A federal district judge, Mark Walker, found Florida governor’s “Stop WOKE Act,” restricting talk of race in schools and the workplace, failed to meet constitutional standards for free speech. Wrote Walker, “Normally, the First Amendment bars the state from burdening speech, while private actors may burden speech freely. But in Florida, the First Amendment apparently bars private actors from burdening speech, while the state may burden speech freely.” (New York Post, August 19, 2022, by

A Washington Post editorial, August 18, 2022, laments that politicians are placing restrictions on journalists trying to cover the news. The worst offenders have been candidates backed by former president Donald Trump. The Post writes, “These trends don’t just hinder media coverage. They also insulate would-be leaders from tough questions and thorny issues. Mostly, they hurt voters by leaving them less informed.” Chris Quinn, the editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, rejected ground rules for

Madison, Wisconsin won a victory in federal court as the court ruled that the free speech rights of coffee shop owners were not violated by public health orders to take down a sign saying “this is a mask free zone.”(Wisconsin State Journal, August 16, 2022, by Chris Rickert) A Washington state court of appeals ruled that the act of not wearing a mask did not qualify for First Amendment protection. The court cited a number