Seriously guys, why care so much about what Coulter says?

Don't get me wrong, I do not agree with Ann Coulter's opinions. But I do support her freedom of speech. I have been a very, very stong supporter of free speech and free press all my life. I support free speech on both sides of every issue. When opinions clash, that is true evidence of freedom and progress. The exchange of ideas and opinions provokes thinking and knowledge. The New Jersey legislature right now wants to pass legislation that will ban Coulter's book. I am against that measure 100%. You can debate what coulter says, but when you try to shut people up, that is a perfect example of censorship and tyranny. And I don't give a damn if you are right or left wing, I am against censorship of all forms, completely...

I mean the only thing this controversy is going to do is give her publicity. Her book is selling like crazy now. It's the #1 seller on Amazon. Slander lawsuit? She has nothing to worry about. That is freedom of speech lawsuit that could end up taking many years to go forward. And she certainly has the money to take that case all the way to the Supreme Court. Plus, her next book deal is going to come with an advance of $15 million. So she has nothing to worry about. She's financially set for life.

Who cares what Ann Coulter says? I personally think this is a perfect example of what's wrong with America. It seems there is no freedom of speech anymore.
We start banning books from the far right wing, it won't be long until we start seeing books from the left wing disappearing. Before we know it, we have a culture of censorship...just like in one of my favorite books, "Fahrenheit 451."

I am so sick and tired of this politically correct bullshit idea among both liberals and conservatives that you arn't permitted to say anything "offensive." I personally don't care if you are offended. If someone says something against you, or makes an idea that you dislike, then what an intelligent person does is combat that opinion with a better idea. That's how a debate moves forward. An intelligent person does not try to shut the other person up or attempt to use the power of government to win the arguement. That defeats what America was founded upon.
Now a stupid person goes to the courts and cries about it. A stupid person goes on an internet message board and calls for the execution of who ever made the comment. I saw that on DU today. A member here thought Coulter should be shot. That right there is fascism in all it's glory!

"We can never be completely sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion; and if we were sure, stifling it would be a pure evil still."
-John Stewart Mill

"We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."
-John F. Kennedy

I am sure some on here will flame me. But that's OK. That's your freedom.

:hi:

expect to engage her in any meaningful conversation. Don't bother.

tonight.

Yes, she has free speech. If she wants to rub salt into the wounds of the 9/11 victims, she did so.

She is perfectly free to open old wounds that are trying to heal with her nonsense about the Jersey girls.

Those 9/11 victims outside of the Jersey group showed total support for the energy and focus of the Jersey girls to find the truth.

Yes, she has every right to hurt these victims with her careless and inflammatory words, that most assume, she wrote only for the purpose of mercenary profit at their expense.

Every right, but she has as much respect as she showed the 9/11 victims.

If you don't believe in freedom of speech for your worst enemy, you don't believe in it at all.

And I'm free to say that I think she's a raving lunatic. Which I do. :D

I dont know if anyone here is asking for it to be banned. My post was directed to anyone that was thinking that way. The New Jersey legislature though is demaning her book be taken off the shelves.

I think the DU post about wanting her to be shot was removed because I can't find it now.

polices itself. Where's the problem?

What I mostly see is people objecting to the content of the speech.

When you talk about not banning the speech in your original post, you are setting up a "straw man", since people here are for the most part not advocating that the speech be prohibited or banned.

They are just condemning the content and the speaker as is their right.

Where do you get your news from?

When a Congress demands a "boycott" it means they want a ban but don't have the votes to do it. So the elected official tries to organize a boycott instead.
No matter how you want to word it, it amounts to the same thing. They want bookstores to take the book off the shelf. Ban or boycott in this sense is the same idea. They don't want to the public to view the material.

The question I have is, where do we draw the line? Should we take all books off the shelves if they are considered "offensive" to the majority? I mean I have seen books that are much more offensive than anything Coulter has said and there is not a peep of controversy.

http://www.assemblydems.com/press/0606/PRQuigleyStenderOnCoulter.htm

as they stated on CNN.

a boycott is not patronizing a product. There is a very big difference.

She meant to offend and cause outrage and get everyone talking about her.

Then she can say that the left can't handle it and that the left is attacking her.

She's a scumbag, plain and simple. Yet another bottom-feeding right-wing dreg who is exploiting the 9/11 that they should have prevented on their watch, for their own personal gain.

She's whining and crying about 9/11 widows using their grief in a constructive way which happens to be aimed at the President she apparently worships far more deeply than the God she claims to believe in - so she can make a buck.

