Distichia Moralia provides with keen wisdom the following, “Speech is given to many; intelligence to few.” After the European trip of US President Joe Biden, intelligence is in short supply in the White House, the staff, and of course, the US Media! Would someone please tell me how so many can say so much, yo-yo’ing from one point to another, and still make no sense? Honest question, the other day someone told me the patients were running the asylum, and I countered no, the clowns took over the circus. Both sentiments are accurate, but I detest clowns, and mental patients can occasionally do something brilliant.
Now, to be perfectly fair, little Joey Biden has a mental cognition problem that is more than likely some form of senility or Alzheimer’s disease. I am not entirely blaming little Joey; his spouse and handlers bear the full brunt of the blame and deserve their punishment for not allowing this senile old man to retreat to his beloved basement and finish the rest of his days in solitude and grandchildren. May little Joey sniff hair and massage shoulders in a creepy fashion after retirement to his heart’s content. But his handlers, the complicit media, and his spouse need to be hauled in front of a judge for elder person abuse!
From Australia’s Sky News, the BBC, Daily Mail, FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, and Jerusalem News, essentially covering the entire globe, every media channel worth a small moment is complaining about Biden’s European performance. Not all media channels are created equal, but to have them all complaining about Biden in Europe is pretty phenomenal. To have Biden walk back his handlers’ “clarification” and then renounce his previous sentiments in the same speech is nothing short of a full-blown communication failure.
To clarify, I do not care what you embrace for your political party. Any person with half a brain cell can observe what is happening and know instinctively that the elected leaders have no clue and even less intelligence. Worse, their intellectual ability for self-preservation is running on fumes and day-old flatulence. Truly, “speech is given to many, and intelligence to few.” Unfortunately, this is not the tip of the iceberg humanity is headed towards at full speed!
Satire is truth wrapped in comic wit and presented for discussion. Never taken seriously as supported by how many “shock” comedians? Yet, the Babylon Bee is removed from Twitter because some Twitter employees think they have a special mission from their god CEO Parag Agrawal to silence any voice they deem “hostile.” More people prove that “speech is given to many; intelligence to few.” Would someone please tell me how Kathy Griffin can parody cutting off then President Trump’s head, and she can maintain a Twitter account, but the Babylon Bee has their account suspended. Worse, Kathy Griffin, a fully non-humorous comedienne, got a Netflix special, but Dave Chapelle was hounded mercilessly for weeks because he told the truth and was actually funny.
Kathy Griffin, Dave Chapelle, Biden/Trump, Babylon Bee, Twitter, Facebook, Google, Apple, and others are tied into a Gordian Knot over the topic of controlling speech unconstitutionally. Whether as perpetrators, victims, or politics, every actor mentioned, especially those not mentioned, as this was NOT a definitive list, all share in the ongoing saga over the First Amendment.
A reminder, the First Amendment states:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The perpetrators who are pulling the political strings to hinder and thwart the First Amendment hide, like evil thinking cowards, cower behind the shield, “Congress.” Claiming that since they are not Congress, they only prohibit speech on their private platforms conditional as part of the “User Agreement” or as private citizens or businesses. Hence, limiting the speech of others is entirely legal, moral, and socially acceptable, intentionally muddying the lines between legal and illegal for entertainment or some other bloviated excuse. Except, what these perpetrators are doing is stealing freedom from everyone for personal profit.
What is “Hate speech?” Sure, the lawyers have concocted a definition for court, but in practice, “Hate Speech” is anything any person who thinks they possess a modicum of power deems it to be. Any tool that limits speech will be used as a weapon to beat people out of their rights and freedoms and steal the same to enslave all. The Supreme Court regularly hears cases on First Amendment issues, specifically speech. Of the five freedoms protected and enshrined in the First Amendment (Speech, Religion, Press, Assembly, and Petition the government), speech is the one most often attacked. The Supreme Court has wisely used the rule of thumb, “Screaming ‘Fire’ in a crowded theater,” as the basis for whether to rule speech as governed under the First Amendment or not.
