Lee, look around you. This essay draws comparison to history within memory that many of us hold (USSR). Have We become Them is an intellectually honest question to ask ourselves, and I’m glad Naill is here @ TFP to raise it.
Free speech did not exist in the Soviet Union - and it arguably exists in this country. Yes, we have sclerotic leaders, but vastly differing points of view are amply found at the political level here. From 1917 thru 1989 - did an opposing party exist in the USSR? And if you had a sad opposing voice against the Kremlin, where would that have gotten you?
We have private enterprise in this country -any platform can censor and have the right to. It's the government I'm talking about. Re debt - you and I knw exactly what to do re the debt. Either tax citizens more to pay for the services we expect - or cut services. Pick your poison.
The states with the highest progressive taxation are not doing well financially. I really don’t feel like sending California more billions for (bailout or what we call the train to nowhere.
Pension actuaries pushing 20 percent growth per year, forever, are criminal and should be prosecuted, along with open borders non profit cartels with salaries courtesy of taxpayers..
Open the books has the debt load per state per capita.
The government pressured, threatened and coerced the” platforms” to censor content it claimed was not good for the country to see, or hear. This is a flagrant violation of the first Amendment. You must know this as it has been a huge scandal and is being adjudicated by SCOTUS
As for the Debt. The give is so bloated they could cut enormous sums with zero impact on services. There is no political will
Yeah, yeah - the coercion that we all heard about. I wonder what would have happened if Twitter actually said to the government forget it and go away. We're publishing what we want. Facebook as well. I haven't read anywhere what it was that the government would have threatened them with. Yes, the gov't would have been mad as hell, but what would have happened? The Post broke the laptop story - what happened to them? I don't think anything..
The govt threatened them with revocation of their immunity from lawsuits ( section 230). This is confirmed fact from testimonies in fron of Congress as well as from the Twitter files.
The govt used 51 intelligence honchos to discredit the post story , and to make it easy for all other media to not report on the laptop. That is real interference with the press to influence the election.
These are facts not personal opinion.Defending banana republic tactics to what end?
I'll take your word for it. They got down and dirty. They have the power. But of all media companies, Facebook and Twitter could have gone toe to toe with the gov't lawyer to lawyer, they have the means - and beaten up Biden in the court of public opinion - since they have the platform. But - they chose not too.
The issue at hand is that the government violated our First Amendment rights by doing through the back door in secret what they could not do through the front door in the open. We would not know about it ( although many suspected this was going on) if not for Elon Musk and Taibbi and Shellenberger and a few others. Mike Benz( a long term intelligence officer) explains the government t censorship apparatus in his posts and YouTube videos. He is non partisan and full of facts and information.( not flashy in the slightest)
Do you call this balanced, equating Biden's mental state with Trump's?
"... The former cannot distinguish between his two Hispanic cabinet secretaries, Alejandro Mayorkas and Xavier Becerra. The latter muddles up Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi. ..."
honesty is in the eye of the beholder. Ferguson could have done his readers a favour by putting in some perspective as to what America still does right - and then let us decide if we’re going down the tubes or not. All he’s doing with this essay is preaching to the converted.
Are you referring to what we’ve got right nationally or globally.? Perhaps there aren’t too many things we’ve got right recently. The only one I can think of nationally is lowering the cost of diabetes drugs and globally the Abraham Accords, which occurred under Trump. In stark contrast Biden set the Middle East on fire - again.
Meanwhile as one astute poster put it this is what the Democrats are doing to get re-elected:
Worried about the youth vote? Buy them back with a massive student loan wealth transfer even after the U.S Supreme Court says you can't do it.
Worried about losing Michigan in November? Turn on Israel and pander to Hamas sympathizers to cater to the Muslim vote in the Detroit suburbs.
Worried about the quickly diminishing Black vote? Give blatantly racist speeches at the NAACP and a Black college graduation telling them how hopeless their lives are because America is so racist and hates them.
Worried about losing the organized labor vote to Trump? Suddenly like Tariffs!!
Worried in general about your opponent? Work with Dem operatives around the country to tie him up in criminal proceedings which in turn makes America no better than a banana republic.
The fact you can write what you just did is the largest reason why we can still do somethings right - enabling people to speak their minds. Not very Soviet, that.
