FEPP Archives - Issues - Political Speech

Culture on Trial: The Story of 3 Landmark Censorship Cases
(Winter 2002) - The trial that freed James Joyce's Ulysses; the case that broke the Catholic Church stranglehold over American movies; and the McCarthy Era case that ended teachers' loyalty oaths.

Words on Fire: Book Censorship in America Today
(March 13, 2003) - At the opening of Boston's Words on Fire festival commemorating the 70th anniversary of the first Nazi book burnings, a survey of book censorship in America today.

The Impact of the USA PATRIOT Act on Free Expression
(May 5, 2003) - FEPP Senior Research Fellow Nancy Kranich surveys the chilling effects of the government's broad, new, secret surveillance powers.

Terrorism and the Constitution
(August 19, 2003) - David Cole and James Dempsey's new book gives sobering background on the "USA Patriot Act" and on America's habit of sacrificing civil liberties in the name of national security.

Update on the Perils of the "USA PATRIOT Act"
(August 27, 2003) - An update from Senior Research Fellow Nancy Kranich on the chilling effects of the government's new surveillance powers.

MATRIX and the New Surveillance States
(October 16, 2003) - Senior Research Fellow Nancy Kranich describes the perils of our newest data-mining technology.

Media Democracy and the First Amendment
(November 14, 2003) - Why government regulation to break up media conglomerates advances democracy and the First Amendment.

Supreme Court Upholds the Campaign Finance Law
(December 10, 2003) - Recognizing that influence-peddling and political corruption are undermining our democracy, the Supreme Court has turned back a constitutional challenge to the major provisions of the McCain-Feingold law.

Part of the "USA PATRIOT Act" is Unconstitutional
(January 27, 2004) - Court rules that ban on "expert advice or assistance" to groups branded as "terrorist" could easily include "unequivocally pure speech and advocacy protected by the First Amendment."

Disney and Corporate Censorship
(May 21, 2004) - What's the real problem with the Walt Disney Company's refusal to distribute Michael Moore's film, Fahrenheit 9/11?

Supreme Court Strengthens Cheney's Hand
(June 24, 2004) - The justices guard government secrecy against potentially "vexatious litigation."

Structural Free Expression Issues
(September 10, 2004) - How the copyright system, media regulation, and government funding affect free speech.

The Attack on Science
(December 7, 2004) - From environmental hazards to sex education, the federal government in the past several years has been twisting science to political ends.

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