Ridge Road: Free Speech or Hate Speech?

Local artist and resident of  Middletown David Schulz for years has used his front yard as a way of advertising his political views & musings. Currently on the front yard of his Ridge Road residence located diagonally across the street from Farm Hill Elementary School's main entrance, Schulz has signs displayed aligning the Tea Party with the Taliban terrorist organization. Schulz's opinion is protected by the First Amendment.

Like the Nazi regime, the Taliban's name is synonymous is known for global atrocities of unfathomable magnitude. Are there certain lines that should not be crossed and who decides? Do double standards exist?

 The 3  signs on Schulz's lawn read:  

"The Taliban doesn't need 

to destroy American,

 the Tea Party is doing it for them."

We ask readers to comment. What if this were your neighbor?

 Free Speech or Hate Speech?

Free speech or hate speech? Click to enlarge

Tea Party Patriots Around CT Protest the IRS May 21

Below is a press release reposted as a courtesy for our readers, the views of which do not necessarily reflect those of the Insider Staff. 

A press release from Palin Smith: 

TEA PARTY PATRIOTS PROTEST THE IRS MAY 21

On behalf of Tea Party, Patriot groups, 9/12, liberty activists, and the American people, we are calling for anyone and everyone to protest the IRS’ complete abuse of power on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at noon local time.

IRS ProtestsThe Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is out of control and we need to stand up and let them know that we will not take their intimidation tactics! 

COTTER FB IRS OFFICE

135 HIGH STREET

HARTFORD, CT 06103

GIAIMO FB IRS OFFICE

150 COURT STREET

NEW HAVEN, CT 06510

http://www.teapartypatriots.org/irs-protests/

WE WILL BE IN NEW HAVEN

If you can't make it to Stamford tomorrow, perhaps you can make it to New Haven on Tuesday. Bring your own disguise if you are afraid....let's make it big! We can start something or we can cower like scaredy cats. WHAT ARE YOU?

Guest Blog: Greetings Patriots by Palin Smith Conservative Roundup

The following is my response to Google after they informed me the above post had been removed for violating "community standards".  More than nine years after it was originally posted on May 15th, 2013.

The only way to contact Google was to edit the post and submit it for review.  Google approved and re-published the following, which only goes to show that the "review" was conducted by an algorithm.

SMH

What on earth are you talking about? Specifically, how does this post violate any guidelines? 

I no longer have access to the post since it was unpublished. How could I possibly edit the post if I don't have access to it or know what part of it violated guidelines and how so?

This post is over nine years old. What prompted the review? How was it "flagged"?  Why, after nine years, is there suddenly a problem?

Your email mentions my "content has violated our Malware and Viruses policy".  The idea that malware or a virus was deliberately put in the blog post is absurd!  Specifically, what was the nature of the malware/virus and why did it take nine years for it to manifest?

Maybe there was a hacker. Maybe Blogger should transition blog addresses to an https prefix.

Below is Google's notice of cancelation (sic):

   Hello,

          As you may know, our Community Guidelines 

(https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy) describe the boundaries for what we 

allow-- and don't allow-- on Blogger. Your post titled "Guest Blog: 

Greetings Patriots by Palin Smith Conservative Roundup " was flagged to us 

for review. We have determined that it violates our guidelines and have 

unpublished the URL 

http://www.middletowninsider.com/2013/05/guest-blog-greetings-patriots-by-palin.html,

making it unavailable to blog readers.

    Why was your blog post unpublished?

    Your content has violated our Malware and Viruses policy. Please visit 

our Community Guidelines page linked in this email to learn more.

    If you are interested in republishing the post, please update the 

content to adhere to Blogger's Community Guidelines. Once the content is 

updated, you may republish it at 

https://www.blogger.com/go/appeal-post?blogId=239070883775529047&postId=651828247894563872.

This will trigger a review of the post.

    For more information, please review the following resources:

    Terms of Service: https://www.blogger.com/go/terms

    Blogger Community Guidelines: https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy

    Sincerely,

    The Blogger Team

What a bunch of BS!

