Over time, I've found myself agreeing with Taibbi and his co-host Walter Kirn more often than not. We may not share the exact same politics, but we share a whole lot of the same values. I've also come to appreciate Taibbi's earnest belief in America's foundational principles and his almost endearing disbelief at the current state of his chosen profession. //

Because “freedom of speech” is now frequently described as a stalking horse for hate and discrimination — the UN High Commissioner Volker Türk scolded Elon Musk that “free speech is not a free pass” — it’s becoming one of those soon-to-be-extinct terms. Speech is mentioned in “reputable” media only as a possible vector for the informational disease known as misinformation.

The end game is not controlling speech. They’re already doing that. The endgame is getting us to forget we ever had anything to say.
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Let's be clear about our language. Madison famously eschewed the word toleration or tolerance when it came to religion and insisted on the words freedom or liberty instead. This became the basis for the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which in turn became the basis for the Bill of Rights. That's why we don't have “toleration of religion” or “toleration of speech.” We have freedom of speech. The right word for the right time.

To the people who are suggesting that there are voices who should be ignored because they're encouraging mistrust or skepticism of authority, or obstructing consensus: I'm not encouraging you to be skeptical of authority. I'm encouraging you to DEFY authority. That is the right word for the this time. //

In this speech, Taibbi hit all the right notes, with a nod to our history, the history of free speech, the Gospel of John and the power of words — and the Word. He captured the spirit of what it means to be quintessentially American — to be free. //

Enzo D Bakr
16 hours ago
Matt Taibbi personifies the difference between a liberal and a Leftist. It is important to our Republic that we all know the difference. Behold...