Speech Ban Imminent

BDS supporters

Earlier this month, civil liberties advocate and journalist Glenn Greenwald (along with Ryan Grimm of The Intercept) wrote an article warning about a bill before Congress with potentially dire consequences for free speech.  If passed, the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, S.720, would make it illegal for Americans to engage in organized boycotts against the state of Israel.  Participation in such activity could lead to a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.  Unfortunately, the bill is very likely to pass.

Free Speech Is the “House Nigger” of the Corporate World

Bill Maher recently received criticism for referring to himself as a “house nigger.”

In America, free speech is a sacred right.  That is, until it threatens corporate interests.  We’ve seen the scenario repeated.  Someone says something offensive.  Interest groups become aware and threaten sponsors of the speaker’s platform with boycott.  Sponsors relent to protect their corporate image, and, ultimately, the speaker loses the platform.

Prohibition Party’s Bill Bayes to Run for President

Adapted from the original post at IPR

According to Rick Knox, national chairman of the Prohibition Party, Bill Bayes, the Prohibition Party’s 2016 vice presidential nominee, will seek the 2020 presidential nominations of both the Prohibition and Constitution parties.

Between War and Peace

In recent months, as tensions between the United States and North Korea escalate toward violence, conventional methods for maintaining peace seem limited.  Bellicosity and irrationality dominate each side, rendering traditional diplomatic outreach fruitless.  In the current climate, unconventional approaches, with a focus on interpersonal relationships, could be most conducive to peace.  One such option involves a certain defensive expert.  He holds the distinction as (perhaps) the sole mutual friend of President Donald Trump and Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.  Of course, I am referring to the Worm,  Dennis Rodman, the one man standing between war and peace.

The Politics of Fun

Phil Davison

Back in 2010 I witnessed the future of politics. A little known councilman went before his local party and delivered the most passionate speech of this century thus far.  Though the speech concerned, of all things, the Stark County Treasurer’s office, it harkened back to the exciting and entertaining aspect of politics.   As the speech went on, I felt something special happen. Politics became fun again.

Attacking the Corporate Media Does Not Chill Free Press

Official portrait of President Donald Trump

Since I published “Fake News” three months ago, the meaning of that particular phrase has changed.  It has morphed from a tool of the corporate media to silence citizen journalists into a weapon of the Trump administration to attack the corporate media. Whereas the former had the effect of chilling the free speech of everyday citizens, the latter takes the corporate elites down a peg and empowers everyday citizens.

The New PC Culture

Image: Michael Shirey

Donald Trump’s election as President was, in part, a reaction to PC culture; a culture which regards the utterance of certain speech as worse than the offense of violent crimes. Unfortunately, the election of Trump has not eliminated this culture.  Instead, it has evolved. Some of those who spoke out against PC culture before Trump’s election now enforce their own version of it.  Take a look at a couple recent examples:

“Fake News”

Citizen Journalist Zdenek Gazda changed the course of the 2016 presidential election.

Every time I read the news, I hear about so-called “fake news.”  “Fake news” spread Russian propaganda.  “Fake news” invented Clinton scandals.  “Fake news” elected Donald Trump.  “Fake news” has destroyed American democracy.  And now, the mere mention of a “fake news” story could cause the loss of life.

Hysteria over “fake news” reached a fever pitch with the election of Donald Trump.  The mainstream media had repeatedly declared there was no way Trump could win.

Backing the True Outsider

For the first time in my life, I am voting for a major party presidential candidate.  My reasoning, however, has not changed.  Tomorrow I will vote for Donald Trump for the same reasons I  voted for Ralph Nader in 2004, Chuck Baldwin in 2008, and Gary Johnson in 2012.  I am voting against the corrupt, globalist establishment that has ruled this country for decades and left us in a state of economic stagnation, never-ending war, and social degradation.