>** I disagree. This has everything
>to do with censorship. According
>to press release statements and
>the site, (the only area
>where the video is being
>shown)Dead Prez's video has been
>banned from ALL video outlets,
>unless they edit it. True,
>BET and MTV can prohibit
>the showing of the video
>if they want, but it's
>still censorship, no doubt.

Censorship is when the government intervenes and says "hold on, you can't show that." Therefore, we can play semantics all day, but you conceded that private companies reserve the right to prohibit viewing of material they deem as inappropriate for their respective networks. Therefore, nothing else really needs to be said about the legalities of this issue. They do it because they want to do it. Bottom line.

>** Never said artists made that
>decision. However, they can influence
>it. According to album sales
>and reviews, the public HAS
>deemed them popular. Again I
>disagree, people will not have
>a chance to see what
>they want as long as
>there is someone there to
>say "I don't think this
>is appropriate for you to
>view". That would be like
>me wanting to post my
>opinion on a subject matter,
>because I feel in some
>way it infringes on the
>right of free speech, but
>then having BooDaah come in
>and delete my post because
>he feels it may agitate
>some Players to the point
>where they might feel the
>need to do something about
>it. Same damn thing.

And Boodah is perfectly entitled to do that. If he, Angiee (or whatever her name is. I don't keep up with the goings on this site) or whoever wants to pull the plug, then they can pull the plug. What you forget is that no matter what, mediums are a PRIVILEGE. Sure you can influence the owners as the audience into putting out a different product, but you can't force them to do it.

I think alot of people take the 1st amendment way too seriously to the point that they don't understand the actual meaning. The amendments are to protect citizens from government, not necessarily to protect people from other people. Therefore private parties and businesses have every right to limit speech within their own sectors. In other words, people cannot just say what they wanna say and do what they wanna do and think there won't be repercussions or backlash of any kind. The only ones that can't is government, and that's all.

It's
>all about censorship. I don't
>care if no one even
>heard of Dead Prez. It's
>not about popularity. It's about
>being able to voice your
>opinion, no matter how "unconventional"
>or "rebellious" it may be.
>No one's getting hurt in
>their video. If anything, nothing
>but positivity could come from
>it. Check out the video
>and marinate on that. Then
>holla back. Blessings.

I'll check the video, but it will do nothing to change my point. The bottom line is that what I might like doesn't mean the other person is going to like it too. And there is a bigger world out there, one that might not take that video lightly. Sure, they could be petty and hyper sensitive, but the point is that just as you like it, they could dislike it. And the nays might outnumber the yays. Therefore, what to do then?

>-Wisdom
>
>"Beauty isn't genetic;It isn't something you're
>born with. Beauty must manifest
>itself. It must be cultivated
>from the inside, in order
>to shine through, and be
>seen on the outside." -
>Xiobé Adu
>
>The 10 Things I Love in
>Life:
>------------------------------------
>*Good Company
>*A Hard Laugh
>*A Man Who Can Cook
>*Jazz
>*Poetry
>*Summer Nights
>*Road Trips
>*A Good Movie
>*An Even Better Book
>*The Scent of a Man


"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship." - Alexander Tyler

"In general the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one class of citizens to give to the other." -Voltaire

"The assumption that spending more of the taxpayer's money will make things better has survived all kinds of evidence that it has made things worse. The black family- which survived slavery, discrimination, poverty, wars and depressions- began to come apart as the federal government moved in with its well-financed programs to "help." - Thomas Sowell

"Life is insensitive, and the truth can be highly offensive. To hide from either is to hide from the reality of life. Take pride in the fact that I am an equal opportunity offender. You today, someone else tomorrow. You have no constitutional right not to be offended." - Neal Boortz

Some of you still think America's a
democracy. Lemme break it down for
ya...

* Democracy:  Three wolves and a sheep
vote on the dinner menu.
* Democratically Elected Republic: Three
wolves and 2 sheep vote on which sheep's
for dinner. 
* Constitutional Republic: The eating of
mutton is forbidden by law, and the
sheep are armed.

The United States is a CONSTITUTIONAL
REPUBLIC. Not a democracy.

Yes....I am a PROUD Black Libertarian Conservative.