"he's saying that solving the finer points of free-speech issues..."
Which of course requires that one consider this question a "finer point", or that the wording is "out of context". The Internet didn't exist at the time, either, but that doesn't mean free speech doesn't apply to it - or that there's a controversy we should teach on that question. That some people want to restrict speech in any given way does not mean free speech should be up for grabs in any given context.
The general constitutional-law take on civil liberties is that they come before other legal concerns unless one can demonstrate a serious and clear factor that outweighs them. To argue against the civil liberty interest without demonstrating that outweighing factor is far more ridiculous than to stand pat by the civil liberty interest.
That said, I'm not continuing this thread of argument.
Which of course requires that one consider this question a "finer point", or that the wording is "out of context". The Internet didn't exist at the time, either, but that doesn't mean free speech doesn't apply to it - or that there's a controversy we should teach on that question. That some people want to restrict speech in any given way does not mean free speech should be up for grabs in any given context.
The general constitutional-law take on civil liberties is that they come before other legal concerns unless one can demonstrate a serious and clear factor that outweighs them. To argue against the civil liberty interest without demonstrating that outweighing factor is far more ridiculous than to stand pat by the civil liberty interest.
That said, I'm not continuing this thread of argument.