Welcome to Friday, August 7th, squares and circles...

President Trump signed an executive order that will effectively ban TikTok in the U.S. if it's not sold by its Chinese-owned company.

Earlier in the day, the Senate unanimously passed a bill to ban the use of the social media video app on government-issued mobile devices.

TikTok is headquartered in China and is cited as a national security threat because of concerns that data is funneled to the Chinese Communist Party, which censors content.

Several federal agencies ― including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and State ― have already banned the use of TikTok on government-issued devices.

The No TikTok on Government Devices Act would prohibit federal employees from using TikTok on government-issued devices. The restriction would apply to members of Congress, federal employees and officials, and employees and officers of government corporations. It would include an exception for conducting activities like cybersecurity research.

Should the House also pass the No TikTok on Government Devices Act?

On the Radar

Should There Be a Fourth Presidential Debate?

In a letter to President Donald Trump’s private attorney, Rudy Giuliani, the Commission on Presidential Debates responded to Trump’s request that an additional presidential debate be scheduled in early September before mail-in ballots are sent to voters.

Both Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden have agreed to participate in the three currently scheduled presidential debates on September 29th in Cleveland, October 15th in Miami, and October 22nd in Nashville.

Trump has argued that voters should have the opportunity to see the leading presidential candidates debate before they’re able to cast a mail-in ballot. Giuliani wrote to the Commission on Presidential Debates to inquire about adding a fourth debate to the schedule, which Giuliani called "an outdated dinosaur" because "as many as eight million Americans in 16 states will have already started voting" by September 29th. 

The Commission notes in its reply to the request that while some states may send out ballots before the first currently scheduled debate, that doesn’t mean voters have to complete and return their ballot before the first debate.

Do you want to see a fourth presidential debate?

Under the Radar

House Spending Package Preserves Protection for State Marijuana Programs

Before the House of Representatives completed its consideration of the $1.3 trillion “minibus” spending package last week, it adopted an amendment that would prohibit the Dept. of Justice from using law enforcement grants to interfere with medical and/or recreational marijuana programs administered by states, tribes, and territories. 

The inclusion of the amendment in the funding package comes as the debate over marijuana policy emerges as part of coronavirus relief negotiations.

Introduced by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the amendment would prohibit the use of federal law enforcement grant funding from being used to interfere with the marijuana programs of states that have legalized the substance for medical or recreational use. 

A similar amendment was adopted for the spending package that is funding the federal government’s operations in the current fiscal year, so if Blumenauer’s amendment is enacted it would continue that policy for FY2021.

Should we prevent the DOJ from using funds to interfere with state marijuana programs?

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And, in the End...

On this date in 1782, George Washington created the Order of the Purple Heart...

Have a blessed National Sea Serpent Day,

—Josh Herman

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