Free Speech: News and Events on the Freedom of Speech
Is freedom of speech an absolute right, or are there legitimate reasons for restricting it? What role does the media play in promoting free speech and in informing the public? What effect to large corporations have when it comes the people's right to know and to disseminate information? These are some of the issues discussed in these recent news stories
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17 Articles in: Free Speech: News and Events on the Freedom of Speech
Atheism and Agnosticism from About.com
In Virginia, the Harrisonburg Schools Superintendent Donald Ford made an interesting and controversial decision: he banned a display about banned books. The irony of such a decision is pretty strong - it's as if he is saying that it isn't enough to just ban the controversial books, but it's also necessary to ban discussion about the books and about their being banned.Bill Bennett: Imprison Journalists Who Cause Trouble
How much do conservatives in America today really believe in the principle of free speech? Some don't believe in the principle at all - some of the same conservatives who criticized American newspapers for not printing the Danish cartoons of Muhammad also attack those newspapers for printing stories that embarrass the Bush administration, revealing illegal and unethical conduct.Robertson: Criticism of President During War is Treason
Should Americans be allowed to dissent from and disagree with the president's decisions during a time of war? Most would probably argue that at least some dissent and disagreement should be permitted - we don't live in a dictatorship after all. At least one leader of the Christian Right rejects this and argues that it's treason to disagree with the president.Right-Wing Thugs Attack Protesters
Tariq Khan, a sociology major at George Mason University and Air Force veteran, protested at a military recruitment table on campus in September. Khan believes that recruiters have been deceiving students and he wanted to make his views known. As a consequence, he was assaulted, arrested, and prevented from speaking out.Hecklers are Terrorists?
Walter Wolfgang, an 82-year-old Jewish escapee from Nazi Germany, was detained by the police recently in Britain under the 2000 Terrorism Act. What did he do? He heckled the Labour Foreign Secretary Jack Straw during a Labour Party conference. Over 600 protesters were detained under the same anti-terrorism laws.Swive You and the Horse You Rode In On (Book Notes: Blue Streak)
There are many with an authoritarian streak that impels them to seek the authority to censor the words, ideas, and deeds of others. Perhaps they simply feel that they know better or perhaps they think that this allows them to serve the greater good. In the long run, though, the results of censorship are almost inevitably fruitless.O'Reilly: ACLU, Geneva Convention are 'Terror Allies'
Many people would consider principles like the rule of law and the defense of basic civil liberties to be at the heart of American values - even though America doesn't always live up to them. Bill O'Reilly, though, seems to think that defense of such principles causes a person to side with terrorists and terrorism.Capitalism and Journalism (Book Notes: Democracy and the News)
Journalism has always been a business, but it seems that the "business" end of the news media has been growing in importance %u2014 perhaps because the number of media owners has been shrinking in number. There are fewer media companies, greater control by non-media corporate giants, and as a result worse journalism.What is a Civil Libertarian? (Book Notes: Free For All)
Civil liberties are very important in American society and politics, but despite this not everyone appears to understand just what a commitment to civil liberties entails. Defending civil liberties requires defending them for all people, equally, even if those people would promote ideas which are anathema to us.Journalism, Legitimation, and Control
The news media exercises powerful influence over culture and society - far more than most people probably realize. The very manner in which the media report on events and people serves to legitimize individuals, offices, and institutions. For better and for worse, the media is part of the very system it reports on.Language, Swearing, Aggression in the Brain (Book Notes: Blue Streak)
Swearing is a sort of language which many people object to. But is it "language," really? At first it certainly seems to be - it uses words and grammar, after all, so how could it be anything else? The source of swearing is, however, not the language area of the brain.Subordinate the Truth to Bush's War?
A lot of attention has been directed at Newsweek's faulty reporting on American soldiers desecrating the Koran while interrogating suspected terrorists. This is interesting for two reasons. First, those complaining most have, in the past, defended the administration against similar criticisms. Second, those complaining most are also calling for restrictions on the media.Pentagon Going After War Critic
Everyone who hasn't been living under a rock on Mars (with their fingers in their ears) realizes that things are going badly in Iraq - and may get worse. When an active-duty military officer dares to say the obvious, however, the Pentagon gets worried enough to consider taking serious action against him.Veterans Angry Over Warhol Photo Exhibit
The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh will be showing some of the pictures of the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and veterans are angry - but not over how military personnel misbehaved or how Iraqis were treated. No, they are angry that the museum is going to make evidence of the abuse available to the public.Justice Department Censors Supreme Court Quote
It's not uncommon for government documents to have areas covered over with black bars - the reason cited for this is that information too sensitive for the public had to be redacted. Sometimes that is very understandable - it would be wrong to reveal the names of undercover police agents, for example. Not all cases, however, are reasonable.Justice Department Censors ACLU
The ACLU has been involved in a secret lawsuit against the Justice Department. The ACLU released a press release which contained a paragraph describing what sorts of information the FBI could demand (without a court order) from your ISP - and the government had them take that information down.Government Investigates Student Over Records Request
Be careful of what information you ask for - sometimes, it could result in your being investigated by the FBI and the Secret Service. Mark Miller got curious about the nature and extent of tunnels beneath the University of Texas' campus so he filed a request for records on them. Now, somewhere, there is a record on him.
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