Category: Free Speech

Academia, Free Speech, Society

MIT Chaplain Forced To Resign After Comments On Floyd Case

imagesWe have been following controversies over free speech on campuses, particularly in recent weeks involving faculty and student critics of the ongoing protests or the “Defund The Police” movement. Indeed, I have a column on those concerns this morning. The most recent controversy concerns a Catholic chaplain, Daniel Moloney, who has resigned as chaplain for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His removal followed his reference to the criminal record of George Floyd and equivocating comments on the problem of racism in police departments.  His case raises the question of whether the free speech concerns should be treated differently for non-academic positions.

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Columns, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Bolton’s Win Could Cost Him More Than Just Profits

John_R._BoltonOn Saturday, federal district court judge Royce Lamberth denied a motion to enjoin the release of former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s tell-all book in a 10-page order.  The book, titled “The Room Where it Happened,” is already in circulation with reporters literally standing outside of the courthouse reading from it.  As argued in the column before the decision, Lamberth rejected the injunction.  However, he lambasted Bolton for his failure to complete the classification review that he agreed to as part of his taking the position with President Donald Trump.  There are already possibly classified subjects being teased out of the book by the media.  Lamberth decried the fact that Bolton has “gambled with national security” and said that his actions “raise grave national security concerns” but “the damage is done.” Perhaps it is done for the release but the damage to Bolton may only be beginning. As Lamberth noted, he now faces civil and criminal liability, which are discussed in the column. 

Here is the column: Continue reading “Bolton’s Win Could Cost Him More Than Just Profits” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Free Speech, International

Scottish Man Convicted Of Calling Ex-Girlfriend’s Boyfriend A “Leprechaun”

170px-Leprechaun_ill_artlibre_jnlI have been a critic of the alarming criminalizing of speech in Great Britain through hate speech laws.  Such laws create an insatiable appetite for greater and greater speech regulation and create a sense of empowerment among citizens to silence those with whom they disagree.  Now, a Scottish man has been convicted of a message that was grossly offensive, indecent or menacing. According to the Evening Express, the prosecutor (appropriately named Susan Love) cited the fact that Terry Myers, 41, called the Irish boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend a “leprechaun.”

 

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Academia, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Syracuse Student Newspaper Sacks Columnist After Questioning “Institutional Racism”

downloadWe recently discussed the apology of the New York Times for publishing a column from a leading United States Senator on the possible use of troops to quell rioting after the death of George Floyd.  That decision, and the sacking of the opinion page editor, represented one of the lowest moments in American journalism.  It made echo journalism the official policy of one of the oldest news organizations in the United States.  The lesson was not, it appears, lost on young college journalists at Syracuse University who sacked a columnist because she questioned claims of “institutional racism.” Adrianna San Marco notably did not write her opinion in The Daily Orange but she was canned for challenging this widely held view.  My greatest concern is the lack of specificity from the editors on the objections to her column beyond “reinforcing stereotypes.”  Such actions demand a clarity in the standard being applied to writers.

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Academia, Free Speech, Uncategorized

UCF Professor Under Investigation And Police Protection After Tweeting About “Black Privilege”

imagesWe have been writing about efforts to fire professors who have criticized the “Defund the Police” campaign or Black Lives Matter.  Now, Charles Negy, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida, is under school investigation and has received police protection after he tweeted about what he views as “black privilege.” While countless professors have written about “white privilege,”  Negy is looking at discipline or termination while police have been called to his house to protect his life.  Negy is not the first professor to be put under police protection after voicing criticism of the protests or BLM.  Once again, I am less interested in the merits of the underlying debate as the implications for free speech and academic freedom.  As one of the large free speech blogs, we have long discussed efforts to pressure or fire academics for their exercise of free speech and academic freedom.  Recently, however, these efforts have been joined by schools and fellow academics who seek to deter others from expressing opposing views.

