RadixJournal - A Slice of Toxic Americana

00:00:00.160 Hey guys, how are you doing?

00:00:03.220 Good, how are you this evening?

00:00:05.120 Good.

00:00:06.640 I am doing well.

00:00:09.080 So, we have the

00:00:11.220 situation

00:00:13.160 where my kids

00:00:15.540 are here,

00:00:17.540 they're going to get sleepy soon,

00:00:19.720 and then I will return.

00:00:23.680 Yes, they're making a Halloween house.

00:00:26.420 You know, a gingerbread house?

00:00:27.640 All of that stuff has

00:00:30.340 migrated to Halloween now.

00:00:33.760 Is there a war on Halloween?

00:00:36.640 Have conservatives claimed that?

00:00:39.460 Liberals just hate Halloween?

00:00:42.440 They want to take it away from you?

00:00:44.360 Yeah, there's a war on everything, so.

00:00:50.960 So, I

00:00:52.160 had a few

00:00:54.480 thoughts about

00:00:56.760 some things.

00:00:58.900 Let me grab this

00:01:00.300 book that I was working on.

00:01:04.680 So, is the Alex Jones

00:01:06.540 situation, does that interest you guys?

00:01:10.400 I find the whole thing, well, it's sad,

00:01:12.520 but it's sort of fascinating.

00:01:14.660 Just as a preface,

00:01:16.640 I feel terrible for the parents that lost

00:01:18.620 their children in this

00:01:20.620 horrific act of terror,

00:01:21.860 and his jerk-off fans

00:01:24.120 are basically harassing them.

00:01:25.560 I mean,

00:01:26.540 it just,

00:01:27.540 I just,

00:01:28.480 I just, I have no words,

00:01:30.780 quite frankly.

00:01:31.980 Yeah.

00:01:32.640 I mean, I,

00:01:33.680 I have some ambivalence

00:01:35.320 about the whole situation.

00:01:39.020 It's interesting

00:01:40.140 that

00:01:41.340 all of the conservatives

00:01:43.420 circled the wagons

00:01:44.840 on Alex Jones,

00:01:46.020 and they basically

00:01:48.660 said,

00:01:49.580 you know,

00:01:50.900 they're attacking him

00:01:52.300 because he criticizes

00:01:53.700 the regime,

00:01:54.660 which is a,

00:01:56.160 a common tagline

00:01:57.860 that they've

00:01:58.900 picked up on.

00:02:01.360 It's to kind of,

00:02:02.560 I guess,

00:02:02.820 objectify

00:02:03.780 the government.

00:02:05.500 It's, you know,

00:02:05.980 the regime.

00:02:07.660 Similar to the globalists.

00:02:08.800 Globalists.

00:02:10.080 Air quotes.

00:02:10.480 Exactly.

00:02:10.960 Right?

00:02:11.220 Like,

00:02:11.460 who are,

00:02:12.240 you don't,

00:02:12.740 you don't know exactly

00:02:14.200 what it means.

00:02:16.520 And,

00:02:17.360 and they certainly

00:02:18.940 wouldn't say that

00:02:20.020 with regard to Trump.

00:02:21.020 It would be like,

00:02:21.660 America.

00:02:23.280 I saw another

00:02:24.600 line

00:02:25.720 from Charlie Kirk,

00:02:27.480 which was,

00:02:28.720 which is something

00:02:29.720 that makes

00:02:30.880 absolutely no sense

00:02:32.540 and they always use,

00:02:33.840 which is,

00:02:34.640 if they could do this

00:02:35.840 to Alex Jones,

00:02:37.040 think about

00:02:37.640 what they'll do to you.

00:02:39.860 So it's,

00:02:40.760 it's this,

00:02:42.040 I guess the notion is,

00:02:43.680 if there is a sense to it,

00:02:45.340 that Alex Jones

00:02:47.140 has made,

00:02:48.340 you know,

00:02:48.760 millions off selling people

00:02:50.380 diet plans

00:02:52.100 and,

00:02:52.880 you know,

00:02:54.060 brain,

00:02:55.420 muscle,

00:02:56.220 semen oils

00:02:57.020 and who God knows what.

00:03:00.200 And so he has tons of money

00:03:01.660 and can hire lawyers.

00:03:02.600 So like,

00:03:02.900 imagine what it would be for you

00:03:04.440 who's living paycheck to paycheck

00:03:06.340 and,

00:03:06.740 you know,

00:03:08.220 they would just crush you.

00:03:10.560 Well,

00:03:11.060 of course,

00:03:11.480 the answer to that

00:03:12.100 is that they're not

00:03:12.780 just going to go after

00:03:14.240 random people

00:03:15.860 on social media.

00:03:17.240 I mean,

00:03:17.380 at the very worst,

00:03:18.440 they're going to take away

00:03:19.500 your Twitter account.

00:03:23.940 You know,

00:03:24.780 whatever you want to say

00:03:25.800 about that.

00:03:26.300 They're not going to just

00:03:26.980 start going after you

00:03:28.540 through the court system.

00:03:30.320 The other thing

00:03:31.420 is that,

00:03:31.840 you know,

00:03:32.200 free speech

00:03:32.920 is truly dead

00:03:33.920 or whatever.

00:03:34.700 Well,

00:03:35.740 free speech

00:03:36.260 has never been

00:03:38.140 an absolute right.

00:03:39.180 And I've done

00:03:40.140 my bit

00:03:41.800 on this

00:03:42.400 a few times

00:03:43.480 of my own

00:03:46.460 ambivalence

00:03:47.220 about the free speech

00:03:48.620 legal notion

00:03:50.620 that has

00:03:51.780 been passed down

00:03:53.200 from Oliver Wendell Holmes,

00:03:55.660 at least

00:03:56.040 the Supreme Court justice.

00:03:57.940 Those ideas

00:03:58.660 weren't exactly his.

00:03:59.980 But I do think

00:04:01.680 there are actually

00:04:02.260 some problems

00:04:03.340 to that

00:04:03.940 notion of free speech.

00:04:07.220 But anyway,

00:04:08.680 the Blackwell,

00:04:09.620 the kind of common law notion

00:04:10.980 is something different.

