HB 26-06: Partial Repeal of the INFOWARS.COM_PRISONPLANET.COM Act (Passed)

[Tamika Jackson]

Mr. Speaker,

I move to re-title the bill as follows:

AN ACT
To restore Atlasian dignity.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of Atlasia in Congress assembled,

Section I. Title & Definitions

i. The long title of this Act shall be the "Zero Tolerance for Promoting Unsubstantiated Conspiracy Theories Act Repeal of The INFOWARS.COM PRISON PLANET.COM Act."

Section II. Provisions
All provisions of The INFOWARS.COM PRISON PLANET.COM Act are hereby repealed.

I am concerned that the title is misleading as an infringement on the First Amendment.

I yield.

[SevenEleven]

Amendment is friendly.

[Joseph Cao]

With no objections, Representative Jackson's amendment is adopted.

The title of this thread has been updated accordingly.

[Joseph Cao]

I wonder what the actual impact of the 2018 bill has been thus far – whether Thiomerasol has actually been banned from use in vaccines, whether fluoridation levels have in fact been reduced, whether files about the Kennedy assassination have really been publicly released, and so on. Which, in all honesty, raises questions about what this repeal would actually do. Are we de-declassifying JFK's files?

It's a rather nutty bill, of course. But what would be the impact of repealing it?

[SevenEleven]

Since the files are already declassified, a simple repeal does not affect that, nor would an acknowledged repeal of that provision have any meaningful effect as the files are public knowledge. The rest of the bill is either unnecessary or prohibiting...why would we not perform autopsies on dead alien life forms?

[Lumine]

Just saw this particular debate, although I have a backlog to clear at present - storylines and questions - I could (if a Representative requests it) draft a brief report for the House on the coming days on the impact of the bill.

[Continential]

You will love Mr. R’s wiki page

[Joseph Cao]

Just saw this particular debate, although I have a backlog to clear at present - storylines and questions - I could (if a Representative requests it) draft a brief report for the House on the coming days on the impact of the bill.

Clear your backlog first – don't feel obligated to drop what you need to do at present, but yes, a short report on this would be pretty helpful. I had an amendment drafted but the details in it would most certainly benefit from the GM's input.

[Lumine]

On the sixteenth year since the founding of the REPUBLIC,
under the Presidency of Pericles and the Vice Presidency of MB

REPORT / POLICY

INFOWARS.COM PRISON PLANET.COM Act
A report on current legislative effects of the bill (2020)
Directed to the House of Representatives

EFFECTS OF THE BILL:

Originally passed in 2018, the INFOWARS.COM PRISON PLANET.COM Act is currently the subject of debate in the House of Representatives on account of its repeal - partial or full - being proposed. It is projected by the Pontifex Maximus that the current effects of the bill are as follows:

FLAG RESTRICTIONS: Current restrictions on displaying Atlasian flags if they have decorative fringes in a court of law - among other spaces - have been bitterly resented by supporters of the so-called tax protester conspiracy, who have long maintain the existence of a loophole due to the presence of such flags (which would restrict court jurisdiction by turning them into an "Admiralty Court"). A number of law officers have described the current restriction as frivolous, and further attempts to deploy the "Admiralty Court" argument have not been attempted since the law came into effect.

BLACK HELICOPTERS: Restrictions on the use of aircraft with cell-site simulators through the usage of federal funds has been bitterly resented by a number of law enforcement agencies within the Republic of Atlasia, which contend the restriction deprives from a "vital tool" to gather key intelligence. Although protests have been muted due to the need of secrecy, the measure is reported to be the source of frustration within parts of the FBI and NSA.

THIMEROSAL: Current prohibitions on the use of Thimerosal as a vaccine preservative continue to be heavily criticized by a large number of medical organizations, which contend current criticism of Thimerosal to be "fear mongering". Conversely, a number of organizations - some of which belong to the anti vax movement - celebrate the current restrictions as a triumph against a preservative they consider to cause autism. Although the Atlasian medical system has been able to cope with the elimination of Thimerosal, medical professionals argue current restrictions are harmful to vaccine development, and hit
undeveloped nations particularly hard.

FLUORIDE: Current restrictions on the use of fluoride in drinking water - in the order of 1.5mg/L (1.5 ppm) - have somewhat decreased its use in certain isolated areas, whereas most of Atlasia was already abiding by somewhat smaller proportions of fluoride use, in the order of 0,7 to 1,2mg/L. There have been complaints from members of the water industry that the specific restriction is held as a symbol of conspiracy theories surrounding fluoride, counter by arguments from medical professionals that argue the limit is both sensible and in light with recommendations.

EXTRATERRESTRIAL AUTOPSIES: Current regulations surrounding a prohibition to conduct autopsies on extraterrestrial lifeforms have been acknowledged and noted by government agencies, which nonetheless contend no such autopsies have been conducted in the past. This is currently the subject of jokes within NASA and other agencies dealing with space-related matters, though a number of papers have been written within the federal government suggesting such a regulation would prove counterproductive in the event of an extraterrestrial eventuality.

