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Zelenskyy Bans Opposition Parties; Nationalizes Media
Is there a chance… a slight chance, but still a chance … that Volodymyr Zelenskyy isn’t quite the great savior of democracy we are being told he is?
In an address to the nation delivered Sunday, he announced a temporary ban on “any activity” by 11 political parties. The ban includes the Opposition Platform – For Life party, which holds 43 seats in Ukraine’s national parliament and is the largest opposition party. Opposition Platform – For Life is a pro-Russia party, but on March 8, party leader Yuriy Boyko demanded that Russia “stop the aggression against Ukraine,” according to Ukrainian outlet LB.
Also.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has signed a decree that combines all national TV channels into one platform, citing the importance of a “unified information policy” under martial law, his office said in a statement on Sunday.
His defenders will say that his country is under martial law in response to a foreign invasion and such times have justified extreme measures; like unto FDR ordering Japanese-Americans rounded up and put into camps in World War II, Woodrow Wilson jailing and prosecuting anti-war protesters during World War I, or Abraham Lincoln suspending Habeas Corpus during the Civil War.
This would be an awesome time to have reliable news media that had not been co-opted by the ruling party into propagandists for the Official Narrative. Is Zelenskyy a Saint of Democracy? Is Putin really the embodiment of evil? Is it treason, as Mitt “Pierre Delecto” Romney suggests, to be skeptical of the Official Version of Events? I really cannot say.
What I suspect but cannot prove is that Zelenskyy is probably a patriot trying to preserve his country, but also a politician who is not letting a crisis go to waste and a man who evidently knows how to work the media. And while Putin was wrong to invade Ukraine, he is probably not the arch-villain caricature the administration and their media make him out to be. I can’t know about any of that sure, but what I do know is this:
- All of our information about Zelenskyy, Putin, Ukraine, and Russia gets to us via the Administration and National Media.
- Both of those have lied to us repeatedly and shamelessly in order to advance Democrat-friendly narratives.
Biden desperately needs a foreign policy win after his absolutely disastrous showing in Afghanistan. That’s certainly plenty of motivation to shape the Russia-Ukraine narrative as a battle of Pure Democratic Good against Pure Russian Evil.
Published in General
Daniel Hannan!
That’s a risk, sure. But it beats a 9mm.
I have no idea who Daniel Hannan is, but I would like to point out that the Magna Carta didn’t change the relationship between the ruler and ruled so much as change the relationship between the central ruler and the decentralized rulers. And by that I don’t mean any disrespect for the Magna Carta and its value and importance for what followed.
How about a Constitutional republic. With justice for all.
Well, as in renting politicians.
There are two structures, de jure and de facto. The de facto structure is corrupt.
Daniel Hannan is a big deal, who also wrote the magnificent “Inventing Liberty”. Magna Carta did not free the farmers from overlordship — it was the nobles (such as they were at the time) staking their claim and circumscribing some of the crown’s powers. As such, it devolved some power in a far pre-enlightment foreshadowing — and codification — of the principle that the king is not above the law.
Wikipedia:
“Daniel John Hannan, Baron Hannan of Kingsclere (born 1 September 1971) is a British writer, journalist and former politician serving as an adviser to the Board of Trade since 2020. He is the founding president of the Initiative for Free Trade. A member of the Conservative Party, he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 1999 to 2020. “
Most of them are not elected, either.
I can say there are plenty of other channels where you can get information from other sources that dont fit the 3×5 card of allowable opinion. I am spending more of my time there then Ricochet because of the war hysteria that is gripping this place.
That’s sufficiently vague as to cover a lot of ground. If by that you mean “electing a different bunch of people,” I’m okay with that. If by that you mean something closer to the other extreme, then I’ll take a hard pass.
You say you want a revolution. Well, you know, we all want to change the world.
The following countries all have Constitutions: Cuba, Venezuela, Angola, Iran, China, Russia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, The Central African Republic, and North Korea, to name a few.
The point being, there are constitutions, and then there are constitutions.
And none of them matter unless there exist competing, overlapping, and sufficiently powerful institutions to assert the constitutional limitations and protections.
Pfft! That never works.
Constitutions require an enforcement mechanism. That is what the 2nd amendment is.
In a following comment, I was very specific in what I meant.
What you seem to ultimately fail in is understanding that at some point, the 2nd is necessary to exercise.
No, I get that. The 2nd may be necessary.
But I’d like to see people actually exercising the 1st to the fullest, before we man the barricades. And I think we’re not even close to that.
Not sure when you will even be worried about that. We just saw Canada freeze bank accounts of donors. I think the situation is sort of dire.
I’m glad you asked.
It isn’t a matter of being worried. It’s a matter of what I believe we should do next. I don’t think it’s time to start shooting people, nor even to be threatening to shoot people. I think it’s a time for us to use our first and, in my opinion, most important Bill of Rights-guaranteed freedom, which is our right to free expression.
