Latest news with #freedomofspeech
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
White House Absolutely Fuming Over Sculpture Showing Trump Dancing With Epstein
The White House failed to see the artistic value of a mysterious installation of a gold 'television' erected in front of the Capitol that plays a video of Donald Trump dancing shoulder-to-shoulder with child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The installation, which was created by unknown artists and is permitted to stay through Sunday, sits where last week's anti-Trump statue 'Dictator Approved' drew similar outrage. Press aide Abigail Jackson unloaded on the anonymous creators. 'Wow, these liberal activists masquerading as 'artists,' are dumber than I thought!' she said in a statement to The Washington Post. 'I've tricked them into taking down their ugly sculpture and replacing it with a beautiful video of the President's legendary dance moves that will bring joy and inspiration to all tourists traversing our National Mall. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' She finished: 'Maybe they will put this on their next sculpture,' she added. The new piece, which features a 15-second loop of Trump's dad dancing, and not just with the late disgraced financier, doubles down on the administration's own words. A plaque quotes last week's White House insistence that Americans are free to display 'so-called 'art,' no matter how ugly it is,' mocking officials who now gripe about being mocked. The stunt's aim, per its National Park Service filing, is 'to demonstrate freedom of speech and artistic expression using political imagery'—and has proven popular with tourists. Just who the artists are remains an art-world whodunit. The National Park Service permit lists a 'Mary Harris,' but no contact details. The Post reports that art sleuths suspect the name is a wink at labor-icon Mary Harris 'Mother' Jones, famous for rattling the powerful a century ago—suggesting the pranksters see themselves as her 21st-century heirs. The golden TV popped up in the same spot as last week's eight-foot statue 'Dictator Approved,' which showed a Trumpian thumbs-up squashing Lady Liberty's crown. That earlier piece quoted authoritarian leaders praising Trump and prompted the original White House crack about 'so-called 'art.'' Similar bronze tiki torches and poop-on-Pelosi-desk tableaux have mysteriously appeared in D.C., Philadelphia, and Portland since autumn, all unsigned but stylistically similar. Trump's cheek-to-cheek history with Epstein has dogged him for years, and his golden two-step with Epstein is hardly random B-roll. The future president socialized with the disgraced financier throughout the 1990s, once calling him a 'terrific guy' who liked 'beautiful women… on the younger side,' and flight logs unsealed during Ghislaine Maxwell's trial listed Trump aboard Epstein's jet seven times. Those links resurfaced this month when Elon Musk blasted on X: 'Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files.' The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX owner claimed the administration is sitting on the documents—a charge which he later deleted, apologizing for going too far. For now, tourists can soak up the D.C. sun watching Trump sway in silence with the sex offender. Meanwhile his press team, which has been approached for comment by the Daily Beast, keeps dancing around the Epstein question—while waiting to see what ignominious installation may pop up next.
Daily Mail
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Joe Rogan's dystopian theory about why Mark Zuckerburg could transform America into 'dictatorship'
Joe Rogan laid out a nightmare scenario where social media giants turn the US into an oppressive dictatorship, and warned that the first steps have already taken place. During an interview on his podcast with professional mixed martial artist Cory Sandhagen, Rogan steered the conversation towards social media and his fears, triggered by recent attempts to censor speech in America. The host of the Joe Rogan Experience singled out Mark Zuckerberg 's Facebook as one of the platforms silencing people he said were posting 'factual information' during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'That was scary to me. Because that's very, very un-American,' Rogan declared. The podcaster revealed that his friend and new owner of X, Elon Musk, told him about the social media platform allowing the US government to censor posts from private citizens. He then unveiled his vision of a 'dangerous' future where platforms like Facebook work together with the government to eliminate all forms of protesting online. Rogan claimed that the entire tech world leans toward a 'very progressive left-wing ideology,' and feared that if the same thing happened during a conservative right-wing presidency, democracy would be lost forever. 'The problem is then what if the f****** right gets in place and they use the same rules that you used on them. Now we don't have a country anymore. I know now we're f*****. Now we're just like every other dictatorship,' Rogan exclaimed. Rogan has previously revealed how the US government, scientists, and social media critics allegedly attempted to 'cancel' him over his support for controversial COVID medicines like ivermectin. He also claimed that CNN edited a video to make his face look green after taking ivermectin, something the podcast host said made him consider suing the media outlet in 2021. 