Free Speech: More Powerful Than We Realize!

[martyfellow]

We often, in the US, take free speech for granted, and don't realize its power. Actually, the major media is in the hands of a few very wealthy people, and ordinary people have only limited access to free speeech rights in the US, but let's look away from that for now.

DOMESTICALLY:

Before he got around to attacking environmental protection and health care for millions...Trump's first demand was to silence the media's criticism of him. He's still trying tricks to stifle criticism, beginning with the firing of the FBI director.

ABROAD:

Currently there's a major conflict brewing involving Qatar. It's a complex situation, but the first demand made the gulf oil sheikhdoms is that Qatar PUT AN END TO AL JAZEERAH.

That demand is as important as purely military and economic demands. Al Jazzerah is the ONY news medium in the region that is even partially independent of the monarchies and dictators that dominate it. And many in the Western countries look to its reporting to balance the zionist propaganda which the wealthy elite I mentioned above in the US largely identifies with, since most of the top echelon in all the major news networks are Jewish zionists.

So many people here also rely on al Jazeerah for much of their information and a basis for their free speech opinions. But the region's kings, emirs, and dictators are united in demanding an end to it as one of their key demands on the Qatari regime, which set up al Jazeerah.

PERSONAL:

As a sometime political activist, I also face media lies and dirty tricks, deliberately false slanders, and at times threats of violence, all aimed at silencing my opinions and writings. People incite violence against me with their witch hunts lies about me, quite deliberately.

All of us depend on our free speech rights, whether we make use of them right now or not...

[Vanjasper]

Free speech, and the right to it is under attack all over the Western world and beyond. MSM, is held to be a tenet of democracy, and essential part of giving people facts in an unbiased manner, should carry out indepth investigations of issues that effect people's lives and their freedoms. But they no longer do it, they're no more than government propaganda machines, churning out the establishment line and slandering dissenters. Fake news starts and ends with MSM. Western democracies are in the grip of neoliberal globalists. They promised a lot, but only delivered to the rich and elite. And people are realising what's going on and are not happy. So MSM no longer matters to most ordinary people who see the reality. They turn to the internet and social media to inform, educate and organise themselves.
Had May in the UK got re elected with the majority the MSM polls told her, and ensured the electorate, she would enjoy, the internet was her first attack. Governments hate the internet and social media. It's not in any government's interest to have an informed and educated public.
In Ireland, the "opposition" party supports the minority government as a de facto coalition. Brays like donkeys on issues but votes with the government all the same. This same party is now trying to limit the speaking time of the smaller opposition parties in the Dail (Irish parliament). The reason given is so TDs (elected representatives) on government benches can contribute to debates. This is a load of bollix. TDs, party members, are subject to the Party Whip. The cannot dissent from the party line on any issue. So this attempt to give them more time to speak will be like listening to a choir all singing from the same hymn sheet and will do nothing to add to any debate. The Irish government, and past governments, all right wingers, are the most corrupt in all Western society. Naked, unashamed, unaccountable corruption abounds. This attempt at limiting the speaking time in the Dail, is no more than trying to shut those who expose this corruption up.
Neoliberals and neo-cons are prepared to destroy the world in their greed driven desire to control its resources for themselves.
There's enough for everyman's need, but not for everyman's greed.
This is the whole nub of this issue.

[martyfellow]

Thank for your well thought out reply. I tend to support Sinn Fein myself, from afar, as an Irish American.

[Danher525]

@martyfellow as a person in Northern Ireland I don't support Sinn Fein or DUP I support the UUP you know the non terrorist

[Vanjasper]

@Danher525 Your inference is?

[Danher525]

my point is Sinn Fein and DUP are both parties of terrorism and same amount of corruption and I would like to add being an Irish American means your point if less valuable to the people in the Republic

[Vanjasper]

@Danher525 The UUP are the party that while in government carried on a policy of discrimination, bordering on apartheid, against the nationalist people of Nth Ireland. The UUP sent the paramilitary police force the B specials against the civil rights marchers, and to burn nationalists out of their homes. They also have links to the UVF a terrorist organisation.
Arlene Foster of the DUP has questions to answer re the "ash for cash" scandal. What corruption do you cite for Sinn Fein, the only true 32 county political party in the country.

[Danher525]

Sinn Fein buying trucks with tax payer money to billboard their party in Cork, Maire Harrington “This is not the first time Maire has been imprisoned for her beliefs. She is a political prisoner, we call for her immediate release and an end to the senseless short term imprisonment and crimialisation of people in Irish society for minor issues such as non payment of small fines, TV licence etc.” when she was illegally messing with pipelines she had no restriction in but Sinn fein saying how she is standing up for people and comparing it with no paying for fines. Sinn fein has always had ties with the IRA even in 2004 MI5 said it. MARY LOU MCDONALD has reiterated that she stands over naming former politicians in the Dáil chamber who were accused of having held offshore Ansbacher accounts to evade tax.

