Two years ago, I wrote a column denouncing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of a counter-terrorism law to shut down the Freedom Convoy trucker protests as an authoritarian attack on free speech. Now, a Canadian court has agreed and ruled that the use of the Emergencies Act was unlawful and “unreasonable.” Despite Trudeau’s attacks on civil liberties, he remains a favorite of the media as an iconic figure on the left. Continue reading “Trudeau and the Trucker Terrorists: Court Declares Trudeau’s Crackdown on the Truckers to be Unlawful”
Category: Free Speech
It appears that Anthony Comstock is having something of a revival in Oklahoma. The founder of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice fought to criminalize the mailing of any obscene work, a broadly define category that included protected political speech. Now, a bill not only contains an expansive definition of lewd material but would criminalize even the viewing “obscene materials” by unmarried individuals.
The Daily Pennsylvanian student newspaper this week ran a story on how some faculty members are panicked at what they consider an existential threat to the safety and future of the institution. No, it is not another pandemic or a wave of terrorism. It is being forced to accept “viewpoint diversity.” The very prospect of hiring faculty with opposing views has led at least one professor to pledge to retire rather than teach in a diverse intellectual environment. Continue reading “Penn Professors Panic at Calls for “Viewpoint Diversity””
There is an interesting controversy brewing at the University of Florida after Professor Autumn McLellan offered academic credit for those who list their pronouns in class. The University has pushed back that “pronoun policing” is not a valid basis for academic credit. Continue reading ““Pronoun Policing”: University of Florida Pushes Back on Offer of Academic Credit for Pronoun Listing”
Senior Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen has been acquitted twice after the Finnish government prosecuted her for quoting the Bible. Now, however, the Finish Public Prosecutor is seeking to appeal the November 2023 decision supporting her faith and free speech. Even with the widespread attacks on free speech across Europe, Finland is now a standout for its intolerance and extremism in defining opposing views “hate speech.” Continue reading “Finnish Politician Räsänen Again Facing Demands for Prosecution Over Quoting Bible”
Dan Kalb, an Oakland City Council member, is an ardent environmentalist and liberal politician. He was considered ideal to speak at the University of California, Berkeley, on the environment . . . until students found out that Kalb is also a supporter of Israel. Kalb was reportedly disinvited this month by Natural Resources Professor Kurt Spreyer after students objected and threatened a protest.
The World Economic Forum has surveyed the world’s experts and issued its 2024 “Global Risks Report.” The international elite of experts have declared that the number one threat to humanity is not terrorism or pandemic or even climate change (which is second), but “misinformation and disinformation.” Of course, that means that the only hope for humanity is censorship and speech controls. The report shows just how engrained this anti-free speech movement has become among the world elite from media to business to politics. Continue reading “World Economic Forum Declares “Disinformation” to be the World’s Greatest Threat”
In July 2023, we discussed the lawsuit of Notre Dame Sociology Professor Tamara Kay against the student newspaper the Irish Rover. I was highly skeptical of not just the complaint but the facts alleged by Professor Kay. As stated at the time, Kay’s claims were challenged as false after the review of other journalists. According to Justice Steven David, I may have been understated. The case was dismissed this week by St. Joseph County, Indiana, Superior Court under Indiana’s Anti-SLAPP law. Continue reading “Notre Dame Professor Loses Defamation Case Over Pro-Abortion Advocacy”
We have been discussing the rapid decline of free speech protections in Canada under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A vivid example of the increasing authoritarian approach was evident this week with the arrest of David Menzies, a reporter for Canada’s conservative Rebel News Network. Menzies was attempting to interview Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland when her security clearly manufactured a criminal charge in front of cameras. Continue reading “Canadian Police Arrest Conservative Journalist on Trumped Up Charge of Assault”
I have long been a critic of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who has devastated free speech in that country while assuming sweeping authoritarian powers. Now, his administration has blocked the citizenship of Maria Kartasheva because she has a conviction in Russia. The crime? Free speech. Kartasheva was convicted in Russia for criticizing the war in Ukraine. She was literally pulled out of a citizenship ceremony by Canadian officials and now fears deportation and incarceration in Russia. Continue reading “Oh Canada: Government Blocks Citizenship Due to Russian Conviction for Criticizing the Ukrainian War”
For years, we have discussed the alarming shift in the Democratic party on free speech with candidates running on pledges to censor opposing views and politicians supporting blacklisting and censorship on social media. Many citizens oppose such efforts to restrict their rights under the First Amendment, but are unaware of the work of their representatives to limit free speech. Now, a filing in the Supreme Court supporting censorship efforts by the Biden Administration has supplied a handy list of the anti-free speech states for citizens. Continue reading “Are You in an Anti-Free Speech State? We Now Have The Definitive List”
The Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy has published my latest law review publication titled “The Right to Rage: Free Speech and Rage Rhetoric in American Political Discourse,” 21 Geo. J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 481. The work explores rage rhetoric and some of the areas addressed in my forthcoming book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.
Continue reading “Georgetown Publishes Turley Free Speech Work”
“How many lives are 1200 Israelis worth?” That chilling question was put forward by a Rhode Island history professor last week in a condemnation of Israel as a “white supremacist nation” that prompted the Hamas massacre.
Many donors and parents have been repulsed in recent weeks by such extremist viewpoints on our campuses over the Israel-Gaza war. For some of us, however, the hostile environment is nothing new on campuses where faculties have been purged of conservative and libertarian voices for years. Continue reading “The Awakening: Donors Are Finally Seeing The Radicalization of American Higher Education”
Rep. Summer Lee (D., Pa.) has long been a voice for censorship, attacking those who seek to restore free speech on social media. Lee’s curious view of free speech was on display this week when she attacked witnesses, including Riley Gaines, as hateful and transphobic but then tried to censor Gaines when she responded to Lee’s attack as misogynistic. Lee withdrew the demand to take down the comments, though it captured the essence of how many on the left insist that they have a right to attack others but seek to censor those same individuals when they respond in kind. Continue reading ““Engaging in Personalities”: Rep. Summer Lee’s Curious View of Free Speech”
The parents of Holden Armenta have retained counsel and sent a retraction letter to Deadspin in moves that usually precede the filing of defamation actions. Armenta was the target of a vicious and false attack by Deadspin’s Carron J. Phillips. The writer has long been controversial, but Deadspin retained him. It could now come at a high cost, but the defamation action will face challenges. Continue reading “Deadspin Defamation: Parents of Holden Armenta Move Toward Libel Action Over Blackface Allegation”