Facebook – self appointed arbiter of “free speech” – tells Tea Party no more organizing

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In what is an astonishing development, Mark Zuckerberg’s social media sensation, Facebook, has been slowly and quietly clamping down on the use of the site for political purposes. Kellen Giuda, an architect who started the NY Tea Party, has a column today in The Daily Caller to expose the Facebook hypocrisy, and to announce an alternative social medium to replace the FB void after a series of policy and site changes that are designed to limit the scope of use of Facebook related to political purposes.

What makes an American entrepreneur’s blood run cold is the quote from Facebook’s Adam Conner to the Wall Street Journal last month:

Meanwhile, Facebook is talking with potential Chinese partners about entering the huge China market, where the government has been cracking down on dissidents. That crackdown has come in response to the uprisings shaking authoritarian Middle Eastern regimes, movements that have used U.S.-based social-media sites like Facebook and Twitter as organizing tools.

“Maybe we will block content in some countries, but not others,” Adam Conner, a Facebook lobbyist, told the Journal. “We are occasionally held in uncomfortable positions because now we’re allowing too much, maybe, free speech in countries that haven’t experienced it before,” he said.

“Right now we’re studying and learning about China but have made no decisions about if, or how, we will approach it,” said Debbie Frost, Facebook’s director of international communications.

It’s chilling enough that a social medium that has played such a high profile role in political interaction decides that one country is “experienced” enough to be allowed free speech, and another isn’t. But considering Facebook’s attitude towards the Tea Party and other groups that are not being offered the privileged “upgrade” that allows them to keep their contacts intact, this begs the question of Mr. Conner… just what part of America, and our founding based on free speech, requires nanny censorship by a self appointed arbiter? Is this country not “experienced” enough in the eyes of the Facebook authorities.

Facebook isn’t foolish enough to outright lay on political censorship. As Guida points out, it’s been a series of steps that unmistakenly is aimed at political use of the medium. And he further suggests that the overt ties to liberal political beliefs may play a large part in thwarting Tea Party organization.

The company has changed the way Facebook’s group, newsfeed and event features work, and it has restricted the ability of users to communicate with people (via messages and wall posts) who are outside of their real-life social networks.

What’s more, it’s become clear that Facebook itself is dominated by liberals:

•98% of political donations from Facebook employees went to Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election.

•Chris Hughes, one of Facebook’s co-founders, headed up Barack Obama’s successful website during the 2008 campaign. In 2009, he was featured on the cover of Fast Company magazine as “The kid who made Obama president: how Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes unleashed Barack’s base — and changed politics and marketing forever.”

•Facebook’s former attorney for privacy issues, Chris Kelly, ran for attorney general of California in 2010 on a far-left platform.

Many Americans and Tea Party organizers are waking up to this liberal culture at Facebook, which was on display at the recent Facebook townhall where Barack Obama and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg fawned over each other.

And speaking of this new a’political philosphy, if Facebook is so all fired dedicated to free speech and staying away from politics, why the heck are they interviewing the POTUS on political issues, and livestreaming it on Facebook anyway?

And what happens to all those Congressional owned Facebook accounts? Aren’t they entirely political in nature? Or is it only “organizing” they seem to oppose?

UPDATE: To hedge off any additional misreadings and misconceptions that have been repeatedly addressed in the vast comments below, yes… I know that FB doesn’t “guarantee” anyone “free speech” as a private company. Nor is political ideology a protected class under federal or state civil rights. I suggest none of this. This post is about Facebook’s hypocrisy – their supposed “pro freedom” beliefs that runs counter to their idea that some are capable of handling “free speech” and others are not in the US. If Facebook wishes to advertise itself as a liberal political organizing platform, that’s fine. But the overt disconnect of saying they are “pro freedom” (but may be giving some “too much free speech”), while picking and choosing who may or may not keep their organizing contacts with the privileged upgrades, is not representative of who they claim to be. Now… returning you to the program, already in progress….END UPDATE

What becomes more ironic about FB’s attempted control and tiptoe away from politics is the very political nature of both the company, and of Conner himself… who is one of Facebook’s lobbyists on staff. It was only last week that Facebook hired on two more lobbyists, both Republicans, to complement their two Democrat lobbyists, for more influence in Washington. Perhaps they see the writing on the wall for 2012, and an era that is likely to usher in even more conservatives to what has been an unhealthy Democrat balance for too many years.

