Attacks on Civil Liberties and Free Speech in the USA (1 Viewer)

[Huntn]

It’s happening right now, bag crews in masks and hoodies, just like one of my favorite movies, V for Vendetta set in an imagined fascist UK. Caveat, this is a foreign student, but instead a warning for a “new policy” their visa is first revoked, and without legal status, they are then kidnapped, ignoring the jurisdiction of our courts. Here is the huge issue with this activity, don’t think you are immune by virtue of your permanent resident status or even your citizenship. When Federal entities decided kidnapping is ok, ignoring jurisdiction of our courts. Remember checks and balances? Seriously eroded.

Progressives are rediscovering freedom of speech

The populists didn't come to defend it. They came to butcher it.

iandunt.substack.com

This is how they kill free speech. It's not through Twitter suspensions or cancel culture. It's done the old fashioned way, just like they did it a century ago: With thugs in masks bundling someone into the back of a car.

Rumeysa Ozturk was walking down the street in Somerville, Massachusetts, when she was approached by a man in a hat and a hoodie. At first she tried to be polite. She had that unmistakable look of a woman hoping a threatening stranger was not going to attack her. Then he grabbed her arms. She cried out in fear. Another man appeared and wrenched her phone from her hand. Several other officers appeared wearing masks and sunglasses. They handcuffed her and put her in an unmarked vehicle.

At this point she effectively dropped into the administrative abyss. A district judge ordered law enforcement not to move her out of Massachusetts without two day's notice, but it made no difference. She was shipped to the other side of the country and held in a Louisiana detention facility.

The Department of Homeland security claims that Ozturk, a Turkish psychology student doing a PhD, had "engaged in activities in support of Hamas". Tellingly, secretary of state Marco Rubio did not bother to make that allegation when he responded to the incident yesterday. He suggested that she wanted to "participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalising universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus".

Rubio's suggestion is several steps down from the Department of Homeland claim of terrorism. It essentially amounts to disorderly protest. But there's no more evidence of Ozturk's disorderly protest than there is of her allegiance to Hamas. There's just a March 2024 comment piece in her university's newspaper in which she criticises Israeli foreign policy.

Rubio was clear that foreign students were no longer able to participate in protest movements. "If you come into the US as a visitor and create a ruckus for us, we don't want it," he said. "We don't want it in our country. Go back and do it in your country." Authorities seem to have developed a set tactic when it comes to foreign students they consider ideologically unsound. First they revoke their visa, leaving them with no legal status. Then they effectively kidnap them and send them to a detention centre.

 

[Eeyore]

Advertised as a ban on truck nuts but also bans breast prostheses for recovering cancer patients. (And sex toys)

I don't care for truck nuts but I do appreciate knowing that the person in the truck has a brain as smooth as Teflon.

Report: New law criminalizes public breast exposure in Idaho, and 'truck nuts'

The Idaho Capital Sun first reported that Governor Little has signed a bill criminalizing public breast exposure, but an addition to the bill could make life mo

idahonews.com

 

[bird]

Advertised as a ban on truck nuts but also bans breast prostheses for recovering cancer patients. (And sex toys)

I don't care for truck nuts but I do appreciate knowing that the person in the truck has a brain as smooth as Teflon.

Report: New law criminalizes public breast exposure in Idaho, and 'truck nuts'

The Idaho Capital Sun first reported that Governor Little has signed a bill criminalizing public breast exposure, but an addition to the bill could make life mo

idahonews.com

These people have absolutely nothing better to do? Build a wall around Idaho.

 

[bird]

It’s happening right now, bag crews in masks and hoodies, just like one of my favorite movies, V for Vendetta set in an imagined fascist UK. Caveat, this is a foreign student, but instead a warning for a “new policy” their visa is first revoked, and without legal status, they are then kidnapped, ignoring the jurisdiction of our courts. Here is the huge issue with this activity, don’t think you are immune by virtue of your permanent resident status or even your citizenship. When Federal entities decided kidnapping is ok, ignoring jurisdiction of our courts. Remember checks and balances? Seriously eroded.

Progressives are rediscovering freedom of speech

The populists didn't come to defend it. They came to butcher it.

iandunt.substack.com

This is how they kill free speech. It's not through Twitter suspensions or cancel culture. It's done the old fashioned way, just like they did it a century ago: With thugs in masks bundling someone into the back of a car.

