For years, says Adam Kushner in The New York Times, conservatives have said “the thought police wield too much power”. They questioned why apolitical organisations felt obliged to make statements about George Floyd, and complained bitterly when the Biden administration pushed social media platforms to ban users who questioned Covid science. Then came the assassination of Charlie Kirk. On Monday, the late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel erroneously suggested on his ABC show that Kirk’s killer came from MAGA’s ranks. Amid rising conservative anger, and an explicit threat by the head of the federal TV licensing regulator – “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said – ABC’s owner Disney suspended Kimmel’s show. Donald Trump said the comedian deserved his “cancellation” for saying such a “horrible thing”.

The Republicans have a new definition of free speech, says Adam Serwer in The Atlantic: “Conservatives can say what they want, and everyone else can say what conservatives want.” Vice President JD Vance, who made headlines attacking Europe for censorship earlier this year, backed calls for businesses to sack employees being mean about Kirk. Attorney-General Pam Bondi said she would “absolutely target” those who engaged in “hate speech” – a concept that, thanks to the First Amendment, doesn’t exist in the US. Elon Musk, the self-styled “free-speech absolutist”, has called for those criticising Kirk to be deplatformed, fired and even imprisoned. Not even silence will protect you: NFL teams have been attacked for declining to hold a moment of silence; businesses have been singled out for not lowering flags to half-mast. “This is the road to totalitarianism, and it does not end with one man losing his television show.”

THE MEDIEVAL COTTAGE This late 14th-century property is one of the oldest in the village of Monks Eleigh, Suffolk, says The Guardian. On the ground floor are the kitchen and breakfast room, with traditional farmhouse cabinets and an Aga, as well as a dining room and a sitting room, both with original fireplaces. There’s also a study, a snug, a utility and a loo. Upstairs are the four bedrooms, one of which has an en-suite and dressing room, as well as a family bathroom. Outside the lawn stretches down to the River Brett. Ipswich is a 30-minute drive. £750,000. Click on the image to see the listing.

Phwoar?

In the rest of today’s newsletter, we have a wonderfully entertaining piece exploring Margaret Thatcher’s “erotic capital” – how she used sex appeal to propel her to the top job, manipulating her “bedazzled advisers” and making male interviewers go weak at the knees. “I was in love with her, yes,” said one Tory grandee. “Her skin was glowing and she had very fine legs.”

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