The government was trying to stifle political speech about a politician close to an election. Opponents of Citizens United must take the opposite side and argue that the government can shut down such political speech.
I mean, I'm not really a fan of the NYT, for example, but I certainly don't think it's the government's job to tell them what they can and cannot print about a politician. Do you?
Without getting into the relative merit of the apps in question: Google is not the government, and may choose what content it allows on its property (the app store). Their final decision one way or the other does not even touch the issue of free speech.
I highly doubt, for example, that your commitment to free speech would extend to letting the KKK hold a cross-burning rally on your front lawn. Your refusal to do so would likewise not be "censorship" or "against free speech".
Now, if they petitioned the government to force Google to remove the apps, or if you petitioned to government to prevent the KKK from holding rallies . . .
I agree, actually, but probably not in the direction you expect.
The 2nd amendment was written so that citizens would have the tools they needed to fight off government intrusion (foreign or domestic), and as such included any and all arms normally carried by an infantry soldier.
So if we want to keep up with technological progress, we need to re-legalize the production and sale of automatic weapons in order to comply with the spirit of the 2nd.
Left/right and Republican/Democrat are false dichotomies. There is only one party: the big government party.
And why are laws passed by representative democracies inherently more legitimate than direct democracies? Why do you believe that the morality of an action depends on whether more than 50% of some group of people vote on it, regardless of who that group is?
Re: Oh, but I bet you'll defend Wall Street banks, Mike!
We don't have a free market, and we never have. What we have is exactly what people like you have always wanted: government oversight. Don't complain now about the frankenstein's monster you've created. Enjoy! You got your wish!
(Btw, how's that rich/poor divide thing doing? All your regulations solved that, right?)
The idea that Americans have any control over the politicians that get elected is a useful fiction for those at the top.
They just need to:
(A) Get people on a team (Team Red or Team Blue). Americans love teams.
(B) Make sure the teams don't fundamentally disagree on anything substantial.
(C) Bankroll both teams' candidate.
I think our recent presidential election shows this quite nicely; Goldman Sachs won with over 98% of the vote.
In many industries -- especially highly regulated ones -- the incumbents often love regulations because (a) they have enough power to control the regulations, (b) they know their way around those regulations better than anyone else, (c) those regulations quite frequently limit competition and (d) those regulations quite frequently effectively block out any form of disruptive innovation by stopping it entirely.
This. A thousand times this.
Regulations are not written for our benefit. Just follow the money trail (or the revolving door between government and the "regulated" industry in question). Every time someone says "We obviously need more regulation!" I hear "Please, bend me over that table one more time!"
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Key words: "Corporation" and "for-profit".
Citizens United had nothing to do with campaign donations. This is a persistent myth amongst people who didn't look that closely into the case, and instead relied on the mass hysteria surrounding the decision.
Re: Re: Re: Key words: "Corporation" and "for-profit".
Corporate empowerment and corporate regulation are two different things.
On the contrary, they are precisely the same thing. "Regulations" are exactly how corporations are empowered. Ask yourself who writes the regulations, and in whose interest (Hint: Not yours or mine).
And the furor over Citizen's United is precisely the kind of stuff that drives me crazy. People are all in up in arms that the supreme court said that the government can't ban political speech merely because it came from a group of people instead of a single person.
"Please, government! Shut me and my friends up! I beg you! In fact, here's the duct tape!"
Tell me more about how higher education in this country is "unfettered capitalism" . . .
The government gives corporations all the monopoly powers they need to screw you, and you blame not the government, but "capitalism", and call for more government involvement. Whenever you feel that corporatist truncheon coming down and beating you bloody, you can at least take some pride in the fact that it's because of you and people like you who worked tirelessly to make it happen.
On the post: Activist Tells Court That Since Corporations Are People, He Can Drive In The Carpool Lane With Incorporation Papers
Re: Re: Re:
I mean, I'm not really a fan of the NYT, for example, but I certainly don't think it's the government's job to tell them what they can and cannot print about a politician. Do you?
On the post: Activist Tells Court That Since Corporations Are People, He Can Drive In The Carpool Lane With Incorporation Papers
Re:
On the post: CNET Reporter Resigns Over CBS Interference In Dish CES Award
Re:
wat
On the post: ISP Says It's Doing Away With Contract Requirements; Wants People To Pay Them For Offering Good, Reliable Service
Re:
On the post: Developer Of Bookmaking Software Gets Full Kim Dotcom Treatment For 'Promoting Gambling'
Re: Good Precedent?
