I have captured the earlier comment by NCmom, as I receive an email whenever a comment is made, so I cut and pasted it and here it is again. I had provided a comment but that too was removed. IF this comment appears appropriately on the site, I will rewrite my comment. Thanks for your understanding.
NCmom
It’s about power not a virus. Control is much easier when demands are based on ideology and not objective truth. Covid is just the latest manifestation of centralizing government control over society via narrative. 1984 is playing out in front of our eyes and will continue to do so until public laws and policies become rooted in objective truth again. This administration wants policies rooted in whatever they say. It’s not just Covid. It’s ideological indoctrination of children. It’s in climate narrative that massively misrepresents the actual impact of IPCC estimates and demands rejection of clean and affordable energy like nuclear and natural gas instead opting for ecological destructive “renewables” that cannot power modern life. It’s in the narrative around Ukraine where we are supposed to ignore that Zelensky is an authoritarian and the Ukrainian government castrating captured Russian soldiers a war crime because we aren’t allowed to oppose Russia’s predictable (and preventable) invasion for what it is. No, our “leaders” demand we must lionize Zelensky as embracing an idealistic leadership style that he doesn’t actually embrace. If we don’t make up stuff to lionize an authoritarian people might be calling for peace and not to send tens of billions to the US military industrial complex to provide Ukraine with more weapons of death as we inch terrifyingly close to WW III and most of the world’s population turns their back in our neoliberal and neocon insistence on constant interference in global armed conflict that mostly just destroys live, societies, and spreads misery for over the last 2 decades. This is about the WEF’s long and clear goals to make western countries poorer. To destroy our once few societies just as they destroyed our once free economy. This is about hoping people own nothing by 2030 and demanding they be happy anyway. If you think it’s about a virus none of it makes sense, but that’s because it’s about controlling people and not a virus.
It was not removed. I deleted it personally. Explanation in comments below. Substack had not gone pro-censorship.
I deleted I believe three comments very quickly after I wrote them because I decided it was not going to change this authors mind and not worth it. When I later saw she thought Substack had deleted it, or that she had been hacked, I felt it important to own the fact that I deleted my own comments so no one was under an understandable but false impression about why the comments disappeared.
So, the government can be trusted to not lie about its war policies? I appreciate Tucker Carlson acting as a journalist rather than as a stenographer for the government when it comes to war and public health policy. In my opinion the US is responsible for engineering a coup d'etat in Ukraine in 2014, relying on Nazis to carry out the coup and to pressure the government to carry out anti-Russian policies advocated by the Nazis. There has been a civil war going on in East Ukraine since 2014, killing over 11,000 civilians and over 3,000 combatants in east Ukraine. Repressive measures taken against those who protested the coup included the herding of protesters into a trade union office building that was torched, burning to death over 40 people, others who survived after jumping out of windows were killed. Ethnic Russian in Ukraine lost their civil rights, have been denied pension payment. The Russian language was banned. The expression of "pro-Russian" views became a violation of the criminal code punishable by imprisonment. Since 2019 Zelenski has kept the leader of the most popular opposition party under house arrest for advocating "pro-Russian" policies. Since the Russian invasion, all opposition parties have been banned and the news media placed under the editorial control of the government. The government in Ukraine has been a puppet of the US and the ultra-nationalists and self-identified Nazis. The goal of the Biden administration is regime change in Russia. That was the point of using its influence over Ukraine's government to adopt a hostile attitude toward Russia and ethnic Russians. Ukraine was not formally admitted into NATO, but has been trained and equipped by NATO and conducted joint military exercises with NATO. The constitution of Ukraine was amended during the tenure of Zelenski to require the government to seek NATO membership. NATO membership has been an announced "red line" for the Russian government since 2008. In my opinion, Russia had no good options other than to militarily intervene. The US foreign policy establishment hopes that the combination of sanction and a large scale military operation will lead to a popular revolt and regime change in Russia.
I disagree completely about the Trump statement, and about Tucker Carlson. I am myself a libertarian socialist, and the libertarian part of that means that civil liberties are my primary value. Trump is perfectly entitled to think that Putin is a genius (and many share his opinion), as Carlson is entitled to inform the world about the US's support of neo-Nazis in Ukraine for the last eight years (and indeed that has been going on since WW2), as well as our biolabs there. You said it yourself--free speech is free speech, and if you don't believe in it for some, you've announced yourself as an authoritarian. You don't get to say "I don't believe in free speech for those who disagree with me, or those whose speech outrages me." If you don't agree, you are entitled to make an argument about how they are wrong. You are not entitled to silence them. Frankly, I'm sickened by your essay.
I appreciate you sharing your feedback in a civil fashion. As you recall, I asked for people's opinions. Regarding the president of Ukraine however, he's a Jew who lost many family members in the holocaust so I take exception with those calling him a Nazi. I too have lost family during the Holocaust so that is a very sensitive topic for me. Regarding censorship vs free speech, I tried to make a case about the differences between scientific debate vs people's opinions. I've shared my perspective and I'm always happy to hear others as well, again assuming that they're done in a respectful manner. That is a requirement on this site. I will not take down even the most egregious, hurtful comments because I believe it reveals a lot about the author. I will let others make judgements about their words.
Zelensky is an oligarch billionaire who appointed two Nazis to his cabinet. He himself is not a Nazi, but he sure does like make use of them to kill ethnic Russians in Donbass. HE is the one disrespecting the Jews who died in the Holocaust, not the people who point out his corruption. You are seeing things through a naive simplistic lens.
Yes!!!! I am shocked at the strong opinion in this article from an author so seemingly uniformed on the subject.
I agree Zelensky is not a Nazi, but his government funds several Ukrainian Nazi battalions who have been slaughtering Romani people, and children, in eastern Ukraine since 2014, and it seems the author is completely unaware of why people might point out the Ukrainian government literally funds Nazis. They wear Ukrainian military uniforms, are funded by the Zelensky government, are part of the Ukrainian military, attack Zekensky’s political opposition and Romani people, and have a Nazi Swastika on one arms and The Ukrainian flag on the other on their official uniforms. It’s like failing to understand why Zelensky outlawing the Russian language might be offensive to ethnic Romani who are Russian orthodox and, well, speak Russian. It would be like outlawing the Spanish language here and locking up Hispanic politicians and banning Spanish language television.
I posted the actual monologue from Tucker Carlson that was on RCP today for the author to watch. I don’t know if she has enough intellectual curiosity to listen to a different opinion for 12 minutes, but it’s there if the urge hits her.
Thank you for your comment. I have unsubscribed from this Substack because I don’t want to waste more time reading opinions of censorship proponents or those who falsely put words in the mouths of others, like Carlson, the person never actually said. I wanted to say thank you before I disappear from the thread. 💓
Before you leave NCmom - please share the links to the statements you have made about Ukrainian Nazi battalions. I would very much welcome the chance to view that, assuming it's from a reliable source, of course, who would be privy to such information. But, I'm not interested in an opinion piece about such things. I consider unsubstantiated attacks, such as you've made, as being dangerous.
How have I made an unsubstantiated attack? What “opinion” is there?
This was the quickest to find with links included. It’s one of a couple neo-Nazi battalions. If I had a couple hours I could send hundreds Datong back to 2014. Israeli, European, and even Indian news organizations have long followed this in addition to Al-Jazerra.
Second, here is an article from late 2021, again with links, where EU leaders are calling on Zelensky to release his political opposition from jail. Again, this was looking for like 15 seconds, put some time in and there are many many sources with links.
Finally, this is a letter from long ago about Yeltsins concerns over NATO expansion eastwards. It has been a well vocalized concern since literally the fall of the Soviet Union. Promises from us that NATO wouldn’t are still the foundation of Ukraine giving up their Soviet Nukes in 1994. I believe this letter was from 50 former military personal, senators, etc to Clinton in 1997 (I think it was 1997 - you can see the letter, I have kept it saved on my phone since the Biden administration came out to support Ukraine’s NATO membership in late 2021).
Please share your data with us Linda. I'd also be curious who his Nazi cabinet members are, again with a link to confirm the information. Thanks in advance for taking the time to provide this information.
Linda, I wasn't able to read the full article as I'm not a subscriber. I assume they pointed out some inaccuracies from Zelensky's speech. Whether the Ukrainians saved Jews during WWII isn't something we'll ever know for sure. I imagine many did and many didn't. Here's a question for you. Did our government save Jews who tried to emigrate to the U.S. to avoid likely torture and death? NO, the U.S. refused to accept ships that carried these immigrants to our shores. Does that mean that today the majority of Americans are antisemenic? I don't believe that's true although there has been a disturbing rise in hate crimes against Jews since the Trump administration. That is a fact that has been documented. I don't see the value in pointing out errors in political speeches. I would think republicans wouldn't want an accounting of the number of lies that were confirm that Trump made. I remember seeing the Pinocchio report following the presidential debates. I think each participant, from both parties, were guilty of making statements that weren't entirely true or simply not true at all. The amount of misinformation was easily seen by the length of Pinocchio's nose.
