Contemplating Media & the First Amendment
At this point, we’ve heard the major arguments as to why a universal freedom of speech is the silver lining in American culture. It isn’t so much about the ability to say as we please but rather the fear of the snowball effect that the contrary could cause that keeps us so passionate about the... Continue Reading →
Last week, a man from Florida went to jail for cursing out a judge in a letter. His use of language has created a debate over the First Amendment right to free speech. Derrick Jenkins was outraged after a judge dismissed his $500 million case against the local sheriff's station. The lawsuit regards a seatbelt... Continue Reading →
Brace yourselves, this is actually a First Amendment news story that restores a little faith in humanity! According to a New Hampshire newspaper, a former spinal cord specialist and whistleblower at the Manchester VA Medical Center has just been awarded the 17th Annual Nackey S. Loeb First Amendment Award. The award was "established to honor... Continue Reading →
Private institutions have the ability to fire anyone they want for almost any reason. However, public institutions are bound by the First Amendment and the Constitution. With the First Amendment protecting all kinds of speech, this has caused more than a few problems. Most recently, a professor at Indiana University has been under fire for... Continue Reading →
Image credit: Alexis Beauclair As I was reading through various articles about the first amendment in the news, I stumbled upon this publication by the Knight Foundation: High school student views on the First Amendment: Trends in the 21st Century. One of the key findings according to the report is that high school students’ support... Continue Reading →
In every discussion about the distribution of government funds, someone brings up military spending. And every time someone quips, "Why don't we just spend less on the military? There are billions going towards them," I always express my opinion on the matter: "The U.S. government has dug themselves into a hole so deep - with... Continue Reading →
We've been seeing a lot of whistleblowing not just in the past few weeks, but in the last 6 years or so when Snowden leaked highly classified information to the media. People have mixed emotions about this. On one hand, the fact that the government knows every single word we say and every set we... Continue Reading →
Photo from 11/15/19 edition of The Onion. Like any other red-blooded American, I have been hooked on the impeachment proceedings. And, as literally every lawyer/politician/journalist/random person on the street will tell you, it is a purely political process. An entertaining political process, sure, but strictly politics through and through. And during these last few days,... Continue Reading →
Kentucky man Ben Hart just won a three-year legal battle over the right to personalize his license plate. Why? His requested license plate read “IM GOD.” This might seem a bit ridiculous, but this was an important win in Kentucky. For the courts to allow other God related license plates because they have to... Continue Reading →
As we're arguably amidst the most digitally intrusive era known to man, there are few "national security" or "anti-terrorism" federal acts that seem to surprise me anymore. After reading about the Patriot Act in Chapter 6 though––I was a little shocked. "Source Protection in the Age of Surveillance" from Journalism After Snowden by Emily Bell... Continue Reading →
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