October 19, 2024

Bill Maher has to — tries to — explain freedom of speech to Mark Cuban and Joe Scarborough.

103 comments:

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

Freedom of speech is like a box of chocolates, some are dark, some are sweet, and some are simply bitter. Now let us bray together.

Ice Nine said...

The bureaucrat that walked on Musk's free speech, that Cuban is calling "one idiot," did nothing different from what Cuban and Scarborough would do to him if they had the power to do so. They would shut Twitter down in a heartbeat - just like any other Trump/Musk-deranged zealot would do.

Howard said...

Freedom of speech is more like a shit sandwich. People object to it when they feel like they have no control over taking a bite.

Howard said...

Ice nine is being the thought police now. It must be nice to be able to read other people's mines.

Original Mike said...

The left's supposed, historical support of free speech was never sincere. It's just that they used to control the organs of speech. Contrary opinion was not widely distributed. That control is slipping away and they're desperately trying to maintain it. Their authoritarian core is being exposed.

Ice Nine said...

Thought police? I don't give a shit what either one of those TDs say. The "mind reading" you lamely ascribe to me is called a "surmise." People - including you - do it here all the time; it's a part of normal discourse. Got anything of substance to offer?

Wa St Blogger said...

"This is someone with power"

Exactly. And when you have all the powerful lined up on the same side, you get abuses. But they don't teach history correctly in this country so people are as ignorant as they Senator said of Henry Ford.

The prevailing sentiment in this country should be for freedom over all else, but instead we have people wanting their side to have enough power to destroy American citizens they disagree with.

Vote against the imbedded power. That is why we support Trump. He at least stands athwart some of that entrenched power.

paminwi said...

My hill to die on this election is FREE SPEECH! Abortion lovers can make killing babies their hill to die on. I hope there are more people that say free speech is more important to the longevity of our country than the ability to kill babies and given them “comfort care” if they just happen to be born alive.

loudogblog said...

The reason that rights like free speech need to be protected is that sometimes people don't like them. If everyone liked something, there would be no need to protect it by making a right. There's no clause in the Constitution saying that everyone has a legal right to like puppies because almost everyone likes puppies. The founding fathers made some things legal rights because they knew that there would be a time when the majority might not like people doing something, but it was vitally important to protect people's right to do that. (Even if it becomes unpopular.)

TaeJohnDo said...

From Tech Story: Mark Cuban Criticizes Elon Musk’s Free Speech Strategy on X: Calls It His ‘Biggest Power Play’
BY ROUNAK MAJUMDAR September 3, 2024
Cuban warns against the dangers of uncontrolled communication even as he recognizes the value of free speech. He argues that permitting damaging content to flourish on sites such as X can lead to serious consequences such as the spread of false information, division of the population, and even acts of violence.

Cuban thinks it’s critical that social media companies find a middle ground between allowing free speech and moderating information responsibly. He proposes that platforms ought to establish explicit rules and regulations to deal with objectionable material while preserving the right of users to free speech.

WHO get's to decide what this "Middle Ground" is? The fracking mark cuban's of the world - the 'experts' appointed by the democrat leftists, the people who want to destroy The Republic. That's who.

TaeJohnDo said...

So fuck them and the people who want to control free speech.

Joe Bar said...

I really dislike the episodes of Maher's show when only leftists are on. The rest of the clips from that show demonstrate how little they think of the rest of the country. One snippet asked why young men are voting for Trump, and they had that gay anti-gun twerp answer. Maher is the most centrist of that bunch.

Yancey Ward said...

Ice Nine is correct- if you gave Joe Scarborough and Mark Cuban the power to do so, they would shut Twitter down. This isn't even a stretch to surmise it- you just have to see what they said during last night's show. This is the Left- they want to define opposition as misinformation and then censor it.

Bob Boyd said...

Cuban doesn't want this one anecdotal example to give censorship a bad name.
He doesn't object to using government power to keep people from expressing their opinions. He thinks she's an idiot because she said the quiet part out loud instead of pretending the denial was for environmental reasons.

Paul said...

Freedom of speech allows you to counter with facts what others say... governments don't want anyone to say anything but the approved line. Cuban does not understand that. 'Disinformation' works both ways.

Governments themselves are guilty of 'disinformation' very often. They lie.. and they expect you to accept the lie. And the Democrats want to be in power to push those lies.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

How did Mark Cuban ever make money? He does not seem to be much of a thinker.

Dixcus said...

