When Speech is Threatened, Speak More

Speak or not censorship graphic

Wow, I didn’t get far writing this before I was already “corrected.” Just typing the title, auto-correct, speech-predicted algorithms thought the appropriate verb form should be “threatening” not “threatened.” And see what a difference that makes. The subtle, or not, assumption being that some speech is dangerous, rather than the censoring of it being dangerous.

As speech and expression in general has become increasingly under attack, to extreme lengths I honestly can’t believe are real, I have decided to start posting to my long-dormant blog again. Do people still blog?? Maybe I should start a Substack. Soon.

There are so many things that I think are wrong these days, it’s hard to even know what to write about first. But I think at the core of everything, is free speech, freedom of expression. If we can’t speak freely and share our thoughts, our ideas, our feelings, and our fears, what do we really have? To me, all other things can’t be either maintained or changed, if we cannot first speak. Other rights gained can be lost, and others never come to be, if only the in-fashion, officially acceptable narrative of the day is allowed space. And the pendulum always swings both ways. Something it feels like the extreme woke, censoring left of today has forgotten. Those of us who speak for free speech are fighting for that right for us all. As the saying goes, free speech isn’t for speech you like or agree with, it’s for speech you hate or disagree with. Continue reading

Comprehensive Coverage by CNN on 'Toxic America'

There was a very interesting program on CNN the other night that I found very refreshing. Their coverage of ‘Toxic America’ as they called it, was very extensive and offered hopeful alternatives as well as the scary chemical facts. It’s not often that I agree with so much of mainstream… Continue reading

Politics and Religion – Taboo Talk or Opportunity?

Whoever first said ‘don’t discuss politics and religion’ may have been on to something. It is probably one of the surest ways to turn friends into enemies, or at least damage friendships. But perhaps that happens because we don’t discuss these taboo subjects enough, rather than too much. I very… Continue reading

BP Cartoon Break

Not that I want to put my head in the sand, hide from view of the damage caused by human arrogance and denial, (BP anyone?), but perhaps a dip or two into the sand is allowed. Part of what makes the ongoing insanity in the Gulf of Mexico even more… Continue reading

Do Cents Make Sense?

Penny for your thoughts? Better make that at least a cent and a half – the cost of one penny. Those ubiquitous little brown coins that we don’t pick up off the ground, chuck into tip jars, or simply store way at home in other jars where they’re unlikely to… Continue reading

TV Ad Campaign Deemed Too Suggestive

Ah the invincibility of youth, or at least the perceived invincibility. And the incredulity of decision makers, advertisers and government officials in this case. But that feeling of being invincible, that sense of immortality that can come with youth, was reaffirmed in drinking and driving surveys of “young men [which]… Continue reading

No Justice for Cancelled Law & Order

On Friday, NBC announced it was cancelling Law & Order, the original version that started it all. While perhaps not of earth shattering importance in the grand scheme of things, I have watched the show faithfully ever since it began 20 years ago. That ties Gunsmoke as the longest-running prime… Continue reading

Head-Scratcher of a Seal Ad Campaign

Interesting how sometimes things backfire, garnering the opposite reaction to what was intended. It appears that may have happened to the “Canadian Seal Marketing Group [that] works with the Fur Council of Canada (FCC), the non-profit federation for fur trade members that includes processors, designers, auction houses and retail furriers.”… Continue reading

Hairy Help for the Gulf of Mexico

Sometimes problems are so big, so overwhelming in scope and devastation, that I simply don’t know where to begin to even start processing the information. The anger, the sadness, the shock just too much. Then again, why should we really be so shocked. Certainly not the first oil spill, and… Continue reading

Being Told to Do What You’re Already Doing

We had a brief power failure last night and while not unheard of, lately they’ve all come in the daytime. When you need flashlights, candles, or oil lamps to get around, suddenly being without electricity feels different. You realize just how dependent you are, how literally in the dark. We… Continue reading