Why is this a wise rule of thumb? Because creating panic in a population enclosed in a building should not be protected “free” speech as the consequences are dire indeed. But does this mean anything else goes; absolutely! A simple rule exists to explain why, “When you limit the freedoms of a single person in a society, the entire society loses ALL of their freedoms, rights, and liberties.” Democracy is messy! A constitutional republic is doubly chaotic! We, the citizens of either a democracy or a constitutional republic, accept this as a necessity to protect our individual rights, freedoms, and liberties.
This means when Twitter declares something as broaching their “User Agreement” and limiting one person’s speech, as a citizen of the United States, every citizen of the United States loses! When Facebook or LinkedIn practice censorship in the name of “socially acceptable speech,” they are thwarting the US Constitution and decrying they are the wisest of us all and intelligent enough to declare what is and is not “acceptable” speech in a public environment. When YouTube ends people’s livelihood because they do not like the content in a video, everyone loses their right to produce content free from burdensome oppression.
Chris Rock was free to make a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith as a point of reference. Will Smith was perfectly in his right to first laugh at the joke and then choose to become offended. But, Will Smith’s rights ended when he took action and hit Chris Rock. Speech is a responsibility, and exercising speech properly means sometimes being held accountable for the speech made. Unfortunately, modern society has allowed people to make offensive and degrading remarks without accountability for too long, which is a problem. However, the solution is not to control speech by a business, company, government, non-governmental board/organization, etc. The solution is to remind people of the accountability inherent in exercising their rights to speech.
Speech is never “Free.” Free speech means no consequences to what you say, but the reverse is true, and speech has a significant cost! Ask any disabled veteran about the cost of speech, and let me know if they claim their injuries are free. Worse, ask any person jailed who made a speech if their speech was free, and tell me if their sufferings, depravations, and sacrifices were without cost. Chris Rock was entirely in his right to make an offensive joke. I did not find it funny. But could Chris Rock have been held accountable for his poor sense of humor without being slapped on international television; absolutely. But, name me another group of people who abuse the rights, freedoms, and liberties of others without care and concern than Hollywood. I know of no other industry!
Yet, Hollywood has taken it upon themselves to be the lords and masters over everyone else when they cannot control themselves. Solidifying the permanence in the principle, “Speech is given to many; intelligence to few.” How many known victims of Harvey Weinstein? How many unknown victims are living? How many dead victims? How long was Harvey Weinstein abusing his power to subjugate people to whet his appetites and passions? How many others are currently copy-catting Harvey Weinstein’s example?
The government has failed to police Hollywood, and Hollywood refuses to police itself, but how many in Hollywood are willing to insist that Hollywood needs a deep cleansing, an injection of values, morals, and law; not many, if any. Name another industry so rampant and steeped in villainy, depravity, and disgust that it can escape basic law enforcement. Hollywood spawned Bollywood and how many other incarnations in countries around the globe, all suffering from the same moral vacuum and creating the same social decay without consequence. Spoilt children, parading as virtuous adults, demand their rights, liberties, and freedoms, all while denying others the same rights, liberties, and freedoms. Demanding politicians, the same politicians fawning and feeding the Hollywood monster, to use the powers of government, and big business, to thwart laws for their own profit and gain.
Have you ever heard of a “Casting Couch?” In business, the military, and government, a “casting couch” is sexual harassment, a crime worthy of jail, heavy fines, and social scorn for the perpetrator. In Hollywood, the “Casting Couch” is regular business for those desiring to be in Hollywood, and the victims, if they speak out, are scorned and unemployable. The horror stories about the “Casting Couch” are depraved, disgusting, and the victims’ ages run the gamut, all with little to no consequences for those soliciting sexual favors in return for employment in Hollywood. The case of Harvey Weinstein ripped the scab off the festering wound of Hollywood, but Big Business and Government have helped keep the wound alive and infected, to the shame and horror of the victims.
