22 Comments
User's avatar
William M Briggs's avatar

Our evil rulers have indeed learned the workings of the internet. Pace President Ursula von der Leyen's new "war"---a perfectly apt term---on "disinformation." Our rulers are growing increasingly weary of us.

Expand full comment
Viddao's avatar

The "combat disinformation". They never use the word "censorship".

Expand full comment
Timo's avatar

They clearly want us useless eaters dead.

Expand full comment
Viddao's avatar

If you cannot criticize what is sovereign, then if you can criticize it, then it is not sovereign. If the people are sovereign, then you cannot criticize the people. However, the people are not sovereign; therefore the people will be criticized. It explains why we currently have lots of anti-White racial prejudice.

Expand full comment
Viddao's avatar

I'm mad at you for stealing my subject matter (I was planning to write an article on 'Free Sppech' idiosyncrasies), but proud of you that you handled it well.

Expand full comment
niiiidriveevof's avatar

ok, boomer. this is completely out of touch.

Expand full comment
Dave Bowman's avatar

Das ist ein post. 1A always was legally incoherent and only amenable to sociologic interpretation ("conspiracy"/"consensus" distinction as you say). Speech is garbage, there is so much speech from Madison-Google Avenue about and it "doesn't talk, it swears" as the Ur-boomer sang of money. Being a free speecher has a huge unfortunate overlap with pondering the Prime Directive and related bugbears. In the military movies they ask, "Permission to speak freely" and it's usually a good line right after that, cf. "cranberry juice" scene in The Departed

Expand full comment
Timo's avatar

Herren Schwab and Soros have over-juiced it, don´t you think? Just a little?

Expand full comment
Timo's avatar

It couldn´t be clearer to me, derived from freedom of thought/ideas, and their free expression. A

As is well known, marxism-cultural maoism is a cult, and one foreign to human nature and to natural law - in turn derived from the ancient Golden Rule. It is no accident that our constitution, with its Bill of Rights is the basis of virtually every other constitution in the world.

The First Amendment

The First Amendment provides several rights protections: to express ideas through speech and the press, to assemble or gather with a group to protest or for other reasons, and to ask the government to fix problems. It also protects the right to religious beliefs and practices. It prevents the government from creating or favoring a religion.

Expand full comment
Prodigal's avatar

Outstanding essay. It sure opened my eyes to what I had always imagined about free speech in the First Amendment context. The risks are very real, but I reckon I'll just continue to say what I think.

Expand full comment
Prodigal's avatar

"cachet" instead of "cache" ?

Expand full comment
Timo's avatar

In the sense of ´lettre de cachet´?

Expand full comment
Prodigal's avatar

No, I thought in the sense of something with great prestige or appeal, e.g. "paintings by that artist during his time in Italy have a great catchet". Just could not imagine how "cache" was intended. I'm a borderline autistic :) copyeditor by profession, so I cannot help myself :) Should not pester the authors.

Expand full comment
Timo's avatar

Borderline Asperger´s here, and severe history obsessive. - also a word-botherer.

A Lettre de Cachet was pretty appealing, a get out of jail card from the French king for nobility, under the Ancien Regime - you had to pay for one, if you were a marquis or something.

Diplomats and illegals have a free cache of them, but not us - and we´re told to shaddup if we complain, using our right to free speech; but you can´t fight City Hall - unless you want to be in a cell overnight, unless your bailed.

No walkies for us!

Expand full comment
Prodigal's avatar

Thank you, fellow Aspergers type! Interesting, your suggestion might be what the author intended. Hard to say. And no, we mere proles don’t get any special treatment :)

Expand full comment
Timo's avatar

Oh, but we DO!

Rather like Roman galley slaves, with endless work-out time to keep us fit and buffed - and HOT!

Expand full comment
DE's avatar

As Hobbes predicted, life in the state of soveriegnty is a, "poor, nasty, brutish and short" servitude.

Expand full comment
Prodigal's avatar

Now it is poor, nasty, brutish and long.

Expand full comment
Dave Bowman's avatar

State Of Nature 2.0

Expand full comment
DE's avatar

My mistake

Expand full comment