Does Anyone Think Anymore

Ok, let's postulate for a minute.  Let's assume that the ancient Supreme Court ruling that First Amendment Rights are conditioned by the "yelling fire in a crowded theater" analogy.

The point of the ruling is that free speech is not unconditional.  There are times when free speech must be compromised.  Common sense does count for something, even by mega-corporations like Sony who must have thought they were bullet proof from stupid!

We see that in legal cases all the times free speech is NOT unconditional.  Grand Juries cannot divulge their deliberations.  There are penalties if a juror breaks this demand of silence.

The mess over the immature and probably not funny "The Interview" is a good example of wrong First Amendment assumptions.

Sony, without any preparation for possible fall out, produced a film that postulated that a couple idiot media wonks  would be recruited by the CIA and attempt to assassinate the  North Korean Dictator.   This is the same dictator who has sponsored cyber attacks in the past on suspected opponents.  This is the same dictator who possesses nuclear weapons.

This comes on the heels  of the disclosure that the CIA tortured dozens of suspected terrorists.  Then, once the report came out, the CIA and conservative politicians went on a rant that the report was unfair; that torture was good in that it developed actionable intelligence.  And this mess had no effect on deranged Islamic extremists?  There is little doubt that the practice of torture helped the terrorist cause, in a real sense making martyrs of them!

So, the CIA that admitted widespread torture, that violated international law, is depicted by a comedy film trying to assassinate an North Korean dictator as a "good " and rational group?

Really????

And America, tone deaf to the maximum, is in an uproar that Sony's "free speech" has been abrogated.  Many are calling for action.  What, should we bomb them for being upset that a film proposed killing their leader?

Really?  How would we feel if North Korea made a film about killing our leader?

There is no free speech at risk here.  Sony intended to make money with a film that uses a spy agency training a couple idiots to kill the leader of another country.

And North Korea got mad.  And it appears they cyper -attacked Sony.  It appears they punished irresponsible free speech.

This attack by the way,  shows the ridiculouly low security American computer systems use.  It also shows that Sony had no plan B, and never considered any blow-back from a notorious unstable regime.

It also shows that Americans are an incredibly arrogant lot!

In a real sense Sony yelled fire in a crowded theater and got nailed for it.  And there is nothing anybody can really do about it.


Look, I rarely agree with the NRA, but they are right when they focus on violent movies and video games that encourage gun violence.   Video game violence has been proven to drive unstable individuals to violence yet media companies continue making them.  Movie violence sells in the American market, so the idea that a gun can solve problems by blowing the opponent away, is repeated incessantly.

So don't cry when some disturbed young person comes to school and shoots someone. Demand that gun violence be curbed by irresponsible media companies!

And, Sony making a film that makes fun of killing a leader that many disagree with is in the same vein.  It isn't funny to North Korea for sure to watch a plot to poison their leaders.  In a very real sense Sony screamed fire in a crowded theater.

Finally, why does the media react so massively when a terrorist, be he/she a deranged individual or an organized group, strikes?  During WWII there was an agreement to not show dead American soldiers for at least two years of the war.  This was done for morale and intelligence purposes (showing dead soldiers while America  was losing the war and divulging battlefield locations were agreed upon taboos).

Today, the "free world" is locked in a struggle with Islamic terrorists.  And, America's media companies show absolute no restraint in covering their insane acts of violence.

And there is no doubt that offering free publicity does NOT discourage acts of violence.  In fact,the  media everyday uses violence and sex to sell products with absolutely no regard for blowback.  Similarly, the idiotic handling of "The Interview" certainly did not discourage crazy acts from the North Korean regime.  In fact, it encourages them.

You yell "fire" in a crowded theater, you are irresponsible, then don't come crying to us if you pay for it.  And stop encouraging  terrorism.  Sony just lost millions because of media crying fire in a crowded theater.

Free speech is NOT unconditional.