Will Smith, enjoy the spotlight your actions created, and may the consequences fit the crime. Chris Rock, you’re still not funny. Wanda Sykes, you lost your funny. The Oscar’s is not worth my time and energy to scorn, let alone watch. But, Hollywood, your industry is sick, and the greatest crime is that your infection is spreading faster than a case of Chlamydia in the Playboy Mansion. Hollywood, you have lost any and all claims to tell anyone else how to live and until you clean up your mess, I will continue to refuse you my money. You might start by remembering, “Speech is given to many; intelligence to few.”
© Copyright 2022 – M. Dave Salisbury
The author holds no claims for the art used herein, the pictures were obtained in the public domain, and the intellectual property belongs to those who created the images. Quoted materials remain the property of the original author.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, no longer is the truth able to hide; America has been pursuing easy things, making America weak! Several years ago, I was in a used book store and found “Flashes from the Eternal Semaphore” by Leo J. Muir. I count myself extremely blessed to have found and purchased this treasured book! Mr. Muir explains that a semaphore is a means of using flags to send messages, and people have been using flags to send messages for a lot of the earth’s recorded history. The author declared that regardless of religion, certain truths are timeless, ageless, and failure to learn and live these truths brings destruction to civilization.
What is weakening every oppressive regime around the globe; is a failure to honor the rule of law. The leaders pursuing easy things become weak, and their choices inevitably lead them into problems with the law. Think back a couple of years to the Chinese baby food or dog food scandals. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) blamed mid-level leaders for their roles in the scandals, but were these people really to blame or merely useful tools to help deflect blame from the flagrant and profligate rule-breaking of someone higher?
King Solomon provided the only instruction that offers a modicum of relief and is quoted as the final flash, “In all, they getting, get understanding.” I know many people’s childhood was full of abusive relationships. From parents to teachers, to peers and government officials, you have been robbed, plundered, and the abuse is real. For all that, you remain an eternal being suffering a mortal existence. Thus, you have the choice to get understanding. You possess the power to throw off the abusers. Learn to learn. Learn to read. Learn math. Learn how to write. You hold the power, choose to exercise that power, and you will bless your life and the lives of those around you!
Until I moved to New Mexico, I had never heard of a “Sales Tax Holiday.” As a kid, I learned about rebates from an economist who defined rebates as money that did not have to be charged, which pays for a program to give some money back after the purchase concludes. However, rarely are rebates actual cash returns, but get “built” into the price to sell the product. Consider all the gimmicks and rebates involved in selling a car, and you know the truth and deceptiveness of rebates. Sales tax holidays are one of the biggest scams perpetrated in 
Simply put, a sales tax holiday is a day, usually just a single day when the government allows you to purchase goods and services without paying a sales tax on the receipt. However, all the other sales taxes are still built into the cost of the good or service; just on this special day, the final receipt sales tax is not charged. Sales tax holidays are one of the most inefficient and ineffective methods of “sharing unanticipated government money surpluses with the taxpaying public.”
For example, Florida in 2021 held a “
I agree, mightily, sales taxes are progressive, which makes them a poor tax, to begin with. Adding sales tax holidays make a sales tax worse! Yet, they are sold to the public as if they were the best thing since sliced white bread. While it may be true that taxes are the cost of society, there are better ways to collect taxes, and there are infinitely better ways to spend taxpayer dollars than the profligate waste we see happening daily!
Representative Deb Haaland (D) sent out an email while a US House of Representatives member claimed America is a “Constitutional Democracy.” I will endeavor to correct this confusion using simple terms; for Representative Haaland’s benefit, please allow me to elaborate. Along the way, let us explore a few connected topics, including the plasticization of words and how that breeds tyranny.
