Lefties ran over free speech and left it bleeding on the side of the road. But they keep pretending that they’re for some notion of free speech even as they denounce it.
Here’s Bill Clinton’s favorite troll, Robert Reich contradicting himself in a handful of paragraphs.
The Russian people know little about Putin’s war on Ukraine because Putin has blocked their access to the truth, substituting propaganda and lies.
Years ago, pundits assumed the internet would open a new era of democracy, giving everyone access to the truth. But dictators like Putin and demagogues like Trump have demonstrated how naive that assumption was.
At least the US responded to Trump’s lies. Trump had 88 million Twitter followers before Twitter took him off its platform – just two days after the attack on the Capitol, which he provoked, in part, with his tweets. (Trump’s social media accounts were also suspended on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitch and TikTok.)
These moves were necessary to protect American democracy. But Elon Musk – the richest man in the world, with 80 million Twitter followers – wasn’t pleased. Musk tweeted that US tech companies shouldn’t be acting “as the de facto arbiter of free speech”.
When Putin censors the internet, it’s bad, but when Robert Reich and Big Tech monopolies do it, it’s good because they’re on the side of social justice.
Seriously.
Musk continues to tell his 80 million followers all sorts of things. I disagree with many of his positions, but ever since I posted a tweet two years ago criticizing him for how he treated his Tesla workers he has blocked me – so I can’t view or post criticisms of his tweets to his followers.
Seems like an odd move for someone who describes himself as a “free speech absolutist”. Musk advocates free speech but in reality it’s just about power.
Blocking somebody doesn’t take away his free speech. Banning him does.
Robert Reich is free to tweet what he wants, so is Musk. What Reich wants though is to ban people he dislikes while forcing them to listen to him.
That is just about power.
Musk has long advocated a libertarian vision of an “uncontrolled” internet. That vision is dangerous rubbish. There’s no such animal, and there never will be.
Vladimir Putin would agree.
As I argued last year, Dems have adopted the totalitarian playbook of authoritarian regimes, silencing, censoring, and arresting their political foes in the name of “democracy”.
If restricting “political pluralism” by labeling your opponents “foreign agents” is okay in D.C., why shouldn’t it be fine in Moscow? When Democrats deploy 25,000 soldiers to Washington D.C. to “protect democracy” after a disputed election, who can tell apart D.C. and Moscow?
“The Russian government’s use of laws on ‘extremist organizations,’ ‘foreign agents,’ and ‘undesirable organizations’ severely restricted political pluralism and prevented the Russian people from exercising their civil and political rights,” State Department spokesman Ned Price sniffed.
In July, Jen Psaki admitted that the Biden White House was issuing demands to Big Tech companies to take down “problematic posts” that spread what she claimed was “disinformation”.
The Biden regime was even touting some sort of “robust enforcement strategy” and demanding that all Big Tech companies should censor the same people.
“You shouldn’t be banned from one platform and not others,” she declared.
Putin would agree.
gary fouse says
“Lies have short legs.” (No pun intended)
Devasur says
Amy wax (US conservative professor) this dumbass racist casteist misogynist is now spewing unnecessary hate on Indians basically making the situation even worse for conservative republicans.
RS needs to call out this colonial leftover.
James Lincoln says
Devasur,
Please cite examples where Penn Law professor Amy Wax states that something that is not factually correct.
And tell us why it is not factually correct.
Devasur says
“They (Brahmin women from India) are taught that they are better than everybody else because they are Brahmin elites and yet, on some level, their country is a sh**hole.” “They’ve realised that we’ve outgunned and outclassed them in every way… They feel anger. They feel envy. They feel shame… It creates ingratitude of the most monstrous kind,”
You call this factually correct? what a racist casteist bigot no wonder you support her.
And you wonder why people are losing to the left.
First, prove her racist casteist factually true.
James Lincoln says
Devasur,
Thank you for your reply, and for providing an example.
Bottom line is that I do not know whether or not your example is factually correct or not. I do not know enough about India’s culture. But trying to ascertain the truth about a statement – however uncomfortable – does not make one a racist bigot.
Perhaps Infidel can weigh in as he is an expert on “all things India”.
Infidel says
James
See below
James Lincoln says
Infidel,
Thank you for your reply.
Infidel says
What is the issue in question? I don’t pay attention to anything that goes on in academia
gary fouse says
Infidel,
With all due respect, you should pay close attention to what is happening in academia. Yes, it is lunacy, but this is what our children are being taught. The current wave in anti-Semitism in this country began in academia with the pro-Palestinian movement, and now it has spread into society at large. Academia is such a big part of what is wrong in this country. We have to pay attention.
Devasur says
They (Brahmin women from India) are taught that they are better than everybody else because they are Brahmin elites and yet, on some level, their country is a sh**hole.” “They’ve realised that we’ve outgunned and outclassed them in every way… They feel anger. They feel envy. They feel shame… It creates ingratitude of the most monstrous kind,”
You don’t see any issue in this casteist racist statement of her?
Infidel says
Sure I do. It’s only true about ‘Hindus’ – regardless of caste – who are Left wing, since it’s Leftist Hindus who obsess about caste. Maybe she had that in mind, but if she did, she should have been explicit about it
Infidel says
In the meantime, not satisfied w/ all the censorship being done by YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, Canadian media is now trying to get Rumble, Gab, Parler et al to censor the Russians, and when they say no, b’cos… free-speech for everybody, they are then cast as Russian agents
https://www.opindia.com/2022/04/rumble-pro-russia-content-censor-it-responds-read-details
As far as Musk & Twitter go, I’m hoping that he ultimately gets a majority stake, takes the company private and then fires every activist employed by that company, and undeletes everything ever deleted by them. That just might save Twitter before it’s too late
gravenimage says
Robert Reich: America Should Be More Like Putin
…………
Just appalling. Funny how many leftists laud crushing freedom of speech.
Ugly Sid says
Reisch gives malignant dwarfs a bad name.
tgusa says
Like most of these establishment dinosaurs he probably doesn’t even know how to launch a browser.
“Years ago, pundits assumed the internet would open a new era of democracy,”
Wrong again. Years ago we assumed that the internet would open a new era of information. Take my word for it. I was there. People like Reich and Putin (and others) are the wreckers of that dream. Go away Bob. You make the internet dumber.