I saw that Twitter files were being dumped this evening, came here to see if anything had been shared...then panicked when I couldn’t find COMMON SENSE anymore!
Now that I get that the name’s been changed (and hopefully ONLY your name, I can relax again.
I’m THRILLED to see you thrive. I pay to subscribe to help keep you going. I’ve little in common with you, beyond the most important trait of all...a deep and abiding love of freedom and the truth.
So beyond excited for this! I applied for the copyeditor / fact checker position and it would be an absolute dream to be a part of your team at The Free Press. Please give this military spouse and former newspaper reporter a chance!
Appreciate the comment, Michael! I agree. I got my grad degree in journalism way back in 2013 and it was on the cusp of when things were starting to go downhill. They did still teach fact checking back then though! I’m dying for an interview at the Free Press and would love to contribute in any way to this important movement.
Lonesome. The goal here is not to be shallow and tribal. Left and right are hopelessly inadequate in describing the views of people who are actually informed. While "leftist lies" is lovely and alliterative, its casual use right after you thought you were debunking climate change suggests you rather firmly identify with your own tribe. A bit less contempt in future -- please and thank you.
Ok. Trying again. The story you linked about abuse of gender reassignment therapy is a useful story. After reading several articles on the subject I have come to agree that children should not be transitioned, and that one should not confuse compassion for the transgender with a zeal to impose this therapy on decidedly marginal cases. So I agree with you, if I am to assume that your link and your opinion are equivalent. What I take issue with is "leftist lies". Its shallow and contemptuous. It adds nothing of value to the discussion. To use your phrasing, it's insulting gibberish. I look forward to future arguments with you. -- Cheers
Dear Lonesome. I am taking this site at its word that its about open discussion and objectivity. I am a physics professor and New Scientist subscriber. Good mag, but they like going over the edge sometimes. Please dont encourage the mistake that, while our understanding of physics is ever evolving, it does not mean that careful studies based on the best data must be wrong in their conclusions. The IPCC report is the gold standard in how to do science with social implications properly. Climate change is THE existential challenge facing humanity. It is entirely possible to fix, but more suffering will ensue with every day that the politics of division delays us in getting on with it.
I could go on and on. Remember when the University of East Anglia was the voice of climate change? It was the voice and praised by climate alarmist as THE expert on climate change until someone hacked its emails and showed they were lying by fudging the figures.
Remember when the oceans were supposed to rise by 21 feet ten years ago and the Arctic ice caps were supposed to be gone by 2014 and the Himalayan glaciers were supposed to be gone ten years ago?
How many climate change predictions have to fail before you and your pals say, "We've been had."?
BTW, the science is never settled. That is the heart of the scientific method is question, question, question. That is the scientific method. That's what real scientists do. You as a "professor" should know that.
You and your pals in an attempt to shut debate down call people like me deniers. Galileo was a denier. Pasteur was a denier. List was a denier. I'm in good company.
If you are really a physics professor, where do you teach, at Idiot U.?
I teach in New Mexico. We occassionally talk to Texans like yourself. Website:
kestrel.nmt edu/~rsonnenf
You confuse the truth that science is never settled with the lie that therefor we can never use scientific knowledge as it stands to make important decisions.
No that is not it at all. Of course we should use science. If we don't question the status quo, then nothing will change.
Also, you didn't really answer my post. The settle science for Galileo, Pasteur and List was wrong and these three brave men bucked the settled science.
Answer how come all these settle predictions have not come to pass? Refute the Harvard study.
Climate has never been static it has been changing ever since the planet was formed. Address the East Anglia U. hoax.
Your side of the argument is not known to be truthful and that is a fact. Come on, Al Gore is used as a climate change reference. Give me a break.
I have read two Nobel Prize physics who say global warming is a hoax and instead of being refuted they are ostracized. That is not science. That is hucksters doubling down on a lie.
I have now looked you up a bit. You have a real chip on your shoulder... but lets stick to facts. You provided an article from Forbes. Headline "big lies about climate change". Given your obvious bias, you seem to have concluded it shows that climate change is a lie. If you read it, which I assume you have, you see its about lies of climate change deniers. Here is the money shot from the article.
"Ultimately the purpose of all climate misinformation is to delay climate action—whether the argument is ‘global warming isn’t happening’ or ‘climate models are unreliable,’” Cook said. “The conclusion is always ‘therefore we shouldn’t act on climate change.’”
