Four years after the Twitter Files, the Missouri v. Biden case ends in a consent decree barring government from threatening protected speech - a belated but important victory
In the world I grew up in -- 60s into the 80s -- Matt and Bari and Shellenberger would have gotten Pulitzers for this story, and achieved fame equal to Woodward and Bernstein.
Is there a more important constitutional provision than the First Amendment? I can't think of one, because it's the one thread that runs through every other part of the Constitution. Without the free flow of information, nothing else works right, if at all: not the government, not the press, not the courts, not free markets. It would be impossible for citizens to trust government, and thus impossible for the rest of the Constitution to sustain itself.
As Matt says, a huge, huge win for everyone regardless of political stripe. God Bless Matt and all of the soldiers in this fight.
Matt underplays his own role in keeping this issue alive. Only by reading Racket Newa and other Substacks are we likely to find out about such important decisions. The MSM will bury it on p. 23 if they mention the decision at all. Free speech for me, but not for thee.
Matt, without the dogged, tireless persistence of folks like you, so much of this would’ve never seen the light of day. If I had a billion bucks I’d endow the Matt Taibbi Chair of Investigative Journalism at Columbia J-school… But they’d probably turn me down.
I guess the question now is, will readers of The Guardian and the New York Times ever see this story, and if they do, what form will the report take? Technically, are you 'censoring' the information commons if, instead of suppressing reports, you systematically neglect to bring information to people's attention in the first place, while pretending you're practicing journalism?
If you are systematically neglecting to bring (all relevant )information to people's attention then yes, you are censoring by omission...
Many journalists from the Guardian and NYT etc believe they are there to report their own cultural marxist(progressive..I hate that word) world view on how things should be.
Unfortunately, the victory is largely illusory because the Supreme Court (namely Roberts, Barrett, and Kavanauagh) let us down. These plaintiffs have done amazing work, but they were left with little-to-no leverage following SCOTUS’s evasion of the case based on standing. The consent decree restates black letter law, and it only applies to three defendants and the named plaintiffs.
To call it a “victory in court” is an overstatement at best. It is a settlement agreement that merely states that defendants will follow the law. It’s akin to signing an agreement not to burglarize the house next door.
Nonetheless, kudos to all involved for getting the initial discovery and for fighting the good fight.
I was referring to the many caveats about the meaning of the bloody Magna Carta. Apparently, you are myopic and unable to process a historical analogy.
Magna Carta empowered a small group of Barons to exercise restraint upon the actions of God's representative in England, John I anointed and unquestioned King of England. Hence "A man's home is his castle!"
It took a lot of twists and turns to get to "The Pentagon Papers" and everloving Larry Flint.
Now our own Matt Taibbi has taken his place in this legend.
Yes, you have every right (the first) to be a curmudgeon, but please do pay attention
Great job, Matt! Also, kudos to you, Michael, Bari and others for your work on the Twitter Files. Last but not least, to the guy that took on all comers to purchase Twitter, Elon Musk!
The last 10 years or so has made it abundantly clear that the 1st Amendment is our most important right. There’s a lot of speech I can’t stand, but it should be permitted. I’ve traveled to Europe many times and it’s obvious that they are destroying themselves from within with this anti-hate and anti-discrimination regulation. The press there has become no more than government curated information.
The Europeans we chat with know half the story about a lot of things and it’s going to just get worse.
Great news Matt!! Thank you so much for carrying the water and keeping a light on this! Really happy for the plantiffs as well!
Cheers to all lovers of free speech!
In the world I grew up in -- 60s into the 80s -- Matt and Bari and Shellenberger would have gotten Pulitzers for this story, and achieved fame equal to Woodward and Bernstein.
Is there a more important constitutional provision than the First Amendment? I can't think of one, because it's the one thread that runs through every other part of the Constitution. Without the free flow of information, nothing else works right, if at all: not the government, not the press, not the courts, not free markets. It would be impossible for citizens to trust government, and thus impossible for the rest of the Constitution to sustain itself.
As Matt says, a huge, huge win for everyone regardless of political stripe. God Bless Matt and all of the soldiers in this fight.
Great news and well reported. You covered the facts and broader context and implications. That’s the reporting I come to Racket for.