But for how much longer will that be true under the Democrats? After all they like to jail their political opponents. They use government institutions for their own political purposes. That’s not hyperbole that’s a fact. Look at what they’ve done with Twitter, Facebook, et al, and the DOJ. The evidence is mounting.
By the way it’s not the government that gives me the right to free speech. Enshrined in the constitution it is a God given right. So I’ve no need to be thankful to any human entity that I can speak out, as your post implies.
Free speech is a right guaranteed by the US Constitution. That to me means it is our right as citizens. That mean the government of the day cannot suppress it. But a privately owned media platform can. I did not mean to say the gov't guarantees that right - and I don't know where I would have said that.
Re Dems - I'm expecting Menendez to go down the tubes. Squalid guy- and as Dem as McConnell is a Republican. Is that playacting? To make it look fair? And who's gone to jail so far? Bannon soon.. Navarro already there. They don't like showing up to Congress. I don't know, are there any others?
I don’t know what part of the world you’re from, but I’m an immigrant and do not want to see America go down the path of socialism. So as to jailing political opponents I believe you just handily made my point. Neither Bannon nor Navarro should or would be anywhere near a jail except they’re on the wrong side of the political aisle. That’s the Democrat playbook, turning us into a banana republic. They’re despicable.
The NY Post broke the story and Fox ran with it for years - how was the story suppressed? By whom? The NYT downplayed it to a zero burger, I agree. But that is their right. Does Fox report every verbal transgression Trump will utter? Not really - as is their right.
Well, there is plenty of reporting out there of the FBI as having possession of HB’s laptop well before the NY Post broke the story in Oct ‘20. Then, additional reporting of FBI led ‘scenario gaming’ w/ various social media platforms (see Twitter files) earlier in Y2020 for those media outlets to be on lookout for ‘Russian disinformation’.
After NY Post story broke on 10/14/20, Blinken (the Sr. Advisor to Biden) organized the now infamous 51 former intel signed letter stating the laptop had “all the classic earmarks of Russia information operation… and if they were right, this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election”. That letter then published on 10/19/20 and the Lie pushed out by Politico/Natasha Bertrand:
We also now know that many social media and legacy media then piled on to this Politico story. NPR even went so far as to say they would not report on the story, w/ Managing Editor Terence Samuels stating they did not want to waste their readers and listeners time on stories that are pure distractions.
The point is WHEN it was suppressed. It was suppressed immediately in Oct ‘20 because it could have swayed an election outcome. So, maybe stop playing the fool, Lee? I respect your posts, but on this one I think it’s beneath you to look the other way.
True, and different from the Soviet Union until the 1980's. However, it doesn't by itself stop the trajectory of much of what Ferguson mentioned, particularly when legitimate posts are censored, legitimate stories are buried or "debunked", etc. Yes, we can still argue, but those who disagree with the Nomenklatura narrative are de-platformed, called "alt-right", etc. Think Trump/Russia hoax, Hunter's laptop, COVID protocols and the origin of the virus, inventing genders, etc.
Perspective does not necessarily mean relativism. We can argue till the cattle come home about our economy - but perspective will tell you we have the best performing one in the entire Western world. We continually outperform Europe and everybody else. I would say even China (debatable..). With all of our issues, which are substantial, we do have the means by which to tackle them. We're just too politically divided to do it. And no one wants to fix that.
Comrade Ferguson is a legend! The Soviets would be proud of our Pravda MSM and its focus on identarian Marxism. As Niall's wife Ayaan wrote recently, Yuri tried to warn us in 1984 about subversion, demoralization, destabilization, and normalization...
Welcome to the Free Press Mr. Ferguson. If your future articles are like this one, we are all in for some good reading to come.
That’s Professor Ferguson, or even perhaps Sir Professor Ferguson in the New Year.
Such clear vision of the world! Very thankful for people like Naill
Good reading, perhaps. But balanced? Hardly..
History is history, and drawing comparisons to it is what a person is supposed to do. At least if they wish to learn anything from our past.
Lee, look around you. This essay draws comparison to history within memory that many of us hold (USSR). Have We become Them is an intellectually honest question to ask ourselves, and I’m glad Naill is here @ TFP to raise it.
Free speech did not exist in the Soviet Union - and it arguably exists in this country. Yes, we have sclerotic leaders, but vastly differing points of view are amply found at the political level here. From 1917 thru 1989 - did an opposing party exist in the USSR? And if you had a sad opposing voice against the Kremlin, where would that have gotten you?