Facebook now has four registered lobbyists. The new Republican hires join Democrats Tim Sparapani and Adam Conner. Facebook has 12 staffers in its Washington office, including administrative support.

“At Facebook, we’re committed to explaining how our service works; the important actions we take to protect the more than 500 million people who use our service; and the value of innovation to our economy,” spokesman Andrew Noyes said in a statement. “This work occurs daily in Washington, at the state level, and with policymakers around the world.”

The company spent $230,000 lobbying in the first quarter, according to a recent filing with the House clerk’s office.

Apparently the company is allowed to be political for their benefit, but they do not wish to offer that same freedom of content use to their subscribers…

 Conner himself has anything but an a’political career.

Prior to Facebook, Adam was the Director of Online Communications for Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, Chairwoman of the Rules Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. He previously served as the Deputy Director of Online Communications for Forward Together, the presidential exploratory committee for former Virginia Governor Mark Warner. Adam holds a bachelor’s degree in political communication from the George Washington University.

Additionally, it was Egypt’s Wael Ghonim, Google’s ME marketing guru and anonymous Facebook administrator, who is credited with driving the Egyptian “Arab Spring”.

Ghonim thought Facebook could be the ideal revolutionary tool in Egypt’s suffocating police state. “Once you are a fan, whatever we publish gets on your wall,” he wrote. “So the government has NO way to block it later. Unless they block Facebook completely.”

I wonder if Ghonim ever envisioned that it would not be a government that blocks content, but the Facebook execs themselves.

The hypocrisy of such back door censorship flies in the face of the Facebook executives actions themselves during that event, where it was reported they “..took unusual steps to protect the identity of protest leaders during the Egypt uprising.” Apparently, it is their policy to monitor, meddle and control with the content sniffs of politics. Or is this their idea of a self-imposed “fairness doctrine”?

Granted, Giuda’s own Daily Caller column is a blatant advertisement for his attempt at a political “Facebook” alternative, Freedom Torch. But considering how firmly entrenched FB is in today culture, and it’s now famous association with what many consider a political success for organizing both the US Tea Party movement and rebellions overseas, it’s going to have a serious uphill climb in replacing the vast audience Facebook has already captured.

Paraphrasing Dr. Johnny Fever’s infamous line in the old WKRP sitcom, “when you move the mission, you need to remember to tell the drunks”. There’s the potential that a lot of communication with political activists could be lost. It’s difficult to drive traffic for a political organizing cause to another social medium when the originating medium is making it difficult to convey that message to begin with by stripping them with the majority of their contact database.

Or is that Facebook’s intention?

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@Shawn: Well! When Facebook goes ahead with their IPO, We Conservatives will also exercise “The Free Market” by buying Stock & putting Pressure on Facebook! Enjoy CENSORSHIP While It Lasts, Liberals!!!!

RAYMOND, hi, I don’t know if you have a good idea to get everyone to buy share in there,
I would not trust that company any more after their move to discredit you all,
you might be better to get involve in another safer site, there is some other to choose that might be worth the investing more than that one ,even if they look big now doesn’t mean they will stay big,
you know what they say, THE BIGGER THEY ARE THE BIGGER THEY FALL
bye

@Ralph:
(oops, that was me that clicked dislike…I clicked on the wrong button) I meant a great big LIKE

Freedom Connector is a good site to try. http://connect.freedomworks.org/

@Cat Melton:
the freedom connector is a great place to met up with like minded folk near you
Dave

BULLCRAP on the Conservatives not having it together to put up a “techie” site that would rival facebook. We have, no one came ( save a hand full of vets, family & friends ). The truth is the tools can be available to the patriotic conservative and when they are – they are shunned.

In less than a day a site could be hot that mimics Facebook, yet offers a whole lot more. Why bother.

Till one is ready to donate to help offset the costs of servers/hosting … there are many alternatives.. like Ning.
Here’s a message from Col. Riley one of the original organizers of Gathering of Eagles, Eagles Up!, Patriots Revolt and … read on.

