Archive for the ‘First Amendment’ Category

Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tucker Carlson’s ouster: ‘The First Amendment is gone’ – FOX 5 Atlanta

Former President Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene during the 3rd round of the LIV Golf Invitational Series Bedminster on July 31, 2022 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswi

ATLANTA - Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had some choice words about Fox New's decision to oust influential prime-time host Tucker Carlson.

Monday, Fox said that the network and Carlson had "agreed to part ways," but offered no explanation for the stunning move, saying that the last broadcast of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" aired last Friday. Carlson had ended the show by saying, "Well be back on Monday."

Yet on Monday night, viewers tuned in to see morning anchor Brian Kilmeade, who said that Carlson was gone, "as you may have heard."

Writing on Twitter Wednesday morning, Greene said Carlson's departure from the network was proof that the "First Amendment is gone."

While the amendment is about government restriction on speech Greene argued the state was connected to the firing through "the unholy union of government and big tech."

"Fox News firing Tucker Carlson and editors not allowing negative democrat news stories because it would reveal the truth means there is no longer a free press."

Greene had previously said that the network "caved to the woke mob" with Carlson's firing telling Rep. Matthew Gaetz that she heard from people deleting the channel's apps from their phones.

"One day people will say, Why didnt anyone say anything or try to stop it?" Greene wrote. "Sadly, they wont know how many tried, but they will know how many didnt."

The break from Carlson comes amid a cascade of bad legal news for the network. A week ago, Fox agreed to pay more than $787 million to settle a lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems over the networks airing of false claims following the 2020 presidential election shortly before Carlson was expected to be called to testify.

CBS "60 Minutes" on Sunday aired a report about a man caught up in a Jan. 6 conspiracy theory who said Carlson was "obsessed" with him, and whose lawyer has put Fox on notice of potential litigation. Carlson was also recently named in a lawsuit by a former Fox producer who said the show had a cruel and misogynistic workplace, and that she had been pressured to give misleading testimony in the Dominion case.

Carlson joined FOX News Channel in 2009 as a contributor and has hosted "Tucker Carlson Tonight" since 2017. Before joining FOX News, Carlson hosted "Tucker" on MSNBC, PBS "Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered" and co-hosted "The Spin Room" and "Crossfire" on CNN.

His populist tone about elites who are out to get average Americans rang true with Foxs predominantly conservative audience, even leading to talk about Carlson becoming a political candidate himself one day.

For the time being, "Fox News Tonight" will continue to air in Carlsons 8 p.m. Eastern prime-time slot, hosted by a rotating array of network personalities.

"We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor," the press release from the network said.

This station is owned by the FOX Corporation. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tucker Carlson's ouster: 'The First Amendment is gone' - FOX 5 Atlanta

How do you handle free speech issues in higher education, popular … – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Lena Shapiro is a clinical assistant professor of law and the inaugural director of the College of Laws First Amendment Clinic, supported by The Stanton Foundation. Shapiro, an expert in free speech issues, spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the current state of the First Amendment in higher education and popular discourse.

Theres an increasing trend on college campuses of students shouting down speakers they disagree with. How would you characterize the current state of the First Amendment in higher education?

Theres an ongoing battle between those who say they want to advance freedom of speech for everyone versus those who want to drown out voices that they dont agree with. The latter group wants to have it both ways: freedom of speech only for their opinions as well as those whose opinions are the same as theirs.

In other words, freedom of speech for me, but not for thee.

What that does is lower the level of discourse that all people have, which is harmful on a college campus because were supposed to be teaching students how to enhance their debate skills and analytic abilities. And when you say, essentially, I dont want this person here because theyre harmful, I find them offensive or They demean the rights of a number of groups of people you can certainly express those views, but that doesnt mean you can take it a step further, as many want to, and remove that speaker from campus. You cant unilaterally deprive others of that speech. Thats the hecklers veto.

If you are diametrically opposed to what this speaker stands for or has to say, you show up and counter protest. You hold another event, or you sit in the room and challenge the speaker with questions real, substantive questions that you want to debate on.

What you dont want are ad hominem attacks or protests that prevent speech from occurring entirely, which is antithetical to the free exchange of ideas.

What is the danger of the hecklers veto?

The danger is you dont actually change anyone elses mind. And having not changed their mind, you dont change their behavior. Youre also not minimizing the injustice that you believe results from that speakers speech and/or actions and the speaker who you think was perpetuating that injustice just goes on about their day.

Many students, like those at Stanford Law School who showed up to protest Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, want to speak out and advocate on behalf of issues that are deeply personal to millions of Americans. But by exercising the hecklers veto, those individuals didnt actually change any opinions on those issues, certainly not Judge Duncans.

Some believe if they yell loud enough, and if they scare off enough speakers, then it will just rid the world of the injustices that go on. But thats just not how the world works, right? If you want to change hearts and minds, you have to convince them.