51 current and former members of the United States intelligence agencies, representing NSA, DOJ, FBI and CIA (to mention just a few) signed a letter prior to Biden's theft of the 2020 election that claimed that stories about Hunter Biden's laptop contents, which included a collection of child pornography and damaging evidence of Joe Biden's heinous crimes against the United States ... these government officials claimed all that was just "Russia disinformation."

Our government is evil, and we need to destroy it and replace it.

Dixcus said...

One of his very earliest customers in his first computer business was none other than H. Ross Perot ... who brought us Bill and Hillary Clinton.

That's how far back he goes into the DNC.

narciso said...

He sold his company to yahoo for an exorbitant price

Yancey Ward said...

Founded one of the first internet radio companies in the mid 1990s. A pretty smart move in my opinion but the really, really smart move was selling it to Yahoo when the money was literally at its most stupid. Had Cuban and his partners not sold the company Cuban would have been working at Best Buy at some point if he really couldn't come up with second idea.

Dixcus said...

They wouldn't shut Twitter down. Twitter is very, very valuable. Imagine you could create a place where people BELIEVE that they have free speech, but they really don't. And you can shadow-ban them in such a way that they can't detect it. And thus you can suppress their speech so that nobody really hears it.

Very, very valuable place.

Marcus Bressler said...

I will defend my 1A Free Speech rights with my vote and my 2A rights.

Dixcus said...

The fact of the matter is that the Democrat Party cannot co-exist in an environment that has free speech. This is the hill they're going to kill on. They're going to kill and kill and kill and kill and eventually we're not going to have free speech any longer. They will win.

Because we are too afraid of them.

Michael said...

We've empowered 4-5 million small minded bureaucrats to say "No"

Lucien said...

The principle of free speech (and the narrower protection of the First Amendment) doesn’t just protect unpopular opinions from the tyranny of the majority, but also protects popular opinions from the tyranny of the majority.

I bet the majority of Americans think there are only two sexes, and that gender is a synonym for sex. But they’d better not say that in their school, workplace or YouTube.

Political Junkie said...

Yep - Who would have thought 5 years ago that out of the 4, Bill would make the most sense.

tcrosse said...

We have gotten to this point of Free Speech under threat without a shot being fired.

Clyde said...

Wow, Maddow was really pissed!

Bob Boyd said...

That's the spirit!

Earnest Prole said...

I’m not hearing genuine conflict in that particular clip. Maybe it appeared later in the show.

Clyde said...

Funny thing how an immigrant like Musk understands American values like free speech, while native-born Americans like Cuban and Scarborough don't. They both would have made good East Germans.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Ah, Dot Com billionaire, then. That explains a lot.

Jersey Fled said...

Name me a communist country where free speech is permitted.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

Killer Scarborough, we all know about his sordid past, but why did Cuban turn into a shrieking, vicious Howard Stern-type libtard? I'm gonna guess that frat-boy Cuban's tech-bro past, as well as owning an NBA team, has resulted in a slew of #MeToo violations that xer is compensating for.

Mike Petrik said...

I hope so too.

RCOCEAN II said...

Scarborough is such a corrupt fake. This is a man who was elected in 1992 to congress as a Gingrich Republican. He then got his job at MSNBC as the "conservative" to Mika's "liberalism". He's now a leftwing Democrat. Just incredible. And what's amazing about Cuban, is he doesn't seem any smarter then Scarborough or Maher, which suggests his "Billions" were either handed to him, or won through luck.

RCOCEAN II said...

BTW, I'm getting so fucking tired of hearing the words "Misinformation". I think the liberal/left MSM started to use that word about 8 years ago. Somehow we got through 200 years in the USA without using it. What the fuck does it mean? "Lies"? "Half-truths"? Its hard to pin down. In reality, it just means whatever the person using doesn't like.

"Disinformation" is even worse. English has such a rich vocabulary and here we are puting "dis" and "Mis" in front of a noun like we're ESL speakers.

RCOCEAN II said...

We used to have English teachers who would push back against this abuse of the English language, but I guess they're all wearing pussy hats now and marching against Trump.

Iman said...

The Caliunicornia Coastal Commission has been an overstepping, out of control entity for a longtime now.

And - unsurprisingly - Cuban and Scarborough have been loud-mouthed idiots for a long, long time.

As is their right.

Iman said...

“anything of substance”? Howard?

Not without corn he doesn’t !

rhhardin said...

Freedom of speech makes no sense to the young because every idea is refuted with an ad hominem. Actually cognitive dissonance being expressed. My current ideas and feelings are better than anything you could dream up.

rhhardin said...

