Steve Who?: Freedom of speech

Showing posts with label Freedom of speech. Show all posts

Monday, August 9, 2010

David Boise and Ted Olson on Sunday Talk Circuit: "The right to marry is a fundamental right." (video)

Watch as Super-Lawyer Ted Olson, half of the dream team that took out Prop 8, appeared on Fox "News" Sunday with Chris Wallace yesterday and handily shot down all of Wallace's right wing arguments against same-sex marriage. Olson points out that anyone's rights, including Wallace's and Fox's right to free speech could be taken away by popular vote, if not for the 14th amendment, asking Wallace, "Would you like Fox's right to free press put up to a vote?".

Meanwhile David Bois appeared on Meet the Press, where he took on Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, who lost in last weeks decision. Boise punches all kinds of holes in Perkins' arguments. Watch and learn.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Ann Coulter speech cancelled over student protest

In the 1988 movie "The Seventh Sign", Demi Moore plays a women who is about to give birth to the first baby born without a soul, thus bringing about Armageddon. In real life, we know that child as Ann Coulter.

Unfortunately, Hollywood is more merciful than real life. Instead of being put out of our misery by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, we have to endure life with the GOP's favorite ice queen, who can't pass up a chance to make headlines by saying something blatantly racist, homophobic and generally hateful any time there is a gathering of two or more people or a camera present.

Coulter, whose prominent Adam's Apple has prompted some to question her true gender, sees herself as a champion of free speech by thumbing her nose at political correctness. But as anybody with a brain stem can figure out, it's just a desperate, pathetic attempt to stay relevant in a world that as left her behind. Maybe she should do lunch with Madonna for some pointers on how to do that without emitting so much toxic waste.

In Canada, however, they have a more rational approach to venom-spewing hate-mongers. In The Great White North, hate-speech can get you thrown in jail. (OMG, I'm salivating.)

AP reports:
OTTAWA — A protest by hundreds of students led organizers to cancel a Tuesday night speech by American conservative commentator Ann Coulter at the University of Ottawa.

A spokesman for the organizers said Coulter was advised against appearing after about 2,000 "threatening" students crowded the entrance to Marion Hall, posing a security threat.

"It would be physically dangerous for Ann Coulter to proceed with this event," said conservative political activist Ezra Levant inside the hall. "This is an embarrassing day for the University of Ottawa and their student body . . . who chose to silence her through threats and intimidation."

A protest organizer, international studies student Mike Fancie, said he was pleased they were able to stop Coulter from speaking. "What Ann Coulter is practicing is not free speech, it's hate speech," he said. "She's targeted the Jews, she's targeted the Muslims, she's targeted Canadians, homosexuals, women, almost everybody you could imagine."

The announcement of the cancellation was greeted with shouts of "Shame" and "We want Ann" from about 100 people inside the hall. Outside protesters mockingly chanted "Goodbye Ann Coulter." About 10 Ottawa police cars were called to the scene, but there were no incidents.

Coulter expressed her outrage, calling the University of Ottawa a "bush league" institution in an interview for The Washington Times. "This has never happened before," she told the newspaper. "I go to the best schools, Harvard, the Ivy League and those kids are too intellectually proud" to threaten speakers.

Levant blamed the bedlam on university academic vice-president Francois Houle, who had written Coulter to warn her that Canadian laws make provisions for hate speech. "Promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges," he warned her in the letter, which Coulter quickly leaked to the media.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

What if you had a hate-fest and nobody came?

In a follow-up to yesterday's post, as I predicted, the planned anti-gay protest in front of the Justice Department, which promised us acts of civil disobedience, masses of Christians swarming the streets of DC in numbers not seen since Exodus, was a bust. The friendly folks at the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (CADC) held a press conference instead, but the apparently press didn't get the memo either, that is accept for the folks at Pro-Life News. Go figure.

There was no mainstream press coverage of the non-event at all, not even the folks at Faux News showed up and this should have been like chum in the water for them.

It was hard to find any online coverage of the defenders of free hate-speech, accept for the Christianist's favorite new target, Courage Award winning blogger, Joe Jervis at Joe.My.God. Joe posted the Pro Life News videos of the unevent. You can see them on his site. I won't waste the server space.

In the video, wing-nut/propagandist/author Janet Porter gave a rambling speech about how Christians are already being jailed for expressing their message of hope to homos in Europe and Canada. What she left out, was that European countries, who barely survived the Nazi War Machine during World War II, have very strict hate crimes laws because they know first hand where bigotry and intolerance and lead. Unlike the U.S., when Europeans say "never again", they mean it.

It's interesting to note that there were more pro-gay protesters in the video than anti-gay. You can see them right over Porter's shoulder. I'm glad they were able to fight their way through the crowd.

So why the low turnout? Maybe its because it was held on a Monday, when most Americans have something better to do, like go to work. Maybe it's because the CADC folks were hoping to push the limits of free speech and get arrested. Or maybe it's because, like most bullies, homophobes can't walk the walk.

It's easy to carry a protest sign with anti-gay rhetoric, or yell "Faggot!" at someone's house as you drive by (as has happened here), but when you start talking about going to jail for your principles, that's when the bigots loose their enthusiasm. They lack the courage of their convictions that has been the hallmark of every civil rights movement. That's why we will win.