Bill Maher on Free Speech

On UC Berkeley's De Facto Limitation on Free Speech

The University of California Berkeley, the self proclaimed home of the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s, has proven itself to be anything but that of late.  In February 2017, riots broke out to prevent Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking on campus.  Conservative campus activist David Horowitz was forced to cancel in early April 2017 because of strictures placed upon organizers for security.

Ann Coulter was slated to speak on April 27th but UC Berkeley Administration officials cancelled Ann Coulter from speaking.  The Young Americas Foundation and Berkeley College Republicans filed suit against the University of California Berkeley and University of California system Chancellor Janet Napolitano detailing how the academicians created de facto limitations on free speech and engaged in viewpoint discrimination.

Nonetheless, organizers supposedly withdrew their invitation for Ann Coulter to speak.  There is some controversy over that because the organizers claim that the University never gave them the room or hall for the event. However, the polemicist used that premise to cancel her appearance on campus despite Ms. Coulter's prior protestations. Sadly, the heckler's veto triumphed, even though Coulter and the College Republicans was solidly within Free Speech rights.  

Even though Ann Coulter was a no-show at Berkeley, riot police still had to prepare for violence from both antifa elements and  clashing counter-protesters. 

Berkeley's reputation on free speech will again be tested later this year as Milo Yiannapoulos is attempting a grand comeback with a multi- Free Speech event on campus. 

Bernie Sanders on Free Speech and UC Berkeley

The GOP's Milo Test?

Last week, CPAC seemed to have scored a coup in landing provocateur extraordinaire Milo Yiannopoulos as the "Conservative" Political Action Committee's keynote speaker. Yiannopoulos was slated to speak about free speech on campus, as he was at the center of the UC Berkeley riots at the start of February.   

However, less than three days later on Washington's Birthday Observed (a.k.a. Presidents' Day), this honor was unceremoniously yanked from Milo, after Yiannopoulos made some statements which seemed to condone pederasty.  Yiannapoulos' book deal also was cancelled.

Many new to the political scene in support of President Donald Trump seemed ideologically enamored to Milo's in-your-face publicity stunts and alt-right rhetoric.  Whether this episode establishes the high mark for Alt-Right infiltration of Republicans or it underlines the tension between the establishment GOP and the so-called "basket of deplorables" nationalist populist wing remains to be seen.