A Free Press for Me, But Not for Thee

Corporate media outlets like CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times have recently claimed President Donald Trump attacks the First Amendment when he criticizes corporate media outlets for unethical journalistic practices and labels them the “enemy of the people.”  Nevertheless, Trump has taken no legal action against any member of the corporate media (unlike the previous President), and has not advocated doing so.  On the other hand, just this past month, the aforementioned corporate media outlets were actively involved in lobbying Silicon Valley tech utilities to censor independent media outlet InfoWars.  Isn’t that an actual attack on the First Amendment?

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The Establishment’s Worst Nightmare

When all the swamp critters flee your campaign and the most honest man in Washington is all who remains, you must be doing something right.  That is exactly what has happened to Judge Roy Moore this past month. After The Washington Post published a potentially defamatory article about Moore, and women with obvious axes to grind came forward with stories of sexual misconduct, nearly every Republican politician in the nation condemned Moore, retracted their endorsement and/or demanded he exit the US Senate race in Alabama.  One notable exception was Senator Rand Paul who maintained his support even as polls (some with questionable methodology) showed the Democratic nominee with the lead.  The reason Paul stayed loyal may lie in Moore’s political positions.

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.