Tag: Censorship

The Rule of the Prince-Electors

David Foster
David Foster
981144
 

During the Middle Ages, in the time of the Holy Roman Empire, there was a small group of men known as the Prince-Electors.  They, and only they, got to choose the next Emperor.  We have something kind of similar in America today.  There is a cluster of influential and would-be-influential people who fervently believe that–while they might not get to actually select the next President–they should have the authority to decide who may and who may not be considered for the Presidential role.  These Prince-Electors include national journalists, Ivy League professors and administrators, and high-level government officials.  Their primary means of action is via the control of communications channels.

A few days ago, Jon Gabriel linked a YouTube video of a 2019 speech by Giorgia Meloni, the newly-elected Prime Minister of Italy.  For at least 12 hours, that video showed a  message: “This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s Terms of Service.”   It now has been restored.  But the fact that a video platform would take it upon themselves to censor a speech by the elected leader of a major and generally-US-friendly country betrays an astonishing level of arrogance.  Although not surprising, given the recent history, including Twitter banning of Donald Trump and the Facebook suppression of stories about the Hunter Biden laptop–and much more.

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Member Post

Seawriter
Seawriter
109241
 

Secrecy is the keystone to all tyranny. Not force, but secrecy and censorship. When any government or church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, “This you may not read, this you must not know,” the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed […]
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City Journal's 10 Blocks

Musk’s Twitter Takeover

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TechFreedom Internet policy counsel Corbin K. Barthold joins Brian Anderson to discuss Elon Musk’s successful bid for Twitter and its implications for free speech, tech regulation, and the Internet.

Find the transcript of this conversation and more at City Journal.

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‘Would I Lie to You?’

Henry Racette
Henry Racette
8101245
 

Pay attention to the names of the individuals, publications, companies, and networks that are expressing panic right now at the prospect of a proponent of “radical free speech” buying Twitter. And remember, the next time one of them purports to tell you “the news,” that they jealously defended their collective right to filter what you are allowed to know.

Then assume that you’re hearing only the news that fits.

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Three Martini Lunch

Elon Musk & Twitter, Biden Nixing ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy, Kamala’s Voter ID Nonsense

32
Hosted by Greg Corombos
With guest Rob Long

Join Greg and Rob Long as they’re glad to see Elon Musk becoming the largest shareholder of Twitter and they analyze how it will shake up the social media landscape. They also cover the Biden Administration’s decision to rescind the “Remain in Mexico” policy which would more than double the number of illegal immigrants entering America each month. And Vice President Kamala Harris struggles with boilerplate Democrat talking points in an interview with BET, adding to the lengthy list of verbal mishaps that have plagued her term.

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An Unwelcome Campus Renaissance for the Heckler’s Veto

Peter Bonilla
Peter Bonilla
53
 

If you’d seen the multiple reports of campus speakers being shouted down (or very nearly so) on university campuses and thought, “there sure seems to be a lot of this going around,” I’m here to tell you: You’re not wrong. I’ve been on the staff of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for 14 years now, and even by our standards the “heckler’s veto” seems to be having a heck of a run. 

Consider these cases from recent weeks:

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Upside-down Academia

Henry Racette
Henry Racette
37131858
 

Just a quick observation about what is, to me, a perplexing aspect of today’s education environment.

We have a kerfuffle in Florida prompted by a very sensible call to prohibit the radical sexual indoctrination of kids in pre-school through third grade. The “alphabet people,” as one popular stand-up comic likes to call them, have their nickers in a twist over the possibility that other people’s young children won’t be fed a load of malarky regarding their gender identity — won’t be, at least, until they turn nine.

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Maus: Censorship from the Right?

James Salerno
James Salerno
26172086
 

Maus is a graphic novel (fancy talk for comic book) by cartoonist Art Spiegelman. In the story, Spiegelman interviews his father about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. It features anthropomorphized versions of the players in these events: Jews are mice, Germans are cats, Poles are pigs, Americans are dogs, and so on. As a fan of sequential art, I can attest to it being very well done. It is also the only graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize.

It’s also been in the news as of late. Apparently, it’s the latest victim of right-wing Holocaust denial and censorship. Take a look at some of these articles:

‘Maus’ controversy: A Tennessee school board removed the graphic novel about the Holocaust from curriculum – CNN

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A theater professor refused to express anger at something that wasn’t meant to cause anger. Coastal Carolina University wants to fire him for it.

Peter Bonilla
Peter Bonilla
66
 

If you haven’t heard of Coastal Carolina University’s absurd punishment of theater professor Steven Earnest (and you made it through that headline without frying too many brain cells), you might take a couple of more minutes to read through this week’s press release from FIRE:

On Sept. 16, a visiting artist was working with two students of color after class, and one student expressed that she felt isolated and would like to get to know other non-white students in the department. The visiting artist asked about whether it might be helpful for non-white students to connect as a group, and she and the students wrote out the names of other non-white students on the classroom whiteboard while brainstorming ideas. 