Hello Patriot Friends,

The longevity of the United States demands that every American that loves our Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, Founding Father principles, freedom and liberty, mobilize to restore our Founders dream of a limited democratic government focused to ensure freedom, liberty…the pursuit of happiness.

Patriots For America (PFA) website http://www.patriotsforamerica.ning.com has been reactivated to do what we can to help mobilize “we the people” to make a stand for liberty. PFA is only one of thousands of independent internet opportunities for citizens to tune in and offer observations, comments, thoughts, questions, and hear what others are saying. It is a network of “grass roots” citizens with a common thread of constitutional restoration, mending the fabric of America torn by socialist/communist ideology…”we the people” can no longer maintain a lethargic attitude of “let someone else do it”. Every one of us must put our shoulder to the task, doing what we can, but doing something.

We invite you to visit PFA, but even before you visit our site, look at the mission statement here http://patriotsforamerica.ning.com/page/pfa-mission-statement If you want to further inquire, then click on http://www.patriotsforamerica.ning.com and browse through the site. This is a “members only” site with no cost, no agenda or personal benefit beyond the mission, and open to fair minded citizens who desire a civil site to discuss issues and obtain information related to our national dilemma and the solution. On the right of the home page you will see a Welcome To Constitutional Emergency, Sign Up or Sign In. Click on the Sign up and follow the guidance.

While most of us yearn for a single patriot site, Tea Party site…a centralized focal point for the entire nation, which would be welcome but it won’t likely happen. Power struggles surface after a movement gets effective, usually resulting in destruction of the initiative. With thousands of small patriot movements, all generally focused on the same end game, we can come together in a final push to elect a president and congress in 2012 by throwing out the diseased occupants preying on the backs of the American people. We gained some breathing time in 2010 by doing exactly what we must do again in 2012…we came together and altered the landscape in Congress in 2010, interrupting Obama’s socialist/communist crusade to destroy America.

Obama lost in 2010, “we the people” won a short reprieve. We must now double, triple our efforts to stir up a tsunami to wash the dead-drift-wood out of the White House and the United States Congress in 2012.

We can have a spirited debate over presidential candidates seeking to oppose the current occupant of the White House during out selection process…we need the best constitutional focused candidate we can get. When the opponent to Barack Obama is decided, I trust “we the people” will lock arms, stand shoulder to shoulder and vote in land-slide proportions to defeat Barack Obama.

We remember and thank our warrior families for the blood, lives, family sacrifices they have endured supporting our freedom. God bless America and God help us recover our spiritual heritage.

Harry Riley, COL, USA, Ret
Crestview, FL
hmriley@cox.net

Freedom works is OK but leaves a lot to be desired. We have been there since it’s inception.
http://connect.freedomworks.org/node/144041

Hoffman, above, has a point.

There is nothing more invigorating than watching the stars & stripes billowing in the wind. On some windy days you can hear the sound of the battles she flew over and the cry of those who gave their lives for freedom echo and resound, stand firm on the Constitution I gave my life for, walk forward in my footsteps and maintain her. –(c) 2011 Eagle II

We need to have many, many of us switch to these networks that are not trying to control free speech. Young Mark Zuckerberg has much to learn about how private business works. It is true that he owns Facebook and that we do not pay to be members of it, but his product will only be attractive as long as the market will bear it. If he continues in the direction he is going, we will need to remind him of that fact by switching to other networks who respect and even encourage our freedom of speech, and yes organizing, if that is what we choose to do. After all the liberals use Face book to organize all the time. precious little is done to quiet them. I simply refuse to use a social network to tell everyone that I made brownies today or that I wish it would stop raining.

Mary Oele
hi,
you know, when you start to see the dirt in one place, and can’t clean it out,
IT’s time to move out and they who like you will follow, even if it’s not in the same time.
only then will you feel that sense of being safe and among the same group,it will make a exchange of needed element to blend it all.
I say it’s better to pay and own.
ON A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, I just lived, and found out brutaly, after I paid but did not own, so I MOVE OUT
even if it wasn’t my right time, and feel only now the secure and safe effects,
bye

It’s not too radical. Try American Patriot Network.

