I don’t believe that the left will shift away from these unconstitutional efforts, because its goal is not persuasion but power. Today’s left is defined by censorship, compulsion and compliance, not liberty.
Spot on. The Left is trying to work around the Constitution, not within it.
Leftism is an ideology that has no limiting principles and therefore one that disregards all behavioral constraints. Every law -- constitutional or otherwise -- is an impediment to the unbridled will that is leftism. Even the laws created by the Left are intended solely as a means of control, not justice; leftists themselves have no intention whatsoever of abiding by the rules they impose on others.
Sadly, there is no basis for expecting the Left to institutionally abandon speech suppression. We can hope that it will, of course, but hope unmoored from reality is just delusion.
well it kind of makes sense. If you see free speech as a vehicle for you to gain power, it is no longer necessary when the people who are right about everything are on power. In fact it is an impediment. Its the mistake the small minority of leftists who are disillusioned made. Free speech was like a bus. When it got the left where they wanted to be, they got off.
That is exactly what they will TRY continuing to do. It's absolute power that corrupts absolutely, and its been so obvious for so long it's almost become normalized. What has been surreal is how the average Dem voter STILL defends this corruption if it means keeping Trump or any Republican or quasi independent aka RFK out of the oval office. Until they "feel" actual accountability for their intentional agenda of Tyranny nothing will in fact change. ZERO accountability is the #1 existential crisis we face on almost every level of American society now, but no where near this stark reality in the SWAMP. Just sayin...
Trump is his own worst enemy but as I have said repeatedly, it just had to be trump who was the one who ripped off the mask. Im starting to believe maybe he was the only one who could. Which means even though they were exposed, we are still screwed.
The key point is that Facebook and YouTube are not changing. They are censoring as much as ever. In other words, they don't think they are wrong and they don't think there's going to be any blowback to them for helping their close friend, Big Brother. It's like they KNOW nothing bad is going to happen to them. My question: How do they know this?
Logic leads to some very disturbing conclusions. They are not going to back down and the Supreme Court probably has their back.
they know because they have the money. There are well fundd goups in the legal community that are actively doing everything they can to make sure Trump and his allies by destroying the careers of any lawyers who might take the job. civli libeties mean nothing anymore. The left has the Power and the money.
"Judge Doughty’s ruling doesn’t violate the federal government’s own First Amendemnt (sic) rights to speak."
This may seem like nit-picking, but there are two important points here that need to be addressed:
1. The federal government has no right to speak. It has no prohibition, either, which means it can speak whenever it wants to, but the First Amendment is a limitation on federal activity, not a protection for it.
2. There is no such thing as a "First Amendment right." The First Amendment doesn't confer a right, it protects one; a right that both predates human government and transcends its authority. Because of man's inherent and universally equal worth before God, no one human being has the right to silence another.
Your 2nd point is a hugely important distinction. We were not given rights by our government, nor even by our outstandingly wise Founding Fathers. Those rights are inherent to all people everywhere; the difference is that our US Constitution protects ours, while citizens of most other countries generally have less such protection available to them to speak freely.
I also think more people need to appreciate how massive the "Censorship Industrial Complex" is. It's a lot more than just the White House and Meta. Racket News told us who the 50 biggest organizations are. And they are all coordinating with one another and are all very well funded.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, she's infamous for participating in the FBI's scheme to kidnap her weeks before the 2020 election. The FBI employed a dozen federal agents, and government informants to infiltrate a group of hapless men from Michigan who happened to have posted anti-Whitmer, anti-Shutdown comments online. Out of 6 or 7 defendants, it was found there were a dozen or so special agents behind the scheme. The FBI planned, paid for, and encouraged the scheme, which never got past the so-called "planning" stage. Two defendants were acquitted, one or two plead guilty, and two others were retried, and found guilty, after their first trial ended in a hung jury. The judge assigned to the second trial stood shoulder to shoulder with the DOJ/FBI, the judge is apparently a Democratic Party cult member.
California is working on the same laws. If you feel threatened or made sad by something that was written (past or present) said ( past or present) then the offender can be charged with hate speech. Then you’ll see censorship taken to the next level. Books, film, media and Churches will be band. And that’s how you get around any ruling a judge might give.
