The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is one of America’s most sacred freedoms and our public universities often among its staunchest defenders.  But at the University of Wisconsin-Stout (UWS), it seems this sacred freedom is in the eye of the beholder.

UWS theater professor Dr. James Miller is relatively new to the short-lived, now cult hit TV series “Firefly.”  Some of his students are loyal fans and asked Dr. Miller to check it out for himself. He liked it enough to hang a Firefly poster on his office door. Given its remote location in the theater wing, where mostly only theater students would see it, who would have expected the poster to cause such a firestorm?

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) reports:

On September 12, 2011, Professor Miller posted on his office door an image of Nathan Fillion in Joss Whedon’s sci-fi series Firefly and a line from an episode: “You don’t know me, son, so let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you’ll be awake. You’ll be facing me. And you’ll be armed.” On September 16, UWS Chief of Police Lisa A. Walter notified Miller that she had removed the poster because it “refer[s] to killing.” After Miller replied, “respect my first amendment rights,” Walter wrote that “the poster can be interpreted as a threat.” Walter also threatened Miller with criminal charges: “If you choose to repost the article or something similar to it, it will be removed and you could face charges of disorderly conduct.”

In response to Walter’s censorship, Miller placed a new poster on his office door on the 16th. The poster read “Warning: Fascism” and mocked, “Fascism can cause blunt head trauma and/or violent death. Keep fascism away from children and pets.”

(more…)

It should be no surprise. People who actually want to help others don’t put on tight leather pants and play guitars for screaming women. They usually go into quieter professions like medicine, social work, or ministry. So when a Rockstar actually claims that he wants to be an altruist, his motivations are usually as phoney as his hair plugs.

I understand where it comes from. Musicians usually become Rockstars by appealing to the common man. When they become rich and famous, they have to find ways to appeal to the demographic they abandoned. So they take up causes. Sheryl Crow feigns concern about the environment, for example, even though the energy required for just one tour could satisfy the energy needs of a small American city.

When Bruce Springsteen started singing about blue-collar teenage angst, he was an angry blue-collar guy, barely out of his teens. His jeans would fade from hauling amps, just like any other working stiff. A billion dollars later, he has to work hard to remember the old days; and like most Grammy winning musicians, has a Guatemalan sweatshop put holes in his jeans.

Unlike the other European Rockstars of the eighties (who are forgotten, but for their haircuts), U2 frontman Bono has been able to keep himself relevant for a generation with his Saint Bono routine. He is not just a champion of the working class, he is the superhero for the impoverished and oppressed peoples of the world. He has met with presidents and dictators, leaders of every political and religious stripe, and set up programs where you can still be a commercialist with a conscience by buying a Red™ iPod. He successfully petitioned 23 nations to forgive Third World debt; debt that will eventually have to be picked up by the taxpayers of those 23 nations. (more…)

So yesterday, during our ideas meeting, Andy suggested we do something on the latest Supreme Court ruling, which was in favor of Westboro Baptist Church.

To sum up: The father of a fallen Marine had sued the church, saying their protests were intentionally meant to inflict distress. The Court disagreed, saying these creeps had a right to promote their “message.”

We skipped the story because we felt any mention of Westboro is a win for Westboro.

Which is still true, today.

But I’m bringing them up anyway, because, the ruling sucks.

Look – If you can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theater – which is an act meant to cause harm – how are the actions of the Phelps any different?

Their whole schtick, after all, is using language and props to incite grieving folks to violence.

That ain’t freedom of speech, it’s a pack of ghouls looking for trouble.

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The politically correct chickens are coming home to roost in the Orwellian world of the organized left’s free-expression-stifling speech codes.

