Below is my column in The Hill on why a Harris-Walz Administration would be a nightmare for free speech. A long-standing advocate for censorship and other speech controls, Vice President Kamala Harris just added an equally menacing candidate to her ticket for 2024.
Here is the column: Continue reading “A Harris-Walz Administration Would Be A Nightmare for Free Speech”
We have previously discussed controversial sentences handed down in cases involving rioters on January 6th, including sentencing orders that, in my view, violate First Amendment rights. That included the case of Daniel Goodwyn, who pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building. That crime would ordinarily not involve any jail time for a first offender. However, Judge Reggie B. Walton of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia decided that he would use the case to regulate what Goodwyn was reading and communicating with a chilling probation order. After the case was sent back by the D.C. Circuit, Walton doubled down on his extraordinary order. Now the D.C. Circuit has refused to hear an emergency appeal. Continue reading “Combatting “False Narratives”: D.C. Circuit Refuses to Block Judge Limiting the Speech of Jan. 6th Defendant”
In its hit song London Calling the Clash warns:
“London calling to the faraway towns
Now that war is declared and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, all you boys and girls”
According to a new report, the British punk rock band may have been prophetic in 1979 in a way never foreseen in its apocalyptic lyrics. This week, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said that the police will not necessarily confine its arrests for speech crimes to London or even the United Kingdom. Rowley suggests that Americans and other citizens could be extradited and brought to London for online postings. Continue reading “London Calling: Police Chief Threatens to Arrest People Around the World For Online Speech”
For over a year, Special Counsel Jack Smith has made one element the overriding priority in his prosecution of former president Donald Trump: speed. Smith repeatedly moved to curtail Trump’s appellate rights and demand expedited appeals to try to secure a conviction before the election. In that effort, he found an equally motivated judge in U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who virtually turned her court into a rocket docket to try Trump. Now, in a neck-breaking change of direction, Smith is trying to slow down Chutkan who appears again ready to pull out the stops in this case. Continue reading “Smith is No Longer in a Hurry: Special Counsel Moves To Slow Down District Court Judge”
Special Counsel David Weiss appears to have finally made the long-awaited case exposing years of concealment and political corruption. No, it is not the case against Hunter Biden. The allegations of tax fraud in California are obvious and unavoidable. Weiss just made the case against the Justice Department and himself in protecting Hunter Biden from the most damaging charges of being an unregistered foreign agent. In a new filing, Weiss released evidence on Hunter seeking money to advance the interests of a Romanian on United States policy. Continue reading “The Justice Department Makes The Case Against Hunter Biden . . . and Itself in California”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) has introduced the “No Kings Act” with great fanfare and the support of most of his Democratic colleagues. Liberal groups have heralded the measure to legislatively reverse the ruling in Trump v. United States. It is obviously popular with the press and pundits. It is also entirely unconstitutional in my view. The “No Kings Act” is not just a cynical abdication of responsibility by Democrats, but would constitute the virtual decapitation of the Constitution. Continue reading “Jurisdiction Stripping or Court Killing? The “No Kings Act” is a Decapitation of the Constitution”
We have been discussing media rating systems being used to target advertisers and revenue sources for certain cites and companies. NewsGuard and the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) have been criticized as the most sophisticated components of a modern blacklisting system targeting conservative or dissenting voices. I recently had a series of exchanges with NewsGuard after a critical column. Now, the House Judiciary Committee under Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is moving forward in demanding documents and records from leading companies utilizing the GARM system, a company that I have previously criticized. It is a welcomed effort for anyone who is concerned over the use of these blacklisting systems to curtail free speech. However, time is of the essence.
CNN has been fighting a defamation case brought after a segment by Jake Tapper that accused Zachary Young and his company Nemex Enterprises Inc. of preying on people seeking to flee Afghanistan, even suggesting that he was a type of human trafficker. CNN’s new motion for summary judgment raised eyebrows in citing Sharia law to say that what Young was doing in rescuing people was unlawful under Islamic restrictions. Continue reading ““Illegal Under Taliban Law”: CNN Seeks Summary Judgment Under a Curious Claim in Defamation Case”
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”