Althouse: A First Amendment montage.

November 4, 2024

A First Amendment montage.

pic.twitter.com/0hebJPsbX0
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2024

98 comments:

rehajm said...: The Davos crowd prefers that unsupportive speech deserves imprisonment…at least when they know they’re in charge. I hope we can peacefully motivate them to change their tune…; 11/4/24, 5:38 AM
rehajm said...: What a creepy awful nerd Gates turned out to be. Society is better off without his contributions…; 11/4/24, 5:41 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: I appreciate your dogged defense of free speech, Althouse. Thank you.

Feminism is incompatible with free speech. Feminism is the source of the decades long attack on free speech. The great icon of feminism, Hillary Clinton, is one of the leaders of the attack on free speech.; 11/4/24, 5:43 AM
ellie said...: That is absolutely chilling.; 11/4/24, 5:47 AM
Breezy said...: 100%; 11/4/24, 5:49 AM
rehajm said...: …for the record, heavily censored was a post with the host doggedly advocating for free speech…; 11/4/24, 5:51 AM
Mark said...: Breaks their argument to include Brazil, Australia, the UK, and other countries for which the 1st Amendment doesn't exist.

It also conveniently left out how social media companies including Twitter are happy to ban content in India, Turkey, etc ... picking and choosing which countries to go along with their speech demands based mostly on how 0ne party the rule is.; 11/4/24, 5:52 AM
Fandor said...: CHILLING. FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!; 11/4/24, 5:59 AM
Captain BillieBob said...: Gates says the 1st is a notion. Got it.; 11/4/24, 5:59 AM
rehajm said...: No shyte. It’s the No 1 Constitutionally protected right drop out boy…and not one that emanates from some penumbra…; 11/4/24, 6:04 AM
Commie Videos and You a Law Professor said...: No concessions, no compromises with those assholes.; 11/4/24, 6:06 AM
Dave Begley said...: Glad that Althouse voted for Trump. He’s a First Amendment champion.

At the end of the tape is that female Michigan law prof who wrote a book on disinformation.; 11/4/24, 6:06 AM
rehajm said...: ‘tis really an anti- first amendment montage.; 11/4/24, 6:07 AM
ron winkleheimer said...: They are not trying to limit free speech because they are confident. Its because they are desperate. If you live under a tyranny, such as Great Britain, I suggest you use a tor browser to post online so you can remain anonymous. The Brave browser has one built in. One tip though, they can "finger print" your browser which gives all kinds of information about what OS your using, what Browser, etc. So, don't use the browser you use to remain anonymous for anything else.; 11/4/24, 6:13 AM
Old and slow said...: I watched this ad on X this morning. It is a horrifying collection of clips. These people are so calmly proposing to do away with the 1st amendment (or simply pretend that it is meaningless). Elon Musk is an unlikely hero, but he is certainly our most powerful defender of free speech these days. I imagine he would prefer to be focusing on rockets and such, so we are very lucky that he is so damn energetic.; 11/4/24, 6:14 AM
Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) said...: There is so much I could say about Canada and its utter lack of free speech. Québec is the worst, because they even control what LANGUAGE people speak in private ... as in arresting Chinese cooks, in a Chinese restaurant, for speaking Mandarin amongst themselves. Instead of French. Or arresting a store clerk for greeting an anglophone customer with "Hi.".

I wish it were not true, but I left Québec in 1991 because of how bad things had already become. Since then it has only got worse. Much worse. The government are demanding "licences" to be allowed to speak English in public.

I say, crush the whole bloody lot of these power-hungry monsters. Crush 'em like the vermin they are.; 11/4/24, 6:16 AM
Heartless Aztec said...: And visceral "fuck you" to each and every politician an in that video. An aside.- I've always regretted my vote for "W". But at least it was a vote that kept John Kerry out of office.; 11/4/24, 6:20 AM
J Severs said...: Professor, many thanks for posting this.; 11/4/24, 6:22 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Speech is going to take it on the chin if Kamala is installed. I’m back out of X as a preemptive measure. I was back in to follow Elon, but if he winds up in prison what good is he going to do from there?; 11/4/24, 6:22 AM
Butkus51 said...: Inga Porn.; 11/4/24, 6:24 AM
Another old lawyer said...: Under these practices, how quickly would Obama be arrested for the misinformation in his recent speeches for Harris?

Like this one - https://x.com/MaxAbrahms/status/1853192207995453483

My confident guess - never. See George Carlin's bit about the elites being a big club but you're not in it.; 11/4/24, 6:36 AM
Jamie said...: I don't think it does "break their argument." The First Amendment is more than law of the land in the US - it's also a codified acknowledgement of a fundamental value. It's useful to understand that even very close allies of the US don't apparently share that value.

