Tag Archives: free speech

Another Judge and Free Speech

Posted on by
2

On Friday a Wisconsin judge struck a major blow for free political speech when he quashed subpoenas to conservative groups and ordered the return of property to the targets of a so-called John Doe campaign-finance probe.

Wisconsin John Doe “investigations” are secret, star chamber probes into prosecutorial targets in which even the targets are forbidden to speak publicly.  In this case, the targets were conservative organizations who had supported Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in that state’s recently concluded recall election (which Walker won by a larger margin than his original election).  This secret fishing expedition was being conducted by special prosecutor Francis Schmitz at the behest of Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf.

Wisconsin Judge Gregory A. Peterson tossed most of Schmitz’ subpoenas, generally gutting the Landgraf/Schmitz job action.  Peterson was blunt in his ruling:

[The subpoenas] do not show probable cause that the moving parties committed any violations of the campaign finance laws.

And

There is no evidence of express advocacy [as required under Wisconsin law in order t oshow a violation]…the subpoenas fail to show probable cause that a crime was committed.  …the State is not claiming that any of the independent organizations expressly advocated.

Despite disgruntled Wisconsin Democrats’ best efforts (this is the party, remember, that a couple of years ago ran out of Wisconsin en masse, thereby shutting down the state’s government, when they couldn’t get their way on labor law) to continue their attempts to intimidate those of whom they disapprove and to prevent them from speaking, a judge has intercepted their plans and disrupted them, for a time.

Free Speech, Progressive Style—Renewed

Posted on by
Reply

The Wall Street Journal has the sordid tale.  A week and a half ago, Third Way Founder, Trustee, and Andrew Cuomo ex-aide Jon Cowan and Third Way Founder and Chuck Schumer ex-aide Jim Kessler wrote an opinion piece.  The Third Way is a think tank that thinks from the Left.

Maybe you remember the op-ed: Cowan and Kessler used it to suggest that Americans aren’t quite as liberal some might think based on New York City’s strong election of someone like Bill de Blasio as mayor, that Social Security is nearly bust, and that wealth redistribution actually is pretty unpopular with most of us.

Well.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, et al., demanded among other things, that Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D, PA), walk away from Third Way.  She’s a Third Way Honorary Co-Chair (along with other Progressive luminaries like Congressman James Clyburn (D, SC), Senator Chris Coons (D, DE), and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius), and she also wants to be governor of Pennsylvania.  Responding to her instructions, she denounced the op-ed, in the WSJ‘s words, “faster than you can say Reeducation Camp.”  (Although she’s still listed by Third Way as an Honorary Co-Chair.)

Not to be outdone, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D, MA) sent letters to six large banks which she regulates from her perch on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and in those letters she demanded those banks disclose all their donations to think tanks.

Don’t talk, PCCC and Warren are saying to these miscreants.  Just read from the script we’ve given you.  When we want your opinions, we’ll give them to you.

Free Speech, Progressive Style

Posted on by
Reply

A day after he questioned President Obama’s decision to unwind a major tenet of the health-care law and said the nation’s capital might not go along, DC insurance commissioner William P White was fired.

White did acknowledge that the Deputy Mayor who fired him didn’t specifically lay the cause off to White’s reluctance to rubberstamp Obama, but the DM didn’t give any other reason, either.  And the timing of the firing is…curious.

In a statement White issued after Obama announced his ObamaFix, White said in part,

The action today undercuts the purpose of the exchanges, including the District’s DC Health Link, by creating exceptions that make it more difficult for them to operate[.]

A senior city official, carefully speaking only anonymously, said White’s statement should have been sent to Deputy Mayor Victor Hoskins for prior approval first.  So, the DC Mayor reserves to himself the actions of DC Health Link and he reserves to himself authority for determining the validity and legality of insurance policies sold in the district—not the insurance commissioner’s office.

Yeah.  And if the political line isn’t toed, if the political, pre-written speech is not carefully recited, you’re out.

Hmm….

Free Speech, Belgian Style

Posted on by
Reply

Didier Bellens, CEO of Belgacom (Belgium’s largest telecommunications company) has been fired.  He complained too much about government regulation and taxes.

As The Wall Street Journal described it,

Over the years, Mr Bellens has launched a number of broadsides against the government.  Friday’s dismissal comes after the latest attack, in which he asked a business club breakfast in the chic Brussels suburb of Uccle, “Who’s the worst shareholder?”  His answer: “The Belgian state.”

Yep.  The Belgian government owns 53.5% of Belgacom.  And the government disapproved of Bellens’ political—even business—speech.  Last Friday, Prime Minister Elio di Rupo fired Bellens, announcing

The repeated, accumulated outbursts have irreversibly damaged the confidence of the Belgian state in Mr Bellens[.]

There can’t even be an argument that Bellens hadn’t been performing up to snuff from a business perspective.  Stefaan Genoe, a telecommunications analyst at brokerage Petercam, had this about Bellens’ results:

Overall, Belgacom has evolved very well strategically during his tenure.  It has a very healthy balance sheet.

Dividends are still attractive, at 8 or 9%[.]

And the Progressives in our own government want to Europeanize us.

Hmm….

A Censoring Press

Posted on by
Reply

How does this work, exactly?  The Los Angeles Times has decided that it will no longer publish letters to its editorial staff from “climate change deniers.”

The Times‘ letters editor, Paul Thornton, wrote, with no trace of irony,

Simply put, I do my best to keep errors of fact off the letters page; when one does run, a correction is published.  Saying “there’s no sign humans have caused climate change” is not stating an opinion, it’s asserting a factual inaccuracy.

No statement of an opinion, here.  Mm, mm.  Thornton is a newspaper man.  Each of his statements a Truth.

Here’s what Thornton is demonstrating with his censorship.  When someone is unable to make a coherent argument for his case, when he’s unable to concede the possibility of the error of his case, when he lacks the integrity to concede the possibility of that error, he does his best to prevent the opposing case from being spoken—either through ad hominem attacks against the opposing case’s presenters or, as Thornton does here with his control over speech, through outright censorship of the speech with which he’s unable to dispute coherently.

I can’t hear you, indeed.