There are more words in English than the lexicographer lists, meaning that you can use one and everybody will understand its nuances, what counts as it and what doesn't count as it, and where the undecided boundaries are. Misinformation is something wrong expressed in the guise of being right.

Peachy said...

Good luck.
Anti-free speech neo-leftist fascists have thick skulls - and are arrogantly loyal to making sure we don't get to know about anything negative about corruption on the left.

o o o o - What? ... Hitching a ride on literally Hiter?
"Democrats in tight Senate races run ads touting their work with Trump "

Quaestor said...

When the brain is gone explanation is impossible. Thereafter only Pavlovian conditioning works. The Woke need to become the Wired. Every time they try to suppress or corrupt a Constitutional right, they'll get a painful shock. They still won't learn, but dread is the next best thing.

Milwaukie guy said...

There are four boxes: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.

Milwaukie guy said...

If you hate on Elon Musk you're probably some kind of communist.

Bob Boyd said...

I noticed that too, with my Dem and some Trump hating Republican friends and acquaintances. They never address the issue at hand, they always go to the ad hominem attack. Their opinion on any given issue seems to depend entirely on who they associate it with. Fundamental, core values like free speech are completely abandoned in the process. Most of these people aren't young though.

Jupiter said...

Maher really shouldn't be providing a platform to a crypto-fascist ignoramus like Joe Scarborough.

Bob Boyd said...

Misinformation is something that varies from the narrative. It's not about true and false.

Jupiter said...

If Cuban were filthy rich, he could buy X, rename it "Twaddle", and run it however he liked.

RCOCEAN II said...

Misinformation Dictionary definition: "false or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive."

IOW, a Lie or a falsehood. Notice what a vague word this is. "Inaccurate" for example. I can say Trump is a russian agent - is that "inaccurate"? Depends on who you talk to. What if I say "Trump is Russian asset" - is that "Inaccurate"? Thats even more opinion based. So if I write:

Trump is a Russian agent or perhaps asset. that can be "misinformation" or not. It just depends on the writer or the reader.

Deliberate Attempt to deceive. But not always. Are liberal/leftists "attempting to decived" when they call Trump a Russian asset? Yes but maybe no. Again its just an opinion. Deliberate means you know its false. Maybe you dont.

Misinformation should be junked. And people forced to use older, more specific words.



Deliberate attempt to decieve is

RCOCEAN II said...

'muricans seem allergic to specifics. they just want throw around insults, smear words, political labels, and generalities. If you got rid of all the rhetoric that is just "you too" and "So's your old man" and :"you're a bad man, so your opinion is worthless" they'd be speechless.

Quaestor said...

Jupiter writes, "Maher really shouldn't be providing a platform to a crypto-fascist ignoramus like Joe Scarborough."

Exposure is an effective way to combat crypto-fascism.

Christopher B said...

Marxist infiltration. Dis and Mis information were Communist tactics to destabilize societies and ferment unrest. Introduce information that ran counter to what the establishment was saying, regardless of whether it was true or false.

narciso said...

Inconvenient truths

Dixcus said...

This is why they can't have Musk (or any other Free Speech proponent) running a Social Media site in the United States. They use these sites SPECIFICALLY to restrict the DISTRIBUTION of speech.

They know they can't stop you from saying something ... but they CAN STOP other people from HEARING what you say. There's nothing in the Constitution about freedom of HEARING, so they think it's legal to for example use Meta to throttle your comments so nobody sees them.

Musk UNDID that at Twitter and they simply are not going to allow that.

Steve said...

Radio on the internet. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52d92d1ee4b049910d1d83b1/1436182228189-ER58M1FZ3P04IPQ28PXR/AppleMusic101.jpg?format=1000w

Charlie Currie said...

The left used free speech to fill academia with Marxist communist. Now that that has been accomplished, they're through with it. Like Erdogan said, democracy is like a train, when you get to your destination, you get off. The Democrats are stepping onto the platform.

narciso said...

Maher doesnt like the 'democracy' he demanded

Joe Smith said...

I don't watch Shark Tank but my wife used to. They must have been old episodes because Cuban looks terrible here. Old, sallow, flabby. I get it...happens to us all. But you'd think having billions would help stave it off just a bit. As for Musk being a troll, he literally has the most FU money in the world. And besides, is it trolling if it's true?

Dixcus said...

TCROSSE is wrong. At least 8 shots have been fired.

The problem isn't that shots aren't being fired. They are. We're just not firing them. That's the problem.

