is not… the US government.

But I will note that John didn’t squawk when Tangerine, using Twitter as his official government pronouncement arm, BLOCKED US citizens, based on viewpoint — from seeing his official government pronouncements. Charming. Whew…. yep — that’s… a lot to unpack.]

And, the updated, and now most ironic part of all of his latest… it that just over a year ago, he was drafting, publicizing and trying to sell state level legislation that, in plainly unconstitutional terms would restrain entirely private actors from curtailing plainly disruptive conduct — in their OWN virtual living rooms.

In a stunning display of ignorance about the Constitution, and his purported law school training, he thought it wise and proper to ask individual states, through their AGs, to act as his Orwellian “censorhip prevention officers” — which were to be in actual operation “forced speech boards“. That is, Hinderaker advocated a return to the “fairness doctrine” rules that Saint Ronnie Reagan scrapped at FCC in the beginning of the 1980s. He apparently thinks millions of web-outlets (including this silly little one!) are as powerful as the big three networks last were (when CBS, ABC and NBC were the only networks) in the 1960s. [That all led, through Mr. Minnows great effort, to what we now call PBS — to be clear, not John’s desired “conscripted audience“, at all. Just an option.]

Welp. That’s all just… crazy — and yet, he screams that a DHS government group monitoring mis-information, and putting out correcting information is… somehow… wrong (out of the other side of his big mouth).

How so, John? — it is a very weakened, watered-down version of your own state level sauces. And it is clearly lawful. [I guess it only matters to John when his party is NOT in the position of power, as below.] End, update.

I’ll make short work of his insipid opinions tonight.

Somehow Hinderaker forgets that he’s been a five year “talking pile of pig sh!t” (to quote Rogers Hornsby)… sniffing up everything that came out of either orifice of Tangerine.

But it is only now, three years into the disinformation curtailment efforts of the feds… that he complains.

He loved it when the official Bill Bar / Tangerine line was recreating the “star chamber” approach to militarizing our local police forces. The committee held meetings in secret in direct violation of federal sunshine in government / open meetings laws.

So it is a little precious to now oppose… efforts to end Tangerine level in-secret propaganda efforts.

And he loved the outright lies Tangerine told about it all, right up until the able DC USDC Judge Bates slapped Barr down — ending the suit in favor of our First Amendment right to know.

Maybe John should seek a more formal resolution, in the courts, if he actually thinks this violates any law.

Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.

Sit down, clown.