I am far from a media insider, but is it a coincidence that this announcement takes place on the same day that thousands of New York Times employees are on strike?! As a simple outsider, it sure makes me chuckle a little... turmoil at The Gray Lady while The Free Press makes a bold announcement of an organization committed to "ideals that remain the bedrock of American journalism" !
So sweet. Whether intentional or not, I love the timing :)
Bari and Nellie are the type of journalists I have longed for and am so happy to have stumbled across Bari initially and her lovely wife on this site. A free press that speaks truthfully regardless of political ideology is important for our country and this place represents the best of those dying ideals.
Any chance of adding Glenn Greenwald to this endeavor, or having him come in for guest columns? I feel like you and he are kindred spirits, Bari.
Congrats on the new form Common Sense has taken-on. I'm happy to be here, even when I disagree. Which happens, time to time. At least I know my disagreements won't be subject to "visibility filtering."
Glenn is in the midst of developing his channel on Locals/Rumble, which will air every weeknight, I believe, as an hour or hour and a half show including news, commentary and interviews. He's in beta testing these days in order to work out the technical issues. Even with the glitches, his content has been brilliant. And he's covering Bari's and Matt Taibbi's involvement with the Twitter dump. I think of Glenn and Bari as ideological comrades, but each within their own sphere of influence.
After I read your resignation letter from NYT, I knew it made sense for me to subscribe to Common Sense. You’ve done a great job in providing relevant content with varying points of view. The comments section is great as it allows subscribers to discuss the article against different perspectives. The comments are civil and allow for people to share and learn as well. It’s also great that you allow subscribers who comment to post of other articles that are relevant to the subject.
So, when do subscribers get to purchase stock in The Free Press LLC ? Surely the San Francisco start up ecosystem (see Ycombinator.com) is either knocking at your door or you have already accessed it. It would be great to allow for the purchase of shares, sort of like how Green Bay Packers fans can own a small part of their team.
In my humble opinion, though, the real way The Free Press remains independent (and 'Free') is to stay privately owned. It's great to monetize your (and our) interest in this nascent and important publication, but that could open the doors down the road to high concentrations of stock owned by interests that might not be so interested anymore in the freewheeling risk taking that The Free Press promises to continue with. And if they end up on the Board of Directors, down the rabbit hole everything goes..
Just to be clear, The Free Press LLC does not have to be public (like Disney) for subscribers to own stock. It can be privately held.
Which brings me to where we are today.
The Twitter Files, in my opinion, exposes what everyone thought to be true already.
What next ?
What is the remedy ?
It cost $44 billion to wrestle Twitter to the ground.
Are we going to buy Facebook next ?
Are we going to buy NBC, CBS, ABC next ?
Bezos will never sell WaPo.
The folks that own NYT will never sell. You can’t even burn the NYT building to the ground to stop this, because they’ll continue remotely.
Does Congress pass a law to prevent this ?
Do the People pursue a constitutional amendment to fix this ?
The reaction of those exposed and who support censorship are laughing. Saying “fuck your” I’m untouchable. You can’t do anything to me. I’ve got control of all of the relevant institutions (media, academia, Hollywood, WEF, corporations, Blackrock, etc…) that matter.
Game, set, match.
And Republicans are going to do absolutely nothing to counter this. Zero.
So I am just sitting back and watching all of this with really only a few thoughts about what I can do or say: (1) my study of Sanskrit tells me that when I have no control over something, that I have to set aside any thoughts (animus, regrets, envy, frustration, etc…) about it, and (2) I can follow the lead of the Russian dissidents who lived their lives outside of the “lies” they were being fed, to clear my conscious of the poison, to resist.
Among the freedoms the First Amendment protects is the guarantee of freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely.
If and when the 'Twitter Files' get fully aired here or elsewhere, this debate will deepen. But I'll peruse my position on this with you now.
Your concerns over censorship are very very real and I concur with them.
However, the First Amendment as is written clearly gives the press (as in the many platforms you cited) the right to say (or not say) whatever it wishes. It can publish or not publish as it wishes.
You and I may want CBS or MSNBC to give conservatives more of a voice; or of Fox to allow more liberal content - but they don't have to. Just like Twitter had the right to edit posts or delete them (like Facebook..). And if Twitter did it under duress from the Biden campaign, as is alleged, that is onerous. But was it a violation of the First Amendment? No. It could have chosen to decline.
