Tag: First Amendment

Debate season is here, but the frontrunner was a no-show. Dennis reviews the proceedings but not before he talks about what is not debatable – our basic constitutional rights – and how the raid on the Marion County (KS) Record is something to be resisted with every ounce of our beings.

This week we talk to Matt Kim of Atlanta, GA about his Twitter rant that went viral and with leading media attorney Lynn Oberlander about the Kansas newspaper raid.

Our Dystopian Government at Work

 

If we had any doubt before, we now have clear evidence that multiple departments in the federal government think they are both omniscient (wiser than any one of us) and omnipotent (which they believe makes them god). The elite thinks they are entitled to decide what we can know, learn, do, say, produce and believe, and a federal court has finally condemned these actions.

As the Federalist reported, Leah Litman and Laurence Tribe made a ludicrous effort to discount the judge’s ruling:

Echoing the defense, Litman and Tribe seem to believe that government agencies or officials run afoul of the First Amendment free speech guarantees only when they ‘jawbone’ or ‘force’ social media companies to censor specific content. As they frame it, the government was not really telling these companies what to do, but merely acting as a friendly neighborhood government agency: ‘Hey, Meta and Twitter, you all might want to have a look at these posts and see if they violate your terms of service. And if they don’t, then hey, you might want to change your terms of service so that they do.’

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The Florida Legislature has decided that far too many people have suffered abuse from the media through the lies it tells;  the legislature is proposing a bill that can remedy the practice of irresponsible and defaming activities: Bill proponents tout it as a way for people to get justice for harms – not just from […]

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Fire (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) reports today on the DC Circuit’s ruling in Price v. Garland, with this catchy headline: That video of Mount Rushmore for your YouTube channel could now land you in jail — shocking court decision transforms First Amendment rights That sounds crazy, but seems accurate. Preview Open

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Professor Sues U. of Wash. After Being Punished for ‘Inappropriate’ Opinion on Land Acknowledgments

 

Perhaps you’ve heard of “land acknowledgment” statements, which have come into vogue in educational and cultural institutions. In the higher education context, the gist of such statements — sometimes placed on course syllabi, sometimes spoken at meetings, exhibitions, or performances — is to state that the institution’s campus sits on occupied indigenous lands. This year, the University of Washington’s computer science department encouraged its faculty to issue such statements, offering approved language on how to word them. 

UW computer science professor Stuart Reges didn’t think much of this, viewing the exercise as performance (he’s not alone), so he crafted one of his own to make a point. More than four months later, after being accused of creating a “toxic environment” and subject to a seemingly unending harassment investigation, Reges has sued his employer to vindicate his First Amendment rights. Reges is represented by my organization, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

State Governments Delivering on College Students’ Free Speech, Due Process Rights

 

There’s been no shortage of unconstitutional legislation affecting speech on campus for my employer, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), to cover of late. It’s a breath of fresh air, then, to commend Kentucky, Indiana, and Georgia for passing new new bills protecting student free speech and due process rights. 

The most transformative of these measures is the Kentucky Campus Due Process Protection Act, which Gov. Andy Beshear signed into law on April 8. Under the law, students facing suspension or expulsion at public institutions of higher education are ensured vital due process protections, including:

On this episode of “The Federalist Radio Hour,” Andrew Langer, president of the Institute for Liberty, joins Culture Editor Emily Jashinsky to discuss the tension between the First Amendment right to free speech and what is often labeled “dark money.”

Collusion Writ Large

 

If you had any doubt that big tech has been colluding with the federal government, the feds have confirmed their attack on the first amendment without any apologies.

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has jumped into the fray of overplaying government power by publicly calling for all media outlets to edit out or refuse to publish what he calls “misinformation”; this term is a substitute for “information we don’t like or don’t agree with.” His behavior is an attack on the Constitution, an insult to our citizenry, and a demonstration that the federal government will use any tactics, legal or illegal, to achieve its agenda. He issued a 22-page document trying to justify his actions. It said, in part:

Misinformation tends to spread quickly on these platforms for several reasons. First, misinformation is often framed in a sensational and emotional manner that can connect viscerally, distort memory, align with cognitive biases, and heighten psychological responses such as anxiety. People can feel a sense of urgency to react to and share emotionally charged misinformation with others, enabling it to spread quickly and go “viral.” In recent years, the rapidly changing information environment has made it easier for misinformation to spread at unprecedented speed and scale.

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One of my favorite Brit Twits recently posted about Harry’s comments about the US’s “bonkers” First Amendment. Harry was commenting on how podcaster Joe Rogan was free to say that relatively young people probably did not need a Covid vaccine. As usual, with Americans, we favor the freedom to speak, regardless of whether we, or […]

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Hubwonk Host Joe Selvaggi talks with constitutional scholar and CATO Institute Research Fellow Thomas Berry about the recently heard U.S. Supreme Court case, Mahanoy Public School District v. B.L., and its implications for free speech, school control, and the integration of social media into the rubric of first amendment protections.