What the article pointed out was that taken as a whole, Ukraine supported Nazis then and now, and Zelensky himself uses those neo-Nazis to do his dirty work. The US supported Nazis in Ukraine then and now also, sheltering many Ukrainian and other Nazis after WW2.
Tucker Carlson has been speaking out against the Covid insanity from the beginning, when other talking heads at his network remained silent or even furthered the mainstream narrative. Now he's saying something you disagree with and you want him censored? I'm a bit confused why you would call for that.
Same thing for Trump, he is expressing his opinion. You may disagree, I may disagree, but he and Carlson and all Americans have every right to express their opinions. What do we do when we disagree? We write, we speak, we try to have civli discussions. Maybe in those discussions, we will learn something new, or be exposed to an idea we hadn't considered before. Open minds are the way forward. Censorship is the stuff of totalitarian nightmares.
If we support censoring ideas and opinions that we don't agree with or even believe are dangerous, then we support censorship in general.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments Vernon. You have always been respectful on this site and I appreciate that. Yes, this is a challenging issue so I welcome discussion within this community that I'm working to create. Regarding Tucker Carlson, I can't say that I've agreed with much of what he has had to say but I've never spoken out about him before now because in theory, I agree with the concept of free speech. I see this issue with Russia as an extraordinary situation. Some would argue that it's a slippery slope. Yes, I agree that it is. I certainly don't have the answers but I'm hoping some might find a creative solution. There are many examples that I struggle with regarding free speech. Is it acceptable for us to use the N word when speaking of Black people? I believe it is NOT acceptable. Is bullying acceptable? I believe it isn't. So in fact, we do make certain exceptions to free speech. I'm trying to find a way to prevent harm or to prevent flagrant misinformation from impacting people's beliefs. Look at the harm that has been done by our public health authorities who refused to consider the mountain of evidence of early treatment for Covid. That cost the likes of hundreds of thousands of Americans and countless people around the globe. I guess I'm saying that I believe we have to narrow this down a bit.....in my opinion:)
You mean like the claim that Ukraine funds nazis? Oh wait, not misinformation, but demonstrably true. Or the totally false but factually turns out to be true “misinformation” about biolabs on Russia’s border? Or about the probability Ukraine’s good at propaganda when the 13 soldiers on snake island they honored for sacrificing themselves telling the Russians F*** You are all very much alive?
This is the issue with people determining they, and they alone, are the arbiters of truth or morality. Or that some central group gets to ban opinions they, and they along seem hateful.
Tucker Carlson has one of the largest audiences in the country. If he were going around being hateful his audience would be just as tiny as CNN and MSNBC.
Iraq has nukes - lie
Iraqis will welcome us as hero’s - lie
Afghanistan is going well - lie
Trump colluded with Russia - lie
Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a girl in high school - lie
Covid vaccines are safe and effective- lie
Russia invading Ukraine in 2022 is responsible for record setting inflation the second half of 2021 - lie
Ron DeSantis passed a law banning the word gay in Florida schools - lie
Tucker Carlson supports Russia - lie
The virus came from a wet market - lie
Remote school is fine, kids are resilient - lie
The only way to keep people “safe” is vaccine mandates - lie
The winter will be of darkness and death for the unvaccinated - lie
I mean at what point do you think anyone has any business suppressing any speech? Especially dissenting speech? For 2 decades the conspiracy theorist and dissenters have a track record far superior track record of factual accuracy than our own government or any msm news agency.
You can’t have already forgotten that Covid too was deemed an “extraordinary” situation that demanded censorship.........
Have you honestly not considered what this sounds like if you change the subject but keep the language?
"I certainly don't have the answers but I'm hoping some might find a creative solution."
This is the most frustrating thing about the situation as it stands. I hear a bunch of yelling and see a lot of posturing but no real solutions to the problem. And the problem is well beyond me, and my understanding of geo politics. I'll keep my eyes and ears open to reasonable voices that are suggesting solutions. Have you read or heard any? If so please send me a link!
No Ukraine in NATO, independence for eastern provinces, recognize Crimea as Russian. This was on the table before, is still on the table, and is the most likely outcomes after a lot of death unless this becomes WW III in which case who knows.
It appears that once again, NCmom's comment has been removed. Please know that I did not remove it. Perhaps there's a bug in her computer......I'm not an IT person so I can't offer any explanation. No other comments appear to have been removed except hers and then my initial reply to her comment. Again, I did NOT delete any comments.
You can believe whatever you'd like to believe. That had never happened to me before. I was on a zoom call yesterday and the slide presentation was hacked - revealing porn instead of research data. Given that I cut and pasted your comments back onto the site, I don't understand why you insist I deleted it. I certainly never thought that substack was responsible however.
I never once accused you of deleting anything. I was very clear I deleted my own comments. I’m not sure what you think you are accomplishing by making more demonstrably false accusations against me. It’s ignoring the substation of position I posted with links to source documents , which I did at your request after you stated that me saying the Ukrainian government literally funds nazis and Zelensly banned his political opposition is an “opinion.” I showed those claims of mine were also objectively true. Just as it is objectively true that I stated I deleted my own comments.
Looks like an honest mistake to me! Try not to let things get too hot, the conversation happening here is too important to go off the rails due to a misunderstanding.
I am always happy to respond to those with different opinions as long as it is done in a respectful manner. I'm sorry to see you go but perhaps you'd be better served on another platform. I thought we had some good discussions in the past but apparently it wasn't sufficient for you. I wish you good health and happiness.
I'm afraid that prior comments have been inappropriately removed for some bizarre reason. I want those who left comments, along with my responses, to understand that I did not remove their comments. I will notify substack about this hack of my site.
Nobody hacked your site. I had called out that you did a good bit of lying in your article (Tucker has never once supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Not Once). I posted the most recent Tucker monologue to demonstrate the huge gap between his actual words and your pro-censorship accusations which he has never actually said.
I had also decided it was a waste of my time and effort so I deleted (one I deleted for typos). You promoted censorship. You showed zero historical or current understanding of the Ukrainian-Russian situation. That generally indicates and strongly closed, uninformed, and incurious mind. Kinda like the Covidians.
I am not ashamed of standing up for you in the past because I believe the past attack on you was unwarranted. It was not as unwarranted as your completely false statements in this article. It was not as dangerous as your demands that people censor, degrade or, as you did, overtly lie about those who disagree with you politically. Being anti-war is not equivalent to being pro-Putin.
Have you even bothered to watch Tucker Carlson? Zelensky locked up his formerly main political opposition in 2019 which was bad enough, but why did he recently ban ALL meaningful political opposition? Even anti-Russian political opposition? You good with that? Does the predictable and preventable “emergency” make it ok this time? Is that really democracy? Are you not concerned about the Ukrainians calling Russians cockroaches and using it as an excuse to commit war crimes by castrating captured Russians?
Speak all you want, I will always support that. But I have zero obligation to listen anymore. Your true illiberal colors have shown through in this article and while that kinda makes me sad, the perspective utterly common these days. It enables the war machines just it enables the Covidian machines.
I don’t agree with Tucker Carlson on everything by any stretch, but I agree with what he said in the monologue from last night highlighted today on RealClearPolitics.
I don’t care if you think that makes me evil because I don’t answer to your moral compass. I can sleep at night being anti-war and opposing unnecessary human suffering. I actually have children who I teach to always seek peace first, and whom already know what “fog of war” actually means.
Believe what you will. I thought you concluded that it was best to unscribe from my substack. I encourage you to do so since my values and beliefs are offensive to you. I wish you well nonetheless.
I hope you can read beyond NC Mom's tone, and look at some of the substance of what she is saying. There is a lot of good stuff in her two replies:
*Being anti-war is not equivalent to being pro-Putin.
*Control is much easier when demands are based on ideology and not objective truth.
* If we don’t make up stuff to lionize an authoritarian**, people might be calling for peace and not to send tens of billions to the US military industrial complex to provide Ukraine with more weapons of death as we inch terrifyingly close to WW III
**not sure I'd call him an authoritarian
I KNOW the mainstream media lies, and much of what they are saying about Ukraine smacks of propaganda. Isn't it OK to question what's really happening, how it happened, and what we should do? You believe the media lied about Covid, and the safety and efficacy of vaccines, as do I . It's not such a stretch that they're doing it about this conflict, is it?
People are dying over there, that is a fact. What should we do about it? I personally don't know, but. censoring people with different opinions is not a good start.
You thought Substack was deleting my comments while also referencing a response from you I have not seen (other than the one I responded to above). I felt an obligation to assure you that Substack has not turned into a pro-censorship organization.
Yes, illiberal censoring is offensive to me. On that we agree. I will not be reading or commenting beyond this. Your echo chamber is all yours (perhaps literally).
