Why is this elected official, paid by the American people, using his power to engage in #viewpointDiscrimination, and violate the #FirstAmendment rights of individuals and businesses that express ideas he doesn't personally agree with?
In the latest installment of Oklahoma's elected officials not having the necessary background to do their jobs, we have this:
The Satanic Temple plans to place ministers in Oklahoma schools if new bill becomes law
Of course Oklahoma legislators don't want those chaplains in schools. And, it apparently never occurred to them that allowing one religion means allowing ALL religions. I don't even think this is some misguided 1st Amendment challenge. It's just ignorance, ignorance that doesn't belong in public office. #Oklahoma#FirstAmendment#ReligiousFreedom#SatanicTemple
I've been drawing strips for years about attacks on students' right to protest, yet strangely I've never been invited to give a TED Talk, speak at an "ideas festival," or pen a column for the Atlantic.
ICYMI, #SCOTUS has heard oral arguments in 5 cases involving questions about how the First Amendment applies to social media posts – and it’s all part of a larger effort by conservatives to block what they claim is government censorship
Since we're already looking at older Truthout articles I want to write up, lets stay with First Amendment rights and protests against the Israeli government's genocide in Gaza; now that Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer are calling on Netanyahu to resign because they’ve been forced to acknowledge that he's just straight up slaughtering innocent civilians - do you think they'll give this Jewish professor who was forced to resign as director of the Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Florida Atlantic University for refusing to endorse Zionism and "support Israel," her job back?
Of course, the truth here is that Nicole Morse is not an antisemite (a ridiculous claim) but her story also sits on multiple axis of suppression in the war on free speech, resistance and human decency. As a genderqueer scholar teaching in Florida, she's also a direct target of the fascist DeSantis regime and it's just as likely the powers that be welcomed her opposition to Israel's genocide in Gaza as an opportunity to get rid of someone they already consider an enemy of the winger authoritarian state of Florida. The MAGA/DeSantis war against higher education and LGBTQ people didn't simply stop while the country moved on to other problems, after all.
Regardless, at the point that we're allowing demonstrably fascist organizations and governments to chase Jewish professors speaking out against a genocide in Gaza from public life, under the false auspices of fighting antisemitism, I think it's fair to say this has nothing to do with Morse's alleged "hate."
I'm not sure exactly where and how the #FirstAmendment ought to fit into our discussions about the fate of #TikTok, but it surely fits somewhere. Does Chinese control mean that TikTok enjoys no constitutional protections whatsoever?
@dankennedy_nu Agreed that a #TikTok ban raises #FirstAmendment questions. I think a reasonable case for the ban can be made on the grounds of trade reciprocity. US social media companies aren't allowed to operate in China the way TikTok operates in the US.
New this morning at Media Nation: A longtime investigative nonprofit may be nearing the end of the road, and why a federal judge’s civil contempt ruling threatens a free and independent press. #journalism#FirstAmendmenthttps://dankennedy.net
Today in Labor History January 19, 1920: Crystal Eastman, Roger Nash Baldwin, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (from the IWW) and others founded the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Their original focus was freedom of speech, primarily anti-war speech, and supporting conscientious objectors. In 1923, they defended author Upton Sinclair after he was arrested for trying to read the First Amendment during an IWW rally. In 1925, they persuaded John T. Scopes to defy Tennessee's anti-evolution law in The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. Clarence Darrow, an ACLU member, headed Scopes' legal team. The ACLU lost the case and Scopes was fined $100. In 1926, they defended H. L. Mencken, who deliberately broke Boston law by distributing copies of his banned American Mercury magazine and won their first major acquittal. However, they kicked Elizabeth Gurley Flynn off their board in 1940 because of her Communist affiliations. And they refused defend Paul Robeson and other leftists in the 1950s.
@maccuinneagain I’m not sure I agree with Baron. I do know that refraining from legitimate action because bad actors will respond with illegitimate actions is not the way to go. Besides, judges are supposed to act quickly to dispose of garbage libel suits because of the harm they do to the #FirstAmendment
#ShennaBellows was executive director of #Maine ACLU, which makes her rejection of Trump’s #FirstAmendment arguments significant. His arguments are weak, but Bellows gives sophisticated reasons for her position. She notes that even if Trump’s #Jan6 speech was protected by the 1st A, the 1st A does not override qualification requirements for holding the office of President. Separately, she also decides that incitement to insurrection is not protected speech. 3/ #LawFedi
For the #PublicDomain, time stopped in 1998, when the #SonnyBonoCopyrightAct froze copyright expirations for 20 years. In 2019, time started again, with a massive crop of works from 1923 returning to the public domain, free for all to use and adapt:
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
Trademark has many exceptions. The #FirstAmendment protects your right to use trademarks in expressive ways, for example, to recreate famous paintings with Barbie dolls:
And then there's #NominativeUse: it's not a trademark violation to use a trademark to accurately describe a trademarked thing. "We fix iPhones" is not a trademark violation. Neither is 'Works with HP printers.'
Threat of Dissent: A History of Ideological Exclusion and Deportation in the United States
In this first comprehensive overview of the intersection of immigration law and the First Amendment, a lawyer and historian traces ideological exclusion and deportation in the United States from the Alien Friends Act of 1798 to the evolving policies of the Trump administration.