Rumeysa Ozturk was walking down the street in Somerville, Massachusetts, when she was approached by a man in a hat and a hoodie. At first she tried to be polite. She had that unmistakable look of a woman hoping a threatening stranger was not going to attack her. Then he grabbed her arms. She cried out in fear. Another man appeared and wrenched her phone from her hand. Several other officers appeared wearing masks and sunglasses. They handcuffed her and put her in an unmarked vehicle.

At this point she effectively dropped into the administrative abyss. A district judge ordered law enforcement not to move her out of Massachusetts without two day's notice, but it made no difference. She was shipped to the other side of the country and held in a Louisiana detention facility.

The Department of Homeland security claims that Ozturk, a Turkish psychology student doing a PhD, had "engaged in activities in support of Hamas". Tellingly, secretary of state Marco Rubio did not bother to make that allegation when he responded to the incident yesterday. He suggested that she wanted to "participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalising universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus".

Rubio's suggestion is several steps down from the Department of Homeland claim of terrorism. It essentially amounts to disorderly protest. But there's no more evidence of Ozturk's disorderly protest than there is of her allegiance to Hamas. There's just a March 2024 comment piece in her university's newspaper in which she criticises Israeli foreign policy.

Rubio was clear that foreign students were no longer able to participate in protest movements. "If you come into the US as a visitor and create a ruckus for us, we don't want it," he said. "We don't want it in our country. Go back and do it in your country." Authorities seem to have developed a set tactic when it comes to foreign students they consider ideologically unsound. First they revoke their visa, leaving them with no legal status. Then they effectively kidnap them and send them to a detention centre.

There is no rule of law. It only exists as long as the body politic believes in it. It is painfully obvious that one political party as well as those who voted for them, fellow travelers and those who could not be bothered to vote have abandoned any belief in the government established by the constitution and thus in the rule of law.

As regards rights in general, despite Jefferson’s flowery rhetoric there are no unalienable rights that exist outside of the body politic. There is no right to life. There is no right to liberty. There is no right to pursue happiness. Jefferson stole this from, iirc, Locke but altered “property” to the pursuit of happiness. Nothing exists regarding political economy as regards rights, the rule of law or, really anything else outside of the organization of society by the tool of government.

Political economy is established as an organizing system for a society. Political economy is the process of deciding who gets what, where, when and how as Lasswell noted. Society establishes government as the organizing means for political economy. Overt or covert destruction of the rule of law and thereby the underlying foundation of government is tacit approval for civil conflict.

The Republican Party, the oligarchs and MAGA are open enemies of the United States of America.

They must be treated as such.

 

[MT15]

Evidently one of the professors who agreed with Harvard giving in to the Trump crackdown on free speech at major universities actually teaches the First Amendment. How is that possible?

 

[bird]

Evidently one of the professors who agreed with Harvard giving in to the Trump crackdown on free speech at major universities actually teaches the First Amendment. How is that possible?

Of course, there are always consequences. That is the nature of things. Perhaps the good professor should remember that there will be consequences should the university act in the manner he supports.

 

[MT15]

 

[UriUT]

Hungary is one of the poorest countries in the EU. Years of nepotism and cronyism have sapped that country's wealth. That is our prospect if Americans don't wake the hell up.

And look how hard these folks are trying to regain their government. It's inspiring, but they've had many many of these demonstrations before. Once you give the keys to these fascists, it's difficult to get the house back.

 

[MT15]

Hungary is one of the poorest countries in the EU. Years of nepotism and cronyism have sapped that country's wealth. That is our prospect if Americans don't wake the hell up.

Yes, Project 2025 was based on Orban’s actions in Hungary, IIRC. That’s exactly what they want for us.

 

[Dragon]

Hungary is one of the poorest countries in the EU. Years of nepotism and cronyism have sapped that country's wealth. That is our prospect if Americans don't wake the hell up.

And look how hard these folks are trying to regain their government. It's inspiring, but they've had many many of these demonstrations before. Once you give the keys to these fascists, it's difficult to get the house back.

Don't underestimate the Hungarian people—they are fiercely committed to freedom and liberty. Once they truly set things in motion, their determination is unwavering.

In my younger days, I spent a great deal of time working with youth freedom movements behind the Iron Curtain, and much of that time was in Budapest. The spirit of '56 is still very much alive. Let’s not forget that Hungary was the first Iron Curtain country to open its borders to the West when the Soviet bloc began to crumble—an act that played a crucial role in the fall of the Berlin Wall, as East Germans flocked to Hungary to escape.

