The inevitable end result of our last 56 years

[W. Niederhut]

2 hours ago, Douglas Caddy said:

 

Vladimir Putin Health Speculation Intensifies After New Video Emerges (msn.com)

 

Dopaminergic agonists, used to treat Parkinsonian symptoms, can aggravate paranoia.

Purely speculative, but I wonder if that accounts for Putin sitting (and standing) far away from visitors, and feeling so paranoid about the West.

[Douglas Caddy]

 

New York judge holds Trump in contempt for failing to comply with subpoena (msn.com)

[Guest]

Musk buys Twitter 💵 🦅 

Is this a step in the right direction? 
 

[Benjamin Cole]

2 hours ago, Chris Barnard said:

Musk buys Twitter 💵 🦅 

Is this a step in the right direction? 
 

Let us hope. Musk says he is a free-speech absolutist.

I read Trump got his account back. 

On the downside, as a society, this is true: Another billionaire now controls the virtual town square, where we all wish to speak. 

Billionaires and their minions control both political parties, major media, large government and industry, the globalist class---and social media too? 

 

 

[W. Niederhut]

16 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

Let us hope. Musk says he is a free-speech absolutist.

 

[Benjamin Cole]

59 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

Exactly.

Note: When you make a phone call, no one has the right to cut you off, or cut off your service. When you make a conference call, no one can cut you off, or cut off your service. 

If you are a sickie, you can even arrange a conference call and spread poisonous ideas over the telephone service, or plan a bank heist. It is the price we pay for liberty and free expression. 

Perhaps twitter should be made into a public utility, and no one can cut you off for content. 

What is spooky is the ACLU and others like the idea of controlling content on the internet. A corporatist-Deep State nirvana. 

Remember the old Outer Limits TV Show? With some license....

"There is nothing wrong with your computer screen. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus of any story to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next year and into the future, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: There is nothing wrong with your computer. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to...The Outer Limits."

---30---

 

 

[Benjamin Cole]

On 4/25/2022 at 3:00 AM, Douglas Caddy said:

 

Emmanuel Macron was elected to a second term as French president on Sunday evening with 58.8% of the vote, according to an estimate from the Ipsos polling institute. His far-right challenger Marine Le Pen won 41.2% of the vote in an election that saw the country’s highest abstention rate in 50 years. 

Can a candidate who captures 41.2% of the vote be defined as "far right"?  I would call her "the right-wing candidate." 

 

If, in the next election, Le Pen captures 50.1% of the vote, if she still "far right"? 

 

[W. Niederhut]

Elon Musk wants to own Twitter to protect his ‘freedom’, not everyone else’s | Robert Reich | The Guardian

Excerpt

“Free speech” is another freedom that turns on wealth. As a practical matter, your ability to be heard turns on the size of the megaphone you can buy. If you’re extremely rich you can buy the Washington Post or own Fox News. If you’re the wealthiest person in the world you can buy one of the biggest megaphones in the world, called Twitter – and then decide who can use it, what its algorithms are going to be, and how it either invites or filters out big lies.

[Benjamin Cole]

16 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

Elon Musk wants to own Twitter to protect his ‘freedom’, not everyone else’s | Robert Reich | The Guardian

Excerpt

“Free speech” is another freedom that turns on wealth. As a practical matter, your ability to be heard turns on the size of the megaphone you can buy. If you’re extremely rich you can buy the Washington Post or own Fox News. If you’re the wealthiest person in the world you can buy one of the biggest megaphones in the world, called Twitter – and then decide who can use it, what its algorithms are going to be, and how it either invites or filters out big lies.

Do you want the Donk billionaires, or the eccentric Musk, to control the twitter algorithms? 

 

[Matt Allison]

1 hour ago, Benjamin Cole said:

Can a candidate who captures 41.2% of the vote be defined as "far right"?  I would call her "the right-wing candidate."  If, in the next election, Le Pen captures 50.1% of the vote, if she still "far right"? 

Macron has an approval rating in France of 36%, yet he beat the fascist candidate by double-digits.

It's not that Le Pen has a prayer of ever getting 50%+ of the vote, it's that the normal people in France might want to consider nominating a better candidate than Macron next time.

[Benjamin Cole]

14 minutes ago, Matt Allison said:

Macron has an approval rating in France of 36%, yet he beat the fascist candidate by double-digits.

It's not that Le Pen has a prayer of ever getting 50%+ of the vote, it's that the normal people in France might want to consider nominating a better candidate than Macron next time.

"Is Marine Le Pen a Fascist?

The French presidential contender’s reliance on referenda suggests she is more of a Bonapartist."  -Foreign Policy magazine.

Interesting question: Who is more of a fascist: Liz Cheney or Marie Le Pen and why? Or Hillary Clinton for that matter. 

[Matt Allison]

That's quite an easy one there, Ben;

As neither Liz or Hillary embrace authoritarianism, La Pen is more of a fascist.

You're welcome  lol

[Benjamin Cole]

1 hour ago, Matt Allison said:

That's quite an easy one there, Ben;

As neither Liz or Hillary embrace authoritarianism, La Pen is more of a fascist.

You're welcome  lol

I see a Liz Cheney-Hillary Clinton "Unity Ticket" in 2022! 

[Matt Allison]

Nothing wrong with unity, Ben.

Unfortunately the two women you mention above couldn't be further apart on most issues, so I don't expect any unity there.

[Steve Thomas]

The Insurrectionists Are Coming

by A.B. Stoddard

April 26, 2022 5:03 am

https://www.thebulwark.com/the-insurrectionists-are-coming/

 

“He (Kevin McCarthy) chose to protect Trump and punished those who told the truth about the president’s role. He is aware of the complicity of members of his rank and file in this attack on our Republic and is protecting them, as well. New revelations show he has lied about this. Not shaded the truth; not engaged in spin; not obfuscated. Lied. Flat out.

If he is promoted to be third in line to the presidency, he will lie about anything. In abetting Trump and his followers in Congress, Kevin McCarthy has emboldened them. True public servants, doing the people’s business, do not work to thwart or weaken the Constitutional order they take an oath to protect. Republicans who took part in, or dismissed, sedition cannot be trusted with control of our government because they will break it.”

Steve Thomas