Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the rising concern over compelled speech on our campuses and our streets.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “How “Silence is Violence” Can Become Compelled Speech”
We have previously discussed how some media organizations told their journalists not to call violence after the death of George Floyd “riots,” including the recently much mocked headline of CNN calling the looting and violence in Kenosha “fiery but mostly peaceful.” Now, Chris Cillizza, an editor-at-large for CNN, is under fire for criticizing President Donald Trump for labeling the violence in places like Kenoska as “riots.” Critics have noted that the picture posted by Cillizza with his tweet shows a building engulfed in flames. Lawyers notoriously parse terms in ways that often deny their obvious meaning but this effort by some in the media would make a Philadelphia lawyer blush.
Auburn Lecturer Jesse Goldberg has triggered a firestorm over social media posting containing anti-police sentiments and other controversial comments. The recently hired academic drew critics when, after his hire, he would not use the school’s battle cry of “War Eagle” because of the inclusion of “war.” That was however mild in comparison to later postings targeting police or declaring “Wait til M-Fers find out I’m queer and teach in goddamn heels too. They gonna get madder.” As will come as little surprise to people on this blog, I do not believe that the university should punish Goldberg for his political and social expressions outside of school. We recently discussed such protections for a Texas A&M professor who posted anti-Trump comments.
Sarah Palin is about to get all mavericky in court. Indeed, the former Alaskan governor and vice presidential candidate just might be making new law in the area of defamation. Palin’s won a major victory in a decision by Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who ruled that she could go to trial o a particularly outrageous editorial by The New York Times in June 2017. The editorial suggested that she inspired or incited Jared Loughner’s 2011 shooting of then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. The case also involves a curious twist due to the involvement of James Bennet, who resigned in the recent controversy over an editorial by Sen. Tom Cotton. I supported Bennet’s decision to publish that editorial and denounced the cringing apology of the Times after a backlash.
We have previously discussed the practice on some airlines to ask women move to accommodate ultra-Orthodox Jewish men who refuse to sit next to women. Now, Melanie Wolfson, 38, a British-Israeli woman, is suing EasyJet after she was asked her to change seats on a flight from Tel Aviv to London. Continue reading “Woman Sues EasyJet After Being Told To Switch Seats To Accommodate Ultra-Orthodox Men”
Recently, we discussed a bizarre attack by CNN Legal Analyst and Yale lecturer Asha Rangappa on former Ambassador Nikki Haley for using her middle name. Rangappa declared that the use of “Nikki” rather than her real first name was proof that America is racist and Haley was yielding to it. Nikki however is Haley’s legal middle name and the Hill’s Saagar Enjeti noted it is “a Punjabi name.” Moreover, Rangappa also uses her middle name as have leaders from Mitch Romney to Boris Johnson. Now Rangappa is under fire for doxxing a young intern who wrote Yale about the incident. Twitter took down Rangappa’s tweet and the CNN Analyst then suggested that the doxxing incident was fun. Continue reading “CNN Analyst and Yale Lecturer Asha Rangappa Under Fire For Doxxing A Journalism Intern” 
Yesterday, we discussed the personal attacks against speakers at the Republican National Convention by CNN analysts, including a false attack on former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. The concern is the increasingly personal attacks against anyone who seems to counter a narrative in the media. That adherence of a story line was evident in a much ridiculed graphic from last night where CNN national correspondent’s Omar Jimenez was reporting live from Kenosha, Wis. with a raging fire in the background over a chyron reading, “FIERY BUT MOSTLY PEACEFUL PROTESTS AFTER POLICE SHOOTING.” Not to get “all mavericky,” but claiming these protests are “fiery [but] peaceful” seems a tad oxymoronic.
Continue reading “CNN Criticized For “Fiery But Mostly Peaceful” Reporting On Violent Protests”
New documents in the George Floyd investigation have been released and it is likely that they will be key to the criminal defense of the accused officers in that case. The documents contain accounts of extremely high levels of fentanyl in Floyd’s blood that could have contributed to his death. The documents are likely to feature significantly in the criminal defense of former officers Tou Thao, Derek Chauvin, J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane. While admissibility can be challenged, they reflect findings that will be raised at trial on the impact of these drugs in Floyd’s system. However, the documents in my view do not conclusively establish that the drug use was the cause of the death. Indeed, some reaffirm the view of prosecutors. I do not believe that these documents should not be treated as determinative evidence by the court in pre-trial motions. In other words, this should go to a jury.
