Today's Word—The Right to Rant

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On protests at political conventions:

“The citizens of Denver and St. Paul, and Americans everywhere, should hope officials in those cities already have considered both the constitutional and monetary costs of silencing voices that have a right to be heard. . . . Well-expressed or wacky. Irritating or illuminating. Respectful or raucous. There’s nothing in the 45 words of the First Amendment that sets out any such qualifications or limits on protests. Time and again in our history, from women’s suffrage to civil rights to tax protests, to name just some, voices first raised in the streets—to the disgust or disappointment of some—have led to significant, positive changes in law and American life.”
—Gene Policinski, executive director, First Amendment Center, 2008.



John Cole • The Scranton Times-Tribune (8/21/08)