I wish for you a truly enlightened future where you consider the possibility that the same people who lied about WMDs in Iraq, great “success” in Afghanistan, and the “necessity” of “safe and effective” Covid vaccines might still be lying to you today. 😉
I don’t watch Tucker Carlson (or any MSM propaganda, for that matter), but calling for his silencing sets an extremely dangerous precedent.
We should have learned after two years of COVID censorship that those who define “misinformation” are the pathological liars attempting to suppress the truth (https://margaretannaalice.substack.com/p/dispatches-from-the-new-normal-front), and it is necessary to allow all viewpoints so people can exercise their own critical thinking tools to assess the complexities and arrive at their own conclusions accordingly.
Permitting the state or *any* entity to define facts/truth and suppress “lies”/“misinformation” is a recipe for Orwellian totalitarianism, and we are already so far down that path, it is going to take a massive effort to overturn the tyrannical suppression of free speech already underway.
It also sounds like you are missing the nuances of the Ukraine situation and falling for the mainstream propaganda about the intentions and actions, which is surprising because you were able to see through the COVID propaganda and don’t appear to realize the same puppeteers are concocting the Ukraine narrative.
Regarding the Ukraine, the situation is far more complex than the propaganda portrays. We have two WEF dictators, one in the classic flavor and the other sitcom. Zelensky is the more easily controlled, and getting the Ukraine in the EU (not to mention NATO) will ultimately serve the WEF’s New World Tyranny goals. The historic corruption in the Ukraine had led to great suffering amongst its citizens, and many who identify as Russian hope for liberation, much as those suffering under Stalin hoped for liberation by the Nazis as Solzhenitsyn describes. Clearly neither is desirable, but there are nuances not being captured by the media (big surprise).
This analysis by The Good Citizen offers an excellent overview of the complexities:
So much more damning information has come out since I wrote that comment—and now Zalensky has gone full-on totalitarian dictator by combining all media outlets into one (Ministry of Truth, anyone?), censoring free speech, outlawing different political parties, etc. Although a US proxy and WEF puppet, he has become drunk on his power and is escalating the crisis, pushing the world closer to the brink of war. I would be very cautious about aligning with such a figure, particularly given the strong Nazi component in the Ukraine and their history of atrocities against those in the Donbass, etc. This is by no means a black-and-white situation and to view it as such is as dangerous as believing the globally coordinated COVID propaganda.
Dr Rabin, I appreciate you soliciting feedback on your free speech opinions. Although I disagree strongly with many of Tucker’s views, nobody on Main Stream Media does a better job of allowing unpopular facts to be heard. You may recall that he gave Rachel Maddie her start on MSNBC when he frequently invited her on at a time when her views were considered dissident and unpopular. Now Tucker brings on peoples like Arron Mate to discuss unknown facts about Ukraine. Our leaders who navigated us through our most dangerous times, like Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy always tried to understand what other actors were thinking. Now we only try to understand the world like it’s a comic book. We need voices like Mate, former CIA presidential briefer Ray McGovern and Professor Mearsheimer for context. Otherwise we will be as easily manipulated as we were before the Iraq invasion.
THE FIRST AMENDMENT. Free speech is critical to our freedom. How can you point out the lies about Covid that have been told the last two years and then want to shut down Tucker because you disagree with his opinions. I prefer to live in an America where I can hear both sides of a discussion and make up my own mind.
Nothing is a greater threat to truth than censorship. Although Jonathan Swift's words "Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it" may be true, the fact is that absent censorship, the truth does eventually catch up and overtake the lie. The desire you display to use government (or proxy actors closely aligned with government) to halt falsehood immediately echoes similarly unproductive desires to use government to end poverty. Interference with the free interaction of individuals destroys the incentive structure that would otherwise propel us to a better (but far from perfect) world. You have seen the consequences in the COVID context. The consequences will be the same here as this principle is universally applicable. If there was some omniscient arbitrator of truth then such intervention could be highly effective. But even if such a thing exists, such an arbitrator will never be the one to control the levers of censorship.
To me what makes the most sense is just the financial motives...at least, social security in the US...the pensioners the world about, who are not valued for much these days by the likes of the WEF, though Klaus should watch out there, maybe they will iceberg him too along the way.
Show where it says a human being is supposed to be a profit making venture? I thought the goal was to more or less break even, live simply as possible. I will never understand it either.
They are indifferent to the point of psychosis or they would not be able to do this. Passion only belongs to humans, in my mind. best-read Clif High today if you haven't yet it is very inspiring.
While I agree with much of what you said, I take exception with your accusation of Dr. Rabin being a liar. Per the goings on in Ukraine, our country has been treated like mushrooms--i.e. fed shit and kept in the dark. The Dr. is thinking her way out of a pit of lies and back into objective reality just like the rest of us. The same moral compass that informs her decisions on COVID policies will show her the light on Putin's efforts to protect the Eastern Ukrainians since May 2, 2014.
I will take your point on being kinder in delivery, which is totally fair criticism.
The article was anything but kind, and I carried that tone to my response (which I don’t remember but I’m sure was bluntly worded). It’s frustrating to read people constantly put words in the mouth of Tucker Carlson he never actually said, or insist Tucker has an opinion on the Russian invasion of Ukraine that he has never once promoted. The Dr then used those demonstrably false accusations to justify calls for censorship of Tucker. I don’t get it.
I don’t get the ferocious need to silence people for opposing humans unnecessarily dying in a completely preventable ugly war that Biden and Zelensky demonstrably and knowingly provoked. I hope your assessment of the Dr is correct because the article feels more like acting like the Covidians than realizing just how much the government and msm blatantly lies to us.
The biggest concern I have for Fox viewers is that I don't believe the majority are doing critical thinking. I think many only watch this network and don't take the time to hear other voices. Perhaps the same can be said about left leaning viewers although I remember reading that those viewing CNN and MSNBC are more highly educated. IF there is true than I believe they would be more inclined toward critical thinking. That's one thing that higher education has done for those who have had the benefit of higher education. I also read an article that showed it was the most educated, the Ph.D's and scientists, who made the decision not to be vaccinated. They had the desire and skills to do a deep dive into the science and became concerned enough to avoid vaccination. They appeared on the other end of the graph, which was an inverted bell shaped curve. The other end of graph was Trump supporters who also avoided vaccination. Did they do so because of what they'd heard from Fox and their support of Trump, who despite Operation Warp Speed, didn't take a strong pro-vaccine position? I suspect they believed what they'd heard on Fox. Can we really know for sure, likely not. I realize that any time anyone questions the Free Speech issue, there will be strong voices opposing it. I accept that it's a slippery slope. I think the 2020 election is a good example of how free speech was destructive to our country. I stand firm in my belief that the election was not stolen and yet the right continues to hold firm to that conclusion. Countless recounts, countless litigation efforts....when do we say it has been proven to be true? There doesn't appear to be any room for the right to consider those realities. Every effort they have made to prove fraud has been unsuccessful. I believe something needs to change. I don't have the answers but I do have questions. I do appreciate the passion that many feel as I too feel passionate about these issues.
Here's a question for my free speech readers. We have all lived through middle school, except those who were homeschooled, and have witnessed and/or experienced the emotional dangers that teenage girls especially have
to endure during this challenging time in their lives. Hormones are ramping up and emotions run a bit wild. The pressure to conform and the bullying that existed years ago has now magnified to disturbing level. Research confirms that cyberbullying is causing increases in suicide attempts among girls, depression and anxiety in never before seen levels. We have a social media giant who has created algorithms that are intentionally designed to increase conflicts and division. The facebook whistleblower shared horrifying data that confirms the destructive influence of social media both for teen girls and for our political parties. They intentionally have created systems to cause more division in our already fractured political party. But that's free speech I guess. Do algorithms get a pass because of free speech? I certainly don't have the answers, which is why I've asked the questions for my readers. What I got back from some was verbal abuse and attacks. If asking difficult questions causes these types of reactions, how are we going to make necessary changes? Why did some responses have to be so angry with me personally? Yes, there were many whose opinions were different than my own, which were respectful and thoughtful so I don't want to ignore those. Those actually represented exactly what I had hoped to accomplish here. But to my angry readers, am I not allowed to have different opinions? Is it not o.k. to ask questions? As long as this described democratic has an awakening to your party's point of view, then we'll be happy to read her posts. Once she reverts to perceived democratic ideology then she's the enemy. Is that going to help bring about change? I don't think so. I knew when I chose to post this type of article that it would insight discussion and likely conflicts would ensue. I want all of us to learn something from this. Let's not simply say, yeah, shit happens. Let's each take responsibility for our words and actions. Am I also guilty of making assumptions and conclusions about the GOP? Of course I am. We are all human beings which means we are inherently flawed. No one is perfect, me least of all. My goal was to create a healthy, honest, open environment where people could risk sharing their feelings and beliefs without fear of attack. Can you help me accomplish that? It won't be easy but if we agree to pause before we post, that might help. Yes, our emotions get sparked and we automatically react. That's what humans do. I've learned, when writing an important yet difficult email to someone, I don't send it until the next day. That allows me sufficient distance from my initial strong feelings and gives me the opportunity to reread my words. I can't think of a single time that I didn't end up modifying those email....softening the tone perhaps. No, I don't alter the theme of what I wanted to say but I certainly find a gentler way of communicating my feelings and thoughts once I've had the chance to sleep on it. The question I ask myself is - what is my goal in sending the email? Is to attack or verbally beat up the person in an attempt to prove I'm right? Usually it's to help the other person understand my upset feelings. Does it always work? Of it doesn't but keeping my hostility and upset in check can go a long way in making progress, so I'll keep trying. I think we need to pay attention to the similarites vs the differences, otherwise we won't be able to create the environment necessary for change. Change is rarely one sided. Let's not use this site to voice our uncontrolled anger. Let's work together to precipitate change. I think we can all agree that change is needed if we're to move forward successfully as a country and as a species. As I've said, I don't have the answers but I sure have a lot of questions.