To paraphrase Martin Niemöller’s famous admonition about complacency with totalitarian fascists:  “First they came for Rush Limbaugh and called his satire racist, and I didn’t speak out because Rush Limbaugh is a conservative.  Then they came for Dr. Laura and called her commentary racist, and I didn’t speak out because Dr. Laura is a conservative…”

Well, this time they came after a high school drama program in far-from conservative Westbury, CT.  The Arts Magnet School in that city planned a production of August Wilson’s 20th century classic “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” until the district’s Superintendent, David Snead, tried to pull the plug because the play’s characters use the word “nigger”. (more…)

Anyone who’s read this site for any period of time knows I’m no Jon Stewart fan. On his best days, I find him smug and disingenuous. “But he attacks the Left!”, my friends tell me. Yeah, when they’re not liberal enough or like the ACLU taking a righteous case every now and again, as cover so people will say, “But he attacks the Left!” Sorry, no sale here, and Stewart’s increasingly strange obsession with controlling the way we speak only confirms that decision.  

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Stewart’s unnatural preoccupation with regulating speech, especially political speech, is not only borderline un-American, but you can tell he loses sleep over the frustration he feels when people don’t speak the way he thinks they should. The best example of this occurred just a few months ago at his anti-Beck “Rally to Restore Sanity.” In order to point his sanctimonious finger at the rest of us and wag it like the Church Lady so he could tell everyone else how they should and should not conduct themselves, he puts on this HUGE rally in DC. I’m sorry, but this is not normal behavior.

Sure, the rally was successful, but the irony of someone standing in the heart of our democracy to demand we stop speaking a certain way… Who does stuff like that? Of all people wanting to regulate speech … a political comedian. (more…)

After the Supreme Court decided against his favored position in 1832, Andrew Jackson supposedly explained, “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!”  The idea was that the judiciary had the power to make pronouncements, but only the executive branch had the power to carry them out. 

This March, the Federal Elections Commission under President Obama began channeling Jackson.  We had hints that this would happen after the Supreme Court decided in Citizens United v. FEC that restrictions on corporate funding of independent political broadcasts were prohibited by the First Amendment; that ruling also held that nonprofit groups like Citizens United could freely produce and distribute their documentaries. 

Obama quickly responded by targeting the Supreme Court itself, boldly (and wrongly) proclaiming in his State of the Union Address, “Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests – including foreign corporations – to spend without limit in our elections.”  Members of the Supreme Court were sitting directly in front of him at the time (one, Justice Samuel Alito, had the unmitigated temerity to shake his head softly when Obama lied about the ruling).  (more…)

In the past year, we’ve had plenty of opportunities (and reasons) to criticize Jon Stewart’s routine attacks on conservatives, talk radio, Fox News and other opponents of reflexive liberalism.

But not today.

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Put in the difficult position to address his network’s controversial decision to censor a “South Park” episode that mocked Islamic extremists, he deftly put the network’s decision in context, back-handedly criticized it but summed it up with an adroit, “But hey, they write the checks.” (more…)

Canada, it is a silly place. Yes, I was raised there, and yes I acknowledge it. Sadly, in recent years it seems that Canada has gone from silly to downright dangerous. This is particularly true if you are a Conservative or dare to ever even think of speaking out against the politically correct, sub-zero establishment.

You’ve no doubt heard about Ann Coulters’ escapades in the Great White North. College leftists (who’d had no qualms with terrorist sympathizers speaking at their school in the past) were so offended with the idea of what Madam Coulter might say ,that they attempted to ban her from the premises. When that didn’t happen, the young Green-Day liberals decided to stage a protest. Of course (as is often the case with liberal protests) things got out of hand, with protesters becoming so unruly that the situation had become not only a safety hazard to Ann herself, but for the myriad people who were there to hear her speak. Woodstockers would be proud! So students thirsty for knowledge and debate have to deal with all of this hooplah because many Canadians forecasted that Ann Coulter might engage in –cue dramatic chipmunk– hate speech! (more…)

So I wake up groggy and after getting my morning green tea –- yeah, I seem to be going through that phase — coffee doesn’t go well with global warming. Anyway, I start the computer and begin my ritual of clearing out emails; a daunting but necessary task where depending on my time and interest I sometimes randomly open something to read.  

