Archive for the ‘internet/free speech’ Category

Journalism’s “extinction event” will lead to new and better choices for news

Posted: February 4, 2024 by John Ruberry in blogs, business, culture, internet/free speech, media, News/opinion, opinion/news
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By John Ruberry

Big News is having a bad time of it. Paul Farhi, who accepted a buyout from the Washington Post, asked in the Atlantic–a magazine that is propped up by billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs–“Is American Journalism Headed Toward an ‘Extinction-Level Event?'”

With massive layoffs not only at the Post, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, but also the Los Angeles Times–and with Sports Illustrated being probably as dead as the Detroit Lions’ Super Bowl dreams–the answer may be a loud “Yes.” 

Meanwhile, in Democrat-controlled Illinois, the Illinois Local Journalism Task Force, created by legislation in 2021, is betting on the dinosaurs, that is, traditional media. Last week, the task force issued its recommendations for journalism in the Prairie State.

“Its proposals are mostly about getting taxpayers to pony up and putting government in control,” Mark Glennon says in Wirepoints, “[with] no mention of journalism’s own failures.”

Indeed, there are many failures. The glaringly obvious one–unless you work in mainstream media–is that journalists are pushing a narrative to score love from the 20 percent of the population who are far-leftists. Even in Illinois, a blue state, there are not many ultra lefties–they might make up 25 percent of the populace here.

Among the recommendations from the tax force include a whole slew of tax credits for local news sources, including for subscriptions, businesses who advertise with them, as well as for local news providers hiring reporters.

Every one of the recommendations from the task force are wretched ideas that I could eviscerate easily one by one, but to save time, I’ll move on. But not yet. Besides these tax credits, the task force recommends exempting local news sources from Illinois’ corporate income tax. 

Some states have no corporate income tax.

News should be a mass market product, not a niche offering, but the liberals in charge have turned it into that. Again, I’ll be brief. Most Americans–and yes, most Illinoisans–believe there are only two genders, and most had doubts about the COVID propaganda of 2020-21. And most of them are fed up with the lamestream media minimizing the ongoing crisis with rampant crime.

Yeah, I get it, the internet has hurt local news providers. But they didn’t adapt. The same with Big News.

Let’s talk about extinction events. Real ones. Extinction is usually portrayed as mass death, yet it’s also a mass life event. 

Following the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, the lystrosaurus, a runt buck-toothed freak reptile, thrived, along with many other emergent species. Soon, geologically speaking that is, came the dinosaurs. After the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, different small animals, mammals and birds among them–as well as fungus–prospered.

There’s never been more media–or more information–than there is now. Print newspapers are sometimes called dinosaur media.  I believe they should always be named as such. Among the new media are of course blogs such as this one, YouTube and Rumble video channels, streaming services, podcasts, and so much more. A consumer of information is now faced with a daunting challenge. Because finding enough time to sift through all of the choices–let alone absorb all of them–is impossible. 

Last Thursday, Chicago Tribune reporters held a one-day strike against its owner, Alden Capital, a hedge fund firm. “We often say, ‘Newspapers are not dying, they’re being killed,'” Gregory Pratt, a committed left-wing Trib journalist, told WGN-TV. 

Wrong, Pratt. Newspapers are being killed because journalists are emitting an unpopular product and looking down on their customers.

Let’s return to the Illinois Local Journalism Task Force. 

In its rancid report there is a map of Illinois. Counties with few media choices are marked in that map in different shades of red. One of those is McHenry, which is northwest of Chicago. I know of two great news sites reporting about McHenry County: Cal Skinner’s McHenry County Blog and the Lake and McHenry County Scanner–a suburban answer to the phenomenally successful CWB Chicago. I’m certain that the task force didn’t include these sites in their elitist media tally. 

Another fabulous Illinois news source is the aforementioned Wirepoints.

Big creatures usually don’t survive natural mass extinction events. Small ones, nimble animals, find opportunities in an altered world.

Remember, lystrosaurus made way for larger and grander beasts, such as the Tyrannosaurus rex. Today’s blog may become tomorrow’s News Corp–the parent company of Fox News, Dow Jones, HarperCollins, and so many more.

