John W. Whitehead – The Right To Tell The Government To Go to Hell: Free Speech In An Age Of Government Bullies, Corporate Censors And Compliant Citizens

Free speech is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it for those who are easily offended, readily intimidated or who need everything wrapped in a neat and tidy bow. Free speech is often messy, foul-mouthed, obscene, intolerant, undignified, insensitive, cantankerous, bawdy and volatile. Unfortunately, our appreciation for a robust freedom of speech has worn thin over the years. …

Glenn Greenwald – Those Demanding Free Speech Limits to Fight ISIS Pose a Greater Threat to US Than ISIS

n 2006 – years before ISIS replaced Al Qaeda as the New and Unprecedentedly Evil Villain – Newt Gingrich gave a speech in New Hampshire in which, as he put it afterward, he “called for a serious debate about the First Amendment and how terrorists are abusing our rights–using them as they once used passenger jets–to threaten and kill Americans.” In that speech, Gingrich argued: Either before we …

Mary S. Holland – The Legality of Censoring Speech on Vaccines & Autism

In a recent guest column, Professors James G. Hodge, Jr. and Doug Campos-Outcalt explore ways to limit presidential candidates’ speech about a link between vaccines and autism. Noting recent comments by Trump, Carson and Paul associating vaccines and autism, the authors decry the politicians’ “free pass” to “spread such public health lies.” They even suggest that the candidates’ statements are …

Black Agenda Radio – 11.23.15

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective.

– The corporate media’s fixation with the attack on Paris seems insatiable, as if no place else in the world has suffered from terrorist attacks. Could it be because Paris is mostly white? Ajamu Baraka is a founder of the U.S. Human Rights Network and an editor and columnist for Black Agenda Report. Baraka’s current article is titled, “The Paris Attacks and the White Lives Matter Movement.” Baraka points out that the world capitals of death by terror are Nigeria, Iraq and Syria. Yet massacres in those places are not considered big news.

– Environmental activists were planning to hold a huge demonstration in Paris later this month, to influence United Nations negotiations about climate change. However, French authorities have put the country under a state of emergency. Among those who planned to be in Paris is Kali Akuno, whose Malcolm X Grassroots Movement colleagues are promoting a plan for sustainable development in predominantly Black Jackson, Mississippi. It’s called the Jackson Just Transition Plan. Akuno says his delegation has held on to their plane tickets.

– The Stop Mass Incarceration Network, co-founded by Carl Dix and Dr. Cornel West, followed up three days of protests in New York with demonstrations, this weekend, in several cities to refocus attention on Tamir Rice, the 12 year-old killed by Cleveland police. The local district attorney accused Tamir’s mother of having “economic motives” for demanding justice for her son. Carl Dix says the DA’s behavior is proof enough that the system is rigged. Carl Dix says nationwide protests are planned for December 3rd, the one-year anniversary of the exoneration of the cop that choked Eric Garner to death, in Staten Island, New York.

– Investigative reporter Ken Silverstein says the Clinton Foundation’s newly released tax returns should land Bill, Hillary and daughter Chelsea Clinton in prison. In an article for Harper’s Magazine, Silverstein writes that the former – and possibly future – First Couple are implicated in massive money laundering and other High Crimes.

– Kenia Serrano, the president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship of the People, spends lots of time greeting delegations of visitors to her island. But, this month Serrano and other Cuban officials were on a tour of U.S. cities, starting in New York. Speaking at John Jay College, Serrano said Cubans are proud of the changes the Revolution has made in the lives of the people.

UK government counter-terrorism bill would criminalize speech, political activity – Jordan Shilton

The Conservative government in Britain is preparing to enact new legislation that, under the guise of the “war on terror,” will vastly expand police-state powers and essentially criminalize speech and other political activity. Presented officially as an anti-terrorism bill, the proposed measures will be targeted at any popular opposition to the government’s policies of aggressive militarism abroad and austerity measures …

Our Ayn Randian Dystopia: The Five-Step Process to Privatize Everything – Paul Buchheit

Law enforcement, education, health care, water management, government itself — all have been or are being privatized. People with money get the best of each service. At the heart of privatization is a disdain for government and a distrust of society, and a mindless individualism that leaves little room for cooperation. Adherents of privatization demand ‘freedom’ unless they need the …

The Empire’s Final Frontier: Re-Colonize the Homeland – Robert S. Becker

As democratic embers of our republic fizzle, the big question remains: what term best fits our situation, if not our degraded system? If unconscionable wealth and overbearing billionaires stratify income and wealth, funneling the best educations, life-styles, and jobs to managers of the status quo, so much for our fabled land of opportunity. Opportunity can’t knock when there’s neither front …

The Infectious Myth – 03.24.15

In Episode 52 of “The Infectious Myth” David talks about freedom of speech. “Je ne suis pas Charlie Hebdou” (I am not Charlie Hebdou) but that doesn’t mean that he is in favor of terrorism either. Freedom of speech is a complicated issue, and despite all the rhetoric that followed the horrible massacre in January, the liberal west is not …