Agree Connie. Only someone young like Mark Zuckerburg would be so enamoured with the “power” that comes from working with the lobbyists that he would be so willing to give up what was so essential to Face book. Face book is indeed screwing itself. This is America and you can be sure that there will be those who have the talent to create an avenue for conservatives to use their free speech. In fact, they already have. Obama cannot control this. It is his narcissism that makes him think that he can pull everyone’s strings and dictate everything. “Pride goeth before a fall………..”

Sure they do, but then they ought not be surprised when a large number of people decide that their product is no longer the most attractive on the market. In the interest of preventing tea party organizing, they are giving up what has made Face book attractive to begin with. They have been suckered by allowing pro Obama people to work with their organization They would have been better off remaining neutral.

WHO need FACEBOOK ANYWAY,
YOU CAN DO anyting you want without FACEBOOK,
nobody should feel they depend on FACEBOOK,
you can surely be creative enough to find a way to put your message across without FACEBOOK,
JUST DUMP THEM AND YOU’LL SEE HOW MANY IDEAS WILL POP IN EVEN BETTER AND YOU’LL ALSO FIND HOW FREE YOU FEEL TO NOT HAVE TO DEPEND ON THEM WHICH ARE GETTING TO DICTATE YOUR WAY OF DOING YOU’RE OWN BUSYNESS,
NOBODY SHOULD GET TO FEEL SO STUCK BECAUSE THEY CANNOT FUNCTION WITHIN A MOVEMENT,
JUST GET OUT AND TELL OTHER THEY ARE IN DANGER WITH FACEBOOK TO LOOSE THEIR IDENTITY.
THE bottom of it, is nobody need FACEBOOK

ilovebeeswarzone:
I am starting to tell people to try American Patriot Network, or Freedomeconnector. That is where info is shared these days………..

Mary Qele, YES FACEBOOK MADE A BIG MISTAKE and it’s not for the TEA PARTY to pay for it,
LET FACEBOOK PAY FOR THEIR MISTAKE, AND BRING THE PEOPLE OUT OF THERE, THAT will be for their own good also,
bye

Mary Oele
yes of course you know better,

Eagle II,
WHAT HAPPEN to your comment?
I receive it only on my site not at FA.
I WAS THINKING THAT YOUR IDEA OF STARTING A SITE FOR CONSERVATIVES WAS VERY APPEALING AS I was following your comments EARLYER IN JUNE AND OCTOBER
BYE

MATA,
DID YOU CHECK EAGLE’S LINK? ON YOUR SITE
THE VETERANS DAY VIDEO.
AND I just answeR in another comment to praise the VETERANS,
AND JUST CHECK HERE
MY COMMENT DISAPEAR ALSO, NOT TO BE FOUND,
WHO’S DOING IT? I KNOW IT’S NOT CURT

MATA,
I had a notation on this comment to you, that is the server
they wrote to connect the problem with the server

that’s why he is so angry, he wanted to get the VETERAN DAY, REMEMBERED, AND WAS DELETE
JUST LIKE MY ANSWER TO HIS LINK

EAGLE II
I will try again to thank YOU FOR YOUR LINK AND THANK ALL THE VETERANS FOR WHAT THEY DID FOR AMERICA, TO HONOR THE VETERAN’S DAY IS OUR DESIRE EVERY YEAR,
YOU ARE THE BEST OF THIS NATION, AND WE FEEL SAFE KNOWING YOU ARE ON GUARD
MAY GOD PROTECT YOU ALWAYS

Bees, I don’t know what happened to my comment. A friend of mine referred me to a network called Americanpatriot. http://www.americanpatriotnetwork.ning.com. check it out. there are others as well. I am not in a position to start one as I am really bad on the computer………….Freedomworks.org, Thumbtack.com(don’t know anything about that one), FreedomTorch.com……………….