Do we hate that - of course we do. Should they change? Of course they should. But is their right to censor protected by the First Amendment? In my opinion it is. They are corporate entities, not the government.
The First denies the US government the right to censor us or the press. In my mind it goes no further.
You say you have no control, but I disagree. You're on this thread, on this magazine that offers an alternative to all the others you've mentioned. And this is how you (we) fight back. And this platform of openness is protected from government overreach by the very Amendment that protects the censorship employed by the rest of mainstream (and social) media.
Thanks, I am not a student of the law nor the First Amendment. I’ve seen other discussions about how broad the First Amendment can be and how the press can stretch it as well. It sort of all boils down to how Republicans respond, if at all. What is their strategy to deal with mail in ballots ? How do they address social media and the bias that is pervasive ? Better candidates is the first place to start in my opinion. Dumping Trump is step two.
There is a distinction, though, between Platforms (twitter, facebook, etc) and the publishers you mention above. Platforms have special legislative protections from libel claims etc as they are deemed not to be publishers and are just displaying user generated content.
However, when platforms filter user content based on viewpoint, suddenly they start looking like publishers. Applying a "free speech" test to the criterea for maintaining platform status may go a long way to solving the problem on social media.
Traditional publishers are just going where the money is, which is in speaking to their tribes. But the vacum in the middle grown has grown enormous.
You make a good point. But I still would think that platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and even user generated forums like the one we're on now can deny users access for views that the platforms alone decide are unacceptable. It is their choice, as it should be. It happens here re antisemitic comments, as it just did under Musk's 'reformed' Twitter re Kanye West's remarks.
They may have special protections re libelous speech, but that does not mean they are obliged to provide it. They make look like publishers in this regard, as you suggest, but even though it's a public forum, they may have very private concerns vis a vis being involved in the dissemination of speech they deem abhorrent.
I believe under the First Amendment all media, whether new, old, mainstream, social or user generated have the right to display opinion, and they also have the right not to.
You could do a co-op style of ownership. Could be interesting to see that ownership model applied to the press/a substack, but I suspect it wouldn't work well.
As a longtime Packers fan, I can tell you that Packers shareholders are intensely proud of their small shares. The Packers story is a great one: The Green Bay Packers are the only community-owned team in the major league in the US. Instead of having one owner or a small group of owners, they are owned by thousands of fans - 360,584 stockholders to be exact.
I’m looking forward to reading the work of four of my favorite thinkers: Walter Kirn, Coleman Hughes, Vinay Prasad, and Michael Shellenberger. Wonderful additions!
Where do you read Walter Kirn? Impressed by a piece of his about a year ago, I subscribed to his Substack, am charged monthly but it seems he's written nothing since April? I tried to find a way to enquire but didn't see a mode of contacting Unbound, apart from making a query to Substack which went unanswered. ?
Wonder the same. Nothing that deep state scum might do would suprise me. Anxiously waiting for the next dump. Congratulations Bari et al on The Free Press. You have mostly disappeared from Substack. Glad I found this link on Twitter.
You can never really delete anything unless you destroy the servers and all the backups. Remember, Baker is a lawyer, not a computer geek. I am a lawyer AND a computer geek. Plus I've spent a good amount of time doing document reviews of files and emails that lawyers THOUGHT they had deleted.
Retired programmer analyst, and I agree. However, Hillary's bunch of crooks did a pretty good job of destroying their cell phones and washing the disks.
I would love to see Bari run an article on how the FBI and the main street press have edited or spiked anything from Hunter's laptop damaging to the Biden family (I wanted to say crime family because as more is released, it has all the markings of a crime family.).
Trump will be indicted. Maybe he and the ever senile Joe can be cell mates. Wouldn't that be poetic justice. Joe will not know he's in jail. He doesn't know what planet he is on and Trump will go nutz ranting at him
I would like to see a detailed accounting. I sure hope nothing of importance was lost. Just sick of these scum slithering amongst our freedom and information.