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Member Post

David Foster
David Foster
87231
 

Given the overweening arrogance and obvious bias of the major social media platforms, it is of first importance to introduce people to alternative sites for information and discussion.  Ricochet can play a major role here—so how do we attract more members? One approach that I think would be effective is the creation of Gift Certificates, […]
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Follow Wisdom First — Then Science

Front Seat Cat
Front Seat Cat
429
 

Fellow Ricochet member @flicker recently shared a video on COVID-19 in one of our groups. I was so impressed by it, I had to post it here. It’s lengthy, but take the time. I say that because it involves your health, well-being, and our collective future. It was encouraging, if that word can ever coincide with this nasty pandemic. It features Dr. Robert Malone, a creator of the mRNA technology, a delivery system of medicine that has and will continue to revolutionize treating many diseases with a targeted approach.

The other person is someone called Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche. While his field is veterinary medicine, he is so full of wisdom in the study of this virus and contributes tremendous amounts of insight into its evolution and treatment options at this point, and what to expect going forward.

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Saint Augustine
Saint Augustine
4013
 

From what little I can gather (or guess), the Powers That Be decided to handle Covid with a policy of Lockdowns, Vaccines, Masks, and Nothing Else.  I propose a new word for LOckdowns, VAccines, MAsks, and NOthing Else: lovamanoe, pronounced “lo-va-ma-no.” That the Powers managed to institute lovamanoe without the cooperation of the President of […]
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The Mob and the Banjo Player

Henry Racette
Henry Racette
27171156
 

The banjo player is, of course, Winston Marshall, recently of the hit band Mumford & Sons. The mob is the usual band of angry twits, the censorious harpies of Twitter and Antifa who can’t stand the thought that someone, somewhere, isn’t prostrating himself before the pile of dung that is their hateful and dishonest political ideology.

I don’t care for banjo music, and I’m at best lukewarm about Mumford & Sons. They have a few songs I like, but they’re too folksy for my tastes and so rarely come up in my playlists. Since I’m not particularly interested in music I didn’t realize that the band had become big: I stumbled across them a decade ago, thought they were a little boutique group with a few hits, and never had reason to revise my view until friends, big fans of the group, assured me that they’d achieved mega-band status. Who knew?

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Giving the JPod Its Due (or, Horton Gaslights a Who)

Henry Racette
Henry Racette
2417
 

Despite occasional comments of mine that might suggest otherwise, I’ve always thought John Podhoretz a decent and good-hearted man, obviously bright and articulate (if prone to outrageous and sometimes comic hyperbole).

John made a point in the March 9 Commentary podcast that I thought was perspicacious and worth repeating. I give him full credit for the observation, and nothing I say here adds anything of substance to what he said in the podcast. I’m repeating it mostly for the benefit of those who won’t hear the podcast, and also because I want to reaffirm his observations with my own experience.

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Oliver Wright
Oliver Wright
85
 

Neither conformity nor non-conformity are value propositions in and of themselves outside the context of the object or the impetus of the subject. To do as others do simply because others do is no more informative than not to do as others do simply because they do. The problem with conformity today as it reaches […]
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Member Post

Oliver Wright
Oliver Wright
106
 

No matter how loud the chorus of deceit, nor cavernous the echo chamber of lies, nor thunderous the stampede of conformity, there is no sound loud enough, nor conspiracy of fools vast enough, to negate reality or silence the truth, so long as their remains even a single, solitary voice that dare speak it. Preview […]
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Member Post

David C. Broussard
David C. Broussard
98
 

I was reading Bari Weiss’ announcement of a new organization called Fair that is going to try and fight back against cancel culture and she linked to a fascinating article by Abagaik Shrier entitled Book Banning in an Age of Amazon She had a wonderful quote that I think is amazing and you should all […]
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Federalist Radio Hour

Conservative Author Whose Book Was Banned By Amazon Discusses Digital Book-Burning

13
Hosted by Emily Jashinsky
With guest Ryan Anderson

On this episode of “The Federalist Radio Hour,” President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center Ryan T. Anderson joins Culture Editor Emily Jashinsky to discuss Amazon’s recent attempt to deplatform his book “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment.”

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Censorship & “Beyond Their Reach”

Keith Lowery
Keith Lowery
58
 

The older I become, the more I find that I squirm with embarrassment whenever I read the Ten Commandments. It’s not that I’m embarrassed by prohibitions or injunctions but, rather, I’m embarrassed that God found it necessary to give these particular ones. We generally give instructions to others based on our perception of their weaknesses and proclivities. And I can only conclude that God’s instructions reflect His understanding of the kind of people we are.

The prohibition against “graven images” suggests that mankind has a tendency to elevate and admire the works of his own hands over the God who made those hands to begin with. Centuries later, the apostle Paul made this explicit in his letter to the Romans when he described man as having “worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator”. So mankind apparently has an unhealthy tendency to overestimate the value of its own innovations. Peachy.

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