Breezy said...

Astonished that a bureaucrat actually wrote that reason for denial down, never stepped back, read it, reevaluated it, and concluded that that’s probably not a kosher reason. The stew these people are in is literally mind-numbing.

Apparently Newsom is supporting Elon in his case against the bureaucracy.

Ralph L said...

Rachel Maddow believes dropping F bombs in public isn't ladylike, and she's all about that.

Jamie said...

moving people and stuff to and from the space station is kinda boring compared to unlocking more re how the universe works. IMHO.

To which, we all here agree, you have a right. (Breaking my pre-election gag order because there's pretty much no politics in what I have to say.)

But the person who is spending the money has one specific goal in mind: to establish humanity off-Earth so the next mass extinction-level event doesn't wipe us out, since there will be another mass extinction-level event, from all we know of the Earth's history. And there's no way to predict when that event will happen because it could be brewing underfoot or out beyond Pluto at any time, and until we are at least an interplanetary species, there would be absolutely nothing we could do to prevent or avoid it. Intellectual curiosity apparently doesn't compete with the urgency of Musk's goal, at least to Musk - the guy with the money and the desire to spend it.

FWIW (which is nothing, and I know it), I agree with him. As long as physics is giving us no hints that there's a faster, and achievable for more than subatomic particles, way to move matter around the universe than mechanical transport, securing humanity's survival off-planet - preferably out-of-solar system and in multiple locations (though that has evolutionary implications that are weird to consider), but I'll take Mars as a baby step - seems a higher priority. Muons will still be there.

Jersey Fled said...

I had a young woman in one of classes who had immigrated (legally) from Russia. She told me that the repression of speech there was so intense that it went even further than what you said or what you wrote. She was even afraid of what she might think and had to struggle to keep the wrong kinds of thoughts from entering her mind.

Imagine.

Sprezzatura said...

This is the post where we learn about censorship.

Dixcus said...

If you're a Congressman and they find a dead intern under your desk, they pretty much have you by the balls. They can make you say anything they want, with enthusiasm.

Dixcus said...

Musk should tell them the same thing he told advertisers who tried to blackmail him with money: Go fuck yourselves.

rhhardin said...

I'd like to know about doing cartoons of The Prophet, the current thinking.

rhhardin said...

The point of the space station was to give the space shuttle someplace to go.

Tina Trent said...

Iv'e been called a nazi so many times I spell it Zionism.

Joe Smith said...

Putin can even read minds...bastard!

Gospace said...

I would like to meet Bill Maher one day for a long lunch and conversation. Was in the same HS with him for 3 years- he was a class behind me- and apparently I'm the only person in my class who never ran across him. We would have had many of the same teachers- and the social studies/history department at the time was decidedly conservative. I'm curious as to how he became a flaming liberal. I know he as on yearbook and school newspaper- two places I assiduously avoided.

Also in his class and infamous rather then famous was Harry De La Roche. I honestly thought he's never be paroled. I didn't know Harry personally, but did run across him several times in my HS career. It really is amazing how two people with much the same background can turn out so different.
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/parole-granted-college-break-nj-family-killing/3602977/
I'd be very interested in Bill's thoughts on Harry.

Kakistocracy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kakistocracy said...

For the free market but not when the free market favors others; for free speech but not when that speech is critical of them. Those who shout freedom are often hypocrites; Musk in particular demonstrated both points above by suing advertisers choosing not to advertise on his platform.

cb said...

The government gave itself the 'right' to lie to 'We the People' ... https://www.rcreader.com/commentary/smith-mundt-modernization-act-2012

gilbar said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gospace said...

Speaking of misinformation- I have a question for our hostess.

Have you yet come to the conclusion that the covid shot(s?) you took were useless? And possible worse then useless?

The primary source of misinformation about health in the last few years has been the government and the MSM.

And it seems they've been that source longer then that. The food pyramid itself is now highly suspect.

Narayanan said...

immigrants choose America for values
native born don't have to choose but need to learn

Peachy said...

We didn't leave the Democratic Party. They left us.

Peachy said...

A Life Long Democrat Sees the Light.

Peachy said...

Yes.

Peachy said...

Howard - sometimes you are not real bright. Stick with Kamala.
In the meantime - you miss the boat. The left are actively screeching in every direction - that Musk must be silenced and X must be punished.

Drago said...

LOL

Its been said before, but bears repeating: LLR-democratical Rich, the Harry Sisson of Althouse blog, has been completely out of ammo for the last 4 months!