Taibbi, you did so much, along with Michael Shellenberger and others - this is a win you influenced mightily.
Supporting Matt with my subscription was one of the most important things I've done.
Agreed. So good to read this this AM
It might be worth again mentioning that Elon Musk took substantial risks to make the rest possible.
If he hadn't bought Twitter, none of this would have come to light.
Matt underplays his own role in keeping this issue alive. Only by reading Racket Newa and other Substacks are we likely to find out about such important decisions. The MSM will bury it on p. 23 if they mention the decision at all. Free speech for me, but not for thee.
You deserve a lot of credit for this, Matt. Great work and thank you. 🇺🇲🍻
Congrats to you too, Matt. Well done.
It’s all about setting the legal precedent! The ruling will live on!Thanks Matt!
Matt, without the dogged, tireless persistence of folks like you, so much of this would’ve never seen the light of day. If I had a billion bucks I’d endow the Matt Taibbi Chair of Investigative Journalism at Columbia J-school… But they’d probably turn me down.
It takes a long time for the wheels of Justlce to turn, even if its a lagging indicator of the culture shift/vibe change.
Thanks, Matt, for your part in this.
Bad day at the Ministry of Truth.
GREAT NEWS THANK YOU
I guess the question now is, will readers of The Guardian and the New York Times ever see this story, and if they do, what form will the report take? Technically, are you 'censoring' the information commons if, instead of suppressing reports, you systematically neglect to bring information to people's attention in the first place, while pretending you're practicing journalism?
If you are systematically neglecting to bring (all relevant )information to people's attention then yes, you are censoring by omission...
Many journalists from the Guardian and NYT etc believe they are there to report their own cultural marxist(progressive..I hate that word) world view on how things should be.
Let facts and history be damned.....
Could be like "oh no hate speech won", maybe 😅
Unfortunately, the victory is largely illusory because the Supreme Court (namely Roberts, Barrett, and Kavanauagh) let us down. These plaintiffs have done amazing work, but they were left with little-to-no leverage following SCOTUS’s evasion of the case based on standing. The consent decree restates black letter law, and it only applies to three defendants and the named plaintiffs.
To call it a “victory in court” is an overstatement at best. It is a settlement agreement that merely states that defendants will follow the law. It’s akin to signing an agreement not to burglarize the house next door.
Nonetheless, kudos to all involved for getting the initial discovery and for fighting the good fight.
History and Reality have always been tragic.
There were lots of caveats about the meaning of Magna Carta, but, here we are with a myth that has made some difference. Thus progress stumbles along.
This isn’t a “caveat.” Judge Doughty’s injunction in this case was a great victory at the time; this is not.
It offers no precedent, its restrictions only last ten years, and it only applies the parties.
The victory here was that the documents, the twitter files, and more exposed the nature of the censorship apparatus and a few of its chief villains.
We don’t need to pretend that the settlement agreement (which lacks any teeth to it) has made any difference.
Did you understand my comment? Please reread.
I was referring to the many caveats about the meaning of the bloody Magna Carta. Apparently, you are myopic and unable to process a historical analogy.
Magna Carta empowered a small group of Barons to exercise restraint upon the actions of God's representative in England, John I anointed and unquestioned King of England. Hence "A man's home is his castle!"
It took a lot of twists and turns to get to "The Pentagon Papers" and everloving Larry Flint.
Now our own Matt Taibbi has taken his place in this legend.
Yes, you have every right (the first) to be a curmudgeon, but please do pay attention
It's frightening that people in government actually fought FOR this censorship!
.
I hope they are all identified to discourage them from running for public office.
Great job, Matt! Also, kudos to you, Michael, Bari and others for your work on the Twitter Files. Last but not least, to the guy that took on all comers to purchase Twitter, Elon Musk!
The last 10 years or so has made it abundantly clear that the 1st Amendment is our most important right. There’s a lot of speech I can’t stand, but it should be permitted. I’ve traveled to Europe many times and it’s obvious that they are destroying themselves from within with this anti-hate and anti-discrimination regulation. The press there has become no more than government curated information.
The Europeans we chat with know half the story about a lot of things and it’s going to just get worse.