Guest:

One Vote Republic: America in the Balance

 

In 2020, Senator Ted Cruz wrote One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History, and in 2021 we see the United States Supreme Court again making his case. On 9 April 2021, amidst the continuing media smoke screen of one crisis or another, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision holding at Americans who want or believe they need to physically assemble together in bible study will likely prevail against the Christian-hating communists running California. The razor thin majority made explicit that they were slapping down the 9th Circuit againThe left wing disagreed, regurgitating the lab-coat left’s long-rehearsed lies, and G.W. Bush’s man on the bench, John Roberts, Jr., sided with the left while taking the dodge of not adding his name to their rationale for standing our First Freedom on its head. Personnel is policy and this latest disgraceful episode again affirms the danger of letting RepubliCAN’Ts nominate justices without careful scrutiny across all areas of supposed conservative concern, from national security, to economic, to religious/ cultural conservativism. A read of the slim majority’s written opinion and a perusal of the current and retired living justices’ official biographies is instructive.

Personnel is policy, especially with Supreme Court justices:

The Left Wing:

Why We Have a First Amendment

 

Perhaps Piers Morgan gets it now. He didn’t used to. Ever wondered why our founders and framers felt it necessary to have our First AmendmentA post from a favorite British writer, Brendan O’Neill, Editor of a terrific blog, Spiked, may help.

For those who don’t follow Great Britain’s rather interesting media culture, Piers Morgan – you will remember him succeeding the late Larry King’s then-highly popular show in 2010 for about three years – has become the Isle’s top-rated morning host of “Good Morning Britain.” Make that, “had.” He was pushed out yesterday after being, shall we say, less than impressed with Meghan Markle’s appearance in a highly-celebrated interview with Oprah.

I’ve resisted writing about the two-hour CBS interview, even though I eye-rolled my way through it. You can see my admittedly intemperate reaction that I posted on Facebook below, in response to a friend’s query. But the Piers Morgan angle is one Americans might want to pay some attention to. There are lessons and red flags here, as if we need them. Even one US Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Alito, suggests free speech and religious liberty are under attack in the US. After all, our free speech rights are being trampled for many of the same reasons. Especially, but not exclusively, on college campuses.

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No matter how loud the chorus of deceit, nor cavernous the echo chamber of lies, nor thunderous the stampede of conformity, there is no sound loud enough, nor conspiracy of fools vast enough, to negate reality or silence the truth, so long as their remains even a single, solitary voice that dare speak it. Preview […]

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Should Political Speech be a “Civil Right?”

 

It is time to look at expanding anti-discrimination laws to protect political expression.

Conservative media these days are replete with examples of people on the right being intimated, shunned, deplatformed, fired and worse for expressions of support for former President Trump. “No, anyone who supported the president, voted for him or worked for his administration now has to be hunted down and purged,” New York Post columnist Miranda Devine opined recently.

“They’re losing their jobs, having their insurance canceled, their book contracts and recording deals torn up. They are being banned from flying or banking or speaking on social media.

Speak Out in 2021

 

As the train wreck of 2020 steams full speed into what we have every reason to expect will be the train wreck of 2021, I’ve been thinking about how I want to apply my limited time and energy in the new year. There are certainly plenty of issues that warrant attention. After all, no problems that dogged us last year have been solved; none has even grown smaller, and a brand new set of problems is scheduled to take office in just a couple of weeks, promising a tsunami of bad judgment and its inevitable consequences.

I’ve resolved to do my best to focus most of my attention on one issue, something I consider to be of paramount importance; more important even than our foolish panic over COVID, or the frankly idiotic trans movement, or the viciousness of Antifa and hateful dishonesty of BLM, or the barely concealed self-loathing of climate catastrophism.

Biden Confused by Free Speech

 

Biden campaign picture of protest

Evidence provided by Biden campaign of terrifying protesters flying American flags on a public highway, new Covid-19 restrictions expected in response.

After encountering Trump supporter escorts as their campaign bus traveled in the Lone Star State, the Biden campaign expressed concern about the exercise of First Amendment rights on public highways, reported by Jack Phillips in the Epoch Times:

“Rather than engage in productive conversation about the drastically different visions that Joe Biden and Donald Trump have for our country, Trump supporters in Texas today instead decided to put our staff, surrogates, supporters, and others in harm’s way,” Biden campaign Texas communications director Tariq Thowfeek told news outlets, confirming several events would be canceled in the state.

The Censorship Is Real

 

So someone on Twitter commented about Joe Biden being able to survive COVID-19, and I couldn’t help myself. I pointed out he was weak, frail, uncertain, and had no confidence. I pointed out that when you lack confidence that you can beat an illness, the likelihood is that the illness is going to kill you. It was fair commentary. I mentioned that I had clinical experience that bore out those observations in the tweet. There were no threats. It wasn’t targeted toward Joe Biden. It was a simple observation. But not to Twitter.

I was booted for 12 hours because of that tweet.

Pastor Ché Ahn and Attorney Mathew Staver joined Senior Editor Christopher Bedford to discuss their recent lawsuit against California Gov. Gavin Newsom for his actions in banning religious worship amid the ongoing government lockdown. Ahn is the founder and head pastor at Harvest International Ministry and Harvest Rock Church, and Staver is a founding member of Liberty Counsel.

Ahn argued Gov. Newsom imposed a double standard in shutting down religious services while praising the reckless protests and looting that ensued following the death of George Floyd, despite their lack of compliance with CDC guidelines. Staver said the Constitution makes it clear the government cannot prevent citizens from gathering to worship.