Tom Shepstone
Shepstone Management Company, Inc.
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âŠ
Free speech is under furious assault by a merging of media and government establishing information standards for all of us.
I had a nightmare last night. I dreamed I was living in the year 2025 and green political correctness had won the day. Everyone was âwoke,â as they say, except for me. I was stuck in 2021 thought and found myself trapped at every turn. I was at the mercy of something called a âCommunity Standards and Fact-Checking Advisory Board.â

We are watching your every word!
It started when I saw an article in the paper about a new electric charging station being planned for my community. Knowing these things seldom get used by anyone but folks driving subsidized vehicles and the installation of the charging stations themselves are funded by taxpayers, I decided to write a response challenging the whole premise. I put together a 700-word op-ed, sent it off to the editor and waited, hoping to hear theyâd publish it. Receiving not a word after a few days, I decided to call and see what the status was. Thatâs when the dream began to transition into a nightmare.
I got the editor on the phone and began by asking a basic question. âDid you receive my op-ed challenging the premise of the electric charging station?â I received a terse reply. âSurely you realize, sir, that we donât publish that sort of material. It doesnât meet our information standards.â From there, the conversation went as follows:
âReally? What was the specific problem?
âSir, as I told you already, it doesnât meet our information standards.â
âWell, what are those information standards, then?â
âOur information standards are established and enforced by our Information Standards and Fact-Checking Advisory Board, sir.â
âWell, whoâs on that board, then?â
âSir, we donât disclose the members as we want them to be independent and not subject to influence from special interests.â
So, how do I find out what I need to do to meet your information standards?â
Sir, Iâve already told you donât meet them, but if you wish to appeal the boardâs decision you can write them a letter and theyâll let you know if theyâre of mind to reconsider.â
âWell, can you at least give me a hint why an article about electric charging stations could possible violate you information standards?â
âIsnât it obvious, sir? We have to save the planet!â
âBut, Iâm not against saving the planet, assuming it needs to be saved.â All Iâm saying is that electric charging stations are a poor way to go about it.â
âSir, thereâs no assuming the planet needs saving. Thatâs an undisputed fact.â
âBut, I do dispute it.â
âSir, you canât dispute it.â
âSays, who?â
âOur Information Standards and Fact-Checking Advisory Board, sir. Itâs policy.â
âYou canât be serious!
âOh, we are, sir. Yes, indeed.â
âBut, even if we accept that global warming is a threat, there are clearly much smarter approaches to deal with it.â
âPlease, sir, policy is policy and donât use the term âglobal warming.â Itâs âclimate change.’â
âSays who?â
âOur Information Standards and Fact-Checking Advisory Board, sir. You should know that by now. âGlobal warmingâ is inappropriate language utilized by right-wing capitalist extremists to undermine the cause of green energy. Our style guide only allows us to use âclimate change.’â
âWell, who is the author of the style guide, then.?â
âDo you really need to ask, sir? Itâs our Information Standards and Fact-Checking Advisory Board.â
âI see. How do I get out the word about the smarter approaches, then?â
âWhat smarter approaches, sir/â
âWell, natural gas, for instance?â
âWhoa, sir! You canât say that!â
âSay what?â
ââNatural gas.â Thatâs offensive to those who are committed to the destruction of fossil fuels. It also implies other gases are unnatural and we canât have that either!â
âAre you serious?â
âMost definitely, sir. Itâs in our style guide.â
âThe one produced by your Information Standards and Fact-Checking Advisory Board?â
âYes, of course, sir.â
âWell, how do I explain the benefits of natural gas, then? How do I point out electric vehicles are really powered by natural gas for the most part and it would be smarter to simply go directly to the energy source with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles? And, how do I tell people natural gas use has reduced our CO2 emissions by way more than anything else tried?â
âYou canât, sir. Itâs forbidden.â
âBy your Innformation Standards and Fact-Checking Advisory Board?â
âNow, to use a colloquialism you might actually grasp, sir, âyouâre digginâ where thereâs taters.â And, itâs not just us. Itâs Joe Bidenâ and his Climate Czar, John Kerry. Thereâs an Executive Order, you know.â
âBut, butâŠJohn Kerry travels between his multiple homes and back and forth to climate change confabs by private jet.â
âSir, sirâŠare you threatening our Climate Czar? Because, if you are, I may have to notify the authorities. Thereâs a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for that, you know.â
I woke up screaming and vowing, as they say, to stay âwoke.â That is until I regained my sanity and realized it was all a terrible nightmareâŠwasnât it?
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