Of course every fair minded American should exult at Judge Doughty's self evidently correct opinion regarding one of the most important features--free speech--that distinguishes the US from most of the rest of the world. And I look forward to the end of government censorship via pressure on media enterprises but I have to admit that I am less optimistic than AB that all will be well yet. What I believe is that the America I love is more likely to remain faithful to the US Constitution when Republicans hold the levers of power than when the Democrats do. In that sense, I believe that the incipient fascism we have been living under for the past few years is a product of the kind of thinking that believes that the Constitution should protect the rights of certain people and not others and in this regard, I am one of those whose rights need not be protected given my incorrect thinking that prompted our so-called AG to characterize people like me as domestic terrorists. Of course a 2 tier system of rights is anathema to what this country has stood for. And so if our Republic is truly gone, then I will no longer favor protecting everyone's rights under the Constitution but instead only favor my rights at the expense of those who prefer to deprive me of mine when they are in power. I confess that this is a very sad state of affairs but, as they say, it is what it is. As I wrote in an article decades ago, a world in which a majority can censor all that it did not like would be a stagnant and a declining world. I regret to say that I feel as though I am living in that world right now in my own country.
Qyuick reaction: that is a good point. the republican may be poor At governance but there is more adherence to the constitution when they are in power, usually to block them from their own incompetence. And this may not be by happenstance. democrats being more adept and willing to use the lever of power are the ones to be feared of abusing it. But since their abuses are "for our own good," they get a pass.
Great response to the injunction. Was very excited to see the journalists, plaintiffs and our war horses who have been fighting for this to see the injunction. Handed down on the 4th of July just added the cherry!
The gaslighting by State Media on this court decision has already started.
In their usual fashion, they deny that censorship ever happened. Then proceed to mock the judge's opinion, pointing to his wording in the introduction to his Memorandum Ruling: "If the allegations made by Plaintiffs are true, the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history. "
If the allegations are true... Nyuk nyuk nyuk.
Elsewhere, the judge recites a lengthy list of efforts by various government actors to censor speech on social media. Not a word about any of that.
Trouble is, a LOT of people will hear the soundbite MSM reporting, and that's all they'll ever hear.
Its the CCP template and the American left models it and will continue doing so until they are NOT allowed too. Its not rocket science. A rapist will rape until IT is "actually" stopped from doing so again
Alex, give 'em hell in your lawsuit on Biden, Bourla, Slavik, et al directing Twitter to censor and ban you. It would seem that your lawsuit has gained momentum in driving legal precedence against the U.S. Inverted Totalitarian State and its Corporatism/Fascist brethren that would love to tread on our 1st amendment rights whenever it pleases them to do so.
When did something being unconstitutional ever stop the Left. Just as Biden had a work around to the forgiveness of student (party at college) debt, the left will work around Dougherty's ruling. This devolves into a "stop me if you can" moment by the Left. Since a lot of "prosecutors" are now puppets of the left, enforcing Dougherty's ruling will be challenging. The real problem is the mass of uninformed, non caring voters who will sell their vote for a small morsel. Until they get serious about putting principled, honest people in office regardless of party, we will celebrate strong words but experience little action that will make the difference. Dougherty's ruling is a step in the right direction but we have "many miles to go".
I am doubtful whether those you say who are in the "left," meaning those who believe the CDC bullshi*, will change their minds or if they can't because they are afraid of repercussions. But we need this freedom of speech on all sides - meaning free to make our own decisions on the books we read, the sex we choose, the rights to make decisions regarding abortion and reproduction or not, the right to use allopathic (western) medicine or any other form. Lets not keep swinging from one extreme to the other.
Of course they will just ignore it. And they will appeal to a court with a liberal judge until it gets to SCOTUS and then they will ignore their ruling. They have already embedded so many ex spooks into every social media platform it probably won’t matter anyway.
Interment camps? Wow, I guess they were harsher than I knew!! But I digress. What I really want to know is why you are optimistic that the left is about to shift hard in favor of freedom of speech?
I don’t believe that the left will shift away from these unconstitutional efforts, because its goal is not persuasion but power. Today’s left is defined by censorship, compulsion and compliance, not liberty.
Spot on. The Left is trying to work around the Constitution, not within it.
Leftism is an ideology that has no limiting principles and therefore one that disregards all behavioral constraints. Every law -- constitutional or otherwise -- is an impediment to the unbridled will that is leftism. Even the laws created by the Left are intended solely as a means of control, not justice; leftists themselves have no intention whatsoever of abiding by the rules they impose on others.
Sadly, there is no basis for expecting the Left to institutionally abandon speech suppression. We can hope that it will, of course, but hope unmoored from reality is just delusion.
well it kind of makes sense. If you see free speech as a vehicle for you to gain power, it is no longer necessary when the people who are right about everything are on power. In fact it is an impediment. Its the mistake the small minority of leftists who are disillusioned made. Free speech was like a bus. When it got the left where they wanted to be, they got off.
