Canceling Free Speech

 

Is this the end of protests?

If western governments need to keep ramping up censorship, propaganda and the persecution of journalists in order to defend western freedom and democracy, is it really freedom and democracy? And, is it worth defending? —Caitlin Johnstone

 

Canceling Free Speech

by C.A. Matthews

 

The best thing about being American, in my opinion, is The Bill of Rights. The best amendment in particular is the First Amendment and the part where it says that We the People have the right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. But Americans can’t even depend on that bit anymore, and it sucks.

Thanks a lot, fascists!

If you don’t equate free speech with our right to assemble and protest, then perhaps this recent incident involving arresting the bail fundraisers for the Cop City (Weelaunee Forest) protesters  in Atlanta won’t upset you like it does me:

https://communitymovementbuilders.org/stop-cop-city/

Rights advocates warned Wednesday that the arrests of three board members of an Atlanta-based bail fund could mark the beginning of a new era in the United States’ treatment of peaceful protesters—one in which both demonstrators and those who support them are targeted by law enforcement.

...The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Atlanta Police Department carried out the arrests of Marlon Scott Kautz, Savannah Patterson, and Adele Maclean of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund (ASF).

The group offers financial support to people who have been arrested for protesting, including the dozens of people who have been detained for resisting the development of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known by critics as Cop City—a $90 million police training facility that would take up 85 acres of publicly-owned forest. From ‘Behavior of a Fascist Police State’: Legal Aid Organizers Arrested After Backing Cop City

Atlantans can’t exercise their right of free speech to protest the building of a “Murder Academy” on the one remaining piece of virgin forest in their region. They’ll risk arrest if they do, and then their compatriots will be arrested when they raise funds to bail the original protesters out of jail. Our government says murder by cops is okay, but the bailing out of peaceful protesters isn’t to be allowed and those who do bail them out risk being locked up as well.

So much for the First Amendment!

The fact of the matter is that free speech has been weaponized. (Read Weaponizing Free Speech for a sample or two of what I mean.) Anyone expressing an opinion that isn’t sanctioned by the status quo can expect to be censored, arrested, charged and/or thrown into jail without even the possibility of being bailed out.

To this black mark on the First Amendment and The Bill of Rights I say: God bless America! Let “freedom” ring! (Yeah, right. *cough, cough*)

We’re living in an era of “Cancel Culture.” Free speech isn’t seen so much as a right as a suggestion. If what you say doesn’t upset the powers-that-be and their sycophants and paid trolls, you’re okay, but don’t you dare express an opinion they don’t like. Oh no. They can't have critical thinkers who can read between the lines, can they?

This fascistic outlawing of protesters is not just happening in the US—it’s a worldwide phenomenon. A recent video from The Juice Media out of Australia demonstrates just how inventive a “Five-Eyes democracy” can be when it comes to squashing voices of dissent.

 

youtu.be/kecnSHmznic  

This short video says it well. You don’t like something your government is doing (or allowing a big corporation to do) and you and your friends get out in the streets to protest it—you’ll wind up in jail and totally bankrupt. “Cool and normal” as the Aussies say. That phrase translates to roughly, “Bend over and take it,” in American English. 

Freedom of speech and freedom of assembly have been effectively canceled. God bless… the fascists, or so it seems.

Persons of conscience are being forced into making one of two difficult choices: Go along with whatever those in charge of our “democracy” tell you is “correct thinking” nowadays and shut up, or if you can’t “love it” you're told to “leave it.”

But where can we go? More importantly, why should we be forced from our homes because fascists desire endless wars for oil and want us to cooperate with the immoral death machine, a.k.a. the Military-Industrial Complex? Don’t we lovers of peace and harmony deserve to live here as much as the warmongers? 

God bless... those who don't believe the lies.  

The West sure loves to brag about its love of “freedom and democracy” and its “free press,” but it sure doesn’t act like it gives a flying Flag Day about them. Without independent journalists and media outlets, we wouldn’t have known about the jailing of the Atlanta protesters and their bail bond funders. Without the indies' reportage, we wouldn’t know about the US national security apparatus funding and endorsing coups d’etat around the globe, would we?

Journalists of integrity are fast becoming a rare and endangered species. They find themselves harassed and threatened with prison. Journalist Matt Taibbi did after his Congressional committee testimony concerning the Twitter Files. (Read Digital McCarthyism about how Taibbi was called a “so-called journalist” by members of Congress.) Reporters Veronica Coit and Matilda Bliss in North Carolina were actually arrested and charged with trespassing while covering the eviction of homeless people in Asheville’s Aston Park. During their trial, Judge James Calvin Hill refused to acknowledge their press status or that this was a First Amendment case. He found the duo guilty. In his decision, Judge Hill stated, “They may be journalists, but there was no evidence provided to the court that they are journalists.”

