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freedom of speech

Thursday 2nd of October 2025

2020 Presidential election President Trump'a speech inciting the crowd that breached the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was not protected by the First Amendment. Anderson v. Griswold, majority decision, Supreme Court of the State of Colorado  © 2023 Kwiple.com
Bad news Desiree Fairooz was convicted last week for laughing during Jefferson Beauregard Sessions' confirmation hearing – a hearing in which the attorney general said under oath that he had had no contact with Russian officials during the elections, when he actually had. citation The Guardian, May 8, 2017 © 2017 Kwiple.com
Bad news One of the things I'm goin to do if I win … I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. Donald Trump © 2016 Kwiple.com
By the numbers Minimum number of states in which laws to criminalize political protest have been introduced this year: 9 Harper's Index, April 2017 © 2017 Kwiple.com
By the numbers Percentage of U.S. Latinos who would support a law criminalizing offensive speech about white people: 47 Of US whites: 26 Harper's Index, January 2018 © 2017 Kwiple.com
China There's no question China has been trying to crack down on the internet. Good luck! That’s sort of like trying to nail jello to the wall. Bill Clinton, 2000 speech on China Trade Bill urging Congress to admit China into the World Trade Organization © 2023 Kwiple.com
Freedom of speech The argument from the  “marketplace of ideas” model of free speech works only if the underlying disposition of the society is to accept the force of reason over the power of irrational resentment and prejudice. If the society is divided, however, then a demogogic politician can exploit  the division by using language to sow fear, accentuate prejudice, and call for revenge against members of hated groups. Attempting to counter such rhetoric with reason is akin to using a pamphlet against a pistol. Jason Stanley, How Fascism Works © 2023 Kwiple.com
Freedom of speech The Defendant had a right, like every American, to speak publicly about the election and even to claim, falsely, that there had been outcome-determinative fraud during the election and that he had won. He was also entitled to formally challenge the results of the election through lawful and appropriate means, such as by seeking recounts or audits of the popular vote in states or filing lawsuits challenging ballots and procedures. Indeed, in many cases, the Defendant did pursue these methods of contesting the election results. His efforts to change the outcome in any state through recounts, audits, or legal challenges were uniformly unsuccessful. United States of America v. Donald J. Trump © 2023 Kwiple.com
Freedom of speech Free speech involves both the mouth and the ear. Timothy Garton Ash, Financial Times, July 13, 2020 © 2020 Kwiple.com
Freedom of speech Get him out. Try not to hurt him. If you do, I'll defend you in court. Donald Trump, telling his supporters to remove a critic from his rally, February 29, 2016, Warren, MI and elsewhere © 2016 Kwiple.com
Freedom of speech If we ask not who is ashamed to speak but who is stigmatized for speech, it is easier to diagnose what is a crisis and what is fearmongering. Tressie McMillan Cottom, New York Times, April 12, 2022 © 2022 Kwiple.com
Freedom of speech If you were supposed to watch your mouth all the time I doubt your eyes would be above it “Gravity's Gone,” by Drive-By Truckers © 2016 Kwiple.com
Freedom of speech It's not about race. It's not about free speech. They can do free speech on their own time. Steven Mnuchin, objecting to NFL players who kneel during singing of the national anthem as a protest against racial injustice © 2017 Kwiple.com
Freedom of speech Wouldn't you love to see one of the NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired. He's fired!” Donald Trump, on NFL players who kneel during singing of the national anthem as a protest against racial injustice © 2017 Kwiple.com
Gun lobbyists say Government workers who publicly support gun controls should be fired for failing to defend constitutional rights  © 2018 Kwiple.com
Kwiple dictionary First Amendment (fûrst ə mend' ment), n. According to Supreme Court decisions since the mid-1970s, it's the Constitutional provision that guarantees corporations and non-profits the right to spend unlimited amounts to buy elections, legislatures and courts, and ordinary people the right to burn flags in protest, except on its grounds. © 2015 Kwiple.com
Profiles in courage Roger Goodell, commissioner of the NFL, the world's most lucrative sports league, – fearing losing revenue because yokels bought Trump's and Russian imposter account BoycottNFL's malarkey that players' protests against racial injustice were protests against the flag – sent a memo to owners saying players – 70% of whom are black – should stop protesting in public © 2017 Kwiple.com