'Because I'm friends with Elon, I knew what was going on at Twitter behind the scenes. I knew how the government was stepping in and silencing posts,' Rogan said during the interview released on Thursday. In March, House Republicans issued subpoenas to officials at Google, demanding the tech giant turn over company information tied to the censorship of Americans during the Biden presidency. Republicans have long accused the Biden Administration of pressuring major companies into censoring free speech during and after the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans launched an investigation into government censorship after reclaiming the House majority in early 2023. Before Biden left office in January, Zuckerberg publicly confessed that both Meta and Facebook censored conservative opinions on an industrial scale during this time. Zuckerberg said the Biden Administration 'repeatedly pressured' the company to remove posts government officials claimed were 'COVID misinformation,' even if the posts were just humor or satire. Rogan compared the shocking levels of censorship in the US during the pandemic to other countries, which have been accused by nonprofit watchdogs of suppressing free expression. According to the political advocacy group Freedom House, 45 countries arrested their citizens for their COVID-related speech online. Twenty-eight countries were found to have censored websites or social media posts during the pandemic, a list that has now been confirmed to include the US. Other nations confirmed to have silenced public discourse included China, India, Turkey, Egypt, and Thailand. Countries in the European Union, like Germany and the UK, have also been accused of censoring online speech through regulations like the EU Digital Services Act. 'This is f****** dangerous man,' Rogan said Thursday. 'If they get a real grip on social media... you no longer can protest about things and express yourself about things, including a lot of things that happened to be true,' he added. That's when the podcast host, who publicly endorsed President Trump in 2024, focused his argument on the progressive left. 'All tech is primarily left and they have a very strong ideology,' Rogan claimed. He alleged that Democrats in the Biden White House and tech giants justified their actions by claiming that anyone who disagreed with the administration's COVID policies was not just wrong, but also attacking democracy. 'When they were in control and they were silencing things, I think the attitude was this is good because we're right and we need to stop these fascists or whatever we want to call them,' Rogan explained. At this point, President Trump and Republicans have not made any public statements that support the censorship of Americans on social media. Musk added in 2024 that he wanted X to 'maximize free speech' and opposed any form of content suppression unless the comments were explicitly illegal. Since Zuckerberg's admission about Facebook, the social media platform has officially shut down its third-party fact-checking program in the US on April 7. Meta also adopted Community Notes, a crowdsourced content moderation feature that allows users to add context, corrections, or clarifications to posts online, just like X does. Zuckerberg also promised to move the social media platform's content moderation teams from California to Texas to address perceptions of bias. However, former Facebook employees told The Guardian their teams were already in Texas before January 2025 and the promise was made to win over President Trump.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
White House Absolutely Fuming Over Sculpture Showing Trump Dancing With Epstein
The White House failed to see the artistic value of a mysterious installation of a gold 'television' erected in front of the Capitol that plays a video of Donald Trump dancing shoulder-to-shoulder with child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The installation, which was created by unknown artists and is permitted to stay through Sunday, sits where last week's anti-Trump statue 'Dictator Approved' drew similar outrage. Press aide Abigail Jackson unloaded on the anonymous creators. 'Wow, these liberal activists masquerading as 'artists,' are dumber than I thought!' she said in a statement to The Washington Post. 'I've tricked them into taking down their ugly sculpture and replacing it with a beautiful video of the President's legendary dance moves that will bring joy and inspiration to all tourists traversing our National Mall. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' She finished: 'Maybe they will put this on their next sculpture,' she added. The new piece, which features a 15-second loop of Trump's dad dancing, and not just with the late disgraced financier, doubles down on the administration's own words. A plaque quotes last week's White House insistence that Americans are free to display 'so-called 'art,' no matter how ugly it is,' mocking officials who now gripe about being mocked. The stunt's aim, per its National Park Service filing, is 'to demonstrate freedom of speech and artistic expression using political imagery'—and has proven popular with tourists. Just who the artists are remains an art-world whodunit. The National Park Service permit lists a 'Mary Harris,' but no contact details. The Post reports that art sleuths suspect the name is a wink at labor-icon Mary Harris 'Mother' Jones, famous for rattling the powerful a century ago—suggesting the pranksters see themselves as her 21st-century heirs. The golden TV popped up in the same spot as last week's eight-foot statue 'Dictator Approved,' which showed a Trumpian thumbs-up squashing Lady Liberty's crown. That earlier piece quoted authoritarian leaders praising Trump and prompted the original White House crack about 'so-called 'art.'' Similar bronze tiki torches and poop-on-Pelosi-desk tableaux have mysteriously appeared in D.C., Philadelphia, and Portland since autumn, all unsigned but stylistically similar. Trump's cheek-to-cheek history with Epstein has dogged him for years, and his golden two-step with Epstein is hardly random B-roll. The future president socialized with the disgraced financier throughout the 1990s, once calling him a 'terrific guy' who liked 'beautiful women… on the younger side,' and flight logs unsealed during Ghislaine Maxwell's trial listed Trump aboard Epstein's jet seven times. Those links resurfaced this month when Elon Musk blasted on X: 'Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files.' The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX owner claimed the administration is sitting on the documents—a charge which he later deleted, apologizing for going too far. For now, tourists can soak up the D.C. sun watching Trump sway in silence with the sex offender. Meanwhile his press team, which has been approached for comment by the Daily Beast, keeps dancing around the Epstein question—while waiting to see what ignominious installation may pop up next.
National Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
CUPE Ontario Leaders Pledge Solidarity With York Region Paramedic Fired for Her Support for Anti-War Rally
Article content TORONTO — Leaders of Ontario's largest union have unanimously condemned the firing of one of their fellow executive board members, vowing to support the dedicated frontline paramedic who spoke out on social media in favour of an anti-war rally in Toronto. Board members have also called for her full reinstatement by York Region. Article content A Facebook comment by CUPE Local 4900 member Katherine Grzejszczak included criticisms of Israel's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. On June 20 she was fired by York Region Paramedic Services management, after being questioned about the comment. Article content 'Katherine is a strong, brave and principled CUPE member who was elected democratically by fellow CUPE Ontario members to be a leader in our union. She is also someone whose life's work is saving others from harm, and yet she's being punished for using her voice to oppose the mass harm of others,' said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. Article content CUPE Ontario's executive board was unequivocal that this discriminatory treatment of a CUPE member is an affront to every worker who believes in the right to speak out for peace and justice, or on any matter of conscience. Executive members also pledged their support for efforts to overturn the termination. Article content 'To dedicate your professional life to emergency response and preserving life, and then to be fired for giving voice to opposition to an ongoing genocide, exposes chilling contradictions,' said CUPE Ontario Secretary-Treasurer Yolanda McClean. 'It's the inconsistent position of York Region Paramedic Services that makes no sense.' Article content 'As outraged as we are about Katherine's unjust termination, this dangerous situation has broader impacts,' said Hahn. 'No employer should be able to silence any worker for challenging injustice.' Article content Article content Article content
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
GOP lawmaker silenced by woke state for exposing a trans athlete gets the last laugh
Maine state representative Laurel Libby has had her speaking rights restored by lawmakers, five months after being silenced for exposing a trans athlete online. In February, Maine legislature voted to silence the Republican state lawmaker, who represents Auburn, after she revealed the winner of a state championship pole vaulting competition had finished fifth in a male event two years earlier. Libby shared unblurred images of the student, named them and circled them - sparking outrage among some across the state. The Supreme Court restored Libby's voting rights on May 20 after she responded with a lawsuit. But her speaking rights had not been brought back, until Wednesday. She said she didn't know for certain why her rights had suddenly returned but believes it could be due to a shift in public opinion over trans athletes in women's sports. ' Democrats know that they are losing on this issue, that the majority of not just Mainers, but Americans, do not agree with their extreme stance allowing biological males to participate in girls' sports,' she said in a video on X. 'They know they're losing on that issue, they know that they're losing in the courts regarding my lawsuit that I filed… and so they caved because they know they're losing and this is the best way for them to save face.' After her controversial post back in February, Libby was called to a censure meeting where Maine House's Democratic majority passed a resolution finding her in 'clear violation' of the code of ethics. 'I will not be silenced and I will not allow the voices of Maine girls to be silenced,' Libby said on X following the vote to censor her at the time. Reflecting on the issue now, the 43-year-old Libby said on social media: 'When I spoke up back in February it was in defense of Maine women and girls who deserve a fair and safe and level playing field. 'I was punished, political retaliation, for that. Today, Democrats put forward a house resolution to restore my voice and my vote. 'The Democrats caved. They caved because they know they are losing.' Donald Trump repeatedly vowed to remove trans athletes from women's sports on the election trail last year before his sweeping victory over the Democrats and Kamala Harris last November. He signed an executive order on February 5 titled ' Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports' barring transgender athletes from women's sports. The order uses Title IX, a law against sex discrimination in taxpayer-funded education programs, to ban transgender girls and women from participating in female school sports activities. It authorizes the Education Department to penalize schools that allow transgender athletes to compete, citing noncompliance with Title IX, which prohibits sexual discrimination in schools. Any school found in violation could potentially be ineligible for federal funding.
