US constitutional case law says debate on public issues can be caustic — “I don’t have to be nice to you”

Simon Campbell speaks at the Pennsbury School Board meeting serves it up to the Board President he calls “Mussolini”. (h/t commenter Lance for details)

From the Supreme Court case of New York Times versus Sullivan, 1964

US constitutional case law says:

This nation is founded on the profound national principle that debate on public issues shall be uninhibited, robust, and wide open and it may include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on Government and public officials.

Watch the video, not just for the content but for the force with which he delivers it. He will not be deterred, bullied or silenced. He wades right through the intimidation. He knows what his rights are, he has come prepared, and he will not submit.

Most of the snowflake generation need to hear this quote to counter the false power of the cancel culture bullies who cry injury — racism, sexism, and hurty-pronounism.  Free Speech may offend people, especially public officials.

h/t Also to Tom Nelson

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41 comments to US constitutional case law says debate on public issues can be caustic — “I don’t have to be nice to you”

  • #
    Lance

    The speaker’s name is Simon Campbell.

    He is a free speech advocate/activist in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA.

    https://twitter.com/LimeySimon

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  • #
    TdeF

    Controlling the education of our children is the first objective of the extreme left, the Liberal fascists. And silencing dissenting voices is their first move. What parent really wants trans and gay activists and drag queens educating their children. And what is the point of professional teachers if they pass their responsibility to unqualified, inappropriate, biased extremists. Climate Change, Trans rights, Critical Race Theory are not the principles on which America or Australia were founded. And parents have had enough of extremists in schools and on school boards teaching gender fluidity, gay rights and racism and a hatred of democracy. And even Walt Disney’s child entertainment company has become an activist child grooming educator with its films banned in other countries.

    We have the same problems in Australia in the most advanced, fairest, democratic countries in the free world. Teachers and University lecturers are anti democracy, pro racism and pro whatever looney idea is next proposed. Racism and trans rights and gender issues are just the latest fake issues and not problems facing the world. People can identify as chipmunks if they like, as long as its not compulsory. No wonder they are nuts.

    Liberal Socialists are really the new totalitarians who work from within to destroy Democracies and the privileged inner city elitists who grow no food, do no manual work and drive their electric cars and demand their bicycles dominate access to cities are openly profiteering, living on the hard work of others.
    In the US in particular, extremely violent black shirt Anti FA are Mussolini’s fascisti and BLM plainly do not care at all about black lives. They don’t matter. The greatest victims of state sponsored even full term abortion are the poor and crime ridden violent black ghettos. The Democrats were always the party of slavers and offering free abortion to the poorest communities is in itself appalling racism.

    Fake Climate Change/Global Warming is just another popular tool to bring down and disrupt and oppress Western Societies. No one in China or Russia or South American or India or Africa or Eastern Europe believes a word of it. Because it’s so obviously not true. Where’s the warming? Where’s the sea rise? And why is the world greening rapidly?

    And Joe Biden is now selling the massive US oil reserves built up by Trump not to reduce oil prices in America but overseas and now even shipments of US reserves are being sent to China! Extremist Democrats open hate America and Americans and deride the US constitution while endlessly provoking Russia and handing every advantage to China.

    The only reason Taiwan has not been invaded is that no one in China has a clue what the leader of the free world, Joe Biden, would do. Anyone who can destroy everything done in Afghanistan in a single mad moment, withdraw an army in a single night without any planning could start WWIII without Blinken. Peace in the world is hanging by a thread.

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    • #
      Kalm Keith

      An extraordinary summary of “where we are today”.

      The paragraph on “privileged inner city elitists who grow no food, do no manual work” etc is touching on one of the core problems; being out of touch with, or never having been in touch with reality.

      Too many people are being bought off by government misdirection of the community focus.

      They’re led by the nose towards matters that have no link with the real world and are spun around in a mish mash of self centered micro issues that lead to the eventual collapse of the system which supports them.

      Yesterday their ABCCC quoted a politician describing their vision for the revitalisation of the state. He said that funding for twenty thousand New university places would improve the situation.
      Amazing; most of those people wouldn’t realise it but they’re essentially being sent to the modern woke equivalent of the old Russkie Gulags. Out of sight, out of mind.

      Back in the real world there’s great urgency in arranging the thousands of workers from the Pacific island to come over for the harvest. Sorry, cancel that, the current floods have washed the crops away. If only we had built dams.

      Australia, going nowhere in a hurry.

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      • #
        Ian

        “Sorry, cancel that, the current floods have washed the crops away. If only we had built dams.”

        Why in 9 years of goverernment did the LNP not build dams?

        “Amazing; most of those people wouldn’t realise it but they’re essentially being sent to the modern woke equivalent of the old Russkie Gulags. Out of sight, out of mind”

        Absolute rubbish. Have you ever been a university academic? I have and the reality is that courses keep to their program. Do you think the program for doctors and dentists and pharmacists and biochemists and lawyers and accountants and biologists and mathematicians and physicists and a host of other programs focus on wokery? If so you are sadly mistaken. These programs are constructed by academics in conjunction with those who are practising in these areas.

