House Democrats Attack 1st Amendment Rights?

[Guinan]

We are not the ones seeking to shut down the other sides speech.

I disagree with your assumption. I've spent the last five years defending myself against many pro-Trump conservatives (IRL and online), who went out of their way in a concentrated effort to silence me from speaking out against Trump. I've been disparaged, ridiculed, badgered, and cyber-bullied. My faith and my character has been repeatedly attacked. I've been accused of being anti-Christian, anti-American, and a traitor. I've been called unsavory names like 'a minion of Satan' and 'demonrat.' I've also been accused of being possessed by a demon and that's what led me to vote for Joe Biden.

Are you conservative it liberal? Which party do you primarily vote for?

I'm a lifelong conservative and a registered Republican. I registered to vote as a Republican in 1992 and I voted straight Republican up until the 2016 presidential election. I voted third party instead of voting for Trump or Clinton. I voted Democratic for the first time in the 2020 presidential election.

 

[Speedwell]

I disagree with your assumption. I've spent the last five years defending myself against many pro-Trump conservatives (IRL and online), who went out of their way in a concentrated effort to silence me from speaking out against Trump. I've been disparaged, ridiculed, badgered, and cyber-bullied. My faith and my character has been repeatedly attacked. I've been accused of being anti-Christian, anti-American, and a traitor. I've been called unsavory names like 'a minion of Satan' and 'demonrat.' I've also been accused of being possessed by a demon and that's what led me to vote for Joe Biden.



I'm a lifelong conservative and a registered Republican. I registered to vote as a Republican in 1992 and I voted straight Republican up until the 2016 presidential election. I voted third party instead of voting for Trump or Clinton. I voted Democratic for the first time in the 2020 presidential election.

I got out early, during Reagan I, and didn't vote for him again. I'm a fiscal and foreign policy conservative but not a social conservative and I could see what the Southern Strategy was doing to the Republican Party.

BTW, I empathize with your unpleasant experiences, having lived in the Bible Belt as an Episcopalian--the "wrong" kind of Christian.

 

[Albion]

I disagree with your assumption. I've spent the last five years defending myself against many pro-Trump conservatives (IRL and online), who went out of their way in a concentrated effort to silence me from speaking out against Trump. I've been disparaged, ridiculed, badgered, and cyber-bullied. My faith and my character has been repeatedly attacked. I've been accused of being anti-Christian, anti-American, and a traitor. I've been called unsavory names like 'a minion of Satan' and 'demonrat.' I've also been accused of being possessed by a demon and that's what led me to vote for Joe Biden.

Did anyone get you fired from your job over it?

Kicked off internet social groups?

Expelled from College?

Denied admission to public functions because of it?

Been physically assaulted because of it, your property vandalized, or your family members threatened?

If it's "No" to any of the above, you aren't talking about the Cancel Culture at work; it's just about you being shunned and called "unsavory names" by individuals you know. That applies to most of us in one way or another, regardless of our voting preferences.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

related to the spread of disinformation, rumors, and conspiracy theories on networks they carry.

Are you serious okay with lies?

 

[Hammster]

Are you serious okay with lies?

I’m seriously okay with various opinions and presuppositions. And I’m okay with the freedom to publicly disseminate those views. Even yours.

 

[seeking.IAM]

https://mcnerney.house.gov/sites/mcnerney.house.gov/files/McNerney-Eshoo TV Misinfo Letters - 2.22.21.pdf

Thanks for posting the original letter. It seems noteworthy that it was signed by only 2 members of Congress.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Thanks for posting the original letter. It seems noteworthy that it was signed by only 2 members of Congress.

Also, as opposed to an 'attack', it seems to be more of an open note quiz.

 

[Guinan]

I got out early, during Reagan I, and didn't vote for him again. I'm a fiscal and foreign policy conservative but not a social conservative and I could see what the Southern Strategy was doing to the Republican Party.

BTW, I empathize with your unpleasant experiences, having lived in the Bible Belt as an Episcopalian--the "wrong" kind of Christian.

I learned early on that it was considered an unforgivable sin by many pro-Trump conservatives to be conservative and against Trump. I have some relatives and former friends whom I've had to block on FB. I have some relatives and former friends who no longer speak to me. Despite all of I've been put through and experienced, I don't have any regrets about opposing Trump or voting for Biden. I stuck to my convictions. I didn't "hold my nose" and go against my conscience to support Donald Trump.

 

[Paulos23]

The more I think about this, the more I think we should have a clear separation of opinion and news from news agencies. Opinion can have news, but it can be colored by the political outlook of the reporter. News will need sources and checks before going out.

That would be one way of getting around what this letter is complaining about.

ETA: I am talking about making it clear to the viewer. I know news agencies have been doing this for a while, but they have not always been clear on the two. Maybe a notification at the start of the article or in the corner of the video.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

I’m seriously okay with various opinions and presuppositions. And I’m okay with the freedom to publicly disseminate those views. Even yours.

Yes , I get you're okay with your news stations and forums telling outright lies. As long as it help Trump. Or your party, that headed to the extreme right. And no, I'm not okay at all with the news lying to me.

 

[essentialsaltes]

What a Congressman attacking freedom of the press/speech might look like.

Judge Tosses Out Rep. Nunes’ Lawsuit Against Washington Post
Judge Dismisses Devin Nunes Lawsuit Against CNN – Deadline
Rep. Devin Nunes is suing Twitter again, saying someone else is stalking him
Devin Nunes Sues McClatchy Newspaper Chain, Alleging ‘Character Assassination’ (Published 2019)

 

[Guinan]

Did anyone get you fired from your job over it?