Somewhere very cold..
Only Elon Musk as owner of X is fighting hard against censorship
Even our beloved TFree Press has started its own censorship program. All other media is actively censoring content,
The National. debt is a huge and growing monster and no one has even a suggestion as to how to tackle this. We are rapidly heading to bankruptcy
Defeating WOKEDEI insanity is destroying the already fragile and shrinking family unit.
We have private enterprise in this country -any platform can censor and have the right to. It's the government I'm talking about. Re debt - you and I knw exactly what to do re the debt. Either tax citizens more to pay for the services we expect - or cut services. Pick your poison.
Or reduce spending by scraping useless government agencies, like depts. of energy and education. There are dozens more I'm sure.
The states with the highest progressive taxation are not doing well financially. I really don’t feel like sending California more billions for (bailout or what we call the train to nowhere.
Pension actuaries pushing 20 percent growth per year, forever, are criminal and should be prosecuted, along with open borders non profit cartels with salaries courtesy of taxpayers..
Open the books has the debt load per state per capita.
The government pressured, threatened and coerced the” platforms” to censor content it claimed was not good for the country to see, or hear. This is a flagrant violation of the first Amendment. You must know this as it has been a huge scandal and is being adjudicated by SCOTUS
As for the Debt. The give is so bloated they could cut enormous sums with zero impact on services. There is no political will
Yeah, yeah - the coercion that we all heard about. I wonder what would have happened if Twitter actually said to the government forget it and go away. We're publishing what we want. Facebook as well. I haven't read anywhere what it was that the government would have threatened them with. Yes, the gov't would have been mad as hell, but what would have happened? The Post broke the laptop story - what happened to them? I don't think anything..
The govt threatened them with revocation of their immunity from lawsuits ( section 230). This is confirmed fact from testimonies in fron of Congress as well as from the Twitter files.
The govt used 51 intelligence honchos to discredit the post story , and to make it easy for all other media to not report on the laptop. That is real interference with the press to influence the election.
These are facts not personal opinion.Defending banana republic tactics to what end?
I am an independent voter.
I'll take your word for it. They got down and dirty. They have the power. But of all media companies, Facebook and Twitter could have gone toe to toe with the gov't lawyer to lawyer, they have the means - and beaten up Biden in the court of public opinion - since they have the platform. But - they chose not too.
The issue at hand is that the government violated our First Amendment rights by doing through the back door in secret what they could not do through the front door in the open. We would not know about it ( although many suspected this was going on) if not for Elon Musk and Taibbi and Shellenberger and a few others. Mike Benz( a long term intelligence officer) explains the government t censorship apparatus in his posts and YouTube videos. He is non partisan and full of facts and information.( not flashy in the slightest)
So you need “balance” over honesty?
LIKE
Do you call this balanced, equating Biden's mental state with Trump's?
"... The former cannot distinguish between his two Hispanic cabinet secretaries, Alejandro Mayorkas and Xavier Becerra. The latter muddles up Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi. ..."
Perhaps I should ask you - which one do you think is worse?
Lee, when did you stop beating your wife?
Has she been talking with you??
Ah…
honesty is in the eye of the beholder. Ferguson could have done his readers a favour by putting in some perspective as to what America still does right - and then let us decide if we’re going down the tubes or not. All he’s doing with this essay is preaching to the converted.
Are you referring to what we’ve got right nationally or globally.? Perhaps there aren’t too many things we’ve got right recently. The only one I can think of nationally is lowering the cost of diabetes drugs and globally the Abraham Accords, which occurred under Trump. In stark contrast Biden set the Middle East on fire - again.
Meanwhile as one astute poster put it this is what the Democrats are doing to get re-elected:
Worried about the youth vote? Buy them back with a massive student loan wealth transfer even after the U.S Supreme Court says you can't do it.
Worried about losing Michigan in November? Turn on Israel and pander to Hamas sympathizers to cater to the Muslim vote in the Detroit suburbs.
Worried about the quickly diminishing Black vote? Give blatantly racist speeches at the NAACP and a Black college graduation telling them how hopeless their lives are because America is so racist and hates them.
Worried about losing the organized labor vote to Trump? Suddenly like Tariffs!!
Worried in general about your opponent? Work with Dem operatives around the country to tie him up in criminal proceedings which in turn makes America no better than a banana republic.
