Judge orders release of US Marine detained for Facebook posts | RT

Tidings of Force and Aggression | Students for Liberty

James Padilioni, Jr. channels Leo Tolstoy in saying the best way to “Keep Christ is Christmas” is keep the government out.

Iraq Vet Who Wrote About Addiction To Violence, Barred From Md. College | Huffington Post

Freedom of Conscience outlawed at Baltimore County Community College.

Sen. Rockefeller: FCC Should Take FOX News, MSNBC Off Airwaves | RealClearPolitics

Diversity of news sources causes our senior Senator to have a meltdown.

Will Militarization of the First Amendment Undermine the Republic? | The Independent Institute

Ivan Eland sees more erosion of civil liberties in the Snyder v. Phelps case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

United States of America vs George Donnelly

The Nazification of the United States | Counterpunch.org

Paul Craig Roberts: The Nazification of the United States

Will misguided patriotism destroy freedom of speech? | The Rutherford Institute

John Whitehead channels Samuel Johnson in saying the scoundrels in D.C. are hiding behind the flag-draped coffins of American soldiers in an attempt to subvert the First Amendment.

Shutdown.fcc.gov | Competitive Enterprise Institute

The only way to ensure the public has access to information in the digital age, says Clyde Wayne Crews, is separation of media and state.

The Media As Enablers of Government Lies | Campaign for Liberty

James Bovard says the public's "watchdogs" are too often lapdogs

'Thought crimes' bill advances in Congress

by Nat Hentoff

Why is the press remaining mostly silent about the so-called "hate crimes law" that passed in the House on April 29? The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed in a 249-175 vote (17 Republicans joined with 231 Democrats).

These Democrats should have been tested on their knowledge of the First Amendment, equal protection of the laws (14th Amendment), and the prohibition of double jeopardy (no American can be prosecuted twice for the same crime or offense). If they had been, they would have known that this proposal, now headed for a Senate vote, violates all these constitutional provisions.

For more on this commentary, go to Cato.org. Also, to keep updated on the status of H.R. 1913, refer to the widget on the left galley of The Free Press.

FIRE's open letter to Pres Obama on speech codes

January 20, 2009

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Sent via U.S. Mail and Facsimile (202-456-2461)

Dear President Obama:

I write to you on this historic day to offer my heartfelt congratulations on your inauguration. Your achievement is a testament to the enduring promise of our great democracy and the constitutional ideals upon which our nation was founded.

As President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), I write also to request your assistance in ending abridgements of free speech on our nation's college campuses. Because you have taught constitutional law, you are particularly attuned to the importance of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. We therefore sincerely hope that you will help to eliminate censorship on college campuses and restore respect for robust expression in higher education.

Like most Americans, you likely would be surprised to learn how often the right to free expression is violated at our nation's colleges and universities, despite the fact that the vitality of these institutions relies upon the free and open exchange of ideas. In just the last year, FIRE has defended basic constitutional freedoms in some truly remarkable cases at both public and private schools.

To read the rest of this letter, go to FIRE's Web site

Ga. Tech ordered to pay $200K in speech-code case

In March 2006 two brave Georgia Tech students, Orit Sklar and Ruth Malhotra, launched a challenge to several unconstitutional policies at the school. These policies included a speech code, a restrictive speech zone, discriminatory student-fee regulations, and a program of state religious indoctrination called "Safe Space" that explicitly compared those who have traditional views of sexual morality to slaveowners. (Full disclosure: Ruth and Orit are represented by the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom, and I am lead counsel in the case.)

Despite the fact that, if successful, Orit and Ruth would restore the First Amendment rights of every single student, they were immediately subjected to the most vile threats on campus and dishonest reporting off campus. The university's own campaign of disinformation aided and abetted the students' enemies.

For more on this story, go to Phi Beta Cons, David French's higher education blog on National Review Online

Del. student wins partial victory in free speech case

Wilmington, Del. - A University of Delaware student has won his legal argument that his free speech rights were violated by the school when it suspended him for content on his Web page, but he essentially lost his lawsuit seeking damages.

A federal judge ruled that Maciej Murakowski's Web page of sex jokes, among other topics, was sophomoric and offensive but was protected speech, not a threat to others and not a violation of the school's policies.

However, Magistrate Judge Mary Pat Thynge also found the school's decision to suspend Murakowski for a semester was justified because of his other actions, including ignoring an order not to return to his dorm after he was suspended.

For more on this story, go to The Wilmington News-Journal

Celebrating jury right's day

by VIN SUPRYNOWICZ

To grasp why the Bill of Rights leads off by barring Congress from "establishing" any religion, "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," you must understand that in 18th century England there was no "separation of church and state." The English monarch to this day includes in her title "Fidele Defensor" -- Defender of the Faith. Which helps explain why even our right to a jury trial stems directly from this era.

In 1670, it was declared illegal to hold a religious gathering or preach a sermon in England which was not a "Church of England" sermon. Dissident churches, including the Quaker meeting houses, were closed.Unable to get into his London meeting house, William Penn led a Quaker meeting in the street outside. He was arrested and put on trial -- on Sept. 5, 1670, 338 years ago this week.

For more on this commentary, go to The Las Vegas Review-Journal

3rd Circuit decision in Temple speech-code case has administrators on the run

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit just made hundreds of colleges wonder how long their restrictive speech codes can survive.

On Aug. 4, the Philadelphia-based appellate court affirmed a lower court's ruling against a broadly worded Temple University speech code prohibiting words or deeds whose "purpose or effect [is to create] an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment." Such loose, eye-of-the-beholder standards are increasingly recognized as affronts to the First Amendment, which is right and just.

For more on this editorial, go to The Washington Times

FIRE seeking student help to put heat on WVUIT administration for First Amendment abuses

The Torch has been ablaze this week with news and commentary on the victory for freedom of expression in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in DeJohn vs. Temple University. If your university is in a state under the Third Circuit's jurisdiction—that's Pennsylvania, Delaware, or New Jersey—then your school's policies must abide by the strictures of the judges' ruling.

If you're a student at a public college or university in one of those states and you'd like to learn more about your school's speech policies, check out FIRE's Spotlight, our database of policies restricting speech at schools across the country. But whether your university falls under the jurisdiction of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals or not, I encourage you to join FIRE's Campus Freedom Network (CFN) and work with FIRE to make your campus safe for liberty. FIRE is happy to supply you with all the help you'll need, including FIRE's Guides to Student Rights on Campus, Spotlight: The Campus Freedom Resource, and FIRE's multimedia project.

Additionally, FIRE speakers stand ready and willing to speak on your campus. Book one today!

To enlist your aid in the cause, contact Luke Sheahan, pictured above, either via e-mail at fire@thefire.org or telephone at (215) 717-FIRE.