There is a deeply disturbing legislative proposal in Florida where Sen. Jason Brodeur of Lake Mary has called for bloggers to register with the state if they want to write about the state’s governor, lieutenant governor, cabinet members or legislative officials. It is a highly intrusive, dangerous, and presumptively unconstitutional effort. Yet, it is also important to note that this is just a proposal from a single legislator with little real chance of passage. What I find interesting is the historical underpinnings of such a law. The comparison is not favorable for Sen. Brodeur. Continue reading “Florida Legislator Proposes a State Registry for Bloggers”
In a case reminiscent of the two New York lawyers convicted of firebombing a police vehicle, a lawyer for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was arrested for possible domestic terrorism in targeting a police training center in Atlanta. Thomas Webb Jurgens was among 23 suspected domestic terrorists in an attack on the site for a planned $90 million training complex called “Cop City” by protesters.
Below is my column in The Hill on the latest release of the Twitter Files and what it suggests about ever-widening scope of possible government censorship efforts.
Here is the column:
A video has gone viral of the owner of a Washington state dispensary unleashing a profanity-laced verbal attack on state trooper, Yasin Anwar, who pulled over a driver near the Green Seed in Moses Lake, Washington, a marijuana shop. The owner has been identified as Amy Dalluge, who reportedly has a history of problems with the police. Some are calling for charges. As outrageous and unhinged as the verbal attack was, I do not agree that such verbal abuse should be criminally charged as a matter of free speech. Continue reading “Pot Shop Owner Faces Possible Criminal Charge After Profane Diatribe Against Police Officer”
Nina Jankowicz is back. After a public outcry forced the Biden Administration to kill its infamous Disinformation Government Board, Jankowicz became famous or infamous as the head of the board. She became an instant Internet sensation due to a musical number in which she sang “You can just call me the Mary Poppins of disinformation” in a TikTok parody of the song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” After her brief stint in the Biden Administration, Jankowicz reportedly registered as a foreign agent with an British group to continue her disinformation work. She is now reinventing herself as the Mary Poppins of defamation and ostensibly seeking $100,000 to sue Fox News for defamation.
Continue reading “The Mary Poppins of Defamation? Nina Jankowicz Solicits Funds to Sue Fox News”
The Streets Pub and Grub in Sacramento, California this week issued an apology that raised concerns over the growing intolerance for those with opposing viewpoints or associations. The pub seemed to denounce itself for yielding to the temptations of a capitalist TERF and promising self-improvement. The sin of the pub? It allowed footage from “Harry Potter” video game “Hogwarts Legacy” to be shown during work hours. An activist reportedly associated with Antifa rallied the usual Internet flash mob in response to the reactionary conduct. The left has been trying to boycott the hugely popular game because they disagree with the feminist views of JK Rowling who has been labeled a TERF (trans exclusionary radical feminist). Rowling has criticized trans policies as inimical to the advancement of women. Continue reading “Merlin’s Beard! Pub Apologizes For Allowing the “Harry Potter” Video Game to be Shown on Pub Screen”
Roughly 200 human rights organizations are asking the United Nations to declare that the United States is a violator of “international human rights law” because some states have passed pro-life laws after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. Given that many countries ban and heavily restrict abortion, it is a pitch that is unlikely to gain traction at the U.N. However, the premise shows a significant escalation of rhetoric by groups like Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch and other organizations. Continue reading “Are Pro-Life Laws A Human Rights Violation? Roughly 200 Groups Petition the United Nations for Action”
The Times Higher Education has prompted a debate in the teaching academy over a call for “Black bereavement leave” by Angel Jones, a visiting assistant professor teaching educational leadership courses at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Jones wrote that Black educators need time off to cope with the killings of black individuals in society. The leave would not depend on the educators knowing or having any relationship to the deceased. Continue reading “Should Universities Offer Black Bereavement Leave?”
The Washington Post is now admitting that President Joe Biden’s college loan forgiveness plan is unconstitutional, but it insists that the “the court shouldn’t stop him.” The reason is standing and the Post is now apparently a standing hawk forced to accept a half trillion dollar give-away to maintain a narrow view of case or controversies under Article III. The Post previously ran opinion pieces saying that Biden clearly has this authority, but this is an opinion piece from the editors themselves on the subject.
Continue reading “Washington Post: Yes, the Biden Loan Forgiveness May Be Unconstitutional But…”
A new lawsuit is garnering attention in Washington where a white law student has sued Howard University’s School of Law for racial discrimination. Michael Newman is alleging the school maintains a “hostile education environment.” The complaint names Law Dean Danielle Holley as well as other Howard officials in addition to the university as a whole. Continue reading “Howard Law School Sued by White Student Over Racial Discrimination”
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has released a new survey of nearly 1,500 faculty members at four-year colleges in the US. Ideologically the survey of college faculty is consistent with other polls and surveys in showing that over half of the faculty nationwide is afraid to speak freely in the current atmosphere of intolerance and orthodoxy. What is most striking about this and other surveys is that the number of conservatives on faculties is comparably very small. Yet, even liberal faculty now fear backlash for speaking freely in classes or on campus. Continue reading “Survey: Over Half of Faculty Fear Retaliation for Speaking Freely on Issues”
The Washington Post is reporting that there was a heated debate in the Justice Department over the decision to raid Mar-a-Lago in July 2022. The senior FBI agents objected that they believe that a consensual search was possible without the necessity of a raid. It was main Justice officials who overruled them and insisted on the raid. What is most striking about the account is that FBI agents were raising the very concerns that some of us voiced after the unprecedented raid on the home of a former president. Continue reading “Washington Post: Top FBI Officials Opposed Mar-a-Lago Raid”
Linfield University has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by former Professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner for $1,037,500 in compensation for emotional distress, lost wages, and attorney fees. Pollack-Pelzner was a tenured professor who was fired after he accused President Miles Davis of making antisemitic remarks, including jokes about Jewish noses and the gas chambers. He also accused the board of trustees of sexual misconduct. Rather than simply rebut the allegations, Davis and the school stripped Pollack-Pelzner of tenure and fired him with little due process or warning. Indeed, Pollack-Pelzner was not even aware of his termination until he tried to access his work account and received an automated response that he was no longer employed at Linfield. Continue reading “Linfield University Settles Free Speech Case with Professor Who Complained of Antisemitism”
Yesterday, FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed that the FBI believes that Covid-19 did originate from a lab in China. While liberal pundits have tried to dismiss the similar finding of the Department of Energy, the public attention of the FBI will make it more difficult to spin out of this major story. Yet, the most interesting moment with Wray came in an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier. Wray told Baier that the agency has, “for quite some time now, assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.” The notion that the FBI has held this belief for “quite some time now” is unnerving since it remained stoney silent as experts and commentators were censored and shunned for even uttering the theory. Continue reading “Wray Confirms that FBI Accepted Lab Theory as Likely “For Quite Some Time Now””
There is an interesting case out of England this month where a chaplain has sued after he was fired and reported as a threat to young students for questioning LGBTQ activists. What is most alarming is the initial response of the courts in dismissing his free speech rights and effectively ratifying the cancel campaign against Rev. Dr. Bernard Randall, an ordained Church of England minister, after he spoke out against LGBTQ identity policies. Continue reading “Trent College Minister Fired as Threat to Students After Criticizing LGBTQ Values”