We can always start shooting people later. Let’s start by boldly offending the people around us.
They’ve locked up people who’ve done that. They’re also tracking as domestic terrorists those who do that.
Nobody is talking about shooting people. What we need are local police and sheriffs arresting people who – like Zelensky, to bring it around full circle – infringe on individual liberty; that includes arresting Executive office holders, Federal agents, and Federal judges who commit crimes against the Constitution. They can do that, you know.
Vince, my comment is in reference to invocation of our 2nd Amendment rights (of which I’m a huge fan and participant, by the way). I’m suggesting that we should exercise our 1st Amendment rights more fully, before we start talking about more kinetic approaches to securing our liberty.
I don’t agree that we need local police and sheriffs arresting politicians. I mean, sure, occasionally. But not as some kind of general solution. That’s not how we manage office-holders in America, nor should it be.
HR: Let’s start by boldly offending the people around us.
VG: They’ve locked up people who’ve done that. They’re also tracking as domestic terrorists those who do that.
Well, yeah, every now and then. But almost never, really, and that kind of nonsense stops when lots and lots of people are voicing their opinions.
Tell me, Vince, are you really afraid to offend people lest you get put on a list? Do you think normal people should be? Sincere questions.
I’m not aware of a single redaction, suspension, banning or even editorial comment on anybody’s opinion on war or not war.
“Allowable opinion” at Ricochet is not really over the target zone.
There are a few dozen J6ers who’d take exception to that. If anything they’re getting bolder. Remember when the arrested people for walking on the beach. Now they lock them up for years without basic due process.
You must not read my writing. I offend people all the time and I’m quite certain I’m on someone’s list by now. It’s not about fear; fear only God. But if you think the government isn’t cataloging everything bear pokers like me and Stina write online for potential wrongthink persecution later on down the line you’re living in a fantasy, or a recently departed past. DHS even posted it on their own website a month ago.
Well, no. In general (and maybe there are some exceptions), the January 6th people are in jail because they walked into the Capitol Building during a protest that became a bit of a riot. (Disclosure: I’m one of those who think January 6 was merely the 501st riot of the 2020-2021 riot season, and not a big deal. I think the January 6th people are being used for political theater.)
But I’m aware of no one who was locked up because he expressed an offensive opinion. Banned from Twitter, fired, ostracized, sure. But not locked up.
Good. I’m glad you aren’t afraid. The second question was, do you think normal people should be afraid of speaking out?
Maybe. I think it’s mostly just peer pressure, cowardice, normal politeness, and a general desire not to be seen as the cranky person in the room. And I think that has to change. A bunch of people have to be more willing to be ones wearing the Let’s Go Brandon hats, calling the gender-confused “transvestites,” and denying that global warming is really a thing about which we should be concerned. That kind of thing.
You should read up on them. Many of them never even entered the building. Their stories will piss you off and in just about every case I’ve examined in depth, their social media commentary or personal conversations were used in charging documents against them.
I don’t think anyone should be afraid of speaking out but everyone should know that in 2022 there may be a cost associated with doing so. So be ready, know your neighbors, get some allies and hopefully you can get some of your local officials to join in the fight to protect you and your community from an out-of-control and hostile federal government.
Because they didn’t in 2020, and most people just shrugged and did what they were told. Did you? I didn’t.
I have. I’ve even spoken to some of them. And I don’t know how many are being detained who were not on-site that day. (That isn’t a justification for their detention, merely a comment about perspective.)
We are a nation of 330,000,000+ people. We are not in danger of incarceration if we express our opinions. We are in danger of being treated like lepers, and some of us (though not me) are in danger of losing our jobs if we speak out. I get that.
But speak out we must.
Sure. But the “cost” that keeps most people silent is the fear of being that guy.
I got thrown out of a tournament basketball game a couple of weeks ago because I refused to put my mask on. (I wrote about it here.) We were four hours from ending the New York state mask mandate in schools. I was the only spectator not masked. With a couple of exceptions, all of the parents with me — friends all — thought I was crazy for walking out. Some of them still think I’m crazy, but they kind of thought that already, after years of me mouthing off on Facebook and at social events.
Most people don’t want that reputation. They don’t want to be the one who denounces Black Lives Matter as a hate-mongering racist scam. They don’t want to be the one who says men and women are different, women are the weaker sex, and men should open doors and walk on the traffic side and precede women down stairs and pick up the tab for dinner.
They aren’t afraid of getting thrown in jail. They’re afraid of offending their kids, their relatives, their friends, or the people at school or work or church.
That fear would begin to go away if they knew how many people felt just like them, and wanted to say something but thought they were alone. Let me quote Jason Hill, whom I wrote about here when he was interviewed by Evita Duffy. This guy stuck his neck out. We need more like him.
Everyday heroes.
I couldn’t agree with this more. People need to stand up like men! (And Women!) [And Hermaphrodites!] {Wait, did I just give in to the woke crowd?!} Anyways, you get my point.