MARY Oele, thank you for the link, I like it,
you know about the rally on 11 11 11. I’m sure there will be a video of it,
this one is one of the most important,
oh did you check on EAGLE II, about a site for CONSERVATIVES,
HE HAD TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE ALSO.
I find it very interesting idea
bye

MATA
YES MAYBE ALSO THE INTERRUPTION WE HAD IS INVOLVED IN IT TOO,
BYE

EagleII

YOU READ THE PREVIOUS COMMENT? FROM MATA
IT’S NOT CURT, NOT ANYONE FAULT, JUST TECNICAL PROBLEM. SO YOU DON’T NEED TO BE ANGRY, I lost my comment also
BY THE WAY, I hope you get video from that special VETERANS GATHERING FOR US,
BEST TO YOU

Bees….it appears it was me. I deleted his comments because they looked like spam to me with links, it appears it wasn’t so I apologize. If EagleII likes he can resubmit the comments. No idea what happened to yours though, only thing I can think of is that it was due to the server upgrade last night. Not sure.

Eagle II
COL. RILEY, WOULD FIT RIGHT IN THE CANGIDACY FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
BYE

CURT, YOU GOT IT FOR THE SERVER, BECAUSE I had a page telling me to contact the server, which I did not do, thank you
bye
CURT
Eagle II link was for the veteran day remembered, and the rally of VETERANS PATRIOTS ON 11 11 11 COMING
BYE

JUNE TO NOVEMBER 2011, HOW are we doing now FEBRUARY 2012?
well from what I heard on HUCKEBEE SHOW, HIS GUEST was in that SPACIOUS building checking, and hundreds of computer operative targeting FACEBOOK TO SELL OBAMA REELECTION, WITH INTIMIDATING QUOTE,
LIKE WE KNOW ABOUT YOU, WHO IS NEXT ON THEIR LIST, THEY HAVE THE ORDER FROM OBAMA TO FOCUS ONLY ON THE ELECTION DAY , HUNDREDS OF THEM THERE, one admit this next election will be far more advance game than other which will look ancient to compare with this machine,
IT WILL BE AGRESSIVE AND ANYTHING TO WIN WILL BE DISPLAY,
so we better get ready to be as dirty if we want to win.

And…I suspect an alternative universe will also be created by the ever complicit media talking heads…one where the unemployment rate goes down to, say, 6% and 200,000 jobs are being created every month, the deficit and debt are solved, and the oceans have also calmed down….bets, anyone?

HE said; I deserve to be reelected,
ya, sure, he’s not done with the destruction of AMERICA, HE STILL SEE THE BIRDS FLYING, HE PROMISE MORE WIND TURBINES TO GET THE BIRD GROUNDED LIKE MEAT FOR HAMBURGER,
HE STILL SEE PEOPLE GOING TO CHURCH TO PRAY GOD, HE STILL SEE BABIES BEING NOT ABORTED,
HE STILL SEE THE ARMY BEING BLESSED BY HOLY MEN,, HE STILL SEE SOME BUSYNESS WHO DID NOT GIVE HIM MONEY TO CAMPAIGN FOR HIS REELECTION, HE STILL SEE MANY TO BELIEVE IN THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS OF THE LANDS,HE CANNOT STAND THE RICH EVEN THAT HE IS ONE OF THEM, BUT HE WANT THEIR MONEY, ONLY HIM CAN BE RICH IN HIS AMERICA,
HE DID NOT HAVE TO WORK HARD TO BE ELECTED, IT WAS ALL FIX BY OTHER,
NOVEMBER’S COMING, AMERICA DO YOUR JOB LIKE A PROUD AMERICAN.
AND THERE WILL BE A PARTY , SHARED BY AMERICA AND THE FREE WORLD.
AND THE HATERS OF AMERICANS WILL PERISH

Kathy … you forgot “walk on water” in his list of self aggrandizing statements.

Again, and alternative to facebook: We Patriots
The user area is a mock facebook.. save you can customize the graphics.. and it offers so much more. A place where those who want to organize by city, county, state can do so in groups. Once a group is created – a private forum area is also created for the groups use. Too many features to print here to help get folks together( chuckle-chuckle ) to organize for the 2012 ‘Street Fight” for POTUS.

ilovebeeswarzone – Folk face book. Stay aimed at the goal. Don’t let them throw up any mental road blocks. Their site can still be used to spead the word to many about any site thats up and ready as an alternative for organizing. Most Tea Party groups have their own sites out side of FB..