From the moment I read Bari's resignation letter, I knew that this was a person who shared my values. Soon after, I wrote Bari a letter, and I signed up for the newsletter and have enjoyed everything that the Common Sense team has produced in the years that followed. I am thrilled for the success that this group has achieved. I pay for only 1 publication/app/whatever across all genres/mediums...this one. As with Rob (comment 1) my "identity" would be considered to be on the other end of the spectrum from Bari, but this is exactly the point! It should not matter what my immutable characteristics are. I want to read factual reporting and well-reasoned opinion, regardless of whether or not I agree with all of it. Bari, Nellie, Suzy -and all of the growing team of contributors to this effort have reminded me that I am not losing my mind when I scratch my head when reading 'corporate media' headlines. You have all renewed my faith that there are truly great writers and reporters who want to do justice to the term "The Free Press". I have little doubt that this enterprise will continue to thrive as people wake up to the fantastic talent and principles involved. Congratulations to the team at The Free Press!
* Someday, I hope to see a true long-form report from Bari on the Twitter Files, but I understand that the 'distribution' of such an article may have certain conditions placed on the channels in which it is distributed.
In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy the pieces produced by this talented group of contributors.
I knew you must be busy this week when I saw that you were one of the journalists being entrusted with deciphering the Twitter Files. This is an even more exciting development. Bravo, Bari!
Mazal tov on The Free Press! This feels like an historic moment. Maybe the truth will win out after all. Thank you Bari and everyone on your team for leading the way.
So was I. Hadn't heard of Substack, hadn't paid for a subscription of any news media before, but I had heard of Bari Weiss and I signed up immediately.
Been wondering where the stories were this last week or so and figured you've all been baking up something special with just the Twitter Files. Really glad you're getting the reach you're getting. Maybe I'm not as crazy as I thought I was, it is SO refreshing to read news that isn't dripping with an agenda. Pls don't change.
This is the single most hopeful thing I’ve read in such long time! (Not that you’re changing the name, and not that you’re moving onto your own platform, but that you are experiencing this level of support and success.)
I adore Common Sense, and I’m incredibly grateful for the existence of Substack, so I hope neither of those suffer in this transition. However, the need for a new powerful journalism platform is so overwhelming, I get why you have to make the leap.
I thought we had something in the Intercept, but they broke my heart when they proved me wrong. (PS… Glen Greenwald ❤️) Please don’t do the same.
It is not an overstatement to say we need you to succeed - the world needs real, thoughtful, brave journalism, but right now, it is largely dead (and its rotting corpse is right in front of us.)
This is so exciting and reassuring, like an anchor in the chaotic world where information flies too fast and too hot to be comprehended, let alone digested. Thanks for being there.
What passes for the mainstream (lamestream) press is now a moral, professional, and journalistic wasteland. In my worst fever-dreams I never thought I'd see it happen in my lifetime, but there it is.
But mark my words: when the cuttin's done, if we survive, Bari's exit from the Failing New York Times and the establishment of this blog will be considered one of the - if not THE - bellwether event that started the ball rolling for the salvation of the Best Nation That Ever Was.
I saw that Twitter files were being dumped this evening, came here to see if anything had been shared...then panicked when I couldn’t find COMMON SENSE anymore!
Now that I get that the name’s been changed (and hopefully ONLY your name, I can relax again.
I’m THRILLED to see you thrive. I pay to subscribe to help keep you going. I’ve little in common with you, beyond the most important trait of all...a deep and abiding love of freedom and the truth.
Best wishes and Happy Holiday!
Same!
🔥🔥🔥🔥
So beyond excited for this! I applied for the copyeditor / fact checker position and it would be an absolute dream to be a part of your team at The Free Press. Please give this military spouse and former newspaper reporter a chance!
Good luck!
Thank you so much!
Awesome! We desperately need (I can’t believe I even have to say this) neutral, accurate, non-partisan fact-checking!
Appreciate the comment, Michael! I agree. I got my grad degree in journalism way back in 2013 and it was on the cusp of when things were starting to go downhill. They did still teach fact checking back then though! I’m dying for an interview at the Free Press and would love to contribute in any way to this important movement.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
This is why we need "The Free Press":
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/entertainment-celebrity/latest-twitter-files-bombshell-leaves-liberals-in-denial-as-they-dismiss-revelations-conspiracy-kooks/ar-AA158dGl?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=a9873c06be274f4f90d7bc4838ece542
Another reason:
The Dems claim when it comes to climate change, the science is settled. The article below shows the science is never settled.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/physicist-says-the-laws-of-physics-don-t-actually-exist/ar-AA157YO3?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=a9873c06be274f4f90d7bc4838ece542
Another leftist lie debunked:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/liberal-media-refuses-to-tell-full-truth-about-transgender-kids/ar-AA1584B8?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=a9873c06be274f4f90d7bc4838ece542
Lonesome. The goal here is not to be shallow and tribal. Left and right are hopelessly inadequate in describing the views of people who are actually informed. While "leftist lies" is lovely and alliterative, its casual use right after you thought you were debunking climate change suggests you rather firmly identify with your own tribe. A bit less contempt in future -- please and thank you.
