Acquitted on German hate speech charges in January, American playwright CJ Hopkins is being charged again for the same offense. He has a scary message for Americans
Even in the confines of Missouri v. Biden, the censorship encompasses nearly every 'big' issue of the day. The 2020 election, as well as the 2022 midterms. Vaccines, the origin of covid, as well as data of the virus itself. IT WAS ALL CENSORED. After that we saw censorship of Ukraine/Russia. It's extremely likely that issues are being censored right now and we're simply not aware of it.
It's not for your safety. It's not to ensure you have the 'right' information. It's not because Big Brother loves you.*
Hans - are we the baddies? Shameful that MSM ignores critical stories about free speech. It’s up to all of us to cover them and support brave people like CJ.
This is the “one world order”. I swear I used to hear this from what I thought was “crazy” people and now with this being so widespread I have to start believing something else. I don’t do social media. I had a Facebook account that I closed over a decade ago. Never Twitter and anything that has been created since hasn’t been even a thought. I don’t watch network newscasts anymore but will concede to reading newspapers with the NY Post daily and even that lately is getting to be a joke as they are pushing another narrative. I found Substack and Matt has been beyond refreshing. I give him big kudos for the monster brass ones he swings everyday. I guess we will be handing out underground newspapers soon. Better invest in an old printing press so I can do my part.
The problem as I see it is the bureaucrats and other government officials suffer no retribution for their actions. They are quite untouchable in the traditional sense. Were that not the case I feel certain such deeds would be few and far between.
I suspect the current censorship wave IS about Trump in the US, as it is about Brexit in Europe. But Trump and Brexit just brought to the surface, and legitimized in the eyes of the center-left elites, an inclination already deep in the DNA of the security states. Having surfaced with approbation, it will not end where it started, but will metastasize--and I use that word advisedly.
Interesting piece from Tablet on the state of German politics, and how lawfare attempts to ban right-wing political parties, a la Trump, are backfiring around the globe:
It isn't just the fact that the government has sought to pressure social media companies to censor things, it is also that the pressure was applied through channels not immediately open to the public that is worthy of condemnation.
If the government has a good faith belief that something someone posted on social media could cause serious harm to those who are unaware, then it should state its objections or concerns publicly, transparently. Any communication from the government to a social media company, as has been shown to have occurred before, that is not simultaneously made public, should be treated as a violation of the law.
Fascism is sweeping the world, and the world loves it, loves bullying the rest of us. We'll soon be "too harmful" to be out in public, and will be put in "re-learning centers, to save us.
The headline says it all. The left and many on the right hate Trump, and they feel ANYTHING justifies getting rid of him. Even stepping all over our constitutional rights. It doesn't matter -- Trump is evil, Trump is a threat to democracy, Trump must be squashed by any means necessary. And they don't see that it can happen to anyone.
What is it about politicians? They always have a crowd of people around them when they make some announcement at a lectern. The clown from Canada has 12 people. Even the best quarterback in the world does not get that many! Does this add gravitas to the announcement or what?
The thing that really pisses me off is that this species of humanoids live among us. They are our neighbors. Their kids attend the same schools we send our kids too (assuming it is private schools). The ONLY thing different appear to be the college they attended and maybe their degree program.
I have said it before and I will say it again... it isn't the media that is the root cause of the problem... the state of the media is a symptom of a problem. The root cause is the collectivist garbage that has infested Western education. Why the hell do you think Ron DeSantis is such a focused threat of theirs?
If we want to save the world from this parasitic toxic mind virus of illiberal wokeism, we need to take the fight to the education system and weed out the garbage. Then it will take a generation or two to filter out the indoctrinated enemies of liberal democracy.
Let's start in the US and show the rest of the world the way.
When an extension of the British Empire our newspapers were either pro King or pro Colony. President Adams gave us the 1798 Sedition Act which made it a crime for American citizens to "print, utter, or publish...any false, scandalous, and malicious writing" about the government. The laws were directed against Democratic-Republicans, the party typically favored by new citizens. The only journalists prosecuted under the Sedition Act were editors of Democratic-Republican newspapers.
Sedition Act trials, along with the Senate's use of its contempt powers to suppress dissent, set off a firestorm of criticism against the Federalists and contributed to their defeat in the election of 1800, after which the acts were repealed or allowed to expire. The controversies surrounding them, however, provided for some of the first tests of the limits of freedom of speech and press.
The Sedition Act of 1918 was an Act of Congress that extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds.
While much of the debate focused on the law's precise language, there was considerable opposition in the Senate, almost entirely from Republicans, especially Henry Cabot Lodge and Hiram Johnson. Johnson defended free speech and Lodge complained the administration had failed to use the laws already in place. Former President Theodore Roosevelt voiced opposition as well.
The U.S. Supreme Court UPHELD the Sedition Act in Abrams v. United States (1919), as applied to people urging curtailment of production of essential war materiel. Oliver Wendell Holmes used his dissenting opinion to make a commentary on what has come to be known as "the marketplace of ideas".
Subsequent Supreme Court decisions, such as Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), make it unlikely that similar legislation would be considered constitutional today.
The USG no longer needs legislation to do what it wants. It has the Robes to back it up.
Even in the confines of Missouri v. Biden, the censorship encompasses nearly every 'big' issue of the day. The 2020 election, as well as the 2022 midterms. Vaccines, the origin of covid, as well as data of the virus itself. IT WAS ALL CENSORED. After that we saw censorship of Ukraine/Russia. It's extremely likely that issues are being censored right now and we're simply not aware of it.
It's not for your safety. It's not to ensure you have the 'right' information. It's not because Big Brother loves you.*
It's about control.