Starting in the 1930s, during the “Great Depression,” changes were made to America’s methods of governance by the President, a willing media, and sycophants in the Senate and House. Establishing the Federal and State Government’s ability to rule by largess; picking winners and losers based upon obeisance to a bureaucrat’s whims, wishes, and will. Reich lays out this history, walks the reader through the laws, and makes the case that because of democratic rule America’s Republic has been reduced to a feudal system where the government decides who gets the largess and who does not. With the Federal and State Governments making these decisions, businesses do not compete fairly upon their own merits but upon how much taxpayer money they can bamboozle from Uncle Sam. Unfortunately, the entire system hinges upon reducing private property ownership and the freedoms private property allow to feed the ever-hungry beast of Government consumption.
Shakespeare (2016) used Hamlet to relate a line that frequently applies, especially when communicating online, “… thou doth protest too much, methinks.” Too often, those intent on misusing words are protesting too much about something. On social media, every communication, every interaction, and every person is a threat to the intellect of the one protesting and must be lorded over, trolled, and publicly shamed. A recent example of this the world witnessed during Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, where the judge’s children were physically and verbally assaulted—using a warping of legal rights, guaranteed justification for the assault. A careful review of any newspaper, news broadcast, and many politicians speaking will evidence the plasticization of words to justify actions, e.g., President Clinton, “Depends on what your definition of “is” is.” Words to couch a threat while seeming to be helpful and friendly, or worst of all hide abuses of others through twisted logic. Every time words become disconnected from standard meanings, society crumbles, language becomes useless, and the consequences are multi-generational, which is precisely what transpired in recovering Germany after Hitler’s demise.
I had the great personal pleasure of speaking to a senior citizen from Germany who lived through Hitler’s oppression and the recovery of Germany post-WWII, and the person I spoke with affirmed the most challenging social problem was relearning words and definitions to communicate without the taint of Hitler’s Germanic Language. Hence, we can draw several lessons from this experience; language is trained. It can be retrained; relearning language is a social problem fixed through social interactions and personal knowledge, and personal responsibility and accountability remain pre-eminent in communicating correctly. Another lesson from my experience, history repeats itself, and those with dastardly designs will always corrupt language to gain the advantage before showing their true colors as tyrants. Every single despot in recorded history has employed plastic language to lull the population into acquiescence before demanding loyalty and destroying that civilization, society, or culture.
Research supports the following conclusion and is easily found in open sources. Feel free to look up any of the peer-reviewed researchers discussing loneliness (GOOGLE Scholar), and you will find similar conclusions with repercussions to the ongoing COVID-Insanity. My particular source for the following conclusions is based upon the writings of Dr. Kelli Harding, “The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness.” Specifically, Chapter Three of Dr. Harding’s book provides key information to Government Mandates and Media Hysteria’s actual cost over a viral infection with a 98% survival rate.
The population becomes more hostile, more lonely, and more frustrated. What is the actual cost of COVID, lost loved ones; absolutely. But never forget the missed birthdays, anniversaries, social circles, births, deaths, graduations, reunions, family gatherings, and so much more. The true cost of COVID has been the rise in technology that does not make up for the loss of human-to-human social interaction. Nor does technology improve the condition of feeling lonely in anyone!
The more I research loneliness and witness the daily destruction of government gone wild; I cannot help but think many need to be held accountable for the length and waste created by the “Covid-19 Experience!” The sad part, the loneliness is not being addressed, and society will never be the same after the COVID-Experience finally concludes. COVID-related suicides do not bring the loved one back. Lost jobs from COVID-Hysteria do not magically reappear. Church societies have taken a hit, and the people-to-people contacts will never be the same. Parades, rodeos, community events, scouting events, sporting events all offer opportunities for fighting loneliness that the COVID-Hysterics have destroyed. Backyard community barbeques will take forever to recover, and that is detestable!