On the post: Racist Apps In Google's Play Store Test Just How Free You Want Speech To Be
Free Speech?
I highly doubt, for example, that your commitment to free speech would extend to letting the KKK hold a cross-burning rally on your front lawn. Your refusal to do so would likewise not be "censorship" or "against free speech".
Now, if they petitioned the government to force Google to remove the apps, or if you petitioned to government to prevent the KKK from holding rallies . . .
On the post: The Inevitable Post-Tragedy Witch Hunt: 'Mass Effect' Facebook Page Attacked Because Of Link To Misidentified Shooting Suspect
Re: Re: Re: But, of course
On the post: The Inevitable Post-Tragedy Witch Hunt: 'Mass Effect' Facebook Page Attacked Because Of Link To Misidentified Shooting Suspect
Re: But, of course
The 2nd amendment was written so that citizens would have the tools they needed to fight off government intrusion (foreign or domestic), and as such included any and all arms normally carried by an infantry soldier.
So if we want to keep up with technological progress, we need to re-legalize the production and sale of automatic weapons in order to comply with the spirit of the 2nd.
On the post: Obama Administration Quietly Allowed National Counterterrorism Center To Keep Database Of Info On Innocent Americans
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Shocking
And why are laws passed by representative democracies inherently more legitimate than direct democracies? Why do you believe that the morality of an action depends on whether more than 50% of some group of people vote on it, regardless of who that group is?
On the post: Obama Administration Quietly Allowed National Counterterrorism Center To Keep Database Of Info On Innocent Americans
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Shocking
But there's no reason we should lionize it.
On the post: Obama Administration Quietly Allowed National Counterterrorism Center To Keep Database Of Info On Innocent Americans
Re: Re: Re: Re: Shocking
Is a gang rape moral merely because more people voted for it than against it?
On the post: Obama Administration Quietly Allowed National Counterterrorism Center To Keep Database Of Info On Innocent Americans
Re: Re: Shocking
Government is not corrupt by accident, but by nature.
On the post: Obama Administration Quietly Allowed National Counterterrorism Center To Keep Database Of Info On Innocent Americans
Shocking
On the post: Corruption Laundering: The Art Of Manipulating Regulations To Block Innovation
Re: Oh, but I bet you'll defend Wall Street banks, Mike!
(Btw, how's that rich/poor divide thing doing? All your regulations solved that, right?)
On the post: Corruption Laundering: The Art Of Manipulating Regulations To Block Innovation
Re: Re: *Gasp*
They just need to:
(A) Get people on a team (Team Red or Team Blue). Americans love teams.
(B) Make sure the teams don't fundamentally disagree on anything substantial.
(C) Bankroll both teams' candidate.
I think our recent presidential election shows this quite nicely; Goldman Sachs won with over 98% of the vote.
On the post: Corruption Laundering: The Art Of Manipulating Regulations To Block Innovation
*Gasp*
Regulations are not written for our benefit. Just follow the money trail (or the revolving door between government and the "regulated" industry in question). Every time someone says "We obviously need more regulation!" I hear "Please, bend me over that table one more time!"
On the post: Art Institute Instructor Fired For Protesting Mandatory E-Textbook Policy Takes School To Court
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Key words: "Corporation" and "for-profit".
On the post: Art Institute Instructor Fired For Protesting Mandatory E-Textbook Policy Takes School To Court
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Key words: "Corporation" and "for-profit".
On the post: Art Institute Instructor Fired For Protesting Mandatory E-Textbook Policy Takes School To Court
Re: Re: Re: Key words: "Corporation" and "for-profit".
And the furor over Citizen's United is precisely the kind of stuff that drives me crazy. People are all in up in arms that the supreme court said that the government can't ban political speech merely because it came from a group of people instead of a single person.
"Please, government! Shut me and my friends up! I beg you! In fact, here's the duct tape!"
On the post: Art Institute Instructor Fired For Protesting Mandatory E-Textbook Policy Takes School To Court
Re: Key words: "Corporation" and "for-profit".
The government gives corporations all the monopoly powers they need to screw you, and you blame not the government, but "capitalism", and call for more government involvement. Whenever you feel that corporatist truncheon coming down and beating you bloody, you can at least take some pride in the fact that it's because of you and people like you who worked tirelessly to make it happen.
Congratulations.
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