Free speech, open debate, “sunlight is the best disinfectant” — these concepts used to be the cornerstones of life in the Enlightenment West. From John Milton through John Stuart Mill, from Justice Brandeis to Harvey Silverglate, a strain of intellectually libertarian thought has underpinned the very foundation of the United States of America: if your tongue is not free, then nothing is free.
Well, that was then and this is now, as the ongoing show trial of Geert Wilders in the Netherlands demonstrates. Holland, once a country of fierce Calvinists that is now so liberal that euthanasia, pot and prostitution are all openly legal, is hurtling down the path to suicidal nihilism at a breathtaking pace:
The dark spectre of illiberalism is slowly poisoning Western liberal democracies. You won’t hear about it from much of the left-liberal press. It is part of the problem and its silence only confirms that basic liberties integral to Western liberal democracies are under threat. That is why you may not have heard about the trial of Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who is being prosecuted under hate laws in The Netherlands for his opinions about Islam. Agree or disagree with Wilders, this is the thundering march of the thought police. And don’t for a moment imagine that Australia is immune from this menace to democracy.
Read the whole piece by Janet Albrechtsen in The Australian, and then let’s have your thoughts.
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?
119 Comments
I like the way you think, Cowboy. Rest assured, America is big enough, tough enough and capable enough to do the job the US gov't ain't willing to do. We're not tolerating this crap.. nope. no way!
[...] See the full article from “Big Journalism (blog)” [...]
Ever been to Dearborn, Michigan?
Fonz,
You normally have some good points.
I don't believe in the government, nor do I expect them to do anything, including protect me. I rely on myself for those things.
Speaking of this Muslim topic, I see Kit Bond on the tube with Greta tonight, ripping the Obama Administration a new rectum. He appears fed up, and is calling for heads to roll over the handling, and the lies surrounding the Underwear Bomber.
FONZ…This post actually makes "some" sense…You must be back on the anti-delusionals
But all seriousness aside…
It was John McLame who wanted them to pay a fee, learn English, but not seal the border…Hey, I'm still laughing..
But the Cowboy is correct, Dearborn is a mess, a basket case, as is all of De-Troilet…We MUST put a stop to Muz-lim influence here in the States….
Europe is beyond hope now, they've let the MUZ-lims get a strong sandal-hold that they won't easily relinquish…In the next 25 years or so, Europe will be part of the Middle East….They don't seem to care, so why should we.??
To ban free speech will only lead to violence. Prior to the U.S. Civil War, Congress passed a gag rule that prohibited a member of Congress from broaching the subject of slavery in Congress. The rule effectively ended open debate over slavery in Congress – except for a few giants like J.Q. Adams – but it did not end the controversy and the 1850s witnessed an increase in the very violence and chaos that the sponsors of the gag rule hoped to stop.
As a society, we are only a generation away from barbarism. When one generation fails to pass on an appreciation for the freedoms that made the western world great, then the next generation will destroy the fruits of their predecessors. Europe is indeed on the road to nihilistic self-destruction.
Political correctness, diversity, multiculturalism, hate crime legislation, liberalism, and a host of other …isms are symptoms of the white Anglo-American culture voluntarily surrendering to inferior and often hostile belief systems.
This is a disturbing trend that has been going on for the past several years. Brigitte Bardot was prosecuted and forced to pay 30,000 francs as fines for articles she wrote condemming animal sacrifice rituals in France. Mark Steyn was on trial in Canada for articles he's written.
The right to express one's opinions is a cornerstone of western culture and the chipping away of that right is currently happening in western countries.
This is a very serious concern and greatly underreported by the media.
To Fonz et al:
It doesn't matter, because time is running out.
50 years from now (due in no
small part to population growth),
the human species will become
completely altered (if not entirely
decimated), as a result of the fol-
lowing factors:
– globalization;
– technology;
– fundamentalism
Psst.
Hows about a simple solution? A bounty.
Unemployed could subsidize their unemployment checks……………
We don't produce much?
Hell boy, we don't produce ANYTHING!
