Quote of the day, June 21

Kurt Vonnegut, on freedom and education

“All these people talk so eloquently about getting back to good old-fashioned values.

Quote of the day, March 23

Philip Meyer, on journalism

“Journalism and science come from the same intellectual roots, from the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century enlightenment. The same thinking that led to the First Amendment led to the scientific method.”

Quote of the day, June 20

Roger Ebert, on freedom of speech

“I begin to feel like most Americans don’t understand the First Amendment, don’t understand the idea of freedom of speech, and don’t understand that it’s the responsibility of the citizen to speak out.”

Quote of the day, Jan. 2

U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Kermit Lipez, on freedom of the press

“Changes in technology and society have made the lines between private citizen and journalist exceedingly difficult to draw.

Quote of the day, Nov. 28

Justice Hugo Black, in the Pentagon Papers case

“In my view it is unfortunate that some of my Brethren are apparently willing to hold that the publication of news may sometimes be enjoined.

Responses to the raid on Occupy Wall Street in NYC

Here are a few responses to the New York City Police shutting down the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park. First up, though, is NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s statement about the closing:

Quote of the day, Oct. 31

Justice Hugo Black, on freedom of the press

“In the First Amendment the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy.

Quote of the day, April 19

Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, for the majority in Miller v. California (1973)

“The First Amendment protects works which, taken as a whole, have serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value, regardless of whether the government or a majority of the people approve of the ideas these works represent.”

Quote of the day, April 1

William J. Brennan Jr., on freedom of expression (1989)

“If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”

Quote of the day, March 29

Rush Limbaugh, on the first two amendments to the U.S. Constitution

“You know why there’s a Second Amendment?