Guest Blog: Middletown Malloy Town Hall Meeting Was a Hoax

  Below is a guest blog sent as a letter to the Editor from resident Gail Whitwright. The essay reflects views and opinions not necessarily shared by the Insider staff, and is published as a courtesy to readers. Last week, Gov. Dannel Malloy came to Middletown for a one hour Town Hall style meeting at City Hall. Mayor Dan Drew was the MC. Many citizens who attended have expressed their disappointment to us at the brevity and the format of the the meeting which when publicized sounded more like it would be an open forum. Local media reported that those in attendance were invited to write down questions which were then pre-screened- by Malloy staffers and from which random questions were selected.  In his blog "Red Notes from a Blue State," write Don Pesci discusses this occurrence in his post titled " How to Pre-Edit a Town Hall Meeting." The Mess did an article in which the reported mentioned former Democratic Town Committee Chair  & current Registrar of Voters Lisa Santangelo asked about the repeal of the local car tax, however upon answering, Malloy gave no in mention of the proposed state car tax that is currently on the legislative floor.                          

  Below is a guest blog sent as a letter to the Editor from resident and founder of www.propositionusa.com Gail Whitwright. The essay reflects views and opinions not necessarily shared by the Insider staff, and is published as a courtesy to readers. Below, in Whitright's own words:
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 IN THE PAST THREE WEEKS I HAVE HAD MY RIGHT OF “FREEDOM OF SPEECH” STOPPED AT THREE DIFFERENT MEETINGS – OR SO CALLED “TOWNHALL” MEETINGS – THE DEFINITION OF WHICH STATES “EVERY BODY IN A TOWN COMMUNITY IS INVITED TO ATTEND AND VOICE THEIR OPINIONS” – IN EACH MEETING I AM USUALLY THE FIRST TO ARRIVE SO I CAN “SIGN UP” TO SPEAK –  AT MALLOYS “MEETING” IN MIDDLETOWN -   WE WERE TOLD WE COULD “WRITE A QUESTION” WHICH, OF COURSE, IS SCREENED – THE STOIC ATMOSPHERE OF COMPLIANCE  WAS FURTHER COMPOUNDED BY GUARDS WHICH I CALL THE “SQUEECH SQUAD” SO PEOPLE WON’T DARE  SPEAK UP – I WAS TOLD BY MALLOY THAT “HE WAS SPEAKING NOW” AND DAN DREW TOLD ME TO BE POLITE (WHICH IN DEMOCRAT LANGUAGE MEANS WE TALK BUT YOU CAN’T) – WELL DANNY  – IT IS MY CONSTITUTIONAL  RIGHT TO SPEAK – THE WHOLE THING WAS A HOAX…KIND OF LIKE THE ELECTION

AT CHRIS MURPHY IN NEW LONDON ON SATURDAY – THE SAME OPPRESSIVE PROCEDURE WAS USED – WE WERE ALLOWED TO “WRITE A QUESTION” WHICH WERE SCREENED AND READ BY HIS PEOPLE (I WAS TOLD MY QUESTION WOULD BE USED AND NEVER WAS) – AFTER LISTENING TO HIS SELF PROMOTING LECTURE  FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF (ZZZZZZZZZZZZ) – WE WERE BULLIED BY THE GROUP FROM WOODSTOCK ON HOW RUDE WE WERE BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY HAD THE AUDACITY TO SPEAK OUT DURING THE PROPAGANDA SESSION – AGAIN THE WHOLE THING WAS A HOAX…

AT ESTYS TOWNHALL MEETING – WE WERE TOLD WE COULD “WRITE A QUESTION” – ULTIMATELY I SPOKE BUT WAS GIVEN THE BUMS RUSH BY THE STAFF MEMBER – WE ARE FIGHTING FOR THE SECOND AMENDMENT AND NOW WE ARE FIGHTING FOR THE FIRST AMENDMENT AS WELL…THEY DO NOT WANT THE TRUTH TO COME OUT…

