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« on: July 06, 2019, 05:13:41 PM » |
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The Patriot Post Digest 6-18-2019
From The Federalist Patriot
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The Patriot Post® · Mid-Day Digest
Jun. 18, 2019
https://patriotpost.us/digests/63721-mid-day-digest
THE FOUNDATION
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” —First Amendment
https://patriotpost.us/fqd/63717-founders-quote-daily
IN TODAY’S EDITION
Leftists are no longer liberal when it comes to free speech.1
Harvard rescinds admission for the “wrong” kind of diversity.2
Daily Features: More Analysis3, Columnists4, Headlines5, Opinion in Brief6, Short Cuts7, Memes8, and Cartoons9.
IN BRIEF
SCOTUS: First Amendment Contradictions?10
These aren’t your grandfather’s liberals. That’s the 75,000-foot view of the modern Left, which has declared its primary mission to suppress disfavored free speech. Two seemingly unrelated Supreme Court cases illustrate what has become the great battle of the early 21st century.
First, The Washington Free Beacon reports11, “The basic details of Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck are mundane. New York City designated Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN), a private nonprofit corporation, operator of a public access channel. Respondents DeeDee Halleck and Jesus Papoleto Melendez produced a film critical of MNN, which MNN agreed to air. The corporation subsequently removed their film and suspended the pair, claiming that they had made threats against MNN employees. Halleck and Melendez sued, claiming that MNN had violated their free speech rights under the First Amendment.”
The broader implications are interesting. Does this provide a test case for how social media is governed under the First Amendment? In other words, can Facebook, Twitter, Google, et al. silence speech because they’re private companies not subject to the First Amendment?
Without answering those questions just yet, let’s turn to the more attention-getting Supreme Court case. The justices declined to hear the case of the Oregon bakers fined and put out of business12 for refusing to create a custom cake for a same-sex wedding. The Court did, however, give Melissa and Aaron Klein some help, vacating a lower-court ruling and the $135,000 fine against them while sending the case back for a rehearing in light of the SCOTUS decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission13.
Unfortunately, SCOTUS ruled fairly narrowly in that case — that Colorado officials were the ones unlawfully discriminating against the baker — leaving unanswered the fundamental question of whether a Christian baker or florist14 can be compelled to create works of art (speech) for weddings that violate their religious beliefs. Whether the lower court will read between the lines and reach the right conclusion on its second try is up for speculation.
On the one hand, we have private companies suppressing speech, while on the other we have private businesses compelled to make certain speech. In both, the authoritarian and totalitarian coercion is coming from one side: the Left. The specific First Amendment applications to private companies are not always clear, but what is plain as day is that the Left aims to constrain certain speech and compel other speech. In a nation built on the ideal of free speech, that’s a dangerous trend.
https://patriotpost.us/articles/63716-scotus-first-amendment-contradictions
Harvard Demonstrates Leftist Double Standard15
Kyle Kashuv, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when it was attacked by a deranged sociopath16 in 2017, was recently informed that his acceptance into Harvard University had been rescinded. Harvard pointed to racist comments Kashuv made in a private online chat when he was 16, prior to the school shooting, as the reason for its decision. Kashuv, who has become a Second Amendment advocate while many of his classmates were used as gun-control pawns17, had already publicly apologized for the comments, noting that they were wrong, that he has matured significantly since making them, and that they don’t represent his current views. Harvard acknowledged Kashuv’s apology but concluded that “after careful consideration the Committee voted to rescind your admission to Harvard College.” In other words, sorry kid but there is no forgiveness for those on the wrong side of the political divide.
As National Review’s David French observes, “Let’s not pretend that Kyle is anything other than a victim of the culture wars. Had he not stepped forward after Parkland as a conservative spokesperson, he would be in no one’s crosshairs. He would have been allowed to make a mistake. At its heart, the attack on Kyle isn’t about making Harvard safe from racists. It’s not about protecting anyone. It’s about politics.”
Ironically, it is Harvard that is guilty of systematic racism18. At least Kashuv willingly admitted he was wrong, apologized for his comments, and all evidence indicates that he has grown up. That’s more than can be said for those “woke” adults running Harvard. The institution has unfairly discriminated against Asian-American applicants in its effort to ensure “equity” and “diversity.” And this institutional racism continues as the university still seeks to judge people not solely on individual academic merit but by the color of their skin.
As the saying goes, leftists would have no standards if not for their double standards. Leftists offer forgiveness and understanding only toward those who bow to their worldview. Interestingly, one would think that a left-leaning school like Harvard would jump at the opportunity to “educate” a young conservative like Kashuv out of his “backward” views. Yet it appears Harvard is more concerned with appeasing the leftist outrage mob.
https://patriotpost.us/articles/63714-harvard-demonstrates-leftist-double-standard
ON OUR WEBSITE TODAY
Featured Analysis: Conservatives Must Be Good Bureaucrats?19 — The movement needs “people who will reliably advance a conservative vision of government.”
Russian Cheating a Reason to Let New START Lapse20 — Time to drop the pretense that arms-control treaties are of any use in securing this country.
Immigration Bullet Points21 — Deportation kerfuffle, Mexico acts to quell illegal migration, Democrats undermine national sovereignty.
American Spirit: Cop Talks Suicidal Man Off Bridge With Hug22 — The officer calmed the man by offering his name and a hug. He saved a life.
Video: Why Break Up YouTube, Google, and Facebook23 — Bill Whittle finds three reasons to break up companies that use algorithms to suppress free speech.
Video: Who Cares About the National Debt?24 — The national debt is so massive that most Americans cannot comprehend it, much less solve it.
TOP NEWS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ENFORCING THE LAW: “President Trump late Monday announced on Twitter that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will begin the process of ‘removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the U.S.,’ but did not elaborate on what new measures will be taken. ‘They will be removed as fast as they come,’ Trump said.” (Fox News26) |
