I agree with Abrams that companies as well as individuals have free speech rights. The current challenge is the dissemination of disinformation which has produced lethal consequences- anti vax info and insurrection defenses. Threading this needle is so tricky. Part of me believes social media platforms has created more problems than they have solved. I doubt the framers of our constitution imagined Facebook. Thought provoking essay Ari. Thanks
The first amendment should protect everyone's free speech but there has to be limits. "People" like Desantis want their free speech protected but no ones' that they disagree with or whom criticizes them : askewed free speech is what they believe in. Speech that is outright falsehood that affects peoples lives in a negative manner (FOX) should not be protected and made to retract their falsehood. I am reminded of the time I had a positive comment with another Hilary supporter and someone, a Kansas woman, called me a faggot and should die from AIDS (my page has no hint of gayness other than I follow ballet groups) and Facebook said it did not go against their standards yet I said someone was demented because of his outright lie and I was given 30 days FB jail. Abuse of free speech is rampant and needs policed. There is no perfect solution but it will always be a work in progress. Good and timely article Ari.
I agree with you 100% Fox Terrorist News should be banned from America they promote terrorism and violence maybe if they received what they preached most of the Desantis and Cruz against Gay speech is because they secretly had there experience and don’t want it brought up in public because they fantasize about being with a man or a shemale come on republicans tell the truth your secret hotel rooms! I miss the young Turks they had so much Dirt on republicans lifestyles I guess that’s why they had to be bought out hmmm!
I totally agree that media outlets have the inalienable right to choose to present or block any form of expression on their platforms. We have to protect the fourth estate and promote their impartiality. That being said, there are many media popping up everywhere that support a biased view of the world - a long standing one is Fox News, which has always promoted Mr. Murdock's agenda howsoever subtle! Others are Brightbart "News," America One Network, and various pundits like Rush Limbaugh. It's this freedom of expression that used to promote healthy debate, but now has a flavor of disinformation and obfuscation of real news, where it seems the goal is to silence your opponent entirely.
I totally agree with your assessment of this issue. People like DiSantis and his right wing followed (and of course the former President) believe in censorship especially if you disagree with them.
Missed you on Friday, Ari. But Jason did a great job as usual
Hi Ari and Happy Passover! I live in Florida now and agree that “DeSantis is dead wrong” on almost everything. He is far more dangerous, in my opinion, than the former president because he’s smarter, disciplined and more strategic. But just as cruel and vindictive. As to media and censorship I think there is a moral obligation to control disinformation and hate speech but the key issue is who makes those judgments and decisions? Private ownership has freedoms but that comes with dangers. Government censorship is frightening because it’s politically motivated. One person can control the narrative ( think Russia, China, Nazi Germany) and the laws. I’ve always thought freedom of speech is a double edged sword but I would err on the side non censorship with a lot of fact checking. Journalists committed to truth and fact are heroes.
These concurrent Holy days Christians, Jews, and Muslims are celebrating are a perfect time to reflect on freedoms.
I agree with your statements, “Government censorship is frightening because it’s politically motivated. One person can control the narrative ( think Russia, China, Nazi Germany) and the laws. I’ve always thought freedom of speech is a double edged sword but I would err on the side non censorship with a lot of fact checking. Journalists committed to truth and fact are heroes.
These concurrent Holy days Christians, Jews, and Muslims are celebrating are a perfect time to reflect on freedoms.”.
Sylviane, hello! I just wanted to add, Easter is slowly becoming another (BUY GIFTS/Spend) days....instead of the TRUE reason...???
Wasn't this all leading up to "the death/resurrection" of Christ? Christmas 25th (was) a birth and look where that is:- (starts selling waaay b4 Dec 25th)! Now Easter...what next?
Trudy! Hello...Censorship (does) have it's place...look @ Russia as a one example. Nothing to worry about on this site.......no one really judges, just responds...right? :)
Agree 💯 with Mr Abrams. Enjoy listening to him as guest on Dan Abrams’ (yes Floyd’s son) SiriusXM show.
Hypothetical question: Would/Does Trump’s Truth Social Twitter clone allow free speech which disseminates facts to posts which are not truthful, ambiguous, or murky?
