#cicilline

Credit where credit is due: Trump broke with tradition--his own--and finally recognized Pride Month after ignoring it for the past two years.

Blame where blame is due: Trump still heads the most anti-LGBTQ+ administration in decades, and actions speak a lot louder than words. Trump picked virulently anti-LGBTQ+ Mike Pence as his running mate (and Trump knew it full well). He then appointed consistently anti-LGBTQ+ Jeff Sessions as his Attorney General--who, as expected, promptly directed the Department of Justice to adopt consistently anti-LGBTQ+ positions, both in its own policies and before the courts. The rest of Trump’s cabinet has followed suit:

“The Department of Health and Human Services released a proposal last week rolling back health care protections for transgender people. The regulation would scrap ObamaCare’s definition of ‘sex discrimination’ to remove protections for gender identity. In addition, the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed a rule earlier this month that would roll back protections for homeless transgender people by allowing federally funded shelters to turn away transgender people for religious reasons. The administration also finalized rules earlier this month giving more leeway to health workers to deny people treatment if doing so would violate their religious or moral beliefs. The Pentagon’s policy barring most transgender people from serving in the military unless they serve under their biological sex took effect last month following a series of court battles.”

Trump has taken numerous other steps to curtail LGBTQ+ rights, “from nominating judges aligned with anti-gay hate groups to banning transgender people from the military.” He opposes marriage equality, champions anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination under the guise of religious freedom, and openly supports anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups. In just the past few months alone, Trump “rolled back healthcare rules aimed at helping LGBTQ people and also opposed the passage of the Equality Act.”

So yeah. Good for Trump for not ignoring Pride Month again and paying it lip service, because that’s better than nothing.

Interview with Rep. Cicilline on his bipartisan package taking on Big Tech, Apple's DOJ subpoena, Facebook's platform lock-in, and acquisition and merger reform (Kara Swisher/New York Times)

Kara Swisher / New York Times: Interview with Rep. Cicilline on his bipartisan package taking on Big Tech, Apple’s DOJ subpoena, Facebook’s platform lock-in, and acquisition and merger reform  —  Representative David Cicilline’s bipartisan package takes aim at tech companies and would be the biggest antitrust reform in decades. Source link

This Man May Be Big Tech’s Biggest Threat

WASHINGTON — At a hearing this summer about the rising power of the country’s biggest tech companies, Representative David Cicilline zeroed in on Amazon. Unhappy with a response from one of the company’s top lawyers, he delivered a biting retort.

“I may remind you, sir: You are under oath,” Mr. Cicilline said.

Tech companies are under various antitrust investigations, including by the Justice…

In House Antitrust Hearing, Lawmakers Focus on Harms to Privacy

Members of Congress questioned whether the power of Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon could hurt consumer privacy.

Pelosi Pushes for Simple Message on Impeachment as Inquiry Barrels Ahead

“Our tone must be prayerful, respectful, solemn, worthy of the Constitution,” the House speaker privately told her colleagues as Democrats planned more subpoenas, including to Rudy Giuliani.