Hollywood turns out a fes substandard "B" movies a year, we have some Starbucks coffee-huts, and an overabundance of burger joints, and that is it. The only thing we turn out, is pencil pushers on Wall Street brokering financial "services" for a fee, and debt. We generate debt, and sell it to China. China is calling our notes, and dumping our paper.
Does that mean will all be blue like the folks in Avatar?
These "westernized Muslims" are the vanguard. There has to be a "loose plan" if not outright criminal like organization to "spread" into the west.
They are actively co-opting Western democracies incrementaly one country of sheep at a time.
I'm really sure it's EVERY little Jihadist Muslims DREAM to be "stationed" in Denmark, the Netherlands or any of the Northern democracies – because, ya know – it reminds them of their warm cozy desert homes.
The PLAIN FACT is that these countries are COWED because don't want a 9/11's like attack tearing down their cities.
The REAL THREAT of Muslim extremists blowing up and KILLING their citizens has cowed these weak feckless countries.
Wilders trial and Van Gogh MURDER are clearly muzzles placed on free citizens by Islam.
Once these Western democracies are cowed by the spector of TERRORISM – then Islam can tighten the screws on free expression.
"Jewish Influence" indeed…
OK …Take another pill, loosen your arm band, seek help, don't call me in the morning… please.
You forgot……….
1) Centralization
2) Domestication
3) Hebrew National Franks..
Where do you people come from anyway…??????/
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by imanuelco: RT @BigJournalism: Evening Thread: Is It All Over for Free Speech in the Western Democracies? http://bit.ly/d8jTdZ...
Little Apple is code for Manhattan, Kansas home of Kansas State. Probably a clueless college kid.
Gettin' drunk and thinking "deep thoughts". Pass that j-bird dude…excellent…(exhale)
Hey, criticizing "Der Administration" is "helping al Qaeda". That's the new tack by the National Security Jerk.
Wow, I actually agree with you on this one.
I 've never bought anything Kosher…Rarely see anything Kosher..Where do you live? Beverly Hills??
Muslims are unwelcome in Western countries. That should be made clear to them.
I was in Amsterdam last summer and in the hotel they had a computer kiosk where you could rent a computer by the minute.
Anyway I'm checking my e-mail and this smell of cologne comes wafting up followed closely by a Muslim guy. Fine. We are litterally a few feet from each other, shoulder to shoulder. He logs on to …to what ever the hell he logged into – it's hard to MISS his home page, again we are side by side.
His homw page is in Arabic – but in one corner is a a masked terrorist firing off an AK into the air.
Cool. this guy is logged into Yahoo.Jihad.terror.nutcase
In Amsterdam…
yup…big world… stay in the arid Arab section Achmeds…it's as easy as that.
I promise to STAY OUT of the Middle East.
Done.
It's a wild guess. Kansas colleges are well known commie hotbeds…
Radicals in general – Sebilius, that crazy (now dead) abortion doc…
unibomber? is that you? you have high speed internet in the Supermax?
I though you hated technology?
Oh sure, the Protocols of the Elders of Islam. Are you a conspiracy nut or something? Is your tin foil hat on too tight? Do you just hate Muslims? Did a Muslim beat you up?
Don't like it, do you?
The words of the great Pat Condell pretty much sum up my views on this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96ZUZ9CPZII
Tiller the Killer….May he RIH*
rest in hell
How did you catch me in points? You get all negs and I get all pos…Did you hack the DataBase and change the T'sUP, with the T'sDown ?
I watched the youtube vid…that is hilarious…Those Jews have their mits everywhere…It's amazing…I think you're in awe and jealous…Gotta go now…Time to feed the horses some "K" oats..
Well we used to produce a lot until you whores to the elitists declared war on the unions. That combined with NAFTA gave all the corporate elitists the green light to destroy the middle class and they did it with your feverish support.
When unions were strong, we didn't need bail-outs or stimulus packages or needless incessant borrowing from countries like China or India. We weren't billions of dollars in debt to 3rd world countries like Brazil, Venezuela and Vietnam. You stroke yourselves off about your faux patriotism while supporting corporate elitists opinion generators and their agenda of indoctrinating YOU to destroy YOU and you obediently follow because it's an opportunity to make a black President look bad or a female Speaker of the House look bad or any opportunity you can latch onto to make somebody look bad no matter how much it's costing you.