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        • #
          yarpos

          “Have you ever been a university academic? I have..”

          Yes it shows. No political party has initiated dam construction for decades.

          Observable reality would indicate that the value that our tertiary institutions bring to society has declined markedly. They seem to have become woke holding pens that feed out people with useless degrees, and little ability for critical thinking.

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          • #
            Ian

            “Yes it shows. No political party has initiated dam construction for decades.”

            Best keep up Yarpos. In 2013 Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is reportedly considering building as many as 100 dams across the country as part of a plan to prevent floods, fuel power stations and irrigate food bowls at a cost of $30 billion.
            “https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/abbotts-dam-plan-completely-wild-20130214-2ee3u.html”

            In March 2022 Scott Morrison promised to build a body of water four times the size of Sydney Harbour. The Prime Minister says the mega dam will be a game changer for Queensland.
            But it will come at an eye-watering cost and is still subject to several approvals.
            Mr Morrison was in Townsville on Wednesday to spruik his $5.4 billion commitment to get the Hells Gate Dam project off the ground.
            https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/pm-pledges-to-build-dam-four-time-size-of-sydney-harbour/news-story/488abd9de6acbc71066458c7afb32985

            Perhaps if you’d been to uni you might have known that button course the LNP talk the talk but as you remark, never walk the walk

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        • #
          Honk R Smith

          I know someone in Med school.
          There’s lots of ‘marginalized’ patient focus.
          A male student was kicked out for using ‘dismissive’ language when criticizing the wokeism you claim is not there.
          It’s also now pass/fail, so there’s no ranking or grading.
          My wife is an academic, she was brought on the carpet by two administrators, paid 3 times as much as her, for an hour, and written up … for accidently using the wrong pronoun.
          The mistake wasn’t the crime, it was apologizing for the mistake.
          Somehow the apology ‘singled’ the person out, causing discomfort.
          Academia is drowning in ‘woke’ ideology.
          So … you’re wrong.

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          • #
            Doctor T

            And I teach medical students.
            I can certainly confirm the presence of woke ideology in undergraduate medicine, if not a central tenet, certainly a strong theme.
            Also the teaching of Covid orthodoxy (vaccines good; big pharma good; ivermectin, hydroxychloroquin, Vitamin D don’t even exist).

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            • #
              Ian

              “I can certainly confirm the presence of woke ideology in undergraduate medicine, if not a central tenet, certainly a strong theme.
              Also the teaching of Covid orthodoxy (vaccines good; big pharma good; ivermectin, hydroxychloroquin, Vitamin D don’t even exist).”

              What years are these students? My students who are in their penultimate year are far too engrossed in their outside placements and their academic studies to have much time for anything else.

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              • #
                Old Goat

                Ian,
                Perhaps you could enlighten us as to what subjects you teach and where . We would like to assess your credentials…..

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              • #
                Doctor T

                Generally 1st or 2nd year.
                Post-graduate medicine, so they have all undertaken a further undergraduate course.

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              • #
                Ian

                “Perhaps you could enlighten us as to what subjects you teach and where . We would like to assess your credentials…..

                Subjects are Biochemistry, Clinical Biochemistry, Endocrinology, some Molecular Biology and Immunology at Curtin University and latterly Clinical Biochemistry and Endocrinology at Notre Dame,

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              • #
                Old Goat

                Ian,
                Just did a quick search and the only Ian on staff was Ian Fitzsimons . Is that you ?

                [Anonymity is something we respect here. Please tread lightly.] ED

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            • #
              Yonason

              @“Dr” T

              You write – “Generally 1st or 2nd year.
              Post-graduate medicine, so they have all undertaken a further undergraduate course.”

              What do you mean “post-graduate medicine,”D.T.? Isn’t that usually med school, or, having completed that, internship? I mean, medicine is not usually taught to undergrads, and even when it it is in some special programs, they still graduate as “Dr’s,” from where they advance their medical experience not as “grad students,” but as interns.

              Perhaps you are referring to “pre-med?”

              Care to clarify?

              Thx in advance.

              00

          • #
            Ian

            “My wife is an academic, she was brought on the carpet by two administrators, paid 3 times as much as her, for an hour, and written up … for accidently using the wrong pronoun.”

            I too have been accused by administrators of being racist as I refused to allow a white South African entry to a course as his application was far too late. The administrator wanted to know if I was anti-white. Fortunately administrators don’t teach students

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        • #

          The LNP Federal Government could not get the Dams built because of States Rights, Environmental Issues, Greenie Protests, Legal Challenges, etc. As I understand it, it’s the States that have the rights to build the Dams and not the Federal Government. The Snowy River Scheme was a combination (coalition) of the Federal Government and the NSW and Victoria State Governments I do believe. Otherwise, it would likely never have happened.

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          • #
            Graeme No.3

            The Federal Government bought the 2 States share in the Snowy River Corporation for (about) $6 billion to stop objections. Both States blew the money because they had an election coming and are both in more debt.