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Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Google Targets Conservative Sites In Latest Crackdown

250px-googleGoogle has moved against another set of conservative sites. While many have celebrated the action against ZeroHedge and The Federalist, I remain deeply concerned over the free speech implications of such actions. I have written for years about public and private censorship, including recent actions to regulate and control speech on the Internet. Democratic leaders have been calling for censorship on the Internet and in social media for years, a move that will destroy the greatest forum for free speech in the history of the world.  Writers have joined in this movement and two such academics recently declared “China was right” all along about censorship.

As will come as no surprise to many on this blog, I view this latest action as another form of private censorship that targets conservative sites while ignoring similar rhetoric from the left.  I am not very complex when it comes to such conflicts over free speech.  I am not as much concerned with the merits of these fights as the implication of targeting some sites over others.  I know very little about ZeroHedge while I am familiar with some of the writers on The Federalist. Google has said comparatively little about the reason for barring the sites and what NBC originally reported has been contradicted by the company. However, it is the explanation given for the action taken against the Federalist that I wanted to address.  It seems to follow the pattern of politically biased, content-based discrimination against conservative sites by companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google.  Despite the clear bias shown in these actions, most academics are either applauding the crackdown or remaining conspicuously silent as companies silence those with opposing or unpopular views.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Society, Uncategorized

Vermont Principal Put On Leave For Not Agreeing With Black Lives Matters

Freedom_of_SpeechWe have yet another teacher suspended or put on leave for merely expressing her opinion of Black Lives Matter on her personal Facebook page.  After Tiffany Riley wrote that she does not agree with the BLM, the Mount Ascutney School Board held an emergency meeting to declare that it is “uniformly appalled” by the exercise of free speech and Superintendent David Baker assured the public that they would be working on “mutually agreed upon severance package.”  The case magnifies concerns over the free speech rights of teachers on social media or in their private lives. As a public employee, Riley could seek judicial relief rather than a severance package under the First Amendment.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Society

Berkeley Condemns Letter On BLM From “Anonymous History Professor” Calling For Academic Freedom

Berkeley is up in arms this week because of a letter sent by someone claiming to be an anonymous professor of history at U.C. Berkeley.  The writer, who identifies as a person of color, objects to a loss of free speech and academic freedom in the school adopting an institutional position on Black Lives Matter.  The writer objects to the silencing of academics who do not support BLM for reasons entirely separate from the protection of black lives.  I was sent this letter when it started to be circulated and I did not discuss it because I have no idea if this is an actual member of the Berkeley faculty though Kentucky State University Assistant Professor of Political Science Wilfred Reilley has recently vouched for the identity.  However, it is the response of the Berkeley faculty that I believe is notable and concerning.  The faculty denounced the letter and said that there is “no evidence” that such a person teaches on the faculty. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly impossible for any academic to criticize BLM or aspects of the protests. However, what concerns me is that Berkeley’s response notably does not even bother to state the pretense of tolerance for opposing views.  The condemnation would seem to reaffirm rather than redress the concerns over academic freedom and free speech for dissenting faculty members.

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Academia, Free Speech, International, Politics, Society

Tale of Two Cities: London and Paris Divide On The Preservation Of History

Tales_serialWe have been discussing the destruction of public art and history monuments by mobs who are often allowed to carry out such acts without police intervention, a problem that pre-existed the current protests (here and here and here).  It was particularly alarming to see statues defaced or destroyed in London, including (bizarrely) a statue of Abraham Lincoln.  The response in London and Paris is strikingly different but, in this tale of two cities, it is London that seems to be surrendering to the hysteria of the moment.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Free Speech

No, Congress Cannot Force U.S. Soccer Players To Stand For The Anthem

440px-Matt_Gaetz,_official_portrait,_116th_CongressI have previously stated my personal and legal view of protests during the national anthem by athletes. I do not believe that professional athletes have a constitutional right to protest during games, any more than other employees.  However, we now have the flip side of that question after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) announced that he plans to introduce legislation that would force U.S. Soccer players to stand for the national anthem. The announcement came after the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors voted to repeal the rule requiring players to stand during the national anthem.  Such a law would be unconstitutional.