The point I was making is that algorithms influence behavior and that then influences behavior. I'm not sure where it fall directly when we're questioning issues of free speech but it is a significant influencer of aggressive behavior and speech. Obviously the founding fathers could never have imagined social media and the influence that it would service to divide our country.
It’s rather insulting that you think most “Trump supporters” only listened to Fox News. First, Fox News has been a huge supporter of the vaccines, as has Trump himself. So your claim doesn’t really hold water. They have higher incomes than Biden voters, and more personal wealth on average. They don’t have the arrogant entitled attitude of woke urbanites.
Second, do you not realize how insanely arrogant you sound? You think people who don’t get a college degree are morons? Many billionaires have only a high school degree!!! The top 25% of high school graduates out ear the bottom 40% of college within a decade. And they are far more likely to own their own business and employ others.
You really come across like a Karen. You assume people are stupid simply because they made different personal choices. You accuse them out being sheep even as the evidence points strongly to those like you and I, with money and degrees, being the actual sheep.
Fox News and Trump both pushed the vaccines!!
You talk about respectful debate but your views towards those who made different choices is loaded with judgement and condescension.
Having a degree does not make you a better or smarter person. Stop presuming it does. It’s not very becoming.
You are mistaken on who is vaccinated by education level. Its only of those with at least a bachelor’s degree that PhDs are most likely to be unvaccinated. The vaccination rate among high school graduates only is MUCH lower than college educated.
It’s also been a long time since most universities promoted critical thinking. It’s a mistake to conflate education level with intelligence these days. The correlation has weekend dramatically and that has been pretty well documented over the last decade. That was once true, but hasn’t been for a while. I say this as a 39 year old 1% with a masters degree (and we have never gotten an inheritance or trust fund).
Since you like data see the link below. 76% of US adults with at least a bachelors degree are vaccinated while only 53% with less education are. This was published March 2, 2021 and includes links to underlying data sources.
Many universities are rather illiberal and teach compliance with woke orthodoxy these days. Covid policies were entirely consistent with the individual university’s adherence to woke ideology and their degree of commitment to “shut up and think what I tell you to think” mentality which turned out to be pretty proportional to the degree and harshness of their Covidian policies from the enforcement commitment I know of first hand. This “don’t think for yourself” mentality had taken over our university system, particularly on the west coast and in the NE, long before Covid.
I wish I could find the article that showed the bell shaped curve. The reason I believe that Ph.D's are critical thinkers is that in order to gain a Ph.D., one must complete a dissertation which requires a thorough review of the pertinent literature and the design, in most cases, of a research project that answers the question that is being put forward. I did my doctoral dissertation on birth order and self esteem. I learned that in the very design of a research project, one could influence the outcome of the research. Don't even get me talking about the potential to manipulate statistics. Had I not been required to complete a doctoral dissertation, I wouldn't have been aware of that reality. It makes intuitive sense to me that those skills have enabled many people to question the "science" that the pharmaceutical industries were presenting and see them as the tainted science that they were. The flagrant conflicts of interest are easily spotted by those who are looking. I wouldn't have known to look otherwise. Can we always find a survey to support our views? Yes we can. I do believe that a college education has the potential to open people up to new ideas and new ways of seeing the world. The book Deer Hunting With Jesus tells of this very thing about the importance and opportunity of a college education. Is college for everyone? No it's not but it does have certain benefits, that in my opinion, are undenyable. Anything that expands our base of knowledge and exposes us to different ways of thinking and seeing the world is beneficial. Traveling the world is another opportunity to experience other cultures and gain insights into other ways of being and thinking. Of course not everyone used to have the luxury of international travel. Today however one can live so much less expensively in many, many interesting parts of the world. Countries in the EU are even starting "Nomad" visa programs which allow non residents to stay for 1-3 years in another country, assuming their income is through the internet, not taking away a job from the local economy. What an education that would bring to anyone taking advantage of that opportunity.
I think what you are missing is that PhDs are basically a dime a dozen now. So are college and masters degrees. Many smart people opt to forgo the expense. Many dumb people see it as a garuntee. Same in reverse.
It’s more nostalgia than reality to think college still exposes kids to all that much. For decades it’s been a socioeconomic extension of high school that attracts mostly like-minded urbanites, or those that want to be, for most non-specific degrees.
It is a logical fallacy to presume something that is no longer true still conveys value that it no longer can.
College is great for a career specific gatekeeping. Beyond that it simply isn’t offering what you think. To the extent there are philosophical classes they have become woke ideological indoctrination lectures.
Travel is not confined to any one economic level or educational level. It’s very much become a personality and desire thing.
Lots of high school graduates go into become millionaires while lots of college graduates our age still haven’t purchased a home, particularly in big cities. Income isn’t highly correlated to lifestyle either. Income compared to cost of living and net savings to grow wealth are.
Too often when looking at statistical manipulation the very different cost of living and tax liabilities are overlooked.
I agree that expanding knowledge is good, I just disagree that university is still a particularly good way to do that. It has a purpose for certain professions, but beyond that, it doesn’t really expand world views and few encourage critical thinking anymore.
And here is an updated survey from Feb 2022 again showing that those with a high school diploma only are by far the most likely to be unvaccinated. In actuality most with a doctorate degree ended up complying, but most likely because of the massive number of PhDs and MDs forced into compliance for employment.
I have captured the earlier comment by NCmom, as I receive an email whenever a comment is made, so I cut and pasted it and here it is again. I had provided a comment but that too was removed. IF this comment appears appropriately on the site, I will rewrite my comment. Thanks for your understanding.
NCmom
It’s about power not a virus. Control is much easier when demands are based on ideology and not objective truth. Covid is just the latest manifestation of centralizing government control over society via narrative. 1984 is playing out in front of our eyes and will continue to do so until public laws and policies become rooted in objective truth again. This administration wants policies rooted in whatever they say. It’s not just Covid. It’s ideological indoctrination of children. It’s in climate narrative that massively misrepresents the actual impact of IPCC estimates and demands rejection of clean and affordable energy like nuclear and natural gas instead opting for ecological destructive “renewables” that cannot power modern life. It’s in the narrative around Ukraine where we are supposed to ignore that Zelensky is an authoritarian and the Ukrainian government castrating captured Russian soldiers a war crime because we aren’t allowed to oppose Russia’s predictable (and preventable) invasion for what it is. No, our “leaders” demand we must lionize Zelensky as embracing an idealistic leadership style that he doesn’t actually embrace. If we don’t make up stuff to lionize an authoritarian people might be calling for peace and not to send tens of billions to the US military industrial complex to provide Ukraine with more weapons of death as we inch terrifyingly close to WW III and most of the world’s population turns their back in our neoliberal and neocon insistence on constant interference in global armed conflict that mostly just destroys live, societies, and spreads misery for over the last 2 decades. This is about the WEF’s long and clear goals to make western countries poorer. To destroy our once few societies just as they destroyed our once free economy. This is about hoping people own nothing by 2030 and demanding they be happy anyway. If you think it’s about a virus none of it makes sense, but that’s because it’s about controlling people and not a virus.
It is so alarming to me that this is happening on substack.
Wait, you're saying the above comment was removed? That is pretty horrifying if so...
It was not removed. I deleted it personally. Explanation in comments below. Substack had not gone pro-censorship.
I deleted I believe three comments very quickly after I wrote them because I decided it was not going to change this authors mind and not worth it. When I later saw she thought Substack had deleted it, or that she had been hacked, I felt it important to own the fact that I deleted my own comments so no one was under an understandable but false impression about why the comments disappeared.
