Trump rails about his first amendment rights. Too bad he is not so forgiving when someone in the press or on TV speaks out against him. Rosie O'Donnell spoke to defend a Miss America candidate by suggesting something to the effect that Trump wasn't as great as he presented himself to be and she referred to his being in debt and is close to bankruptcy.
Her comments released a barrage of horrific epithets against her as a woman, deriding her appearance in the most demeaning manner. The next thing I knew, she was off the Rosie O'Donnell Show. What? Of course Trump does that to every woman who challenges him. Carly Fiorina, the women who spoke about his groping in the E. Jean Carroll case he derided their appearances. E. Jean Carroll has gotten her day in court, however, by suing Trump twice. Perhaps the second time when he has to pay more money than the $5 million already, he will shut his mouth.
 |
| E. Jean Carroll successful in her suit against Trump |
The first amendment right to free speech relates to responsible speech. Declaiming something as truth when it is a lie is problematic because Fox News does this continually and now is being sued and will continue to be sued for declaiming Trump won the 2020 election when in fact he lost. The lies they allowed others to speak on their programs about Smartmatic and Dominion Voting machines are resulting in huge payouts. Dominion settled. Smartmatic's case is coming up. Recently, NYC is suing Fox for its abuse of its first amendment privileges. With the privileges comes responsibility.
"New York City’s pension funds sued the Fox Corporation and its board on Tuesday, accusing the company of neglecting its duty to shareholders by opening itself up to defamation lawsuits from the persistent broadcasting of falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election." (Katie Robertson, New York Times, September 12, 2023)
So, what is responsible speech? It seems obvious. Knowingly spreading lies to commit fraud and dupe people out of their money or making false claims can get one sued. The problem is lawsuits take time and money and the craven know that few people want to take such litigation up. Well, Trump and his criminal cronies have become so egregious, people are saying ENOUGH.
Fox and all the conservative media have gone on LYING long enough. The chickens are coming home to roost. If news corporations persist in not debunking known lies, then they will be sued. More are in the works against Fox, OAN and Newsmax, for sure. RT and Sputnik the Russian news organizations that helped to spread defamatory opinions as "news" about Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden also should be sued. They have been shut down since Putin's War against Ukraine and his being designated and wanted as a WAR CRIMINAL in the Hague.
The conservative news media have abused their first amendment rights under the constitution by declaiming lies as truth. This is where responsibility and accountability comes into first amendment protected speech. "In my opinion..." should be the phrase-word before every declamation by conservatives in the Republican party who have lied and have not been held accountable. There speech is abusive and harmful, reckless, negligent, derelict and egregious. These liars must be held to account. Their speech is not first amendment protected. They must be challenged for their lies. The lawsuits have started; the criminals are being charged and indicted. The tide is turning.
As for the gag order Special Prosecutor Jack Smith is seeking against Donald Trump in the election case, this is just. Trump daily has been abusing his first amendment rights with bullying statements, declaiming falsehoods against the prosecutors, making veiled threats about anyone "going after him," inciting violence, and generally using his first amendment rights to 1)defame the DOJ 2)defame the judges and prosecutors in the cases against him 3)defame and insult the grand juries who indicted him, 4)discredit the process of holding him accountable for his lies. Thus, he lied and abused his first amendment privileges. And now he is lying and slandering those who are attempting to hold him to account, FURTHER ABUSING HIS FIRST AMENDMENT PRIVILEGES AND SHOWING HE WILL NOT BE STOPPED FROM BEING RECKLESS, HARMFUL, FRAUDULENT AND DEFAMATORY.
.jpg) |
| Trump's speech incited this man to participate in the Jan 6th insurrection. |
To adults understanding the criminal mind set that Trump displays, this is obviously an attempt to defend himself in the court of public opinion which in consideration reveals his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, ipso facto. If one is innocent, one doesn't rail against the those who are meting out the law and doing their job. One seeks justice if one is innocent, especially if one is white, of the privilege that Donald Trump has and has money. Trump's railing against the 4 indictments by grand juries unrelated to the current administration can be interpreted as guilt. Innocents proclaim their innocence and don't need to disparage their prosecutors.
However, Trump uses his irresponsible speech to incite violence. This is an abuse of his first amendment right. He uses his lies and fraud to discredit those who are prosecuting him. This is an abuse of his first amendment right. This is especially so SINCE HE HAS BEEN INDICTED, JURIES HAVE CHARGED HIS ACTIONS ILLEGAL AND LAW BREAKING, AND HE IS OUT ON BAIL. He is under indictment and he is out on bail and his abusive behavior warrants censure or a revocation of his bail and his privileges. As an indicted criminal his privileges have been curtailed, already. He doesn't seem to understand that because of his privilege. Well, he has to be censured so he does understand.