Republicans say Criminalizing political speech is change we believe in © 2017 Kwiple.com
Republicans say Imposing the “global gag rule” that prohibits any USAid funding going to NGOs that fail to certify they will not use funds from any source whatsoever to perform or even mention abortions anywhere in the world, is change we believe in © 2017 Kwiple.com
Republicans say People with the deepest pockets deserve the loudest voices © 2015 Kwiple.com
Republicans say Protecting drivers from liability for injuring protesters on streets is change we believe in © 2017 Kwiple.com
Resisters say You have the right to remain silent but I don't want it  Placard, Women's March on Washington, January 21, 2017 © 2017 Kwiple.com
Selfie I never, ever cheated. I don't condone cheating. But I would sometimes spread misinformation. That is a great tactic. Misinformation can be very important. Rand Paul © 2015 Kwiple.com
Selfie Write something that makes me look bad, they'll find your body — or rather, they won't find it. Roger Stone,  the GOP's “king of dirty tricks” joking with a journalist from Rolling Stone  magazine © 2016 Kwiple.com
Selfie I spent a couple of bucks on legal fees and they spent a lot more. I did it to make his life miserable, which I'm happy about. Donald Trump, on spending two years before his case was dismissed suing Tim O'Brien, author of TrumpNation, for writing that his net worth was most likely not in the billions as he frequently claimed but in the low hundreds of millions © 2016 Kwiple.com
Sleepers at the wheel say It's time to take the poison out of the pen and keyboard. Kellyanne Conway, calling for an end to criticism of Donald Trump king of conflicts of interest and America's biggest loser, by 2,864,974 votes © 2017 Kwiple.com
Sleepers at the wheel say Talking back means your voice will be heard © 2018 Kwiple.com
Social media Social media companies' mistake has been to assume that  unregulated speech from powerful people is a hallmark of democracy rather than a threat to it. Emily Bell, Financial Times, January 13, 2021 © 2021 Kwiple.com
State of the union Left-wing and right-wing political correctness running amok © 2015 Kwiple.com
State of the union Within the particular domain of independent political advocacy the principle of free speech now trumps the principle that previously inspired congressional regulation of campaign finance, namely that there is a public interest in preventing the appearance of corruption in electoral politics. Richard M. Valelly, American Politics © 2018 Kwiple.com
Surely you jest After someone wrote “Trump 2016” in chalk on a campus sidewalk at Emory University, students erupt in protest, calling it hate speech that makes them feel unsafe © 2016 Kwiple.com
Surely you jest Hold your tongue © 2015 Kwiple.com
Surely you jest  The president is an incredible advocate of the First Amendment. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, getting the “incredible” part right when asked about Trump's call for the Senate Intelligence Committee to look into what he calls “fake news” broadcast he claims by NBC and other “Fake News Networks” © 2017 Kwiple.com
Surely you jest Nobody believes in the First Amendment more than I do. citation Donald Trump © 2018 Kwiple.com
Surely you jest !!  Trigger warnings  !! © 2016 Kwiple.com
Surveillance Today, journalists in dozens of countries broke the story that military-grade surveillance technology, initially believed to be used for criminals and terrorists, was weaponized against journalists, political rivals, activists and lawyers from around the world. The revelation of this misuse of Pegasus, a surveillance software licensed and sold by the Israeli spyware firm NSO Group, has stirred outrage and calls for the spyware to be better regulated by global governments. Maddowblog, July 19, 2021 [Pegasus is “zero click” spyware]  © 2021 Kwiple.com
Technology To put the matter bluntly, if we had the polarized politics of today  but the information technology of the 1950s, we almost certainly would not have seen the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, at the United States Capitol. Millions of Republican voters would  probably not have believed the false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump and demanded from state legislatures new restrictive voting rules and fake election “audits” to counter phantom voter fraud. Richard Hasen, New York Times, March 7, 2022 © 2022 Kwiple.com
 
Trumpists say But if they put him in jail for his First Amendment right, he will be like Nelson Mandela. I mean, that would be just absurd. Alina Habba, his lawyer [He'd be jailed not for violating his First Amendment right, but for violating a judge's gag order prohibiting him from speaking publicly about courtroom staff, prosecutors, or any of their family members, and jurors or witnesses, knowing his supporters often dox and threaten those he attacks] © 2024 Kwiple.com