So, the government can be trusted to not lie about its war policies? I appreciate Tucker Carlson acting as a journalist rather than as a stenographer for the government when it comes to war and public health policy. In my opinion the US is responsible for engineering a coup d'etat in Ukraine in 2014, relying on Nazis to carry out the coup and to pressure the government to carry out anti-Russian policies advocated by the Nazis. There has been a civil war going on in East Ukraine since 2014, killing over 11,000 civilians and over 3,000 combatants in east Ukraine. Repressive measures taken against those who protested the coup included the herding of protesters into a trade union office building that was torched, burning to death over 40 people, others who survived after jumping out of windows were killed. Ethnic Russian in Ukraine lost their civil rights, have been denied pension payment. The Russian language was banned. The expression of "pro-Russian" views became a violation of the criminal code punishable by imprisonment. Since 2019 Zelenski has kept the leader of the most popular opposition party under house arrest for advocating "pro-Russian" policies. Since the Russian invasion, all opposition parties have been banned and the news media placed under the editorial control of the government. The government in Ukraine has been a puppet of the US and the ultra-nationalists and self-identified Nazis. The goal of the Biden administration is regime change in Russia. That was the point of using its influence over Ukraine's government to adopt a hostile attitude toward Russia and ethnic Russians. Ukraine was not formally admitted into NATO, but has been trained and equipped by NATO and conducted joint military exercises with NATO. The constitution of Ukraine was amended during the tenure of Zelenski to require the government to seek NATO membership. NATO membership has been an announced "red line" for the Russian government since 2008. In my opinion, Russia had no good options other than to militarily intervene. The US foreign policy establishment hopes that the combination of sanction and a large scale military operation will lead to a popular revolt and regime change in Russia.
I disagree completely about the Trump statement, and about Tucker Carlson. I am myself a libertarian socialist, and the libertarian part of that means that civil liberties are my primary value. Trump is perfectly entitled to think that Putin is a genius (and many share his opinion), as Carlson is entitled to inform the world about the US's support of neo-Nazis in Ukraine for the last eight years (and indeed that has been going on since WW2), as well as our biolabs there. You said it yourself--free speech is free speech, and if you don't believe in it for some, you've announced yourself as an authoritarian. You don't get to say "I don't believe in free speech for those who disagree with me, or those whose speech outrages me." If you don't agree, you are entitled to make an argument about how they are wrong. You are not entitled to silence them. Frankly, I'm sickened by your essay.
I appreciate you sharing your feedback in a civil fashion. As you recall, I asked for people's opinions. Regarding the president of Ukraine however, he's a Jew who lost many family members in the holocaust so I take exception with those calling him a Nazi. I too have lost family during the Holocaust so that is a very sensitive topic for me. Regarding censorship vs free speech, I tried to make a case about the differences between scientific debate vs people's opinions. I've shared my perspective and I'm always happy to hear others as well, again assuming that they're done in a respectful manner. That is a requirement on this site. I will not take down even the most egregious, hurtful comments because I believe it reveals a lot about the author. I will let others make judgements about their words.
Zelensky is an oligarch billionaire who appointed two Nazis to his cabinet. He himself is not a Nazi, but he sure does like make use of them to kill ethnic Russians in Donbass. HE is the one disrespecting the Jews who died in the Holocaust, not the people who point out his corruption. You are seeing things through a naive simplistic lens.
Yes!!!! I am shocked at the strong opinion in this article from an author so seemingly uniformed on the subject.
I agree Zelensky is not a Nazi, but his government funds several Ukrainian Nazi battalions who have been slaughtering Romani people, and children, in eastern Ukraine since 2014, and it seems the author is completely unaware of why people might point out the Ukrainian government literally funds Nazis. They wear Ukrainian military uniforms, are funded by the Zelensky government, are part of the Ukrainian military, attack Zekensky’s political opposition and Romani people, and have a Nazi Swastika on one arms and The Ukrainian flag on the other on their official uniforms. It’s like failing to understand why Zelensky outlawing the Russian language might be offensive to ethnic Romani who are Russian orthodox and, well, speak Russian. It would be like outlawing the Spanish language here and locking up Hispanic politicians and banning Spanish language television.
I posted the actual monologue from Tucker Carlson that was on RCP today for the author to watch. I don’t know if she has enough intellectual curiosity to listen to a different opinion for 12 minutes, but it’s there if the urge hits her.
Thank you for your comment. I have unsubscribed from this Substack because I don’t want to waste more time reading opinions of censorship proponents or those who falsely put words in the mouths of others, like Carlson, the person never actually said. I wanted to say thank you before I disappear from the thread. 💓
Before you leave NCmom - please share the links to the statements you have made about Ukrainian Nazi battalions. I would very much welcome the chance to view that, assuming it's from a reliable source, of course, who would be privy to such information. But, I'm not interested in an opinion piece about such things. I consider unsubstantiated attacks, such as you've made, as being dangerous.
How have I made an unsubstantiated attack? What “opinion” is there?
This was the quickest to find with links included. It’s one of a couple neo-Nazi battalions. If I had a couple hours I could send hundreds Datong back to 2014. Israeli, European, and even Indian news organizations have long followed this in addition to Al-Jazerra.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment
Here is a 2018 article from LA times talking about the many neonazi groups in Ukraine attacking the Romani people
https://www.rt.com/russia/544152-eu-ukraine-detention-opposition/
Second, here is an article from late 2021, again with links, where EU leaders are calling on Zelensky to release his political opposition from jail. Again, this was looking for like 15 seconds, put some time in and there are many many sources with links.
https://www.rt.com/russia/544152-eu-ukraine-detention-opposition/
Finally, this is a letter from long ago about Yeltsins concerns over NATO expansion eastwards. It has been a well vocalized concern since literally the fall of the Soviet Union. Promises from us that NATO wouldn’t are still the foundation of Ukraine giving up their Soviet Nukes in 1994. I believe this letter was from 50 former military personal, senators, etc to Clinton in 1997 (I think it was 1997 - you can see the letter, I have kept it saved on my phone since the Biden administration came out to support Ukraine’s NATO membership in late 2021).
https://www.armscontrol.org/act/1997-06/arms-control-today/opposition-nato-expansion
Sorry, the 2018 LA times article didn’t paste. Here it is. It was still up on my phone when I was checking my links.
https://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-ukraine-neo-nazis-20180625-story.html
Curious, will you respond to the actual substantiation posted?
What in her comment is an "unsubstantiated attack"?
I am interested in getting a link that has determined he's a "billionaire". My understanding is that his net worth is about 1.5 million.
https://www.gobankingrates.com/net-worth/politicians/volodymyr-zelensky-net-worth/
Please share your data with us Linda. I'd also be curious who his Nazi cabinet members are, again with a link to confirm the information. Thanks in advance for taking the time to provide this information.
Tell me you are aware that Zelensky has:
1. Banned all political parties but his own
2. Nationalized all media so that he's sure they are promoting his own narrative.
3. Instituted a digital ID for Ukrainian citizens.
Those three things in combination with the corrupt Ukrainian oligarchy make him a FASCIST. The end.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/05/01/ukr-m01.html
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-lawmakers-tear-into-zelensky-for-holocaust-comparisons-in-knesset-speech/
https://mronline.org/2021/12/24/protecting-the-nazis-the-extraordinary-vote-of-ukraine-and-the-usa/
https://mronline.org/2022/03/05/understanding-ukrainian-nazism/
https://electronicintifada.net/content/israel-lobby-group-adl-rehabilitates-hitlers-accomplices-ukraine/35021?fbclid=IwAR11ejXCejgc8gSEQY4yFIW8iEYXPsopsLTbRit-hoqHWHszs7NG-tEdlko
https://news.antiwar.com/2022/03/16/report-secret-cia-training-program-in-eastern-ukraine-helped-prepare-for-russian-invasion/?fbclid=IwAR3VZZRgkqsYPqkT4iv-NAB14l3R3U8H6OrFUxVCIAWZc3FPBBgZqC5gu0g
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/02/11/the-resurgence-of-nazism-in-ukraine/
https://www.veteranstoday.com/2022/03/02/blockbuster-drag-queen-zelensky-found-a-billion-dollars-and-a-villa-in-miami/
2 Oliver Stone documentaries about Ukraine
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2022/03/13/on-knifes-edge-in-ukraine/
http://patricklawrence.us/patrick-lawrence-the-casualties-of-empire/
Anything about Ukraine in the prizewinning corsortiumnews.com
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment
Anything by Scott Ritter, Pepe Escobar, Richard Medhurst
https://ourhiddenhistory.org/entry/christopher-simpson-on-kpfk-1992-blowback-americas-recruitment-of-nazis-and-its-effect-on-the-cold-war?fbclid=IwAR1lw709t_3Eg3D8STguD9imqIuUdVZlM1MUkZUUz1mwS2jVyFUJUKtnQpM
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-ukrainians-saved-jews-in-the-holocaust-fact-checking-zelenskyy-s-knesset-speech-1.10687255?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=marketing&utm_campaign=Haaretz-Top-News&utm_content=903485f097
Linda, I wasn't able to read the full article as I'm not a subscriber. I assume they pointed out some inaccuracies from Zelensky's speech. Whether the Ukrainians saved Jews during WWII isn't something we'll ever know for sure. I imagine many did and many didn't. Here's a question for you. Did our government save Jews who tried to emigrate to the U.S. to avoid likely torture and death? NO, the U.S. refused to accept ships that carried these immigrants to our shores. Does that mean that today the majority of Americans are antisemenic? I don't believe that's true although there has been a disturbing rise in hate crimes against Jews since the Trump administration. That is a fact that has been documented. I don't see the value in pointing out errors in political speeches. I would think republicans wouldn't want an accounting of the number of lies that were confirm that Trump made. I remember seeing the Pinocchio report following the presidential debates. I think each participant, from both parties, were guilty of making statements that weren't entirely true or simply not true at all. The amount of misinformation was easily seen by the length of Pinocchio's nose.
