Our new host for the weekly provocative question challenge is Jewish Young Professional, aka JYP.
So what is her provocative question for this week? It’s a juicy one, that’s for sure. She wants to know…
Does the government have the right to remove posts that could misinform the public? Does the government have the responsibility to? Or is government take down of such posts a violation of free speech?
I think this question about misinformation being presented to the public in a significant way gained prominence with the proliferation of conservative talk radio, personified by the likes of Rush Limbaugh. That evolved to television with Rupert Murdock’s Fox News, which became essentially a megaphone for the far-right.
But it was with the rise of Facebook and Twitter that gave a huge, “grassroots” platform for lies, misinformation, and conspiracy theories to all of the whackos and weirdos from the fringes. As well, by the way, to foreign players whose interests are anything that can undermine and destroy our democracy.
And then there is the First Amendment, the Free Speech amendment. My initial inclination would have been for Facebook and Twitter to police themselves. That is, to identify bad actors, foreign or domestic, who are spreading the lies, the misinformation, and the dangerous conspiracy theories, and remove those players and their posts or tweets from those platforms. But why would they do that when Fox News, other far-right TV networks, and conservative talk radio hosts get away with doing the exact same things?
So then comes the question of the role of the government in these matters. The problem is that “the government” changes every few years. If we end up with a “Trumpist” government as a result of our next national election in 2024, that government promotes lies, misinformation, and conspiracy theories. The last thing that government would want to do is stop it.
And if the other party even tried to rein in the spread of malicious lies and misinformation, they’d probably have about the same result they’re having with reining in the proliferation and use of civilian firearms in this country.
If the private sector won’t do anything, and if nobody trusts that the government can do anything, the only option is for individuals to recognize the difference between truth and lies, between valid information and misinformation, and between reality and conspiracy. I’m afraid that’s not going to happen either.
So bottom line, we’re all fucked.
This, That, and the Other 
You make a lot of sense Fandango! Well thought out answer here!
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Thanks, Carol Anne.
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This is indeed a difficult situation.
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You bring up a lot of good points here. There are issues with putting government in charge of policing content (per your Trump example, government can be filled with bad, corrupt actors) and private news/social media companies policing content (what incentive do they really have to do this?)
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Agree on all points but I wished never to hear the name Rush L mentioned again😏
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Rush Limbaugh was so gross… and, unfortunately, a trendsetter (on top of being taken as a role model and thereby poisoning a lot of minds). There were, sadly, precursors to him who were more subtle — as well as more accepted in their time. He made a lot of people in his generation sick[-os] though.
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We can’t change gun laws. We can’t stop immigrants from coming over our very long and very unprotected border. We can’t stop THOSE PEOPLE from banning books while claiming it’s all about free speech.
In what world are lies protected? Having read the constitution many time, I’ve never seen lies protected. I think it’s way too late for the government — at least OUR government — to do much about it. Lies, rumors, misinformation has run amok. I don’t think we can do anything to stop it.
Who knows? Fashions change. Maybe someday truth and honor will come back into style.
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I agree. It’s crazy out there and there’s nothing we can do about it.
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You summed it up perfectly!
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No justice No faith. Just that simple. Theological constructs which attempt to dictate how man MUST believe in God …. utter drivel bull shit. Israel demands the return of all Oct 7th stolen hostages. Jabber of Cease-Fire or 2 State solutions, equal bull shit as a theological dictate to believe in this or that or some other Gods.
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Why do Jews not believe in JeZeus even after all he did; and he said if you don’t believe in me you’ll go to Hell for eternity. Did Jesus lie? Is Gehinnom eternal? Do Jews not believe what he says? Why for 2000+ years have the Jewish people abhorred and decried belief in JeZeus as a false messiah avoda zarah?
New Testament theology = revisionist history. However T’nach does not teach history, despite historical/conservative Judaism narishkeit. The T’NaCH defines prophesy as a tohor persons who commands mussar.
Witchcraft, by stark contrast, a tumah false prophet predicts the future. Hence the New Testament (Roman counterfeit) declares that JeZeus fulfilled the words of the prophets. Proof that the New Testament promotes false prophet theologies. False prophet theologies defined as a predetermined creed/dogma which dictates what and how people should believe in God as an act of faith.
The Torah defines the tohor concept of faith as: Justice, Justice pursue. Based upon the cruel corrupt and oppressive Courts of king Par’o who withheld straw to Israelite slaves and who ordered the overseers to beat without mercy Israelites for their failure to meet the quota of bricks imposed upon these Israelite slaves. Based upon the conditions where Par’o supplied the Hebrews with the straw they required to make bricks their quota of bricks.
