The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Twitter is rolling out a new gray ‘Official’ checkmark for governments, companies, and public figures. The change will help users distinguish between Twitter Blue subscribers and accounts that are verified as official. The Official checkmark can’t be bought and only Twitter can determine who gets it. Anyone impersonating an official account without clearly identifying themselves as a parody will be permanently banned from the platform.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Kanye West has agreed to buy Parler, a social media app that brands itself as a “free speech”-focused substitute for other social media platforms. The purchase echoes similar moves made by former President Trump and Elon Musk to own social media apps and push back against what they consider overbearing moderation policies that silence conservatives.
Continue reading Making Free Speech Great Again , Kanye West Buys Social Media App “Parler”
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River Vale NJ, Senator Holly Schepisiin a Facebook post said the following :
Continue reading There’s a Free Speech Fight Brewing in New Jersey Over Censored YouTube Video
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Ridgewood NJ, Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share, saying the social media company needs to be transformed privately. Twitter shares jumped 12% in premarket trading after closing at $45.85 a share on Wednesday.
Continue reading Elon Musk Offers to Buy Twitter for $54.20 a Share
file photos by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
In the wake of controversy surrounding comedian Dave Chappelle, Americans overwhelming say “cancel culture” is out of control, and believe free speech should be protected against censorship.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Twitter’s stock price tumbled Monday as investors appeared to balk at the social network’s decision to ban President Trump from posting. Technology companies tried to contain a mounting backlash against their social media sites, with shares of Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. falling in early trading and rival platform Parler forced offline by Amazon.com Inc.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, de-platformed where is independent thinker to go ? Gab, a popular social networking site amongst conservatives and free speech advocates on the internet, has claimed that it received 10,000 new user signups on an hourly basis ever since Twitter permanently suspended USA President Donald Trump’s account, Fox Business reports. The Ridgewood blog attempted to open an account on Sunday and there servers were on over load.
Continue reading De-platformed , Where is Independent Thinker to go ?
“Forums for digital congregation that daily display integrity and respect for First Amendment rights are sadly becoming rare in the United States. The ones that are still hanging in there, still remaining true to their founding principals, still swinging the bat in eager emulation of the pre-strikeout version of “Mighty Casey”, are doing so in the face of growing intolerance and thuggish intimidation.”
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood blog was not the only social media company having issues last night .Social media platform Parler jumped to the top downloaded app this weekend, as conservatives rally support to leave Facebook and Twitter over censorship.
Continue reading Tech Tyrants Attempt to Squash upstart “Parler “
“There are a lot of closet Republicans among us. I am one. I have to sit and listen to my colleagues and friends rant on about Russia and various other anti-Trump MSM talking points. I see their social media posts. They are obsessed. They think I am one of them. I’m not. I really like them as people, but the obsession with Trump has pushed me to limit at times. Remember Rudy Guiliani and his 2 terms as Mayor. It’s incredible that he got elected when everyone in NYC told their friends they voted for Dinkins/Messinger. Obviously not. People tell friends and pollsters lies. What they do behind the curtain is between them and their bank account.”
photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, a new Cato national survey finds that self‐censorship is on the rise in the United States. Nearly two-thirds—62%—of Americans say the political climate these days prevents them from saying things they believe because others might find them offensive. The share of Americans who self‐censor has risen several points since 2017 when 58% of Americans agreed with this statement.
Clearly we have seen this in action even on a local level in Ridgewood. Name calling, bullying , “filtering” , silencing , group think , conformity, blind obedience ,right think , Facebook excommunication, boycotts and trying to get people fired has become part of life in Ridgewood . https://theridgewoodblog.net/in-ridgewood-its-free-speech-for-some-but-not-for-others/
photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, anti protester and free speech advocate William Porterfield who exercised his own right to free speech during Saturdays ,“Ridgewood for Black Liberation” is now being harassed buy some the the very protesters who claim the mantle of free speech.
Continue reading In Ridgewood it’s Free Speech for Some But Not For Others
Dear A.G.,
It is with sadness that I write to tell you that I am resigning from The New York Times.
I joined the paper with gratitude and optimism three years ago. I was hired with the goal of bringing in voices that would not otherwise appear in your pages: first-time writers, centrists, conservatives and others who would not naturally think of The Times as their home. The reason for this effort was clear: The paper’s failure to anticipate the outcome of the 2016 election meant that it didn’t have a firm grasp of the country it covers. Dean Baquet and others have admitted as much on various occasions. The priority in Opinion was to help redress that critical shortcoming.
Continue reading Bari Weiss Quits in a Huff From New York Times Opinion Post
June 27,2018
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Washington DC, for the second time in a week the US Supreme court gave the Trump administration a major win . First on Tuesday the Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s travel ban affecting several mostly Muslim countries, offering an endorsement of the president’s executive authority on immigration in one of the hardest-fought battles of this term.
The 5-4 ruling marks the first major high court decision on a Trump administration policy and it upholds the selective travel restrictions.
Today in perhaps a more significant issue for New Jersey Taxpayers and in a major legal and political defeat for municipal and state unions, the Supreme Court ruled once again 5-4 that state government workers cannot be forced to pay so-called “fair share” fees to support collective bargaining and other union activities.
Unions claim 5 million government employees in 24 states including New Jersey and the District of Columbia will be affected by this ruling.
The so called “Janus decision” is seen as a victory for Free Speech advocates . Teachers and other public sector members will now have freedom to choose to voluntarily join a union if they decide it will serve their interests, rather than endure compulsory fees to unions that put their own agenda first. Public sector unions will no longer be able to force non-members to pay bloated “agency fees” as a condition of employment.
February 23,2018
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Washington DC, The Supreme Court is scheduled to return to Washington next week after nearly a month off. The justices will hear a number of important oral arguments, including a case involving free speech, and public employee unions.
Next Monday February 26th , the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in one of the most anticipated cases of the year, the case of Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31.
This case could have an enormous impact on big union states like New Jersey and may impact many unions political influence like the NJEA.
The case focuses on Mark Janus who is not a public sector union member but has to pay fees ie inion dues anyway. Janus argues these fees “violate his free speech and free association rights.”
This case involves forcing public employees who opt out of union membership to pay a fee for the “fair share” of costs associated with collective bargaining. Mark Janus, an Illinois state employee, argues that forcing him to subsidize the union he has declined to join violates his free speech and free association rights.
The court will look at whether to overturn its 1977 decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, which held that public employees could be forced to pay an agency fee.
This very issue was before the court in 2016 when Justice Antonin Scalia died. The court deadlocked 4-4 in Friedrichs v. California Teachers’ Association, thereby upholding the lower court ruling in favor of the California Teachers Association.