It’s now clear it was Gov. Ron DeSantis who ordered Florida TV stations to stop airing ads for an abortion-rights initiative. The cease-and-desist letter to TV stations was signed by the state health department’s top lawyer, who has since resigned and now says he was coerced to sign the [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Free Speech’
October 14th, 2024 - 6:48 pm § in Law and Courts, Politics
Is this free speech or trespassing?
This water town is property of the town of Hanson, Massachusetts. The light show is courtesy of a neighbor. Hanson officials have issued a cease-and-desist letter, and $100-a-day fines, to the resident (read story here). This absolutely is about free speech. From the town’s point of view, it d[...]
A brief history of free speech in America
Free speech as we know it occurred late in American history, is fragile, and could go away. For most of American history, unpopular political views could (and did) get dissidents, organizers, publishers, and even artists thrown in prison. The notion of a “free trade in ideas,” which spra[...]
July 26th, 2024 - 11:49 pm § in Law and Courts, Republicans
What just happened to Florida’s “anti-woke” law?
It was carried into the ER on a litter and pronounced “really, really, dead on arrival.” Florida House Bill 7, a Gov. DeSantis venture passed in 2022, in essence banned critical race theory from schools and DEI training from workplaces, characterizing these forms of education as discrimi[...]
June 22nd, 2024 - 8:32 pm § in Donald Trump, Politics
Free speech for all! (video)
The anti-Trump group has a right to display a billboard comparing Trump to Castro, and the enraged Cuban-American protesters have a right to wave their “Trump 2024” flags and express their outrage. Free speech works the same for everybody! Return to The-Ave.US Home Page[...]
May 12th, 2024 - 12:37 am § in Schools & Colleges
Alito frets over loss of free speech on campuses
Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito said there’s “declining” support for free speech on college campuses in his commencement speech at a Catholic college on May 11, 2024 (read story here). I’m not sure who he’s blaming, but I don’t disagree with what he’s saying. R[...]
May 7th, 2024 - 8:00 pm § in Law and Courts, Schools & Colleges
Do UW professors have free speech?
Academic freedom. Freedom of inquiry. Free speech. That’s what Stuart Reges (photo, left), a University of Washington computer science professor, and the public interest law firm representing him, thought they were defending when he sued UW in federal court after administrators sought to punis[...]
It’s tough being a Supreme Court justice
Deciding cases and writing decisions is the easy part, especially if you’re a partisan hack. The tough part is living with the notoriety. If being a SCOTUS justice has perks, there’s also a downside: You’re famous, and your critics know where you live. This is Justice KavanaughR[...]
What a Trump supporter thinks of truthful reporting
It may pass as First Amendent-protected free speech, but it’s not responsible or grownup speech. See tweet here and read story here. Return to The-Ave.US Home Page[...]
March 27th, 2023 - 2:52 pm § in Politics, Republicans
Florida GOP bill gives racists right to sue if you call them racists
And Florida’s GOP-controlled legislature is poised to give racists a right to sue you for defamation if you call them racists. Does that sound like infringing free speech to you? It does to me, too. And also to Rep. Corey Mills (R-FL), the Republican who represents a district between Daytona B[...]