Free Republic

The defense of free speech by Vice President J.D. Vance in Munich, Germany, has led to open panic on the left in fighting to maintain European censorship and speech criminalization. The response of the American press and pundits was crushingly familiar. From CBS News to members of Congress, Vance (and anyone who supports his speech) was accused of using Nazi tactics. It is the demonization of dissent. In one of the most bizarre examples, CBS anchor Margaret Brennan confronted Secretary of State Marco Rubio over Vance’s support for free speech given the fact that he was “standing in a country...

Many have touted today's ruling in the High Court against Ofcom as a "win" for free speech. The initial optics are, of course, great and the usual suspects are taking a victory lap... Tom Harwood's former employer Guido Fawkes proclaimed: GB News Victorious Against Two-Tier Ofcom Fantastic! The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that. Unfortunately, after careful review of the actual decision in favor of GB News, I fear this will serve as a classic example of winning the battle but losing the war. Why be such a debbie-downer? Well... UPDATE: An Ofcom spokesperson says: "We...

President Trump welcomed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the White House on Thursday.President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Prime Minister Keir Starmer met in the Oval Office to discuss a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine and the future of NATO.At one point JD Vance called out Starmer to his face for infringements on free speech.“I said what I said,” JD Vance said during the Oval Office meeting.“We know that there have been infringements on free speech that actually affect not just the British, of course what the British do in their...

Freedom of speech is a virus! And censorship is a vaccine!" Ursula von der Leyen called for “vaccinating” society against uncomfortable information .

...that was displayed in the police gym and then sent an unauthorized individual into the police facility to check.

France just made it clear—if you don’t fall in line, you’re finished. The government is shutting down C8, a massively popular right-wing TV channel, because it wasn’t “diverse enough.” Translation? It dared to challenge the state-approved narrative. Millions of viewers tuned in, but that doesn’t matter. The decision is final—C8 will be gone by next Friday. France’s top court backed the move, claiming the network failed to meet its obligations and lacked profitability. Since when did profitability determine a channel’s right to exist? This isn’t about contracts. It’s about silencing dissent. The media regulator, Arcom, hit C8 with fines and...

Freedom of expression is guaranteed in Article 5 of the Basic Law, the German constitution, which also makes clear that this freedom has limits in order to, for example, to protect young people, privacy or personal honor. The protection of personal honor plays a particularly important role in the German legal system, said lawyer Ralf Poscher, director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg. “This originates from the time in history when notions of honor were even more important. They were then embraced by the middle classes too, and were incorporated into...

JD Vance will reiterate his concerns about the erosion of free speech in Britain to Sir Keir Starmer when the pair meet in Washington DC next week, he said. The vice-president used his speech at the Munich Security Conference to warn the threat to free speech and mass migration pose a greater threat to Europe than Russia. Singling out the UK, he said free speech was “in retreat” and Brexit voters had been betrayed by elites opening “the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants”. Asked if he planned to double down on his comments when the British Prime Minister travels...

A British judge has sentenced a man to 28 weeks in prison for sending “hateful” emails intended to “disparage, insult, and offend” London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, government minister Jess Phillips, and Matt Twist, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Jack Bennett, 38, was convicted of four counts of sending malicious communications and one of using a public communication network to send offensive emails. .. Bennett had been motivated to send his emails by the “perceived” incompetence of the authorities in tackling Muslim rape gangs, which preyed on primarily white, working-class girls in Britain virtually unchecked for decades.

Matt Taibbi gives his opening statement at today's House Judiciary Committee hearing on the "censorship-industrial complex." Transcript linked below video.

A Colorado bill could put doctors, government employees or morticians in jail if they accurately record the sex of deceased people who identified as transgender. The Colorado House is scheduled to hold a hearing on Feb. 25 examining legislation that would make it a crime not to abide by the chosen “gender identity” of deceased individuals on their death certificates. Medical experts expressed alarm at the attempt to erase biological reality from crucial state-issued documents. “It’s dangerous and absolutely nuts to threaten doctors with a misdemeanor if they won’t forge a death certificate. But it’s what I’d expect in Colorado,”...

