Freedom of Speech is Under Assault

I saw the story about Kansas City Chiefs kicker, Harrison Butker, and his comments made during a commencement speech this past Saturday. Butker, a devout Catholic who was speaking at a small Catholic school, expressed his personally held belief that women are designed by God to have children and raise families and he believes those who do are happier and more fulfilled than those who choose a career and status instead. He also expressed his disagreement with the transgender movement,  another traditional Catholic belief. From what I've read, his remarks were well received by the male and female audience.

But it's 2024, and the non-conservatives across the country went nuts. You know the ones... those who weren't there but have a deep need to be outraged for the people to whom the speech was addressed, and for all of the poor women and trans people who might feel verbally abused, and even threatened, by Butker expressing his (harmless) personal beliefs, because his beliefs are different than theirs. How dare he tell women what to do??! 

Except he didn't tell anyone what to do. He expressed personally held beliefs with which others many or may not agree. He has a Constitutional right to do so. And he was invited to do so by the school.

Butker's employer, the Kansas City Chiefs, in the name of "inclusion," put out a statement distancing the team from his remarks.

“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity. His views are not those of the NFL as an organization,” said Senior Vice President Jonathan Beane, the league’s chief diversity and inclusion officer. “The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”

You had to know the woke NFL wouldn't be able to stay silent. It wouldn't surprise me to learn of some punishment inflicted on Butker in the near future.

The official X page of the city of Kansas City, Missouri, published a tweet informing the public of the rather small suburb where Butker lives, then took it down eight minutes later. Eight minutes is long enough for crazies to see it and plan. Whoever did that should be fired immediately.

The Western world has become a place where freedom of speech is under assault. In some countries, (Canada, Great Britain, and other European nations) people are already being prosecuted and jailed for what is being called "hate speech," which in fact is merely expressing beliefs that are not main stream/woke. Conservative beliefs; political, religious, social, etc., are being vilified by the left and by secular groups, and prohibited in other countries. There are, without a doubt, people in these United States who would do away with the First Amendment right to free speech. The cancel culture is about just that.

People need to stop getting irate about the opinions of others with which they disagree. Life is too short.

The Destruction of American Justice

The persecution of Trump by the left is quickly destroying our legal system, sanctioned and aided by the Justice Department and Joe Biden. Records show every prosecutor involved (New York's Bragg and AG Laticia James, Georgia's Fani Willis, and Jack Smith) has been personally in touch with the White House and/or the Justice Department in the last 18 months. Coincidence? Yeah, right.

Michael Colangelo, one of Bragg's prosecutors, was the #3 guy in the U.S. Department of Justice until the end of 2022, when he  just happened to resign and move to New York City to take a job as a prosecutor. No one does that without a reason. We know in 2018 Colangelo was paid a total of $12,000 by the Democrat National Committee for "political consulting." No appearance of impropriety there. Nope. Not even a little bit...

Jack Smith was recently forced to admit mishandling of evidence in the documents case. The judge in that case put the trial on indefinite hold because of Smith's irregularities.

Attorney General Merrick Garland recently announced, with an election coming up in six months, that the Justice Department is going to crack down on misinformation. Can you say Deja Vu? Even though it's now widely known that the Biden administration colluded with big tech to suppress and mislead the American public, I have no doubt they'll enlist the assistance of big tech again. They can't allow voters to be informed.

For Democrats... politicians, Attorneys General (both state and federal), and prosecutors (both state and federal), justice has become about rigging and winning elections for the Democrats. The judges in New York (Engoron and Merchan) are clearly biased against Trump, and Merchon should have recused himself for family conflict of interest. In Georgia, Judge McAfee worked as a prosecutor for Fani Willis, in the DA's Office, before being appointed to the Superior Court, (having never been a judge before.) Jack Smith reports to Merrick Garland.

The "coincidences" in these prosecutions of Trump are pretty remarkable... and the odds of them being coincidences are astronomical. The new Democrat motto has become "Win at any and all cost." It should worry all Americans.

Good-bye First Amendment...?

This is a first for me.

I never thought I'd agree with Jerry Nadler or the ACLU... on anything. But on a recent bill being considered in the House, they are correct.

HR 6090, The "Antisemitism Awareness Act," is a bill aimed at curbing public expression, ostensibly on college campuses, of antisemitic and/or anti-Israel rhetoric.  It's a direct assault on the First Amendment. And it's being led and pushed by Republicans.

The points in this bill, some listed below, are adopted from the 

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) list of antisemitic acts. They are "a certain perception of Jews, often expressed as hatred toward Jews," which includes:

"Calling for, aiding or justifying the killing or harming of Jews;

"Making dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews or the power of Jews as a collective, such as the myth of a Jewish conspiracy or Jews controlling the media, economy, government, or other societal institutions;

"Holocaust denialism;

"Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel than to the interests of their own nation;

"Denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination. For example, claiming the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor (anti-Zionism); and

"Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis."

Anyone who understands and defends freedom of speech in the United States will understand that the language of this bill is too broad, and would put European style restrictions on our First Amendment rights. If you can be jailed for criticizing, defaming, insulting or otherwise disrespecting Jews in America, the First Amendment goes out the window.

Antisemitism is ugly and repugnant, just like racism. But the First Amendment gives every American the right to hate freely and to voice that hatred in a peaceful manner. We may not like it or condone it, but if it's outlawed we no longer have a Constitutional Republic. Some will say we already have lost our Republic, but this will definitely cement it. People in Europe get imprisoned for what is considered hate speech. It's never been that way here... until now?

Imagine going to prison simply for saying the Holocaust didn't happen or saying Jews control the media in this nation. Ignorant perhaps... but illegal? How far will it go after that?

The House passed the bill yesterday evening with a vote of 320 to 91. Twenty-one Republicans and 70 Democrats voted against it.

Republicans better be careful. Up until yesterday, Democrats were the ones working hard to reign in First Amendment rights. Now they've got the help of the Republicans.