What the article pointed out was that taken as a whole, Ukraine supported Nazis then and now, and Zelensky himself uses those neo-Nazis to do his dirty work. The US supported Nazis in Ukraine then and now also, sheltering many Ukrainian and other Nazis after WW2.
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/03/18/us-militarism-in-russia-around-the-world/
Respectfully disagree.
Free speech is free speech.
Tucker Carlson has been speaking out against the Covid insanity from the beginning, when other talking heads at his network remained silent or even furthered the mainstream narrative. Now he's saying something you disagree with and you want him censored? I'm a bit confused why you would call for that.
Same thing for Trump, he is expressing his opinion. You may disagree, I may disagree, but he and Carlson and all Americans have every right to express their opinions. What do we do when we disagree? We write, we speak, we try to have civli discussions. Maybe in those discussions, we will learn something new, or be exposed to an idea we hadn't considered before. Open minds are the way forward. Censorship is the stuff of totalitarian nightmares.
If we support censoring ideas and opinions that we don't agree with or even believe are dangerous, then we support censorship in general.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments Vernon. You have always been respectful on this site and I appreciate that. Yes, this is a challenging issue so I welcome discussion within this community that I'm working to create. Regarding Tucker Carlson, I can't say that I've agreed with much of what he has had to say but I've never spoken out about him before now because in theory, I agree with the concept of free speech. I see this issue with Russia as an extraordinary situation. Some would argue that it's a slippery slope. Yes, I agree that it is. I certainly don't have the answers but I'm hoping some might find a creative solution. There are many examples that I struggle with regarding free speech. Is it acceptable for us to use the N word when speaking of Black people? I believe it is NOT acceptable. Is bullying acceptable? I believe it isn't. So in fact, we do make certain exceptions to free speech. I'm trying to find a way to prevent harm or to prevent flagrant misinformation from impacting people's beliefs. Look at the harm that has been done by our public health authorities who refused to consider the mountain of evidence of early treatment for Covid. That cost the likes of hundreds of thousands of Americans and countless people around the globe. I guess I'm saying that I believe we have to narrow this down a bit.....in my opinion:)
You mean like the claim that Ukraine funds nazis? Oh wait, not misinformation, but demonstrably true. Or the totally false but factually turns out to be true “misinformation” about biolabs on Russia’s border? Or about the probability Ukraine’s good at propaganda when the 13 soldiers on snake island they honored for sacrificing themselves telling the Russians F*** You are all very much alive?
This is the issue with people determining they, and they alone, are the arbiters of truth or morality. Or that some central group gets to ban opinions they, and they along seem hateful.
Tucker Carlson has one of the largest audiences in the country. If he were going around being hateful his audience would be just as tiny as CNN and MSNBC.
Iraq has nukes - lie
Iraqis will welcome us as hero’s - lie
Afghanistan is going well - lie
Trump colluded with Russia - lie
Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a girl in high school - lie
Covid vaccines are safe and effective- lie
Russia invading Ukraine in 2022 is responsible for record setting inflation the second half of 2021 - lie
Ron DeSantis passed a law banning the word gay in Florida schools - lie
Tucker Carlson supports Russia - lie
The virus came from a wet market - lie
Remote school is fine, kids are resilient - lie
The only way to keep people “safe” is vaccine mandates - lie
The winter will be of darkness and death for the unvaccinated - lie
I mean at what point do you think anyone has any business suppressing any speech? Especially dissenting speech? For 2 decades the conspiracy theorist and dissenters have a track record far superior track record of factual accuracy than our own government or any msm news agency.
You can’t have already forgotten that Covid too was deemed an “extraordinary” situation that demanded censorship.........
Have you honestly not considered what this sounds like if you change the subject but keep the language?
I almost forgot - Hunter Biden’s laptop is Russian disinformation - LIE
"I certainly don't have the answers but I'm hoping some might find a creative solution."
This is the most frustrating thing about the situation as it stands. I hear a bunch of yelling and see a lot of posturing but no real solutions to the problem. And the problem is well beyond me, and my understanding of geo politics. I'll keep my eyes and ears open to reasonable voices that are suggesting solutions. Have you read or heard any? If so please send me a link!
Thanks, Michelle.
Thank you! I agree that "yelling and posturing" isn't helpful in any way. I believe it is destructive.
No Ukraine in NATO, independence for eastern provinces, recognize Crimea as Russian. This was on the table before, is still on the table, and is the most likely outcomes after a lot of death unless this becomes WW III in which case who knows.
It appears that once again, NCmom's comment has been removed. Please know that I did not remove it. Perhaps there's a bug in her computer......I'm not an IT person so I can't offer any explanation. No other comments appear to have been removed except hers and then my initial reply to her comment. Again, I did NOT delete any comments.
The only comments removed were removed by me. You posted one, and I stand by it. I have made my point clear on others. Substack is not censoring.
You can believe whatever you'd like to believe. That had never happened to me before. I was on a zoom call yesterday and the slide presentation was hacked - revealing porn instead of research data. Given that I cut and pasted your comments back onto the site, I don't understand why you insist I deleted it. I certainly never thought that substack was responsible however.
I never once accused you of deleting anything. I was very clear I deleted my own comments. I’m not sure what you think you are accomplishing by making more demonstrably false accusations against me. It’s ignoring the substation of position I posted with links to source documents , which I did at your request after you stated that me saying the Ukrainian government literally funds nazis and Zelensly banned his political opposition is an “opinion.” I showed those claims of mine were also objectively true. Just as it is objectively true that I stated I deleted my own comments.
Looks like an honest mistake to me! Try not to let things get too hot, the conversation happening here is too important to go off the rails due to a misunderstanding.
What a tremendous relief!
I am always happy to respond to those with different opinions as long as it is done in a respectful manner. I'm sorry to see you go but perhaps you'd be better served on another platform. I thought we had some good discussions in the past but apparently it wasn't sufficient for you. I wish you good health and happiness.
I'm afraid that prior comments have been inappropriately removed for some bizarre reason. I want those who left comments, along with my responses, to understand that I did not remove their comments. I will notify substack about this hack of my site.
Nobody hacked your site. I had called out that you did a good bit of lying in your article (Tucker has never once supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Not Once). I posted the most recent Tucker monologue to demonstrate the huge gap between his actual words and your pro-censorship accusations which he has never actually said.
I had also decided it was a waste of my time and effort so I deleted (one I deleted for typos). You promoted censorship. You showed zero historical or current understanding of the Ukrainian-Russian situation. That generally indicates and strongly closed, uninformed, and incurious mind. Kinda like the Covidians.
I am not ashamed of standing up for you in the past because I believe the past attack on you was unwarranted. It was not as unwarranted as your completely false statements in this article. It was not as dangerous as your demands that people censor, degrade or, as you did, overtly lie about those who disagree with you politically. Being anti-war is not equivalent to being pro-Putin.
Have you even bothered to watch Tucker Carlson? Zelensky locked up his formerly main political opposition in 2019 which was bad enough, but why did he recently ban ALL meaningful political opposition? Even anti-Russian political opposition? You good with that? Does the predictable and preventable “emergency” make it ok this time? Is that really democracy? Are you not concerned about the Ukrainians calling Russians cockroaches and using it as an excuse to commit war crimes by castrating captured Russians?
Speak all you want, I will always support that. But I have zero obligation to listen anymore. Your true illiberal colors have shown through in this article and while that kinda makes me sad, the perspective utterly common these days. It enables the war machines just it enables the Covidian machines.
I don’t agree with Tucker Carlson on everything by any stretch, but I agree with what he said in the monologue from last night highlighted today on RealClearPolitics.
I don’t care if you think that makes me evil because I don’t answer to your moral compass. I can sleep at night being anti-war and opposing unnecessary human suffering. I actually have children who I teach to always seek peace first, and whom already know what “fog of war” actually means.
