“She’s a [expletive] professor!” Those four words screamed by pro-choice protesters could well sum up the issue for the State University of New York at Albany after the arrest of sociology professor Renee Overdyke. At a recent pro-life demonstration, Overdyke unplugged an electric display to prevent students from expressing their opposition to abortion. She then resisted arrest. The question, which we have previously discussed, is where the university should draw the line in the conduct of faculty in preventing free speech. Continue reading ““She’s a … Professor!”: Albany Professor Arrested After Obstructing Pro-Life Display and Resisting Arrest”
Category: Academia

There is an important ruling this month out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which ruled against former high school music teacher John Kluge for refusing to comply with the school’s pronoun policy for religious reasons. What is most curious about the ruling is the timing. The Seventh Circuit opinion from April 7th is particularly interesting given the oral argument in the Supreme Court in Groff v. DeJoy only 11 days after the appellate ruling. Groff could gut the underlying standard used by the Seventh Circuit in its ruling for the school district. The opinion also puts the appellate court in conflict with the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in its recent Meriweather decision. Continue reading “Seventh Circuit Upholds Termination of High School Teacher Who Objected to Pronoun Policy”


Last year, we discussed the declaration of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that censorship was needed to combat what he called the “infodemic.” It was a jarring position given the censorship of experts and scientists who have now been vindicated in raising questions over mask protection to natural immunities to school closings to the origins of Covid 19. Nevertheless, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf added his own voice to call for censorship. Califf declared that life expectancy rates are being suppressed due to “misinformation.” His call for action against ill-defined “disinformation” or “misinformation” is being echoed throughout the Biden Administration. Continue reading “Is Free Speech Killing Us? FDA Commissioner Declares “Misinformation” a Medical Risk”

The student-run independent The Wake Report has published a story that has gone national about a psychology professor who taught her students that conservatives are “guilty, anxious, and unable to handle stress well as children.” Conversely, liberals are generally “resourceful, independent, self-reliant, and confident as children.” Assistant professor S. Mason Garrison expressed surprise that students “interpreted” the description as “negative” and caused “discomfort.” Apparently, many would take being called “guilty” and “unable to handle stress” as comforting and positive.
We previously discussed the disgraceful attack on former swimmer Riley Gaines who was reportedly assaulted when she tried to speak about her views on transgender issues at San Francisco State University (SFSU). Gaines had to be removed to a locked room for hours by police for her own protection. It is now clear why students believed that they had license to engage in such disruptions. SFSU has issued a statement that was conspicuous in its failure to condemn the mob or promise accountability for these actions. Continue reading “SFSU Responds to Alleged Assault on Riley Gaines . . . By Praising the Protesters”
San Francisco State University this week is much in the news over free speech and academic freedom — for all the wrong reasons. We just discussed how former swimmer Riley Gaines was allegedly assaulted and had to be locked away in a room for her own protection after trying to speak on transgender issues at the school. Now, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has issued a letter to San Francisco State University on a new and troubling controversy over academic freedom. The university opened an investigation into Maziar Behrooz, an associate professor of history, reportedly due to his showing a drawing of the Prophet Muhammad. Continue reading “San Francisco State University Investigates Professor for Showing Image of the Prophet Muhammad in a Class on Islamic History”
Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines was reportedly assaulted during an attempt to speak at San Francisco State University. The attack followed another successful effort to shout down a speaker with opposing views on a campus. Gaines was rushed from the event and kept in a secure room for nearly three hours, according to her account on Twitter. Continue reading “Former Swimmer Riley Gaines Allegedly Assaulted During Event at San Francisco State University”
Yesterday, President Joe Biden declared that “it remains to be seen” whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) is “dangerous.” I would beg to differ. I have been writing about the threat of AI to free speech. Then recently I learned that ChatGPT falsely reported on a claim of sexual harassment that was never made against me on a trip that never occurred while I was on a faculty where I never taught. ChapGPT relied on a cited Post article that was never written and quotes a statement that was never made by the newspaper. When the Washington Post investigated the false story, it learned that another AI program “Microsoft’s Bing, which is powered by GPT-4, repeated the false claim about Turley.” It appears that I have now been adjudicated by an AI jury on something that never occurred.
When contacted by the Post, “Katy Asher, Senior Communications Director at Microsoft, said the company is taking steps to ensure search results are safe and accurate.” That is it and that is the problem. You can be defamed by AI and these companies merely shrug that they try to be accurate. In the meantime, their false accounts metastasize across the Internet. By the time you learn of a false story, the trail is often cold on its origins with an AI system. You are left with no clear avenue or author in seeking redress. You are left with the same question of Reagan’s Labor Secretary, Ray Donovan, who asked “Where do I go to get my reputation back?”
Here is my column in USA Today:
Today I will be speaking at Brazosport College in Lake Jackson, Texas. I have previously spoken at the college which was selected as one of the top ten community colleges in the nation by the Aspen Institute. The Clute and Lake Jackson areas are also the location of the Ron Paul Institute. I will be speaking on “The Supreme Court and Society: A review of current and upcoming Supreme Court cases.” Continue reading “Turley to Speak on Supreme Court at Brazosport College”