Bush put us billions of dollars in debt to Vietnam and you all worry about ACORN? The Supreme Court gave Hugo Chavez the legal right to finance US elections using his American based company Citgo and you all cheer and support it because corporate elitists convinced you that unions were already doing it as if unions could out-spend corporations.
You all obediently whine about "Liberal media". The only media Liberals ever owned was Air America which finally folded after years of most people not even knowing they were still around. Corporate media!!! All Corporate media designed to divide people against each other and conquer them all because it can sell more Nissans and open more ScotTrade accounts. If we're busy on this website pacifying ourselves and each other with these weapons of mass distraction posing as journalists, we won't pay attention to the fact that we are being wiped out by our leaders. Left wing, Right wing…same damn bird!!!
A Muslim can't be truthful to both Islam and the principles of the free West at the same time, ever. Anyone who claims s/he can is either lying through their teeth or dangerously ignorant. All they want are the economic advantages the free West has to offer and spread their 1400 years old death cult through demographics. Islam should be outlawed in any society that is based on democracy and free speech. Welcome those who want to abandon this totalitarian ideology but reject the rest.
Reminds me a lot of progressivism
By the way…I'm turning more and more Libertarian.
Muslims fight like little girls. That's well documented. Follow the evidence trail Saheeb, follow the trail.
I am glad to see that Europe is pushing back against islamic scumbags – finally.
Here, in your "tounge" – allahahhrh nutttymooo-slim-allahsucksasss. There ya go.
kookoo for coco puffs R U – Fonz=Saheeb the Jihadist
The use of the TERMS OF SERVICE AGREEMENTS by most all internet based "news" sites is being used to silence any person that exerts editorial free speech that might not be to the liking of the site owners, or its agenda, or influences. So, it is evident, serious limitations to free speech are alive a thriving right here in the USA. Look in the mirror. Your statement "for his opinions about Islam. Agree or disagree with Wilders, this is the thundering march of the thought police. And don’t for a moment imagine that Australia is immune from this menace to democracy". FYI, there is a large tea party group in Texas, and quite a few participants have communicated that sites like Breitbart and others, in addition to media like FOX etc are removing them under the excuse of such TERMS OF SERVICE AGREEMENTS, because they express views relating to BHO eligibility and background. Seems the same as "thundering march of the thought police" along the lines of "read the palm, call my lawyer".
The Obama administration are the same ones that spit on our soldiers coming back from Vietnam. They hate the military because they think defense spending is better spent on social programs. They don't protect our southern border and ignore the terrorism threat. Makes me wonder if they want a terrorism act so that they can use the crisis as a means to " normalize " the country after the crisis and usher in their socialist agenda. Remember Rahm says not to let a crisis go to waste.
If you hurry youcan catch the next freighter to Pakistan and then hitchhike home to Islamibad.
The family goat herding operation is suffering without you to, er – keep the male goats "happy".
It's that voodoo that you do sooo well…goat massage – with a "happy ending".
ya, we're stuck with most of those dolts though – we can "export" this problem back to Allah-land.
We need to make our Arab born "guests" uncomfotable – lest they all go Hasan on us.
Like the Islamic loon "Fonz" up here. He's clearly planning something. Drips hate.
Follow the yellow brick road…http://dunwalke.com/1_Brady_Bush_Bechtel.htm
Follow the yellow brick road. http://dunwalke.com/1_Brady_Bush_Bechtel.htm
HAHAHA!!
Follow the yellow brick road…http://dunwalke.com/1_Brady_Bush_Bechtel.htm
Where Doe's The Red Road Go To?
Not A Happy Place.
I'm Coming For You.
Geert Wilders laments the Islamization of his homeland and stands trial for it? With this stupid 'hate crime' legislation the speech police may soon be knocking on everyone's door. AR-15 will greet them should they ever come to mine.
I have a friend who is nominally Muslim, born in Iran just before the revolution. I actually don't see much evidence of her Muslim faith – she does not wear the Chador, nor talk about religion. She does not approve of the regime in Tehran, but she has a fatalistic attitude to it, from watching the past 30 years of history. She certainly does not wish to lose our way of life, with freedom and education, and she is not alone. I suspect a lot of Muslims are Muslim in name only, just as many Christians are not very attentive to their nominal faith.
