From Roger Cohen, NYT (even though he DOES fantasize that there will be no return to tyranny in the Arab world):
Still, I defend the right of the video’s authors even if I loathe what they produced. The U.S. Supreme Court, in its 1969 Brandenburg v. Ohio decision, overturned the conviction of a Ku Klux Klan leader who had menaced political officials with violence, saying that “the constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not permit a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force.” As Glenn Greenwald wrote in The Guardian, “Obviously, if the state cannot suppress speech even where it explicitly advocates violence, then it cannot suppress a video on the ground that it implicitly incites violence.”The rich maelstrom of ideas in the United States is inextricably tied to this fundamental freedom. It cannot be compromised.
So then, I guess Roger Cohen does not support the Administration's policy of putting the guy in jail on trumped up parole violations.
ReplyDeleteAmazing, right?
ReplyDeleteBut there it is
This administration does grasp the significance of eroding freedom of expression, IMO.
ReplyDeleteBecause....
If we curb freedom of expression so as not to rile up Muslims, then the idea will be carried further to no criticism of the administration, particularly if criticism is perceived as a "reason" for violence or an attempt on the life of Obama -- or as a "reason" for the stalemate on Capitol Hill.
Oops. Forget to check the notifications box.
ReplyDelete