Best

We Patriots – Don’t say conservatives can’t set up a social networking site.. thats just an excuse to do nothing but talk.

From Col. Gordon “Swede” Larson – Subject: Prayer for Our President???

I hesitated opening Col. Larson’s email when I saw the subject matter at hand…..
My first though from the title was he had been talking with “Jack Daniel’s” and
under his influence ( so to say )… other than I knew no leftwing pinko commie
could turn him thus it had to be some evil spirit – probably 90 proof…
In the end I couldn’t resist as the suspense of what those few words meant coming from
a righteous fighter jock intrigued me.
I clicked on the link – one eye covered – and read …… Low and behold there it was – a Psalm..

Psalm 109:8
And here’s the meat of the matter:

Col. Larson said:
My wife and I were in slow-moving traffic the other day and
We were stopped behind a car that had an unusual Obama
Bumper sticker on it.

It read: “Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8”.

When we got home my wife got out the Bible and opened it
Up to the scripture. She started laughing & laughing. Then she
Read it to me. I couldn’t believe what it said. I had a good
Laugh, too.

Psalm 109:8 ~
“Let his days be few and brief;
And let others step forward to replace him.”

At last — I can honestly voice a Biblical prayer for our President!

Look it up — it is word for word!
Let us all bow our Heads and pray. Brothers and Sisters, can I get an AMEN!!!! ???
————————————————————–
Needless to say despite my initial trepidation of unveiling a new Col. Larson persona
After reading – laughed so hard “I Wet My Pants”

http://www.soft-vision.com/hanoi/larson – make the trip.

There is nothing more invigorating than watching the stars & stripes billowing in the wind.
On some windy days you can hear the sound of the battles she flew over and the cry of
those who gave their lives for freedom echo and resound, stand firm on the Constitution
I gave my life for, walk forward in my footsteps and maintain her.
–(c) 2011 Eagle II

deleting my posts again?

Yup… the link was “Eagle II link was for the veteran day remembered, and the rally of VETERANS PATRIOTS ON 11 11 11 COMING” The link above is to a Former PoW’s website.. and the we-patriots link is to a site I set up after I read here no conservatives have placed a good social networking site on line ( whine – whine ) I say whine.. as it’s there but being under used despite the cry for one in this thread.

EAGLE ll
so happy to see a PATRIOT again, you made my day,
wow the prayer is really coming from him high above, they will tremble in fear when the time come to past,
because they have done wrong to my BELOVED PEOPLE.
I must have read that somewhere, it just pop into my head.
bye

MataHarley says

— Pure BS My post were “deleted” some one ex post facto thought they were “SPAM” cause they didn’t read the link. Oh yea… there may be a string of them – but they are run by companies… we were talking INDEPENDENT
– at least I thought that was the thread… all know about NING and the like if you want to pay the exorbitant fee’s to have a fully functional site.. with all the bells and whistle.. what I spoke of was totally NON -COMMERCIAL..
like http://we-patriots.com I paid 98.00 to have the BoonEx links removed.. but you don’t have to = it’s a totally free boss product that kicks the NING and like’s butt.. and because they are open Src I added their link cause I respect what they are doing. So Hosting fee’s, ( with 98.00 optional life time removal fee ) about 80 bucks every 2 years on a server they recommend on their site that gives free Dolphin support — is a far cray less to pay from a grass root perspective leaving more loose change to chase down the criminals.

Nice to see your still hanging here ilovebeeswarzone — I never walk with people who think they stand above you and wasn’t going to come back but your post lit my fire and gave me the incentive. Col. Larson is a TRUE Patriot and personal friend. He and Col. Ted Guy were tight and I have worked with both for years. We worked together going after several culprits like Scary Hanoi John Kerry – Col. Larson was featured in the film by Carlton Sherwood, Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never heal… And of course with Col. Guy – PoW MIA. I put up a site for him in 1995 and handed over as a gift on his next Birthday in 1996 The Hanoi Hilton & Surrounding Villa’s – just take the “larson” off the URL above and you can get there — we left it pretty much the way it was when Col. Guy died.. at Col. Larson & Linda Guy’s request.. You can read about many “patriots” there.
and remove /hanoi and add /ranger and meet more honor. Look for Major Zippo’s link Mark Smith – we have his after action report there along with his DSC … then there’s one for you.. again take off /ranger and add /warriors It takes a minute to load.

