Category: Politics

Howard Dean: The Constitution Does Not Protect Hate Speech

We have been discussing how the left has fallen out of love with free speech and how free speech is now being treated not as the defining right of liberty but the very threat to liberty.  Indeed, the most existential threats to free speech around the world are now coming from the left, which has embraced speech codes and the criminalization of speech with a passion.  There are exceptions like Bernie Sanders who recently declared that Ann Coulter should be allowed to speak at Berkeley — a position that I obviously have shared on this blog.   However, that principled position was countered by the most common response of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean who declared that hate speech is not protected by the Constitution.  He is obviously wrong but his inclination — even eagerness — to limit free speech is now a mainstream idea among liberals who once were the champions of this defining right.  Notably, Dean has shown increasing intolerance in other areas.  He recently denounced a member of Congress after she simply asked for evidence to support the culpability of the Syrian regime in the recent chemical attack.

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Misogyny Meet Irony: Saudi Arabia Elected To United Nation’s Women’s Rights Commission

If you like your misogyny with a heavy serving of irony, you could do no better than the United Nations this week after Saudi Arabia was elected to a  2018-2022 term on the Commission on the Status of Women, the U.N. agency that, according to its website, is “exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.”  As with Iran being put on the Commission, the irony would be humorous if there were not millions of victims over decades of abuse by these countries.  Previously, Saudi Arabia taking over the top spot on the Human Rights Commission was viewed as unbelievable, but the entry on the Commission on the Status of Women sets a level of irony that may be unsurpassable.

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Washington Post Poll: Trump Would Still Beat Clinton

Hillary_Clinton_Testimony_to_House_Select_Committee_on_Benghazi

There is an interesting finding from a Washington Post poll that is rather buried in the story: “The new survey finds 46 percent saying they voted for Clinton and 43 percent for Trump, similar to her two-point national vote margin. Asked how they would vote if the election were held today, 43 say they would support Trump and 40 percent say Clinton.”  Given Trump’s dismal popularity (perhaps the least popular president in the first 100 days in office since the start of modern polling), it was a surprising result.  It comes at a time when Clinton has been listing a number of reasons for her historic defeat . . . except for herself.  This includes her explanation (and her supporters) that it was not Clinton but self-hating, misogynistic women who could not vote for any woman for President.

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Two Maryland Women Charged With Hate Crime For Burning Trump Sign

The two teenage girls in Maryland have been charged with hate crimes after they lit a Trump sign on fire.  The novel charge is based on the prosecutors treating Trump supporters as the protected group. It is quite a stretch from the conventional hate crime. The very notion of a hate crime has been criticized by civil libertarians as raising free speech and double jeopardy concerns.

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Berkeley Cancels Coulter Speech . . . Coulter Vows To Defy University

Seal_of_University_of_California,_Berkeley.svgWe have been discussing the erosion of free speech on our campuses across the country through speech codes and increasingly violent protests. Conservative speakers are now routined denied the opportunity to speak on campuses by university officials who cite security concerns or by mob action preventing events from occurring.  The latest example  is Ann Coulter whose speech was cancelled at the last minute by the university even though she agreed to additional conditions set by officials.  Coulter however pledges to show up to speak regardless of the decision.  That could produce a confrontation with the university in its continued failure to protect free speech on its campus.

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Congratulations, They Have Been Accepted: Brown University Uses “Gender-Inclusive” Pronoun In Its 2017 Acceptance Letter.

220px-BrownU-CoA.svgGender_differences_male_femaleWe have previously discussed how some schools are abandoning the use of traditional pronouns to reflect a growing list of possible genders for students.  Brown University has pushed these changes even further in its acceptance letters this year by using “they” as the “gender-inclusive” pronoun.  Thus the letter refers to “their” achievements when referring to the singular admitted student.  For many, the use of such plural pronouns for a single individual is confusing and ungrammatical.  However, the Associated Press recently adopted the use of “they” as a preferred pronoun in recognition of transexual and other individuals who may not be comfortable with traditional genders.

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Federal Court Rejects Challenge to the Removal of Controversial Painting Depicting Police As Pigs

Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said “We may just have to kick somebody’s ass and stop them.  Then the architect stepped in and barred the hanging of the picture.  A

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Trump Calls Erdogan To Congratulate Him On Winning Referendum Giving Him Virtually Dictatorial Powers

donald_trump_president-elect_portrait_cropped220px-Recep_Tayyip_ErdoganThe world has condemned the referendum that narrowly gave near dictatorial powers to Turkish President ­Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Not only was the government accused of tampering with the close results, but the referendum represents the final demise of democracy in Turkey.  Erdogan is also responsible for destroying the separation of church and state.  However, Erdogan did get one call of congratulations . . . from the President of the United States.

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Closet Atheists: Study Suggests That The Number of Atheists In United States May Be As High As 26 Percent

socrates-1There is an interesting study out this week by two University of Kentucky researchers that the number of atheists may be twice as large as previously estimated.  The number may be closer to 26 percent — an fascinating prospect given the politics surrounding faith-based initiatives and policies.  As I have previously discussed, both parties have courted the religious vote and largely ignored the sizable number of Americans who are either agnostic or atheist.  That number may be finally reaching a political tipping point for office holders to heed their preferences for secular government and the separation of church and state.  We have previously discussed studies indicating that one out of four Americans may not believe in God. This study would seem to support those earlier estimates.

