This afternoon, I will travel to Colgate University to participate in its annual Constitution Day Debate with Michael Klarman, the Charles Warren Professor of Legal History at Harvard Law School. The debate, sponsored by the Robert P. Kraynak Institute for the Study of Freedom and Western Traditions with support from the Office of the President, will address the following question: “Is There a Constitutional Crisis? How Would We Know?” Continue reading “Turley and Klarman to Debate the “Constitutional Crisis” at Colgate”
Throughout his short life, Charlie Kirk enraged many by exposing the hate and hypocrisy of the left in higher education. What is astonishing is that he continues to do it even in death.
As millions mourn his murder around the world, any expressions of sorrow or respect for Kirk are triggering some on the left. Liberals have been arrested for stomping on or burning memorials to Kirk and others have taken to social media to denounce or mock people expressing regrets over the loss. A courthouse memorial was vandalized while a mural to Kirk had to be restored after an attack.
Former Gawker editor Elizabeth Spiers wrote an essay for Nation under the headline: “Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Mourning.”
Continue reading “Antigone 2.0: Liberals Denounce and Destroy Memorials for Charlie Kirk”
While many media outlets are attempting to regain balance and to appeal to a broader audience, the New York Times is clearly not one of them. The newspaper is doubling down on the denials and deflections on the left after the latest political assassination. The newspaper is under attack for featuring the work of Hasan Piker, a writer who has called Jews “inbred pigs,” declared that the United States “deserved” 9-11, and screamed about killing capitalists.
Continue reading “The New York Times Criticized for Featuring Alleged Violence-Spewing Anti-Semite”
Below is my column in USA Today on the restoration of free speech protections at Facebook and Meta. Earlier this year, I wrote a column on the plan at Meta to follow X in the reduction of censorship systems. I stated that the free speech community should give Meta a chance to prove that it was not just restoring free speech, but abandoning its earlier practices. It appears that it has made major strides and some of us are returning to Facebook. Continue reading “Game Changer: Meta and Zuckerberg May Be Ready to Fight for Free Speech”
Below is my column in the Hill on the murder of Charlie Kirk, the latest victim of our age of rage. The evidence of Antifa scribblings and indoctrination of the shooter came as no surprise. For months, some of us have been warning Democratic leaders about their dangerous rhetoric and how it would be received by the most radical elements in the Antifa movement.
Here is the column:
Below is my column that ran earlier on Fox.com on the calls for the termination of academics and others who have criticized Charlie Kirk or expressed satisfaction with his murder. Unfortunately, such hateful remarks are nothing new in academia. However, this is not about them. It is about us, and more importantly, it is about Charlie and what he fought for his entire life. We cannot allow our anger or sorrow to lead us into becoming the very people that Charlie denounced in his life. If you “Stand with Charlie,” you stand with free speech.
Here is the column: Continue reading “If You Want to “Stand with Charlie,” Stand With Free Speech”
This week, I had the pleasure of speaking about free speech in Prague and my book,“The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.” While the trip was relatively brief, I was able to venture out to see this unique city. Prague is, in a word, magical. This ancient city on the Vltava River is overwhelming in its beauty, history, and culture. It is one of my favorite places on Earth, and I hope that readers will visit Prague if they are coming to Europe. Trust me, you will leave in awe of the “City of a Hundred Spires.” Continue reading “The Old World Beauty of Prague, The City of Spires”
It appears that words no longer matter to Nancy Pelosi. For years, Pelosi and other Democrats have blamed President Donald Trump and Republicans for their “inciteful rhetoric.” In seeking Trump’s impeachment, Pelosi bellowed that the use of “words such as a cry ‘to fight like hell'” produces violence and added, “words matter. Truth matters. Accountability matters.” No longer. After all, she explained, “we can’t take responsibility for the minds that are out there and how they hear it.” Continue reading “When Words No Longer Matter: Nancy Pelosi and Politics of Violence”
Today I have the pleasure of speaking on free speech and my book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” in Prague at the Pražská křižovatka (St. Anne’s Church) (The cultural centre founded by Václav Havel). I have been meeting with the extraordinary free speech community in the Czech Republic, including members of Institute H21 who have been instrumental in focusing attention on the issues surrounding free speech. Europe is now ground zero in the fight for free speech as the European Union ramps up its censorship laws, including the Digital Services Act. Free speech is in a free fall in Europe and these conferences have never been more important.
Yesterday, the United States entered a new and chilling stage of what I have called the “age of rage.” After two attempted assassinations of President Donald Trump, leading conservative leader Charlie Kirk, father of two, was gunned down at a campus event at Utah Valley University. I learned the news while I was in Prague to speak on my book,“The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” and the growing attacks on free speech around the world. I never imagined that I would be speaking about Charlie’s murder and what it represents for free speech.
Continue reading ““Prove me Wrong”: Charlie Kirk’s Final Challenge on Free Speech”
The Supreme Court has again rebuffed lower courts seeking to block executive actions, from immigration to the downsizing of government. In the latest victory for the Trump Administration, the Court reversed decisions of a federal district court judge and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to enjoin new ICE raids in California. Continue reading “Supreme Court Reverses Lower Court and Allows ICE Raids in California to Resume”
District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons has dismissed the criminal charges against 15 Republicans charged with falsely attempting to certify President Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 election. It is a major loss for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) (shown left), who garnered public support in trying to prosecute the Michigan electors. Continue reading “Michigan Court Dismisses Charges Against 15 Republicans in Presidential Certification Case”
Below is my column in The Hill on the controversial remarks of Sen. Tim Kaine (D. Va.) denouncing a nominee who believed in natural law and the concept of God-given rights. By the end of the hearing, Kaine effectively lumped Alexander Hamilton with Ayatollah Khomeini in his statement at the committee hearing.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Mark of Kaine: How a Senator’s Remarks Border on Constitutional Blasphemy”
“We got the guillotine, you better run.”
Those words could have easily been expressed at the turn of the nineteenth century as French Jacobins and other groups called for the heads of the wealthy and privileged classes.
Indeed, for some of us, it was a bizarre sense of déjà vu. As the scene unfolded with this chant and a full-sized guillotine in Portland, I was putting final touches on my forthcoming book, Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution. The book, published by Simon & Schuster, will be released in 2026 as part of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It explores the American and French Revolutions and why one became the most stable democracy in the world and the other became the blood-soaked “Terror.” Continue reading “The New Jacobins: Guillotines Return as Form of Political Expression”
Below is my column in Fox.com on the arrest of a well-known comedian in Great Britain. While the three social media posts in question were political commentary rather than jokes, the arrest of Graham Linehan is only the latest arrest of a comedian as part of the global crackdown on free speech. The postings would be considered protected speech in the United States and should be protected anywhere. The rising censorship is literally no joke in various Western countries.
Here is the column: Continue reading “No Joke: Comedian Graham Linehan Arrested in Great Britain Over Three Social Media Postings”