I should not be, but am, really startled at the number of people, things, events I ask "Alexia" about, how to spell, or when they took place, etc. etc. and the number of things that might be considered "conservative", authors, books, events, and so on I get "sorry I do not know that" and similar replies. At first I didn't even recognize there was a "pattern".... silly me !

Probably none of the above, solid GOLD cookies to google !

I always have loved what Mark Twain wrote about various subjects--

Mark Twain quotations - Truth

I tend to do the same. It seems many supposed "truths" are backed up by those with money and motives.

An out-of-the-box question. Have you ever heard a talking head reporting on an illness/disease, or provide death statistics of people who are considered normal weight? A group of us were discussing this topic. If we believe what talking heads tell us, only obese or malnourished people succomb to disease/illness and death. Yet, we all know that everyone dies. Why do they provoke their viewers into believing it will never happen to them? Seems odd.

I am not clear just where the mods draw the line between ideology and politics, I have been chastised for things I think were purely ideological, the IA programs have demonstrated bias, not just the programing and the RLHF (reinforced learning human feedback) but more importantly that 60% of programed influenced from a web crawl and 22% from curated sources makes me think that the preponderance of readily available public information is biased, if so that would decidedly move the needle, giving direction to the herd

Harvard is the worst university in America when it comes to free speech, according to an annual report released Wednesday by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). The report ranked 248 college campuses nationwide, analyzing factors from speech codes to reactions to guest speakers. It included a survey of roughly 55,000 college students. Harvard, one of the nation’s top law schools, scored a zero out of 100, the lowest score ever recorded. Harvard’s speech climate was ranked as “abysmal” after FIRE surveyed more than 200 students about their experience at the Ivy League School. One student from the class of 2023 reportedly said that they were required to start every class stating their pronouns, while another said they were afraid to be open about their opinions source

So not only is there no debate, our so-called "finest" institutions are the worst offenders.

Speech is not free. It has consequences and often very serious ones. What Does Free Speech Mean? | United States Courts

The First Amendment is about the government not being allowed to censor speech not about a private institution doing that. Even though there are problems when that institution gets public funds, etc.

So if I wanted to speak out on the position that the southern borders should be closed to prevent " undocumented" illegal entry to the US I could and should be stopped as my speech is evidence that I am a racist , hate monger , inciting others to violence to minorities, I am sure you could collect a good crowd who would agree and somehow stop me

Tal. Blue on green is so unreadable!

Thanks for the assist.

There is no logic in your statement.

You can say that on Talk of the Villages or on one of the Villages' Town Squares. But would probably face some very harsh words in many places in Orlando.

And if you were in a private bar the owner could ask you to leave. And if creating a disturbance in a public bar , he or she could also ask you leave the premises.

This is a good discussion of Free Speech and the First Amendment. What the First Amendment really says — 4 basic principles of free speech in the U.S. | The Free Speech Center

I was responding to our centers of higher learning , those bastions of freedom of thought, inquiring minds

They are not bastions of freedom of thought. They train people in science, history, business, medicine, law, religion, etc. These also involve critical thinking.

Everybody Drink!

There is ZERO debate going on in our universities. If one dares to show up and speak with an opinion that is not approved, they are immediately shouted down...