It could be that I’m from the Soviet Union, or it could be that I love dystopian literature, but I was always under the impression that a “ban” was a prohibition. When a book was banned, its publication, possession, consumption, and often mere mention were criminal offenses. A book ban, from my understanding
The brouhaha over political demonstrations during the National Anthem makes me think of a scene from “Junior Bonner,” a 1972 Sam Peckinpah film about rodeo cowboys starring Steve McQueen. A barroom brawl has broken out during the rodeo’s noontime break, and the biggest bruiser in the joint decides to put a stop to
Sunday was a rough day for the NFL and for football fans. U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), never one to miss an opportunity to oppose President Trump, made sure to tweet his guidance to the adults of America: “NFL players: You have the right to protest Trump.” The problem for Sasse is this
The natural right of an individual to speak freely has been under assault by the Left for decades. With the election of Donald Trump, the pace and ferocity of the Left’s attacks on the freedom of speech have only accelerated. The urge among progressives to codify into law “hate speech” exceptions to the
My 30th Harvard College reunion is in October. I plan to attend to see good friends and share great memories. Harvard asked for a donation. When I did not respond, they asked for a smaller one. Finally, the alumni office asked for just $10 as a sign of support. But I will not
Forty-thousand versus 25. Those were the relative numbers of people that showed up in Boston last month for a free speech rally and its counter-protest. It was an absurd spectacle. CBS Boston has aerial photos showing the two-dozen free-speechers huddled on a bandstand with officers milling around them. A fence encircles the area,
In the wake of President Trump’s election, the Democratic Party that nominated the first Roman Catholic for president, Al Smith, and elected the only Roman Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, has been trying to divine how best to restore its appeal to “blue collar” voters—a vast swath of whom are culturally conservative Catholics.
Fascism is indefensible. Antifa is also indefensible. Both are antithetical to civil society and need to be put down decisively. Street violence in Berkeley last month left several people injured, all in the name of opposing “fascism,” “white supremacy” and “hate.” Even Mayor Jesse Arreguin, who tried to excuse Antifa vandalism in the
Since February’s violence in Berkeley, which stopped a scheduled speech on campus by Milo Yiannopoulos, the media and the political Left’s relationship with Antifa has been similar to that of your favorite codependent couple; they’re either publicly and passionately in love with each other or loudly breaking up for-the-very-last-time and taking out restraining
At Yale, where censorship never sleeps, the Committee of Public Safety—no, wait, that was Robespierre’s plaything. Yale’s new bureaucracy is called the “Committee on Art in Public Spaces.” Its charge? To police works of art on campus, to make sure that images offensive to favored populations are covered over or removed. At the