I have no idea what you are saying. Instead of refuting me, you, in my opinion, spout gibberish.
Ok. Trying again. The story you linked about abuse of gender reassignment therapy is a useful story. After reading several articles on the subject I have come to agree that children should not be transitioned, and that one should not confuse compassion for the transgender with a zeal to impose this therapy on decidedly marginal cases. So I agree with you, if I am to assume that your link and your opinion are equivalent. What I take issue with is "leftist lies". Its shallow and contemptuous. It adds nothing of value to the discussion. To use your phrasing, it's insulting gibberish. I look forward to future arguments with you. -- Cheers
Dear Lonesome. I am taking this site at its word that its about open discussion and objectivity. I am a physics professor and New Scientist subscriber. Good mag, but they like going over the edge sometimes. Please dont encourage the mistake that, while our understanding of physics is ever evolving, it does not mean that careful studies based on the best data must be wrong in their conclusions. The IPCC report is the gold standard in how to do science with social implications properly. Climate change is THE existential challenge facing humanity. It is entirely possible to fix, but more suffering will ensue with every day that the politics of division delays us in getting on with it.
Hog wash! Science is never settled.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidrvetter/2021/11/19/5-big-lies-about-climate-change-and-why-researchers-trained-a-machine-to-spot-them/?sh=26ffae9049f4
https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/the-un-admits-that-the-paris-climate-deal-was-a-fraud/
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2003/04/global-warming-is-not-so-hot-2/
I could go on and on. Remember when the University of East Anglia was the voice of climate change? It was the voice and praised by climate alarmist as THE expert on climate change until someone hacked its emails and showed they were lying by fudging the figures.
Remember when the oceans were supposed to rise by 21 feet ten years ago and the Arctic ice caps were supposed to be gone by 2014 and the Himalayan glaciers were supposed to be gone ten years ago?
How many climate change predictions have to fail before you and your pals say, "We've been had."?
BTW, the science is never settled. That is the heart of the scientific method is question, question, question. That is the scientific method. That's what real scientists do. You as a "professor" should know that.
You and your pals in an attempt to shut debate down call people like me deniers. Galileo was a denier. Pasteur was a denier. List was a denier. I'm in good company.
If you are really a physics professor, where do you teach, at Idiot U.?
I teach in New Mexico. We occassionally talk to Texans like yourself. Website:
kestrel.nmt edu/~rsonnenf
You confuse the truth that science is never settled with the lie that therefor we can never use scientific knowledge as it stands to make important decisions.
No that is not it at all. Of course we should use science. If we don't question the status quo, then nothing will change.
Also, you didn't really answer my post. The settle science for Galileo, Pasteur and List was wrong and these three brave men bucked the settled science.
Answer how come all these settle predictions have not come to pass? Refute the Harvard study.
Climate has never been static it has been changing ever since the planet was formed. Address the East Anglia U. hoax.
Your side of the argument is not known to be truthful and that is a fact. Come on, Al Gore is used as a climate change reference. Give me a break.
I have read two Nobel Prize physics who say global warming is a hoax and instead of being refuted they are ostracized. That is not science. That is hucksters doubling down on a lie.
I have now looked you up a bit. You have a real chip on your shoulder... but lets stick to facts. You provided an article from Forbes. Headline "big lies about climate change". Given your obvious bias, you seem to have concluded it shows that climate change is a lie. If you read it, which I assume you have, you see its about lies of climate change deniers. Here is the money shot from the article.
"Ultimately the purpose of all climate misinformation is to delay climate action—whether the argument is ‘global warming isn’t happening’ or ‘climate models are unreliable,’” Cook said. “The conclusion is always ‘therefore we shouldn’t act on climate change.’”
I am far from a media insider, but is it a coincidence that this announcement takes place on the same day that thousands of New York Times employees are on strike?! As a simple outsider, it sure makes me chuckle a little... turmoil at The Gray Lady while The Free Press makes a bold announcement of an organization committed to "ideals that remain the bedrock of American journalism" !
