A while back, the Los Angeles Times published an op-ed by Laura Beth Nielson arguing that there's a case for restricting hate speech. As a sociologist and legal scholar, I struggle to explain the boundaries of free speech to undergraduates. Despite the 1st Amendment—I tell my students—local, state, and federal laws limit all kinds of speech. We regulate advertising, obscenity, … [Read more...] about The Perils of Restricting Hate Speech
Some Friends Of Mine Are Having a Very Hard Time…
Some friends of mine are having a very hard time, and I just need to write about it.At about 4:30 on Wednesday, my cellphone goes off with an incoming call from my friend Leo. Leo never calls. We communicate by text message (encrypted, lately) and sometimes email, so I kind of figured something was wrong. He's my age, and he's taking care of his 87-year-old father, who has … [Read more...] about Some Friends Of Mine Are Having a Very Hard Time…
The DOJ’s Dick Move on Legal Aid for Immigrants
Ever since President Trump took office, we've been hearing a lot about the public interest legal organizations that have been helping immigrants with the legal fight to come to America and remain here. That these organizations are even necessary is because immigration law is (for the most part) civil law, not criminal law. In many ways that's a good thing, because it means that … [Read more...] about The DOJ’s Dick Move on Legal Aid for Immigrants
Windypundit In the Age Of Trump
I seem to be having trouble blogging. My last post was on March 28th, an even 50 days ago. I think that's one of the longest periods I've gone without posting since the very early days of the blog. I blogged more frequently than this throughout the months when my parents died.Part of the reason for the reduced blogging is that I've been doing small projects around the … [Read more...] about Windypundit In the Age Of Trump
The AG Cartel Breaks Down
On the Reuters news wire, Dan Levine reports on the breakdown of a gentleman's agreement between state Attorneys General not to target each other in elections: For years the national political organizations of both Democratic and Republican state attorneys general observed an agreement not to target the other party's incumbent office-holders in elections.That hands-off … [Read more...] about The AG Cartel Breaks Down