Tyrannical Geezer Charlie Geren & House Pass Bill to Regulate Current Revolt
The bill would outlaw this website.
Whenever you see something terrible coming out of the Texas House, you can bet Charlie Geren is somehow involved.
House Bill 1585 by State Rep. Charlie Geren (R–Fort Worth) would establish several new requirements for individuals or organizations that seek to influence legislation or a race for speaker of the Texas House.
First, it would require anyone who names a lawmaker while publicly advocating for or against legislation to let consumers know that the communication is considered political advertising. Second, it would require those who engage in this activity to file regular reports with the Texas Ethics Commission disclosing the names and addresses of donors who contribute at least $50 in a six-month period. Third, it would require anyone who promotes a candidate for speaker to pay up to $750 to register as a lobbyist.
This is legislation that would outlaw this website in its current form, and would compel me to include confounding legal disclaimers with this article that would make the average reader think there is something sinister or unethical going on here.
He admits the point is to compel speech, even on social media.
When State Rep. John Smithee (R–Amarillo) asked Geren to provide “an example of what kind of conduct you’re targeting,” Geren replied that the bill is intended to regulate “outside sources” that “advertise on social media and other platforms to attack a member’s legislation without saying who they’re going after.”
If this law were applied to Current Revolt over the last 12 months, it would require we:
Pay $750 to the state.
Include and awkward disclaimer in articles (forced speech that is discrediting.)
Disclose the names of many of our paid subscribers.
This is brutal authoritarianism intended to stifle criticism of the government and people’s ability to be heard. The idea that the government would make you include a disclaimer to talk about what the government is planning is simply beyond the pale.
You may not be surprised to learn that this attack on free speech comes as some of these same Republicans are promoting sin and unethical behaviors through their own legislation.
Jeff Leach is aggressively trying to popularize sports betting — and homosexuality of all things.
Charlie Geren is trying to build a bunch of casinos in Texas.
I guess they don’t like people criticizing these actions, so they want to regulate them in order to control it.
Almost everyone in the House voted for this despicable bill.
I oppose this legislation by Charlie Geren and yes this communication is political.
This message is not only political it’s also sexual, because I refuse to be intimidated by someone who shaves their entire body below the belt, which many people say Geren does.
Jokes aside, most people reading this understand what is at stake—Texas represents freedom to the world. The banner of freedom used to belong to America, but America now represents the rainbow flag, war, and “democracy.” It’s up to Texas to lead the way. Restrictions on political speech cannot be tolerated at this moment in history. If the government says you can’t criticize elected officials in email blasts, they won’t stop at criticizing Charlie Geren’s get-rich-quick scheme to turn Texas into Las Vegas; but it will apply to the invasion, the open borders, questioning elections, and whatever else.
What Current Revolt and others are doing is making these people nervous. I mean, this Geren guy is involved in gambling and trying to silence people talking about what he is doing. His people are on record using the most unethical methods imaginable to target people who criticize him. Imagine what else he is doing! And most other House members are on board with this!
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Great article! This is why Current Revolt is worth every penny. No other so-called “News source” in Texas provides the kind of information crucial to truly informing voters IMO. Those who crow about Texas being “solidly red” have no idea the threat posed by so-called “Republicans” like these snakes.
Peak gerontocracy