00:04:12.660 It is about

00:04:13.240 not preemptively

00:04:15.200 taking away

00:04:16.160 your ability

00:04:17.180 to engage in speech.

00:04:19.080 It is not necessarily

00:04:20.520 not punishing you

00:04:22.280 for your actual speech.

00:04:24.980 And that is

00:04:26.400 the original conception.

00:04:28.900 And Oliver Wendell Holmes

00:04:29.860 actually in his dissent

00:04:31.600 on,

00:04:32.420 I guess it was

00:04:32.820 Abrams

00:04:33.400 versus the U.S.

00:04:34.020 government,

00:04:34.380 I believe,

00:04:35.500 acknowledges this.

00:04:37.880 And he acknowledges

00:04:38.780 that the United States

00:04:39.940 is something new.

00:04:41.060 It's an experiment,

00:04:42.080 a marketplace

00:04:42.660 of ideas.

00:04:44.720 I mean,

00:04:45.180 to his credit,

00:04:45.880 he acknowledged

00:04:46.440 that he was actually

00:04:47.460 putting forth

00:04:48.460 a new conception

00:04:49.780 of law

00:04:51.160 in a dissent

00:04:53.440 to a Supreme Court

00:04:54.760 decision

00:04:55.200 that actually

00:04:56.000 upheld

00:04:56.700 a prosecution

00:04:58.040 of anarchist

00:05:00.260 Bolsheviks

00:05:01.460 handing out pamphlets

00:05:03.320 in New York City

00:05:04.060 or wherever it was.

00:05:05.480 But, you know,

00:05:06.280 notions of defamation

00:05:08.260 have never

00:05:10.040 been protected speech.

00:05:12.620 Obviously,

00:05:13.160 you cannot use speech

00:05:14.720 to break the law.

00:05:17.020 You can't use speech

00:05:18.720 to buy and sell drugs,

00:05:20.480 say,

00:05:21.160 and say,

00:05:21.580 oh,

00:05:21.740 this is my freedom,

00:05:22.920 you know,

00:05:23.060 my First Amendment right

00:05:24.220 that you're

00:05:25.220 jailing me for.

00:05:27.160 And things like

00:05:28.380 defamation

00:05:28.940 have been out there.

00:05:29.700 Now,

00:05:29.820 defamation is

00:05:30.600 much more

00:05:31.400 strict

00:05:32.520 in the UK,

00:05:34.180 famously,

00:05:35.400 but it does

00:05:37.100 occur here.

00:05:38.540 And the way

00:05:40.180 it's,

00:05:42.180 you know,

00:05:42.420 things like libel

00:05:43.440 and these kinds

00:05:44.400 of notions,

00:05:45.500 the way they're understood

00:05:46.280 is reckless

00:05:47.440 disregard for the truth

00:05:48.960 or some kind

00:05:49.800 of malice.

00:05:51.440 So,

00:05:51.960 in effect,

00:05:52.640 you have the right

00:05:53.840 to be wrong,

00:05:55.400 obviously.

00:05:56.840 So,

00:05:57.140 you know,

00:05:57.400 you're not,

00:05:58.580 you can,

00:06:00.240 I don't know,

00:06:01.260 if someone is murdered,

00:06:02.380 you could speculate

00:06:03.320 that about that online.

00:06:04.780 Oh,

00:06:04.900 I think it was

00:06:05.780 his business partner.

00:06:09.580 And if you aren't,

00:06:11.440 you know,

00:06:12.400 maliciously trying

00:06:13.840 to demean

00:06:15.160 this person,

00:06:16.220 that is,

00:06:17.140 I would imagine,

00:06:18.080 covered by free speech.

00:06:19.640 but just

00:06:21.480 maliciously

00:06:22.840 disregarding

00:06:24.760 the truth

00:06:25.440 and claiming

00:06:26.200 that,

00:06:26.780 you know,

00:06:28.100 Jim Bob

00:06:28.840 Womack,

00:06:29.960 he actually,

00:06:30.940 he murdered

00:06:32.540 his wife

00:06:33.640 or whatever.

00:06:34.560 If you're doing

00:06:35.160 that without

00:06:35.680 any evidence

00:06:36.500 or any semblance

00:06:37.780 of reason,

00:06:38.380 then you are

00:06:39.060 defaming him

00:06:40.340 maliciously,

00:06:41.100 particularly if you

00:06:41.620 have a motive

00:06:42.260 to do it.

00:06:43.540 I guess Alex Jones'

00:06:44.840 motive was

00:06:45.740 to

00:06:46.180 just,

00:06:49.000 you know,

00:06:49.440 isolate a target

00:06:50.880 and then get his fans

00:06:53.000 whipped up

00:06:53.600 into a frenzy

00:06:54.500 and

00:06:54.920 profit off that,

00:06:57.880 just create

00:06:58.480 a kind of team

00:06:59.700 that is,

00:07:01.620 you know,

00:07:02.060 on to the truth

00:07:03.220 and things like this.

00:07:05.500 I can see it

00:07:07.000 and

00:07:07.880 I can see

00:07:10.060 how Alex Jones

00:07:11.280 did absolutely

00:07:12.400 engage

00:07:13.200 in

00:07:13.720 defamation

00:07:15.140 and,

00:07:16.260 you know,

00:07:17.700 a billion dollars,

00:07:19.180 that seems a bit much,

00:07:20.300 but,

00:07:20.600 you know,

00:07:20.860 there's no doubt

00:07:21.760 if you put yourself

00:07:22.600 in the shoes

00:07:23.160 of these people,

00:07:24.420 you're,

00:07:24.860 this unspeakable

00:07:26.680 crime has occurred

00:07:27.880 that affects you

00:07:29.540 personally

00:07:30.160 and then you have

00:07:31.240 some

00:07:32.140 blowhard

00:07:33.440 online

00:07:34.340 saying that

00:07:35.740 you and

00:07:36.660 George Soros

00:07:37.780 were engaging

00:07:39.020 in some elaborate

00:07:40.080 scheme

00:07:40.640 to take away

00:07:41.280 gun rights.

00:07:42.320 I mean,

00:07:42.760 I can

00:07:43.320 totally understand

00:07:44.800 that that would

00:07:45.480 have caused

00:07:46.520 hurt,

00:07:47.280 heartache,

00:07:47.960 sleepless nights,

00:07:49.960 depression,

00:07:51.480 outrage,

00:07:52.260 et cetera.

00:07:53.100 So,

00:07:54.480 I get it.

00:07:56.780 And I think

00:07:57.900 with Alex Jones,

00:07:59.200 it's hard to defend

00:08:00.820 him in this instance.

00:08:02.400 But,

00:08:02.840 I don't think

00:08:04.240 the conservatives

00:08:05.160 are completely

00:08:06.340 wrong

00:08:07.260 when they

00:08:08.820 suggest that

00:08:09.880 they're going

00:08:10.680 after him

00:08:11.600 because he

00:08:12.620 is the

00:08:13.120 grand

00:08:13.700 poobah

00:08:14.360 of

00:08:15.220 conspiracy

00:08:15.960 theories.

00:08:17.160 And even

00:08:17.700 though this

00:08:18.100 started

00:08:18.520 before Trump,

00:08:20.380 there,

00:08:20.660 you know,

00:08:21.000 that's kind

00:08:21.800 of thrown

00:08:22.440 into the mix.

00:08:24.600 And it

00:08:25.700 does become

00:08:26.820 a kind of

00:08:27.560 political

00:08:28.100 and culture

00:08:28.860 war.

00:08:29.320 And I think

00:08:29.780 that's true.

00:08:31.040 It does

00:08:31.740 have the

00:08:32.660 feel of that,

00:08:33.880 even if,

00:08:34.540 like,

00:08:34.680 the technical,

00:08:35.600 legal

00:08:35.980 qualities of

00:08:37.880 this are

00:08:38.720 something else.

00:08:39.660 Now,

00:08:40.380 obviously,

00:08:40.920 Alex Jones

00:08:41.580 does himself

00:08:42.260 no favors.

00:08:43.160 He has

00:08:44.140 apologized,

00:08:45.220 I guess,

00:08:45.840 but then

00:08:46.280 he'll

00:08:47.180 unapologize

00:08:48.360 in some way

00:08:49.100 and he'll

00:08:50.220 attack

00:08:51.120 the judge.

00:08:52.320 I mean,

00:08:52.580 he's,

00:08:53.740 it seems

00:08:54.980 like he's

00:08:55.760 suicidal

00:08:56.420 or he's

00:08:57.320 just

00:08:57.640 making it

00:08:59.280 worse

00:08:59.840 and playing

00:09:01.620 up the fact

00:09:02.180 that he's a

00:09:02.620 victim when,

00:09:03.520 in fact,

00:09:04.280 this is an

00:09:04.940 actual law.

00:09:06.520 This is not

00:09:07.420 some,

00:09:09.260 you know,

00:09:09.480 again,

00:09:10.040 I'm not

00:09:10.880 denying the

00:09:11.540 political

00:09:11.940 quality to

00:09:12.680 all this,

00:09:13.120 but it

00:09:13.980 is a

00:09:14.320 law in

00:09:14.640 the book,

00:09:15.040 so you

00:09:15.960 got to

00:09:16.220 get real

00:09:16.660 here.

00:09:17.900 But yes,

00:09:19.380 it is a

00:09:19.880 culture war

00:09:20.440 as well.

00:09:22.180 But I

00:09:22.760 guess what

00:09:23.680 I was

00:09:24.200 thinking

00:09:24.700 about this

00:09:25.780 is that,

00:09:27.380 you know,

00:09:29.160 we have

00:09:29.860 these,

00:09:30.360 and this

00:09:30.700 is something

00:09:31.480 that certainly

00:09:32.220 affects me

00:09:33.220 personally as

00:09:34.720 well.

00:09:35.320 It reminds

00:09:36.480 me of the

00:09:37.020 Charlottesville

00:09:37.800 case.

00:09:38.980 I was

00:09:40.880 never

00:09:41.480 arrested

00:09:42.340 during

00:09:43.920 Charlottesville.

00:09:45.540 I might

00:09:46.860 have,

00:09:47.540 I don't

00:09:48.180 know,

00:09:48.540 preferred to

00:09:49.300 have been

00:09:49.720 arrested on

00:09:50.680 some level

00:09:51.480 because it

00:09:52.940 would have

00:09:53.340 taken me

00:09:54.860 out of that

00:09:55.600 situation

00:09:56.300 safely

00:09:58.180 and not,

00:10:01.100 you know,

00:10:01.420 I actually

00:10:02.080 did escape

00:10:03.320 Charlottesville

00:10:04.240 in rather

00:10:06.280 dangerous

00:10:06.860 circumstances.

00:10:08.000 But putting

00:10:08.880 that aside,

00:10:10.620 the way

00:10:11.440 that people

00:10:12.740 tried to

00:10:13.800 prevent

00:10:14.480 another

00:10:15.020 Charlottesville

00:10:15.780 was to

00:10:16.920 create this

00:10:17.800 massive

00:10:18.580 burden

00:10:19.260 that a

00:10:21.160 Damocletian

00:10:21.860 sword that

00:10:22.560 hangs over

00:10:23.160 everyone's

00:10:23.580 head,

00:10:23.960 which is

00:10:24.260 that we

00:10:24.940 are going

00:10:25.280 to sue

00:10:25.860 you in

00:10:26.400 civil

00:10:26.820 court for

00:10:27.960 something.

00:10:28.660 And we've

00:10:30.220 got the

00:10:30.680 big gun

00:10:31.240 lawyers,

00:10:32.320 you idiots

00:10:32.940 are going

00:10:33.240 to be,

00:10:33.680 you know,

00:10:34.660 impoverished,

00:10:35.460 you're going

00:10:35.760 pro se,

00:10:36.660 and we're

00:10:37.020 just going

00:10:37.360 to crush

00:10:37.940 you.

