Freedom's words
Back in the early 1990s, my students and I at Troy State University pondered ways to raise money for the Society of Professional Journalists’ Legal Defense Fund. The fund, all private donations, primarily gets used to support the legal battles of individual journalists and to support cases where journalists seek access to government records.
We decided to sell T-shirts. I came up with this verbiage: “Talk is cheap, free speech isn’t. Support SPJ’s Legal Defense Fund.”
Honesty amidst the stupidity
Saying something really stupid does not disqualify someone from becoming president. In fact, I think we can safely say that saying myriad stupid things neither disqualifies a candidate for president nor a standing president.
But it clearly begs the question, “How can someone we are being led to believe is so intelligent and so equipped to lead, say something so incredibly stupid?”
For the short-term example, we turn to Hillary Clinton and her now “old news” comments about staying in the race because Barack Obama might get assassinated.
Making the argument for arguing
The expression “Why can’t we all get along” doesn’t set well with Howard Fineman — at least when it comes to Americans.
Look to Fineman’s recently published book to see why, “The Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates That Define and Inspire Our Country.”
Fineman sees “arguing” as part of America’s DNA. He admits that certain aspects of that arguing pose problems — shouting, hate mongering and name-calling.
But for the most part, Fineman sees the “argument” as the thing that most makes America and Americans special.
Campaign spending redux, Scalia style
In April, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the constitutionality of parts of the McCain-Feingold Act, a campaign-spending law passed in 2002. I wrote in an earlier posting about the First Amendment ramifications of campaign-spending laws.
As usual, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia offered the edgiest questioning during oral arguments.
The plight of the political "independent"
A news story about the approaching Democratic Primary in Kentucky recently caught my eye.
Kentucky operates a “closed” primary, meaning that registered Democrats and Republicans cannot switch parties, called a “crossover.” It also means that someone registered as an “independent” cannot vote. Other states such as Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Oklahoma and Utah follow similar rules. In all, the National Association of Secretaries of States reports that 16 states use closed primaries.
Costs of campaigning bring First Amendment questions
The debate about where one person’s freedom of speech begins and another’s ends always crops up during elections.
On one side, First Amendment proponents say that government should place no restrictions on the political speech called campaigning, even if the speech comes at a cost few can afford.
Lawmaking: sometimes the sausage comes with a funny smell
Reporters call covering the legislature “watching them make the sausage.”
A lot goes into making sausage — not just in terms of labor. I suspect that if some people knew more about the ingredients that went into the sausage they ate, they might choose another menu item.
Lawmaking works the same way.
Shirking civic duties comes with consequences
Discussions of important civic duties almost always include two — voting and jury duty.
While a statistical blip might occur from time to time, the voting record of Americans in the past several decades pretty much stinks — from local races to those of national significance.
Mountaintop mining moves civic participation
I think one reason why many don’t participate in civic life comes from the conclusion that it won’t make any difference.
They don’t buy into the theory that a butterfly flapping its wings on one continent can contribute to devastating weather on another. So why flap your wings about the way someone governs us or the way the behavior of others affects us?
That flapping won’t help.
I disagree. Collections of small actions do lead to big changes.
Several news items recently caught my attention and serve as examples of what I believe.
That crazy thing called 'freedom'
I give a questionnaire each semester to my “Introduction to News Writing and Reporting” class to get to know students better.
“Who was your best teacher and why?” “What rumors have you heard about me?” “John Lennon or John Mayer?”
A few semesters back, I included this question: “What should happen to someone in this class who gets caught cheating?”
With the answers came the expected penalties such as a failing grade on the assignment, some kind of extra work involving ethical decision making and ousting the culprit from class.
