by Roland Stoy for The Reporter UPDATE: The painting was later showen at an art show less than a block away from the courthouse. According to the artist: "Everyone that saw the painting appreciated it and some folks had strong words for the courthouse officials that pulled the art from exhibit. I felt it was a real coup to display [...]
Just days prior to the confirmation hearing of Dr. James Holsinger, Bush's controversial nominee for Surgeon General, the current and two former Surgeon Generals testified about political interference of that office. At a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona testified that the Bush administration would not allow him to speak [...]
Recent investigations by the media, and an impending congressional oversight hearing, have highlighted Vice President Dick Cheney and White House Senior Advisor Karl Rove's role in censoring the findings of biologists working for the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The Three Rivers Arts Festival (TRAF) in Pittsburgh pulled a video installation by artist Carolina Loyola-Garcia from display in its “Best of Pittsburgh 2007” exhibition. One of the Festival’s corporate sponsors, PPG Industries, had offered its property for the exhibition but objected to the video installation on the basis that it was inappropriate for display. The video, entitled “The need [...]
I am writing on behalf of the National Coalition Against Censorship, an alliance of 50 national non-profit organizations united in defense of free expression, regarding the recent removal from the Three Rivers Arts Festival of a video installation by Carolina Loyola-Garcia entitled “The need to wash the self with milk and honey.”
In July, a fractured Supreme Court issued four separate rulings in Morse v. Frederick, the case involving a high school student who was suspended after standing on a public sidewalk in Juneau, Alaska, displaying a banner that read “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.” (See CN#104.) The result is a narrow but disturbing loss for First Amendment advocates, who are left to [...]
In the now-infamous "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case – Morse v. Frederick – the Supreme Court ruled this week that school principal Deborah Morse did not violate Joseph Frederick's First Amendment rights. Below, we've collected commentary on how this landmark case (the first time the Court has weighed students' free speech rights in over 20 years) could affect free speech in the future.