As we approach another Presidential election, let's start this discussion off with the vital importance of our right to speak and our right to vote, as they are the cornerstones of this Constitutional Republic ... from ZOOMERS 2 BOOMERS ... Read full article here: https://wp.me/p2X3AR-1pOP

ZOOMERS 2 BOOMERS Election 2024

Kansas Reflector opinion editor Clay Wirestone leads a discussion with editor in chief Sherman Smith, senior reporter Tim Carpenter and reporter Anna Kaminski on what to expect in the annual legislative session that begins Jan. 13.

What to expect in the 2025 Kansas legislative session

Today's guest is Nico Perrino, executive vice president at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), director of the 2020 documentary Mighty Ira, which profiles the longtime head of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the author of a forthcoming book on the triumph of civil libertarians.

He's also the host of the popular podcast So to Speak, which takes an "uncensored look at the world of free expression through the law, philosophy, and stories that define your right to free speech." Reason's Nick Gillespie talks with him about the Biden administration's rotten record on speech issues, his hopes and fears for President Donald Trump's second term, and why he worries that, when it comes to speech, Elon Musk is "suffering from the curse of power, which is censorship."

0:00- Introduction
1:29- Biden administration's record on free speech
8:22- Internal and external pressures on tech platforms to censor
11:00- Double standards on free speech
12:19- Will speech be freer under Trump than Biden?
18:49- The TikTok 'ban' & DeepSeek AI
28:23- Elon Musk: friend or foe to free speech? 31:10- Free speech culture
36:00- What was 'cancel culture'?
39:22- Institutional neutrality and campus speech post-Oct 7
46:43- Generational attitude shifts on free speech

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The Reason Speakeasy. The Reason Speakeasy is a monthly, unscripted conversation in New York City with outspoken defenders of free thinking and heterodoxy in an age of intellectual conformity and groupthink. It doubles as a live taping of The Reason Interview with Nick Gillespie podcast. The next one takes place on Thursday, February 27, and features Brian Doherty talking about his new book, Modern Libertarianism: A Brief History of Classical Liberalism in the United State

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Nico Perrino: What the Trump-Musk Alliance Means for Free Speech

Dee and Kate feel everyone should celebrate Valentine’s Day by absolving their sins through sexual intercourse with a High Priestess in an Egyptian themed neo-pagan sex cult. The Swede calls in about frequenting a rub and tug in Middle Earth. Sign up for the Sick and Wrong Patreon to hear the Second Show, SW archives, and the bonus minisode Serial Killer Star Signs.

S&W Episode 985: Church of the Most High Goddess

THE FATED TASSMER LINEAGE

Leslie Marshall Show -2/24/25- Trump and Musk's Abuse of Power; Trump vs the Free Press

Satire is a powerful force for political and cultural change. But is it even possible in a world that outstrips our imagination on a daily—or even hourly—basis?

Today's guests are two young novelists who are redefining satire in the 21st century. Leigh Stein is the author of Self Care, which is set at a women's wellness startup where things go very wrong. Her next novel, If You're Seeing This, It's Meant for You, takes place at a social media hype house and comes out in August. Julius Taranto is the author of How I Won a Nobel Prize, which is set at a secretive university funded by a reclusive billionaire and staffed exclusively by faculty who have been canceled elsewhere. His reviews and essays have been published in The Washington Post, The New York Review of Books, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and elsewhere.

Reason's Nick Gillespie talks with them about the widely pronounced post-election vibe shift by which artists feel emboldened once again to slay sacred cows with impunity. And they explore whether contemporary markets for books, movies, plays, music, and other forms of creative expression are actually capable of supporting a new era of satire, parody, and self-examination.

This interview was recorded at The Reason Speakeasy, a live monthly event in New York City that doubles as a live taping of The Reason Interview.

1:30—What is the purpose of a novel?
4:49—What is the function of satire?
9:03—Philip Roth declared satire impossible in 1961
12:30—How culture has fractured
15:17—Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and figures beyond satire
18:31—Class dimensions of satire
22:52—How Stein's feminist activism inspired Self Care
23:58—Tom Wolfe and satirical realism
31:25—Is the world becoming post-literate?
32:54—Has the novel been feminized?
34:25—Joe Rogan as the successor to Marcel Proust?
35:28—How women dominate the publishing industry
47:43—Stein's cultural criticism and poetry

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Leigh Stein and Julius Taranto: Did Wokeness and Trump Kill Literary Satire?

Today's guest is Mark Clifford, former editor in chief of the South China Morning Post whose recent book, The Troublemaker, chronicles the life of Jimmy Lai, a man who escaped mainland Communist China to Hong Kong as a child and went on to become a self-made billionaire. But now at age 77, Lai is a political prisoner, currently on trial in China for his unwavering criticism of the government, particularly as it relates to a pro-democracy publication he founded called Apply Daily. Clifford and Reason's Billy Binion talked about Lai's humble beginnings; his cinematic escape to freedom; his fearless pro-democracy activism; his life in prison, where he's held in solitary confinement; and the importance of safeguarding free expression around the world.