[Danher525]

also Sinn Fein today always goes into NI business that is not there own like when and when not to hoist the Union Jack and you have people burning the Union jacking in the name of Sinn fein

[Vanjasper]

@Danher525 I spend some of my time on Irish political threads. There are many FG and FF shills there, that will use any excuse to vilify and slander SF at every opportunity. Yet i've never heard any mention of "Marie Harrington" or about SF buying trucks with public money. Sticks the government shills, never mind MSM or RTE would have no problem using to beat SF with. SF would never condone the burning of the Union Jack in its name. The scourge of Flegs in Nth Ireland is a Unionist issue. They like to display their supposed dominance over the nationalist population.
This topic is about free speech. Not something the UK government, nor any Unionist party is very renowned in supporting.

[Danher525]

anyone can find info if you look in the right place I spend time looking into my countries news so i'll find different then what you find look it up it will be found. Maire isn't a politician but was defended from a crime by Sinn fein. I never said Sinn fein condemned the burning of the flag but a bunch of their supporters did it in the name of Sinn Fein so that's a problem. you're the one who said "our inference is?"

[Rissyanne]

Liberals are the ones who want to shut down free speech. Who riots when it comes to conservative speakers? Liberals.

[ObscuredBeyond]

Indeed. My one sister, jealous of the newer siblings, rebelled and veered far left six years ago, and ran away. She's done a variety of things to hurt my family since then. One of her most adamant things has been to try to put the muzzle on me. Because I was the one, growing up, who never let her get away with lying. Because of that, she hates me most of all.

Libs in general tend to hate free speech that they disagree with just as vehemently - and personally - as my sister hates me.

She even went so far as to get her new husband to beg me not to ever say anything to them, because she's that afraid I might boil over and tell her the truth that she's been slamming her ears shut to for years. The truth about her attitude, her thefts, her con jobs, her drug use, etc. She just plain doesn't want to hear it.

Liberalism has degenerated into that: a quest to silence the truth whenever and wherever, however, possible. It is an allergy to them.

[martyfellow]

Nonsense. Trump and his friends have tried to shut down all criticism. They don't demonstrate, they control or try to control from behind the scenes, it's much more dangerous and insidious than a few demonstrators. And actually Trump's people are out there demonstrating along with the liberals, beatiing people up and the like.

[ObscuredBeyond]

Where is this happening? The nastiest I've ever seen the Trump crowd is in Facebook threads, where their comments have become as sexually vulgar as that of the other side. I've never seen so many half-joking references to fellatio before in my life. Political debates on Facebook are almost as obscene as a porn site now.

[Rissyanne]

I don't know if you have been living under a rock... but it is the liberals that are the violent ones. It is them who is burning businesses and beating up people. Didn't you watch the TV after the election? What about all the conservative speakers liberals have shut down on campuses? You are in denial buddy

[martyfellow]

Conservatives shut people down from behind the scenes, with lawyers and their ownership of most media. It's not dramatic, and guess what? It's mostly not covered in the press.. since THEY own it!!!

[FatherJack]

@Rissyanne... We need to STOP calling these Cultural Marxist brainwashed " useful idiots " Liberals !! They are NOT liberal in any sense... they are fucking Stalinist's !!

[Vanjasper]

@ Rissyanne Liberals as you call them are not liberal in the true sense of the meaning. They are Neoliberals, who have hijacked some liberal policies that are useful to them in order to disguise their real intentions. They have embraced PCism as it's the best means available to control free speech. They are right wing fascists. Not Liberal.

[Vanjasper]

@FatherJack Far from it. They are NEOLIBERALS.

[Rissyanne]

@Vanjasper They are liberals and Marty... I think you have Trump derangement syndrome. You think conservatives own the press? dude get some help. CNN liberal... MSNBC... liberal need I go on?

[martyfellow]

There are a few wealthy people who own the media. A lot of them don't like Trump, even though he's one of theirs..

[Vanjasper]

@Rissyanne You are so caught up in labels, you are finding it hard to see the wood for the trees. Labels are an easy way to identify, to pigeonhole, to see the "enemy". Forget about the modern labels for a minute, think Rich, think ultra capitalist, think Corporations. Think food producers, Oil companies, Big Pharma, Arm manufacturers, Media corporations, Bankers. The one thing they all have in common is they are rich. And greedy. Their only concern is staying rich and controlling everything to keep themselves rich. They have no interest in anyone, or anything else. People, ordinary people do not matter to them, other than that they keep on as cash cows, shut up and accept their lot. Their biggest fear is that people will cop on to them and the gravy train might be derailed.
They are very clever. They hate dissent in any form. They see danger from an informed and educated public. It will never do to see the Emperor's clothes. They also hate being labeled as anything else than benign.

[Vanjasper]

So what they have set out to do, and are succeeding at, is blurring the lines, confusing issues, muddying the waters. They embrace what they think people will go along with, make the right noises. Labels are so confused, they mean nothing any more. It's division, It's all camouflage.
Free speech, people realising what's going on, informing each other, educating themselves, are the biggest dangers for them. Stop depending on labels to identify the "enemy". It serves their purpose.

[Rissyanne]

@Vanjasper And you dont think there are rich democrats? Hillary took millions from other countries. Not to mention Wall Street for speeches. Dude we aren't going to agree on any of this,. So I am muting this question because arguing is going anywhere.