For all those; especially those on the far right, who holler support of Constitution & “freedom”, they’re hypocritical & demeaning to the Constitution! What they’ve done & are doing to suppress the vote of Native Americans, Mexican Americans (many who were here before the white Europeans), Black Americans & poor of all ethnicities is as unAmerican as I can think of.
I wonder if DeSantis aka mini Trump read the First Amendment before passing that ridiculous bill. Or maybe DeSantis thought that he was in Russia…following Putin’s lead on censorship.
I listened to the Summit series with Floyd Abrams. His point of view on the First Amendment is very insightful.
Do you think social media companies and publishers should have this right to block speakers and speech they deem dangerous or misinformation?
Yes, social media has every right to block speakers and speech that are deemed dangerous and misinformation. Thank God social media shut down Trump’s account that he used to spread his lies, misinformation, disinformation and dangerous comments. Same with MTG’s Twitter account. More and more people are accepting and acting on misinformation and disinformation as seen with COVID-19 vaccination and January 6th insurrection.
Or are you more concerned about the risk of growing censorship, even if here it’s done by companies, not a government?
I am not concerned about censorship because it is very clear why it is necessary to block speeches that might lead to violence or hurt someone or a group of people. There are certain speeches that are not protected by the first amendment like defamation.
I agree that media companies have the right to decide what to post and not. (I learned SO much from Abrams in his talk with you, including about speech rights inside the publisher, not the government). But I find this so tricky because isn't this a type of censorship in itself? Ultimately, dangerous information needs to be thwarted before disseminated, but I do worry about censorship metastasizing while the debate rages on. Very tricky indeed!!
Happy holidays to all. And a chag sameach to you Ari! It's gonna be 2 nights of chaos and loving insanity (with free speech running amok) in this household!
“ Ultimately, dangerous information needs to be thwarted before disseminated, but I do worry about censorship metastasizing while the debate rages on. Very tricky indeed!!“ This is an excellent point👌🏽
Social media companies have a right to deplatform anyone who is violating their terms of service. Most TOS agreements has a section on hate speech & if you say something deemed as hate speech by the company, they have the right to deplatform you.
I don't see that as censorship, BUT I do believe that ALL speech should be protected constitutionally. As a Black woman, I reserve the right to speak out against racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia & the like. And racists, antisemites, homophobes, transphobes & the like have a right to say what they want to, even when it's hateful rhetoric. When we start censoring the speech we don't like, it's just a matter of time before we start trying to censor speech we do.
Agree wholeheartedly, Kea. However, many at FN and of the GOP, have burst through that acceptable barrier of free speech, and launched into personal attacks and lies about businesses and character; this has resulted into threats, death and destruction for some. They are the loudest at yelling censorship and cancel-culture, as disclaimers for their harmful acts or statements.
Kea, as ANY women, right? I don't see my neighbors in our small village as (ANY) colour; my friendship goes way past the color of skin! When I meet someone who's (just) a great friend/person I go color blind! It's been that way when I lived in the U.K. too.
I've honestly never changed! Until I read "Asian" "Black" "Jewish" etc.... is basically the only time(s) I look at ANY human being "colour" not involved....btw I'm "Irish Catholic" decent :)
Respectfully, Bernadette as move through the world as a Black woman & the way I'm SEEN & the way the way I live in the world is NOT the same as you. You see my skin color before anything else & I'm not quiet sure why using my LIVED EXPERIENCE as a Black woman is upsetting to you because you seemed to disregard the entire comment to focus on a three lines in the comment, "as a black woman" & decided to tell everyone how YOU view the world when that wasn't the theme of the comment. I hope in the future, you will take time to listen to different voices & not dismissed some one's lived experience because you don't have to navigate the world as a POC.
I agree & that is where the double edge sword comes in. Liars use hate speech, wrapped up as proganda to rile up their base, so they vote them in & they can change or make laws that moves us closer to fascism. If the votes in this midyear election turn red & GOP controls one or both houses, I do believe democracy is a wrap in the US.