So sweet. Whether intentional or not, I love the timing :)
The New York Who?
It’s this company that makes excellent fish wrap!
Bari and Nellie are the type of journalists I have longed for and am so happy to have stumbled across Bari initially and her lovely wife on this site. A free press that speaks truthfully regardless of political ideology is important for our country and this place represents the best of those dying ideals.
Well said!
You made me chuckle. Thanks.
YES! My thoughts exactly!
❤️❤️❤️
Any chance of adding Glenn Greenwald to this endeavor, or having him come in for guest columns? I feel like you and he are kindred spirits, Bari.
Congrats on the new form Common Sense has taken-on. I'm happy to be here, even when I disagree. Which happens, time to time. At least I know my disagreements won't be subject to "visibility filtering."
Glenn is in the midst of developing his channel on Locals/Rumble, which will air every weeknight, I believe, as an hour or hour and a half show including news, commentary and interviews. He's in beta testing these days in order to work out the technical issues. Even with the glitches, his content has been brilliant. And he's covering Bari's and Matt Taibbi's involvement with the Twitter dump. I think of Glenn and Bari as ideological comrades, but each within their own sphere of influence.
Great job Bari !
After I read your resignation letter from NYT, I knew it made sense for me to subscribe to Common Sense. You’ve done a great job in providing relevant content with varying points of view. The comments section is great as it allows subscribers to discuss the article against different perspectives. The comments are civil and allow for people to share and learn as well. It’s also great that you allow subscribers who comment to post of other articles that are relevant to the subject.
So, when do subscribers get to purchase stock in The Free Press LLC ? Surely the San Francisco start up ecosystem (see Ycombinator.com) is either knocking at your door or you have already accessed it. It would be great to allow for the purchase of shares, sort of like how Green Bay Packers fans can own a small part of their team.
Agreed with your first paragraph, Brian.
In my humble opinion, though, the real way The Free Press remains independent (and 'Free') is to stay privately owned. It's great to monetize your (and our) interest in this nascent and important publication, but that could open the doors down the road to high concentrations of stock owned by interests that might not be so interested anymore in the freewheeling risk taking that The Free Press promises to continue with. And if they end up on the Board of Directors, down the rabbit hole everything goes..
But that's just me.
I agree. You rarely hear a negative story about Disney on ABC, for example, because ABC owns Disney.
Not if Bari keeps 51% of the stock.
Very fair observation.
Just to be clear, The Free Press LLC does not have to be public (like Disney) for subscribers to own stock. It can be privately held.
Which brings me to where we are today.
The Twitter Files, in my opinion, exposes what everyone thought to be true already.
What next ?
What is the remedy ?
It cost $44 billion to wrestle Twitter to the ground.
Are we going to buy Facebook next ?
Are we going to buy NBC, CBS, ABC next ?
Bezos will never sell WaPo.
The folks that own NYT will never sell. You can’t even burn the NYT building to the ground to stop this, because they’ll continue remotely.
Does Congress pass a law to prevent this ?
Do the People pursue a constitutional amendment to fix this ?
The reaction of those exposed and who support censorship are laughing. Saying “fuck your” I’m untouchable. You can’t do anything to me. I’ve got control of all of the relevant institutions (media, academia, Hollywood, WEF, corporations, Blackrock, etc…) that matter.
Game, set, match.
And Republicans are going to do absolutely nothing to counter this. Zero.
So I am just sitting back and watching all of this with really only a few thoughts about what I can do or say: (1) my study of Sanskrit tells me that when I have no control over something, that I have to set aside any thoughts (animus, regrets, envy, frustration, etc…) about it, and (2) I can follow the lead of the Russian dissidents who lived their lives outside of the “lies” they were being fed, to clear my conscious of the poison, to resist.
Among the freedoms the First Amendment protects is the guarantee of freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely.
If and when the 'Twitter Files' get fully aired here or elsewhere, this debate will deepen. But I'll peruse my position on this with you now.
Your concerns over censorship are very very real and I concur with them.
However, the First Amendment as is written clearly gives the press (as in the many platforms you cited) the right to say (or not say) whatever it wishes. It can publish or not publish as it wishes.
You and I may want CBS or MSNBC to give conservatives more of a voice; or of Fox to allow more liberal content - but they don't have to. Just like Twitter had the right to edit posts or delete them (like Facebook..). And if Twitter did it under duress from the Biden campaign, as is alleged, that is onerous. But was it a violation of the First Amendment? No. It could have chosen to decline.