[Vanjasper]

The Clintons are evil personified.

[Belgie]

There are people on both sides of the political spectrum, who stand to gain by limiting free speech and the dissemination of information.

Neo-cons and neo-libs.

The Neo-cons usually come at it from the angle that things like the internet need to be controlled, journalists need to be subject to harsher laws, whistleblowers need to be punished, leakers need to be punished, we need to be able to monitor the potential terrorists so give us your emails, your passwords, your encryption keys etc... all huge attacks on free speech and the methods of free speech that a society uses.

The neo-libs have a slightly different approach, but it's no less chilling. They cloak themselves in the righteousness of "political correctness" and "offence". And they claim their targets, who they are desperate to silence, are hate speech mongers, racists, anti-semites, anti-feminists, protestors of all stripes, anti-American, etc... Whatever will work in a particular field, they will adopt it and use it.

Both need to be fought and resisted. The way to counter hate speech, is with other speech. The truth does not need legal protection. We don't have laws making Flat-Earthers illegal.

[sedrftvgyhujik]

Neo-cons taking power scares me the most honestly even though i'm mostly conservative.

[sedrftvgyhujik]

i don't want either and think free tuition fees are a stupid idea but free internet and freedom of travel are very important to me.

[lucasnabizada]

LOL are there Liberals who dare to talk about Free Speech... The people who call the cops when something hurts their feelings... Liberals are dooming free speech, and instead constantly try to demonize you for your political opinions, and beliefs as well as pretty much any you have that they don't like.
Their ideology, and I can give you thousands of videos demonstrating it... Is that if you don't agree with them, you BY DEFAULT Are sexist or racist etc.. And they don't have to debate you or even prove their claim, it's pretty convenient. Hereby they believe that the left has moral superiority... And they have this arrogant and sufficient habit of prancing around free speech right on to the point when what is said is not in agreement with what they think, like those university riots... Because they can't handle that in a democracy people disagree with them and people have the right to offend them.. Pretty pathetic political group it's all i'm going to say

[martyfellow]

Look, if you are opposed to free speech like Trump and co. why do you even post on this My Take?

[CoolSky01]

iam not American but from what everyone can see, the left ruined or more accurately threatened to ruin america if trump becomes president, not to mention the amount of hate he got even before saying hi on tv, they refused to give him even a chance and the media which is supposed to be neutral was far from that.

As for qatar, any middle eastern knows that it backs up terror organaztions its not a secret ask anyone, we dont need the west to tell us that , al jazeera is the worst news channel ever, they are super biased, lie and make up stories, wake up and stop being naive.

[titsataki]

look there is an on going opinion that too much of a choice can be a distraction. The leader can focus on the things at hand.

I believe Journalist is the so called third power in a democracy (legislative, judicial, executive).

this is for what I call western style democracy.

[martyfellow]

Yes, we need an independent judiciary and an unmuzzled press.

[titsataki]

i meant to say the 4th power.

[YourNextEX]

I don't think your evidence is a solid as you think it is. For example, firing James Comey wasn't because Trump was trying to silence dissent. That was inevitable. Comey is still speaking his mind, specifically testifying before Congress.

And what is your evidence that Trump is trying to silence the media? Just because Trump criticizes the media doesn't mean he is trying to silence dissent. That is not rational. Just because I disagree with you doesn't mean I am trying to silence you. Obama criticized Fox News. Does that mean he was trying to silence them? www.cbsnews.com/.../

[martyfellow]

Yes he was trying to silence them. The fact it didn't work is because many in the media oppose him, and he doesn't have the power to directly shut down the media. But he does have a lot of power as the President to influence the owners of the media.

Where he DOES have power, as with whistleblowers in the government, he's doing all he can to make sure there are no more Snowdens to tell us the truth.

[YourNextEX]

Trump should have complete freedom of speech too. If he wants to criticize the media all day long, he should be able to do that, just as the media should be able to criticize him all day long. If you disagree with that, you are trying to limit Trump's freedom of speech.

[Deathraider]

Freedom of Speech is very important indeed. Without it, how can a democracy work? It's a core part of democracy.

[Doglover666]

The Problem with the corporate media is that it's not free press it represents the interests of who ever owns it.

[Midget_Hug]

None of what you described is Free Speech.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

You're referring to Freedom of Press and they are not the same thing at all.

[martyfellow]

I describe thing to silence free speech, whether in the press or in personal blogs. Of course, the two issues are closely related.

[TheOtakuMaid]

I believe the term is NO SHIT

but since this site wants me to be productive here is a quote from the founding thot ben franklin.

[Danher525]

both the right and left try and restrict free speech to their own gain although recently I would say the left has been restricting it more and more

[BubbleBoy69]

u don't really have free speech

[Secretgardenblood]

Nice tag

[martyfellow]

Thanks, beautiful

[John_Doesnt]

I have the power of my speech and the Thu'um.

[player0696]

@Rissyanne I am agree with you

[Rissyanne]

Thanks... but for some reason I can't see any of the other responses.