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Mark Clifford: A Political Prisoner Fights for Free Speech in China

Today's guest is Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker. Pinker and Reason's Nick Gillespie discuss recent shifts at Harvard toward greater institutional neutrality and free speech, while warning that threats to academic freedom now come from both internal ideologies and external political forces—including pressure from the federal government under President Donald Trump.

Pinker defends the role of federal science funding but cautions against political micromanagement of academia, emphasizing the need for independent scholarly governance. The conversation also touches on Pinker's admiration for Richard Dawkins, the impact of declining religiosity on moral progress, and the concept of "common knowledge" as explored in Pinker's forthcoming book, When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows. 

0:00— Introduction

1:27— The state of Harvard

4:42— Harvard is circumventing SCOTUS affirmative action ruling

6:02— How to foster true ideological diversity

7:25— Why does Harvard rank so highly?

10:16— Threats to academic freedom under Trump

18:58— Do universities really need federal funding?

23:14— History of government interference in higher education

27:20— Is the Trump administration uniquely anti-intellectual?

30:47— Is academia historically unpopular now?

36:55— How universities can regain trust

40:25— Richard Dawkins' influence on Pinker

49:51— Societal progress was propelled by secularism

52:50— Why are public intellectuals pushing for religious revival?

54:23— Pinker's new book: When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows


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Steven Pinker: Can Harvard Be Saved?

Former President Biden Has Prostate Cancer; Cutting Through the Trash From the Press 
Pope Leo XIV delivers unifying message during his Inaugural Mass
Washington State passes law requiring priests to divulge confessions made in the confessional 

The Federalist Pages 231 05192025: Former President Biden Has Prostate Cancer; Cutting Through the Trash From the Press

Who Gets to Silence Whom? A Deep Dive into Constitutional Rights | Ep 246

MERCHANDISE SHOP: voices-for-voices.org/3QnokLU
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Free speech is a constitutional right that protects everyone equally, especially when discussing matters of public concern related to health and safety. The law provides strong protections for those who speak about dangerous situations, even when powerful people with resources try to silence them through intimidation tactics.

• First Amendment free speech protections apply to everyone regardless of popularity or influence
• "Matter of public concern" provides additional legal protection when discussing safety issues
• Public health and safety discussions are specifically protected forms of speech
• Powerful people sometimes use defamation claims to silence smaller voices
• Individuals with disabilities have both constitutional and additional legal protections
• David vs. Goliath dynamics often play out when the wealthy try to silence those with fewer resources
• True defamation claims require actual damages, not just disagreement with what was said
• Speaking truth about dangerous situations serves the public interest

Please subscribe, comment, share, and if you're able, consider supporting our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization through donations at voicesforvoices.org or Venmo @VoicesForVoices

#constitutionalrights #freedom of speech #freespeechrights #firstamendment #legalrights #civilliberties #speechlaw #legaldebate #constitutionallaw #rightsandfreedoms #speechsuppression #legalanalysis #VoicesforVoices #VoicesforVoicesPodcast #JustinAlanHayes #JustinHayes #help3billion



Who Gets to Silence Whom? A Deep Dive into Constitutional Rights | Ep 246

State legislatures are seeing a wave of industry-backed bills that would ban or restrict the public’s ability to test for air pollution in local communities. Last year, the Louisiana legislature effectively banned community groups from using their own air monitoring to warn residents about pollution or publicly advocate for cleanups. Violators can face penalties of up to $32,500 per day, plus $1 million for intentional violations. Earlier this year, Kentucky passed legislation that attempts to restrict what evidence state and local environmental regulators can use when enforcing pollution regulations. Morgan King, climate and energy program manager with the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, joins us to discuss her work building up an air monitoring network around West Virginia, where industry-backed legislation to restrict monitoring has failed twice over the last two years.

The Attack on Community Air Monitoring in State Legislatures

A Sacramento Lawsuit and the Fight for Police Accountability

In the latest episode of Everyday Injustice, host David Greenwald sits down with civil rights attorney Marissa Hatton of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and community activist Meg White to examine a pivotal case against the Sacramento Police Department. The lawsuit, stemming from police violence during the George Floyd protests in 2020, sheds light on the city’s response to racial justice demonstrations and the long road toward accountability and reform. Despite a monetary settlement, plaintiffs and advocates remain deeply frustrated by the court’s refusal to impose lasting injunctive relief.

Hatton recounts the harrowing details behind the legal battle, which challenged the Sacramento Police Department not only for excessive force—including the widespread use of chemical agents and rubber bullets—but also for viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment. While the court ruled that the department had violated the Fourth Amendment by using unlawful force and failing to train or discipline its officers, it stopped short of mandating policy changes to prevent future misconduct. For many, including the plaintiffs, that decision leaves them vulnerable to repeat abuse.

Meg White, one of six plaintiffs, offers an unflinching firsthand account of what it felt like to be maced, beaten, and traumatized during what was supposed to be a peaceful protest. White’s experience—shared by hundreds of demonstrators—illustrates a pattern of police escalation and indiscriminate retaliation. The contrast between the violent crackdown on racial justice protesters and the relative restraint shown to Stop the Steal demonstrators is a key element of the case, revealing a disturbing double standard in how law enforcement responds to dissenting voices.