Do we hate that - of course we do. Should they change? Of course they should. But is their right to censor protected by the First Amendment? In my opinion it is. They are corporate entities, not the government.
The First denies the US government the right to censor us or the press. In my mind it goes no further.
You say you have no control, but I disagree. You're on this thread, on this magazine that offers an alternative to all the others you've mentioned. And this is how you (we) fight back. And this platform of openness is protected from government overreach by the very Amendment that protects the censorship employed by the rest of mainstream (and social) media.
Thanks, I am not a student of the law nor the First Amendment. I’ve seen other discussions about how broad the First Amendment can be and how the press can stretch it as well. It sort of all boils down to how Republicans respond, if at all. What is their strategy to deal with mail in ballots ? How do they address social media and the bias that is pervasive ? Better candidates is the first place to start in my opinion. Dumping Trump is step two.
There is a distinction, though, between Platforms (twitter, facebook, etc) and the publishers you mention above. Platforms have special legislative protections from libel claims etc as they are deemed not to be publishers and are just displaying user generated content.
However, when platforms filter user content based on viewpoint, suddenly they start looking like publishers. Applying a "free speech" test to the criterea for maintaining platform status may go a long way to solving the problem on social media.
Traditional publishers are just going where the money is, which is in speaking to their tribes. But the vacum in the middle grown has grown enormous.
You make a good point. But I still would think that platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and even user generated forums like the one we're on now can deny users access for views that the platforms alone decide are unacceptable. It is their choice, as it should be. It happens here re antisemitic comments, as it just did under Musk's 'reformed' Twitter re Kanye West's remarks.
They may have special protections re libelous speech, but that does not mean they are obliged to provide it. They make look like publishers in this regard, as you suggest, but even though it's a public forum, they may have very private concerns vis a vis being involved in the dissemination of speech they deem abhorrent.
I believe under the First Amendment all media, whether new, old, mainstream, social or user generated have the right to display opinion, and they also have the right not to.
The left censors through PC and Woke and instead of laughing at these kooks, the major corps bend to these nutz as does the Rep Party.
We have to take a stand. I think the best way to get rid of the leftists tyrants is to laugh at them.
You could do a co-op style of ownership. Could be interesting to see that ownership model applied to the press/a substack, but I suspect it wouldn't work well.
True 🔥🔥🔥
Agree!
As a longtime Packers fan, I can tell you that Packers shareholders are intensely proud of their small shares. The Packers story is a great one: The Green Bay Packers are the only community-owned team in the major league in the US. Instead of having one owner or a small group of owners, they are owned by thousands of fans - 360,584 stockholders to be exact.
Also, the history of the Packers would never be able to happen today. Green Bay is the smallest NFL market.
Love it !
Thanks for sharing.
I’m looking forward to reading the work of four of my favorite thinkers: Walter Kirn, Coleman Hughes, Vinay Prasad, and Michael Shellenberger. Wonderful additions!
Where do you read Walter Kirn? Impressed by a piece of his about a year ago, I subscribed to his Substack, am charged monthly but it seems he's written nothing since April? I tried to find a way to enquire but didn't see a mode of contacting Unbound, apart from making a query to Substack which went unanswered. ?
He has a weekly conversation about current events with Matt Taibbi on Matt’s Substack. It’s a highlight of my week.
Thanks!
Love Hughes!!!
Super smart person...a genius, I think. And have you heard him play the trombone?
No! But I know he was a sort of young jazz savant!
That's true. As a teenager he attended Juilliard. I found a performance he was part of there, with some other youngsters. Quite accomplished.
Then there's his rap music, like "Blasphemy." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEkFBVErK7E
Wow to 'Blasphemy'. Thanks for that link.
Me too! Great line up!
Did Jim Baker manage to delete anything or was everything he "vetted" recovered?
Wonder the same. Nothing that deep state scum might do would suprise me. Anxiously waiting for the next dump. Congratulations Bari et al on The Free Press. You have mostly disappeared from Substack. Glad I found this link on Twitter.
You can never really delete anything unless you destroy the servers and all the backups. Remember, Baker is a lawyer, not a computer geek. I am a lawyer AND a computer geek. Plus I've spent a good amount of time doing document reviews of files and emails that lawyers THOUGHT they had deleted.