No, I'm a stay-at-home mom and homeschooler.

Kicked off internet social groups?

Yes.

Expelled from College?

No, I'm 47 years old and I've had a degree years before Trump hijacked the Republican Party.

Denied admission to public functions because of it?

No, I've never been very social. I've especially avoided crowds since the pandemic hit.

Been physically assaulted because of it, your property vandalized, or your family members threatened?

No, but I've had a close call.

Yes, my "Biden for President" sign was torn up in my front yard.

No, but I've been personally harassed for speaking out against Trump.

If it's "No" to any of the above, you aren't talking about the Cancel Culture at work; it's just about you being shunned and called "unsavory names" by individuals you know. That applies to most of us in one way or another, regardless of our voting preferences.

FWIW, downplaying the harassment I've experienced over the last 5 years doesn't reflect well on you.

 

[rjs330]

And there are specific limitations on freedom of the press as well.

Such as...

a. Defamation: False statements that damage a person’s reputations can lead to civil liability (and even to criminal punishment), especially when the speaker deliberately lied or said things they knew were likely false. New York Times v. Sullivan (1964).

b. True threats: Threats to commit a crime (for example, “I’ll kill you if you don’t give me your money”) can be punished. Watts v. United States (1969).

c. “Fighting words”: Face-to-face personal insults that are likely to lead to an immediate fight are punishable. Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942). But this does not include political statements that offend others and provoke them to violence. For example, civil rights or anti-abortion protesters cannot be silenced merely because passersby respond violently to their speech. Cox v. Louisiana (1965).

d. Obscenity: Hard-core, highly sexually explicit inappropriate contentography is not protected by the First Amendment. Miller v. California (1973). In practice, however, the government rarely prosecutes online distributors of such material.

e. Child inappropriate contentography: Photographs or videos involving actual children engaging in sexual conduct are punishable, because allowing such materials would create an incentive to sexually abuse children in order to produce such material. New York v. Ferber (1982).

f. Commercial advertising: Speech advertising a product or service is constitutionally protected, but not as much as other speech. For instance, the government may ban misleading commercial advertising, but it generally can’t ban misleading political speech. Virginia Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Council (1976).

Source: Freedom of Speech and the Press. More restrictions are included in the document.

We are all aware of that. These news sources don't do any of that.

 

[seeking.IAM]

It would have been more honest reporting had the lead started, "Two House Democrats..."

As is, it is sort of like saying "Repubicans blame Jewish space lasers for California wild fires."

One or two are not representative of the whole.

 

[rjs330]

I disagree with your assumption. I've spent the last five years defending myself against many pro-Trump conservatives (IRL and online), who went out of their way in a concentrated effort to silence me from speaking out against Trump. I've been disparaged, ridiculed, badgered, and cyber-bullied. My faith and my character has been repeatedly attacked. I've been accused of being anti-Christian, anti-American, and a traitor. I've been called unsavory names like 'a minion of Satan' and 'demonrat.' I've also been accused of being possessed by a demon and that's what led me to vote for Joe Biden.



I'm a lifelong conservative and a registered Republican. I registered to vote as a Republican in 1992 and I voted straight Republican up until the 2016 presidential election. I voted third party instead of voting for Trump or Clinton. I voted Democratic for the first time in the 2020 presidential election.

Well then you've experienced exactly what many conservatives have experienced from the left. Which quite frankly started this whole thing. And now conservatives have decided to fight back using the same tactics.

Which by the way I am not defending. It's wrong for anyone from any side to cyber bully, verbally assault, harass it badger people you don't agree with. The left has been doing that for years. And now they are taking it to the next step. The sad part is the left defends it and supports it.

And now there are those on the right that have decided to use the same tactics against those that disagree with them. Could it be they have had enough and have decided to fight back? I think so. Unfortunately taking on you opponents tactics doesn't always work.

It's interesting to me that the left can so those things day in and day out and have little repercussion, but if the right does it, well it's the worst thing in the world.

 

[essentialsaltes]

We are all aware of that. These news sources don't do any of that.

Maybe we should wait for the Dominion and Smartmatic defamations suits to work themselves out before we make any bold claims like this.

 

[MIDutch]

Oh yeh. One of those "conspirators" passed a few words of greeting with the Russian representative at a cocktail party or reception for diplomats--exactly what his job called for him to do.

Oh, please. Everyone outside of the trump cult knows this isn't true.

Don Jr. had meetings with Russians at the trump Tower with the expectation that he would get dirt on Biden.

Giuliani went all the way to Ukraine to meet with Russian assets looking to get dirt on Biden.

A female Russian spy specifically asked trump at a news conference what his thoughts were on US sanctions on Russia.

trump kicked his handlers and translators out of the room when he spoke with Russian representatives so that there wouldn't be a record of their conversation.

Manafort specifically presseured the RNC to change their platform in favor of pro-Russian Ukrainian interests.

Etc., etc., etc..

 

[MIDutch]

Which isn’t relevant to any of the news sources.

So Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic AREN'T suing Fox news for defamation?

Infowars and Alex Jones WEREN'T sued by the families of kindergarten kids killed in Newtown Connecticut?

Hmm. I thought I saw that in the news somewhere.

 

[Hammster]

Thanks for posting the original letter. It seems noteworthy that it was signed by only 2 members of Congress.

The same two the article was about. So far, it looks as if it was reported on accurately.

 

[Hammster]

Yes , I get you're okay with your news stations and forums telling outright lies. As long as it help Trump. Or your party, that headed to the extreme right. And no, I'm not okay at all with the news lying to me.

Here’s how you deal with news agencies lying to you. You just don’t listen to them. Simple.