One of the main tactics of the Islamofascists is to marginalize Muslims like her and her family, both casting the shadow of suspicion upon them and cowing them into submission. These deserve our support and encouragement, and our promise of protection when they speak up against the fascists.
That having been said, the Islamofascists in Europe are doing very well, and the cowardice of European and Canadian leaders in the face of this does not bode well for their continued membership among Western nations.
Try Kosher franks, they are the best!
I Hate The Truth!
I saw a very interesting program about the Koran, a well spoken Egyptian lady was talking about the radicalization that just about coincides with the period of time you are talking about.
She had television film from about the mid 70's of Nassar's funeral. Very few of the hundreds of thousands teeming on the streets of Cairo were in traditional Muslim garb. Mostly western style, no scarves – no turbins. Looked like a western city scene.
Thirty five years later that's all you see. She felt that the ass kicking administred by Israel in '73 radicalized the population – out of sheer humiliation.
This is what happens when the people in power don't follow the constitution and don't know american history. Look at what the government is doing with the "show trials" that were previously set to happen in NY. America's freedom of speech is under attack and there doesn't seem to be a separation of powers between the congress and the executive branch.
Remember the haunting theme in FBI agent Clarice's angst in the movie, "The Silence of the Lambs." It's
writ large on the world scene today. Evil that you deny, exists. A throat is cut as easily as a peanut butter
and jelly sandwich is. We fat and sassy types seem oblivious to who the enemy is…..and what they
can do, in the blink on an eye. Yet we have an administration that treats the tiger with Meow Mix.
It's sad but this is what the libbies/dems want.
They think it should be illegal to cause mental anguish to anyone, silencing any criticisms. Hence the constant push for more hate crimes laws, when the need is not there.
And the court, making their own pseudo Constitutional laws based upon previous 'precedents.' As if a bad decision by the courts based upon bad decisions by the courts makes anything Constitutional.
We must stand up and make sure we elect leaders for our communities, states, and our nation who will do what is best for our future, not just what they perceive as politically expedient.
"They think it should be illegal to cause mental anguish to anyone," unless it's someone on the right.
It's cute because they think we won't destroy their puny ass if they even try.
As for you guys, you're buying into the paranoia….
yup
Little Apple ….who knew?…Future FONZ protege'
K State J-Hogs?
Holland is hardly notable for “fierce Calvinism.” At the dawn of the Enlightenment, the Netherlands were one of the few places in Europe where science could be studied and developed freely, outside of the control of fundamentalists. That’s the tragedy here, that a country at the forefront of the Enlightenment is now finally succumbing to a fundamentalism it has always been able to resist before, even when its source was a lot closer to it culturally and poltiically than the contemporary fundamentalist threat.
Hey, SITE ADMINISTRATOR
Don't expect too much continued participation, it you continually delete peoples comments. Your censorship is growing old, and droll.
I think I'll start a new religion. It will be based upon the teachings of Bubba, and the basic premise is that all leftists are evil and are not worthy of Bubba's love, and as such must be purged from the earth. Bubba will bless the hand that destroys the evil leftist. To die while destroying leftists brings Bubba's greatest blessing.
Do you think the left will welcome me with open arms and punish those who try to get the message out about what I'm up to?
I wanted to vote on Cowboy's deleted comment. I think I'd find myself agreeing.
I'll continue to call a spade a spade, and if they don't like it, phuck 'em. Their attempt to quash our liberties through the marginalization of our constitution will ultimately fail, but only if we stand up to them, challenge them and fight them. Obama is just another in a steady succession of statists whose goal is our subjugation to the elitest rule of intellectualism through fascistic policies deemed lawful and credible by ignorant and stupid constituency. Not only no but hell no!
I hate to bust your chops but the violence was a result of Unionists coming into the South and killing people who were against statehood. Read the REAL HISTORY of the Civil War before you go spouting the old "it was about slavery" nonsense. Also read about how the UNION brought in entire German military units, gave them land and citizenship so they would fight against the South…I know this must burn your eyes to read but it is what we call FACTS.