I also think it's "assuming facts not in evidence," as they say, to say that social media organizations including X are "happy" to censor in countries where that cendorship is the law. Musk, at least, has said that X follows the law of the countries where it (X, that is) is allowed to be used, but he didn't give the impression he was happy about it. The others - maybe.; 11/4/24, 6:40 AM
boatbuilder said...: It illustrates rather starkly what happens when you take away the right codified by the First Amendment, which is precisely what the American politicians presented in the montage are trying to do.; 11/4/24, 6:43 AM
Omaha1 said...: I can barely contain my rage and utter contempt for these people. I thank God, literally, every day for Elon Musk and what he has done to protect and promote free speech. Thanks for publicizing this video, Prof. Althouse!; 11/4/24, 6:51 AM
tim in vermont said...: Propaganda is to democracy what the truncheon is to the dictatorship, and the only known counter to propaganda is freedom of speech.; 11/4/24, 6:52 AM
rhhardin said...: A good prose style is the domestication of aggression. As opposed to actual aggression.; 11/4/24, 6:55 AM
Democratic Paychecks for Perks/ Dems for Demolition of Democracy/ fake-cares 4-U said...: If Kamalamadingdong gets in - say goodbye to free speech in our nation. The corrupt left will pack the court and dismantle free speech.
She already promised.; 11/4/24, 6:55 AM
tim in vermont said...: I just feel like we had an exceptional 200 years in terms of the history of Western civilization, and now we are reverting to the norm of rule by a few powerful people, and an elite which benefits greatly by that rule, over the masses of the easily manipulated by an infrastructure of rule by coercion that does not tolerate pointed questions.

I can see these people making children read the story of "The Emperor's New Clothes" as a lesson in how people should act in the presence of their rulers.; 11/4/24, 6:56 AM
gilbar said...: we can ALL AGREE, that civil "liberties" are a DANGER to DEMOCRACY
Only by suppressing speech, action, and thought can our society have TRUE Democracy.
True Democracy is Everyone thinking The Same thought, at The Same time.
Independent thought is THOUGHT CRIME!; 11/4/24, 6:57 AM
Captain BillieBob said...: Carlin "It's a big club and you ain't in it"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nyvxt1svxso
I miss this guy.; 11/4/24, 7:01 AM
Cheryl said...: I would share this but as I watch, I wonder how many friends would say, “but of course!” Enraging, depressing. And like I read above, I want to say a giant F U to all those people, most especially Bill Gates and John Kerry.; 11/4/24, 7:07 AM
PJ said...: An environment in which one of our candidates spent her formative years. Of course, she left, too.; 11/4/24, 7:17 AM
Democratic Paychecks for Perks/ Dems for Demolition of Democracy/ fake-cares 4-U said...: You comment is a sick reminder that dedicated leftwing democrats are OK with imprisoning normal people for speech.; 11/4/24, 7:20 AM
Democratic Paychecks for Perks/ Dems for Demolition of Democracy/ fake-cares 4-U said...: Again - the British far left made a deal with the Islamic male immigrant block. Vote for the British left, and the British left will protect your crime and abuse rakkkit.; 11/4/24, 7:22 AM
donald said...: What a stupid and dishonest remark Mark. Happy? Why is it impossible for you to be honest about ANYTHING here? I’d explain why you’re retarded here, but you know, so lol.; 11/4/24, 7:23 AM
Leland said...: The thing to keep in mind is that these people are not interested in prosecuting those that promulgated the Steele Dossier, claimed Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian disinformation, and most of all, anyone that claimed that Covid couldn't have come from the Wuhan Lab, but must have come from a bat soup. When you understand that simple truth, you know these people are not interested in honesty, integrity, and freedom.; 11/4/24, 7:23 AM
Quayle said...: When Kerry uses the word govern, I get the vibe that he really means control. So, better Kerry: "It is really hard to control people these days." Yeah, I'm sure it is and I am also sure it really galls him and his oligarch friends.; 11/4/24, 7:24 AM
wendybar said...: Same here.
The ONLY reason I voted for Bush was because Kerry was worse.; 11/4/24, 7:25 AM
Quaestor said...: "The police will be the source of truth..." If you do not thoroughly and unreservedly reject and condemn that statement, you're a fascist or a communist, depending on the details of your economics.; 11/4/24, 7:25 AM
Leland said...: Da Comrade, we shouldn't want other nations to support human rights, and more over countries like Brazil, Australia, and the UK should have the authority to arrest Americans who violate Brazilian, Australian, and British law while living in the US, as was suggested by the Brazilian, Australian, and British people in the video.; 11/4/24, 7:25 AM
Quayle said...: Anyone espousing such controls on speech are interested in one thing and one thing alone: power. Power over others.; 11/4/24, 7:29 AM
Quaestor said...: Hillary sez, "There are Americans who are engaged..." Thank God Trump kept her out of the White House. May she rot in hell.; 11/4/24, 7:30 AM
MadisonMan said...: This is #1 of my reason for disliking the platform of Harris/Walz.; 11/4/24, 7:35 AM
Quaestor said...: Kerry complains, "It's really hard to govern today." Well, Mr. Kerry, mess with our freedom of speech and you'll find it IMPOSSIBLE to govern. The Brits stupidly allowed themselves to be disarmed, consequently they can't resist His Majesty's Gestapo. Americans, however, are armed to the teeth... Better stay away, Kerry. Just stay far away...; 11/4/24, 7:37 AM
wild chicken said...: Surprised they left Trump out of the montage. He doesn't get it, either. It seems the only ones who do are a few leftover 60s lawyers and a handful of indy journalists.

