We have been discussing how Howard Dean and other Democratic leaders have been declaring that there is an exception for speech that they claim to be hate speech. Now they appear to have been joined by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) which have declared that Kathy Griffin’s photo of Trump’s severed head is unprotected under the First Amendment.
Continue reading “VFW Declares Kathy Griffin Unprotected By First Amendment”
We have yet another example of how free speech is being eviscerated in Europe through an assortment of different legal standards. An unnamed 45-year-old Swiss man is an example of how the defamation laws can have the same impact on free speech. He was convicted of defamation after simply “liking” posts on Facebook that said bad things about Erwin Kessler, the leader of Swiss vegan group Vereins gegen Tierfabriken.
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We have been discussing the rapid erosion of free speech on our campuses and the increasing confrontations with students who bar speech with which they disagree. The result is that schools are caving into academic demands made by students, including incidents like the recent one at Northwestern where academic freedom is being lost to effective mob rule. It is a very serious problem that has now led to the first legislative intervention. Wisconsin legislators are pushing a bill that would suspend or expel students who disrupt speakers. I agree that schools need to suspend or expel students who are engaging in violent or extremely disruptive conduct like shutting down classes like the one at Northwestern. Notably, while a few suspensions were handed out after the assault on a faculty member at Middlebury, no one was expelled. However, the Wisconsin law is concerning in its language and scope. We need faculty to stand up for free speech and stand up to these disruptive students, including serious disciplinary action.
Ted Wheeler, mayor of Portland, Oregon, has joined a growing list of liberals curtailing free speech and seeking exceptions for speech that they deem to be hateful or offensive. We saw recently Howard Dean espousing the false premise that there is a hate speech exception to the First Amendment. We also saw politicians in California seeking to curtail anything that they deem to be “fake news.” Now Wheeler is espousing the same anti-speech nonsense in seeking to ban a conservative demonstration by a group called Patriot Prayer.
Continue reading “Portland Mayor Demands Feds Bar Conservative Group From Speaking”
With Harvard holding its first black-only graduation this year and various schools creating black only dorms and safe spaces, “separate but equal” seems to be on the resurgence in America (something I wrote about ten years ago). However, Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, has stood firm against all forms of discrimination and barred the black feminist festival in the French capital because it is “prohibited to white people.” She said that racial discrimination in any form or for any purpose will not be tolerated.
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There is another controversy on an American campus after a professor objected to a plan that involved excluding whites from campus. Evergreen State College biology professor Bret Weinstein made a reasoned objection to the plan for this year’s “Day of Absence” on campus. In prior years, people of color would leave the campus to highlight their contribution to the school. This year, it was proposed that whites should leave campus and Weinstein objected to the obvious unfairness of such a race-based exclusion. The result, as shown in the videotape below, was a mob scene around Weinstein as students called him a racist and called for his resignation. Protests have denounced his “anti-blackness” and demanded his removal from teaching.
I previously praised the position of my alma mater, The University of Chicago, in refusing to limit free speech with the creation of safe spaces and speech codes. Indeed, the courageous position of UChicago stood in sharp contrast to the troubling position of my other alma mater, Northwestern University (which has only grown more hostile to both free speech and academic freedom). Now the university faces another test of academic principles after a coalition of student groups called “UChicago United” has given the Administration of list of 50 demands. Most troubling are demands that seek decisions impacting the academic integrity of the curriculum and school as a whole.
There has been a roaring debate over the decision of the New Orleans city council to tear down all Confederate era statues, which many have argued is wiping out history rather than dealing with it. The most controversial decision is the removal of the iconic statue of Robert E. Lee in the downtown. One casualty of that debate is Nicholas Dean, principal of Crescent Leadership Academy, who was forced out of his post merely because he went to see the historic change and was pictured with a Confederate flag in the background. Not his flag, mind you. Just a Confederate flag held by a protester.
It appears that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has found relief from the pesky protesters of Western democracies. He gave an almost breathless account of how he didn’t spot nary one protester in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, just tranquil silence of the Saudis. It could be that the Trump Administration found a country unanimously and enthusiastically supportive of its policies. It could also be that protests are generally unlawful in the Kingdom. The Saudis however are famous for public demonstrations of a different kind from beheadings to the image above of festive hangings.
Last weekend we featured two articles (HERE and HERE) describing a controversy involving the forced use of chemical herbicides on an organic farm that according to County officials was out of compliance in controlling noxious weeds that were threatening neighboring farms and crops.
The 2,000 acre organic farm in North Central Oregon is facing what could be an existential threat to its operations after county weed control authorities sent notice mandating that the farm use chemical herbicides to eradicate weed growth.
I attended the public hearing held at the Sherman County seat located in Moro, Oregon. Due to a very high volume of interest expressed by residents and those outside the community, the venue was changed from the County Courthouse to a gymnasium at the Sherman County High School. There was a great deal of uncertainty manifest in this hearing with strongly held opinions on many sides and one can say with near certainty that the publicity generated caused turmoil in this small community. In fact, the concern was so great, that a number of law enforcement officials were dispatched to the area to provide security to address a worry that things might get out of hand. But in the end the two sides reached an agreement that precludes the forced use of herbicides–and offered both a carrot and stick for both parties to strongly consider.
Pierson College Dean June Chu has been a successful academic and administrator at Yale University. However, that stellar record came to a halt — and Chu was put on leave — after it was discovered that she had written reviews on Yelp deemed offensive. The controversy again raises the question of whether teachers should be subject to discipline for their comments outside of schools. Chu is not accused of saying anything offensive to students or even on campus. Yet her Yelp comments were enough to force her into a leave of absence.
Continue reading “Yale College Dean Placed On Leave For “Reprehensible” Yelp Reviews”
We have been writing about the enculturation of anti-free speech values in college students across the country. The most recent incident occurred at the California State University where assistant professor of public health professor Greg Thatcher is shown on a videotape wiping out the pro-life statements written in chalk by members of Fresno State Students for Life. Thatcher supports his students who destroyed the messages before his arrival (those students said that their teacher gave them permission to destroy the free speech of other students). Thatcher’s attitude and open contempt for free speech is chilling. It is also now the subject of a free speech lawsuit filed against him in his personal capacity.
One of the most conspicuous aspects of the controversy over President Donald Trump’s sharing information with the Russians was the virtually complete silence of defenders on the Hill. Faced with yet another scandal GOP members distanced themselves from Trump. Most senators declined to support Trump’s disclosure of high sensitive Israeli intelligence. The one exception was Idaho Sen. Jim Risch. Risch made headlines in not only supporting the widely denounced disclosure of the intelligence but he called on the government to find and prosecute the person who disclosed the information.
Paul Griffiths, a professor of Catholic theology at Duke University, has resigned in a controversy that has again raised the question of free speech on our campuses. Griffiths responded to an invitation for all divinity school faculty to participate in two full days of racial equality training. Faculty have privately complained about the courses with some viewing it as a colossal waste of time and others viewing it as akin to indoctrination. Griffiths, 61, however elected to share his opposing views with his colleagues in emails. He was promptly put under investigation and has now resigned.