If Trump can't do the humiliation, then he should not have committed the crimes he did.
 |
| Trump supports Putin. The ICC (International Criminal Court) has issued arrest warrants against Putin for war crimes and genocide. |
Trump is running a campaign for president, which states are challenging since he fomented an insurrection which disqualifies him under the fourtheenth amendment. He is suing those who are suing him to keep him off the ballot. Regardless, running a campaign, Trump can discuss Republican Party issues. He cannot discuss the indictments, the cases against him. He can speak about his policies.
However, the problem is there are no policies the Republican party is putting forward. He's running on himself. Trump. Vote for me. Why? No reason, because I'm great. What have you done? I am great! Sorry, that's not enough for the American people. Apparently, his presumptions (he lies so these are lies) are enough for Republicans. Their policy is to win by any means necessary, they have no interest in helping Americans.
The American voter knows this; they have seen enough of what the Republican Party is. The American voter has had enough. Those in the House and Senate, as Mitt Romney suggests, largely are not believers in democracy. They are believers in themselves. They are liars who swear their oaths to the constitution, but they don't believe in the constitution.
 | |
| These Republicans conspired with Trump in the electors scheme where VP Pence was supposed to deny the electoral college ballots for fraud, a lie Pence refused to accept. |
Donald Trump is running under the constitution and in a government he neither supports, believes in or will uphold. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? IS ANYONE WATCHING?
Likewise most of the Republican Party is like Trump. They are derelict of duty, lazying around in Washington, DC, obstructing bills the Democrats try to pass. They give themselves and their corporate donors trillions in tax breaks while giving the bill to the middle class (and what used to be the upper middle class). They want the privileges of money they get from lobbyists and billionaires, but they are not willing to lead, to govern, to do anything but hang around derelict and kill American citizens as they largely did using politics to fight a virus, COVID, helping to spread a global pandemic in a galactic botch job by Donald Trump whom they refused to call out.
Over one million 1 hundred thousand died of COVID-19, thanks to Donald Trump and the Republicans refusing vaccinations, spreading misinformation, etc. and still doing it today while secretly availing themselves of the most expensive treatments if they got COVID. Trump got it and charged the taxpayers over $3 million for treatments while scores of poor white men died in the hospital of COVID refusing to accept they had it.
The privileged speech that Trump/Republicans have used is malevolent, dangerous, killing. It is not responsible. They must be held to account for the COVID -19 botch job and the misinformation that continues today about vaccines. Trump most certainly has abrogated his first amendment rights by abusing them beyond belief as a figure-head running for president. His speech is dangerous incitement. It is culturally damaging and he must be held accountable, as the Republican Party must be held accountable for their fraud and lies.
Civil litigation must occur. Democrats must call down the lies and fraud and bullying and insults and epithets and calumny. They must sue for libel and slander, like E. Jean Carroll sued. If Trump intends to run his campaign, run it. Don't discuss the 4 indictments he is under and attack all those who are a party to those indictments, witnesses, grand juries, prosecutors, judges, etc. If he continues, he should be put in jail. He is out on bail; if the trial cannot be fairly presented, he needs to go to jail and wait until the trial dates, if he can't shut up.
Enough permissiveness. He has been given grace he does not appreciate. He has been given first amendment rights he has maligned and abused by not adhering to a constitution he refuses to uphold and refusing to be in obeisance to a government that he disrespects and intends to revolt against to form a new government of despotism, in a communist push like Putin is attempting to restore the former USSR. The judges must treat Trump as a child. He must shut up and be gagged and if he still continues, his bails must be revoked.
We have seen what he is. People have died on his watch. The country as a democracy is in jeopardy. He does not deserve to be afforded the rights of ordinary citizens because he has no respect or appreciation of what it means to be an American. Has violated his oath of office, defrauded the voters, lead a defilement of the Capitol and the election processes of this nation. He has been indicted four times. Running for president? Are Republicans insane? Get off the merry-go-round, cowards. You are being swept away by a man who despise you, your party and what you stand for. If gets in power, he will eliminate you and your positions. Republican infirmity is legion to not act to shut him up. The judges must gag him or jail him.
Just shut up Trump. You are not worthy of the American people, the constitution, the freedoms granted within, and especially freedom of speech which has inherent in it responsibility to do no harm. You are our inferior. And as such, you and those who support you are rebuked.
