I was delighted to see that my new book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” hit #4 of the Amazon bestsellers today. Some readers reached out to me to say that they were disappointed that they received a delayed delivery date due to the demand surge. I am happy to report that the problem has been addressed and Amazon received a reserve shipment. Simon & Schuster has also rushed a fourth printing to meet the demand and to avoid any delays in delivery. Continue reading “The Indispensable Right Hits #4 on Amazon’s Bestsellers”
Below is my column in The Hill on the controversies surrounding the Paris Olympics. Criticisms of the Opening Ceremony continue with the Vatican weighing in this week to condemn the scenes discussed below.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Agenda over Athletes: How the Paris Games Became a Competition for Woke Gold”
We have previously discussed schools such as Harvard, Yale, and even courts removing portraits of white people in the name of inclusivity despite complaints that the left is engaging in its own form of racism. The media as praised these efforts and, in one case, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow spurred Rockefeller University to change what she derided as the “Dude Wall.” Now Canada’s Dalhousie University Medical School has joined these ranks in ordering the removal of former “old” and “white” deans in a campaign to “put people first” … with some obvious exceptions. Continue reading ““A ‘People First’ Approach”: Dalhousie Medical School Removes Portraits of White Deans in the Name of Inclusivity”
On Saturday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a surprising correction after claiming for a week that Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting were actually born women and have Differences in Sexual Development (DSD), a range of rare conditions in which a person’s genitalia do not necessarily match with their chromosomes or hormone levels. In this weekend’s column, I cited that IOC claim that Khelif is not a transgender athlete. Yet, there remains considerable confusion on how the IOC and the boxing governing body is framing this issue and the question of gender. Continue reading “Transgender or Intersex? Confusion Reigns Over the Gender Status of Two Olympic Boxers”
We previously discussed the free speech litigation at Clovis Community College, which censored students promoting Freedom Week in November 2021, a week in which student groups oppose socialism and support conservative causes. It has now settled that case and must pay $330K, adopt a new speech-protective policy, and train staff in the First Amendment. Yet, there is no indication that any of these officials who denied the free speech of students will be held accountable after this ruling. Continue reading “Clovis College Agrees to Pay $330,000 After Blocking Free Speech on Campus”
This afternoon, I have the pleasure of speaking to lawyers and judges at the American Bar Association, which is meeting in my hometown of Chicago. I will be discussing my new book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” and the erosion of free speech in the United States. Continue reading “Turley to Speak at ABA Convention on Free Speech”
In my new book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” I write about a global anti-free speech movement that is now sweeping over the United States. While not the first, it is in my view the most dangerous movement in our history due to an unprecedented alliance of government, corporate, academic, and media forces. That fear was amplified this week with polling showing that years of attacking free speech as harmful has begun to change the views of citizens. Continue reading ““The Movement is Winning.”: Polling Shows Drop in Support for Free Speech”
Texas won a big victory in the United States Court of Appeals in the long struggle over floating buoy barriers in the Rio Grande River to help block unlawful migration. In United States v. Abbott, the court ruled 11-7 in an en banc decision against the Biden Administration over the barrier. It is an interesting decision that included a sharp disagreement over the claim that the large numbers of migrants across the border constitute an “invasion” under Article I, Section 10, Clause 3 (“[n]o state shall, without the Consent of Congress, . . . engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay”). Continue reading “Don’t Mess with Texas: Fifth Circuit Rules Against the Biden Administration in Buoy Dispute on Southern Border”
Last year, we discussed the free speech case of Matthew Garrett, formerly a tenured history professor at Bakersfield College who was investigated and disciplined after he questioned the use of grant money to fund social justice initiatives. Bakersfield College has one of the worst records on free speech in higher education and has been repeatedly sued by faculty. It will now pay another $2.4 million in a settlement to subsidize the anti-free speech actions of its administration. The question is why California taxpayers continue to allow faculty and administrators to burn through millions in these efforts to punish divergent or dissenting viewpoints.Continue reading “Bakersfield College Agrees to $2.4 Million Settlement in Free Speech Case”
Barbara Butch, the LGBTQ activist who was the center figure in the controversial “Last Supper” Paris Olympic scene is threatening to sue those criticizing her. Butch played the role (wearing a Christ-like halo) viewed by many as a spoof on Christ in the Last Supper. The creators insist that they were going for a type of “pagan party” of Olympic gods and sent a message of tolerance. Art experts have supported the creators and pointed to paintings that inspired the pagan motif. That is not exactly what was seen by millions of Christians who were deeply insulted by the parody.
Continue reading “Olympic “Christ” Threatens to Sue Critics Over “Last Supper” Backlash”
Below is my column in the New York Post on President Joe Biden’s call to reform the Supreme Court by ending lifetime tenure for Supreme Court justices.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Biden Abandons the Court . . . and His Last Inviolate Principle”
Below is my column in The Hill on the recent notice that this blog is now being formally “reviewed” by NewsGuard, a company that I just criticized in a prior Hill column as a threat to free speech. The questions from NewsGuard were revealing and concerning. Today, I have posted the response of NewsGuard’s co-founder Gordon Crovitz as well as my response to his arguments.
Here are is the column: Continue reading “The Most Chilling Words Today: I’m from NewsGuard and I am Here to Rate you”
I hope that our readers have read the response of NewsGuard’s Gordon Crovitz to my recent criticism of the company’s rating system for news sites. He makes important points, including the fact that the company has given high ratings to conservative sites and low ratings to some liberal sites. I have mutual friends of both Gordon and his co-founder Steve Brill, who have always sworn by their integrity and motivations. I do not question Gordon’s account of past ratings for sites.
However, I also welcome the opportunity to further this discussion over media rating systems and to explain why I remain unconvinced by his defense. It is a long overdue debate on the use and potential misuse of such systems.
Continue reading “A Shield or Sword? A Response to NewsGuard”
On the weekend, I ran a column critical of NewsGuard and its recent notification of this blog that it was being “rated.” NewsGuard co-founder Gordon Crovitz responded to that column the next day. We have previously exchanged emails on my concerns over rating systems generally, including the Global Disinformation Index (which is not related to NewsGuard). I noted the concerns over bias from conservatives and members of Congress, but my primary concern remains with the concept of a rating system for media sites and blogs. While NewsGuard has given high ratings to some conservative sites, I generally oppose media rating systems due to free speech concerns and the use of these systems by the current anti-free speech movement.
I have always found Gordon to be open and frank about these subjects and I wanted readers on the blog to hear the opposing view from him directly. He was kind enough to consent to my posting the following. I will be posting a response to Gordon separately in the hopes that we can use this controversy as a foundation for a much needed discussion of rating systems and their impact on free speech.
Here is his response:
Continue reading “NewsGuard’s Gordon Crovitz Responds to Turley Column”
JD Vance is a marked man. After accepting the nomination for vice president, Vance has been the subject of endless media attacks. Recently, Vice President Kamala Harris even questioned his “loyalty” to the country despite his serving as a Marine in the Iraq War. Yet, one of the most chilling attacks came from Germany where the publishing house Ullstein Buchverlage has stopped printing the sold-out German translation of Hillbilly Elegy, his 2016 autobiography. Continue reading “German Publisher Stops All Printing of JD Vance’s Book Hillbilly Elegy”