Here is what Tucker actually said last night
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/03/22/corrupt_media__politicians_are_lying_to_you_about_zelenskyy_and_ukraines_democracy.html
Believe what you will. I thought you concluded that it was best to unscribe from my substack. I encourage you to do so since my values and beliefs are offensive to you. I wish you well nonetheless.
I hope you can read beyond NC Mom's tone, and look at some of the substance of what she is saying. There is a lot of good stuff in her two replies:
*Being anti-war is not equivalent to being pro-Putin.
*Control is much easier when demands are based on ideology and not objective truth.
* If we don’t make up stuff to lionize an authoritarian**, people might be calling for peace and not to send tens of billions to the US military industrial complex to provide Ukraine with more weapons of death as we inch terrifyingly close to WW III
**not sure I'd call him an authoritarian
I KNOW the mainstream media lies, and much of what they are saying about Ukraine smacks of propaganda. Isn't it OK to question what's really happening, how it happened, and what we should do? You believe the media lied about Covid, and the safety and efficacy of vaccines, as do I . It's not such a stretch that they're doing it about this conflict, is it?
People are dying over there, that is a fact. What should we do about it? I personally don't know, but. censoring people with different opinions is not a good start.
You thought Substack was deleting my comments while also referencing a response from you I have not seen (other than the one I responded to above). I felt an obligation to assure you that Substack has not turned into a pro-censorship organization.
Yes, illiberal censoring is offensive to me. On that we agree. I will not be reading or commenting beyond this. Your echo chamber is all yours (perhaps literally).
I wish for you a truly enlightened future where you consider the possibility that the same people who lied about WMDs in Iraq, great “success” in Afghanistan, and the “necessity” of “safe and effective” Covid vaccines might still be lying to you today. 😉
I don’t watch Tucker Carlson (or any MSM propaganda, for that matter), but calling for his silencing sets an extremely dangerous precedent.
We should have learned after two years of COVID censorship that those who define “misinformation” are the pathological liars attempting to suppress the truth (https://margaretannaalice.substack.com/p/dispatches-from-the-new-normal-front), and it is necessary to allow all viewpoints so people can exercise their own critical thinking tools to assess the complexities and arrive at their own conclusions accordingly.
Permitting the state or *any* entity to define facts/truth and suppress “lies”/“misinformation” is a recipe for Orwellian totalitarianism, and we are already so far down that path, it is going to take a massive effort to overturn the tyrannical suppression of free speech already underway.
It also sounds like you are missing the nuances of the Ukraine situation and falling for the mainstream propaganda about the intentions and actions, which is surprising because you were able to see through the COVID propaganda and don’t appear to realize the same puppeteers are concocting the Ukraine narrative.
As I encouraged Dr. Robert Malone (whose own views have since become more nuanced) in this comment (https://rwmalonemd.substack.com/p/get-prepared-for-2022/comment/5342096):
Regarding the Ukraine, the situation is far more complex than the propaganda portrays. We have two WEF dictators, one in the classic flavor and the other sitcom. Zelensky is the more easily controlled, and getting the Ukraine in the EU (not to mention NATO) will ultimately serve the WEF’s New World Tyranny goals. The historic corruption in the Ukraine had led to great suffering amongst its citizens, and many who identify as Russian hope for liberation, much as those suffering under Stalin hoped for liberation by the Nazis as Solzhenitsyn describes. Clearly neither is desirable, but there are nuances not being captured by the media (big surprise).
This analysis by The Good Citizen offers an excellent overview of the complexities:
https://thegoodcitizen.substack.com/p/ukraine-in-the-membrane
This Amazing Polly video from October 2019 is also highly illuminating:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/VHud_qBZrhM/
——
So much more damning information has come out since I wrote that comment—and now Zalensky has gone full-on totalitarian dictator by combining all media outlets into one (Ministry of Truth, anyone?), censoring free speech, outlawing different political parties, etc. Although a US proxy and WEF puppet, he has become drunk on his power and is escalating the crisis, pushing the world closer to the brink of war. I would be very cautious about aligning with such a figure, particularly given the strong Nazi component in the Ukraine and their history of atrocities against those in the Donbass, etc. This is by no means a black-and-white situation and to view it as such is as dangerous as believing the globally coordinated COVID propaganda.
Dr Rabin, I appreciate you soliciting feedback on your free speech opinions. Although I disagree strongly with many of Tucker’s views, nobody on Main Stream Media does a better job of allowing unpopular facts to be heard. You may recall that he gave Rachel Maddie her start on MSNBC when he frequently invited her on at a time when her views were considered dissident and unpopular. Now Tucker brings on peoples like Arron Mate to discuss unknown facts about Ukraine. Our leaders who navigated us through our most dangerous times, like Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy always tried to understand what other actors were thinking. Now we only try to understand the world like it’s a comic book. We need voices like Mate, former CIA presidential briefer Ray McGovern and Professor Mearsheimer for context. Otherwise we will be as easily manipulated as we were before the Iraq invasion.
THE FIRST AMENDMENT. Free speech is critical to our freedom. How can you point out the lies about Covid that have been told the last two years and then want to shut down Tucker because you disagree with his opinions. I prefer to live in an America where I can hear both sides of a discussion and make up my own mind.
Nothing is a greater threat to truth than censorship. Although Jonathan Swift's words "Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it" may be true, the fact is that absent censorship, the truth does eventually catch up and overtake the lie. The desire you display to use government (or proxy actors closely aligned with government) to halt falsehood immediately echoes similarly unproductive desires to use government to end poverty. Interference with the free interaction of individuals destroys the incentive structure that would otherwise propel us to a better (but far from perfect) world. You have seen the consequences in the COVID context. The consequences will be the same here as this principle is universally applicable. If there was some omniscient arbitrator of truth then such intervention could be highly effective. But even if such a thing exists, such an arbitrator will never be the one to control the levers of censorship.
To me what makes the most sense is just the financial motives...at least, social security in the US...the pensioners the world about, who are not valued for much these days by the likes of the WEF, though Klaus should watch out there, maybe they will iceberg him too along the way.
Show where it says a human being is supposed to be a profit making venture? I thought the goal was to more or less break even, live simply as possible. I will never understand it either.
They are indifferent to the point of psychosis or they would not be able to do this. Passion only belongs to humans, in my mind. best-read Clif High today if you haven't yet it is very inspiring.
While I agree with much of what you said, I take exception with your accusation of Dr. Rabin being a liar. Per the goings on in Ukraine, our country has been treated like mushrooms--i.e. fed shit and kept in the dark. The Dr. is thinking her way out of a pit of lies and back into objective reality just like the rest of us. The same moral compass that informs her decisions on COVID policies will show her the light on Putin's efforts to protect the Eastern Ukrainians since May 2, 2014.
Thanks for your support Bob. I appreciate that.
I will take your point on being kinder in delivery, which is totally fair criticism.
The article was anything but kind, and I carried that tone to my response (which I don’t remember but I’m sure was bluntly worded). It’s frustrating to read people constantly put words in the mouth of Tucker Carlson he never actually said, or insist Tucker has an opinion on the Russian invasion of Ukraine that he has never once promoted. The Dr then used those demonstrably false accusations to justify calls for censorship of Tucker. I don’t get it.
I don’t get the ferocious need to silence people for opposing humans unnecessarily dying in a completely preventable ugly war that Biden and Zelensky demonstrably and knowingly provoked. I hope your assessment of the Dr is correct because the article feels more like acting like the Covidians than realizing just how much the government and msm blatantly lies to us.
To all of the above - Well said Bob “thinking her way out of a pit of lies …” ! Perfect image
The biggest concern I have for Fox viewers is that I don't believe the majority are doing critical thinking. I think many only watch this network and don't take the time to hear other voices. Perhaps the same can be said about left leaning viewers although I remember reading that those viewing CNN and MSNBC are more highly educated. IF there is true than I believe they would be more inclined toward critical thinking. That's one thing that higher education has done for those who have had the benefit of higher education. I also read an article that showed it was the most educated, the Ph.D's and scientists, who made the decision not to be vaccinated. They had the desire and skills to do a deep dive into the science and became concerned enough to avoid vaccination. They appeared on the other end of the graph, which was an inverted bell shaped curve. The other end of graph was Trump supporters who also avoided vaccination. Did they do so because of what they'd heard from Fox and their support of Trump, who despite Operation Warp Speed, didn't take a strong pro-vaccine position? I suspect they believed what they'd heard on Fox. Can we really know for sure, likely not. I realize that any time anyone questions the Free Speech issue, there will be strong voices opposing it. I accept that it's a slippery slope. I think the 2020 election is a good example of how free speech was destructive to our country. I stand firm in my belief that the election was not stolen and yet the right continues to hold firm to that conclusion. Countless recounts, countless litigation efforts....when do we say it has been proven to be true? There doesn't appear to be any room for the right to consider those realities. Every effort they have made to prove fraud has been unsuccessful. I believe something needs to change. I don't have the answers but I do have questions. I do appreciate the passion that many feel as I too feel passionate about these issues.