00:10:38.200 It is

00:10:38.960 this civil,

00:10:40.780 I mean,

00:10:40.980 again,

00:10:41.360 this is

00:10:41.620 what Alex

00:10:42.880 Jones went

00:10:43.660 through,

00:10:44.020 what I've

00:10:44.440 gone through,

00:10:45.300 it's civil

00:10:45.860 matter,

00:10:46.320 it's not a

00:10:46.660 criminal

00:10:46.960 matter.

00:10:47.900 I was

00:10:48.280 never

00:10:48.500 arrested,

00:10:49.400 I was

00:10:49.780 surprisingly

00:10:50.840 never

00:10:52.760 investigated

00:10:54.800 or asked,

00:10:56.780 I think I

00:10:57.120 was asked

00:10:57.540 to participate

00:10:58.140 in the

00:10:58.560 Heapy

00:10:58.820 report and

00:10:59.460 I declined.

00:11:00.240 I actually

00:11:00.680 kind of

00:11:01.080 regret doing

00:11:01.680 that.

00:11:02.060 I would

00:11:03.020 have preferred

00:11:03.500 to have

00:11:04.100 participated

00:11:04.700 actually,

00:11:05.680 because the

00:11:06.060 Heapy

00:11:06.280 report was

00:11:07.100 very good

00:11:08.320 and very

00:11:08.680 serious,

00:11:09.340 but I

00:11:09.740 also wasn't

00:11:10.440 subpoenaed,

00:11:11.120 and he,

00:11:12.020 I don't know

00:11:12.640 if he could

00:11:12.940 have done

00:11:13.180 that or

00:11:13.460 not,

00:11:13.760 maybe he

00:11:14.320 could have.

00:11:15.480 I actually

00:11:16.260 regret not

00:11:17.580 collaborating,

00:11:18.940 but,

00:11:19.460 you know,

00:11:21.140 when you go

00:11:21.600 and talk

00:11:22.180 about a

00:11:22.540 situation,

00:11:23.220 you are

00:11:23.520 kind of

00:11:23.880 putting

00:11:24.400 yourself

00:11:24.840 in jeopardy.

00:11:25.560 Anyway,

00:11:26.160 that's neither

00:11:26.620 here nor

00:11:26.940 there.

00:11:28.160 Heapy report

00:11:28.860 was good

00:11:29.300 without me,

00:11:29.880 and it

00:11:30.080 didn't

00:11:30.540 involve me.

00:11:32.300 But what

00:11:33.220 I'm saying

00:11:33.740 is this

00:11:34.140 use of

00:11:35.660 the civil

00:11:37.360 court system

00:11:38.740 in order

00:11:39.620 for people

00:11:41.260 to pursue

00:11:42.020 things that

00:11:42.920 are ultimately

00:11:43.600 political.

00:11:44.340 Obviously,

00:11:45.380 the Charlottesville

00:11:46.020 case was

00:11:46.580 outrageous

00:11:47.340 and completely

00:11:49.420 political or

00:11:50.280 ideological or

00:11:51.300 personal,

00:11:51.920 however you

00:11:52.240 want to

00:11:52.420 describe it.

00:11:53.380 This one,

00:11:54.100 a little bit

00:11:54.480 less so with

00:11:55.160 Alex.

00:11:55.380 I'm having,

00:11:56.180 I'm kind of

00:11:56.720 struggling here

00:11:57.800 to defend

00:11:58.400 him,

00:11:58.780 as you can

00:11:59.620 tell.

00:12:00.140 But there

00:12:00.840 are just

00:12:01.440 serious

00:12:02.000 problems

00:12:02.880 to the

00:12:04.340 use of

00:12:05.000 the civil

00:12:05.380 courts

00:12:05.880 like this

00:12:06.820 for

00:12:08.040 political

00:12:09.060 ends.

00:12:10.520 And on

00:12:10.940 some level,

00:12:11.940 I would

00:12:12.600 just

00:12:13.100 appreciate

00:12:14.100 an actual

00:12:15.440 speech code.

00:12:17.420 And I've

00:12:18.500 made this

00:12:18.920 argument about

00:12:19.880 Twitter and

00:12:20.580 social media,

00:12:21.400 which is that

00:12:22.060 why don't

00:12:23.080 they just

00:12:23.860 literally

00:12:24.820 tell us

00:12:25.900 what we

00:12:26.680 can say

00:12:27.380 and what

00:12:27.840 we cannot

00:12:28.300 say?

00:12:30.300 Wouldn't

00:12:30.860 that just

00:12:31.440 simply be

00:12:32.200 better?

00:12:32.420 And you

00:12:32.740 do see a

00:12:33.320 little degree

00:12:33.980 of that.

00:12:34.580 I think

00:12:35.180 on Twitch,

00:12:36.800 you kind

00:12:37.360 of can't

00:12:38.000 use any

00:12:39.100 ethnic

00:12:41.460 slander,

00:12:42.740 but whatever.

00:12:43.620 So I

00:12:43.900 think,

00:12:44.440 you know,

00:12:44.860 like Hassan

00:12:45.520 got suspended

00:12:47.080 for a week

00:12:47.940 for using

00:12:48.460 cracker,

00:12:49.400 and I

00:12:49.800 think he

00:12:50.200 used it

00:12:50.780 in a

00:12:51.280 circumstance

00:12:52.420 that I

00:12:52.880 don't think

00:12:53.200 would really

00:12:53.620 offend

00:12:54.120 anyone.

00:12:54.920 But they

00:12:55.760 stuck to

00:12:56.780 their,

00:12:58.160 you know,

00:12:58.380 the letter

00:12:58.720 of the law,

00:13:00.000 the letter

00:13:00.400 of the TOS,

00:13:01.180 and I

00:13:01.380 actually appreciate

00:13:02.240 that in a

00:13:03.740 way, not

00:13:04.060 just because

00:13:04.520 Hassan is

00:13:05.200 horrible,

00:13:05.740 but because

00:13:06.840 I would

00:13:07.980 prefer just

00:13:09.320 explicit

00:13:10.220 codes.