She's a hypocrite, screeching on about the 9/11 widows using their grief to make a change, while she's exploiting 9/11 and their grief to fill her bank account.

And to top it all off, she's got the balls to question these women's marriages when she's a forever-single bitter fucking hag.

:puke:

But she loves milking those ignorant neocons to buy her book. As CNN said, she has no shame.

Controversy is what is fueling her right now.The more we scream about her, the more attention she gets. More attention = More exposure. Even our negative exposure is good for her because it feeds her base, makes her look more important than she is.

Ask yourselves and answer honestly here: How many of you went out and bought the Dixie Chicks latest release only because Natalie Maines spoke out against Dumbya? How many of you would have never even given them a second thought if Natalie had remained silent, or even spoke in praise of Dumbya? How many of you only know of the Chicks because Natalie spoke out? I hadn't even thought about them since the first time she spoke out, but then again, I'm not a country music or top 40's fan either. I like Blues and Classic Rock.

And no, I didn't buy the CD, but I support Natalie's right to speak out and encourage her to keep doing so.

That's what the right wing did to silence the Dixie Chicks, call them names and insult them. Stop the sales.

but that is part of what I'm talking about. Maybe it turned some people off who used to listen, but at the same time, they picked up some other fans who would not have previously given them a second thought. Back when I was younger I never would have listened to rap music, but just because of the controversy over 2LIVE CREW's "as nasty as they wanna be" album, I made it a point to check it out.

victims. And rap music has to do with what inanity?

The difference is that the Dixie Chicks insulted their own fan base. Country music is liked by many conservatives. And the music is rooted in the south and red states. The Dixie Chicks came out and insulted Bush and criticized the war. The conservatives took offense, therefore they lost a good percentage of their fans.

Ann Coulter isn't attacking her fans. And when conservatives see that liberals are calling her a "bitch," it only makes them take more notice of what she is saying.

Political boycotts do not work. When the Catholic Church called for a boycott of The Da Vinci Code...look what happened. It made a 1/4 billion dollars in one weekend.

They weren't political. How about good people in New York and New Jersey, saying she's out of line with zero sensitivity.

Hey, if you're for Ann, just say it.

Professor Ward Churchill said everyone that died in 9/11 deserved it because they were "little Nazi capitalists."
Look how many (I'm not saying all) on the left wing supported those comments and said Republicans are against free speech.

Suddenly when Ann Coulter attacks 9/11 victims...the roles reverse. The left wing wants to shut her up. And the right claims liberals are against free speech.

It's all about politics....

Tom Petty's guys are playing on the CD.. and it's really more americana than pop or country. I can't stop listening to it...

whatever she wants as is her right. I can exercise my right not to like it and bitch about it.

as she wants in order to sell more books.

and it will be seen as distasteful. Nothing wrong with letting mouthy people hang themselves if given enough rope.

Bitch on, my friend, bitch on! We ALL need our own form of release because the bullshit piles up fast with this bunch. I honestly think calling them repugs is actually insulting to repugs, not that I mind, but they are in a class all to themselves. I used a word in another post, never seen it before that I can recall, that describes them perfectly, and that should be their new party name:

The Moranicans

.... yes folks, it's that bad. Feel free to use it! :rofl:

You want to change the subject? Your histrionics are a little unusual for DU.

"Ann can say...
whatever she wants as is her right. I can exercise my right not to like it and bitch about it."

Now what did I say that was wrong in my answer? I agreed with the poster and said: "Bitch on, my friend, bitch on! We ALL need our own form of release because the bullshit piles up fast with this bunch". <---(meaning the Bushco crime regime)...

"I honestly think calling them repugs is actually insulting to repugs, not that I mind, but they are in a class all to themselves". <---(meaning the Bushco crime regime)...

THE MORANICANS

<---(meaning the Bushco crime regime)...

something wrong with that? :shrug:

I have never had to hide so many useless threads in my life, though a few of them are kinda funny, I have to admit I posted in a few of the funny ones.

Yes.

She's free to speak her vile opinions.. this is America after all. HOWEVER that does NOT mean that she should be feted, paid, photographed, flirted with, interviewed, and made a celebrity because of it. I guess you're saying that we should not fight hatred, bigotry, baseless attacks against us? If that's what you're saying.. then count me out. She's free to say what ever comes out of that cesspool surrounded by lipstick.. and I am free to discourage media outlets from making her a celebrity and allowing her hatred and lies to become mainstream.

Who the fuck is calling for censoring Coulter?!

And who put this goddamned straw man in my bed?