Here's a question for my free speech readers. We have all lived through middle school, except those who were homeschooled, and have witnessed and/or experienced the emotional dangers that teenage girls especially have
to endure during this challenging time in their lives. Hormones are ramping up and emotions run a bit wild. The pressure to conform and the bullying that existed years ago has now magnified to disturbing level. Research confirms that cyberbullying is causing increases in suicide attempts among girls, depression and anxiety in never before seen levels. We have a social media giant who has created algorithms that are intentionally designed to increase conflicts and division. The facebook whistleblower shared horrifying data that confirms the destructive influence of social media both for teen girls and for our political parties. They intentionally have created systems to cause more division in our already fractured political party. But that's free speech I guess. Do algorithms get a pass because of free speech? I certainly don't have the answers, which is why I've asked the questions for my readers. What I got back from some was verbal abuse and attacks. If asking difficult questions causes these types of reactions, how are we going to make necessary changes? Why did some responses have to be so angry with me personally? Yes, there were many whose opinions were different than my own, which were respectful and thoughtful so I don't want to ignore those. Those actually represented exactly what I had hoped to accomplish here. But to my angry readers, am I not allowed to have different opinions? Is it not o.k. to ask questions? As long as this described democratic has an awakening to your party's point of view, then we'll be happy to read her posts. Once she reverts to perceived democratic ideology then she's the enemy. Is that going to help bring about change? I don't think so. I knew when I chose to post this type of article that it would insight discussion and likely conflicts would ensue. I want all of us to learn something from this. Let's not simply say, yeah, shit happens. Let's each take responsibility for our words and actions. Am I also guilty of making assumptions and conclusions about the GOP? Of course I am. We are all human beings which means we are inherently flawed. No one is perfect, me least of all. My goal was to create a healthy, honest, open environment where people could risk sharing their feelings and beliefs without fear of attack. Can you help me accomplish that? It won't be easy but if we agree to pause before we post, that might help. Yes, our emotions get sparked and we automatically react. That's what humans do. I've learned, when writing an important yet difficult email to someone, I don't send it until the next day. That allows me sufficient distance from my initial strong feelings and gives me the opportunity to reread my words. I can't think of a single time that I didn't end up modifying those email....softening the tone perhaps. No, I don't alter the theme of what I wanted to say but I certainly find a gentler way of communicating my feelings and thoughts once I've had the chance to sleep on it. The question I ask myself is - what is my goal in sending the email? Is to attack or verbally beat up the person in an attempt to prove I'm right? Usually it's to help the other person understand my upset feelings. Does it always work? Of it doesn't but keeping my hostility and upset in check can go a long way in making progress, so I'll keep trying. I think we need to pay attention to the similarites vs the differences, otherwise we won't be able to create the environment necessary for change. Change is rarely one sided. Let's not use this site to voice our uncontrolled anger. Let's work together to precipitate change. I think we can all agree that change is needed if we're to move forward successfully as a country and as a species. As I've said, I don't have the answers but I sure have a lot of questions.
How exactly are algorithms speech? That’s like calling heroine a medical treatment.
The point I was making is that algorithms influence behavior and that then influences behavior. I'm not sure where it fall directly when we're questioning issues of free speech but it is a significant influencer of aggressive behavior and speech. Obviously the founding fathers could never have imagined social media and the influence that it would service to divide our country.
Here. Some actual data from 2020. Your perception of Fox, Republicans etc should probably be questioned.
https://www.debt.org/faqs/americans-in-debt/economic-demographics-republicans/
It’s rather insulting that you think most “Trump supporters” only listened to Fox News. First, Fox News has been a huge supporter of the vaccines, as has Trump himself. So your claim doesn’t really hold water. They have higher incomes than Biden voters, and more personal wealth on average. They don’t have the arrogant entitled attitude of woke urbanites.
Second, do you not realize how insanely arrogant you sound? You think people who don’t get a college degree are morons? Many billionaires have only a high school degree!!! The top 25% of high school graduates out ear the bottom 40% of college within a decade. And they are far more likely to own their own business and employ others.
You really come across like a Karen. You assume people are stupid simply because they made different personal choices. You accuse them out being sheep even as the evidence points strongly to those like you and I, with money and degrees, being the actual sheep.
Fox News and Trump both pushed the vaccines!!
You talk about respectful debate but your views towards those who made different choices is loaded with judgement and condescension.
Having a degree does not make you a better or smarter person. Stop presuming it does. It’s not very becoming.
You are mistaken on who is vaccinated by education level. Its only of those with at least a bachelor’s degree that PhDs are most likely to be unvaccinated. The vaccination rate among high school graduates only is MUCH lower than college educated.
It’s also been a long time since most universities promoted critical thinking. It’s a mistake to conflate education level with intelligence these days. The correlation has weekend dramatically and that has been pretty well documented over the last decade. That was once true, but hasn’t been for a while. I say this as a 39 year old 1% with a masters degree (and we have never gotten an inheritance or trust fund).
Since you like data see the link below. 76% of US adults with at least a bachelors degree are vaccinated while only 53% with less education are. This was published March 2, 2021 and includes links to underlying data sources.
Many universities are rather illiberal and teach compliance with woke orthodoxy these days. Covid policies were entirely consistent with the individual university’s adherence to woke ideology and their degree of commitment to “shut up and think what I tell you to think” mentality which turned out to be pretty proportional to the degree and harshness of their Covidian policies from the enforcement commitment I know of first hand. This “don’t think for yourself” mentality had taken over our university system, particularly on the west coast and in the NE, long before Covid.
https://healthpolicy.usc.edu/evidence-base/education-is-now-a-bigger-factor-than-race-in-desire-for-covid-19-vaccine/
I wish I could find the article that showed the bell shaped curve. The reason I believe that Ph.D's are critical thinkers is that in order to gain a Ph.D., one must complete a dissertation which requires a thorough review of the pertinent literature and the design, in most cases, of a research project that answers the question that is being put forward. I did my doctoral dissertation on birth order and self esteem. I learned that in the very design of a research project, one could influence the outcome of the research. Don't even get me talking about the potential to manipulate statistics. Had I not been required to complete a doctoral dissertation, I wouldn't have been aware of that reality. It makes intuitive sense to me that those skills have enabled many people to question the "science" that the pharmaceutical industries were presenting and see them as the tainted science that they were. The flagrant conflicts of interest are easily spotted by those who are looking. I wouldn't have known to look otherwise. Can we always find a survey to support our views? Yes we can. I do believe that a college education has the potential to open people up to new ideas and new ways of seeing the world. The book Deer Hunting With Jesus tells of this very thing about the importance and opportunity of a college education. Is college for everyone? No it's not but it does have certain benefits, that in my opinion, are undenyable. Anything that expands our base of knowledge and exposes us to different ways of thinking and seeing the world is beneficial. Traveling the world is another opportunity to experience other cultures and gain insights into other ways of being and thinking. Of course not everyone used to have the luxury of international travel. Today however one can live so much less expensively in many, many interesting parts of the world. Countries in the EU are even starting "Nomad" visa programs which allow non residents to stay for 1-3 years in another country, assuming their income is through the internet, not taking away a job from the local economy. What an education that would bring to anyone taking advantage of that opportunity.
I think what you are missing is that PhDs are basically a dime a dozen now. So are college and masters degrees. Many smart people opt to forgo the expense. Many dumb people see it as a garuntee. Same in reverse.
It’s more nostalgia than reality to think college still exposes kids to all that much. For decades it’s been a socioeconomic extension of high school that attracts mostly like-minded urbanites, or those that want to be, for most non-specific degrees.
It is a logical fallacy to presume something that is no longer true still conveys value that it no longer can.
College is great for a career specific gatekeeping. Beyond that it simply isn’t offering what you think. To the extent there are philosophical classes they have become woke ideological indoctrination lectures.
Travel is not confined to any one economic level or educational level. It’s very much become a personality and desire thing.
Lots of high school graduates go into become millionaires while lots of college graduates our age still haven’t purchased a home, particularly in big cities. Income isn’t highly correlated to lifestyle either. Income compared to cost of living and net savings to grow wealth are.
Too often when looking at statistical manipulation the very different cost of living and tax liabilities are overlooked.
I agree that expanding knowledge is good, I just disagree that university is still a particularly good way to do that. It has a purpose for certain professions, but beyond that, it doesn’t really expand world views and few encourage critical thinking anymore.
And here is an updated survey from Feb 2022 again showing that those with a high school diploma only are by far the most likely to be unvaccinated. In actuality most with a doctorate degree ended up complying, but most likely because of the massive number of PhDs and MDs forced into compliance for employment.
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2022/02/02/data-wonk-who-are-the-unvaccinated/
And another
https://www.kpcnews.com/covid-19/article_1b15ac2e-8f17-5481-afa4-c186a570452d.html