The fact you can write what you just did is the largest reason why we can still do somethings right - enabling people to speak their minds. Not very Soviet, that.
But for how much longer will that be true under the Democrats? After all they like to jail their political opponents. They use government institutions for their own political purposes. That’s not hyperbole that’s a fact. Look at what they’ve done with Twitter, Facebook, et al, and the DOJ. The evidence is mounting.
By the way it’s not the government that gives me the right to free speech. Enshrined in the constitution it is a God given right. So I’ve no need to be thankful to any human entity that I can speak out, as your post implies.
Free speech is a right guaranteed by the US Constitution. That to me means it is our right as citizens. That mean the government of the day cannot suppress it. But a privately owned media platform can. I did not mean to say the gov't guarantees that right - and I don't know where I would have said that.
Re Dems - I'm expecting Menendez to go down the tubes. Squalid guy- and as Dem as McConnell is a Republican. Is that playacting? To make it look fair? And who's gone to jail so far? Bannon soon.. Navarro already there. They don't like showing up to Congress. I don't know, are there any others?
I don’t know what part of the world you’re from, but I’m an immigrant and do not want to see America go down the path of socialism. So as to jailing political opponents I believe you just handily made my point. Neither Bannon nor Navarro should or would be anywhere near a jail except they’re on the wrong side of the political aisle. That’s the Democrat playbook, turning us into a banana republic. They’re despicable.
By all means feel free to fill in what you think is missing and why it will overcome the trajectory Ferguson describes.
Our ability to publicly argue with one another..
You have a short memory. Hunter Biden’s laptop was buried by state media and even military apparatchiks.
the NYT and WaPo is state media? Pravda, in other words?
In the case of suppression of authenticity of HB’s laptop - YES. What rock are you still under not to see this, Lee?
The NY Post broke the story and Fox ran with it for years - how was the story suppressed? By whom? The NYT downplayed it to a zero burger, I agree. But that is their right. Does Fox report every verbal transgression Trump will utter? Not really - as is their right.
Well, there is plenty of reporting out there of the FBI as having possession of HB’s laptop well before the NY Post broke the story in Oct ‘20. Then, additional reporting of FBI led ‘scenario gaming’ w/ various social media platforms (see Twitter files) earlier in Y2020 for those media outlets to be on lookout for ‘Russian disinformation’.
After NY Post story broke on 10/14/20, Blinken (the Sr. Advisor to Biden) organized the now infamous 51 former intel signed letter stating the laptop had “all the classic earmarks of Russia information operation… and if they were right, this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election”. That letter then published on 10/19/20 and the Lie pushed out by Politico/Natasha Bertrand:
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/19/hunter-biden-story-russian-disinfo-430276
We also now know that many social media and legacy media then piled on to this Politico story. NPR even went so far as to say they would not report on the story, w/ Managing Editor Terence Samuels stating they did not want to waste their readers and listeners time on stories that are pure distractions.
The point is WHEN it was suppressed. It was suppressed immediately in Oct ‘20 because it could have swayed an election outcome. So, maybe stop playing the fool, Lee? I respect your posts, but on this one I think it’s beneath you to look the other way.
True, and different from the Soviet Union until the 1980's. However, it doesn't by itself stop the trajectory of much of what Ferguson mentioned, particularly when legitimate posts are censored, legitimate stories are buried or "debunked", etc. Yes, we can still argue, but those who disagree with the Nomenklatura narrative are de-platformed, called "alt-right", etc. Think Trump/Russia hoax, Hunter's laptop, COVID protocols and the origin of the virus, inventing genders, etc.
Perspective does not necessarily mean relativism. We can argue till the cattle come home about our economy - but perspective will tell you we have the best performing one in the entire Western world. We continually outperform Europe and everybody else. I would say even China (debatable..). With all of our issues, which are substantial, we do have the means by which to tackle them. We're just too politically divided to do it. And no one wants to fix that.
We are drowning in debt for heaven’s sake.
We have enormous debt, I agree. But so does every other industrialized country and as a % of GNP - we're better than most, if not all.
Comrade Ferguson is a legend! The Soviets would be proud of our Pravda MSM and its focus on identarian Marxism. As Niall's wife Ayaan wrote recently, Yuri tried to warn us in 1984 about subversion, demoralization, destabilization, and normalization...