IN CASE YOU (UNDERSTANDABLY) LOST TRACK OF WHAT "FREE SPEECH" MEANS...

In talking about the furror over Playboys hate-rape fantasy towards conservative women, liberals have, predictably, screamed that their taking it down was a blow to free speech. Susannah Breslin was one of them.

To help counteract the delusion, here's a refresher course, from Ed Morrissey at Hot Air:

No one infringed on anyone’s right to free speech. In fact, the entire process was an exercise in free speech. Playboy had every right to publish its vile fantasy, and everyone else had the right to (a) criticize it, and (b) suggest a boycott of the private enterprises that published it and sponsored it. No one “made” Playboy take down the article, except the execs who rightly got embarrassed by it.

Breslin apparently believes that “free speech” is limited to publications and institutions, and not to individuals. If so, she’s living in the wrong decade, but it’s not as if she’s alone, either. Whenever people feel the need to retract a poorly-written or poorly-conceived article, someone wails about “mob mentality” and how it spells the end to free speech. You can set your watch to this predictable reaction.

Well, believe it or not, but “freedom of speech” does not mean freedom from criticism. In a free society, everyone has the right to speak. Playboy retracted the piece not because of some unconstitutional governmental intervention, but because the article damaged their brand and their business. Had their editors been better at their jobs, it never would have appeared in the first place.

When the government tells people they can’t speak or write on a topic, that’s the end of free speech. When people criticize what others write, that’s actual free speech.

Remember this definition to help navigate the tsunami of blathering lunacy we are being inundated with.
Speaking of the government limiting freedom of expression, what do you think was intended by the DHS memos labeling believers in state's rights (you know, part of THE CONSTITUTION) and opponents of ILLEGAL immigration as "potential terrorists?" Why do you think there's a backdoor attempt at killing talk radio, now that there is an uproar over their planned "fairness doctrine?"

As laid out in the groundbreaking, essential book, Liberal Fascism, it is a tendency that runs through liberal history, from Mussolini to Pelosi. They just can't help themselves, being so much smarter and more evolved than the common rubble begging to be led!