If your mailbox is like mine you receive an overwhelming amount of political stuff and reading it all can be a time-suck of enormous proportions. Let’s face it, if you don’t derive your living from this stuff, no matter how much of a concerned citizen you may be, there comes a point where you have to say, “Ah, is this paying my mortgage?” That’s reality biting you in the ass and so the knee-jerk reaction is to press delete and move on to something that may add a few more dollars to your already crumbling retirement fund. But, and I stress BUT, like the” pusher man” (remember that song, G** D**** the Pusher Man?) who you cannot seem to get away from, the sheer volume of political noise coming at you can’t be ignored and after just one peek … aaahhh your fix takes hold.   (more…)

(San Francisco, CA) Michael Savage, ’shock-jock’ author of over 25 books with a radio audience of 10 million listeners who was banned from entering the United Kingdom in May by Gordon Brown will argue against the insanity of ‘political correctness’ on Thursday, October 15 at 8:00pm GMT. Savage will appear via internet link to argue his case for freedom of speech.

Quoting Winston Churchill, who said, “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police. They are afraid of words and thoughts! Words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home, all the more powerful because they are forbidden. These terrify them. A little mouse – a little tiny mouse! -of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic…” Savage will attempt to ’save England from a descent into mental slavery where petty bureaucrats dictate what can and cannot be discussed.” (more…)

Yeah-I think I get it? If you’re a media personality of mediocre talent and dubious intelligence like…uh…gee, there’s so many to choose from? Oh, I know, let’s go with Janeane Garofalo now that she’s decided to be a spokesperson for the party of “love, openness and diversity” again. Anyway, apart from proving you’re not smart enough to keep your mouth shut, what happens if you’re a media personality of mediocre talent and dubious intelligence and you openly preach the most vile form of inflammatory hatred towards an entire group/race of people in today’s politically correct climate? 

You get a pass and high-fives from the MSM of course, but why? (more…)

It takes a big man to admit he screwed up and take a principled stand. It takes a phony liberal elitist to apologize for the sake of protecting his television ratings.

Jon Stewart makes Arlen Specter look principled.

Like Pee Wee Herman, Jon Stewart launched his intercontinental ballistic missile, and he could not put the missile back on the launching pad. In his case, the only thing that seeped out was stupidity.

Jon Stewart, for those who are not “trendy,” “hip,” or “cool” (brie-cheese-eating-elitist-snobs according to the Tygrrrr Express dictionary), has a nightly political television show where he presents the news with all the accuracy and fairness of the Jayson Blair Times. (more…)

Because I am a conservative, I am obviously a racist.  Because I am a conservative, I am a homophobe.  Because I am a conservative, I am Islamaphobic.  Because I am a conservative, I am hateful.  And, Homeland Security says I’m a right wing extremist.  B.S.  If conservatives were endangered by global warming, the left would abandon their hysteria about it.  The last few weeks have been incredible in terms of the left exerting their new found power.  They are punch drunk with sinister goals.

Hillary Clinton laughs during an interview about Somali pirates.  Obama wants to consider prosecution of those who used torture tactics that Karl Rove says saved Los Angeles from a World Trade Center type attack.  Nancy Pelosi says those of us who spoke and participated in the Tea Bag parties were astro-turfers.  Harry Reid told KKOH radio in Reno that only 250 people showed up in Carson City for a rally when there were thousands.  Janeane Garofalo says anyone who showed up to the Tea Parties was a racist.  Miss California is a homophobe.  She put her convictions above winning.  David Letterman and Jon Stewart insult us on TV.  Where does it stop? (more…)

Saturday, I saw the most honest and courageous politician on earth give a speech about Islam’s threat to the civilized world after a screening of his short film, “Fitna.” It was just another reminder of how important strong leadership is in a dangerous world. In light of that, it is disheartening to see that the greatest and most powerful country in the history of the world, The United States of America, goes small against jihad and big against its own citizens, post 9/11. And further, that Washington P.C. is led by the weakest leaders it has ever had at a time when it needs the strongest. (more…)

As a talk radio pro who defends and cherishes free speech, it’s time for me to weigh in on why Air America sucks.  It’s not that I want them to fail – they already have once.  As a free speech advocate, I cheer for their success – unlike what many liberals hope for conservative talk which I helped establish in America.  But, since its inception, Air America has been a failure.  After its first financial disaster, it is attempting to make a comeback and has new and credible leadership in industry veterans Bennett Zier and Bill Hess.  But, it’s a long climb out of a deep hole.

