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1. Embed this notice
   pettter (pettter@mastodon.acc.umu.se)'s status on Sunday, 02-Apr-2023 16:02:51 JST pettter

   in reply to

   • PJ Coffey
   • Micah Lee

   @Homebrewandhacking @micahflee otoh you have the parliamentary language stuff where you can't even accuse another MP of lying without the speaker getting on your ass, or have i misunderstood?

   • Embed this notice
     PJ Coffey (homebrewandhacking@mastodon.ie)'s status on Sunday, 02-Apr-2023 16:02:52 JST PJ Coffey

     in reply to

     • Micah Lee

     @micahflee

     In the UK there's the concept of "parliamentary privilege". When an elected politician is speaking in a house of government, their speech is protected such that they can't be sued.

     Downside you'd see more use of hate speech in government. Upside, politicians would be able to call out bad actors like companies which enables the press to report on the speech (except you know, the billionaires own them too ).

   • Embed this notice
     Micah Lee (micahflee@infosec.exchange)'s status on Sunday, 02-Apr-2023 16:02:53 JST Micah Lee

     in reply to

     “A statute on the books in Florida makes it a crime to engage in libel. If Mr. Biden leaves office and criticizes Mr. Trump or another prominent Floridian in the state in writing, will he be vulnerable to prosecution?”

     Clearly the problem here is not that Presidents can be hit with frivolous charges, it’s that anyone can

   • Embed this notice
     Micah Lee (micahflee@infosec.exchange)'s status on Sunday, 02-Apr-2023 16:02:54 JST Micah Lee

     This is a stupid argument. The law shouldn’t not apply to you because you were President. If anything, prosecutors should investigate powerful people like Presidents and billionaires more frequently, and ordinary people less frequently, simply because powerful people have ample opportunities to abuse their power.

     “But at least one thing seems clear: Mr. Bragg may have been the first local prosecutor to do it, but he will probably not be the last. Every local prosecutor in the country will now feel that he or she has free rein to criminally investigate and prosecute presidents after they leave office. Democrats currently cheering the charges against Mr. Trump may feel differently if — or when — a Democrat, perhaps even President Biden, ends up on the receiving end of a similar effort by any of the thousands of prosecutors elected to local office, eager to make a name for themselves by prosecuting a former president of the United States.” https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/01/opinion/trump-prosecution-precedent.html