KENNEDY ASSASSINATION: The order to release current files surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy led to a scramble within the National Archives and Record Administration, which was forced to work overtime within limited time to try and release thousands of outstanding files. It was stated by NARA that all records had in all likelihood been released in spite of the enormous difficulty involved in their massive release, but it left the door open to mistakes in their release on account of the "unreasonable schedule" imposed by Congress. This, in turn, has led conspiracy theorists to argue that some files may yet be unreleased. The release of the files - thought to be against strident opposition from the CIA and FBI - was followed by a long period of review from interested people, and has been the source of persistent embarrassment for both government agencies despite many of the documents being heavily edited to protect the names of current living individuals.

Among other things, documents have shed light on extensive CIA operations in Mexico, Guatemala and Cuba; as well as a number of violent or dark Cold War operations conducted by the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson Administrations; a lack of coordination between government agencies regarding investigations and follow-ups on Lee Harvey Oswald before the President's assassination (suggesting he slipped through bureaucratic cracks); withholding of evidence to the Warren Commission and the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations from the CIA to protect covert operations, and from the FBI to cover-up a number of bureaucratic mistakes regarding Oswald and the immediate aftermath of the assassination; regarding the network of anti-communist Cuban exiles in Cuba and their own networks within the island; and regarding the links between organized crime and the US intelligence apparatus in terms of failed assassination attempts on Fidel Castro.

This, in turn, has divided Kennedy assassination experts in two camps: those described more on board with "conspiracy theories" continue to allege a large-scale joint FBI and CIA cover-up regarding the involvement of intelligence officers in a conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy; whereas those critical of said conspiracies assert the documents prove Oswald acted alone, but that intelligence and government agencies were both incompetent and attempted to cover-up said incompetence.

[Joseph Cao]

My sincere thanks to Lumine for the work put into this. Anyone with amendments to introduce, based on this information or otherwise, is highly encouraged to do so promptly.

[SevenEleven]

Holy sh**t. Nice.

[Joseph Cao]

Offering an amendment.

AN ACT
To restore Atlasian dignity.


Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Republic of Atlasia in Congress assembled,

Section I. Title & Definitions
i. 1. The long title of this Act shall be the "Partial Repeal of The INFOWARS.COM PRISON PLANET.COM Act."

Section II. Findings
1. With reference to the Game Moderator's report on the policy effects of the INFOWARS.COM PRISON PLANET.COM Act, Congress finds:
    a. That the Act's restrictions on displaying flags with decorative fringes and on extraterrestrial autopsies are frivolous;
    b. That the Act's restriction on cell-site simulators in aircraft has a compromising effect on efforts to maintain national security;
    c. That the Act's restriction on the use of Thiomerasol in vaccines poses a danger to public health due to its adverse effects on vaccine development and production;
    d. That the Act's restriction on fluoridation levels is in line with current medical recommendations;
    e. That despite the declassification of government files relating to the assassination of John F. Kennedy as an effort to counter the spread of conspiracy theories relating to the same, conspiracy theories alleging a further cover-up continue to circulate.

Section II III. Provisions
All provisions of The INFOWARS.COM PRISON PLANET.COM Act are hereby repealed.
1. The entirety of Section II of the INFOWARS.COM PRISON PLANET.COM Act is hereby repealed.
2. Section III, provision 1 and Section IV, provision 1 of the INFOWARS.COM PRISON PLANET.COM Act are hereby repealed.

Section IV. Effective Date
1. This act shall take effect immediately upon passing both houses of Congress. No lawsuit to enforce the provisions of the law shall be justiciable in any federal or regional court until 90 days after this law takes effect.

This essentially repeals every provision that has been shown in Lumine's report to be either frivolous (and therefore does not deserve to be a codified regulation), or actively counterproductive to efforts in the medical and national security spheres. The JFK files section stays since there's no way to enforce a repeal of that provision, but we should hopefully recognize that attempts by the government to curb the spread of conspiracy theories in this manner are only going to lead to more conspiracy theories.

By no means perfect, and I'd love to see some amendments to this.

(Among these, perhaps, a suggestion for the name of the bill – someone with more imagination than I currently possess can perhaps get a jazzier title. We need more fun titles in our bills.)

[Joseph Cao]

People. People, people. Women, men, cameras, TVs. Any responses? Thoughts? Concerns?

[SevenEleven]

Amendment is accepted.

[Joseph Cao]

The amendment is adopted.

Are we good here?

[SevenEleven]

Final vote is fine by me.

[Joseph Cao]

Very well, I motion for a final vote. Representatives have 24 hours to object.

[Joseph Cao]

A final vote is open on this bill for 72 hours.

Representatives, please vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain.

[Left Wing]

Aye

[SevenEleven]

Aye.

[Adam Griffin]

Aye

[Senator-elect Spark]

Aye

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Abstain

[Rep Jessica]

nay

[Joseph Cao]

Aye.

This has the votes to pass. 24 hours to vote or change your vote.