Humans will always crave information–it’s in our DNA–it is just a matter of how it’s delivered to us. We’ve come a very long away from when the evening news was a caveman squatting in front of a bonfire telling whoever was sitting in front of him how that day’s hunt went. If that prehistoric anchorman delivered fake news–“I killed six mammoths today with my bare hands!”–his audience simply walked away. Kind of like what consumers of Big News are doing now.

The dinosaur media–and the Illinois Journalism Task Force–doesn’t get it.

John Ruberry blogs regularly from the Chicago area at Marathon Pundit.

First Amendment 101 in North Andover

Posted: November 17, 2023 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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Apparently there was a big fuss about North Andover flying the Palestinian Flag.

When I first heard about it my first thought was “oh brother here is the woke Democrat left in action.”

Then I actually read the story and it changed the picture for me.

Apparently the town (like Fitchburg) allows various flags to be flown if petitioned to do so. Earlier this month the flag of Israel was flown.

A group of Palestinian supporters petitioned to have their flag flown under the same rules. There was a rather contentions meeting over it and a lot of people were angry but in the end the request was lawful and the flag is flying now.

As a very public supporter of Israel actions in Gaza to destroy Hamas let’s cut to the chase.

This was not only the right decision but the smart decision.

It was the right decision because:

  • 1st Amendment rights are supposed to be allowed equally without playing favorites
  • the proper answer to speech someone opposes is more speech
  • the proper procedures and rules were followed
  • It is right because one should always support lawful methods of public expression
  • It is right because it supports the rule of law applied equally
  • The flag in question was not one of a recognized terrorist group.
  • It’s an important lesson in citizenship and civics, particularly for the young and new arrivals
  • It is just

And it is smart because

  • You should always support peaceful forms of expression of ideas
  • You can’t demand enforcement of laws against violent expression when you don’t apply them for peaceful one
  • People who are able to vent peacefully are less likely to cross a line later
  • You can’t expect people to respect your rights if you don’t respect theirs
  • If you don’t defend those rights when in power you won’t have them when you’re not
  • if you’re opinion is worth anything it should be able to stand up to the other guys opinion being expressed
  • the right thing is always the smart thing

I can certainly understand why some would object, frankly my own 1st instinct was against it but either you’re for the rule of law or you are not and this is lawful application of the 1st Amendment.

Now if the city wants to change their rules on flags (consistent with our constitution of course) that’s up to them but the law need to be respected and enforced and the rights of citizens under that law MUST be respected.

Otherwise what’s the point of being American?

Update: A lot of people who generally agree with me disagree on this one but let me make one important point:

The Biden admin and the FBI not withstanding there actually isn’t a “I think those guys are a******s” exception to either the 1st amendment or the principle of equal application of the law.

The Right To Be An Ass With an Evil Opinion & Hate in Your Heart as Long as You Leave People Alone

Posted: October 24, 2023 by datechguy in internet/free speech
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Ben Rumson: It’s where people can someday look civilization straight in the eye and spit. and you don’t have to please anybody and you don’t have to love thy neighbor, you leave the bastard alone!

Paint Your Wagon 1969

Anyone who had read this blog over the last couple of weeks know the following:

  • I say without equivocation that Hamas is a bunch of evil murderous bastards.
  • I saw without equivocation that the anti-Semites marching for Hamas and supporting them are at best deluded useful idiots and at worst murderous bastards who are only held back by a land full of armed folks.
  • I say without equivocation that I support the law firms that have rejected candidates who have expressed support for the murder of women and children and the beheading of babies.
  • I say without equivocation that I support those who would withhold funds from schools who have defended and or expressed support for Hamas.
  • I say without equivocation that I believe schools, pols and public people who express support for those bastards should be denounced.

