Free Speech

Morning Minute: Wisconsin March for Our Lives Rally

On March 24th, Wisconsin students, teachers and activists marched to the Wisconsin State Capitol to protest violence in schools and communities. Wisconsin student organizers spoke along with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D) and Congressman Mark Pocan (D). “At least 10 Wisconsin schools have had shooting threats in the last month.

Wisconsin Regents Back Free Speech

MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin has become the latest university system to officially affirm the right to free speech and academic freedom for all students amid concerns that academia is trying to protect students from being offended by classroom lectures and discussions.

The system’s Board of Regents voted 16 to 2 on Friday to adopt a resolution stating that the university should not shield people from ideas or opinions they find unwelcome or offensive.

“These are not just pretty words we are going to put in a brass plaque,” said a regent, José Delgado. “You’ve got to be able to listen hard, even if it hurts.”

Civil rights advocates are concerned that universities are trying to limit free speech to protect students from feeling offended. Civil liberties supporters have also raised concerns over the use of “trigger warnings” to alert students about uncomfortable course content. On some campuses, groups have demonstrated against or canceled appearances by contentious speakers.

Via Wisconsin Regents Back Free Speech @ The New York Times.

Conservatives, Free Speech, Politics

Scared by Speech

I’m puzzling over what’s supposed to be bad here. What’s wrong with political activity in support of an ideology and what’s wrong with trying to take down politicians you oppose instead of looking for politicians to boost? Is it that the political group is able to raise funds for itself and keep its operation going rather than to use the money to get people elected? Isn’t this kind of ideological activity done on both the left and the right? The only problem I can detect — and this isn’t in the article — is that it works best at the political extremes: moderates and realists can’t use it.

Via Is it bad that “Conservative PACs Attack Republicans, and It Pays”? @ Althouse.

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Scott Walker’s War on First Amendment Costs Tax-payers Another $245,000 @ MAL Contends . . ..

The Wisconsin First-Amendment War

#SolidarityWisconsin from The Voice Project on Vimeo.

Via MAL Contends . . .: Scott Walker’s Defeat in His Attack on First Amendment Is Story That Should Be Told

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Meet the most creative LGBT rights activist ever @ The Progressive Midwesterner.

Madison Federalists’ Live Stream @ 12:30 PM

Hans von Spakovsky is the manager of the Heritage Foundation’s Election Law Reform Initiative. He studies and writes on elections issues such as campaign finance restrictions along with voter fraud and voter ID issues. He is the co-author of the book “Who’s Counting?: How Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote At Risk.” Before joining Heritage, von Spakovsky was responsible for enforcing campaign finance laws as a member of the Federal Election Commission.

Free Speech, Twitter, UW Madison

Cheerleading not in the job description

“It’s not a professor’s job to be a cheerleader for their institution, argues a blog post on the magazine website of the American Association of University Professors. ‘First, the assertion that academic freedom “requires responsible behavior” is wrong,’ says “The Academe Blog” post about the controversy swelling around University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Sara Goldrick-Rab and…