00:13:12.080 And as

00:13:12.980 opposed to

00:13:13.560 the idea

00:13:14.100 that you're

00:13:14.540 going to

00:13:14.920 sue someone

00:13:15.740 into oblivion,

00:13:17.020 the civil

00:13:17.540 court wasn't

00:13:18.360 meant to

00:13:19.500 be used

00:13:20.300 in this

00:13:20.640 way.

00:13:21.620 And there's

00:13:22.620 an interesting

00:13:23.380 case,

00:13:24.800 let me find

00:13:25.840 it here,

00:13:26.820 that actually

00:13:27.920 picks this

00:13:29.180 up.

00:13:29.480 So this

00:13:30.460 is New

00:13:32.080 York Times

00:13:32.840 versus

00:13:33.220 Sullivan.

00:13:35.140 What a

00:13:35.580 state may

00:13:36.140 not

00:13:36.460 constitutionally

00:13:37.980 bring about

00:13:38.640 by means

00:13:39.120 of criminal

00:13:39.780 statute is

00:13:40.600 likewise

00:13:40.920 beyond the

00:13:41.800 reach of

00:13:42.300 its civil

00:13:42.900 law of

00:13:43.540 libel.

00:13:45.200 The fear

00:13:45.800 of damage

00:13:46.560 awards under

00:13:47.720 a rule such

00:13:48.740 as that

00:13:49.140 invoked by

00:13:49.860 the Alabama

00:13:50.480 courts,

00:13:51.000 this is when

00:13:51.580 Alabama was

00:13:52.700 prosecuting

00:13:53.280 the New

00:13:53.420 York Times,

00:13:53.820 by the

00:13:54.820 Alabama

00:13:55.360 courts here

00:13:56.480 may be

00:13:57.020 markedly

00:13:57.760 more

00:13:58.120 inhibiting

00:13:58.800 than the

00:13:59.820 fear of

00:14:00.480 prosecution

00:14:01.100 under a

00:14:01.820 criminal

00:14:02.140 statute.

00:14:02.980 The

00:14:03.220 judgment

00:14:03.840 awarded in

00:14:05.440 this case

00:14:05.940 without the

00:14:06.420 need for

00:14:06.800 any proof

00:14:07.480 of actual

00:14:08.560 pecuniary

00:14:09.200 loss was

00:14:10.440 1,000 times

00:14:11.740 greater than

00:14:12.340 the maximum

00:14:13.000 fine provided

00:14:14.140 by the

00:14:14.580 Alabama

00:14:15.100 statute for

00:14:15.880 criminal

00:14:16.200 libel,

00:14:16.900 and 100

00:14:17.580 times greater

00:14:18.380 than that

00:14:19.800 provided by

00:14:20.420 the Sedition

00:14:21.180 Act.

00:14:22.680 And so

00:14:23.200 this took

00:14:23.860 place,

00:14:24.680 this case,

00:14:26.740 which actually

00:14:27.400 came about

00:14:27.800 in the midst

00:14:28.140 of the

00:14:28.360 civil rights

00:14:28.900 struggle,

00:14:29.240 it was

00:14:29.280 1964.

00:14:30.740 What it's

00:14:31.360 saying is

00:14:32.280 that let's

00:14:33.740 say you

00:14:34.580 had actual

00:14:35.660 speech codes,

00:14:37.460 and so

00:14:38.000 there was a

00:14:40.340 criminal code

00:14:41.600 on the

00:14:42.140 books.

00:14:43.260 They're not

00:14:43.740 going to

00:14:44.780 like,

00:14:46.860 there's no

00:14:47.540 fine that's

00:14:48.440 going to be

00:14:48.780 a billion

00:14:49.400 dollars for

00:14:50.360 something like

00:14:50.860 this.

00:14:51.240 and wouldn't

00:14:53.640 you rather

00:14:54.320 in a way

00:14:55.180 pay a

00:14:56.260 thousand

00:14:56.700 dollars and

00:14:57.760 go to

00:14:58.320 jail for

00:14:59.040 a month

00:14:59.480 than be

00:15:01.280 on the

00:15:01.720 hook for

00:15:02.240 a billion

00:15:02.980 or these

00:15:04.020 sums that

00:15:04.980 are just

00:15:05.340 kind of

00:15:06.280 ultimately

00:15:06.900 pulled out

00:15:07.560 of thin

00:15:07.920 air and

00:15:08.580 that are

00:15:09.120 constitutionally

00:15:10.560 controlled,

00:15:11.440 but are

00:15:12.640 ultimately

00:15:13.000 awarded by

00:15:13.860 juries.

00:15:15.140 That is

00:15:15.860 morons.

00:15:16.680 And it's

00:15:19.260 like, we

00:15:19.840 want to

00:15:20.540 avoid, we're

00:15:21.800 so afraid

00:15:22.960 due to our

00:15:23.660 obsession with

00:15:24.460 free speech

00:15:25.220 that no one

00:15:26.680 supports actual

00:15:28.360 speech codes,

00:15:29.300 just saying

00:15:30.160 outright, you

00:15:31.600 can't say

00:15:32.680 this, you

00:15:33.240 can't quite,

00:15:34.340 you cannot

00:15:35.020 revise the

00:15:36.020 Holocaust, for

00:15:36.920 instance.

00:15:38.300 You can't

00:15:39.820 just directly

00:15:41.220 engage in

00:15:43.300 a discussion

00:15:44.440 of this

00:15:46.020 or that.

00:15:46.640 We're so

00:15:47.200 deathly

00:15:47.860 afraid and

00:15:48.500 we pat

00:15:48.980 ourselves on

00:15:49.640 the back

00:15:50.220 for the

00:15:51.060 fact that

00:15:51.840 you're free

00:15:53.220 in the

00:15:53.520 country.

00:15:54.040 I would

00:15:54.460 defend your

00:15:55.140 right to

00:15:55.800 talk about

00:15:56.840 the Holocaust

00:15:57.420 or race

00:15:58.340 or moon

00:16:00.020 landing or

00:16:00.740 whatever.

00:16:01.440 I would

00:16:01.680 defend your

00:16:02.400 right even

00:16:02.840 though you're

00:16:03.200 dead wrong.

