Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[iam416]

However, if a private employer decides that men should not wear dresses then that is actionable discrimination. So, heh, the "private" shit only goes so far -- basically only as far "do you kneel and pray at the alter of Wokeness"?

That's where we are and it ain't getting any better. We're steaming toward legitimate Orwellian + McCarthyian shit. The best way to win an argument is to stop the other side from speaking.

[AlabamAlum]

Well, for what it’s worth, I was always in favor of employers being able to set dress codes. And in my day, we did. That right was affirmed by some court. Somewhere at one time. I believe they can still forbid dresses, but it has to be forbidden for all now.

[iam416]

Meanwhile, the NYT is running OpEds calling for the cancelling of George Washington:

“I say that we need to reconsider public monuments in public spaces. No person’s honorifics can erase the horror he or she has inflicted on others. Slave owners should not be honored with monuments in public spaces. We have museums for that, which also provide better context. This is not an erasure of history, but rather a better appreciation of the horrible truth of it.”

It's going to happen. I don't think there's any question about it. Doublespeak and the Thought Police will win the day. And probably a lot sooner than I ever would have imagined.

And, yes, the Star-Spangled Banner is doomed as is the Amercian flag. Probably will take a little longer than throwing George Washington into the fucking shitter -- where he obviously belongs. But, it'll happen.

[Dr. Strangelove]

So where does the Fairness Doctrine fit into this discussion? Once upon a time the government forced media to give both sides of a debate equal time. Conservatives gradually grew more and more angry over this policy because, one, they objected to the "Big Brother" aspects of it. And two, they believed (correctly at the time) that their side of many debates had more economic power behind them and would slowly push out liberal voices on talk radio and newspapers if you let the market decide. Which happened. Now that the shoe is on the other foot and America's biggest corporations fear the economic clout of liberals more than conservatives, conservatives say both sides deserve equal time and equal exposure. No one is safe from charges of hypocrisy here.

[AlabamAlum]

Yeah, most of our founding fathers owned or dealt slaves. It’s insane. It won’t stop with the “Dirty Dozen” either. We have seen that with Wilson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln.

[iam416]

Trump has disrespected Native communities time and again. He’s attempted to limit their voting rights and blocked critical pandemic relief. Now he’s holding a rally glorifying white supremacy at Mount Rushmore — a region once sacred to tribal communities,

Is that some crazy ass left-wing group saying that? Well, depends on what you mean by "crazy ass left-wing group" -- it's the fucking DNC.

[AlabamAlum]

[]

[iam416]

No one is safe from charges of hypocrisy here.

In politics no one is safe from hypocrisy in any arguments. That's a stupid point. It's like the slippery slope argument in that it can be applied to every political argument so that it's essentially meaningless.

The substance matters. The Fairness Doctrine was needed when there were limited broadcast options. As the spectrum opened up -- especially on TV -- it became less necessary. If you think that there are gads of viable options to Twitter/FB/YT then that's a winning argument, IMO. If you think they're essentially monopolies then see my post above.

But, it'd be hard to make the "viable option" argument as a D when you're calling MZ into testify repeatedly because you want to bully him into censoring more people. I mean, they're not calling dozens of other CEOs into testify.

In any event, the reality is that the Left controls the message. That's pretty much it. There's not real chance of avoiding the inevitable that comes from that.

[iam416]

Yeah, AA -- George Washington is dead as an American hero. He is now an American villain or soon will be.

I look forward to Fifty Cent ironically being the new face on the Dollar bill.

Strangelove applauds the change.

Yeah, most of our founding fathers owned or dealt slaves. It’s insane. It want stop with the “Dirty Dozen” either. We have seen that with Wilson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln.

Yeah, anyone who thinks there is some sort of bright line across which the Left won't step is delusional. The goal is the complete erasure of American history -- well, the complete rewriting of American history. Orwell saw the Left for what it was. I'm legitimately shocked, though, that the United States of America is going to go that way.

[AlabamAlum]

I still have a big of sympathy for the Libertarian side of this argument, but that ship sailed a long time ago. Mega monopolies were regulated well over 100 years ago and Congress and the courts have destroyed the rights of small business owners to make choices for their own businesses since then. Don't feel obligated to stick to your principles when those principles will absolutely never be applied in your favor but always applied to fuck you in the ass (e.g. "bake the cake, bigot!")

