“PragerU v. YouTube”
Are you trying to make me irritated with you?
You keep going off on these anti-pagan rants.
Read More...Friday roundup clearence
It’s Negative 24 Degrees and the Wind Isn’t Blowing. This is Why We Need Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power, Not Renewables
South Bend Mayor and Possible Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Decries "Endless War"
Bill Nye’s Latest Climate Warning: The Us Will Have To Grow Its Food In Canada
Florida Gov. DeSantis signs executive order scrapping Common Core
The 16th Amendment: How the U.S. Federal Income Tax Became D.C.'s Favorite Political Weapon
Whatever Mueller Finds, Gag-Orders and No-Knock Raids Should Appall EVERYONE.
What the Press Missed About Vanguard Founder's Fortune
“John Bogle's life is a reminder that in capitalism you can make a fortune by saving your customers money.”Venezuela Finds Out The Hard Way That Only Bitcoin Is Unconfiscatable
VA announces new rules giving veterans access to private providers
Primetime CNN, MSNBC Ignore Virginia Dems Supporting Late, Post-Term Abortions
PRESIDENT PELOSI? House Speaker holds public bill signings — to compete with Trump?
Noncitizens registered to vote in Pennsylvania and Texas show vote fraud is real
Dems Are Shocked, Shocked To Learn That 'Medicare For All' Outlaws Private Insurance
No-Knock Warrant for Deadly Drug Raid Describes Heroin and a Gun Cops Didn't Find
Yoho’s ‘Zero-for-Zero’ Sugar Plan To Curb Foreign Subsidies Returns
Water From the Air and Power From Trash
“Technology extracts at least 2,000 liters of water per day from the atmosphere at a cost of less than 2 cents per liter.”Politico: Liberals Developing New Phraseology to Hype 'Climate Change'
Europe 'coming apart before our eyes', say 30 top intellectuals
South Carolina Police Hauled in $17 Million Through Civil Asset Forfeiture Over Three Years
France’s Red Scarves: Ready-Made Counter-Protest and New Media Darlings
Howard Schultz Shoots Down Liz Warren Attack With Passionate Defense of the American Dream
An American Nightmare
“Why were there more FBI agents sent to arrest Stone than Navy SEALs sent to kill Osama bin Laden? Why jackboots in the morning in America? Here is the back story.”Don't Expect The EU To Cave On May's Brexit Deal Until The Very Last Minute
Chaos has reportedly erupted inside Facebook as employees find themselves unable to open the company's apps on their iPhones
After 4 Cops Shot in Houston, Police Promise to Go After and ‘Track’ Those Who Criticize Police
‘I’m Not Going to Enforce That’: Sheriffs Disobey New Anti-Gun Laws—Refuse to Disarm Citizens
When 'Former' Spies Run Wild, Bad Things Happen
84% of 18-24 year olds don’t know how to change a light bulb… but they think they can run the economy?
Entrepreneurship Lifts Cambodia from the Clutches of Extreme Poverty in a Single Generation
“So long as there is peace and political stability in Cambodia, the future is looking bright for this growing economy.”NANCY? Pelosi botches words, suffers face spasms, confuses Dems, GOP while vowing no border wall funding
Roger Stone faces a gag order. He has a plan to resist it.
The Unseen Costs of Humanitarian Intervention
Rep. Ilhan Omar calls for sharp tax increases on the wealthy: 'We've had it as high as 90 percent'
Oversized headline catchup
Mark Penn: FBI Trump-Russia investigation shows deep state was worse than we thought
The Shutdown Is Providing Evidence Of Private Businesses Making Government Obsolete
The shutdown’s real lesson: Government has taken hostage too much of the economy
Political Nightmares Multiply for Europe Ahead of Davos
Feds Can't Force You To Unlock Your iPhone With Finger Or Face, Judge Rules
The Game of Pseudo-Authenticity
Supreme Court to Consider Whether Police Can Order Blood Draws from Unconscious Drivers
Public Disdain For Russia Probe Intensifies, Trump Approval Climbs — IBD/TIPP Poll
Trump's Terrible Record on Property Rights
“The President's recent threat to use "the military version of eminent domain" to seize property for his border wall is just the tip of a larger iceberg of policies and legal positions inimical to constitutional property rights.”California prohibits gender-based auto insurance: report
Ladies, expect your rates to go upDemocrats Failing to Control Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green Revolution
If Republicans were smart, they'd keep quiet while the Democrats self-destructSecond Thoughts On Pot
Dems fly to Puerto Rico on chartered jet, meet with lobbyists, see 'Hamilton' as shutdown drags on
Just the Hispanic Caucus.US approved thousands of child bride requests
Oh My: Catholic Archdioceses Admit Wuerl Knew Of McCarrick Abuse Allegation In 2004
Philly residents defy the city’s controversial ‘soda tax’
Inside Facebook’s ‘cult-like’ workplace, where dissent is discouraged and employees pretend to be happy all the time
5 Things To Do About Our Culture’s Antagonism Against Men
Gab Promotes Bitcoin as 'Free Speech Money' to Over 850,000 Users
The Recession Will Be Unevenly Distributed
“Those households, enterprises and organizations that have no debt, a very low cost basis and a highly flexible, adaptable structure will survive and even prosper.”How Facebook Borrows From the NSA Playbook
5 reasons why there’s still no end to the shutdown
“They can’t end the standoff because Democrats and Republicans are trying to solve different problems”The only acceptable answer: “None of your f(ornicating) business!”
