For journalists, angry calls, thinly veiled threats, even outright threats, are a perverse kind of compliment. It’s not that we want to receive vitriolic, often drunken, screeds or threats. And, FYI — threatening people is illegal. But, when someone is opposed enough to the free expression of a free press to get hammered and leave … Continue reading The great honor of being a threat to this president
First Amendment
Religious liberty: A lesson hard-won through oppression
In my previous post I wrote briefly on the new Justice Department religious liberty task force, announced Monday by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The AG's words in making that announcement, I wrote, revealed an intent steeped in fear and intolerance, and having little to do with true religious liberty: Sessions spoke Monday of a “dangerous … Continue reading Religious liberty: A lesson hard-won through oppression
Our resolute response to threats and violence: we publish
Five journalists in Annapolis, Md. lost their lives Thursday, victims of another angry man who felt entitled to settle his grievances with a gun. The events preceding and following their tragic deaths are concerning and inspiring — underscoring the toxicity of discourse and disagreement in America today; but also the resolve of journalists to uphold … Continue reading Our resolute response to threats and violence: we publish
Guns, violence and our dwindling middle ground
Last week, I wrote about two horrific acts of violence. I wrote, in part, about how we’d already forgotten the loud cries for common sense gun regulation — specifically, banning bump stocks — in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting. I wrote in that column that we were apparently waiting until the next mass … Continue reading Guns, violence and our dwindling middle ground
James R. Neal 