Air America’s newest ace is none other than former TV huckster Montel Williams.  He follows Jerry Springer who followed none other than…..Al Franken.  Now, there is some name value in all three, but the first two failed in radio.  Franken was an absolute disaster.  As I wrote in my upcoming book “Censorship: The Threat to Silence Talk Radio,” Franken didn’t know he had to have something between the ears to do a three-hour radio talk show each day.  And, that’s what so many of these non-radio personalities don’t get.  Doing a three-hour radio talk show takes hours of prep time.  Most hosts spend about three hours of prep time for each hour of on-air time.  These guys just walked into the studio and thought it would happen automatically.  Listeners would flock to them….they were superstars…NOT!  There are no teleprompters in radio! (more…)

I have been accused of promoting hate speech more than once as a talk radio programmer.  In fact, I’ve been accused of it for over 25 years.  Who defines hate speech?  Many who accuse talk radio of promoting hate want the FCC to regulate it.  To suggest regulation suggests censorship.  As Voltaire said:  “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” 

In researching my book “Censorship: The Threat to Silence Talk Radio,” to be published May 5th by Simon & Schuster, I used excerpts of what some groups claim is hate speech.  So, I throw this out for discussion.  Is the following excerpt taken from the “Michael Savage Show” hateful?  In the general context of on-going terrorism, beheadings, car-bombings, and other atrocities by radical Islamists, Savage exploded on October 29, 2007.  In challenging Muslims to demonstrate their religion is one of peace, Savage issued these words: (more…)

Fade In:

Exterior: An old building somewhere in downtown Austin, TX.

Cut To: Close up: A sign which reads “The Austin American-Statesman”

Cut to Interior: A small squalid desk covered with trash. At the desk sits a man from Maine who pretends to be a Texan named John Kelso. He is a frustrated small time liberal writer who wonders how he came to such a low end. Sitting here inside the belly of a dying dinosaur newspaper with the end of his career in sight he comes up with a plan. He will attack the number one media personality in America, Rush Limbaugh. He will challenge Rush to a fistfight. (more…)

A lot of you here in Big Hollywood live in the real Hollywood so maybe you have a map to this alternative reality Steven Weber lives in? As I saw the last eight years, whether it was at a convention, in Crawford, on the Mall, or even in Iraq, there were always people speaking freely and often crassly (or with shoes) about the president. And right until the end — George W. Bush was shamefully mocked this morning at the Capitol. Perhaps his Wings allow Weber to travel to Stalin’s Russia or Hitler’s Germany, or, contemporarily, Chinese Laogais. Otherwise, his reality is a mystery to me.

Continuing the beneficial meltdown of the mainstream media, including bastions of the erstwhile counterculture (which long ago swallowed up the mainstream culture), Village Voice magazine has laid off three editors, including longtime columnist/editor Nat Hentoff.

Hentoff, who wrote about jazz and then civil liberties for the newspaper for the past fifty years, was a staunch leftist and counter-culturalist, but he showed some intellectual integrity on the subject of freedom of speech in recent years, exemplified by his book, Free Speech for Me—But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other.

The premise of the book is rather skewed, given that the right has had virtually no power in either academia or the culture for several decades, especially the elite culture. Nevertheless, the fact that a well-known leftist and ACLU-style civil liberties advocate (meaning those who use the subject as a stalking horse for the left’s agenda) would acknowledge the left’s illiberalism was an important cultural event.

Another policy position that made Hentoff unusual—and particularly unwanted—among the left was his opposition to legalized abortion. It was indeed a very courageous stand for a Village Voice writer to take. (more…)