The Peter Zenger case in 1735 is the blue print for our first amendment. It established that a publisher could not be held for libel for critizing a public official. Notably, no case or law since has established a state's right to edit a publication or to facilitate anyone to edit a publication by using the resources of the state, such as the courts. In other words, the Governor of Florida is using surrogates through law suits to make an end run around the fisrt amendment. This violates the letter and the spririt of the law. It is akin to the citizen posse abortion laws that empower surrogates of the state to prosecute anti abortion laws. This wave of legislation that attempts to skirt the prohibition of state action established by the first amendment and the 14th amendment is dangerous and another brick the bukiding of the anti-democratic wall being erected coast to coast
DeSantis is a Trump wannabe, free speech should be protected by all, but it appears as Mr. Alexander said, once you disagree with them, it no longer is, there are rules and regulations set out by different companies and we agree to them once we choose to use them as our voice, unfortunately people have become so negative it is hard to read and watch them express themselves, like us they have that right, it is just so sad to see that we can not agree to disagree and still be civil and kind to each other.
My hope is that someday soon, this will change, and we will all work together for the best of our country. One can live in hope. Great topic as usual thank you, make us think and very much aware🙏
The lines of free speech seem to be blurry these day. I 100% agree with Twitter banning Trump. He used it to hurt people and inform his people about a coup. He also put out false information all the time. I worry about the 1st Amendment being used to silent other peoples views we don’t agree with. Ari it must be an interesting time for you watching all this as a Lawyer. Kinda crazy! Enjoy your weekend. Chag Pesach Sameach
Hi Ari, First about Elon musk, I don't think that any One person should have that much control over a Media source. It must have others (lawyers) etc to decide if it's ethical to print any unproven subjects. Not to mention to have that kind of wealth. More than he could ever spend, it's disgusting. I believe that the Owners/editors must only print the truth and any media source that knowingly prints lies be put out of business. Even the ones owned by thilthy rich,
Of course, I think social media and publishing companies have a right to block speakers, spewing dangerous declarations and misinformation. It’s their property, to set the rules within the guidelines of publishing standards. I WOULD be concerned about censorship, if Trumpism were to prevail, but find it difficult to believe that people who hog the media everyday, are crying censorship. Seemingly, De Santis and others, are concerned about platforms they have alleged to be liberal, and want to make things difficult for them. For me, there are not enough Ari(s) pushing back; plus, we give them too much airtime.
BERNIE!! I mentioned you to my daughter just yesterday, how much your significant voice had gone quiet. I thought possible travels to England or health matters. Most certainly, you couldn’t tire of us wonderful Ari-Writers😂. Glad you’re “home.”❤️BTW, thanks for the nice comments.
WOW! I already feel better :) Thanks Sooooo much, I never thought my absence would be missed....... so much for my "instincts"! Health, was (is) the issue!
I had a huge T.I.A. on Dec. 25th, 2019!!!!! And, (bloody-hell) I had another (two consecutive (t.i.a.'s) recently, on a Friday & then a Sunday!!!! Scared me "t*-deat*.....I can't even say the
word. Oh! And I can't forget the booster shot I had, (which made me quite ill)....
Again, thanks to Olddiva & Donna Layne...Your kind words r truly appreciated x x :)
Don’t you just hate it! I certainly do. This technology makes me feel like an idiot. I used to pay people to do whatever on the internet, I was so intimidated. I’m better, but still spend wasted time, trying to conquer someone’s website or software. Don’t even know the terminology for half of it. Still don’t know what’s a UBS, nor a router from whatever other kinda thingamajig COX asks me about, when needing assistance. So, don’t feel bad. You have lots of company. The criteria should be: “If it doesn’t flow for grandma, it’s wrong.” HELLO, Bernie. Glad you got it figured out. Btw, I have problems with it, too, so most often, I just go to regular email.❤️😂
Thank you for the link to your conversation with Floyd Abrams. It's both fascinating and intellectually rewarding. And what a lovely, decent, thoughtful, humble man Mr. Abrams is within his towering legal stature. Couple of points: first is on Citizens United, its effect and Mr. Abrams' defense. I've listened twice to ensure my understanding, which is that simultaneously with his defense, he advocates the public interest in simultaneous disclosure of WHO is speaking. That is not happening, and there are powerful forces, even legal mechanisms, which conceal and allow continuing or increasing opacity. Understand and agree with his reasoning except without accompanying disclosure, current practice shares much of the societal danger of later-mentioned WikiLeaks and is akin to a poor animal loose on a freeway.