*-https://twitter.com/ajlamesa/status/1769846947504967726
Hans - are we the baddies? Shameful that MSM ignores critical stories about free speech. It’s up to all of us to cover them and support brave people like CJ.
This is the “one world order”. I swear I used to hear this from what I thought was “crazy” people and now with this being so widespread I have to start believing something else. I don’t do social media. I had a Facebook account that I closed over a decade ago. Never Twitter and anything that has been created since hasn’t been even a thought. I don’t watch network newscasts anymore but will concede to reading newspapers with the NY Post daily and even that lately is getting to be a joke as they are pushing another narrative. I found Substack and Matt has been beyond refreshing. I give him big kudos for the monster brass ones he swings everyday. I guess we will be handing out underground newspapers soon. Better invest in an old printing press so I can do my part.
The problem as I see it is the bureaucrats and other government officials suffer no retribution for their actions. They are quite untouchable in the traditional sense. Were that not the case I feel certain such deeds would be few and far between.
I suspect the current censorship wave IS about Trump in the US, as it is about Brexit in Europe. But Trump and Brexit just brought to the surface, and legitimized in the eyes of the center-left elites, an inclination already deep in the DNA of the security states. Having surfaced with approbation, it will not end where it started, but will metastasize--and I use that word advisedly.
Interesting piece from Tablet on the state of German politics, and how lawfare attempts to ban right-wing political parties, a la Trump, are backfiring around the globe:
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/germany-far-right-stopped-afd-jeremy-stern
It isn't just the fact that the government has sought to pressure social media companies to censor things, it is also that the pressure was applied through channels not immediately open to the public that is worthy of condemnation.
If the government has a good faith belief that something someone posted on social media could cause serious harm to those who are unaware, then it should state its objections or concerns publicly, transparently. Any communication from the government to a social media company, as has been shown to have occurred before, that is not simultaneously made public, should be treated as a violation of the law.
Fascism is sweeping the world, and the world loves it, loves bullying the rest of us. We'll soon be "too harmful" to be out in public, and will be put in "re-learning centers, to save us.
The headline says it all. The left and many on the right hate Trump, and they feel ANYTHING justifies getting rid of him. Even stepping all over our constitutional rights. It doesn't matter -- Trump is evil, Trump is a threat to democracy, Trump must be squashed by any means necessary. And they don't see that it can happen to anyone.
The Germans (AKA nazi's) banned this. I suspect the current government are secretly Nazi's and will ban this again:
Die Gedanken sind frei (my thoughts are free)
We kann sie erraten (who can guess them)
Si fliehen wor bei (they continue on)
Wie nachtlichen schatten (like nocturnal shadows)
Kein mensch kann sie wissen (no one can know them)
Kein gager erschiessen (no hunter can shoot them)
Ich bliebe da bei (I believe it by)
Die Gedanken sind frei (My thoughts are free)
Things are not looking good... but thanks for keeping us abreast Matt.
What is it about politicians? They always have a crowd of people around them when they make some announcement at a lectern. The clown from Canada has 12 people. Even the best quarterback in the world does not get that many! Does this add gravitas to the announcement or what?
The thing that really pisses me off is that this species of humanoids live among us. They are our neighbors. Their kids attend the same schools we send our kids too (assuming it is private schools). The ONLY thing different appear to be the college they attended and maybe their degree program.
I have said it before and I will say it again... it isn't the media that is the root cause of the problem... the state of the media is a symptom of a problem. The root cause is the collectivist garbage that has infested Western education. Why the hell do you think Ron DeSantis is such a focused threat of theirs?
If we want to save the world from this parasitic toxic mind virus of illiberal wokeism, we need to take the fight to the education system and weed out the garbage. Then it will take a generation or two to filter out the indoctrinated enemies of liberal democracy.
Let's start in the US and show the rest of the world the way.
When an extension of the British Empire our newspapers were either pro King or pro Colony. President Adams gave us the 1798 Sedition Act which made it a crime for American citizens to "print, utter, or publish...any false, scandalous, and malicious writing" about the government. The laws were directed against Democratic-Republicans, the party typically favored by new citizens. The only journalists prosecuted under the Sedition Act were editors of Democratic-Republican newspapers.
Sedition Act trials, along with the Senate's use of its contempt powers to suppress dissent, set off a firestorm of criticism against the Federalists and contributed to their defeat in the election of 1800, after which the acts were repealed or allowed to expire. The controversies surrounding them, however, provided for some of the first tests of the limits of freedom of speech and press.
The Sedition Act of 1918 was an Act of Congress that extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds.
While much of the debate focused on the law's precise language, there was considerable opposition in the Senate, almost entirely from Republicans, especially Henry Cabot Lodge and Hiram Johnson. Johnson defended free speech and Lodge complained the administration had failed to use the laws already in place. Former President Theodore Roosevelt voiced opposition as well.
The U.S. Supreme Court UPHELD the Sedition Act in Abrams v. United States (1919), as applied to people urging curtailment of production of essential war materiel. Oliver Wendell Holmes used his dissenting opinion to make a commentary on what has come to be known as "the marketplace of ideas".
Subsequent Supreme Court decisions, such as Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), make it unlikely that similar legislation would be considered constitutional today.
The USG no longer needs legislation to do what it wants. It has the Robes to back it up.
"it would make comedy or even sharp commentary impossible"
That has always been impossible for Germans. They are tragically, genetically unhip.
We read Eugene Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros” in 11th grade at my HS in Queens. I thought it was the craziest, stupidest thing I’d read. Now I’m like, “😲” Oh.