 

[MT15]

The link from the post that won’t show up here:

In Bloomberg interview, Eisgruber signals that Princeton will not make concessions

University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 signaled that Princeton would not make concessions to the federal government after news broke that the Trump administration had suspended dozens of the University’s research grants.

www.dailyprincetonian.com

 

[MT15]

Ever since Trump showed up, well somewhat before but definitely after, conservatives have been failing their tests. Everything they said they stood for, they have abandoned.

 

[UriUT]

Don't underestimate the Hungarian people—they are fiercely committed to freedom and liberty. Once they truly set things in motion, their determination is unwavering.

In my younger days, I spent a great deal of time working with youth freedom movements behind the Iron Curtain, and much of that time was in Budapest. The spirit of '56 is still very much alive. Let’s not forget that Hungary was the first Iron Curtain country to open its borders to the West when the Soviet bloc began to crumble—an act that played a crucial role in the fall of the Berlin Wall, as East Germans flocked to Hungary to escape.

Oh no. I'm not underestimating any group's urge for self determination or freedom. On the contrary, I mentioned their persistent demonstrations. My comment is more of a critique about how difficult it is to regain power once given away. Orban has stacked the deck in his favor. He controls the media and the voting system. This previous election was suppose to be a challenge to his authority because the opposition united under one banner. They still lost. The rural population is still adamantly on his side and given more weight. He turned Hungarians against a holocaust survivor. It's the same strategy that is used here in the US against that same man, Soros.

Americans are now seeing this! Pressure opposition through regulators. Under the guise of election integrity, these republicans are implementing voter suppression. Fox News and the right wing dictate the national narrative. This playbook is in Turkey as well...though Erdogan is now using more totalitarian techniques by eliminating his opposition. Russia before the Ukrainian invasion used this technique, "managed democracy".

So demonstrations are inspirational, yet not much change has happened in Hungary. I hope something does. I am reminded of the Maidan in Ukraine. What galvanized Ukrainians across all spectrum, rural and urban...left and right, was the general sense of decency. The government attacked students! Innocent children. There were hard hats who came to defend those students. We had grandma and grandpas come defend them. So this is the interesting part. Putin had similar demonstrations at the early onset of the Ukrainian invasion. Putin I think believed that had Yanukovych cracked down violently...and i mean not caring about the deaths similarly to what's going on in Turkey, Yanukovych would still be in power. Putin did just that. A female demonstrator. The police took her into a police van and we next hear screams.

So the point again is, it's rather difficult for a true liberal democracy to regain power once given away. Poland is the only exception that comes to mind. Even now it's difficult to clean up the damage done by PiS.

 

[Dragon]

Oh no. I'm not underestimating any group's urge for self determination or freedom. On the contrary, I mentioned their persistent demonstrations. My comment is more of a critique about how difficult it is to regain power once given away. Orban has stacked the deck in his favor. He controls the media and the voting system. This previous election was suppose to be a challenge to his authority because the opposition united under one banner. They still lost. The rural population is still adamantly on his side and given more weight. He turned Hungarians against a holocaust survivor. It's the same strategy that is used here in the US against that same man, Soros.

Americans are now seeing this! Pressure opposition through regulators. Under the guise of election integrity, these republicans are implementing voter suppression. Fox News and the right wing dictate the national narrative. This playbook is in Turkey as well...though Erdogan is now using more totalitarian techniques by eliminating his opposition. Russia before the Ukrainian invasion used this technique, "managed democracy".

So demonstrations are inspirational, yet not much change has happened in Hungary. I hope something does. I am reminded of the Maidan in Ukraine. What galvanized Ukrainians across all spectrum, rural and urban...left and right, was the general sense of decency. The government attacked students! Innocent children. There were hard hats who came to defend those students. We had grandma and grandpas come defend them. So this is the interesting part. Putin had similar demonstrations at the early onset of the Ukrainian invasion. Putin I think believed that had Yanukovych cracked down violently...and i mean not caring about the deaths similarly to what's going on in Turkey, Yanukovych would still be in power. Putin did just that. A female demonstrator. The police took her into a police van and we next hear screams.

So the point again is, it's rather difficult for a true liberal democracy to regain power once given away. Poland is the only exception that comes to mind. Even now it's difficult to clean up the damage done by PiS.