It is past time for people to gather, stand, and insist upon better government representatives, including improved behavior from current sitting representatives. I weep for Germany’s neighborhoods destroyed by Merkle’s policies. Canada not only deserves better representation but cannot afford the government blight thrust upon her. France, Greece, you will have to change, fundamentally change, or your countries will be lost to history as failed experiments. America, what can I say that has not been said before; you need to understand what a Republic is, why a Republic is better than a Democracy, and you need citizens to awake and arise to the power they possess in cutting the strings to the millstone about your neck. The millstone of government is killing you, and if you die, the world will be lost!
Long have I argued with myself how to complete the needed article on America’s most important founding document, “
Let us face the elephant in the room; the BBC is not known for reporting information without personal bias, political opinion, and a hearty dose of fearmongering as tools needed to sell advertising and lure unsuspecting readers to their version of the news. Nothing against the BBC, just acknowledging that when it comes to newspapers and news media, it is always best to understand the basics, corporate media outlets exist to sell advertising. Hence, lurid stories lead!
Finally, let us be perfectly clear, The United States of America is NOT a democracy, but a Republic! America being a Republic is a good thing because democracy is just evil under the guise of freedom. In a democracy, the majority rule, not just a supermajority of 60% of a population or more, but a simple majority of 51 out of 100. Having laws and procedures demanding significant government changes need supermajorities is a protection to the freedom and liberty in a nation, a state, a county, and a city/town.
Returning this discussion to the problems with human rights vs. human obligations. Human rights are laws, and the report is very damning on laws the authors do not like and then claim those laws are anti-human rights. The report’s authors create a couple of human rights from whole cloth to batter politicians they particularly do not like but were democratically elected by their respective populations. The authors’ political bias becomes clear very quickly while reading the report. The report will be like throwing red meat to the political left’s lions and tigers, who will never admit there are biases, issues, and confusion purposefully twisted into facts in the report.
Because human obligations are a reflection of the morals of a population, these do not change, nor should they change, which means that there is a constant method to care for the sick, the afflicted, and the downtrodden. The problem inherent in human obligations is those who consider that it is the government’s job to care for their populations cradle-to-grave when this is simply not possible! No government should ever be saddled with morals, or care for human obligations, as human obligations are individually fulfilled, not government programmed.
Since the authors got the social unrest in the United States wrong, how can anyone have verity that the rest of the report was right? More, where human rights and human obligations cross, how can the authors get away with spreading half-truths as facts and diminish any country through a couple of authors’ personal biases and opinions? Since the matrix for measuring “democracy” is not revealed, how do the authors make the conclusions they make with unsubstantiated data?
Honoring human obligations leads to greater freedoms and liberties for the entire society, not merely those who fit into one government program or another. Better, liberty and freedom built upon honoring human obligations allow for reduced government size, leading to less opportunity for governmental abuse and injury. The shift in growing liberty is not found in human rights laws compelling behaviors through forced state penalties. The change in growing liberty starts as people honor their obligations to each other and reduce reliance upon government handouts.
Article 1 Section 9: Deals with two legal precedents that are much maligned and abused. Immigration and the Writ of Habeas Corpus. Immigration is a topic for a different post. However, the Writ of Habeas Corpus is crucial to this discussion. Habeas Corpus is, “… The legal procedure that keeps the government from holding you indefinitely without showing cause. When you challenge your detention by filing a habeas corpus petition, the executive branch must explain to a neutral judge its justification for holding you.” The Writ of Habeas Corpus can be suspended, and American History, including recent history, has provided examples of when and why habeas corpus has been denied, suspended, or revoked. The riots and acts of domestic terrorism are a clear example of why the Writ of Habeas Corpus can be and should be suspended. Rebellion and the breach of public safety are two different excuses for denying habeas corpus, and rioters and terrorists deserve to have habeas corpus suspended. Instead, the prisons have turned into a revolving door, the criminal justice system perverted, and the criminals laugh!
DNC-Consulting 