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Wellesley Students Editors Endorse Silencing Opposing Speakers And Declare “Hostility May Be Warranted”

Formal_Seal_of_Wellesley_College,_Wellesley,_MA,_USA.svgWe have been discussing the erosion of free speech on our campuses across the country.  Much of that trend is the result of faculty members who have taught that free speech itself is a threat to students.  The erosion of free speech has come in stages.  First, schools began to declare speech to be hate speech while creating “safe zones” from the exercise of free speech.  Second, schools began to enforce the ill-defined “microaggressions” to punish speech that is deemed as contributing to hostile environments or fostering stereotypes.  Now, faculty and students are increasing declaring opposing views as simply outside of the definition of free speech. That extreme argument was advanced this week by the editors of The Wellesley News who published a column entitled “Free Speech Is Not Violated At Wellesley.”  It is chilling message from the Editorial Board composed of Co-Editors in Chief Sharvari Johari and Michele Lee and opinion editors Maya Nandakumar, Genae Matthews, and Tabitha Wilson.  Once the champions of free speech, students have become the new censors and have adopted the perfectly Orwellian notion that the protection of free speech requires the denial of free speech. Continue reading “Wellesley Students Editors Endorse Silencing Opposing Speakers And Declare “Hostility May Be Warranted””

MSNBC Reporter Asks Protester How Best To “Neutralize” The Trump Threat To Democracy and Make “Our” Voices Heard

Screen Shot 2017-04-17 at 11.32.42 AMI have been writing about the surprising bias shown in coverage of the Trump Administration. While I strongly disagree with Trump’s portrayal of the media and believe that much of the negative coverage is legitimate coverage of Administration missteps and controversies, the media appears to be losing sight of its navigational beacons in pursing Trump like some “great white” out of Moby Dick.  The latest example is an interview of actress Debra Messing by MSNBC reporter Morgan Radford during the Tax Day Protests.  (For the record, I agree that Trump should disclose his tax records and that his rationale of being audited is not a compelling legal basis for withholding the records).  In the course of the interview, Radford not only refers to “our voices” in agreement with the protesters but refers to the Trump Administration as threatening democracy.

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Devouring The Young: Democrats Turn On Member Who Asked For Proof Of Responsibility for Syrian Attack

Rubens_saturn440px-Tulsi_Gabbard,_official_portrait,_113th_CongressThe attack on the Syrian airfield has sent the polls for President Donald Trump into a sharp rise and he has been praised by various Democrats.  Others have called for the commitment of thousands of troops.  No one seems interested in speaking of the absence of congressional authorization.  Indeed, when Sen. Rand Paul objected to the lack of congressional consent, Sen John McCain denounced him as a non-entity in the Senate who does not listens.  Below is my column on the mounting attacks on Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D, HI) from Democrats after she called for the release of evidence on the culpability of the Syrian government in the recent gas attack on a village. Even though some (including a recent MIT professor) have questioned the evidence,  Gabbard’s desire to see the evidence was viewed as inexcusable.  It appears that war, like Saturn, devours its young.

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Tunisian Islamic Head Calls For The Death Of Democracy

Freedom_of_SpeechWe have previously discussed the inherent conflict between Islamic governments and free speech and free exercise.  There is also a recognition among extremists that democracy itself is incapable with the dream of an Islamic caliphate.  The head of the Tunisian Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir movement made this point vividly clear in calling for all good Muslim to “bury” democracy.

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San Francisco Police Threaten Lawsuit Over Pepsi Using Image of Badge Similar To Its Official Badge

3F14E1A000000578-4393886-image-a-74_1491682205478CA_-_San_Francisco_PoliceThere has been an abundance of discussion of Kendall Jenner’s “social justice” Pepsi ad that proved a disaster for the company after Black Lives Matter objected that (even though no signs in the commercial referred to BLM) the commercial trivialized BLM.  The commercial showed people marching with signs saying things like “Join the conversation” and Jenner giving a police officer a Pepsi. When I saw it, I just thought it was sappy and shallow.  It was an effort of another major company to sell its product on a social justice theme. Even if you want your Pepsi with a side of social justice, companies want to be praised as having a conscience without actually saying anything controversial or edgy.  To corporate and media officials, Jenner wiping off her make up was a brave and edgy moment. (Apparently a starlet taking off her makeup is a brave and inspiring thing to behold).  The commercial however has raised a legal question that returns to a prior subject discussed on this blog: copyright and trademark laws.  It appears that not only did BLM hate the commercial, so did the police.  The San Francisco Police have threatened a lawsuit stating the image of a badge looks like their official badge, and used without their permission.  Once again, I do not know how we allowed Congress to put us in this place where showing a police badge (or in this case a badge resembling a police badge) can get you sued.

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Pakistani Student Mob Beats Fellow Student To Death For Blasphemy On Social Media

Pakistan continues to remind the West that it remains a country struggling with Islamic extremists — encouraged by the country’s lack of separation between mosque and state.  The latest victim of such extremism is a college student named Mashal Khan who was accused of merely sharing a message on social media deemed blasphemous.  The response of these self-professed godly men in the northern city of Mardan was to beat the victim to death in the name of Islamic morality. What is even more distressing is that the culprits appear to be fellow students.  They no doubt learned this particular lesson from the government itself (and our ally) which still makes blasphemy a capital offense.

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