And to think he thoght a name change to "Too Old and Exhausted to Campaign" on the very day our alcoholic kamala-la-la-la-la could only stand on her feet on stage for 6 minutes 36 seconds for a scheduled 1 hour speech is just too amazingly Reverse Cramer-On-The-Nose!

Thanks again Abacus Boy! You are setting new "Highs" in "Lows" on a daily basis now....and its glorious!

Ooh, ooh! Tell us more about Waymo!

Paul said...

And that is EXACTLY WHY WE HAVE THE 2ND AMENDMENT!!!!

MadTownGuy said...

It's a straight-up translation (practically a transliteration) of the Russian word 'дезинформация.'

Drago said...

Is anyone surprised the pro-islamic supremacist New Soviet Democratical Party under noted America and Israel hater kamala-la-la-la-la takes time out from importing millions of illegals including terrorists and murderers and kicking billions of $$$ to their amigos in Tehran to, once again, leak secret Israeli war plans that target Iran?

I mean, really, are you surprised?

Peachy said...

Tulsi reminds us of how corrupt the power elite Authoritarian Democrat Left have become. Of course they want to remove free speech.

Flat Tire said...

I think you should add "problematic" to that list of unneeded words.

Jim at said...

Musk in particular demonstrated both points above by suing advertisers choosing not to advertise on his platform.

You're such a dishonest POS. After the election, your presence here will cease to exist.

That's reason enough to vote for Trump.

techsan said...

Next time anyone argues the point of limits on free speech...be sure to agree that you are 100% in alignment as long as *you* get to decide what's "in" and what's "out". You get to be the Grand Poohbah of Disinformation. Not someone else. You. You get to apply your World View and choose what phrases and words are acceptable...and which are...to use a random term...verboten. Guessing it won't sink in if the opposition is totes for censorship (aka "hate speech", "disinformation", "misinformation").

Iman said...

Yep… ALL lady, right down to her boxer shorts.

Bobb said...

Henry Ford was anti-Semitic and so ignorant that the Democrats ran him for the US Senate in 1918. It is amazing how little the Democrat Party has changed.

boatbuilder said...

Taylor Swift has "aggressively injected herself into the Presidential race." Perhaps the FCC should shut her down.
(This is sarcasm for those of you who may be bots).

boatbuilder said...

To answer Mark Cuban's question with a question: How can Mark Cuban simultaneously be a billionaire investment genius and Rachel Maddow at the same time?
(Elon is not wrong--once you see it it's hard to unsee it).

stlcdr said...

If you have to go to great lengths to explain or argue for something, you are probably being specious or disingenuous.

Dude1394 said...

I expect Elon comparing Cuban to Maddow hurt his little baby feelings more than he let on. He has always been a preening peacock.

richard mcenroe said...

Ban Marc Cuban'snext TV show; see what he says.

Hassayamper said...

The Left’s commitment to free speech turned out to be just the same as riding a trolley car. Once you get to your stop, you hop off.

The same is also true of their lying, craven braying about “Our Democracy”. They are intent on building a one-party authoritarian state, and imprisoning or killing anyone who opposes them.

They are our very worst, most evil enemies. Worse than Xi and Putin and ISIS put together.

We have to prepare our kids for the day when the Democrats will force every dissenting American to either kill, or be killed.

Hassayamper said...

It’s perfectly legal for a company to decide to spend or not spend advertising dollars on whatever platform they choose.

It’s not legal to conspire to do so with other companies, politicians and their parties, non-profit activist organizations, and worst of all, government bureaucrats. That’s the tort of “restraint of trade” and the crimes of “official oppression under cover of law” and “racketeering”.

I hope Trump forces his Justice Department to smash the living daylights out of every individual and organization that was involved. We need to teach the enemy filth a lesson with scorched-earth lawfare ten times worse than anything the Democrat scum dared to do to us.

Rusty said...

And a new space station in high orbit will give Musks giant rockets someplace to refuel.

Mica said...

The conversation of these three reminds me of something Tucker wrote in 2015, how everyone (including himself) was always envious of Trump: Better looking, better looking girlfriends, money and fame... and now in the race to become the most powerful person in the world. And if you look at Cuban, Joe, Maher, Stern, and even Bloomberg's anti-Trump arguments (and in the case of Cuban there is also an issue of his physical transformation), you see the effects of envy eating you up.

For Maher, on top of it, one has to remember his famously humiliating post 9/11 patriotic tour, to dig himself out of a cancellation hole. Which is why he might be hedging his bets a bit, as of recently.