It's not the most burning topic of the hour, but, as my days dwindle down to a precious few, I confess I have always marvelled at how one can make a multi-decade career on American telly despite having no obvious talent or skill - or ratings. Take CBS News, which is still out there apparently: Dan Rather, the parody "hard news" anchor, was unable to read prompter in anything approximating the cadences of human vocal delivery. Yet it was no obstacle to spending seventy-three low-rated years hosting the CBS Evening News. Why? I've never had a convincing explanation other than...

60 Minutes recently interviewed some politicians in Germany who like to prosecute people for insulting politicians. Their names are Josephine Ballon, Matthäus Fink, Svenja Meininghaus, and Frank-Michael Laue.Since they like to prosecute people who insult politicians, it is my moral obligation to insult them.I should point out that I have never actually been in Germany.My grandmother (on my mother’s side) did have three sisters who were murdered by the Nazis.As it says on my Twitter profile, I believe that every child should frequently watch Looney Tunes, the Three Stooges, Jonny Quest, and You Can’t Do That On Television. I grew...

Placebo frontman Brian Molko was charged Monday with calling right-wing Premier Giorgia Meloni a fascist and a Nazi at a concert in Turin in July 2023. The justice ministry gave Turin prosecutors the green light to charge Molko, a 52-year-old American-Scottish musician, with insulting Italian institutions on July 11 at Stupinigi. The alternative rock band’s singer will be liable to pay a fine if the charges stick.

A 60 Minutes segment on Germany's approach to policing online speech has ignited fierce debate on both sides of the Atlantic after it aired in the U.S. on Sunday. Critics have called the country's laws "Orwellian," while defenders insist they are necessary to prevent hate-fueled violence. The CBS News piece showcased how German authorities crack down on online speech deemed harmful or offensive under the country's stringent speech laws. The report documented early-morning police raids targeting individuals suspected of posting content that could incite hatred, including insults and even memes. Why It Matters The debate over Germany's online speech laws...

HAMBURG — Chaos erupted and hundreds fled in a German city once again today, after what witnesses described as a "deranged maniac" allegedly fired off over 17 memes in a crowded shopping mall. The incident occurred during peak shopping hours, with one witness saying that a commotion arose near the food court, as someone began screaming, "Memes! Memes! Run! Run!" before people began making panicked runs for the exits. "You see this on the news, but you never expect to experience it firsthand," said witness Friedrich Müller. "We were just shopping and enjoying our day when this sick lunatic just...

Actor Tom Hanks played a racist Trump supporter in a Saturday Night Live bit for the sketch show’s 50th anniversary on Sunday. The sketch resurrected the character Doug, who first made an appearance in 2016 for the Black Jeopardy! sketch. Per USA Today: Hosted as usual by Kenan Thompson’s Darnell, this version of “Black Jeopardy!” featured Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan and Eddie Murphy, who was showing off a Tracy Morgan impression that was almost better than the real thing. Or actually one of the best bits Murphy’s done in the last decade. Tom Hanks made an appearance as Doug, the...

The panic that gripped Europe’s political elites after J.D. Vance delivered some overdue home truths in Munich found expression back home in the most embarrassing question ever asked by a network anchor. Our vice president had accused smug Eurocrats at the Munich Security Conference of abandoning free speech and allowing unchecked migration to roil their countries, warned them to respect their voters and told them America should not bear the primary burden of funding Europe’s security. “If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you. Nor, for that matter, is there anything...

Vice President JD Vance has slammed CBS News' Margaret Brennan for what he called a 'crazy exchange' she had with Secretary of State Marco Rubio Sunday morning. Brennan was questioning Rubio about the vice president's remarks at the Munich Security Conference, in which he argued that free speech and democratic institutions were being eroded, when she erroneously linked the Holocaust to free speech. 'He was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct genocide and he met with the head of a political party that has far-right views and some historic ties to extreme groups,' the news...

Collin Rugg @CollinRugg NEW: 60 Minutes joins German police as they raid a man’s home for sharing a “racist” cartoon online. JD Vance was 100% right about Germany and the buffoons in the media acted like he was crazy. 60 Minutes: “Is it a crime to insult people online?” German prosectors: “Yes” 60 Minutes: “Is someone committing a crime if they repost a lie?” German prosecutors: “Yes.”