Who gave National Review the power to excommunicate?
Employee at Ford Office Fired After Disagreeing With Transgender Post
Majority Preservation Act
“The first House Democratic bill aims to hamstring opponents.”Nobel secretary regrets Obama peace prize
This Reporter Took a Deep Look Into the Science of Smoking Pot. What He Found Is Scary.
Carriers Swore They'd Stop Selling Location Data. Will They Ever?
Cory Doctorow: Disruption for Thee, But Not for Me
“Stossel: Google and Facebook Cross "The Creepy Line"”
Tuesday roundup
The Amazon Deal Shows Why We Must End Corporate Welfare
Top Ecuadorian Diplomat Destroys Guardian's Claim That Manafort Visited Assange
Migrant caravan hits tourism
Will Dems Protest Clintons, Too?
Macron Looks to Tax Measures to Curb
Truth Is What We Hide, Self-Serving Cover Stories Are What We Sell
Will Paris Riots Scuttle Climate Accord?
Revealed: Marriott's 500 Million Hack Came After A String Of Security Breaches
Paris protests reveal fracture between France’s haves and have-nots
Miseducated or Stupid?
I quit Instagram and Facebook and it made me a lot happier — and that's a big problem for social media companies
Is the FBI Raiding Whistleblowers' Homes to Protect Robert Mueller?
I deleted my Twitter account. It's a breeding ground for thoughtlessness and contempt.
Supersized Monday roundup
In Democratic circles, anti-Semitism is becoming normal
The ACLU Condemns DeVos's Title IX Reforms, Says These Due Process Safeguards 'Inappropriately Favor the Accused'
“So much for civil liberties.”Household debt hit a record high of $13.5 trillion last quarter
A Warm-Up For 2020: Arizona’s Maricopa County Just Stole The Senate Election
I'm not sure about the allegations, but I'm watching closely.GOP Audits Elections Office In County That Swung To Democrats
Hanging On: Republican Congresswoman Mia Love Is Now Favored To Prevail In Tight Re-Election Bid
Stacey Abrams Acknowledges Loss In Georgia Governor's Race
Is an ‘Internet of Ears’ the next big thing for smart homes?
SAF, NRA File Federal Lawsuit Challenging Initiative 1639
Kansas City Health Department pours bleach on food meant for homeless people
Debra Messing Joins Alyssa Milano, Condemns Anti-Semitic Women's March Leaders
Gridlocked, in Fair Weather and Foul
“New Yorkers demand that the mayor clear the roads—but only in snowstorms.”Bubble Trouble: Seattle-Bellevue Metro Housing Market Goes South
Democrats’ Way Back: Is the Resistance rooted in reality?
Identity Politics and American anti-Semitism
Brenda Snipes submits resignation as Broward elections supervisor
Hell Hath No Fury Like a Liberal Scorned: The Media Turns on Facebook and Google
Trump backs sentencing reform bill he says will give ex-inmates 'a second chance at life'
The Institutionalization of Social Justice
There's a Good Reason Many Women Make Less Than Men
Loggers support Trump's claim that wildfires caused by 'poor forest management'
Global warming alarmists pissed off by Canadian gov’t report that nukes their narrative about polar bears
“Platform Or Publisher?”
Platform Or Publisher? How Big Tech Can Be Brought To Its Knees
““Either way — platform or publisher — Big Tech loses, as long as the government forces it to one side or the other. If platform, then the FAAGs have to tolerate thought criminals using their services, just as if they were a common carrier, like a telephone utility. If publisher, then Big Tech can be sued to kingdom come and charged with innumerable violations of federal law.””