I WANT TO SPEAK BECAUSE I WANT TO TELL AMERICANS THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS LET IN 2 MILLION ILLEGAL ALIENS AND EVERY DAY 25 AMERICANS ARE KILLED AND 8 AMERICAN CHILDREN ARE ASSAULTED

I WANT TO SPEAK BECAUSE I WANT TO TELL AMERICANS THAT POLITICIANS IN CONNECTICUT, TO ADVANCE THEIR SELF-PROMOTING STANCE, HAVE MADE CONNECTICUT A WELFARE HAVEN WHICH HAS DESTOYED EVERY CITY IN CONNECTICUT

I WANT TO SPEAK BECAUSE I WANT TO TELL AMERICANS HAVING SANCTUARY CITIES SUCH AS NEW HAVEN FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS (WHICH IS AGAINST FEDERAL LAW) WHO WERE GIVEN LICENSES LAST WEEK BY THE MAYOR JOHN DESTEFANO AS THEY WERE  GIVEN INSTATE  TUTION BY MALLOY -  ONE OF ILLEGALS  WAS GIVEN A RIDE HOME AFTER WORK FROM A WAITRESS FROM HAMDEN AND WHO THANKED HER BY RAPING HER, BEATING  HER AND LEAVING HER FOR DEAD

I WANT TO SPEAK SO I CAN TELL AMERICANS THAT THIS ADMINISTRATION WANTS GUN CONFISCATION NOT GUN CONTROL

I WANT TO SPEAK SO I CAN TELL AMERICANS THAT 170 MILLION PEOPLE WERE MURDERED THROUGHOUT HISTORY BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT DEFEND THEMSELVES

I WANT TO SPEAK SO I CAN TELL AMERICANS THAT 8,650 TIMES A DAY ARMED AMERICANS DEFEND THEM

I WANT TO SPEAK SO I CAN TELL AMERICANS OUR COUNTRY IS IN MORTAL DANGER

MY HEART HURTS…WAKE UP AMERICA! – NOT ONLY IS FREEDOM OF SPEECH MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT  -   AMERICANS ARE DYING FOR THAT  RIGHT AS WE SPEAK…

We can't expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism,
but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism,
until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism."

                                                 Nikita Krushchev  1959

                                                 GAIL WHITRIGHT
                                                 MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT

Letter to the Editor: Ben Florsheim, Chair of Wesleyan College Democrats

Ben Florsheim, Public Figure

You are within your rights to make wild, baseless accusations and live your life in an alternative reality of paranoia and ignorance. You are not, however, entitled to use my image on your website in association with this behavior. Take it down immediately.

Sincerely,

Ben Florsheim

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Insider never labeled Florsheim's picture, however, he has chosen to identify himself in the post previously published here: http://www.middletowninsider.com/2012/09/whats-up-did-anybody-in-2011-vote-2x-in.html .

Florsheim is president of the Wesleyan College Democrats, a Middletown Democrat Town Committee elected member, and the vice president of the National College Democrats. He worked on the Gov. Malloy campaign and aided MDTC in providing buses and pizza to bring students to the polls. Florsheim helped to register over 400 students last election.

Florsheim made false accusations towards former Mayor Sebastian Giuliano,  and then P.Z. Candidate Molly Salafia, Registrar Janice Giofriddo in an SEEC (State Elections Enforcement Commission) complaint filed by a fellow College Democrat. All allegations were dismissed, and in fact the SEEC ruled all were actually PROMOTING voting in their actions in which the complaint was based on. 
Several letters of protest from Florsheim and other  Wesleyan students seem to have aided in the retraction of the appointment of Giuliano to SEEC chair last year. The full ruling, which is also publicly available on the SEEC website can be read here:http://www.middletowninsider.com/2012/06/state-elections-commission-throws-out.html 

Had they not been, each could have faced up to 5 years in prison with a minimum mandatory 1 year served for the felonies..... Florsheim circulated