Two Directions: Today's News for August 17th

CNN:

Where have all the leaders gone?

America may soon face a question of leadership.

If a president is judged by a growing slice of the population to have abdicated his office's traditional imperative to provide steady, moral and unifying authority, where does the nation turn next?

This is the lede story on CNN's website. While news analysis can take the lede, this drops down into the realm of personal editorial.

The irony in this analysis is that Trump is arguably the person trying hardest to lead all Americans, and he gets rejected by both sides for his attempts, mainly because leading America is impossible. The middle ground from where recent presidents have led has disappeared.

Making things even more difficult:

Chicago Tribune:

Silicon Valley escalates its war on white supremacy despite free speech concerns

Silicon Valley significantly escalated its war on white supremacy this week, choking off the ability of hate groups to raise money online, removing them from Internet search engines, and preventing some sites from registering at all.

The new moves go beyond censoring individual stories or posts. Tech companies such as Google, GoDaddy and PayPal are now reversing their hands-off approach about content supported by their services and making it much more difficult for "alt-right" organizations to reach mass audiences.

But the actions are also heightening concerns over how tech companies are becoming the arbiters of free speech in America. And in response, right-wing technologists are building parallel digital services that cater to their own movement.

Gab.ai, a social network for promoting free speech, was founded in August 2016 by Silicon Valley engineers alienated by the region's liberalism. Other conservatives have founded Infogalactic, a Wikipedia for the alt-right, as well as crowdfunding tools Hatreon and WeSearchr. The latter was used to raise money for James Damore, a white engineer who was fired after criticizing Google's diversity policy.

"If there needs to be two versions of the Internet so be it," Gab.ai tweeted Wednesday morning. The company's spokesman, Utsav Sanduja, later warned of a "revolt" in Silicon Valley against the way tech companies are trying control the national debate.

"There will be another type of Internet who is run by people politically incorrect, populist, and conservative," Sanduja said.

The Left is making a lot of white supremacist martyrs by attacking their free speech rights.

In other news...

Fox News:

Oregon abortion law funds procedures for illegal immigrants

Oregon has passed the nation’s most progressive abortion bill, requiring state insurers to provide free abortions for all, including illegal immigrants.

Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, signed the historic health bill Tuesday, after the Legislature approved it in July. It would require Oregon insurance companies to cover reproductive procedures, all on the taxpayers' dime.

The $10.2 million bill takes effect immediately, allocating $500,000 for abortions for the estimated 22,873 women eligible under the Oregon health plan, the Washington Times reported. This will include abortions for immigrants who are otherwise ineligible under the state’s Medicaid program.

Congratulations Oregon! Not only will the genocide of unborn humans continue, but you will pay for it too! Which side of the political divide is the Nazis again?