So the Washington Post ran out and said Donald Trump did what some of history's most famous dictators failed to do.
What was that?
Shut down Voice of America.
...
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... uh, I wasn't aware Voice of America was even still on. I thought it had gone the way of the War Bond. But apparently Voice of America continues to run as an international, state-funded broadcaster. I don't know who was clamoring to close VOA, but with a quarter of a billion dollar budget, I understand why certain parties would want to shut it down. In 2023, VOA claimed they had a weekly worldwide audience of approximately 326 million.
They may have had a REACH of over 300 million, but if 300 million people were actually listening, there's no way it would have been closed down.
A few days later, Jill Filipovic at the New Statesman-
Wait a minute, she's a CNN writer. She's one of those Far-Left writers that is delusionary and thinks CNN is the too close to the "center."
-anyhow, Jill Filipovic at the New Statesman rolled out of bed and wrote:
The Purge of American Liberty: The arrest of the pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is just the start of Trump’s crackdown on Free Speech
Uh, that story is also very disingenuous. Filipovic's angle is that Khalil is here on a student visa and Donald Trump is trying to deport him before the process of his full citizenship is completed. Her argument is that even though some may construe Khalil's speech as Hate Speech, she is reminding Americans that even Hate Speech is Free Speech.
Wow, that's rich. During the Biden Administration, the same Jill Filipovic claimed that much of the speech on the Right was Hate Speech and needed to be banned. Now that Trump is pushing back, she is a free speech absolutist. She wasn't a free speech absolutist in 2023 when her team was in charge.
But even before I could finish that article, Filipovic wrote on own her Substack:
Let's talk about Free Speech for a moment. Here's what's happening in America right now. Everyone has a Blog.
Everyone has a Podcast.
Everyone has a Substack.
During the Biden Administration, voices from the Right were being de-amplified on Social Media due to pressure from the government. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter admitted that they succumbed to governmental pressures in regards to Free Speech. Also at the same time, idiots on the edges of the Far-Left were having their messages amplified by the mainstream media. Far-Left ideas such as Defunding the Police were portrayed as Moderate views. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Now that Trump is pushing back, he claims that the Far-Left still have their Free Speech, it just won't be amplified by his government anymore. In the last month, Filipovic's articles have been published at CNN, the New Statesman, and Substack.
Filipovic hasn't been arrested or thrown in jail.
Filipovic hasn't had her writing banned.
Filipovic hasn't been restricted in her personal appearances.
The Left is throwing a tantrum because their presence is being de-amplified.
How do I know this? Because I write an unpopular blog. I have the same rights to publish it as I had 5 years ago. I am still mostly ignored, but my problem today is amplification. WhatFinger has given some of my articles a nice boost in traffic, yet I am nearly invisible on Bluesky and Facebook.
What Trump is trying to do is relegate minority views back into their minority settings. He doesn't want the government in the amplification business when their views don't match his views.
You argue that it isn't right that Donald Trump is picking winners and losers in the Free Speech game? Man, you have NOT been paying attention.
Every time the mainstream media screams Trump and Fascism, a very subtle truth is revealed.
Donald Trump is a Populist, but the Global Right have found him to be a very keen ally against the Global Left.
Vladimir Putin is very much a Right-wing leader. He crushes dissent. He is trying to stamp out the LGBT movement. He is keen on the Rule of Law. (Well, when it's his law.)
What many in Eastern Europe and Russia say is that they don't want Rainbow Flags outside their government buildings. They are willing to follow the law as long as their daily needs are met. They don't want the moral decadence associated with the American Left. Putin has amplified traditional voices like the Russian Orthodox church.
America used to be associated with Freedom, now it is associated with exporting Left-wing ideals.
People claim that Trump is beholden to Putin? What Trump is zealous about is exacting vendettas against those on the Left who attacked him. That is not the same as being a dictator.
Make sure you delineate whether Donald Trump is taking away your Free Speech, or if your Free Speech just isn't as popular as when the other party was in office.
You are a fan of the VOA in Ukraine and are worried about not hearing voices of freedom?
I would follow the Kyiv Independent.
I would follow the Kyiv Post.
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