American reporter Gonzalo Lira is now sitting in a Ukrainian jail because of his in-depth coverage of the war in Ukraine. When asked if the US government would help free Lira, a government spokesperson wouldn’t say if US officials would even consider asking their Ukrainian counterparts for his release. Our so-called “representatives” are okay with letting a journalist rot in jail. 

No precedence there, is there? 

Meanwhile in the UK, journalists can find themselves treated like terrorists, grilled for hours, and their computer devices taken. This is what happened to The Grayzone’s Kit Klarenburg.

As soon as journalist Kit Klarenberg landed in his home country of Britain on May 17, 2023, six anonymous plainclothes counter-terror officers detained him. They quickly escorted him to a back room, where they grilled him for over five hours about his reporting for this outlet. They also inquired about his personal opinion on everything from the current British political leadership to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From British police detain journalist Kit Klarenberg, interrogate him about The Grayzone

Aw...the smell of “freedom and democracy” wafting in on the early summer’s air! It covers over the stench of those pesky truth-telling reporters like Kit, Gonzalo, Veronica, Matilda, and Matt. Kit might even find himself locked up at Belmarsh Prison with fellow truth-seeker Julian Assange if a judge decides he's “not a journalist.” I sincerely hope not.

God bless... independent voices who keep reporting what's really happening in the world in spite of threats from the fascist state.

This summer isn’t particularly a good time of the year for me. It’s not that I don’t enjoy sunshine and picnics, because I do. It’s just that I’m not that into American “patriotic holidays” like Memorial Day, Flag Day, or the Fourth of July. There’s not much to celebrate when your mind connects these holidays with endless wars for American hegemony, senseless killing for profits, and locking up persons who protest violence and report on war. Others simply associate these holidays with hot dog eating contests, fireworks, parades, and apple pie, but I just can't anymore. 

There’s little joy to be found in any patriotic holiday pretending to be supportive of our First Amendment rights like free speech and freedom of assembly while our so-called “elected representatives" are ripping those very rights out of the people's hands. The fascists in power have ruined things for me. I honestly can’t see myself wearing red, white, and blue and waving a little flag while watching an Independence Day parade ever again.  

I just can’t, knowing what I know. I can’t approve of the evil status quo hiding behind those once sacred symbols of the flag and The Bill of Rights. I’ll have to find myself another holiday to celebrate this time of year.

I know… Happy Bastille Day!

Related Articles and Other Insightful Links:

Honest Government Ad | Anti Protest Laws (SA) https://youtu.be/kecnSHmznic

The Crushing of Free Press Continues https://www.youtube.com/live/ggZHodvFu50

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker https://pressfreedomtracker.us/

If the Police Can Decide Who Qualifies as a Journalist, There Is No Free Press  https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/02/if-the-police-can-decide-who-qualifies-as-a-journalist-there-is-no-free-press/

British police detain journalist Kit Klarenberg, interrogate him about The Grayzone https://thegrayzone.com/2023/05/30/journalist-kit-klarenberg-british-police-interrogated-grayzone/

State Department Won’t Say If It’s Working to Free US Citizen Detained in Ukraine  https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/29/state-department-wont-say-if-its-working-to-free-us-citizen-detained-in-ukraine/

15 Reasons Why Mass Media Employees Act Like Propagandists https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/15-reasons-why-mass-media-employees

Authoritarianism Keeps Surging In Western "Free Democracies"
https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/authoritarianism-keeps-surging-in/comments

‘Behavior of a Fascist Police State’: Legal Aid Organizers Arrested After Backing Cop City https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/01/behavior-of-a-fascist-police-state-legal-aid-organizers-arrested-after-backing-cop-city-protesters/

Arrest Of Bail Fund Organizers In Atlanta Sets A Dangerous Precedent https://popularresistance.org/arrest-of-bail-fund-organizers-in-atlanta-sets-a-dangerous-precedent/

The Empire! "We're Coming For All Of You!" https://indienewsnetwork.substack.com/p/the-empire-were-coming-for-all-of/comments

Supremes Declare War on Wetlands https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/31/supremes-declare-war-on-wetlands/

Lee Camp: The Threat Of Dangerous Ideas And Why We Need Them (podcast) https://popularresistance.org/lee-camp-on-the-threat-of-dangerous-ideas-and-why-we-need-them/

Dozens of GoFundMe Users Seek Funds to Flee States Passing Transphobic Laws  https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/31/dozens-of-gofundme-users-seek-funds-to-flee-states-passing-transphobic-laws/

Nearly Half Of Earth’s Animal Species Are In Decline
https://popularresistance.org/study-nearly-half-of-earths-animal-species-are-in-decline/

