They want you to shut up: The crackdown on free speech

Consider the headlines in the news today and this week and for the next weeks, probably months as well: anger, danger, violence, accusations of wrongdoing. All this – and more – at a time that traditionally has been one of looking toward the future with a new administration in Washington and what it might mean for our country and, yes, even the world.

Not this time – and if you listen to the media, the politicians and just about everyone else, it's all the fault of President Donald J. Trump. Amazing isn't it, how one man can be responsible for all the problems we face, or might face.

One of those problems is censorship, and it's raising its ugly head in many ways that will be with us long after Donald Trump is gone from Washington.

The seeds of it probably were planted for months, but it hit national awareness when it was announced that the largest social-media sites would be censoring speech they didn't agree with. They call it hate speech, but it really is an arbitrary decision to block access for certain people, starting – where else? – with Donald Trump.

The man who spent many hours of his life tweeting'– now, can't. He's been blocked because of what he says and who he is. Twitter isn't the only one. Add to that Facebook, YouTube, Apple, and Amazon. The conservative-leaning site Parler has virtually been put out of business and all because of its political point of view. The crackdown has spread like wildfire across the information internet and social media platforms, and it will only get worse as people realize how they're being shut out of public discourse.

If you look at it for what it really is, it's a crackdown on our free speech. Never forget that free speech is guaranteed in the Constitution – yet the growing tide of censorship is ignoring that, and there is very little opposition. Democrats say nothing, and Republicans who do speak out are virtually ignored.

The reason for the crackdown, we are told, is because there is too much 'hate speech" on the internet, and according to Big Tech, that's a no-no, so they pull the plug. Of course, it all depends on your definition of "hate speech," and at this point, Big Tech decides.

The move has ramifications across the globe, and it's interesting to see some of the reaction from people who survived Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union repression. According to a report by Church Militant, some of the harshest criticism of this censorship comes from Poland, which was under Communist oppression for 40 years.

Polish writer Malgorzata Wolczyk wrote: "Unlike President Trump, the Taliban and Nicolas Maduro, who have been accused by the United Nations of crimes against humanity, still have a Twitter account."

Going further, investigative reporter and president of the Association of Polish Journalists, Witold Gadowski, warned that "online censorship is the germ of a new totalitarianism." He isn't alone in expressing such fears.

American newspapers already are on the left side of the political agenda, and their dislike for Trump has been evident ever since he stepped into the national political spotlight. It hasn't helped their viability; newspapers are losing advertising and readership at a clip they never thought possible.

I used to subscribe to the San Francisco Chronicle, but I stopped it when I realized it had very little news. My "local" paper, the East Bay Times, is just about as bad, although I keep it for the meager local news they print. The rest is full-page medical or car ads, legal advertising and comics. That the Times leans "left" goes without saying.

The censorship has now also spread to radio as it was announced last week that the second-biggest radio station operator in the country, Cumulus Media, is censoring its on-air hosts.

A directive issued by Brian Philips, executive vice-president of content for Cumulus, told on-air personalities to stop suggesting that the election was stolen from President Trump – or they would be fired.

Philips said they need to "help induce national calm NOW – the election has been resolved, and there are no alternate acceptable paths."

He added: "If you transgress this policy, you can expect to separate from the company immediately."

Whew! For a company that airs some of the most conservative hosts on talk radio – them's fightin' words. Keep in mind, Cumulus operates 416 stations in 84 regions across the country. Westwood One is a subsidiary of Cumulus.

It will be interesting to see what happens now. Among their many hosts are Mark Levin, Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino – all outspoken conservatives.

One of Cumulus' biggest stations is KGO in San Francisco – long a top talk station in the area, although it has slipped in the ratings over recent years, mainly because of changes in their format and hosts.

I find it interesting that the top brass wants to crack down on hosts who favor Trump, yet from what I hear, say nothing about what some hosts say on the air. I worked in talk radio for many years, and swearing or cursing on the air was a BIG no-no – and no doubt would have been cause for firing.

Yet now it appears it is OK. KGO's noon-to-3 host, a woman named Pat Thurston, one day, on the air, twice called a listener a "son of a b--ch." She didn't say "SOB" she said the actual words. The station and other hosts thought it was so great that they made a promo from it, and it was the subject of much on-air laughter.

A couple of weeks later, mid-week, she did it again, so apparently there had been no repercussions from her first blasphemies. But you must know the Thurston hates Donald Trump. Bashing him has been the main theme of her programs for four years, so she probably will have no problems when it comes to the new corporate directive.

It all depends whether you're on the right or left – and the left is now running things. Hang on!

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