That is exactly what they will TRY continuing to do. It's absolute power that corrupts absolutely, and its been so obvious for so long it's almost become normalized. What has been surreal is how the average Dem voter STILL defends this corruption if it means keeping Trump or any Republican or quasi independent aka RFK out of the oval office. Until they "feel" actual accountability for their intentional agenda of Tyranny nothing will in fact change. ZERO accountability is the #1 existential crisis we face on almost every level of American society now, but no where near this stark reality in the SWAMP. Just sayin...
Trump is his own worst enemy but as I have said repeatedly, it just had to be trump who was the one who ripped off the mask. Im starting to believe maybe he was the only one who could. Which means even though they were exposed, we are still screwed.
The key point is that Facebook and YouTube are not changing. They are censoring as much as ever. In other words, they don't think they are wrong and they don't think there's going to be any blowback to them for helping their close friend, Big Brother. It's like they KNOW nothing bad is going to happen to them. My question: How do they know this?
Logic leads to some very disturbing conclusions. They are not going to back down and the Supreme Court probably has their back.
https://billricejr.substack.com/p/i-try-to-use-logic-in-my-articles?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
they know because they have the money. There are well fundd goups in the legal community that are actively doing everything they can to make sure Trump and his allies by destroying the careers of any lawyers who might take the job. civli libeties mean nothing anymore. The left has the Power and the money.
"Judge Doughty’s ruling doesn’t violate the federal government’s own First Amendemnt (sic) rights to speak."
This may seem like nit-picking, but there are two important points here that need to be addressed:
1. The federal government has no right to speak. It has no prohibition, either, which means it can speak whenever it wants to, but the First Amendment is a limitation on federal activity, not a protection for it.
2. There is no such thing as a "First Amendment right." The First Amendment doesn't confer a right, it protects one; a right that both predates human government and transcends its authority. Because of man's inherent and universally equal worth before God, no one human being has the right to silence another.
Your 2nd point is a hugely important distinction. We were not given rights by our government, nor even by our outstandingly wise Founding Fathers. Those rights are inherent to all people everywhere; the difference is that our US Constitution protects ours, while citizens of most other countries generally have less such protection available to them to speak freely.
Perfectly summarized.
I also think more people need to appreciate how massive the "Censorship Industrial Complex" is. It's a lot more than just the White House and Meta. Racket News told us who the 50 biggest organizations are. And they are all coordinating with one another and are all very well funded.
This is still a must-read and real journalism.
https://www.racket.news/p/report-on-the-censorship-industrial-74b?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1042&post_id=120300766&isFreemail=false
You're absolutely correct. They aren't playing around. They're deadly serious about shutting us up so they can then shut us down.
Think about it. They also HAVE to Censor on steroids ... to protect themselves.
The Censorship Industrial Complex is a giant and coordinated "protection" racket IMO.
Now let's put an end to all of these hate speech laws being thrown together like whatever the fuck Michigan just passed.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, she's infamous for participating in the FBI's scheme to kidnap her weeks before the 2020 election. The FBI employed a dozen federal agents, and government informants to infiltrate a group of hapless men from Michigan who happened to have posted anti-Whitmer, anti-Shutdown comments online. Out of 6 or 7 defendants, it was found there were a dozen or so special agents behind the scheme. The FBI planned, paid for, and encouraged the scheme, which never got past the so-called "planning" stage. Two defendants were acquitted, one or two plead guilty, and two others were retried, and found guilty, after their first trial ended in a hung jury. The judge assigned to the second trial stood shoulder to shoulder with the DOJ/FBI, the judge is apparently a Democratic Party cult member.
California is working on the same laws. If you feel threatened or made sad by something that was written (past or present) said ( past or present) then the offender can be charged with hate speech. Then you’ll see censorship taken to the next level. Books, film, media and Churches will be band. And that’s how you get around any ruling a judge might give.
Huge win in the direction of keeping our precious country at least somewhat free. Let freedom ring!
The Left has lost the plot.
The plot, it seems to me, has all along been to gain control of the narrative which leads to a permanent state of power.
unless the plot was as i said above. If you are right, criticism is unfounded and needs to be silenced.
Thank you, Judge Doughty. Now do academia, please....