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Free Speech, Media

Res Ipsa Hits 42,000,000

crowd vj dayToday, we passed the 42,000,000 mark in views on the blog. The blog continues to grow at a record pace. The continued growth is due primarily to our loyal readers who return every day to discuss contemporary legal, political, and occasionally bizarre stories. We have used these moments to give thanks for our many regular readers around the world and give you an idea of the current profile of readers on the blog. We continue to rank with the top legal blogs in the world  and I am particularly proud of our growing international readership. As always, I want to offer special thanks for Darren Smith who has continued to help manage the blog and help out folks who encounter posting problems.

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Academia, Free Speech, Society

Cornell Professors Declare “Informed Commentary” Criticizing The Protests As Racism

Cornell_University_seal.svgYesterday, we discussed the effort to remove one of the country’s most distinguished economists from his position because Harald Uhlig, the senior editor of the Journal of Political Economy,  criticized Black Lives Matter and the Defund The Police movement.  Now, Cornell Law School professor William A. Jacobson is reportedly facing demands that he be fired because he wrote a blog about the Black Lives Matter movement.  Jacobson is the founder of the conservative website Legal Insurrection.  My concerns were magnified by a letter from his colleagues that would label virtually any criticism of BLM or the protests as presumptively racist. The letter is a chilling reminder of the rapid loss of free speech values on campuses around the United States.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Writers and Academics Call For Removal Of Chicago Professor For Criticizing BLM and Defunding Police

university of chicagoIt seems that University of Chicago professors are much in the news this week.  We recently discussed the controversy of posting by University of Chicago Professor Brian Leiter saying that military leaders should “depose” President Donald Trump and jail him. Now another Chicago professor is under fire.  Notably, while no one called for Leiter to be fired for wistfully discussing a military coup, there is a chorus of writers and academics calling for the canning of Harald Uhlig, the senior editor of the prestigious the Journal of Political Economy.  Uhlig is also the Bruce Allen and Barbara Ritzenthaler Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago.  The reason is that Uhlig had the audacity to criticize Black Lives Matters and the movement to Defund The Police. Joining this effort is New York Times’ Paul Krugman, who is striking out at someone for giving his opposing view — an intolerant position that now appears to be official policy at the New York Times.  It is all part of the new order where writers call for censorship, academics call for removing academic freedoms, artists call for art removal, and politicians call for dismantling police.

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Bizarre, Free Speech, Society

Gone With The Wind[s]: HBO Pulls Classic After Floyd Protests

778px-Poster_-_Gone_With_the_Wind_01

 

It is considered one of the most influential (and certainly one of the most watched) films of all time.  However, HBO Max has pulled “Gone with the Wind” from its library of films because of its depiction of slavery and racism. HBO says that it will not allow people to watch the film until it can create “an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions.”  In other words, people will have to wait until they can be properly educated with the addition of a warning and introduction.  “After all”, as Scarlett O’Hara said in the film, “tomorrow is another day!”

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Free Speech, Media, Society

NoFundThem: Conservative Commentator’s Fundraising Blocked Over Floyd Criticism

500px-GoFundMe_logo.svgI previously wrote a column about the rising calls by Democratic leaders and activists for different forms of public and private censorship. Indeed, the recent extreme demands and controversy at the New York Times shows how speech controls have been a virtual article of faith for many.  Twitter’s actions against Trump tweets are another example of the inconsistent use of such controls.  Now GoFundMe has taken it upon itself to censor causes that it views as offensive in closing down a fundraiser by conservative political commentator Candace Owens in support of an Alabama cafe whose co-owner criticized the George Floyd protests.  The question again is not whether we agree with such sentiments but the free speech implications of these forms of private censorship.  Rather than respond to such controversial statements, critics today focus on silencing the speakers or barring their views or causes to be heard by others.  What is interesting is that, by abandoning neutrality, GoFundMe is now affirming that it does regulate content and will face demands for more such action. That could undermine the position of these companies against the loss of immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

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Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks