"Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing"
A new report from the writer's group PEN America.
Civil Liberties
Tulane Canceled a Talk by the Author of an Acclaimed Anti-Racism Book After Students Said the Event Was 'Violent'
In Life of a Klansman, Edward Ball reckons with a white supremacist ancestor. Try explaining that to the students.
'Cancel Culture' at U.S. Colleges Not Getting Worse, Say Liberal Professors. Conservative Colleagues Disagree.
Plus: Georgia makes it a hate crime to damage police property, SCOTUS denies relief to prisoners, Trump escalates war on Chinese apps, study casts doubt on "diversity training," coronavirus in schools, and more…
Another Rogue Cop Just Got Qualified Immunity. The Judge Who Gave It to Him Isn't Happy About It.
"The Constitution says everyone is entitled to equal protection of the law—even at the hands of law enforcement," wrote Judge Carlton W. Reeves.
Med School Professor Removed from Fellowship Director Post, Apparently for Publishing Anti-Affirmative-Action Journal Article
This happened at University of Pittsburgh, a public university.
Judge Throws Out Devin Nunes' Libel Lawsuit Against Ryan Lizza
The suit was based on an Esquire article about an Iowa farm run by members of Congressman Nunes' family.
Ex-Wife Prosecuted for Violating Order That She "Shall Not Post Anything" About Ex-Husband
But the judge threw out the prosecution, on the ground that the order violated the First Amendment.
Trump Urges Floridians To Vote by Mail While Suing Over Remote Voting in Nevada
Plus: Tuesday primary results, TikTok may move to London, polls show growing distrust in media, and more...
Kindergarten Cop Is Canceled, Likened to Birth of a Nation
Portland's Northwest Film Center pulls film from summer drive-in schedule after critics say it promotes "school-to-prison pipeline."
'Literally Hitler' Election Mailer Is Protected by the First Amendment
Plus: Trump talks COVID-19 numbers, more demands for TikTok, how the media might blow the 2020 election, and more..
What's the Best Way To Protect Free Speech? Ken White and Greg Lukianoff Debate Cancel Culture
Is freedom of speech best upheld by law or by culture?
Lex Loci Delicti, not Praetor Peregrinus
Or, Virginia is for lovers, not libel tourists.
Can't Seal Court Files Just to Keep Them from One's Current Employer
or from one's house of worship or from the nursing board.
Ted Cruz Isn't the Only Politician Talking Nonsense About Tech Companies and Election Integrity
Unpacking TikTok freakouts, mail-in voting controversies, and money printers going brrr, on the Reason Roundtable podcast.
Connecticut Passes Law Curbing Qualified Immunity - but with Loopholes
The law is a step in the right direction, but has significant limitations, that should be a warning sign for future reform efforts.
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Stormy Daniels' Libel Lawsuit Against President Trump
Trump's Tweet ("A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!") was opinion, and thus not actionable.
Is the Senate Filibuster a 'Jim Crow Relic' That Should Be Abolished in the Name of Democracy?
Politicians' opinions about the maneuver depend on which party is in power.
Lots of Talk But Much Less Action on Police Reform
Getting government officials to put their packs of enforcers on shorter leashes is the definition of an uphill battle.
Writer-Activist Hit With Licensing Complaint for Calling Himself an Engineer
Licensing laws can be weaponized to chill speech.
Do Plaintiffs from Conservative Cultural/Religious Groups (e.g., Muslims) Have More Right to Proceed Pseudonymously in Sex Assault Lawsuits?
That's what an Eleventh Circuit opinion seems to suggest, in a case where a Trinidadian Muslim plaintiff said she "come[s] from a strict Muslim household where under [their] cultural beliefs and traditions such a sexual assault would have the tendency to bring shame and humiliation upon [her] family."
2 Pro-Democracy University Employees in Hong Kong Fired as Beijing-Imposed National Security Law Takes Effect
"Academic staff...are no longer free to make controversial statements to the general public about politically or socially controversial matters," one of them writes.
California Man's Gun Seized, Apparently Because He Was a Racist Group Leader
Could such "gun violence restraining orders" likewise be used against people who talk about violence and a "pig problem" or "fascist problem" as opposed to "n■■■, k■■■, and h■■■ problem" (expurgation in news video)?
Congress Wants To Regulate Big Tech. They Still Don't Understand It.
Plus: Trump suggests election delay, and more...
Release Condition: "Defendant May Not Attend any Other Protests … or Public Gatherings in … Oregon"
Some people arrested in Portland for misdemeanor failure to obey a lawful order have had these conditions imposed as a condition of being released before trial. But the law related to such conditions is surprisingly complex.
Kansas Knife Statute Held Unconstitutionally Vague
The law banned convicted felons from possessing "a dagger, dirk, switchblade, stiletto, straight-edged razor or any other dangerous or deadly cutting instrument of like character"—"It is the very overbreadth of such laws that renders them impermissibly vague."
Everybody Is Jumping to Conclusions About This Couple's Show of Force in Response to Trespassing Protesters
Mark and Patricia McCloskey's justification for brandishing their guns depends on facts, not ideology.
Federal Cops Are Leaving Portland. But Will the Standoff Really End?
With many of the city's entertainment options shut down, protesting has become a form of nightlife.
We Should Name Military Bases After Lynched Black Veterans Who Fought for Freedoms They Were Denied
Let's replace the names of Confederate figures with those of patriots who upheld America's ideals.
The Second Amendment Is Not Restricted to White Conservatives
An encounter between militias in Louisville shows the enduring practical and symbolic importance of the right to armed self-defense.
E-Mails to Sen. McConnell Found Not to Be Criminally Threatening
"Weiss's comments were also steeped in 'rage and frustration,' and they were indisputably violent. Nonetheless, read in context, the statements predicted that other people would hurt Senator McConnell, not that Weiss would."
Harassing E-Mail to Sen. McConnell Can't Be Punished as "Speech Integral to Criminal Conduct"
"The First Amendment limits Congress; Congress does not limit the First Amendment."
Laws Protecting Private Employees' Speech and Political Activity Against Employer Retaliation: Limited to Signing Petitions or Contributing to Campaigns
Arizona, D.C., Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Washington; Louisiana, Massachusetts, Oregon; possibly Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming, Guam.
'The President's Speech Police': Trump Pushes Forward With Regulating Bias Online
Plus: The EARN IT Act is "a wolf in sheep's clothing," Joe Biden's "Agenda for Women," and more...
What Cancel Culture Has In Common With Medieval Outlawry
Both outlawry and cancel culture grow out of the same human impulse toward ostracism, the desire to exclude offenders from “respectable” society.
May Judges "Participate in Marches, Demonstrations, Vigils, [and] Protests"?
The Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications opines.
Injunction in Libel Case Against the Spamhaus Project
An interesting decision stemming from a dispute about whether the Spamhaus Project properly placed DatabaseUSA.com on a blocklist.
National Guardsman Contradicts Trump Administration's Account of Use of Force Against Protesters
A National Guard officer will testify that the June 1 clearing of protesters outside the White House was "an unnecessary escalation of the use of force" and "deeply disturbing."
The Feds Are Still the Jackbooted Thugs We Were Warned About
Government agents brutalizing people are in the wrong, whether or not we sympathize with those on the receiving end.
Laws Protecting Private Employees' Speech and Political Activity Against Employer Retaliation: Focused on Political Opinions, Party Affiliation, or Electoral Activities
D.C., Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Washington, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Broward County (Florida), Urbana (Illinois), Harford, Howard, Prince George's Counties (Maryland), Lansing (Michigan).