I believe all of those things and have expressed opinions to this effect

I also believe the following

  • I say without equivocation that the anti-Semites marching for Hamas have an absolute 1st amendment right to march in support of Hamas and even loudly express their antisemitism and even their disgusting support of beheading babies if they so choose.
  • I say without equivocation that voters if they so choose have the absolute right to support and elect if they can people who support Hamas and loudly express their antisemitism if they so choose.
  • I say without equivocation that such elected officials have the right to support policies consistent with Hamas if they so choose

All of those opinions and actions can and should have adverse consequences for said people (all of said consequences being legal) but as long as they don’t

  • physically harm the people they profess to hate,
  • destroy the property of those they hate
  • put the people they hate in physical danger
  • inhibit the rights of those they hate
  • Take any such action(s) that violate local, state or federal laws.

Then as far as I’m concerned these people can believe what they want and say what they want and even hate who they want as long. People have the right to be evil assholes but we also retain the right to call them out for the assholes that they are.

Or to paraphrase Ben Rumson: They don’t have to love their neighbor, they just need to leave him the hell alone.

I suspect they won’t leave them alone and if they don’t they deserve all they get from the law or from folks using their 2nd amendment rights to protect themselves.

Update: Apparently the right to be an ass in public is not restricted to the supporters of beheading babies:

It’s all one horrific attack, and its earliest recorded instance is John 8:44 (of the Jews): “You are of your father, the Devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the Beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth because the truth is not in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

One might forgive Mr. David Mamet for completely misinterpreting Christian scripture figuring that a Jewish man of a Jewish mother whose followers where all Jewish including some members of the Jewish elite and teachers was attacking Jews as a race. He would not be the first to do so. In fact Christ requires us to forgive him for this.

That being said I submit and suggest that at a time when Jews in general and the Jewish state in particular is under attack by enemies within and without who apparently are all in on the idea of slaughtering men women and children raping Jewish women (even the dead) and beheading babies and that the allies of said killers are marching in the streets of European and American Cities and have a huge presence of Universities and that Jews in and outside of Israel are more in need of allies than ever it just might be a bad idea to insult Christianity and Christians by a public statement claiming that the Son of God’s rebuke of those who wanted to kill him was the original blood libel against the Jewish race that he was a member of. That’s seems a pretty damn stupid thing to do right now.

But that’s just me.

Have no fear even a public insult to my God is not enough for me to change my opinion on these events or the right of Israel to respond to them. It simply forces me to pray or Mr. Mamet because that’s a non-optional doctrine of Christianity.

New YouTube, same as the old YouTube

Posted: June 2, 2023 by datechguy in internet/free speech, Uncategorized
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As of Yesterday Youtube has supposedly reversed it’s position on commentary on the 2020 elections that they disagree with. Accordingly I attempted to log back into my youtube account and when I failed I sent them this email via their system:

I understand that you have now changed your policies on election commentary due to the curbs it made on free speech. As you banned me based three commentaries I made on election 2020 (all of which had under 100 views each) coincidently just as I was about to reach 1000 subscribers, I am asking if my over a decades worth of work including thousands of hours of interviews and reports, covering not only elections local state and national all over the nation but events from CPAC to Pinball festivals to quilt shops to religious gatherings will now be restored.

Let’s see if you actually meant these words:

“In the current environment, we find that while removing this content does curb some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm.”

I pass the ball to you.

Their answer took less than 30 minutes:

Hi DaTechGuyBlog,
We have reviewed your appeal for the following:
Channel: DaTechGuyBlog
We reviewed your channel carefully, and have confirmed that it violates our Community Guidelines. We know this is probably disappointing news, but it’s our job to make sure that YouTube is a safe place for all.


In other words it’s BS.

I didn’t find it a surprise, dishonorable and dishonest people don’t suddenly start acting honorable and honest just because they put up a new stated policy. It’s a tad of a pain and it’s cost me some potential revenue at a time when things are tight but I can be proud that I didn’t compromise the right or the truth in the hope for a few dollars or some views. I got along fine long before Youtube ever existed and Rumble will do fine for me. I’ll give the last word to the English Poet Charles Mackay:

You have no enemies, you say?
Alas! my friend, the boast is poor;
He who has mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure,
Must have made foes! If you have none,
Small is the work that you have done,
You’ve hit no traitor on the hip,
You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip,
You’ve never turned the wrong to right,
You’ve been a coward in the fight.
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