00:16:04.800 How amazing

00:16:05.860 we are.

00:16:08.720 Now, if

00:16:09.720 you're just

00:16:10.220 revising the

00:16:12.880 moon landing,

00:16:13.900 I doubt

00:16:14.240 anyone's going

00:16:14.860 to sue

00:16:15.360 you, although

00:16:15.860 I guess

00:16:16.240 they could

00:16:16.900 on some

00:16:17.300 weird level

00:16:18.180 of emotional

00:16:19.160 distress due

00:16:20.680 to this.

00:16:21.920 But it

00:16:22.840 does create

00:16:23.880 this very

00:16:25.320 strange

00:16:26.080 atmosphere

00:16:26.760 where

00:16:27.940 marginal

00:16:32.060 or extreme

00:16:34.220 or unpopular

00:16:35.920 political opinion

00:16:37.020 is in a

00:16:38.460 way litigated

00:16:39.740 through the

00:16:40.640 civil courts.

00:16:41.640 So, again,

00:16:43.520 this defamation

00:16:44.560 is a real

00:16:45.360 thing.

00:16:45.880 If you go

00:16:46.320 out around

00:16:47.260 and, you

00:16:48.080 know, if

00:16:49.120 you're just

00:16:49.460 a private

00:16:50.200 individual and

00:16:52.080 you start

00:16:52.400 spreading some

00:16:53.280 vicious rumor

00:16:54.160 about how,

00:16:54.920 you know,

00:16:56.480 Jerry murdered

00:16:57.840 his wife or

00:16:58.820 whatever, that

00:17:00.000 is defamation.

00:17:01.120 That will cause

00:17:01.980 him harm and

00:17:03.080 harm that maybe

00:17:03.840 can't even be

00:17:04.460 quite measured.

00:17:05.600 And if it's

00:17:06.180 malicious, then

00:17:06.960 that's absolutely

00:17:07.800 defamation.

00:17:08.480 But let's

00:17:09.480 just be honest

00:17:10.500 with Alex

00:17:11.060 Jones.

00:17:11.400 It wasn't

00:17:12.220 just about

00:17:13.320 some guy

00:17:14.660 saying this.

00:17:16.640 It was about

00:17:17.580 and just

00:17:18.780 causing distress

00:17:19.660 or maybe causing

00:17:20.660 people to lose

00:17:21.420 friendships or

00:17:22.220 whatever.

00:17:22.560 It was about

00:17:23.800 Alex Jones as

00:17:24.920 this massive

00:17:25.540 political force.

00:17:27.280 Remember, I

00:17:27.800 don't know what

00:17:28.260 his numbers are

00:17:28.860 now, but Alex

00:17:29.660 Jones was

00:17:30.980 easily, when he

00:17:31.880 was on the

00:17:32.240 Genesis Network

00:17:33.100 and all this

00:17:33.520 stuff, he was

00:17:34.100 easily getting

00:17:35.300 higher ratings

00:17:36.980 than Rush

00:17:37.620 Limbaugh

00:17:38.140 through the

00:17:39.660 90s and

00:17:40.160 2000s, which

00:17:42.060 is remarkable.

00:17:44.200 And there

00:17:45.660 was an

00:17:46.780 alternative media.

00:17:47.720 There's been

00:17:48.140 an alternative

00:17:48.760 media for

00:17:50.340 decades.

00:17:51.760 And Alex

00:17:52.240 Jones was

00:17:52.680 really early

00:17:53.540 on putting

00:17:54.820 everything up

00:17:55.540 for free on

00:17:56.100 YouTube.

00:17:57.440 I remember

00:17:58.080 him doing

00:17:58.500 this in

00:17:58.980 2007, seeing

00:18:00.580 some Alex

00:18:01.100 Jones stuff.

00:18:02.980 So it was

00:18:04.000 about Alex

00:18:04.680 Jones at the

00:18:05.480 end of the

00:18:05.780 day, about

00:18:06.620 a toxic

00:18:07.460 right-wing

00:18:08.300 figure.

00:18:09.960 And to

00:18:10.620 make all

00:18:11.300 of this

00:18:11.720 about the

00:18:13.020 civil courts,

00:18:14.980 it's just,

00:18:16.380 I think it

00:18:17.680 does just

00:18:18.320 really bother

00:18:19.180 me.

00:18:19.940 Because it,

00:18:20.900 in a way,

00:18:22.660 allows really

00:18:24.900 marginal,

00:18:25.720 anonymous people

00:18:26.600 to just go

00:18:27.980 and say

00:18:28.420 whatever the

00:18:29.000 hell they

00:18:29.460 want whenever

00:18:30.100 because nothing

00:18:30.780 is going to

00:18:31.160 happen to

00:18:31.560 them.

00:18:32.400 And then it

00:18:33.380 has this

00:18:34.360 kind of

00:18:34.660 Damocletian

00:18:35.460 sword over

00:18:36.500 the head

00:18:37.200 of someone

00:18:37.980 who has

00:18:40.080 a huge

00:18:40.580 audience and

00:18:41.760 has something

00:18:42.520 at stake.

00:18:44.060 And to

00:18:44.920 solve these

00:18:45.700 problems through

00:18:46.480 civil court,

00:18:47.380 I just think

00:18:47.920 is absolutely

00:18:48.760 wrong.

00:18:50.640 And so I

00:18:51.460 would much

00:18:52.020 prefer that

00:18:53.240 we simply

00:18:53.900 have a

00:18:55.860 speech code

00:18:56.740 so that you

00:18:57.960 can follow

00:18:58.680 it and

00:19:00.360 operate

00:19:01.860 underneath

00:19:02.680 that.

00:19:04.180 And if

00:19:05.300 you break

00:19:05.880 the code,

00:19:07.240 the government

00:19:08.080 ultimately is

00:19:09.200 going to

00:19:10.100 punish you

00:19:11.300 at much

00:19:12.340 lower rates

00:19:14.020 than the

00:19:14.820 civil courts

00:19:15.540 will.

