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Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
You may recall that in 2014 we wrote about a strange occurrence having to do with Chase Bank refusing to provide its banking services to Teagan Presley, a rather well known adult film actress. When it became clear that Presley wasn't the only performer to whom this was happening, it initially looked as though banks were engaging in a form of slut-shaming of adult film actors. It turned out, however, that it was the federal government doing the slut-shaming, with the emergence of the Department of Justice's Operation Choke Point. This DOJ policy that was developed to combat financial fraud somehow bled over the stencil lines and became a sort of banking morality police, encouraging banks to cut off services to industries like adult film, fireworks retail stores, and sellers engaged in what the DOJ deemed to be "racist materials." It's worth highlighting that all of these industries and actions, whether you like them or not, are legal, yet the DOJ was essentially attempting to extra-judiciously scuttle them through secretive federal policy. That should have terrified everyone, but didn't, and so the program went on.
Until recently. The justice department recently announced that Operation Choke Point will be ended.
The move hands a big victory to Republican lawmakers who charged that the initiative — dubbed "Operation Choke Point" — was hurting legitimate businesses. In a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd referred to the program as "a misguided initiative."
"We share your view that law abiding businesses should not be targeted simply for operating in an industry that a particular administration might disfavor," says the letter, obtained by progressive activist group Allied Progress and later provided to POLITICO by Goodlatte's office. "Enforcement decisions should always be made based on facts and the applicable law. We reiterate that the Department will not discourage the provision of financial services to lawful industries, including businesses engaged in short-term lending and firearms-related activities," it adds. A nearly identical letter was sent to Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).
I was more annoyed by their use of it against gun stores but good riddance regardless.
Previously:
Adult Film Stars' Bank Accounts Closed
(Score: 5, Interesting) by aristarchus on Sunday August 27 2017, @09:52AM (1 child)
Banning from moderation is not automatic. It is a deliberate action taken by admin to silence certain voices on SoylentNews. Same is true of the lifting of -10 spam mods. So here is what is completely absurd about my situation. I spam modded The Mighty Buzzard. I tend to think he deserved it, as do many soylentils, for posting things that add nothing to the discussion on the site, but then, that is exactly what he was suggesting I was doing. Evidently the mirroring did not become apparent to him.
But more to the point, I, a lowly 2400 year old philosopher, spam modded the one person that all soylentils has the power to rescind spam mods, and he takes umbrage at this? I mean, it is nice that TMB said (taking him at his word here) that he would not rescind his own spam mod, even though he could, and then would wait for some other senior ed to do the service for him, and of course ban me from moderation, which TMB hisself would never do, being all in favor or unrestricted free speech and all. Oh, the irony! Oh, the pathos! Oh, the cognitive dissonance!
Guess I will have do a journal entry about this, for the sake of all Soylentils. Unless my journalling privileges are revoked as well. Stay free, Soylentils! They can take our mods, but they can never take our fre #`%${%&`+'${`%&NO CARRIER")
(Score: 1) by Pax on Sunday August 27 2017, @12:43PM
" rel="url2html-6073">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIikqPmbgvI
that is all