That Harris doesn't respect the First is unforgivable.; 11/4/24, 7:37 AM
MadisonMan said...: Total agreement. All I could think of during that snippet was "Look in the mirror"; 11/4/24, 7:39 AM
Dixcus said...: Every one of these people should be HOUNDED out of our country. They are INCITING arson.; 11/4/24, 7:39 AM
Quaestor said...: Ketanji Brown Jackson, that bitch needs to be impeached.; 11/4/24, 7:39 AM
Dixcus said...: If you don't thoroughly and unreservedly reject and condemn that statement, then you are NOT a human being and should be thrown from a helicopter.; 11/4/24, 7:40 AM
Ralph L said...: Disinformation is only a problem because every Western institution has shown it can't be trusted to tell the truth. They made their bed.
Weren't we supposed to feel like this when we were young--and not in our old age?; 11/4/24, 7:44 AM
Dixcus said...: Hillary Clinton actually said that very thing ... out loud.

https://youtu.be/csSph593QcE

They have TOTAL CONTROL over us, Hillary Clinton says. And they LOSE total control over us when they are unable to CENSOR our free speech.

If she didn't have the protection of our corrupt federal government, she would already have been run out of this country.; 11/4/24, 7:44 AM
Dixcus said...: Here, Hillary explains to CNN how they lose total control over us if they allow us to have free speech on the internet.

https://youtu.be/csSph593QcE; 11/4/24, 7:46 AM
Dixcus said...: Shoot back. Shoot back. Shoot back.; 11/4/24, 7:46 AM
Dixcus said...: He should be in Epstein's prison cell.; 11/4/24, 7:47 AM
Dixcus said...: Has Althouse claimed she voted for Trump? If so, I missed that post. Please point me to it.

I believe she didn't vote at all for President, so as not to cancel out Meade's vote for Trump.; 11/4/24, 7:48 AM
Democratic Paychecks for Perks/ Dems for Demolition of Democracy/ fake-cares 4-U said...: YOUR comment is a sick reminder that dedicated leftwing democrats are OK with imprisoning people for speech. Speech that isn't in line with the radical left.; 11/4/24, 7:48 AM
Achilles said...: The Masks are off. Mark and the other Harris supporters are just openly fascist pigs.

We will never kneel to you. If you steel this election it will not be over.; 11/4/24, 7:50 AM
Democratic Paychecks for Perks/ Dems for Demolition of Democracy/ fake-cares 4-U said...: Remember - Speech that makes Democrats look like the craven, power obsessed liars that they are is = "Russian Disinformation!"; 11/4/24, 7:51 AM
Ralph L said...: What's the name of the guy with the wonky eye at 2:00? Didn't he used to pretend to be a moderate on TV?; 11/4/24, 7:54 AM
Democratic Paychecks for Perks/ Dems for Demolition of Democracy/ fake-cares 4-U said...: American Democrats Support this. American Democrats make excuses for this. American Democrats support this, with our tax dollars.; 11/4/24, 7:54 AM
Aggie said...: Our 'Betters', except without their masks.; 11/4/24, 7:55 AM
Jeff Vader said...: These people are beyond evil; 11/4/24, 7:55 AM
Dixcus said...: Let's remember back when they DID censor social media. What did they censor? They censored the New York Post. Which was truthfully reporting that Hunter Biden's laptop was real. And that it contained a raft of information about Biden family CRIMES.

The FBI was IN POSSESSION of that laptop the entire time ... and 51 of our Deep State CIA/NSA/FBI agents falsely told Americans that the laptop was "Russia disinformation" in order to fraudulently rig the outcome of the election of a President who now stands thrown out in a coup.

