America partied hard yesterday and celebrated its 250th birthday, so this weekend’s free speech update is going full revolutionary pamphlet-mode. We’ve got a shot of Thomas Paine via @reason, a bunch of Frederick Douglass cocktails via @TheFIREorg, @NicoPerrino on @freespeechtalk with Anthony Aycock, and assorted apertifs from @sarahemclaugh, @StrangelEdweird, @tyler_tone, @CarolynIodice, @FreeSpeech_AI, plus international free speech news from Australia and Uganda. Also: @damonroot's “A Glorious Liberty” is my book of the semisesquicentennial (a term that gives new meaning to “words fail”). Catch it all, here:

Pro-life demonstrators were ARRESTED at the Alamo for standing outside a “free speech zone.” This is nuts - even to us. A group of abortion abolitionists holding signs and preaching near the historic site were ordered by Texas DPS officers to move into a small designated area or face arrest. When they refused, officers took several into custody on criminal trespass charges. Booking records confirm at least two men were processed and later released on bond. The Alamo’s official policy recognizes First Amendment rights but confines public-policy advocacy and political activity to a marked free speech zone near H&M and Rivercenter Mall. The rest of the complex is treated as a nonpublic forum. Demonstrators argued they were simply exercising free speech on PUBLIC LAND at a site that stands as a symbol of Texas liberty. A place built on the blood of men who fought for freedom now tells citizens where they are allowed to speak? That contradiction deserves scrutiny. Free speech zones at a public historic landmark raise serious questions about how far authorities can go in restricting peaceful protest. Now in fairness, here's some important context. The Texas General Land Office (GLO) has jurisdiction over the Alamo Complex under state law. The GLO is responsible for its preservation, maintenance, and historical integrity. Day-to-day operations are managed by Alamo Trust, Inc., a nonprofit that operates the site under agreement with the state. Portions of the surrounding plaza (including Plaza de Valero) involve a long-term lease with the City of San Antonio, but the core Alamo property itself is state-owned public land. This is why the site’s rules about free speech zones and nonpublic forum designations are set by the managing entities on behalf of the state, and why criminal trespass charges can be enforced when people refuse to comply with those rules after clear notice. What a mess. We thought Texas would protect free speech. Pretty sure given their recent track record that if these were Muslim protestors, they would have been just fine. #Alamo# #FreeSpeech#

“Free speech is hanging by a thread globally, and that thread is Elon Musk … What's happening on 𝕏 right now is a change of consciousness and … the establishment is desperate to either shut it down or censor it … It is a central priority for the left.”

“Free speech is hanging by a thread globally, and that thread is Elon Musk … What's happening on 𝕏 right now is a change of consciousness and … the establishment is desperate to either shut it down or censor it … It is a central priority for the left.”

Free Speech means having the right to disagree with the government and also offend sensibilities, whatever your views on, say, sex and gender. Fortunately in the US there is constitutional protection. In Canada, there isn't. My newest piece in the WSJ.