Posts Tagged ‘US Politics’
Jack Smith’s requested gag order, like judicial orders restricting Trump’s speech, seeks to balance constitutional rights | The Conversation
In each of former President Donald Trump’s four indictments, he has been allowed to stay out of jail before his trial so long as he abides by certain conditions commonly applied to most people accused of crimes in the U.S. In the federal case in Washington, D.C., that concerns Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the…
Read MoreJack Smith’s Trump indictment goes where free speech ends and criminal conspiracy begins | The Hill
Before Monday’s additional state indictment in Georgia, former President Trump stood accused in federal court of criminal conspiracy to subvert the 2020 presidential election results. Conspiracy charges, by their very nature, include communication. But on the second page of the federal indictment, in the third enumerated paragraph, the prosecution attempts to make clear that Trump is not being…
Read MoreIndoctrination, Orthodoxy and The First Amendment | Medium
Whether it comes from the right or the left, viewpoint discrimination is poison to democracy. And these days, it is coming from both sides. It is positively Orwellian — each side hopes it can exorcize words and phrases from the lexicon and thereby purge unwanted perspectives from our collective thoughts. Each seeks to cancel the…
Read MoreGiuliani claims the First Amendment lets him lie – 3 essential reads | The Conversation
From The Conversation: In his response to a lawsuit filed by two Georgia election workers who said Rudy Giuliani harmed them by falsely alleging they mishandled ballots in the 2020 presidential election, Giuliani has admitted lying. But he says the women suffered no harm – and claims that his lies are protected by the First Amendment to…
Read MoreWhat the First Amendment really says – 4 basic principles of free speech in the US | The Conversation
Elon Musk has claimed he believes in free speech no matter what. He calls it a bulwark against tyranny in America and promises to reconstruct Twitter, which he now owns, so that its policy on free expression “matches the law.” Yet his grasp of the First Amendment – the law that governs free speech in the U.S.…
Read MoreCommentary: Here’s what diversity is about, Justice Thomas | Albany Times Union
Dear Justice Thomas, I am a professor at Syracuse University. I teach argumentation, advocacy, and First Amendment theory. During oral arguments in the affirmative action cases brought by Students for Fair Admissions against the University of North Carolina and Harvard University you are quoted saying, “I’ve heard the word ‘diversity’ quite a few times, but…
Read MoreA Battle for the Soul of Our Schools | Medium
The current debates about appropriate curriculum and constitutional boundaries inside the classroom are nothing less than a fight for the soul of the educational system in the United States. As Anya Kamenetz, explained in her New York Times essay, the public school system as we know it today was designed as a public good, an inclusive and diverse…
Read MoreThe Anti-Abortion Movement’s Attempt to Criminalize Abortion Speech | Ms. Magazine
Censorship is a dirty word in America, and so it should be. It imposes silence upon speech, creating an empty void which instead should be filled with debate and discussion. As anti-abortion lawmakers continue to draft legislation to limit abortion access, opponents of new bans are horrified by the sweeping prohibitions lurking within—such as proposals that…
Read MoreDepp v Heard: The jury’s burden | The Hill
Millions of dollars were at stake in the voyeuristic defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. But if either of them believed this action was going to salvage their reputations and vindicate them, they were sadly mistaken. They were also mistaken if they believed this was going to be a cake walk for either of them.…
Read MoreAmerica Has a Free Speech Problem — Response to New York Times Editorial | Medium
Suzanne Nossel, chief executive of PEN America, hit the nail on the head when she described the free speech problem in America: “There’s a crisis around the freedom of speech now because many people don’t understand it, they weren’t taught what it means and why it matters.” As a professor at Syracuse University who…
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