Police Use Water Cannons, Mass Arrest At Extinction Rebellion Protest https://popularresistance.org/police-use-water-cannons-mass-arrest-at-extinction-rebellion-protest/

The War We’re Finally Allowed to See https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/01/patrick-lawrence-the-war-were-finally-allowed-to-see/

G7 Versus Diplomacy for Ukraine https://consortiumnews.com/2023/05/31/g7-versus-diplomacy-for-ukraine/

Drone attack on Moscow aims to escalate US-NATO war with Russia https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/31/furs-m31.html

China builds global alternative as US-led financial order decays
https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/china-alternative-us-led-financial-order

FBI Reopens Assange Investigation https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/01/report-fbi-reopens-assange-investigation/

The Slow Ethnic Cleansing of Ein Samiya’s Bedouin Community
https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/01/the-slow-ethnic-cleansing-of-ein-samiyas-bedouin-community/ 

Weaponizing Free Speech https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/04/weaponizing-free-speech.html

Digital McCarthyism https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/03/digital-mccarthyism.html

Breaking News: Dr. Cornel West Announces He is Running for President https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/dr-cornel-west-announces-he-is-running

 

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The New Declaration

The New Declaration of Independence
(Rewritten slightly by C.A. Matthews)

IN THE STREETS, JULY 4, 2019

The unanimous Declaration of We The People

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with an oppressive class, the oligarchy, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all human beings are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, democratic rule should be instituted among humanity, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new democratic system of government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.  This system of government is commonly known as democratic socialism, a system that puts the rights and happiness of the working classes above those who would enslave them economically in a system that takes away from the workers and gives more rights and economic power to a small elitist class. 

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that such perverse governments that support only a small proportion of the populace at the expense of the majority long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that people are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. This happens because apathy has been bred into our society by the ruling elites, and the weakening of the power to vote for all citizens has been ongoing since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and recently evident in legislation to force photo identification at the polls and the use of Crosscheck to illegally void voters from the registry. 

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism--such is witnessed in our society today-- it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of the working classes; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former corrupt system of government. The history of the present corrupt cabal of the one-percent is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these workers. 

To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

The oligarchs have refused their Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

The oligarchs have forbidden their Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, such as Medicare For All and free provision of education, preschool through college. The ruling elite has utterly neglected to attend to these important measures and many innocents have died due to little to no adequate healthcare, and many have suffered working long hours for  slave-wages because they have found themselves in immense debt from attending college.

The oligarchs have refused to pass other Laws condemning the gerrymandering of large districts of people, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

The oligarchs have blocked Net Neutrality and misused digital technology for the sole purpose of spying on the citizens for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with their measures.

The oligarchs have dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly through worthless legislation,  keeping them enthralled to the lobbyist class to do their bidding to spread the disease of capitalism and oppressing the rights of the people, especially women and their right to bodily autonomy.

The oligarchs have refused for a long time, after the passage of Citizens United, to cause others of a higher moral character to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of representing the ninety-nine percent, have returned to the People at large meaningless and deadly laws; the workers remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of polluted and unsafe work spaces and unhealthy air, food and water for them and their families.

The oligarchs have endeavoured to prevent immigration and asylum-seeking; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising concentration camps where children are separated from their families and all are housed in filthy, unsafe and horrendous conditions. 

The oligarchs have obstructed the Administration of Justice by stacking the courts with corrupt cronies of the capitalists who treat people of color, the poor, the foreigner and women in particular harshly in the extreme.

The oligarchs have made Judges dependent on their Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries, thereby encouraging them to decide cases not on their merits but on how cases may be used to further enrich the elite classes.

The oligarchs have erected a multitude of New Offices in the Department of Homeland Security, and sent hither swarms of capitalists to harass our people and make their lives even harsher, by encouraging small businesses to close their doors by offering tax breaks to large corporations that undersell them, thus creating food deserts and further defunding public schools in the inner cities.

The oligarchs have kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. They continue to wage Wars for Oil that profit the elites at the expense of the lives and health of the workers.

The oligarchs have affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power. We live with militarized policing agencies who are often at the beck and call of Big Oil and other capitalists.

The oligarchs have combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving their Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us in the disguise of our local police:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants--especially cold-blooded murders of persons of color and other protected statuses:

For cutting off our Trade with certain parts of the world and instituting unfair trade and labor practices that profit global capitalists at the expense of  workers worldwide:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent by giving the elites tax breaks and other loopholes wherein they profit from the corrupt system, i.e. through government bailouts and corporate welfare:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury and keeping those who cannot make bail imprisoned for long lengths of time without charge:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences, such as in the case of  the journalist Julian Assange and others wrongfully imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay:

For taking away our City Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments, such as denying the right to citizens' initiative to protect our Great Lake Erie for further contamination from corporate polluters:

For blocking our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever, no matter what the people declare are their wishes, such as in the case of a woman's right of choice.