Loved the varied, complex discussion which evolved from your story [1:07:35+] and the dynamics and consideration involved in presenting a case. I noted Mr. Abrams' preference for judge over jury; it would be mine, also: fewer extraneous components + shared knowledge of governing law. As a lay person and near-age peer of Mr. Abrams, I was struck and touched by his attention to and concern for "broader principles" and wonder how prevalent that is today. With the greater politicization of the courts, especially the Supreme Court, partisan ideology is undergirding, influencing and increasingly perceived as such, which is enormously destructive.
A huge grateful thank you to Mr. Abrams for all he's contributed, and to you both for this expansive, informative conversation.
Yes and yes! It is a slippery slope when we start deciding whose speech is acceptable and whose is not. One man’s lie is another man’s truth. However, the moment our country starts to become Putinesk in who can say what words (DeSantis-the word gay), we start to slide into the abyss.
I suppose if you don’t like what a company is banning you could always stop supporting that company or stop using their social media platform. My fear is who deems these folks the word/speech police.
I don’t know free speech laws so I am not well versed on where the line is drawn on what is “free” and what is not. Here is what I do know, I never want my speech censored outside of what is acceptable by law. Unfortunately, some folks have taken their freedom to speak outside the polite decorum to interpret free mean they can spew hate, enact suppression, be divisive, and call to arms a insurrection.
Are we free to do as we please? I would posit up to a certain lawful point after that you ruin freedom for all of us!
Thanks for your insightful piece, always good reading!
Have a great Passover weekend! Be safe and get some rest!🥰🙏🏽
I agree with Abrams that companies as well as individuals have free speech rights. The current challenge is the dissemination of disinformation which has produced lethal consequences- anti vax info and insurrection defenses. Threading this needle is so tricky. Part of me believes social media platforms has created more problems than they have solved. I doubt the framers of our constitution imagined Facebook. Thought provoking essay Ari. Thanks
One of the problems is that Congress is living in an antiquated media world. They need to generate laws for today’s publishing medium.
Dystopian nightmare for sure
The first amendment should protect everyone's free speech but there has to be limits. "People" like Desantis want their free speech protected but no ones' that they disagree with or whom criticizes them : askewed free speech is what they believe in. Speech that is outright falsehood that affects peoples lives in a negative manner (FOX) should not be protected and made to retract their falsehood. I am reminded of the time I had a positive comment with another Hilary supporter and someone, a Kansas woman, called me a faggot and should die from AIDS (my page has no hint of gayness other than I follow ballet groups) and Facebook said it did not go against their standards yet I said someone was demented because of his outright lie and I was given 30 days FB jail. Abuse of free speech is rampant and needs policed. There is no perfect solution but it will always be a work in progress. Good and timely article Ari.
Wow!!! The haters are everywhere and should be ignored since they can't be censored. Have a great weekend. :)
Yes- keyboard warriors. Enjoy your weekend also.
I agree with you 100% Fox Terrorist News should be banned from America they promote terrorism and violence maybe if they received what they preached most of the Desantis and Cruz against Gay speech is because they secretly had there experience and don’t want it brought up in public because they fantasize about being with a man or a shemale come on republicans tell the truth your secret hotel rooms! I miss the young Turks they had so much Dirt on republicans lifestyles I guess that’s why they had to be bought out hmmm!
I totally agree that media outlets have the inalienable right to choose to present or block any form of expression on their platforms. We have to protect the fourth estate and promote their impartiality. That being said, there are many media popping up everywhere that support a biased view of the world - a long standing one is Fox News, which has always promoted Mr. Murdock's agenda howsoever subtle! Others are Brightbart "News," America One Network, and various pundits like Rush Limbaugh. It's this freedom of expression that used to promote healthy debate, but now has a flavor of disinformation and obfuscation of real news, where it seems the goal is to silence your opponent entirely.
I totally agree with your assessment of this issue. People like DiSantis and his right wing followed (and of course the former President) believe in censorship especially if you disagree with them.
Missed you on Friday, Ari. But Jason did a great job as usual
Hi Ari and Happy Passover! I live in Florida now and agree that “DeSantis is dead wrong” on almost everything. He is far more dangerous, in my opinion, than the former president because he’s smarter, disciplined and more strategic. But just as cruel and vindictive. As to media and censorship I think there is a moral obligation to control disinformation and hate speech but the key issue is who makes those judgments and decisions? Private ownership has freedoms but that comes with dangers. Government censorship is frightening because it’s politically motivated. One person can control the narrative ( think Russia, China, Nazi Germany) and the laws. I’ve always thought freedom of speech is a double edged sword but I would err on the side non censorship with a lot of fact checking. Journalists committed to truth and fact are heroes.