Fk these people. We will BURN THEM OUT if they ever get what they say they want.; 11/4/24, 7:55 AM
Aggie said...: I don't think their argument was broken. Nearly everyone here knows the sacred value of the First Amendment, as it has been defined for Americans, and that citizens of other nations do not enjoy its protections. We are merely being shown the actions of politicians in other lands, where they are not so fettered - it's what we could expect if our own tyrants got their way, here. As for Twitter's actions in other, more constrained markets: what would you have them do? Break the laws there, and lose their business? Are they not obliged to follow the laws in whatever markets they operate in? Tell us.; 11/4/24, 7:59 AM
Ralph L said...: Ten years ago, the play King Charles III posited that Charles would try to block a censorship bill and be forced from the throne by William. He failed his country!; 11/4/24, 8:07 AM
Democratic Paychecks for Perks/ Dems for Demolition of Democracy/ fake-cares 4-U said...: Yes- May Hillary rot in hell. SOON!; 11/4/24, 8:09 AM
Hassayamper said...: It’s going to come down to “Kill Or Be Killed” with this crowd, isn’t it?; 11/4/24, 8:09 AM
Hassayamper said...: It’s going to come down to “Kill Or Be Killed” with this crowd, isn’t it?; 11/4/24, 8:09 AM
planetgeo said...: Free speech is THE issue in this election, even more critical than closing the border. Anyone who votes for Harris is effectively surrendering our right to free speech.

Omaha!; 11/4/24, 8:10 AM
Original Mike said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11/4/24, 8:20 AM
Original Mike said...: "Breaks their argument to include Brazil, Australia, the UK, and other countries for which the 1st Amendment doesn't exist."

How so? Is it your partisanship or is it your animus towards Musk that doesn't allow you to think straight?; 11/4/24, 8:21 AM
Levi Starks said...: I’m only hoping I can have some say in the location of my reeducation camp.
I’m hoping for something with a desert climate.; 11/4/24, 8:22 AM
Rusty said...: Mark. Are you arguing that it is then OK to do it here?; 11/4/24, 8:24 AM
Original Mike said...: That is so chilling. And it's where we're headed.

I used to think that the rationale for the protection of speech was so obvious as to be inarguable by all but the fringe. I still shake my head in disbelief at what is happening.; 11/4/24, 8:25 AM
Linda said...: Many of these people need to re-read the constitution. I understand if the Brits and other non-citizens don't read/or know our constitution - but the US citizens should know what it says. I have a pocket sized copy of the Constitution that I recently dug out of a drawer. My Mother in law gave it to me back in 1975. I didn't really care about it at the time, but it has been with me ever since. Since it's from the bicentennial celebration, it is missing the most recent amendment, #27. I have started reading it (again).; 11/4/24, 8:27 AM
Sebastian said...: Not dissing all the sensible commenters here, but why be surprised? Except for brief periods when they thought free speech could serve unions and commies, or stick it to The Man, progs have favored centralized control. Progressivism is Kerrys and Gateses all the way down.; 11/4/24, 8:32 AM
Original Mike said...: Who decides what is misinformation, Mark? Would you allow a Trump administration agency to decide what you can and cannot say? The first amendment protects your rights. How can you not see that?; 11/4/24, 8:40 AM
hawkeyedjb said...: The Bill of Rights is mostly a list of restrictions on government, and a reaffirmation of the rights of citizens. Which is why Democrats and other leftists hate it.

The First Amendment, as written, would not get majority support from Democrats in the current congress. Change my mind.; 11/4/24, 8:46 AM
James K said...: The claim that Canadians and Brits don't have the right of free speech is completely wrongheaded. They have that right (as do all), they just lack the explicit protection from government infringement.; 11/4/24, 8:56 AM
ga6 said...: Everyone wants to be the camp commandant, not the gate guard.

All establishing their bone fides in case the revolution happens in their lifetime. These statement also help in obtaining invitations to the correct dinner parties, grants, and help in getting the grandkids in the "correct" private schools.; 11/4/24, 9:00 AM
Anthony said...: Sadly, there is a significant portion of the population who are more than willing to kneel.; 11/4/24, 9:09 AM
Wa St Blogger said...: I wonder what jail sentence Hillary thinks should be meted out for producing a false dossier on Russian collusion. What is the sentence, for they instigator, the creators, the ones disseminating and the ones reporting even when they knew it was fabricated?

