Category Archives: Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc.

On Wedding Cakes, Gay Weddings, And Free Speech

This is a reply to a comment left by MJJ on the Muslim Ban thread. I’m putting my response here, and hopefully further discussion of this issue will move to this thread. I didn’t think Melissa’s cakes has gone bankrupt? … Continue reading

Posted in Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc., Same-Sex Marriage | 146 Comments

Free Speech On Campus, Attacked By The Right And The Left – Which Somehow Gets Reported As A Near-Exclusive Threat From The Left

(Although she may not agree with everything I wrote here, I want to acknowledge that this post was improved by a discussion I had with Jaz Twersky. Thanks, Jaz!) Four stories that I’ve run across recently: 1. Attacks on Tenure. … Continue reading

Posted in Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc. | 29 Comments

Quote: Jesse Williams on Critics of Black Lives Matter (plus the petition to get him fired)

From actor Jesse Williams’ award acceptance speech at the BET Awards, June 2016. And let’s get a couple things straight, just a little sidenote – the burden of the brutalized is not to comfort the bystander.That’s not our job, alright … Continue reading

Posted in anti-racism, Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc., Race, racism and related issues | 5 Comments

Samsung Attempts Copyright Censorship of Parody Of Their Exploding Galaxy Note 7 Phone

So gamer “HitmanNiko” modified Grand Theft Auto to add in a new weapon: A Samsung Galaxy Note 7, which can be thrown like a grenade. (It replaces a weapon called “the sticky bomb.”) Some folks uploaded videos of themselves using … Continue reading

Posted in Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc. | 2 Comments

Cartoon: How Free Speech Was Saved

My new cartoon on Everyday Feminism! Please go check it out. Some comments about this cartoon (originally posted on my Patreon page). The modern “alt-right” – those conservatives who are now, among other things, running Donald Trump’s presidential campaign – … Continue reading

Posted in Cartooning & comics, Civility & norms of discourse, Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc. | 6 Comments

Anti-Trump protests and the free speech argument

[This is a post by occasional “Alas” comment-writer Lirael, reprinted with permission from their excellent blog NowFaceNorth. Thanks, Lirael! –Amp] There’s a lot of interesting arguments going around in the wake of the cancelled Donald Trump rally in Chicago. One … Continue reading

Posted in Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc. | 33 Comments

On Hulk Hogan and Free Speech

From CNN: Jurors in the Hulk Hogan sex tape case ignored a plea for mercy Monday and added another $25 million to the $115 million they already awarded ex-wrestler Hulk Hogan. The jury deliberated nearly four hours before deciding on … Continue reading

Posted in Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc. | 7 Comments

Catholic Schools Are Forcing Employees To Sign Away Their Free Speech

From the New York Times: Part of the focus here and elsewhere appears to be online sharing of photos and personal opinions. A number of morality clauses in other dioceses express such concerns, specifying that teachers may not post anything … Continue reading

Posted in Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc., Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer issues, Same-Sex Marriage | 8 Comments

I may not like what you say…

..But I will defend to the…. To the… Hold on, this is all happening too fast. Let’s stop and breathe and consider this a moment. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I really, really want you to have the right … Continue reading

Posted in Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc. | 29 Comments

Huge Corporation Attempts To Censor One-Woman Feminist Play

Once again, copyright is used by wealthy corporations to censor independent artists – and in this case, to muzzle a feminist critique of the most powerful and popular playwrights in the country. From a review of the experimental play Thatswhatshesaid: … Continue reading

Posted in Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc. | 14 Comments