The Progressives are the useful idiots for the Islamists, and would be the first to go.
Did anyone read the whole article? I'm just wondering how that Hassan knows what non-Muslim women do when they go to the toilet?????? And talk about hate speech-why isn't he being prosecuted for calling people who disagree with him pigs and monkeys? Let us pray that this utter insanity doesn't get entrenched here in the US. 2010 and 2012 are looming as more and more important. We've got to take back our government by then, or I fear it will be too late.
They know you won't "destroy their puny ass" because "Law Enforcement" will not let you do that.
Actually, a lot more food then you would suspect is Kosher.
Somebody should start prosecuting every person who claims to believe in Mohamed and the Koran. I find it offensive because, as a non believer infidel, it demands my immediate murder in the name of Allah. Go ahead. What are you waiting for Netherlands? Start locking them up. I demand equal justice under the law.
I can confirm the censorship on this site, although some areas are worse than others. An example – the illustrious Mr. Nolte. But then this IS their site. If we want, we can put the effort into it and develop our own site. And there's always FreeRepublic.com and others for those who tire of the Big way. We have no right to demand that they run their site the way WE want them to do it. In fact, there are probably MANY followers of this site who are GLAD they censor as they do. However, those of us who dislike their policies do not have to keep coming here. What works for the New York Times…
Does anyone see the irony of a comment being deleted by the administrator in a thread about the loss of freedom of speech?
That's fine…I only read the labels to check protein content…In the future, I'll be lookin' for the sneaky hand of the Rabi…
I hate to tell you, but now that you've made that announcement you can expect an armored vehicle and full body armor on the "Law Enforcement" when they choose to do so. And they will have AT LEAST AR-15s.
Our club reports, as of this week, that one of our computers is no longer able to "Post a new comment" on Breitbart.com. Multiple of our club members have been using this computer to post editorial comments involving a variety of related issues including but not limited to BHO eligibility related issues etc. As a matter of practice, postings made, are saved as files. Reading through the postings, we don't see any reason to be eliminated access?
We agree with Michael Savage, as a society, we must fight for FREE SPEECH, AND THE FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION in the USA. Word of mouth in spreading fact and truth is the only way to overcome the mass-media control of our society. Our mailing list is extensive, we have developed a list that we are distributing, it includes any media, including internet based "news" sites.
Self-described "left" "middle" or "right" media-based "news" that is limited, manipulated, or all together eliminated is the single greatest threat to free speech and the free flow of information in the USA. Word of mouth and boycott is the way WE THE PEOPLE will take back our country. The self-described talking heads coming at you with "agendas" from the left-middle-right [like Huffington and Glen Beck] are the problem, and not the solution. Look at what Glen Beck just did with Medina of Texas. She tried to answer a question with honesty, instead of the "media-derived-spin-manipulation" and he proceeded to do a complete hatchet-job on her. Well lets see, Beck & Palin work for the same boss at FOX? Consider the agenda based activities of this crew, and you see the picture more clearly. Motives drive agenda. These left-middle-right agendas are at the core of the problems.
Except we haven't stayed out of the Middle East so this sounds like you're defending Islamic terrorism. Muslims are welcome in the West. Fundamentalists are not.
The issue of statehood in Bloody Kansas had everything to do with slavery because the fundamental question was whether or not Kansas would come into the union as a slave or free state. Violence flared up on both sides of the issue.
My whole point had nothing to do with the origins of the Civil War. My point was that gag rules – the censoring of free speech – never works and leads to the very violence that proponets of it say they want to avoid.
With that being said, I will say that slavery was the primary cause of the war no matter how you slice it. Nor does you contention about the German military units have anything to do with the slavery issue or the original point about the gag rule. No need to worry about my eyes.
Could be. It also however might be just the continuation of the campaign of radicalization carried on by people like Arafat, or a spillover of the Palestinian poison (thank you Nasser and the other WWII-era Nazis who set them up), which has not been opposed by the West then or now.
Yeah, it's especially odd that they choose to answer the question to their own headline in such a way.
Yes….yes, indeed.
"Unions"? "Productivity"? You ever have a job?