Of course every fair minded American should exult at Judge Doughty's self evidently correct opinion regarding one of the most important features--free speech--that distinguishes the US from most of the rest of the world. And I look forward to the end of government censorship via pressure on media enterprises but I have to admit that I am less optimistic than AB that all will be well yet. What I believe is that the America I love is more likely to remain faithful to the US Constitution when Republicans hold the levers of power than when the Democrats do. In that sense, I believe that the incipient fascism we have been living under for the past few years is a product of the kind of thinking that believes that the Constitution should protect the rights of certain people and not others and in this regard, I am one of those whose rights need not be protected given my incorrect thinking that prompted our so-called AG to characterize people like me as domestic terrorists. Of course a 2 tier system of rights is anathema to what this country has stood for. And so if our Republic is truly gone, then I will no longer favor protecting everyone's rights under the Constitution but instead only favor my rights at the expense of those who prefer to deprive me of mine when they are in power. I confess that this is a very sad state of affairs but, as they say, it is what it is. As I wrote in an article decades ago, a world in which a majority can censor all that it did not like would be a stagnant and a declining world. I regret to say that I feel as though I am living in that world right now in my own country.
Qyuick reaction: that is a good point. the republican may be poor At governance but there is more adherence to the constitution when they are in power, usually to block them from their own incompetence. And this may not be by happenstance. democrats being more adept and willing to use the lever of power are the ones to be feared of abusing it. But since their abuses are "for our own good," they get a pass.
You are modest and well written. Please keep on keeping on.
Great response to the injunction. Was very excited to see the journalists, plaintiffs and our war horses who have been fighting for this to see the injunction. Handed down on the 4th of July just added the cherry!
The gaslighting by State Media on this court decision has already started.
In their usual fashion, they deny that censorship ever happened. Then proceed to mock the judge's opinion, pointing to his wording in the introduction to his Memorandum Ruling: "If the allegations made by Plaintiffs are true, the present case arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history. "
If the allegations are true... Nyuk nyuk nyuk.
Elsewhere, the judge recites a lengthy list of efforts by various government actors to censor speech on social media. Not a word about any of that.
Trouble is, a LOT of people will hear the soundbite MSM reporting, and that's all they'll ever hear.
The “if true” construction is a legal predicate for an injunction and summary judgment.
I knew that, and you knew it.
The "journalists," not so much.
This is the war with words. The enemy of truth is always twisting words. Stand against wickedness. Jesus Christ leads us.
The left will never acquiesce. Remember, inside every liberal except Alex Berenson is a totalitarian screaming to get out.
Its the CCP template and the American left models it and will continue doing so until they are NOT allowed too. Its not rocket science. A rapist will rape until IT is "actually" stopped from doing so again
Alex, give 'em hell in your lawsuit on Biden, Bourla, Slavik, et al directing Twitter to censor and ban you. It would seem that your lawsuit has gained momentum in driving legal precedence against the U.S. Inverted Totalitarian State and its Corporatism/Fascist brethren that would love to tread on our 1st amendment rights whenever it pleases them to do so.
When did something being unconstitutional ever stop the Left. Just as Biden had a work around to the forgiveness of student (party at college) debt, the left will work around Dougherty's ruling. This devolves into a "stop me if you can" moment by the Left. Since a lot of "prosecutors" are now puppets of the left, enforcing Dougherty's ruling will be challenging. The real problem is the mass of uninformed, non caring voters who will sell their vote for a small morsel. Until they get serious about putting principled, honest people in office regardless of party, we will celebrate strong words but experience little action that will make the difference. Dougherty's ruling is a step in the right direction but we have "many miles to go".
I am doubtful whether those you say who are in the "left," meaning those who believe the CDC bullshi*, will change their minds or if they can't because they are afraid of repercussions. But we need this freedom of speech on all sides - meaning free to make our own decisions on the books we read, the sex we choose, the rights to make decisions regarding abortion and reproduction or not, the right to use allopathic (western) medicine or any other form. Lets not keep swinging from one extreme to the other.
these are the people who started pushing hard on "body positivity" when their "solutions" resulted in may people gaining 30 lbs,
<they’ll probably just ignore the ruling > I’m #hopeful too‼️
Of course they will just ignore it. And they will appeal to a court with a liberal judge until it gets to SCOTUS and then they will ignore their ruling. They have already embedded so many ex spooks into every social media platform it probably won’t matter anyway.
Interment camps? Wow, I guess they were harsher than I knew!! But I digress. What I really want to know is why you are optimistic that the left is about to shift hard in favor of freedom of speech?
🤭😉
Ha ha - I'm glad SOMEBODY got it!!
LOL. I skimmed through the comments to see if anyone else caught it and yours was the only I saw that made reference to the error.
I admire your optimism. Hope you are right.