Retired programmer analyst, and I agree. However, Hillary's bunch of crooks did a pretty good job of destroying their cell phones and washing the disks.
And let's not forget...innocent people do not destroy evidence.
Like with a cloth?
You're joking, right?
I would love to see Bari run an article on how the FBI and the main street press have edited or spiked anything from Hunter's laptop damaging to the Biden family (I wanted to say crime family because as more is released, it has all the markings of a crime family.).
Trump will be indicted. Maybe he and the ever senile Joe can be cell mates. Wouldn't that be poetic justice. Joe will not know he's in jail. He doesn't know what planet he is on and Trump will go nutz ranting at him
You have the making of a sitcom, like The Odd Couple. Go for it.
I would like to see a detailed accounting. I sure hope nothing of importance was lost. Just sick of these scum slithering amongst our freedom and information.
Nothing is EVER gone on a social media platform. It's just a matter of retrieving the back up of the backups.
From the moment I read Bari's resignation letter, I knew that this was a person who shared my values. Soon after, I wrote Bari a letter, and I signed up for the newsletter and have enjoyed everything that the Common Sense team has produced in the years that followed. I am thrilled for the success that this group has achieved. I pay for only 1 publication/app/whatever across all genres/mediums...this one. As with Rob (comment 1) my "identity" would be considered to be on the other end of the spectrum from Bari, but this is exactly the point! It should not matter what my immutable characteristics are. I want to read factual reporting and well-reasoned opinion, regardless of whether or not I agree with all of it. Bari, Nellie, Suzy -and all of the growing team of contributors to this effort have reminded me that I am not losing my mind when I scratch my head when reading 'corporate media' headlines. You have all renewed my faith that there are truly great writers and reporters who want to do justice to the term "The Free Press". I have little doubt that this enterprise will continue to thrive as people wake up to the fantastic talent and principles involved. Congratulations to the team at The Free Press!
* Someday, I hope to see a true long-form report from Bari on the Twitter Files, but I understand that the 'distribution' of such an article may have certain conditions placed on the channels in which it is distributed.
In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy the pieces produced by this talented group of contributors.
Totally agree! I could not have said it better!
I knew you must be busy this week when I saw that you were one of the journalists being entrusted with deciphering the Twitter Files. This is an even more exciting development. Bravo, Bari!
Mazal tov on The Free Press! This feels like an historic moment. Maybe the truth will win out after all. Thank you Bari and everyone on your team for leading the way.
I was an "early adopter" on Common Sense...Really excited to see how this has developed and grown! This is so NEEDED in the era we are in.
So was I. Hadn't heard of Substack, hadn't paid for a subscription of any news media before, but I had heard of Bari Weiss and I signed up immediately.
I commented...not thinking she was reading the comments...and she answered! I was hooked
Been wondering where the stories were this last week or so and figured you've all been baking up something special with just the Twitter Files. Really glad you're getting the reach you're getting. Maybe I'm not as crazy as I thought I was, it is SO refreshing to read news that isn't dripping with an agenda. Pls don't change.
Love the continuing evolution. Can't wait until you, Bari, and Taibbi do a podcast on this whole Twitter Files Frankenstein's Monster.
This is the single most hopeful thing I’ve read in such long time! (Not that you’re changing the name, and not that you’re moving onto your own platform, but that you are experiencing this level of support and success.)
I adore Common Sense, and I’m incredibly grateful for the existence of Substack, so I hope neither of those suffer in this transition. However, the need for a new powerful journalism platform is so overwhelming, I get why you have to make the leap.
I thought we had something in the Intercept, but they broke my heart when they proved me wrong. (PS… Glen Greenwald ❤️) Please don’t do the same.
It is not an overstatement to say we need you to succeed - the world needs real, thoughtful, brave journalism, but right now, it is largely dead (and its rotting corpse is right in front of us.)
Godspeed, everyone at The Free Press.
This is so exciting and reassuring, like an anchor in the chaotic world where information flies too fast and too hot to be comprehended, let alone digested. Thanks for being there.
What passes for the mainstream (lamestream) press is now a moral, professional, and journalistic wasteland. In my worst fever-dreams I never thought I'd see it happen in my lifetime, but there it is.
But mark my words: when the cuttin's done, if we survive, Bari's exit from the Failing New York Times and the establishment of this blog will be considered one of the - if not THE - bellwether event that started the ball rolling for the salvation of the Best Nation That Ever Was.