00:19:16.220 The idea

00:19:16.880 of the

00:19:17.320 government

00:19:17.720 funding

00:19:18.200 someone,

00:19:19.280 or excuse

00:19:19.780 me,

00:19:20.020 finding someone

00:19:20.660 a billion

00:19:21.280 dollars is

00:19:22.700 absurd.

00:19:23.540 Now,

00:19:24.240 I'm saying

00:19:25.200 just for

00:19:25.660 speech,

00:19:26.140 obviously if

00:19:26.740 you're engaged

00:19:27.220 in fraud

00:19:28.060 or whatever,

00:19:29.360 I can

00:19:29.940 definitely

00:19:30.200 see a

00:19:30.720 fine of

00:19:31.180 a billion

00:19:31.520 dollars

00:19:32.080 happening.

00:19:34.220 But it

00:19:35.180 just wouldn't

00:19:35.840 things be

00:19:36.420 better if

00:19:37.120 things were

00:19:37.500 just clearer

00:19:38.640 is all I'm

00:19:40.440 saying.

00:19:40.880 And we

00:19:41.080 didn't have

00:19:41.520 this kind

00:19:41.900 of pretense

00:19:42.800 of like

00:19:43.320 freedom,

00:19:44.180 you can say

00:19:44.720 whatever you

00:19:45.220 want.

00:19:46.320 Although,

00:19:47.420 you know,

00:19:47.800 if you get

00:19:48.300 a little

00:19:48.660 too feisty

00:19:50.340 or if you

00:19:51.020 get a little

00:19:51.380 too popular,

00:19:52.620 we're going

00:19:53.560 to figure

00:19:54.080 out a way

00:19:54.880 to sue

00:19:55.980 you in

00:19:56.360 civil court

00:19:57.060 into oblivion.

00:19:58.360 I just

00:19:58.760 think that's

00:19:59.200 actually

00:19:59.680 uncivilized.

00:20:01.880 And part

00:20:02.760 of being

00:20:03.100 civilized is

00:20:04.260 just being,

00:20:05.460 yeah,

00:20:05.720 there are a

00:20:05.980 lot of,

00:20:06.300 part of being

00:20:06.600 civilized is

00:20:07.180 unwritten rules,

00:20:08.680 yes.

00:20:09.300 But part of

00:20:09.780 being civilized

00:20:10.540 is also

00:20:10.840 written rules.

00:20:11.660 They're just

00:20:11.960 simple things

00:20:13.060 that are

00:20:14.080 there.

00:20:15.100 If you,

00:20:16.080 you know,

00:20:17.240 if you're

00:20:17.520 caught guilty

00:20:18.200 of driving

00:20:20.580 too fast,

00:20:21.480 you pay a

00:20:22.040 ticket.

00:20:22.420 It doesn't

00:20:22.780 necessarily even

00:20:23.420 mean you're

00:20:23.900 a bad person

00:20:24.600 and it does

00:20:25.280 discourage you

00:20:26.020 from driving

00:20:26.640 fast the next

00:20:27.320 time.

00:20:27.560 I just

00:20:29.120 think that's

00:20:29.540 a much

00:20:30.120 better way

00:20:31.380 of doing

00:20:31.800 things than

00:20:32.320 the way

00:20:32.780 that we

00:20:33.200 swear we

00:20:33.740 seem to

00:20:34.200 be going,

00:20:35.280 particularly

00:20:35.620 now that the

00:20:36.280 alternative media

00:20:37.020 is larger

00:20:37.480 than the

00:20:37.820 mainstream

00:20:38.120 media.

00:20:39.160 Now,

00:20:40.040 all of

00:20:40.920 that being

00:20:41.540 said,

00:20:42.660 I do

00:20:43.520 have a

00:20:44.540 total lack

00:20:45.540 of sympathy

00:20:46.020 for Alex

00:20:46.780 chokes.

00:20:48.420 And the

00:20:49.900 reason for

00:20:50.620 that is

00:20:51.480 that,

00:20:52.380 like,

00:20:53.800 at his

00:20:54.340 best,

00:20:55.380 he is a

00:20:56.260 slice of

00:20:57.220 Americana

00:20:57.920 and he is

00:20:59.620 funny.

00:21:00.820 He's,

00:21:01.560 you know,

00:21:02.100 has a

00:21:02.660 charisma that's

00:21:03.540 a bit like

00:21:03.960 a car accident.

00:21:05.120 You can't

00:21:05.740 keep your eyes

00:21:06.300 off it.

00:21:07.180 They're tearing

00:21:07.780 your shirt off

00:21:08.620 and acting

00:21:09.680 like a gorilla.

00:21:10.580 It's pretty

00:21:11.180 funny.

00:21:12.080 It's very

00:21:12.780 American.

00:21:13.400 And,

00:21:14.660 you know,

00:21:15.040 there's

00:21:15.300 something about

00:21:16.100 him that I

00:21:16.540 kind of

00:21:17.020 like.

00:21:19.240 But let's

00:21:20.520 also not,

00:21:23.180 you know,

00:21:24.160 get into

00:21:24.880 this mentality

00:21:27.380 that we

00:21:29.260 want to

00:21:30.020 stick up

00:21:30.780 for Alex

00:21:31.340 Jones at

00:21:32.540 every opportunity

00:21:33.380 that he's

00:21:34.040 our guy

00:21:34.940 or, like,

00:21:36.060 if they're

00:21:36.420 going to,

00:21:36.660 you know,

00:21:37.060 if they weren't

00:21:37.560 going after

00:21:38.060 Alex Jones,

00:21:38.800 they'd be

00:21:39.120 going after

00:21:39.660 us or all

00:21:40.500 of those

00:21:40.840 things which

00:21:41.300 are just

00:21:41.560 simply wrong.

00:21:42.440 I mean,

00:21:42.620 Alex Jones

00:21:43.220 is extremely

00:21:44.940 toxic.

00:21:46.620 Alex Jones

00:21:47.220 is part

00:21:48.820 of the

00:21:49.180 alt-light.

00:21:50.100 The alt-light

00:21:50.920 will endlessly

00:21:52.060 defend Alex

00:21:53.180 Jones.