I agree. I still have some connections in Hungary, and Orban is indeed using dirty tricks—especially when it comes to elections. However, even the rural population is starting to shift. They are increasingly worried about Russia, and if there’s one thing almost universally despised in Hungary—outside Orban’s inner circle—it’s Russia.

Orban’s main political target, however, is the same as Trump’s: immigrants. What neither of them seem to understand is that this issue isn’t going away. Climate change and wars are forcing more and more people to leave their homes just to survive.

We had a real chance to address this when Obama was in office, but with climate deniers gaining power in multiple countries, I fear that opportunity has passed. The number of people displaced by climate disasters and conflict will only keep rising. Even countries that currently welcome immigrants with open arms may eventually reconsider as the crisis escalates.

Addressing climate change and mass displacement is not something any single country can solve alone—it requires global cooperation. In the end, it will affect all of us. But with leaders like Putin in Russia and Trump in the U.S., the chances of real action seem increasingly slim.

 

[UriUT]

I agree. I still have some connections in Hungary, and Orban is indeed using dirty tricks—especially when it comes to elections. However, even the rural population is starting to shift. They are increasingly worried about Russia, and if there’s one thing almost universally despised in Hungary—outside Orban’s inner circle—it’s Russia.

Orban’s main political target, however, is the same as Trump’s: immigrants. What neither of them seem to understand is that this issue isn’t going away. Climate change and wars are forcing more and more people to leave their homes just to survive.

We had a real chance to address this when Obama was in office, but with climate deniers gaining power in multiple countries, I fear that opportunity has passed. The number of people displaced by climate disasters and conflict will only keep rising. Even countries that currently welcome immigrants with open arms may eventually reconsider as the crisis escalates.

Addressing climate change and mass displacement is not something any single country can solve alone—it requires global cooperation. In the end, it will affect all of us. But with leaders like Putin in Russia and Trump in the U.S., the chances of real action seem increasingly slim.

I think climate change is too complex and long term for the avg low information, low educated population can appreciate. Immigration is an emotional issue and these types will not associate the two. It's not coincidental that immigration is a central issue in every right wing movement in western democracies. Germany, France, the Nordic countries, Brexit...

So my question...Orban has been linked at the hip with Russia. He was very careful prior to the last election to keep an arm's distance from Russia/Putin. So teh question....how can rural Hungarians not see that Orban is an ally of Russia? Hell, how do Americans not see Trump's link to Putin/Russia?

 

[Huntn]

Ever since Trump showed up, well somewhat before but definitely after, conservatives have been failing their tests. Everything they said they stood for, they have abandoned.

It illustrates that for many humans, “moral standards” are flexible, used only for convenience and advantage, not based on real conviction.

 

[Dragon]

I think climate change is too complex and long term for the avg low information, low educated population can appreciate. Immigration is an emotional issue and these types will not associate the two. It's not coincidental that immigration is a central issue in every right wing movement in western democracies. Germany, France, the Nordic countries, Brexit...

So my question...Orban has been linked at the hip with Russia. He was very careful prior to the last election to keep an arm's distance from Russia/Putin. So teh question....how can rural Hungarians not see that Orban is an ally of Russia? Hell, how do Americans not see Trump's link to Putin/Russia?

Climate change maybe complex - until it begins to affect people. Think 1930 and the US rust belt crazy.

In the 1930s, the Great Depression and the collapse of industrial jobs in the Rust Belt forced people to migrate in search of work, just as climate change and conflict are displacing people today. The Dust Bowl—a climate-related disaster—pushed thousands of Americans, particularly from the Midwest, to migrate westward, much like how desertification, extreme weather, and rising sea levels are driving migration today.

Migrants from the Rust Belt and Dust Bowl regions faced discrimination, especially in places like California, where "Okies" (a derogatory term for Dust Bowl refugees) were often treated as second-class citizens. Today, migrants fleeing climate disasters and conflicts—whether from Africa to Europe or Latin America to the U.S.—face similar hostility, with governments pushing strict immigration policies and rhetoric painting them as a threat.

In both cases, government policies largely failed to prevent the crisis before it escalated. The U.S. only addressed the Great Depression and Dust Bowl migration through major reforms (New Deal programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps). Today, climate change-driven migration is already happening, but governments are still in denial, lacking coordinated global efforts to address it.

The irony is that some of the most anti-immigrant, climate-denying regions in the U.S. are the same places that experienced mass internal migration due to economic and environmental collapse in the 1930s. If their ancestors had been treated the way they want to treat today’s migrants, they might not even be where they are now.