Chris Bray: Howlers (Part One)

The government has filed its brief novella in the legal appeal by Belfast Project researchers Ed Moloney and Anthony McIntyre. Ted Folkman has already posted his legal analysis, noting some things along the way that surprised him: "Most boldly, the government goes for it and argues that there simply is no First Amendment academic’s privilege."

Of course, the government is quite boldly going for it in arguments against the First Amendment all the time, these days, so I take that boldness as part and parcel of a larger assault on civil society. In 2012, the pattern is well established: Yes, government is going to boldly go for it and argue against our First Amendment "privileges." (See also.)

In any case, my plan was to read the government's brief this morning and then write a long post about it. But the government destroyed my plans with the raw power of their comedy gold, and now I'm just going to start posting as I go through the awful thing. The government's novella is below, if you feel like tasting your own bile. While laughing! It's sort of a repulsive comedy effect, and someone should add the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts to this page. They've earned it.


http://chrisbrayblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/howlers-part-one.html

Posted in: Boston College Subpoena