Once we have established that precedence, we can talk about applying it in other circumstances.; 11/4/24, 9:31 AM
ga6 said...: Not only speech but finger pointing will be banned and the pointer will be punished.
" Title IX investigation that accuses him of having “aggressively pointed” at a transgender student and misgendering her. Now Porter faces the possibility of suspension, expulsion, and even being barred from practicing law."

https://www.thefp.com/p/law-student-pace-university-title-ix-prop-1-expulsion; 11/4/24, 9:33 AM
Two-eyed Jack said...: Free Speech is not the First Amendment. Free Speech was a way of channeling the mostly-religious passions that had torn Britain apart in their Civil War. The First Amendment was an affirmation of this resolution in America. It was added to the Construction, not as a cultural innovation, but as an expression of a fundamental determination to allow others to speak their piece, rather than to try to muzzle or imprison them. It is a right we grant our p3ers, not something we arrogate to ourselves. These people are odious. They want to war on their opponents, one by one.; 11/4/24, 10:05 AM
MountainMan said...: A nice commentary on Jefferson and free speech from a brilliant young woman I follow on social media. She is a Berber from Morocco and can appreciate what so many seem to have forgotten, or in the case of these monsters in the video, would like to forget.

Jefferson's Ghost; 11/4/24, 10:08 AM
MadisonMan said...: It seemed like the tenor of a lot of the comments in that video is that "We the Democrats in govt have graciously allowed Hoi Polloi to speak" when the first amendment is certainly that the right to speak is God-given (no wonder Democrats fight against is) and Govt will not get in its way.; 11/4/24, 10:09 AM
Lazarus said...: Chilling, but also disappointing: I was waiting for Nina to start singing like Mary Poppins.; 11/4/24, 10:31 AM
Martin said...: I have a mirror to show Mrs. Clinton a person who is a purveyor of misinformation. John Fn Kerry is a pretty sick source of information as well.; 11/4/24, 10:40 AM
Whiskeybum said...: Send the employees from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to prison for their constant misinformation about the jobs statistics.; 11/4/24, 10:43 AM
Omaha1 said...: We just need common-sense speech control!; 11/4/24, 11:00 AM
who-knew said...: And Biden-Harris just signed on to the UN Global Governance Pact ceding sovereignty to that utterly corrupt body, in order to control speech worldwide; 11/4/24, 11:42 AM
Wa St Blogger said...: I noticed that our resident lefties have not come out in their normal droves to support censorship and the abrogation of free speech. Even for them they know this is indefensible. However, they are not willing to actually go so far as to condemn it. No chance they will call their side to task. They will pull the lever for the censors and nod approvingly when the "right" people are prosecuted for bad thoughts. At least until they are one of those bad-thinking people.; 11/4/24, 12:06 PM
The Middle Coast said...: Lord.; 11/4/24, 12:33 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: "What we need is to win...the right to govern by hopefully winning enough votes that you’re free to be able to implement change." He sees freedom as something for the government, not as something for you and me.; 11/4/24, 1:22 PM
Mr. T. said...: Remember when Dick-the crooked dick from crooked Chicago-Durbin, Clinton, and all the other far left wackjobs like Maurice Hinchey, Louise Slaughter, Mark-I support Brett Blomme-Pocan, and Sheila Jackson Lee- were all whining about how the world was going to end if the Fairness Doctrine wasn't brought back to save free speech by destroying it? Except now we cannot have equal time.

If the Left didn't have double standards, it would have no standards.; 11/4/24, 2:16 PM
Rabel said...: Dean of Berkeley Law School, Professor Erwin Chemerinsky. Not a moderate.; 11/4/24, 2:45 PM
john mosby said...: Mountain Man, hilarious that a Berber is praising Jefferson.

Or not:

1. Barbary (Berber) Pirates attack US shipping

2. Jefferson sends US Navy and Marines to burn their cities

3. Modern day Berber lady praises him for upholding civilization

That's how it is supposed to work for the US and their enemies.

Nice of her to remind us.

JSM; 11/4/24, 5:52 PM
Gospace said...: Jamie
...It's useful to understand that even very close allies of the US don't apparently share that value.

Even though they all say they do. The very best example is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Quote straight from the charter:
Fundamental freedoms – section 2
2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:

a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
d) freedom of association.
Wow! That sounds great. Note, it doesn't even say parliament shall make no law, those rights are fundamental freedoms! But- this is section 2. What's Section 1 got to say. Ah, there's the kicker.
And the quote:
Guarantee of rights and freedoms – section 1
1. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.

Wait, what? Subject only to reasonable limits. Who established those? WTF?

In plain ordinary words- everything that follows is BS- we can eliminate any of them provided we determine it's a reasonable limit prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Democratic society vs. a Republic- 50%+1.; 11/4/24, 6:11 PM