Monday, June 25, 2007

Some things aren't worth fighting for

Maybe it's blaming the victim but I'm really pissed at the Bong Hits 4 Jesus guy. (Who by the way, cares so much about free speech, he's now living in China, thank you very much.) Thanks to his dogged pursuit of the right to be an idiot, First Amendment rights of students have been rolled back decades. I mean, dude, if you're going to fight for your right to free speech, try having something less moronic to say. Even I have a hard time getting enthused over your right to hang a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner, and now, as a result of your campaign, we now have "a special First Amendment rule permitting the censorship of any student speech that mentions drugs, at least so long as someone could perceive that speech to contain a latent pro-drug message" (from Stevens' dissent).

Particularly repulsive is the fact that, as Stevens points out, on the same day, the court found in favor of Wisconsin Right to Life, in a decision that weakens campaign finance reforms. Roberts writes, "Where the First Amendment is implicated, the tie goes to the speaker, not the censor." Perhaps a "Bong Hits 4 the Unborn" banner would have had more play with the court.

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