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        • #
        • #
          Gary S

          ‘These programs are constructed by (woke) academics in conjunction with those (equally woke) who are practising in these areas.’ Reads much better now.

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          • #
            Ian

            “‘These programs are constructed by (woke) academics in conjunction with those (equally woke) who are practising in these areas.’”

            So medics and pharmacists and mathematicians and all the rest are just wokists.
            yeaj=h right. You ever even seen a university?

            010

        • #
          Ian

          “Ian, have a quick look for your marbles.”

          At least I have some to look for where as yours seem to have been irrevocably lost

          01

  • #
    Peter C

    Do we have a such a Law ourselves in Australia?
    The Andrew Bolt Case went the other way.
    It has not been appealed yet. Maybe we do need a Bill of Rights.

    150

    • #
      TdeF

      A bill of rights is the reverse of the English Westminster system which dictates what you can’t do, not what you can. Both work but not together.

      However while Gillian Triggs race police had no actual powers without human ‘rights’ laws, their unlimited and fully government funded access to the legal system allowed them to create a legal intimidation system which extracted $350,000 a year in fines for offending, at $5000 a time. And so university students and many others paid up to avoid being dragged through courts for years, even if they were completely innocent. It became a reprehensible money extraction by intimidation industry based on alleged racism. A single comment could and did cost a minimum $5000 for alleged hurt feelings.

      People do not understand that a bill of rights approach on top of our laws of wrongs would create an unworkable mess. And as has been demonstrated, Australia’s Human Rights Commission had only the power to intimidate. We do not have rights laws, human rights laws. We do not need to load that gun by creating more laws like a ‘voice’ in parliament when like America, our society insists that all men are created equal, under the law. And speech is free, notwithstanding laws on defamation which are ignored by the infinitely rich ABC. A golden quill award was won for the jailing of Cardinal Pell without any evidence at all. Clearly an outstanding achievement of ABC journalism, plus the recent demolition of the Australian Attorney General on unproven libellous allegations. As Ghislane Maxwell’s father proved, you can get away with any slander if you have enough money and the government has infinite money, your money.

      Western Democracies are by far the least racist countries in the world. Think India, Pakistan, Saudi, Japan, China or Rwanda. And free speech in Australia is protected by default, as in America. What Triggs and others attempt to do was to silence people by intimidation, as did this school board. Removing the voice from people and this speaker just ignored the microphone being muted. Not everyone has the strength of character and loudness of voice to be able to do that. And it took an Englishman to lecture Americans on their own rights.

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      • #
        Peter C

        A bill of rights is the reverse of the English Westminster system which dictates what you can’t do, not what you can. Both work but not together.

        Interesting Point TdeF.
        Judge Mordechai Bromberg took the list of things that one cannot say to a whole new level.

        How can we reclaim our Freedom of Speech?

        100

      • #

        “The American is the Englishman left to himself.”

        Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835.

        100

      • #
        Bruce

        An interesting thing to note is that ‘ballot” and “bullet” are closely intertwined etymologically.
        “Bullet” is an anglicized word derived from the French for “ball” as in “musket ball”.
        “Ballot” is similarly derived from the use of “balls” whilst voting, (stop that sniggering), in older voting procedures. These involved depositing a “yea” or “nay” ball in a box as a “secret vote” to be subject to a scrutinized count; thus, “ballot box”.

        Hence the concept of “the four boxes of Liberty”:

        “There are four boxes to be used in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo (bullet). Please use in that order.”

        So, what is one to make of the systematic ‘creativity” being inflicted on the PUBLIC use of ALL of these boxes?

        60

    • #
      Eng_Ian

      The jail term would start at 5 years in DicDanistan for doing similar.

      Remember, we’re all in this together, unless you’re exempt by being at the top of the cess pit.

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  • #
    cadger

    Theo Fleury is a former NHL hockey player considered “too small” at 5’6″ to play professionally.

    Won the Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theoren_Fleury

    60

  • #
    Graham Richards

    Ooh goodie.
    The President can now be addressed by his real title. Ar$&@%€e deluxe. We’ve also got one who is minister or something for energy & environment!!

    80

  • #

    The US Constitution Rules the USA. ‘We the People’ is paramount. Government and Public Officials, get back in your Box.

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  • #
    Zane

    I bet the guy being addressed doesn’t even know who Benito Mussolini is.

    80

  • #
    melbourne+resident

    I loved it – pity he wasnt sticking it up to some Federal government people – not just a school board. Why cant we have a public enquiry of the Government of Danistan? I would pay for this guy to represent the public of Victoria!

    80

  • #
    bobby b

    Free speech is a safety feature. I want to know all of the horrid things my enemies are saying. I want them to tell me exactly what they think of me. I want them out there proclaiming their philosophies and showing their true colors.

    As soon as I silence them publicly, I’ll no longer know what they’re thinking and planning. I won’t know when they’re trying to convince others of their idiocy, and I won’t be able to counter their idiocy to their audience.

    Me, I’ll impose my own free speech restrictions on myself. No sense giving them a heads-up on all my plans.

    20