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Editorials

  • GUEST OPINION: Don’t overlook the gifts of freedom on Dec. 15 holiday

    By KEN PAULSON
    First Amendment Center
    The law is murky, but probably not.

    It’s easy to take freedom for granted. If we’re complacent about our core liberties, we’re less likely to notice a gradual erosion.

    The best way to build awareness of our core freedoms is through education. That’s why the announcement of the nation’s first monument to the Bill of Rights comes as particularly good news.

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  • GUEST OPINION: Petraeus affair reminds us how little is private

    BY GENE POLICINSKI
    First Amendment Center
    National attention to the Petraeus affair is driven by everything from morbid curiosity to concern for national security. But for most of us, issues of privacy and the First Amendment also should take center stage.

    As shown by the FBI’s relatively quick trip through the online missives of Gen. David Petraeus’ trysts, not much — if any — of our electronic communication is genuinely “private,” not even for the director of the world’s largest spy agency.

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  • GUEST OPINION: First Amendment gives us much to be thankful for

    By KEN PAULSON
    First Amendment Center
    Last week, at a time in which Americans traditionally give thanks, two incidents beyond our shores remind us not to take freedom of expression for granted.

    In China, Zhai Xiaobing’s tweet on Nov. 5 jokingly linking a popular horror movie to the Nov. 8 Communist Party congress led to his arrest on charges of supporting terrorism.

    His tweet, which said “An earthshaking debut will be seen at the global premiere on Nov. 8!,” was apparently a reference to the Great Hall of the People.

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  • OUR OPINION: Kingston solar farm is a sunny idea for the city

    Kingston city officials seem to have taken to heart some public relations advice that to counter the negative impact of the TVA ash spill, it should focus on rebranding itself as an environmentally sustainable community.

    They have made a number of efforts to improve their energy footprint in city buildings, but now they are considering a broader plan.

    The city is considering operating its own solar energy farm. The plan involves installing a collection of solar panels on city property on James Ferry Road.

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  • Court’s ruling on political spending under assessment

    By GENE POLICINSKI
    First Amendment Center
    There’s one result from the election that we likely won’t know for months or even years: the full meaning of this year’s massive run-up in campaign spending.
    The U.S. Supreme Court, in its Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision in 2010, freed corporations, unions and others to spend as much on elections as they wish — setting up the circumstances for the financial version of Superstorm Sandy in this year’s races.

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  • GUEST OPINION: Cross-media ownership likely to widen soon

    By KEN PAULSON
    First Amendment Center
    Cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations has long been strictly regulated, but that may be about to change.

    The Los Angeles Times reports that the Federal Communications Commission is expected to approve a proposal that would permit ownership of both a newspaper and major television and radio station in the nation’s 20 largest markets.

    The idea behind the limitation was to prevent a single media entity from dominating the free flow of information to a community.

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  • GUEST OPINION: Look to the First Amendment to know the Second

    By DAVID L. HUDSON Jr.
    First Amendment Center
    The First Amendment right to freedom of speech and the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms are usually related only by their proximity in the Bill of Rights.

    But the connection actually runs much deeper. Courts are using standards from First Amendment law and applying them in Second Amendment cases.

    The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just did this in its Oct. 25 decision in National Rifle Association v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

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  • GUEST OPINION: Cheerleaders, biblical banners get day in court

    By CHARLES C. HAYNES
    First Amendment Center
    In Kountze, Texas, there’s not much daylight between God and football on Friday nights.

    That’s why most fans in the stands cheer loudly when the cheerleaders hoist banners with biblical verses for the football team to crash through as they take the field every week.
    Most, but not all.

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  • GUEST OPINION: Free speech or threat? It can be tough call

    A white supremacist faces sentencing for soliciting violence against a juror after a federal appeals court in Chicago decided that even though he never openly asked for anyone to kill or harm the person, his online posts were clear enough.

    The decision is another reminder that although the government cannot successfully prosecute a person, or a court send them to jail, because of mere ideas, the time, place and manner in which a person speaks — or even their intended audience — makes a difference.

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  • GUEST OPINION: Mug shot sites show complexity of freedom, law

    By GENE POLICINSKI
    First Amendment Center
    You can’t put a price on justice — but some are trying to charge a fee to fix what others call an injustice.

    There’s nothing good about getting arrested, even if the charges are dismissed or you’re found innocent at trial. The same goes for having a “mug shot” — a photo made at a jail or holding area — taken and filed with a county lockup or police department, complete with ID information.

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Copyright © 2013

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