These concurrent Holy days Christians, Jews, and Muslims are celebrating are a perfect time to reflect on freedoms.
I agree with your statements, “Government censorship is frightening because it’s politically motivated. One person can control the narrative ( think Russia, China, Nazi Germany) and the laws. I’ve always thought freedom of speech is a double edged sword but I would err on the side non censorship with a lot of fact checking. Journalists committed to truth and fact are heroes.
These concurrent Holy days Christians, Jews, and Muslims are celebrating are a perfect time to reflect on freedoms.”.
Well said👍🏽
Sylviane, hello! I just wanted to add, Easter is slowly becoming another (BUY GIFTS/Spend) days....instead of the TRUE reason...???
Wasn't this all leading up to "the death/resurrection" of Christ? Christmas 25th (was) a birth and look where that is:- (starts selling waaay b4 Dec 25th)! Now Easter...what next?
Yes, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas are so commercialized, the seasons are losing its meaning. Possibly the intention. HAPPY EASTER SUNDAY!
I’m on the fence. I’m concerned about growing censorship but was overjoyed when Trump was blocked! He is destructive.
Only those who are the most destructive cry censorship.
Trudy! Hello...Censorship (does) have it's place...look @ Russia as a one example. Nothing to worry about on this site.......no one really judges, just responds...right? :)
Agree 💯 with Mr Abrams. Enjoy listening to him as guest on Dan Abrams’ (yes Floyd’s son) SiriusXM show.
Hypothetical question: Would/Does Trump’s Truth Social Twitter clone allow free speech which disseminates facts to posts which are not truthful, ambiguous, or murky?
For all those; especially those on the far right, who holler support of Constitution & “freedom”, they’re hypocritical & demeaning to the Constitution! What they’ve done & are doing to suppress the vote of Native Americans, Mexican Americans (many who were here before the white Europeans), Black Americans & poor of all ethnicities is as unAmerican as I can think of.
Hi Ari and Happy Fri-YAY and Happy Passover😃
I wonder if DeSantis aka mini Trump read the First Amendment before passing that ridiculous bill. Or maybe DeSantis thought that he was in Russia…following Putin’s lead on censorship.
I listened to the Summit series with Floyd Abrams. His point of view on the First Amendment is very insightful.
Do you think social media companies and publishers should have this right to block speakers and speech they deem dangerous or misinformation?
Yes, social media has every right to block speakers and speech that are deemed dangerous and misinformation. Thank God social media shut down Trump’s account that he used to spread his lies, misinformation, disinformation and dangerous comments. Same with MTG’s Twitter account. More and more people are accepting and acting on misinformation and disinformation as seen with COVID-19 vaccination and January 6th insurrection.
Or are you more concerned about the risk of growing censorship, even if here it’s done by companies, not a government?
I am not concerned about censorship because it is very clear why it is necessary to block speeches that might lead to violence or hurt someone or a group of people. There are certain speeches that are not protected by the first amendment like defamation.
Have a nice holiday weekend, Ari and enjoy😃
Cheers😃
I agree that media companies have the right to decide what to post and not. (I learned SO much from Abrams in his talk with you, including about speech rights inside the publisher, not the government). But I find this so tricky because isn't this a type of censorship in itself? Ultimately, dangerous information needs to be thwarted before disseminated, but I do worry about censorship metastasizing while the debate rages on. Very tricky indeed!!
Happy holidays to all. And a chag sameach to you Ari! It's gonna be 2 nights of chaos and loving insanity (with free speech running amok) in this household!
“ Ultimately, dangerous information needs to be thwarted before disseminated, but I do worry about censorship metastasizing while the debate rages on. Very tricky indeed!!“ This is an excellent point👌🏽
Social media companies have a right to deplatform anyone who is violating their terms of service. Most TOS agreements has a section on hate speech & if you say something deemed as hate speech by the company, they have the right to deplatform you.
I don't see that as censorship, BUT I do believe that ALL speech should be protected constitutionally. As a Black woman, I reserve the right to speak out against racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia & the like. And racists, antisemites, homophobes, transphobes & the like have a right to say what they want to, even when it's hateful rhetoric. When we start censoring the speech we don't like, it's just a matter of time before we start trying to censor speech we do.