00:21:54.660 And so

00:21:55.100 the alt-light

00:21:55.800 is understood

00:21:56.540 as this

00:21:57.720 massive

00:21:58.980 distraction,

00:22:00.420 massive,

00:22:01.760 I guess,

00:22:03.260 kind of,

00:22:03.580 you could say

00:22:03.920 synthetic

00:22:04.620 opposition

00:22:05.520 to the

00:22:06.900 system.

00:22:07.700 Something that

00:22:08.460 will short

00:22:09.100 circuit any

00:22:10.340 serious

00:22:11.480 dissent.

00:22:12.180 getting rid

00:22:14.100 of these

00:22:14.500 people I

00:22:15.260 think

00:22:15.460 ultimately

00:22:15.980 is a

00:22:16.380 good

00:22:16.520 thing.

00:22:17.640 So from

00:22:18.220 an

00:22:18.440 amoral

00:22:19.360 perspective,

00:22:20.180 I have

00:22:21.660 no sympathy

00:22:22.900 for Alex

00:22:23.940 Jones.

00:22:24.740 From a

00:22:26.100 legal and

00:22:27.580 kind of

00:22:28.160 civilizational

00:22:29.540 perspective,

00:22:30.120 I guess you

00:22:30.580 could say,

00:22:31.460 I actually

00:22:32.300 do think

00:22:33.180 it says

00:22:34.240 something

00:22:34.840 profoundly

00:22:35.820 bad

00:22:36.480 about our

00:22:37.960 society.

00:22:38.700 so there

00:22:41.560 it is.

00:22:42.040 That's my

00:22:42.580 feelings on

00:22:43.260 the matter.

00:22:44.440 If they

00:22:44.580 weren't going

00:22:45.040 after Alex

00:22:45.700 Jones,

00:22:46.080 they might

00:22:46.360 be going

00:22:46.740 after us,

00:22:48.200 like,

00:22:49.580 literally

00:22:50.020 us.

00:22:51.060 Like,

00:22:51.480 these,

00:22:52.400 it's kind

00:22:53.220 of important

00:22:53.720 that these

00:22:55.340 silly people

00:22:56.960 are out

00:22:58.440 there absorbing

00:22:59.580 all the

00:23:00.020 legal attention.

00:23:01.780 I agree.

00:23:02.240 I mean,

00:23:02.260 I didn't

00:23:04.980 even say

00:23:05.640 it that

00:23:05.960 way,

00:23:06.220 but you

00:23:06.440 could say

00:23:06.820 it in

00:23:06.980 that way.

00:23:07.360 It's like

00:23:07.580 better him

00:23:08.240 than us.

00:23:09.460 I mean,

00:23:09.840 obviously,

00:23:10.760 the Charlottesville

00:23:11.780 case was

00:23:13.020 these white

00:23:14.700 shoe law

00:23:15.300 firms and

00:23:16.000 really big

00:23:16.780 guns getting

00:23:18.500 together and

00:23:20.260 blowing their

00:23:22.260 wad on

00:23:23.020 people.

00:23:23.360 And it did

00:23:24.080 become kind

00:23:25.040 of ridiculous

00:23:26.860 at some

00:23:27.580 point where

00:23:28.900 you're dealing

00:23:29.660 with people

00:23:30.180 who have,

00:23:31.000 you know,

00:23:31.680 the idea

00:23:33.540 that they

00:23:33.860 have the

00:23:34.100 assets that

00:23:34.920 can be

00:23:35.420 turned over

00:23:36.480 for however

00:23:37.580 millions they

00:23:38.360 wanted or

00:23:38.840 whatever,

00:23:39.040 it's just

00:23:39.420 ridiculous.

00:23:40.480 You're

00:23:40.920 attacking

00:23:41.520 marginal

00:23:42.360 people.

00:23:43.780 I think

00:23:44.280 actually the

00:23:45.000 lack of

00:23:45.640 attention on

00:23:46.300 the Charlottesville

00:23:46.800 case was

00:23:47.240 interesting.

00:23:47.800 I think

00:23:48.180 Charlottesville

00:23:48.760 was increasingly

00:23:51.540 irrelevant after

00:23:52.860 J6 and

00:23:54.840 so on.

00:23:56.360 I mean,

00:23:56.480 I don't even

00:23:57.020 know if it's

00:23:57.460 worth talking

00:23:58.180 about anymore.

00:23:59.040 But yeah,

00:24:00.140 I mean,

00:24:00.420 at the end

00:24:01.300 of the day,

00:24:02.660 Alex Jones

00:24:03.220 kind of is

00:24:04.020 standing in

00:24:05.360 front of us

00:24:06.120 and it's

00:24:07.820 ultimately fine

00:24:09.040 for him to

00:24:09.580 get knocked

00:24:10.020 off because I

00:24:11.320 don't see a

00:24:12.100 lot of

00:24:12.500 redeeming features

00:24:13.760 to Alex Jones

00:24:14.800 outside of

00:24:16.460 the, you

00:24:17.500 know,

00:24:17.800 slice of

00:24:18.360 Americana or

00:24:19.720 he's hilarious.

00:24:22.240 That's about

00:24:22.960 as far as I

00:24:23.660 could go with

00:24:24.360 praise.

00:24:27.260 That stuff is

00:24:28.640 talks.

00:24:29.160 I mean,

00:24:29.440 when the

00:24:29.760 liberals say

00:24:30.300 Alex Jones

00:24:30.860 is toxic,

00:24:31.960 for God's

00:24:32.580 sake,

00:24:32.840 do you

00:24:33.080 really want

00:24:33.580 to disagree

00:24:33.980 with them?

00:24:34.500 the

00:24:35.500 about

00:24:36.080 the

00:24:36.700 judgment of

00:24:37.900 them.

00:24:38.020 Probably the

00:24:38.260 number of

00:24:38.420 people

00:24:39.260 have

00:24:39.600 well,

00:24:40.320 they're

00:24:40.980 There's a lot of

00:24:42.360 that.

RadixJournal - October 14, 2022

A Slice of Toxic Americana

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