Are you proud of banning media being impossible in the US?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

This is one of the few things I'll actually be proud of the US on and where it's better than most of the world: The lack of any mechanism for banning media. You can freely produce and sell movies and video games of extreme violence and sexually explicit material all you'd like and no one whines about Manhunt 2.

[dead0man]

Oh they whine.  I know the Democrats censored Tipper Gore along time ago so some of you might not remember, but she was HUGE into censorship.  The PMRC is still quite active as far as I know.  Everytime a kid kills somebody, all his hobbies are instantly under threat.  He like to listen to Slayer and play GTA4?   OH NOES!  Metal and video games lead kids to kill!  Nevermind that there were millions of other kids listening to metal and playing GTA4 that didn't kill anybody.  In a free society you're always going to have people crying about more govt control over the people, whether it be via taxes, removing our rights to defend ourselves or censoring our entertainment.  We must be vigilant against these slayers of freedom.

[John Dibble]

Yes, it's definitely a mark of pride for our country. The freedoms of speech, expression, and press are important to any free society.

[memphis]

We do have a lot of media freedoms in this country, but it's not as absolute as you portray it. We don't get to see anything ugly from Iraq, for instance.

[dead0man]

And self censorship is sadly effective as was seen in the Mohammed cartoons.

[Ebowed]

I think you're vastly overstating the amount of freedom you or anyone else has.

[??????????]

We don't get to see anything ugly from Iraq, for instance.

What? Are you for real? That's all we ever hear from the leftwing media. All we ever hear is bad news, doom and gloom. However to get the real facts of the ground situation in Iraq all you need to do is talk to the soldiers returning. Most of which will tell you straight up from that the media are a bunch of lying scumbags.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

I think you're vastly overstating the amount of freedom you or anyone else has.

Indeed.

Most censorship in any work of fiction or act is done before its even produced. The US Army for example "inspects" most hollywood films with military themes in the post-production phase before the final cut is ready.

[dead0man]

Most censorship in any work of fiction or act is done before its even produced. The US Army for example "inspects" most hollywood films with military themes in the post-production phase before the final cut is ready.

cite?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I think you're vastly overstating the amount of freedom you or anyone else has.

Indeed.

Most censorship in any work of fiction or act is done before its even produced. The US Army for example "inspects" most hollywood films with military themes in the post-production phase before the final cut is ready.

Uh huh Because there are no movies that portray the military in a bad light.

Also what the hell does that do with being able to produce stuff with no limits to extreme violence an sexually explicit material?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Yes, it's definitely a mark of pride for our country. The freedoms of speech, expression, and press are important to any free society.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Torie]

I am a First Amendment hard liner. Flag burning should be protected free speech too. It is our most precious right, as to which we have been reminded by hate crime litigation in Europe, and the ridiculous lawsuit against Mark Steyn in Canada for his "crime" of allegedly insulting Muslims.

[CARLHAYDEN]

Right now the PC commissars in Canada are trying to silence anyone who publishes material critical of islamofascism.

Thank god we have the first amendment (and the second amendment to make sure the rest of our rights are respected)!

[2952-0-0]

Right now the PC commissars in Canada are trying to silence anyone who publishes material critical of islamofascism.

Sorry, that is the wrong answer.

[specific_name]

Yes I am proud of that. Even in other relatively free societies, you may still have legal trouble because of say...holocaust denial for example. The freedom to be wrong is part of what makes America a great nation, despite some major flaws.

[tik 🪀✨]

CONSPIRACY THEORY TIME!

The US and smaller contained authorities are actually much more capable of banning things behind a veil of 'openness' and non-censorship. If you don't think that anything is being banned or any information suppressed, you're more apt to believe that what you're being given is genuine. This is a more underhanded, conniving way of censoring information, but also more successful because of the the nature of the consumers, taught to pride themselves in not being subjected to what they're being subjected to.

...

VOTE RON PAUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Torie]

The posited "conspiracy" has echoes of a redux of Marcusian paranoia actually. False consciousness here, there and everywhere. The sans culottes know not what they do, as mere pawns to the system. The thing is, is that I think certain cosseted elites actually believe this cant.

[Хahar 🤔]

Right now the PC commissars in Canada are trying to silence anyone who publishes material critical of islamofascism.

Sorry, that is the wrong answer.

And an incorrect word, but that's different.

[memphis]

We don't get to see anything ugly from Iraq, for instance.

What? Are you for real? That's all we ever hear from the leftwing media. All we ever hear is bad news, doom and gloom. However to get the real facts of the ground situation in Iraq all you need to do is talk to the soldiers returning. Most of which will tell you straight up from that the media are a bunch of lying scumbags.

You're right that we hear a lot of ugly things from Iraq. What I said is that we don't get to see ugly things. There's a big difference between hearing of a combat death and seeing it.

[tik 🪀✨]

The posited "conspiracy" has echoes of a redux of Marcusian paranoia actually. False consciousness here, there and everywhere. The sans culottes know not what they do, as mere pawns to the system. The thing is, is that I think certain cosseted elites actually believe this cant.

I, by no means, think what I stated is true - most of the time. It's also nothing exclusive to liberal democracies. In fact, I believe it's quite the opposite. It's nearly impossible in our society to completely cover up information. Administrations change so rapidly from a historical context that things remain rather porous, even if leaks don't seep immediately.

[??????????]

We don't get to see anything ugly from Iraq, for instance.

What? Are you for real? That's all we ever hear from the leftwing media. All we ever hear is bad news, doom and gloom. However to get the real facts of the ground situation in Iraq all you need to do is talk to the soldiers returning. Most of which will tell you straight up from that the media are a bunch of lying scumbags.

You're right that we hear a lot of ugly things from Iraq. What I said is that we don't get to see ugly things. There's a big difference between hearing of a combat death and seeing it.

Your stance on the issue is a complete losing stance for America.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Most censorship in any work of fiction or act is done before its even produced. The US Army for example "inspects" most hollywood films with military themes in the post-production phase before the final cut is ready.

cite?

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec06/hollywood_10-06.html

One bit I'd pay particular attention to:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Of course this isn't de facto censorship and film makers like those of 13 days can bypass or ignore it; but I think the point remains.

[opebo]

The problem is that the media is owned by a tiny elite, and thus the vast majority of people have no meaningful right to communicate their point of view, except in so far as it is acceptable to this right-wing elite.

It is certainly true that we get to see almost nothing of the blood and guts of Iraq - the piles of dead Iraqies, the limbless american soldiers.

[dead0man]

Most censorship in any work of fiction or act is done before its even produced. The US Army for example "inspects" most hollywood films with military themes in the post-production phase before the final cut is ready.

cite?

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec06/hollywood_10-06.html

One bit I'd pay particular attention to:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Of course this isn't de facto censorship and film makers like those of 13 days can bypass or ignore it; but I think the point remains.

That's if they want the DoD's cooperation.  ie, they want stock footage, or actual tanks and planes.  Why would the military let their men and equipment get used in a movie that was going to bash them?  The DoD has no power to stop somebody from making a movie, but they do have the power to say, no, you can't use our sh**t.  If that's censorship to you, then I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

[Јas]

Reporters Whithout Borders rates the US as 48th in the world for worldwide press freedom ranking (between Nicarague and Togo). Which up from joint 53rd in 2006, so is moving in the right direction.

(Unfortunately, Ireland fell from joint 1st to joint 8th in the same period. )