The oligarchs have plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people by the foolish denial of the climate crisis that is harshly affecting the whole of the planet.

The oligarchs have at this time transported Armies to foreign lands to accomplish works of death, desolation, and tyranny, i.e. by attempting to overthrow a duly elected government in Venezuela, and have already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

The oligarchs have constrained our fellow Citizens by making it so difficult to earn a living that some have felt to bear Arms for obscene police actions, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

The oligarchs have excited domestic insurrections amongst us, to divide and conquer us by pitting group against group in an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A President, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people and should be impeached.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our brethren throughout the world. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by our on legislatures to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the harsh and sometimes lethal circumstances of immigration and settlement here. 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the Working Class, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of the ninety-nine percent, solemnly publish and declare, That We the People are, and of Right, ought to be Free and Independent of capitalist tyranny, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the elitist class. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, what remains of our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

SIGNED: WE THE PEOPLE, THE WORKERS (the 99%) OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

If you'd like to read the actual Declaration of Independence: http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/

***

Happy Belated Juneteenth!
 
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https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/57234-on-reparations-the-question-isnt-if-but-when-and-how

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The Trump administration just sent kids BACK to the overcrowded and unsanitary detention camp in Clint, Texas.  This is the same camp where kids were urgently removed following horrific revelations: Toddlers denied diapers. Children not being able to shower. No toothbrushes, toothpaste, or even soap. This is cruel and sadistic. There is no reason children should continue to be held in these inhumane, overcrowded and unsanitary camps. They should be closed, period. Congress MUST close the camps. Add your name to our URGENT DEMAND that Congress Close the Camps This week's revelations about the Clint, Texas detention camp are SHOCKING even for this administration. Attorneys shared first-hand accounts of what it's like to be in those camps: Children coughing everywhere. Sobbing toddlers. Children trying to take care of toddlers. It's unfathomable. These are human rights abuses plain and simple -- and every day that Congress allows them to stay open is a dereliction of duty. That's why we MUST keep saying it until Congress does it:  Add your name to our URGENT DEMAND that Congress Close the Camps We've mobilized our coalition and are working with local partners to close the camps and will be sure to keep you updated on next steps. Thanks for all you do, Sandra Cordero, Director Families Belong Together

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From Friends of the Earth:

Recently a United Nations report warned that one million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction -- including bees, butterflies and other pollinators. A key driver is the widespread use of toxic pesticides on the food we eat.  

Kroger -- the largest traditional supermarket in the U.S. -- is part of the problem. The retail giant still sells food grown with toxic pesticides.

Today is Kroger’s annual shareholder meeting. It’s the perfect time to pressure the highest decision-makers at the company to stop selling food grown with toxic pesticides. And they need to feel that pressure from you, C.A.. 

Swarm Kroger’s phone lines: Demand it stop the “bee apocalypse” and stop selling food grown with toxic pesticides. 

Bee-killing neonicotinoids, monarch-harming glyphosate, and brain-damaging chlorpyrifos are still widely used in agriculture. This threatens the pollinators that help us to produce two-thirds of the food crops we eat everyday.

Imagine a world without almonds, cucumbers, apples, blueberries and peaches. That could be the reality if we don’t quickly shift away from toxic pesticides and toward organic food for all.

These pesticides are also putting our health at risk. We tested Kroger apples, spinach, cereal, and beans and found residues of these toxic pesticides. This means that the food our families buy could be laced with brain-damaging and cancer-causing pesticides.

Kroger claims to be a leader in food safety. Its website states that keeping food safe is “part of everything we do and a condition of working with Kroger for our suppliers and partners.” If Kroger is truly committed to selling safe and healthy foods, it needs to take into account the toxic pesticides present in common grocery items, especially its very own Kroger-brand foods. 

Call Kroger NOW: Demand it uphold its commitment to food safety by not selling food grown with toxic pesticides!

We know it’s possible for Kroger to eliminate harmful pesticides in its supply chain. Costco, one of the largest food retailers in the U.S., has already asked its suppliers to phase out neonicotinoids and chlorpyrifos from its fruit, vegetables, and garden plants globally. 

Across the country, concerned people like you are swarming Kroger’s phone lines demanding the company take immediate action and remove pesticide-laced food from its shelves. We can’t do this without you, C.A.. Can we count on your support in this fight?  

Make a quick call NOW: Tell Kroger that you want it to stop selling food grown with toxic pesticides immediately.

Standing with you,
Tiffany Finck-Haynes,
Pesticides and pollinators program manager,
Friends of the Earth