Are we just supposed to trust the experts? Florida attorney Peter Ticktin, a friend of President Trump since their military-school days and counsel to Tina Peters, responds to The Atlantic‘s article on election skeptics. He covers voting-machine vulnerabilities, foreign interference, and the 2018 national emergency on election interference, which was extended again on August 31.
Then Oregon Roundup founder Jeff Eager updates his investigation of Uplifting Journey, the Lake Oswego group home that billed Oregon Medicaid $2.3 million in under a year. He also covers a related company whose residents say they were directed to apply for Washington Medicaid using a Vancouver shelter address, and the 5,600 pages of governor’s office emails he just obtained about First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson’s role.
Show 14-07 Summary: If you don’t speak up, you’ll lose it. Free speech is under attack. And it turns out censorship is already more widespread than we’d previously believed. By the federal government, yes; by state governments, yes. But now cities? This week, it’s all about defending free speech and exposing censorship of it.
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Original Air Dates: February 17th & 18th, 2024 | Guests: Austin VanDerHeyden and Joseph Vazquez
This Week – Exposing Censorship
Two new-to-us guests this week. But both share their experiences and insights into censorship and the fight for free speech. Which the government is supposed to defend. But right now it is the worst offender when it comes to censorship. (By the way, a big win on censorship that broke after our interview. More below.)
First up is Austin VanDerHeyden from the Goldwater Institute, which is based in Phoenix Arizona. The Goldwater Institute has defended free speech and other civil liberties since 1988. But it turns out they had a city right in their own backyard that was busy spying on and censoring city employee’s free speech.
Then we talk with Joseph Vazquez from the Media Research Center, which has been America’s media watchdog against Left-Wing bias in the news since 1987. Back then it was countering and exposing the Left bias in the media. But now MRC has a new program focused on free speech and fighting censorship. Especially by Big Tech.
Because as we see with Oregon’s A.I.-powered elections monitoring and censorship program to combat whatever the democrats in charge deem to be mi-, dis-, or mal-information (MDM), Big Tech and artificial intelligence are weaponizing technology against the rights of citizens. And, again, let us remind governments, at all levels, that the role of government is defend free speech. Even and especially speech with which it disagrees. It’s role is not to determine what is acceptable or allowed.
Did you miss our previous shows about Oregon’s MDM elections monitoring and censorship program? See these shows, 13-43, 13-45, and the related show, 14-03 with True The Vote. And this article from The Daily Caller about it.
Check out the research and show notes section for our guests’ organizations, and links mentioned during the show. And some others we relied on to build the show.
News! Censorship Can Be Stopped
Thankfully, there are sensible judges still out there who recognize that the Constitution means it when it says the government’s duty is to protect free speech, not censor it. On Friday, after our interview, news broke of a big win by RFK Jr., who had sued the federal government. Which, despite its constitutional duty, agencies within the federal government have been working with Big Tech to censor whatever it didn’t like. About such things as covid, the vaccines, global warming/climate change, transgenderism and more.
The ruling is essentially on hold until after the bigger and broader Missouri v. Biden, which is currently at the Supreme Court, awaiting a ruling. But. This ruling prevents Biden and his gestapo agencies from working with social media companies to suppress free speech. But this definitely fires a shot across the bow of U.S.S. Censorship.
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Austin VanDerHeyden (Segments 1–3) on the City of Gilbert’s Censorship
Austin VanDerHeyden is from the Goldwater Institute and serves as their Municipal Affairs Liaison
Have a problem with your city council? Or a problem with your school boards? Then contact Austin.
THIS: Austin mentioned OpenMyGovernment.org. A website to help you crack open government, with tools and resources to on how to file public records requests. Free speech dies when we remain silence.
The Goldwater Institute also takes on civil liberties cases “… on issues ranging from free speech and property rights to school choice and equal protection under the law, and much more.” Think they might be interested? Submit a case.
From The Epoch Times: Big Brother Town Department Paid to Spy on Private Social Media Posts That Do Not Align With Woke Beliefs (Epoch Times, Feb 11, 2024)
Joseph Vazquez (Segments 4–6) on Censorship: George Soros, Big Tech, and A.I.
Joseph Vazquez is from the Media Research Center and serves as the associate editor for Business and Free Speech America.
The Media Research Center (MRC), has been fighting the Left-Wing bias in news since 1987.
Perhaps one of MRC’s better-known projects is News Busters. If it’s not already on your daily news sites, it should be.
One of MRC’s latest projects is Free Speech America. Which has its own program, Censor Track, which specifically tracks censorship by Big Tech. Meaning censorship of conservatives.Visit CensorTrack.org.
We did not get time to discuss this but this is frightening: “Inside the Biden Admin’s New Strategy to Censor, Push Leftist Activism Into American Classrooms” (Newsbusters.org, Jan 17th, 2024)