Re Ted: for those that don’t know him … and this is a BRIEF and I mean BRIEF discription of what he endured:
Later ilovebeeswarzone – you can always stay =IN=TOUCH= via we-patriots. I don’t think the establishment likes my frankness. My short message to the insecure: Miss on you pister – you ain’t so muckin fuch. ( hmmm
maybe they won’t understand the vernacular? )

Ted Guy was transferred to the reopened Plantation on 25 November 1970. [There] torture remained much in vogue [from the time it reopened in 1970 through early 1972, the year before the POWs returned home]. [Guy] remained isolated, but was now in a cell from which he was able to at least see other Americans�SRO Guy found that the bulk of the prisoner population was enlisted men and that they wanted nothing so much as strong leadership. He promulgated policies virtually identical to the BACK US policy Jim Stockdale had established at Hoa Lo years earlier, but urged a gradual buildup of the resistance campaign in order to soften the Vietnamese reaction.�

Ted Guy was tortured during January/February 1972 [only 14 months before all of our POWs were returned home]. The torture chamber was filthy. For the first three days and nights Guy was allowed no sleep. He was stripped naked, locked in leg irons, and made to lie on his stomach. A guard stood on the backs of his legs, Cheese kept a foot on his neck, pinning his head to the floor, and another guard flogged him with a rubber hose. The beating lasted a long time. Guy lost control of his bodily functions, he vomited, and when the pain became more than he could bear, he screamed. Rags were crammed into his mouth and the flogging continued.�

�In the long days and nights that followed, torture guards who enjoyed their work took turns inflicting long beatings with their fists � During one stretch Guy was kept kneeling for approximately eighteen hours. His knees were swollen to the extent that he could not pull his trouser legs over them. When he refused to author a confession of crimes, he was made to kneel again, this time atop an iron bar.

When he was finally removed from solitary confinement, he was put in a prison with more than a hundred other U.S. military and civilian prisoners. He became the senior officer among them and was responsible for maintaining order, chain of command, and the code of conduct among his fellow POWs.

His leadership and guidance helped his fellow POWs survive their ordeal. Many of them referred to themselves as “Hawk’s Heroes” in honor of Ted Guy.

To the code of conduct, Ted added his own personal code that consisted of two points. The first point was to resist until unable to resist any longer before doing anything to embarrass his family or country. The second point was to accept death before losing his honor.

Ted once said “honor is something that once you lose it you become like an insect in the jungle. You prey upon others and others prey upon you until there is nothing left. Once you lose your honor, all the gold in the world is useless in your attempt to regain it.”

ilovebeeswarzone – I went to edit a post I just submitted and guess what? my posts are being marked as SPAM
EagleII sends I used an alt email addy to see if they were folking with me as I had to enter a capatcha on any thing I posted..

No capatcha with the addy – that means my posts are being censored before they appear using that address.

@ilovebeeswarzone: You can stay =IN=TOUCH= and not worry about censorship at the we-patriots site.. can even use FB to login if you want.

Eagle ll
what a story, what a hell to fall into for the bravest, how can we forgive those atrocious behaviors,
they have stayed in that ancient beastly times and their genes are infected, they never will be real human, too much beast genes master their behavior.
no you are not getting spam, I came out too from it catcha because of one word, you’r not the only one, other go to it, the server has a code that cut some words because it offend certain, I don’t mind it, I just play the words crooked and click to post my comment and take away the word which they showed to be offensive, we must follow the rules if we want to send our message, and from now to NOVEMBER, IT IS OUTMOST IMPORTANT,don’t you agree? there is no other way, and it is really not important enough to get angry, because CURT IS THE BEST IN CARING FOR HIS BLOG, LIKE MATA said, CURT does not cut one, unless he has made many errors to become unforgiveble.
thank you for your kind words, I appreciate it all, and you all have a special place in my hearth as the bravest of this AMERICA, and you all must be pamper by AMERICANS, BECAUSE YOU GAVE SO MUCH MORE, AND DESERVE THE BEST OF AMERICA.

