One of the sites on Rantlister, “The Rantings of a Ninja Viking,” was shut down by Blogspot, due to a Terms of Service violation. While this was merely a violation of the host’s policy, it brings to light an important issue, internet censorship.

Right now, it’s just certain hosts telling us we can’t use their service to post “hate speech” or any derogatory or inflammatory content. But what’s to stop a government agency or someone like the United Nations from stepping in and trying to regulate the internet? Who has the right to tell us what we can and cannot say online? If corporations like Google and the Church of Scientology have their way, “offensive content” would be illegal, and if you wanted to own a website, you would have to get a “permit,” (which would cost you, of course). Are we as ranters going to allow our right to publicly vent to be taken away in favor of protecting those who are oversensitive?

“But what can I do to protect free speech?” EDUCATE YOURSELF AND OTHERS! Let others know what is going on, starting with educating people about how Google is working with the Chinese government to stifle free speech in China. We cannot allow the most basic of human rights to be trampled because someone somewhere might be “offended” by hearing or reading something they don’t agree with.

Support free speech!

I went to the movies yesterday, and instead of the standard ‘guess the movie’ crap they show before the previews, they subjected us to 15 minutes of ‘green’ material. A short flick by Johnny K. detailing how CFL bulbs are better than incandescent. A short film about carbon footprints. Crap crap crap. Let’s take into account the fact that CFL’s are more dangerous to the environment and the people using them then standard bulbs, and the government is trying to start a new agency to deal with their safe disposal. Stop and think for a moment that some of the largest ‘carbon footprints’ are left behind by these pointy headed PRIVATE JET USING know-nothings. And let’s please not forget that - even without the Kyoto protocols - the Earth lost a FULL DEGREE in mean temperature last year!

I can guarantee with almost 100% certainty that were this not an election year, at most there would have been only a few moments of this ‘global climate crisis’ garbage. It was straight up propaganda intended to make the audience feel as if the sky was falling, knowing full well Democrats are viewed by this shallow minded populace as the ’saviors’ of the planet. It’s supposed to make you feel it’s OK for them to raise your taxes so they can ’save’ the planet. Never mind the Earth’s dynamic environment that went through ice ages and super hot periods, all without an SUV in sight! When I take my wife and kids to see Drillbit Taylor, I do not want to be lambasted by environmentalist propaganda! Let’s not forget one more majorly important factor in all this:

I’m part of the population that hasn’t been duped by the so called climate crisis, and I don’t care to listen to that crap when I just spent 50 dollars at your theater to watch a fucking movie! And Hollywood can’t figure out why attendance is down so bad. Morons.

This post is a reply to Ninja Viking’s brilliant post Five years later and you’re still complaining?. Please note that I am a proud conservative, and my opinions in no way are meant to represent those of the list members, nor the staff of Rantlister.com.

That was a damn good rant. However, I am one of the people that got pissed off at what ‘natalie mange’ said. Not at just the words, but the intent. She threw this country and our president under the bus at a concert in a foreign country during the worst possible time. You pointed out the timing, but the fact remains they were attempting to placate the anti-American sentiment their crowd held. Many of us conservatives enjoy the art of so many leftist actors and musicians, we just wish they wouldn’t use their fame as a launching board for their political opinions when we merely want to enjoy ourselves. Does it really all have to be about politics? And what sense does it make to alienate half your audience?

The Dixie Chicks did this to themselves. They showed the entire world their lack of class and integrity. I don’t think it would have been as bad had she said this at a state-side concert, but I’m sure at the time she knew better. No, she took the spineless route and spouted her crap to a bunch of people that agreed with her on foreign soil. And for all the comparisons to Vietnam the Iraq war has garnered, the one event of Vietnam that comes to mind is Hanoi Jane. Many people have still not forgiven her, and this comes to the heart of why so many still don’t want to hear anything out of the Dixie Chicks. Folks just don’t like it when you throw your country under the bus on foreign soil to advance your political agenda.

It will take much longer than 5 years for this to become a non issue. Hanoi Jane is finally back making movies after 30 years, and a lot of people still don’t want to see her. On the flip side, she is a hero to a significant portion of this country who applaud her for doing everything she could to stand up for her beliefs. The Chicks will also enjoy some of this brand of misguided hero worship, as they are already lauded for their ‘bravery’ in exercising their freedom of speech. So don’t feel too bad for them. An estimated 33% of this country will support them even if they tour and do little more than piss on the stage, simply because they want to stick it to people like me.

Special thanks to Rantlister Forum member The Great Cornholio for providing us with this hilarious animation describing the disturbing death of another forum member, Maddy.

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Fuck Barack Obama.