Agree wholeheartedly, Kea. However, many at FN and of the GOP, have burst through that acceptable barrier of free speech, and launched into personal attacks and lies about businesses and character; this has resulted into threats, death and destruction for some. They are the loudest at yelling censorship and cancel-culture, as disclaimers for their harmful acts or statements.
Kea, as ANY women, right? I don't see my neighbors in our small village as (ANY) colour; my friendship goes way past the color of skin! When I meet someone who's (just) a great friend/person I go color blind! It's been that way when I lived in the U.K. too.
I've honestly never changed! Until I read "Asian" "Black" "Jewish" etc.... is basically the only time(s) I look at ANY human being "colour" not involved....btw I'm "Irish Catholic" decent :)
Respectfully, Bernadette as move through the world as a Black woman & the way I'm SEEN & the way the way I live in the world is NOT the same as you. You see my skin color before anything else & I'm not quiet sure why using my LIVED EXPERIENCE as a Black woman is upsetting to you because you seemed to disregard the entire comment to focus on a three lines in the comment, "as a black woman" & decided to tell everyone how YOU view the world when that wasn't the theme of the comment. I hope in the future, you will take time to listen to different voices & not dismissed some one's lived experience because you don't have to navigate the world as a POC.
I agree & that is where the double edge sword comes in. Liars use hate speech, wrapped up as proganda to rile up their base, so they vote them in & they can change or make laws that moves us closer to fascism. If the votes in this midyear election turn red & GOP controls one or both houses, I do believe democracy is a wrap in the US.
The Peter Zenger case in 1735 is the blue print for our first amendment. It established that a publisher could not be held for libel for critizing a public official. Notably, no case or law since has established a state's right to edit a publication or to facilitate anyone to edit a publication by using the resources of the state, such as the courts. In other words, the Governor of Florida is using surrogates through law suits to make an end run around the fisrt amendment. This violates the letter and the spririt of the law. It is akin to the citizen posse abortion laws that empower surrogates of the state to prosecute anti abortion laws. This wave of legislation that attempts to skirt the prohibition of state action established by the first amendment and the 14th amendment is dangerous and another brick the bukiding of the anti-democratic wall being erected coast to coast
DeSantis is a Trump wannabe, free speech should be protected by all, but it appears as Mr. Alexander said, once you disagree with them, it no longer is, there are rules and regulations set out by different companies and we agree to them once we choose to use them as our voice, unfortunately people have become so negative it is hard to read and watch them express themselves, like us they have that right, it is just so sad to see that we can not agree to disagree and still be civil and kind to each other.
My hope is that someday soon, this will change, and we will all work together for the best of our country. One can live in hope. Great topic as usual thank you, make us think and very much aware🙏
The lines of free speech seem to be blurry these day. I 100% agree with Twitter banning Trump. He used it to hurt people and inform his people about a coup. He also put out false information all the time. I worry about the 1st Amendment being used to silent other peoples views we don’t agree with. Ari it must be an interesting time for you watching all this as a Lawyer. Kinda crazy! Enjoy your weekend. Chag Pesach Sameach
Hi Ari, First about Elon musk, I don't think that any One person should have that much control over a Media source. It must have others (lawyers) etc to decide if it's ethical to print any unproven subjects. Not to mention to have that kind of wealth. More than he could ever spend, it's disgusting. I believe that the Owners/editors must only print the truth and any media source that knowingly prints lies be put out of business. Even the ones owned by thilthy rich,
Have a Happy Holiday Weekend Ari.
Yes, Sue however, not ALL wealthy people are the same........thankfully :)
Of course, I think social media and publishing companies have a right to block speakers, spewing dangerous declarations and misinformation. It’s their property, to set the rules within the guidelines of publishing standards. I WOULD be concerned about censorship, if Trumpism were to prevail, but find it difficult to believe that people who hog the media everyday, are crying censorship. Seemingly, De Santis and others, are concerned about platforms they have alleged to be liberal, and want to make things difficult for them. For me, there are not enough Ari(s) pushing back; plus, we give them too much airtime.