President Donald Trump has always demonstrated an almost mocking disregard for the Hatch Act, the 1939 law barring officials from using their official powers or positions to engage in partisan political activities. It is a core protection of good government but it has been primarily honored in its breach in this Administration, including violations by top White House staff that were barely acknowledged, let along addressed, by the President. The White House now faces a series of alleged violations over events and speeches used at the Republican National Convention. Mark Meadows, President Trump’s chief of staff responded that, while no one should violate federal law, ”Nobody outside of the Beltway really cares.” No statement better captures the culture at the White House in erasing the line of separation between official and political work by executive branch officials.
We recently discussed the scandals surrounding Jerry Falwell Jr. from his use of a personal yacht of a Nascar mogul to the sordid allegations stemming from an affair by his wife, Becki. After resigning from his position at Liberty University, Falwell quoted Martin Luther King: “The quote that keeps going through my mind this morning is Martin Luther King Jr: ‘Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I’m free at last.'” It may be a moment of freedom for Falwell but it will hardly be free for Liberty University which promised “full compensation” that could reportedly reach $10.5 million. Continue reading “Could Jerry Falwell Receive $10.5 Million In Severance From Liberty University After Scandal?”
We have previously discussed the case of former Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann who was repeatedly and falsely called a racist in an encounter with a Native American activist in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Various media organizations have apologized or settled cases with Sandmann for their unfair coverage, including CNN. However, when Sandmann spoke at the Republic National Convention, CNN’s political analyst Joe Lockhart again attacked him personally after he criticized how the media got the story wrong. CNN’s Jeff Yang also attacked the teenager and even suggested that his speech proved that he was not innocent. Fellow CNN analyst Asha Rangappa attacked former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley as yielding to a racist America for not using what Rangappa suggested was her real name as opposed to “Nikki.” It turns out that Nikki is her lawful middle name and the Hill’s Saagar Enjeti noted it is “a Punjabi name.” That however is an appeal to reason not rage which seems to have little place in our national discourse or media coverage.
Continue reading “CNN Analysts Unleash Personal Attacks On RNC Speakers In Twitter Storm”
Texas A&M anthropology professor Filipe Castro has triggered a firestorm of controversy after postings calling President Donald Trump a “fat klansman” and saying that is a “good thing” that Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) contracted Covit-19. The Texas A&M Board of Regents issued a statement condemning the statements which is fine. However, there is also an investigation that raises free speech concerns over a faculty member being able to express political views — even highly offensive views — outside of his teaching responsibilities or role.
The media coverage of the scandal involving Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. has been overwhelming. That is to be expected. An evangelical figure leaves his post at a religious university after a photo with his pants unzipped on a yacht owned by a Nascar mogul who received lucrative deals with the university. Then came the allegations of Giancarlo Granda that he had a long time sexual relationship with Falwell’s wife Becki and Rev. Falwell liked to watch the sexual trysts. Falwell has alleged that Granda was extorting money. Michael Cohen, the thuggish former counsel for President Donald Trump, is even involved. In this tsunami of coverage, the interesting element is the one that is missing: no one has threatened a defamation action. Such a lawsuit could raise some interesting issues under the common law. Continue reading “The Falwell Fiasco and the Curious Absence of a Defamation Lawsuit”
I have previously condemned both sides in our raging politics for labeling their opponents as “traitors,” “terrorists,” and “enemies.” That overheated rhetoric is continuing this week with Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling not just President Trump but her own congressional colleagues “enemies of the state.” I have been highly critical of President Trump in his use of such language. I also have long been critical of Pelosi’s conduct as Speaker, including her ripping up the State of the Union. This attack is particularly egregious from a sitting Speaker who represents the body as a whole. If we cannot agree on condemning even this language, we have lost any sense of decorum or decency in our public debate.
Continue reading “Pelosi Accuses Trump and Colleagues Of Defining Domestic Enemies”
Among those arrested this week in Portland is an Oregon professor, OHSU Assistant Professor Daniel Liefwalker. Liefwalker was arrested around 3 a.m. for trespassing, a class C misdemeanor, according the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Department’s website. We have discussed how universities should respond to faculty engaged in criminal conduct. I have advocated, including in recent Senate testimony, that faculty members who engage in violence on campus should be fired. I do not believe such a response would be appropriate based on these facts. Continue reading “Oregon Professor Arrested in Portland Riot”