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This is a continuing breakdown of the Matt Taibbi interview. Zero Hedge reposted it so we don't have to worry about a substack firewall. It's worth a read. Here are some highlights:
nowadays there really isn’t any great new music, art, poetry, or film that feels like it moves the needle in the way that classics of the last four or five decades used to.
During my conversation with Matt Taibbi, we examined how free speech used to be the hill that Democrats would die on. As Matt told me, it was the one issue that was non-negotiable. Matt and I both believe vehemently in free speech and I still consider myself to be liberal in the classic sense. As a self-described libertarian, the prefix lib- puts me almost all the way there already. They both come from the idea of liberty, meaning “the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.”
neither one of us could believe that censorship had become a key issue for Democrats.
And not a key issue to fight against…a key issue to fight for.
There is plenty more here.
Good piece. I sometimes find Taibbi a bit disingenuous -- I'd respect him more for acknowledging that he was a leftist who changed (and he clearly was) instead of claiming that people just "believed" he was a leftist as he's currently doing. Being able to change your mind is a feature, not a bug.
That aside, this interview is a really good one.
One thing the last thirty years or so have convinced me of is that neither "side" believes in free speech; they believe in free speech when it helps them, and are angry when the other "side" threatens it, even when they use the exact same tactics.
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A decent litmus test:
Whoever's out of power champions free speech. Whoever's holding power opposes it.
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One big difference is that Republicans or conservatives have never controlled the press and media: NYT, nbc, cbs, abc, cnn, pbs, npr
When 90 percent of the press is allied with one party, we have Pravda not a fair and balanced press.
A completely objective press is impossible which is why journalists should be honest about their biases instead of pretending to be objective.
The one exception is talk radio but the biggest player Rush Limbaugh passed away in 2021.
College and university professors are 95 percent left wing.
Public school teachers are 99 percent left wing.
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Independent media like substack and podcasts and YouTube or rumble and odyssee are changing the media landscape
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Real change won't be televised. It has to happen within us, through a change in our behavior. If we wait for others to do it for us, we're screwed. The illusory "revolution" will be broadcast on TV, though. This is an old tactic: create events that make people want the change that governments want. Most people are distracted by their daily lives and don't have time to delve into these issues.
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Before two or three days I thought Taibbi to be the supporter of Trump but now after reading him for a while I can say that he supports none.
And after this interview which puts Taibbi as a practitioner of free speech and libertarianism, I can now lock my mind that Taibbi is doing an exceptional work for the reforms in this category.
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nowadays there really isn’t any great new music, art, poetry, or film that feels like it moves the needle in the way that classics of the last four or five decades used to
I think it is out there- however it is much more difficult to find whilst we are being inundated with what we are "told" to listen to, read, watch etc.
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nowadays there really isn’t any great new music, art, poetry, or film that feels like it moves the needle in the way that classics of the last four or five decades used to.
While I agree with this suspect this is likely mostly due to the fact there I'd just more of it. I've also been hearing thus my whole life. If you look at any period you will find crap. There's more crap these days.
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Your observation is very good. Highlights are very useful for understanding revolution.
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Love the definition of liberty :
“the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views.”
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This is definitely going to interest me, thanks for sharing it.
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