Unions are like Guilds; they are intended to protect those with longevity in a profession from competition by younger people and to allow them to get away with being lazy bums.
Oh, yeah – Funnel money into the pockets of those running the union or guild.
I've never been able to make sense of the scoring system here.
Last I looked, he had 555 posts, but number of posts don't seem related to score in spite of that "+1" we get for each post.
Read what they say. Read the Koran. Remember, every thing they say is two faced, they can do no wrong (according to them, and by definition), unbelievers can do little right, by definition.
I'm disappointed. Is there a site for the Tea Party?
The problem is that the radicals are hiding in "plain sight" amongst the rest.
We as a nation haven't stayed out, I pledge as a private citizen that was born and raised in the Asia a dn has travel widely to STAY out of the Middle East (exceot for Israel, an island in a sea of craziness).
So, if these Muslims want to kill each other I HOPEthe populations they live in start "taking care of business'.
As for U.S. participation in U.N. missions, I fine with that – as for stabalizing Iraq – I'm fine with that – as for cutting off the head of the snake that is al Qaeda – fine with that.
Yup, I don't need to be defended by the ste administrator – that's for sure.
Dimm libs think they can ride the tiger or that they are going to magically be exempt from the sword.
Ain't hap'nen.
The problem is, it won't be some splinter group, it will be the government itself supporting the thought police. And while Americans, as a group, could certainly resist the government, it won't be "as a group". Just as the governments of Germany, Italy, Spain, Cambodia, Chine, ect, have done, they will go after just a few at a time. Before you know it, everyone will be afraid to speak up for few of being the next target.
The only way to stop the progress is to "over react" everytime something like this happens. Make them(those wanting to stifle freedom) fearful of what will happen if they are found out, not the other way around.
I know a great deal about Islam, having read much. There is a reason why your friend from Iran is only nominally Muslim. That is because Iran still retains much of its Persian roots, including its language. Also, Iranians are among the highest-educated countries in the Muslim world, so many Iranians look to the west, with admiration, and askance, at their surrounding Arab neighbors, whom they regard as invaders and interlopers. There is also a growing apostate movement in certain Muslim countries, and Iran is one of them, where millions are quietly leaving Islam. For instance, in Egypt, its estimated 5 million Muslims have left Islam, and that includes many imans, who have to lead dual lives.
What a marvelous reinforcement of the content of the article that this post has been censored.
the victims of Fort Hood are the most gregious examples of the political correctness of America as dictated by the fools like obozo and his fellow America bashers/haters
The administrative deletion of comments ON this story pretty much answers the question in the title OF the story.
"Law Enforcement" at its finest:
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14361...
I've asked them about it…Thumb's down counts 5x a thumbs up…Kinda tough…The ones that don't like you have a bigger influence on your score then people who do….
Cowboy'
What did they delete? Your comment about puttin' a bounty on them? Or Bomb Iran.??..The Fonz and now you…What's this blog comming to??/
So, if you have a "+1" that is the result of the +1 for post, +10 from readers who agree, and -10 from disagrees, it counts over all as "-39"?
I'd never have figured this out. Thanks.
(Now, where's the aspirin?)
Once again a pundit exposes his blathering ignorance.
What democracies?
I live in a constitutionally limited republic which is anathema to democrats. I would never live in a democracy.
Our founders were smart enough to create a republic.
Democracy = rule of man – think posses,, vigilantes, mob rule.
Republic = rule of law and God.
Only a progressive would call us a democracy. Out of ignorance or simply hoping.
The difference is huge and the gap is not breach-able. The chasm between a democracy and a republic is infinite.
I've had enough of the censorship on this site. I have cleaned off as many of my posts as I can, much to the pleasure of the "Law Enforcement" types around here I'm sure. I bid you good day.
I've had some time to think about your comment. I think you've got something there.
Isn't it though?
The stoopid bastard that deleted it, failed to savvy the importance of the article. They just contradicted themselves.
My original comment made mention that I could come up with 100 different ways to extract information from our little brown brethern, and none of them included waterboarding. I further stated, that by the time I got to #3, they would love freedom……….
You must be logged in to post a comment.