October 21, 2024

In the News

Concord Monitor: Sununu sides with First Amendment rights in Bow parents’ pink armband protest

By Charlotte Matherly

.....Gov. Chris Sununu sided with parents involved in recent protests and a lawsuit in Bow, citing First Amendment rights, three months after he signed a bill prohibiting transgender girls from competing in girls’ school sports.

Last month, Bow High School issued no-trespass orders against parents who showed up to a soccer game where a trans athlete was playing and wore armbands marked with “XX” – a reference to the sex chromosomes typically associated with biological females. The parents then filed a lawsuit alleging that the school district violated their First Amendment rights to do so.

The matter is currently tied up in court.

“I think Bow High School banning those parents for having an opinion on something has clearly created a problem for Bow High School,” Sununu said. “First Amendment rights are very clear. People have the right to say certain things and protest.”

New York Times: Musk’s $1 Million Offer Raises New Legal Questions

By Theodore Schleifer

.....Mr. Musk announced on Saturday night that he would give $1 million “randomly” once a day to a registered Pennsylvania voter who has signed a conservative petition put together by his super PAC. The sweepstakes is part of Mr. Musk’s push to register voters in the battleground state before a Monday deadline…

Since introducing the petition earlier this month, Mr. Musk has gradually been increasing the financial payout to encourage people to sign it. Mr. Musk initially offered people who refer signers $47 per referral. Then, he increased the offer to $100, and said he would pay both the signatory and the referrer directly…

Brad Smith, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, said this was “something of a gray area” but “not that close to the line.”

“He’s not paying them to register to vote. He’s paying them to sign a petition — and he wants only people who are registered to vote to sign the petition. So I think he comes out OK here,” he said.

FCC

Inside Radio: Groups Ask FCC To Clarify Rule And Close Lowest Unit Rate Loophole.

.....Several campaign watchdog groups are asking the Federal Communications Commission to clarify its rules around political advertising that provides candidates with lower costs. This change aims to close a loophole that has allowed certain outside groups to qualify for the lowest unit rates, which critics argue they should not be eligible for. The outcome could impact how much political ad dollars radio and TV stations receive.

“We write to request that you publicly confirm that FCC rules governing political advertisements, including advertising rates, apply only to ads paid for by legally qualified candidates,” wrote the campaign finance watchdog groups in a letter to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. “We request that you also confirm that a candidate must pay for at least 50% of an ad to trigger the favorable access and treatment and advertising rates under these rules.”

The groups — which include End Citizens United Action Fund, Campaign Legal Center, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and Public Citizen — are seeking input from the FCC after the Federal Election Commission deadlocked on the question last week.

Free Expression

Wall Street Journal: This Ivy League Professor Accused of Racism Was Suspended. Now, She’s Fighting Back.

By Joseph De Avila

.....Amy Wax, the Ivy League law professor suspended for making racist, sexist and inflammatory comments, stands to lose half a million dollars from her punishment.

Wax said she doesn’t regret the remarks that led to her reprimand. She is considering taking legal action, she said. 

Following an investigation into Wax’s conduct, the University of Pennsylvania suspended her from her tenured position with the Carey Law School last month for a year on half pay, taking effect in the fall of 2025. She also lost summer pay in perpetuity.

“I only regret that I am sufficiently frank and blunt and forthright,” Wax said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “I stand by what I say because what I say is so much more nuanced and interesting than the sound bites they have lifted.”

Donor Privacy

MinistryWatch: Law Professor Advocates Changing IRS Definition of Church & Association of Churches

By Kim Roberts

.....A professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, is advocating that Congress narrow the definition of church associations, a status that allows a nonprofit to avoid filing an informational Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). … Focus on the Family spokesperson Bob Stephens told MinistryWatch in July that a driving force behind its decision to see the church status was 'protection' of its donors against an increasingly hostile culture. ‘Both California and New York were increasingly asking for more information on our donors on schedule B of the 990. [W]e wanted to avail ourselves of our legal right to protect ourselves from those who might target us because of those deeply-held convictions,’ Stephens said. When asked about these concerns, Mayer pointed out that Congress required the IRS to keep the schedule of donors confidential, unlike the rest of the Form 990.

Candidates and Campaigns

Daily Caller: Kamala Has A Long Record Of Squashing Free Speech

By Grover Norquist

.....Republicans should especially be wary of any push to give the IRS more power over nonprofits under the IRS union-endorsed Harris. Many will recall when the IRS discriminated against Tea Party-type groups applying for nonprofit status, smothering many in the cradle. A senate investigation found that only one – yes, one – conservative group was granted nonprofit status in a politically key three-year period.

Americans know their ability to speak out is being curbed in the current climate. A Harris presidency would turbocharge government monitoring and punish center-right voices.

Axios: Exclusive poll: Young Americans swipe left on Trump voters

By Erica Pandey

.....3% of people between the ages of 18 and 34 say they’d have a more negative view of a date if told they voted for Trump, according to a new Generation Lab poll.

17% say they’d have a more positive view, and 40% say the information would make no difference.

19% say they’d have a negative view of a date who voted for Vice President Harris. 32% say they’d view it positively, and 49% say they’d be indifferent.

Online Speech Platforms

Washington Examiner: Democrats caught bribing TikTok influencers to mislead Generation Z

By Brad Polumbo

.....The Harris campaign isn’t directly cutting checks to influencers. Yet Democratic-aligned organizations are paying TikTok influencers to create content parroting their election talking points, and millions of possible young voters are seeing these videos without knowing that they’re watching paid propaganda, not organic content.

How do we know this? 

Well, for one, Pendleton, after facing pushback, posted receipts. The TikTokker shared screenshots that show her being offered thousands of dollars by a company called Vocal Media to promote Democratic talking points on Vice President Kamala Harris’s economic policies and anti-Republican talking points about the vastly overhyped “Project 2025.” And, according to Federal Election Commission filings, Vocal Media is funded by the Democrats both explicitly, via the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and indirectly, through Democratic-aligned organizations such as MoveOn.org. 

The States

Seattle Times: WA initiative backers hit with $20K fine by campaign finance regulators

By Claire Withycombe

.....Heywood, in a statement, said Wednesday’s decision ‘created a new precedent for the state indicating that if the PDC ‘feels’ that an organization should have evidence that its vendors used sub-vendors, they can fine that organization $10,000 for not performing adequate ‘due diligence.’’ … He also said Let’s Go Washington was pursuing PDC complaints against a slew of progressive campaign committees on the same grounds. ‘If investigation of sub-vendors are of paramount importance, the same investigative standard should be applied to all organizations involved in the 2024 election,’ he said. ‘The PDC cannot establish an arbitrary standard regarding sub-vendors only for [Let’s Go Washington].’ Defend Washington, the coalition of labor and other groups fighting the initiatives, said in a statement Wednesday that the PDC ‘took an important step toward holding Let’s Go Washington accountable for their violations of our public financing and disclosure laws.’ Last year, SEIU 775, Civic Ventures, Washington Conservation Action and Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, which oppose the initiatives, complained to the PDC about Let’s Go Washington, claiming the group wasn’t forthcoming about its spending.

Courthouse News Service: Vape ads & free speech

.....The Oregon Court of Appeals overturned a state law that restricts the packaging of vape pens and e-cigarettes from featuring images of cartoons, celebrities, foods or descriptive words for flavors that were likely to appeal to minors. An amendment to the Oregon Constitution prohibits laws that “restrict the right to speak, write, or print freely on any subject whatever,” and the state could not show a connection between such packaging and actual harms to minors.

Read the ruling here.