Oldiva Hi! Your comments (to me) are always SOOOO interesting & "right-on-the-mark" :)
BERNIE!! I mentioned you to my daughter just yesterday, how much your significant voice had gone quiet. I thought possible travels to England or health matters. Most certainly, you couldn’t tire of us wonderful Ari-Writers😂. Glad you’re “home.”❤️BTW, thanks for the nice comments.
WOW! I already feel better :) Thanks Sooooo much, I never thought my absence would be missed....... so much for my "instincts"! Health, was (is) the issue!
I had a huge T.I.A. on Dec. 25th, 2019!!!!! And, (bloody-hell) I had another (two consecutive (t.i.a.'s) recently, on a Friday & then a Sunday!!!! Scared me "t*-deat*.....I can't even say the
word. Oh! And I can't forget the booster shot I had, (which made me quite ill)....
Again, thanks to Olddiva & Donna Layne...Your kind words r truly appreciated x x :)
From the depths of my ♥️: Love, HUGS, and Wellness
Saw surgeon today.....I'll be 'back-to-normal'...sooner, rather than later! Hugs back :) x x
YEAAA! Let the music play!🎼🥁🎺🪕🎷
Oh! I should have signed off ..........."Bernie" :)
Agree Bernie has been missed !!! She mentioned health problems a while ago. Hope she's better soon.
Me, too, Donna!
I've been having a lot of incidents w/ SUBSTACK..not being able to get on this site!
Don’t you just hate it! I certainly do. This technology makes me feel like an idiot. I used to pay people to do whatever on the internet, I was so intimidated. I’m better, but still spend wasted time, trying to conquer someone’s website or software. Don’t even know the terminology for half of it. Still don’t know what’s a UBS, nor a router from whatever other kinda thingamajig COX asks me about, when needing assistance. So, don’t feel bad. You have lots of company. The criteria should be: “If it doesn’t flow for grandma, it’s wrong.” HELLO, Bernie. Glad you got it figured out. Btw, I have problems with it, too, so most often, I just go to regular email.❤️😂
Welcome back Bernie!!! Hope your getting better. You've been missed.
Hello, Donna....better than b4 ..so many thanks for asking. How v. kind :)
Thank you for the link to your conversation with Floyd Abrams. It's both fascinating and intellectually rewarding. And what a lovely, decent, thoughtful, humble man Mr. Abrams is within his towering legal stature. Couple of points: first is on Citizens United, its effect and Mr. Abrams' defense. I've listened twice to ensure my understanding, which is that simultaneously with his defense, he advocates the public interest in simultaneous disclosure of WHO is speaking. That is not happening, and there are powerful forces, even legal mechanisms, which conceal and allow continuing or increasing opacity. Understand and agree with his reasoning except without accompanying disclosure, current practice shares much of the societal danger of later-mentioned WikiLeaks and is akin to a poor animal loose on a freeway.
Loved the varied, complex discussion which evolved from your story [1:07:35+] and the dynamics and consideration involved in presenting a case. I noted Mr. Abrams' preference for judge over jury; it would be mine, also: fewer extraneous components + shared knowledge of governing law. As a lay person and near-age peer of Mr. Abrams, I was struck and touched by his attention to and concern for "broader principles" and wonder how prevalent that is today. With the greater politicization of the courts, especially the Supreme Court, partisan ideology is undergirding, influencing and increasingly perceived as such, which is enormously destructive.
A huge grateful thank you to Mr. Abrams for all he's contributed, and to you both for this expansive, informative conversation.
Yes and yes! It is a slippery slope when we start deciding whose speech is acceptable and whose is not. One man’s lie is another man’s truth. However, the moment our country starts to become Putinesk in who can say what words (DeSantis-the word gay), we start to slide into the abyss.
I suppose if you don’t like what a company is banning you could always stop supporting that company or stop using their social media platform. My fear is who deems these folks the word/speech police.
I don’t know free speech laws so I am not well versed on where the line is drawn on what is “free” and what is not. Here is what I do know, I never want my speech censored outside of what is acceptable by law. Unfortunately, some folks have taken their freedom to speak outside the polite decorum to interpret free mean they can spew hate, enact suppression, be divisive, and call to arms a insurrection.
Are we free to do as we please? I would posit up to a certain lawful point after that you ruin freedom for all of us!
Thanks for your insightful piece, always good reading!
Have a great Passover weekend! Be safe and get some rest!🥰🙏🏽