Yitro commanded a strong mussar to Moshe when he saw Moshe all alone judge the disputes between the people. Justice defined as the power of common law courtrooms to make fair restitution of damages inflicted upon Jews by other Jews.
Muhammad pulled the exact same rabbit out of his tumah magic-hat. The Koran rhetoric repeats prophet, prophet, prophet Ad infinitum, yet never defines – from the Torah – the term prophet. The Gospels did the exact same tumah Abracadabra, with the ((to quote Baba Kama: “Mountain hanging by a hair”)), the Pie in the Sky term of: Love.
T’NaCH prophets command mussar. Why? Because mussar applies straight across the board to all generations of bnai brit Israel. A bnai brit Israel grows the תוכחה\mussar rebuke within our hearts.
We grow and nurture this mussar within us. And these “tohor spirits” (based upon the revelation of the שם השם לשמה) they live within our hearts. They cause bnai brit Israel to dedicate defined tohor middot (‘ה’ ה’ אל רחום וחנון וכו, also known as the Oral Torah revelation at Horev) in all our future social interactions with our family, neighbours & people.
Hence the spirituality known as: the baali t’shuva. Mesechta Sanhedrin of the Talmud learns the mitzva of Moshiach tied to the mitzva of baali t’shuva. Based upon Moshe and the burning bush confrontation. Wherein Moshe vocally opposed to go down unto Egypt to bring Israel out from judicial oppression slavery. Yet Moshe, as a baali t’shuva descended unto Egypt and brought Israel unto freedom. Moshe serves as the Torah model for the mitzva of Moshiach. Moshe did not build a Catholic assimilated Cathedral as did king Shlomo. King Shlomo worshipped avoda zarah.
Moshe struggled to build the small sanhedrin Federal courts on the far side of the Jordan river. When king David, based upon the mussar commanded by the prophet Natan, commanded his son Shlomo to build the Beit HaMikdash, he had no such k’vanna for king Shlomo to assimilate and copy the customs manners and ways of the Goyim, who reject the revelation of the Torah at Sinai, and who build Cathedral Temples throughout the annuls of Human History. The k’vanna of the Moshiach to build the Beis HaMikdash learns from Moshe Rabbeinu who established the small Sanhedrin Federal Courtrooms in 3 of the Cities of Refuge on the other side of the Jordan river.
The mitzva of Moshiach constitutes as a tohor time oriented commandment; applicable to all generations of the Jewish people, just like tefillah stands in the stead of korbanot. All tohor time oriented commandments, applicable to all the Jewish people. All tohor time oriented commandments stand upon the foundation\יסוד of “fear of Heaven”.
This foundation of pursuit of judicial justice requires that a baali t’shuva dedicates a tohor middah. Which tohor middah does the mitzva of Moshiach require as its holy defining dedication to שם השם לשמה? The middah dedication to restore the lateral Sanhedrin Federal common law courts across the Torah Constitutional Republic.
The oath sworn alliance, known as “brit”, (like as found in בראשית\ברית אש, ראש בית, ב’ ראשית), this key Torah term means “alliance” and also “Republic”. The 12 Tribes forged this oath brit alliance which established the First Commonwealth of the Torah Constitutional Republic of the 12 Tribes. Based upon the Torah precedent, (known in Hebrew as בנין אב) upon Moshe anointing Aaron and his House as Moshiach.
Aaron dedicates korbanot. A korban sacrifice does not at all represent a barbeque unto Heaven. To dedicate a korban requires swearing a Torah oath. Just as to cut a brit לשם השם לשמה requires swearing a Torah oath. Just as the Shemone Esrei standing tefillah requires the k’vanna to swear a Torah oath through the dedication of one or more defined tohor middot.
The mitzva of Moshiach, a mitzva applicable to all generations of Israel. Just as tefillah and the mitzva of shabbat applicable to all generations of Israel.
The revisionist history of Xtian avoda zarah lacks the wisdom to discern between T’NaCH/Talmudic common law from Roman statute law. This tumah avoda zarah has witnessed oppression and cruelty that far surpasses the evil ways of Par’o and the Egyptians. This false prophet false messiah based religion proves the Gospel declaration of: “By their fruits you shall know them.”
The church stands guilty of the Shoah blood of Caine: Inquisition, 3 Century ghetto war crimes, annual blood libel slanders etc etc etc.
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