News & Opinion

The New York Times argues that the recent rash of censorship reflects weakness parading as strength. Their editorial states, “A political project convinced of the superiority of its ideas doesn’t need the power of the state to shield people from competing ideas. Censorship is the desperate rear-guard action of a movement that has already lost the fight for hearts and minds.” (The New York Times, September 10, 2022, by The Editorial Board) Erin Blakemore in

The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Washington state could restrict mental health workers from attempting to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity through conversion therapy. A family therapist claimed the state was violating his free speech rights, but the court ruled for the state, “States do not lose the power to regulate the safety of medical treatments performed under the authority of a state license merely because those treatments are

A federal judge blocked an Arizona law from taking effect on September 24 that would keep those recording the activities of police officer no closer than eight feet. It is curious that neither state Attorney General Mark Brnovich or Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, named in the suit, said they would defend the law in court. (AZ Mirror, September 9, 2022, by Caitlin Sievers and Jim Small) Federal District Judge John J. Tuchi gave the

Republican candidates are upping their sharing of unreliable news sources according to a study by two researchers. From January to July of 2020 Republican congressional candidates tallied 8 percent shared links with unreliable sites, Democratic candidates, less than one percent. But from January to July of 2022, Republican candidates tallied 36 percent with Democrats at 2 percent. Republican non incumbents shared the most unreliable news with Alaska candidate Sarah Palin at 99 percent unreliable sources.