No End To The Audacious Deplatformings

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  • About a year ago I had a series of posts covering some of the more audacious deplatformings and cancelations then occurring in the realms of progressive orthodoxy enforcement.

  • Examples of prominent victims of such conduct cited in my posts of February 22, 2021 and March 4, 2021 included: The Epoch Times (“demonetized” by Google, apparently as a result of relentless criticism of the Chinese Communist Party), Project Veritas (a constant irritant to the Left, shut out by Twitter), Catholic World Report (locked out by Twitter after calling President Biden’s nominee for Assistant Secretary of HHS “a biological man identifying as a transgender woman”), Ryan Anderson (politically incorrect book on transgender issues, “When Harry Became Sally,” suddenly removed from sale at Amazon without explanation), and multiple others.

  • The takeaway was that the Big Tech censors had lost all sense of constraint, and had decided to see how far they could push the envelope to remove mainstream conservative thought from the public square.

  • Lack of further posts from myself on this subject should not be taken as an indication that the situation has improved.

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A Few Thoughts For Independence Day Weekend

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  • What is the most important defining characteristic of today’s progressive left movement? My answer to that question would be, hatred of America and everything it stands for.

  • The progressive looks at today’s United States, and all he can see are flaws. And he thinks he has a vision that can, through the magic powers of government coercion, fix all those flaws in short order.

  • Ask college-age kids what they dislike most about America, and the answer you are likely to get is “capitalism.”

  • But what is “capitalism”? The funny thing is that it’s not an “ism” at all.

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Attempting To Silence Your Opponents Is A Sign You Are Losing The Debate

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  • Over the past few months I have had several posts on the subject of audacious big tech deplatformings of mainstream conservative opinions, for example here on February 22 and here on March 4.

  • But the big tech social media enterprises like Twitter, Facebook and Google are only one front of the progressive program to suppress any speech that does not toe the official orthodox line.

  • I thought it might be time for a small roundup of recent instances.

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Big Tech "Deplatforming" Becomes Ever More Audacious

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  • In case your memory doesn’t go back that far, the “deplatforming” thing did not just start in the past couple of months.

  • It was way back in 2016 that Twitter first banned right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos; Facebook followed in 2019. Others getting the same or similar treatment from Twitter, Facebook, and/or Google two or more years ago include Alex Jones of InfoWars and Congressional candidate Laura Loomer.

  • Then, few on the serious right pushed back. After all, these people are not really our type. Often, they say outrageous things just to provoke a reaction.

  • But there is a reason why the ACLU, at least in its heyday, thought it was important to defend the rights of avowed neo-Nazis to march in heavily-Jewish Skokie, Illinois. Once the speech-suppression thing gets even a little toe-hold, it can quickly go from seeming insignificance to bold audacity.

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Manhattan Contrarian To Debate At The Soho Forum July 22

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  • If you follow my announcements of upcoming events of interest in the sidebar at the right, you will have seen that I will be participating in a debate hosted by the Soho Forum this coming Wednesday, July 22, at 6 PM. This is an online debate, via Zoom, so anyone can participate without having to show up in person.

  • The subject of the debate is which candidate in the upcoming presidential election should get the support of libertarians. There will be three speakers, one (Ilya Somin) giving reasons why libertarians should support Biden; another (Angela McArdle) giving reasons why libertarians should support Jo Jorgensen (who is the candidate of the Libertarian Party); and then I will be giving the reasons to support President Trump.

  • If I do say so myself, I think that my arguments are compelling. . . .

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Progressivism: What Is The Limiting Principle?

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Yesterday’s semi-official launch of the Green New Deal has done a big favor for our national political debate: It has finally put squarely on the table the fundamental question that needs to be addressed, yet never is addressed, namely, what is the limiting principle of the progressive project? Or really, is there any limiting principle at all? Let me illustrate.

Always (or at least, always before now) the progressive proposals to make the world perfectly just and fair have been presented one by one. Wouldn’t the world be so much more fair if we only had free (government paid) college for all? Many people look at such a proposal and think, sure, that would make things a little more fair; I guess I could get on board with it. Then, wouldn’t the world be so much more fair if we had universal (government paid) health care for all. In isolation, same reaction. Separately, wouldn’t it be great to “save the planet” by getting carbon emissions under control (by some form of government subsidy and/or command)? Addressed separately, and with no context of what other proposals may be coming, many people find themselves nodding along. With your attention diverted from the big picture, any of these proposals might get your support. . . .

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