Eagle ll
I must remind you that you have reach the 200 comment, which mean I must congratulate you for it,
we play that game of getting the 100 comments here, and it’s not as easy to get, unless you get lucky like you just did hit 200.
bye

EAGLE ll
I have your long post on my site, it might have been taken out for the length,
I told MATA ABOUT IT, I’m sure CURT WILL CHECK IT
I just wanted you to know it’s not lost and the link is very nice, the top picture is super nice with the planes moving,
bye

@ilovebeeswarzone: I came to peek see… you have seen a story that isn’t published here How? It was marked as SPAM and if I hadn’t tried to edit – would not have known… yet, here is your comment about Ted Guy’s PoW experience in part – no print could ever fully describe that torture. May Col. Guy wiz on the unrighteous from his place behind the pearly gates – and those who like to play games ( maybe it makes them feel important ) with posts

Later… have a great life. We UN-subbed from the thread and removed the tic off this send re: updates.

Eagle ll
while you gave me that last comment, I was telling you above that I had your comment on my site, and found that it was not here at fa, so I notice it to MATA, AND WE WILL HEAR FROM IT, WHEN THEY CAN.
CHECK MY COMMENT, SO WHEN I answer I had read it on my site, before coming at FA,
so that is that, I just notice after my answer to you, because I couldn’t find it here,
anyway MATA knows about it,
bye dont get upset yet

Eagle ll
don’t tell me that I’m playing games, you have the proof of the contrary, with my comment,
about it, meant that I had it on my site, like all other comments of the post,
which I always read on my site first, how could I knew it was not shown on FA, that’s why I told you
on another comment that CURT DOES NOT CUT THE COMMENTS UNLESS THEY ARE ATTACKING SOME ONE.
I”M NOT THE TYPE TO PLAY GAME, keep that in mind

Eagle
It’s not the first time I receive comments that have been out on FA,
THAT’s why I only find out if I recheck the comment at FA, and because I read it at my site, I answer without rechecking,
do you understand that? I thought you where advance in computer, because of what I read from you, able to start a site like PATRIOTS,
I just don’t like the way you left, on your last comment,
edit; and you owe me an apology for thinking what you said

Eagle ll
okay, it’s here now, and I’m glad for all will read that story.from an incredible bravest,
take care

edit; by the way, I think your site is beautiful
the best I have seen so far, thank you for being a patriot

Eagle ll
you said; we UN-subbed from the thread and removed the tic off this send re-updates,
does that mean that you don’t receive any of my messages, well that is sad, because your story is back here for all to read, and you will never know, and also you will never know the real story of why your comment came back, and MATA message with it.
GOD BLESS YOU

@Eagle II:

I have noticed that on rare occasion some of my post’s that have contained quite a few web-links have triggered a robotic ‘due to the number of links, this post has been classified as SPAM’ (I don’t remember exactly the message the server gave, but it was something like that.) message. And that it therefore was not posted. That doesn’t mean I was “Censored” or that all my messages were being blocked, it was simply an insentient server response because my post happened to have triggered SPAM flagged criteria. (I’ve managed a number of websites and similar such anti-SPAM flags and filters are very necessary.)

That’s why I usually type my posts in a word processing program before posting them. If the server rejects it, I still have the message to modify in order to pass the SPAM filter. I can also break-up my post into more than one if need be. It may also be that certain sites may be purposely blocked or “blacklisted” (Servers will often block or “blacklist” certain sites that are known to have imbedded virus’, trojan’s (or other malware) or websites that have been hacked and “infected” without the webmaster’s knowledge. Not saying this is the case with the web-links you provided, only that some Server/Internet Providers do this.) The webmaster of a site may have no control whatsoever in the blocking of some web addresses. Know that forums and “message boards” such as this are often targeted by unscrupulous or nefarious individuals, and political websites even more so (especially “conservative” websites.) I once operated a Constitutional issues forum on Delphi’s server and I saw plenty of messages posted with links to dangerous websites and nefarious hacker links and I was notified of messages that the server had blocked.

This is no conspiracy or censorship. It’s most likely only mindless automation via set server filters. With the insecurity inherent on the web, it is often necessary to err on the side of protection to make the internet safer.