Tuesday roundup - election day
If money was really speech, there would be no legal limit to campaign donations.
Read More...Thursday roundup
Monday roundup
Headlines that don't merit their own entry
Mueller report PSA: Prepare for disappointment
TSA Announces Plans To Subject Domestic Travelers To Biometric Screening
Guilty until proven innocentPsyched at The American Psychological Association
Don't you dare question the expertsFacebook Blacklists Left-Wing Site that Praised Purge of Infowars
Unaccountable censorshipEthanol Boondoggle
“Ethanol fuel is a boondoggle that benefits Big Agra, corn farmers and refiners and no one else.”Saudis Admit Khashoggi Murder - Offer Weak Cover-Up
An Ohio University Student Said She Received Death Threats. The Police Think She Sent Them Herself.
Caravan of migrants swells to 7,000 and stretches more than a mile long as they continue marching towards the U.S. border
Tuesday roundup
Headlines that don't merit their own entry
Elizabeth Warren’s DNA Test Is ‘Useless,’ ‘Inappropriate And Wrong’ Cherokee Nation Official Says
U.S. Has 3.5 Million More Registered Voters Than Live Adults — A Red Flag For Electoral Fraud
Saudis said ready to concede writer was slain in botched interrogation
A White Woman Falsely Accused a Black 9-Year-Old Boy of Groping Her
“Surveillance footage disproves her allegations—and reminds everyone not to automatically believe victims.”How An Amateur Rap Crew Stole Surveillance Tech That Tracks Almost Every American
The Next Generation Of Democratic Leaders Wants To Move Up, But The Baby Boomers Are In The Way
I don't usually cite BuzzFeed, but this one is dead on.Washington Post: “Double or Triple” Fuel Prices to Solve the Climate Crisis
‘60 Minutes’ Was Outmatched by Trump (Column)
The FBI Doesn’t Want Users To Know Who Hacked Facebook
On Eve of Harvard Bias Trial, Dueling Rallies Show Rifts Among Asian-Americans
More Entrepreneurship Would Help Progressive Causes, But Progressives Do Not Understand It At All
Facebook Slams Independent Voices With Latest Political Purge
Understanding "Brazil’s Donald Trump"
Monday extra-big roundup
Headlines that don't merit their own entry
Top 3% of U.S. Taxpayers Paid Majority of Income Taxes in 2016
How about that? They paid more than their fair share.Gore: Jet Stream 'Getting Loopier and Wavier,' So 'We Have a Global Emergency'
Al Gore is capitalizing on the news and fear. The jet stream hasn't changed.Trump snubs Feinstein, Harris to nominate conservative judges to liberal 9th Circuit
Mary Robinson on climate change: ‘Feeling “This is too big for me” is no use to anybody’
Italian Interior Minister prepares legislature for self-defence: “No trial for those who defend their property”
‘Bitcoin and Guns, That’s the Only Way to Save This Country’
From the UkraineLibertarian and Police Accountability Pages Deleted in Facebook Purge
Golly gee whilikers, could Facebook have an agenda?Facebook has lost 30% of its value since July
500,000 Afghan migrants are ready to enter Europe via unprotected Turkish-Greek border area
Technically, isn't that an invasion?Bear spray, bloody brawls at Patriot Prayer 'law and order' march in Portland
Dozens of Witches Gather to Place Public Hex on Brett Kavanaugh
They have decided that he is guilty and they are going to be very public about itBlack Man Cuffed on His Own Property While Moving Into New Home
Venezuela Has Lost 13% of its Population in a Mass Exodus from Socialism
Fight Fizzles Before Police Arrive; Cops Start Tasing and Arresting People Anyway
Violence, Public Anger Erupts In China As Home Prices Slide
Lawsuit: KSP trooper attacks man after Facebook post
Strange doings in KentuckyFusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson in 'real legal jeopardy', GOP investigator says
Toronto's Sick Kids hospital preparing policy for euthanasia for youth over 18 that could one day apply to minors
Human 2.0 Is Almost Here: The Transhumanism Agenda Just Went Mainstream
The view from Saudi Arabia as world holds its breath
“With Saudi Arabia one of Britain's closest allies, diplomats are treating the alleged death of Jamal Khashoggi very carefully.”Thousands line up for zero-down-payment, subprime mortgages
This won't end wellHow the Heir of the White Nationalist Movement Learned to Let Go of Hatred
Congress Can’t Create an Independent and Unaccountable New Branch of Government
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was designed to be unaccountable.Bonus Saturday roundup
Headlines that don't merit their own entry
WATCH: #HimToo: Neil Patrick Harris Recalls Proposition From Whoopi Goldberg When He Was A Mid-Teen
So why isn't Goldberg being attacked over hitting on a teen?Democrats agree to confirmations of 15 Trump judges
"Principle" bows to politicsSometimes I Just Go Full Potato
“By engaging in this public surge and display of unfettered hate – for there is no other name for it – they are revealing themselves for what they really are: extreme radicals and bullies willing to do anything, including burn down the house while you are in it, to get what they want. They do not believe society’s laws and rules apply to them, because they regularly and intentionally (or stupidly) misinterpret the Law of the Land. They are encouraged to do so, and to traipse as close to the edge of anarchy as possible to get what they want, with no thought to the consequences.”I Won’t Support An Elizabeth Warren Presidency While She Appropriates My Identity
So the author would support a liar as long as she stops lying about what's important to the authorWe’re Not on the Brink of Civil War. Here’s Why.
How Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Finally United The Right Under Trump
Sad to say, totally accurate.Six Months Later, People Are Finally Realizing That FOSTA Actually Is Putting Lives At Risk
Top Ten Alternative Media Sites BANNED on Facebook and Twitter
First They Came for Alex Jones — We Told You We Were Next — We Were
What Sears’ Bankruptcy Says About Amazon’s Future
Monday roundup
Privacy and a new web?
Bet you didn't know what Facebook is doing
Censorship & corporate virtue signalling
Alex Jones is wrong almost all the time. He's not worth your time or mine. Infowars is not a good source.
Absolutely these companies have the right to decide who does and does not use their platform. It's their money after all.
But they are hypocrites when they declare that they support free speech while applying selective censorship. Especially if they allow the Islamist, the anti-semitic, the anti-conservative, the antifa, and the anti-white stuff to stay on their platforms.
That's the problem with hate speech. Somehow it's always about what the other guy said, never about what you said.
And all this still overlooks the obvious. If someone doesn't like what is in a podcast or a video, they don't have to pay attention.
Demanding it's removal for the greater good is the coward's way out. It means you don't trust someone to make their own choices. You want to meddle. You wouldn't stand for it if someone else did it to you.
People should choose for themselves. Corporations have lousy morals.
NeoNote — Online monopolies
❝❝No, they are not monopolies.NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
When I sit down at a computer, I don't have to go through Facebook to check the weather or see what is happening at this site. If I wanted to message someone on my iPod or iPad, I don't have to use Twitter.
With AT&T, if you were in an area covered you had no choice. It was your regional Bell company and AT&T or nothing. The breakup fixed that, you could choose your phone company. And today, if I am not in range of the right cell tower, my phone still works as long as I am in range of a cell tower.
Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple, all got big by offering something the competition did not have. No one was forced. Competition is the only way to reduce their hold. And the competition, like all competition, has to offer something more than "just as good as."
For a while, iOS and macOSX had software hooks so that Facebook and Twitter had easier access. That's no longer necessarily true, some of Apple's customers didn't want their data shared by companies that weren't trustworthy.
Government intervention is the last thing we need. There are already politicos who complain about "fake news" that isn't fake, it's just not what the politicos want you to think about. From the news in the last couple of days, it seems Twitter is going after conservative and libertarian users. Do we really want a world where government decides what may and may not be said?
Oh, one other thing. Monopolies rely on government support and intervention. Start regulating and you just planted a monopoly.
I agree it's a mess.
To get a site, you have to register a domain name. Then you have to get server space. If you use a company like Wordpress, you agree to carry their ads on your site in exchange for a reduced rate or free use on their server space. If you go on your own, you find a web host (like MacHighway) and you have more control over the site and advertising.
Think of it like a storefront that you have to rent. Depending on the terms of the lease, that is how much service your "landlord" provides and how much you provide to your visitors.
If Twitter provides the ability to block people you don't like, I agree that it should be available to ALL users. But the platform is not public property. The "landlord" can block out who they want when they want. But they shouldn't be shielded from the consequences of their actions. They are liable if they provide different services and benefits to their users. If it's a "free" service, then all "free" users should have the same benefits as all other "free" users. The "landlord" can ban conservatives, but if they allow conservatives (or one specific high profile conservative), then that person should have the same rights and benefits.
ETA: The real question is if the platform should ban offensive content and how that should be defined.❞❞