Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Ann Coulter

Yes, of course, "toe the line," not "tow the line." Insufficient familiarity with prison culture on my part. My bad.

Well, so much for liberalism's former tolerance of contrary opinions. Now, liberalism is in favor of free speech so long as it is in step with the party lines announced by liberal elitists.

While liberals were once heard to say they will defend a contrarian's free speech rights to the death, liberal mobs now enforce 'right thinking' among those who would speak on campuses by threats of violence and violence. Ask Alan Dershowitz what it feels like to be surrounded and pummelled. Apparently, our Canadian friends had surrounded Ann Coulter's venue and some were waiting with stones.

As to the accusation that Ann Coulter lies, I am not aware of that. Would someone who makes that charge kindly provide some facts to support it?

I notice another trend in lib think, if someone disagrees, attack them personally. This tactic does not make for an agreeable public discussion.

As to my lib friends, I would remind them of the fate of the Gadarene swine. Just because they are in step and headed in the same direction, does not mean they are heading in the correct direction. BTW, by this reference to a fallacy that should be taught in every logic class I am not ascribing to liberals swinish qualities.

Let a thousand flowers bloom.

PS pmb, really, Axiom speakers are made in Canada? I am not ascribing to all Canadians the follies of their intolerant liberal elites, and I am not boycotting Canada, the place where I had my first great Onion Soup. and ... who can forget the Kanookie?

Thanks Canada!!

French Onion Soup does kick ass! You should also try our Poutine (fries topped with cheese curds and gravy)...to die for!

Funny Peter. I'm gonna go clean out my Igloo now...

JP. It may interest you to know that Canada had a similarly angry reaction when healthcare reform was introduced here. Tommy Douglas and his party lost power because of it. Yet, once the sillyness settled down, we kept healthcare and have a reasonable system.

Mark I agre with you, though I think that there is a solution. People need to tak a critical look at all things political and call bs when they see it, no matter the party affiliation. Sadly critical thinking is not something easily taught in a mass education system. There is also that horse and water thing.

By the way, if you want to feel better about US politics, take a look at Italy. Burlusconi really has his fachism mojo going!

Emily Latella: "What's all this talk about Violins?"

Absolutely. What Coulter types try to tell us is that there sort of like saying the right to bear arms gives you the right to shoot anybody you don't agree with. There is this thing called civility, and there are limits.

Peronally I would like to see a one on one debate between Borat and Coulter. If you're gonna do comedy...

http://mediamatters.org/research/200901040002

http://slannder.homestead.com/files/chapter2critique.html

http://mediamatters.org/blog/200912310001

http://mediamatters.org/research/200906110005

http://mediamatters.org/research/200905220006

http://mediamatters.org/research/200905210033

http://mediamatters.org/research/200905010002

http://mediamatters.org/research/200902120016

http://mediamatters.org/research/200901120005

http://mediamatters.org/research/200901070005

http://mediamatters.org/research/200901060017

http://mediamatters.org/research/200412220007

http://mediamatters.org/research/200412230014

http://mediamatters.org/research/200502250002

http://mediamatters.org/research/200504200006

http://mediamatters.org/research/200508050003

http://mediamatters.org/research/200510060011

http://mediamatters.org/research/200509120002

http://mediamatters.org/research/200510270009


I'll stop there.

It's not just liberals who are guilty of this. The conservative movement/Republican party trumps the Democrat party in terms of groupthink. There were no Republicans who voted for HCR, but there were Democrats that voted against it. The Republican Party is the one in the lockstep. Another example of casting out those who beg to differ or even cast unfavorable light on you: ask David Frum why he was just booted out of his conservative think tank. The answer is here in his opinion piece. Some followup is here.

I'll grant you that there are some loud, annoying ultra-liberals out there. The PETA types can be holier-than-thou and antagonistic. I don't sign on with them. They're too far out there for me. Each side has its wingnuts. Those of us who like to think that we are closer to the middle of the spectrum than the extremes don't do ourselves any favors when we puff ourselves up by doing a little downward comparison to the wingnuts. Rather, a discussion like this one can be more productive, I would hope.

Another thing I find interesting about the claim from the right that the left is intolerant of dissenting views. Think about that: the left being intolerant. If anything, I guess you could accuse them of being intolerant of intolerance.

Other than the aforementioned PETA wingnuts, what kind of intolerance are you talking about? The "I disagree with you/don't share your vision" intolerance? Because that's not intolerance, that's just a difference of opinion.

2x6: I'm not sure who you are responding to when you state that "liberalism is in favor of free speech so long as it is in step with the party lines announced by liberal elitists." In this thread, I've not seen anything close to that type of opinion. I think it's been an interesting discussion in this thread. Perhaps you are speaking to the specific article and what happened with Ann Coulter. But I took it more as a reply to opinions being stated in this thread, and as I mentioned I just don't see what people said here as warranting the characterization quoted above. I'm curious what you were referring to.

In any event, free speech simply does not mean the right to say anything at any time in any place. (You cannot yell "fire" in a crowded theater and then say it is a matter of free speech). I think people often misunderstand what free speech really means. I'll give an example. A friend of mine recently was attacked by her husband brutally (he was charged with attempted murder). Because of who he and she are, the story ended up on a legal blog where people could comment. Some people thought it would be funny to post what they considered humurous comments about the victim. When those comments were removed from the blog, these people screamed that their right to free speech was being violated. They could not have been more incorrect, and sadly given the blog at issue they likely were either law students or lawyers.

Even issues of "free speech" often are difficult to deal with; it is not always black and white. That being said, I tend to agree that people get more into a "free speech" type of mood when the person who wants to speak is going to say something they agree with. I can't say I am above that. However, I don't believe it is limited to the "liberal elitists."

And medic8r, I support a lot of PETA's positions (though not all). How dare you call me a wingnut! (I am kidding. I know my views are pretty extreme on many things, and don't take offense to people characterizing me as a wingnut or anything else. It's probably a fair characterization. Of course, it doesn't make me wrong . . . .")