The First Amendment is unique in that it allows misinformation and outright lies to flourish under the guise of the free exchange of ideas. Should the government continue to protect the speech of liars, even though they can inflict damage on society?

We saw that issue play out in the various defamation lawsuits against Fox News. And Fox News paid a big price for the misinformation they aired regarding Dominion Voting Systems, so the system does have checks in place to protect against misinformation. Generally, the news media is granted a wide berth to report on issues as they see fit.

If you start to set stricter standards and start to go after what you perceive to be a lie or misinformation on, say, a social media site, youre first going to have define what a lie is. But as we can see from todays environment, nobody can agree on anything so being able to properly define what a lie is will be challenging.

This is why we have the First Amendment. When people see things they perceive as lies, they are allowed to respond accordingly. I noticed a difference in news coverage late in the Trump administration when reporters on broadcasts across a number of different news outlets would report something that President Trump said and then explain why it wasnt true. Thats the way to deal with lies, misinformation and half-truths. If you think somebody is perpetuating an untruth, then bring your evidence forward. It makes us a better and a smarter society to do it that way.

So I dont think we can regulate what we deem or what someone else deems a lie, aside from some rare exceptions. Its just not realistic, and, ultimately, it harms the First Amendment protections that we have in the U.S.

I know people get upset and have a visceral reaction about various issues in the news. But I just dont know that such reactions change hearts and minds.

Its probably better to focus more on why a certain issue or story isnt true, as opposed to accusing the other side of stupidity, mendacity or malice. I am an advocate for always having more speech. Its why we have free speech in the first place.

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How do you handle free speech issues in higher education, popular ... - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Savannah Sessions: Support the First Amendment and the freedom … – Conway Daily Sun

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Holy Moses: The Texas state Senate violates common sense and the First Amendment in mandating public schools display the Ten Commandments – Yahoo News

The Texas state Senate, apparently having solved all the problems in the Lone Star State, voted the other day to require every public elementary and secondary school in Texas to display in a conspicuous place in each classroom of the school a durable poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments that meets the requirements of Subsection (b).

Dont get us wrong, we love the Ten Commandments, both the biblical orders to the Hebrews delivered by Moses down from Sinai (twice) and the great Charlton Heston flick.

But the divinely-inspired rules are definitely part of religion, an essential component of Judaism and Christianity; while public schools are definitely not a part of that faith sphere. And the very first words of the First Amendment say: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, and what applies to Congress also applies to the Texas state Senate. Establishing a religion, any religion, is not permitted in public schools. Even in Texas.

Subsection (b) decrees that the A poster or framed copy of the Ten Commandments must: include the text of the Ten Commandments as provided by Subsection (c) in a size and typeface that is legible to a person with average vision from anywhere in the classroom in which the poster or framed copy is displayed; and be at least 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall. Perhaps that was the size that Moses had?

Still, lets look carefully at what senators meant in Subsection (c), where the legislation prints the official approved version of the Ten Commandments starting with I AM the LORD thy God, (ignoring the fact that the original is in Hebrew) and follows through to not coveting. But there are 11 listed, since the Jewish, Catholic and Protestant versions are slightly different. Rather than pick one over another, the senators fudged, so its unclear which is commandment two or three and which are combined.

We are not poking fun at the faith communities, who we deeply respect. We are laughing out loud at the politicians trying to unconstitutionally masquerade as faith leaders.

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Holy Moses: The Texas state Senate violates common sense and the First Amendment in mandating public schools display the Ten Commandments - Yahoo News

Marjorie Taylor Greene can add First Amendment to long list of … – We Got This Covered

Marjorie Taylor Greene Can Add First Amendment to Long List of Things She Doesnt Understand

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

A lot of people who have cycled through the United States Congress over time have been divisive, but Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene takes it to a whole new level. Shes had issues with Jewish people, liberals, and now, doesnt really get civics.

The family values preacher who has also reportedly had multiple bouts of infidelity during her now-dissolved marriage posted the above yesterday on Twitter. For Greene, Fox News recently choosing to dismiss Tucker Carlson is the same as what happens in repressive societies. Of course, it is not (someone should remind her what the Nazis actually did to the Institut fr Sexualwissenschaft), and as one Greene critic points out, she is not really showcasing an understanding of the actual amendment.

Indeed, the text of the actual part of this section of the Bill of Rights says, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. This would thus exclude private entities, and over the years, the United States Supreme Court has been called on to decide just where this applies when the situation is unclear. They decided video games were a form of protected speech in 2011 and, while some agree with Greene due to the increased polarization in America which automatically makes members of one party right, others see the irony within her post.

Greene has not responded or shrieked at any of her critics as of this story being filed. There is still time, and, given how she took a trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to educate herself in the past, she could grow a bit and learn here as well.

Though, we will not hold our breath.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene can add First Amendment to long list of ... - We Got This Covered