Though the court acknowledged a pattern and practice of unconstitutional conduct, the ruling left systemic change off the table—deepening public distrust. As the conversation turns toward ongoing protests and growing authoritarianism across the country, this episode is both a sobering postmortem of one city’s failures and a warning about what happens when legal victories don’t translate into institutional reform. Hatton and White make one thing painfully clear: without accountability and structural change, the injustice will repeat itself.


Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 293: Beaten for Protesting

BIG DADDY IS HOME AND READY (WE LOVE [u] GUYS)

New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 121

There are a lot of names we could give the obvious problem on the radical Right that has infiltrated and is threatening MAGA today. It used to be called the "Alt Right," and the Left used that term to mount a successful defense and even recruitment campaign for their causes (remember: Joe Biden ran for president and "won" based on Leftist reaction to the Alt Right). Another, better, term for the phenomenon is the "Woke Right." It is not just more accurate and true, it is also strategic. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay explains why the Woke Left cannot use the framing "Woke Right" the way it uses other labels, like "Alt Right" or "Neo-Fascist Right," in effect short circuiting the dialectic they depend on to drive their activism. (This episode, as I note, points to a subscribers-only episode of James Lindsay OnlySubs https://newdiscourses.com/2025/05/the-surprising-genius-of-woke-right/, paywalled, I did on this subject previously. Please check it out and consider subscribing!)

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© 2025 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #wokeright

How "Woke Right" Beats the Dialectic

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.

Brad is first joined by Tim Karr, Senior of Director of Strategy and Communications at 'Free Press,' a nonpartisan organization fighting for your rights to connect and communicate.
The pair examines the increasingly disturbing trend of the mainstream media's capitulation to Trump and his administration.  This includes a discussion on Free Press's newly created 'Media Capitulation Index,' and a report that Tim authored on the way forward.  It's titled, "A More Perfect Media: Saving America’s Fourth Estate from Billionaires, Broligarchy and Trump."

Then, Brad is joined by Hadar Susskind, President and CEO of 'The New Jewish Narrative."  The organization's mission statement identifies their members as "American Jews, deeply rooted in the story of our people and the history of our struggle for peace and justice. In our narrative, peace and justice are the birthright of Israelis, of Palestinians, and of all people."

The two discuss the increasingly dire situation in Gaza, where the United Nation's Humanitarian Affairs Office says that food consumption has "declined to its lowest level since the onset of the war." They report that "nearly 90% of households have resorted to extremely severe coping mechanisms to feed themselves, including taking significant risks to obtain food and scavenging from garbage."  
Gaza health authorities also report that over 200 people have died of starvation since the war began 22 months ago, and that nearly half of them were children.


Brad writes a political column every Sunday for 'The Hill.'
He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles. You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His handle on BlueSky is @bradbannon.bsky.social.   

(Image Credit: Free Press)

Leslie Marshall Show - 8/11/25 - Media Capitulation to Trump; Palestinian Children Dying of Starvation in Gaza

SCORE pdf [51Mb] is here http://www.picture-poems.com/pdfs/first-amendnent_panelaco.pdf

Can be performed in any way that fits the occasion. All it takes is one mater frummer who knows the 75-step pattern by heart; One run through is one minute. You can break the pulse, and do it as a CALL & RESPONSE People’s Mike. OrYou can march & drum in formation down 5th Avenue!

SEE ALSO the other panelaço of the set, IN OUR AMERICA…https://soundcloud.com/cliff-crego/in-our-america-panelacoa-pots-pans-music-of-protest

FIRST AMENDMENT panelaço:—A Pots & Pans Protest Music

Composer. Writer. Photographer. Former conductor & founder of the ASKO ensemble.

On a bike/ski/hike trek of the Pacific Northwest studying native plants & climate breakdown 🌲 from sagebrush sea to whitebark pine. Composing off-grid the whole way.

#Sun2Sound 🌕 on Bluesky

THINKING LIKE A STONEPINE, a soundpoem manifesto https://vimeo.com/844665859

“LOVE & WATER, three thought poems w/ coda, PHAROS for small orchestra, “Nightwind”” https://vimeo.com/847079690 

CURRENTLY on mt bike/ski/climbing trek through Pacific Northwest, working on a photobook about WHITEBARK PINE COLLAPSE and CLIMATE CRISIS. BASES in the WALLOWAS | AMSTERDAM | ALPS. 

WEEKLY photo/poetry updates at www.picture-poems.com & THE CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE new music, poetry & dance performance project at www.cs-music.com

ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT for progressive, tech-savy, instrumental virtuosi interested in dialogue & collaborative undertakings.

CONTACT cliff@picture-opoems.com
Or on SKYPE or FACETIME @cliffcrego

MUSIC? The one thing humans do,
that makes the rest of nature jealous.

💜We advocate for recovery.
501c3; EIN: 87-0932840💜

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