See, I would be okay with the monopoly argument, but literally anyone can built their own website, and cheaply. Hell, I have one (I hate FB so I made my own for family) and it wasn’t hard. I have videos, pics, epistles dedicated to my brilliance, etc. With a true monopoly there is no easy option like that. With posting content, there is. My site, this place, countless others. It’s easier to monetize on the big sites due to more random foot traffic, no doubt, but I would rather rule in a small town than serve a master I hated in a giant city kinda thing.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Yeah, AA -- George Washington is dead as an American hero. He is now an American villain or soon will be.

I look forward to Fifty Cent ironically being the new face on the Dollar bill.

Strangelove applauds the change.



Yeah, anyone who thinks there is some sort of bright line across which the Left won't step is delusional. The goal is the complete erasure of American history -- well, the complete rewriting of American history. Orwell saw the Left for what it was. I'm legitimately shocked, though, that the United States of America is going to go that way.

America is doomed. Maoism everywhere. Yet when I question with some skepticism why the stock market is up 700 points in a day, you tell me "shush! things are great!"

And FWIW I want Ice-T on the motherfucking $20

[iam416]

Yet when I question with some skepticism why the stock market is up 700 points in a day, you tell me "shush! things are great!"

I've come around to the illusory nature of it all. I'm just hoping it holds on until my 529s come due. I have little doubt the impending Cultural Revolution will pretty much crush my pension and any other stock market-related investment.

Eliminate opposition speech. Eliminate the filibuster. Fire away.

Is what it is.

[Dr. Strangelove]

You will find pensions of little use in the camps. You shall earn work credits by digging holes in the morning and filling them in the afternoon.

[iam416]

I'm not sure how they'll crush it, but that's certainly an option.

[Hannibal]

So where does the Fairness Doctrine fit into this discussion? Once upon a time the government forced media to give both sides of a debate equal time. Conservatives gradually grew more and more angry over this policy because, one, they objected to the "Big Brother" aspects of it. And two, they believed (correctly at the time) that their side of many debates had more economic power behind them and would slowly push out liberal voices on talk radio and newspapers if you let the market decide. Which happened. Now that the shoe is on the other foot and America's biggest corporations fear the economic clout of liberals more than conservatives, conservatives say both sides deserve equal time and equal exposure. No one is safe from charges of hypocrisy here.

Bad analogy. Those aren't the same at all. Nobody is calling for youtube to make sure that Right Wing and Left Wing ideas get equal views. Nobody is calling for Nick Fuentes or Donald Trump to be granted a five minute rebuttal to every Liberal talking point. Nobody is saying that if you watch a ten minute MSNBC video, you should be forced to watch a 10 minute Fox News video. That's precisely what the hilariously-named "Fairness" doctrine was. Liberals literally wanted the 3 hour Rush Limbaugh show to be 90 minutes of Rush and 90 minutes of Liberal rebuttal. Of course, by doing this, you are actively censoring Rush for those 90 minutes, which is why the ludicrous ""Fairness" Doctrine was accurately labeled the "Hush Rush" doctrine.

The only thing being called for is equal access to the marketplace, which people like Alex Jones, Stefan Molyneaux, and dozens of other content creators proved they could succeed in and be profitable. The Fairness Doctrine was never about equal access. Liberals weren't censored from the airwaves. They had access to the marketplace and they failed because nobody wanted to listen in that marketplace. They also had huge outlets for their information that negated the need for access to radio. The reason why there is no Liberal talk radio phenomenon is because there is no audience for it, not because it was shut down in the name of "hate speech".

You are right that I am not entitled to an audience. But I'm entitled to speak in the public square so that people are free to accept or reject my ideas. And I am at least entitled to not have that audience forcibly cut off from my by a monopolist once my message has proven to resonate with millions of people. This is precisely what Big Tech censorship has done now with dozens of popular content creators. None of this is about marketplace failure. Lara Loomer, Milo Yiannopolous, Ann Coulter, Nick Fuentes, Stefan Molyneaux, Gavin Macinnes, Alex Jones, and many others were wildly successful in the marketplace. They have to be silenced so that Liberal voices are free to tell whatever lies they want and perpetuate whatever false narratives they want (e.g. "hands up, don't shoot', "innocent jogger hunted", "cops murder man as punishment for sleeping in his car", etc)