Writers and Editors

Originally published 5-7-24

As you may recall, law enforcement officers in a rural Kansas county raided the offices and homes of the editors of a local newspaper, seizing electronic newsgathering equipment and reporting materials -- resulting in a nationwide uproar over the threats to our First Amendment principles of a free press. Following are some articles about the incident.

---A conversation with the newspaper owner raided by cops (Marisa Kabas, The Handbasket, 8-12-23) Eric Meyer says his paper had been investigating the police chief, Gideon Cody, prior to the raids on his office and home. They did so because of a complaint by a local restaurant owner named Kari Newell. [This is the piece that took the story viral.]

---How a small-town feud in Kansas sent a shock through American journalism  Read More 

Notes from an interactive New York Times Opinion piece

See it for specific dates, photos, and fuller copy

 

"For Americans who may have forgotten that time, or pushed it from memory, we offer this timeline of his presidency. Mr. Trump's first term was a warning about what he will do with the power of his office — unless American voters reject him."

 

Check out the article, click on headlines there for full copy, and see abundant photos here: Donald Trump's First Term (NY Times, 7-18-24). As you read, picture what was happening when he says or does the following (lines from the Times article, my bolds added):

 

(2017) What Trump does or says...
Jan.     "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration — period."

           Tries to defund sanctuary cities in an effort to ramp up deportations.

           The Muslim ban. In an executive order, Mr. Trump, without warning, closes the Read More 

Updated 1-17-25

"Democracy is a team sport, we are all in the starting lineup, & every day is game day."~ Indivisible

 

• Justices rule Trump has some immunity from prosecution (Amy Howe, SCOTUS blog, 7-1-24) "In a historic decision, a divided Supreme Court on Monday ruled that former presidents can never be prosecuted for actions relating to the core powers of their office, and that there is at least a presumption that they have immunity for their official acts more broadly.
     "The decision left open the possibility that the charges brought against former President Donald Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith – alleging that Trump conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election – can still go forward to the extent that the charges are based on his private conduct, rather than his official acts.
     "The case now returns to the lower courts for them to determine whether the conduct at the center of the charges against Trump was official or unofficial – an inquiry that, even if it leads to the conclusion that the charges can proceed, will almost certainly further delay any trial in the case, which had originally been scheduled to begin on March 4, 2024 but is currently on hold."

 Read More 

For those catching up on this story:

 

• The WikiLeaks saga (Video report,The Guardian, 6-24-24) Julian Assange returns to Australia a free man after US espionage charge in Saipan court.

Links to many related stories on this website page!

• Julian Assange returns to Australia a free man after US espionage charge – video report  (The Guardian, 6-26-24)

      The WikiLeaks founder has walked free from a court in the US Pacific island territory of Saipan after pleading guilty to violating US espionage law, in a deal that left him free to return home to Australia and brought an end to an extraordinary 14-year legal saga.

      Stella Assange, addressing reporters after her husband's arrival in Canberra, said: 'It took millions of people, people working behind the scenes, people protesting on the streets for days and weeks and months and years ... and we achieved it.' How freedom for Julian Assange is a quiet triumph for Anthony Albanese

     ‘He needs time’: wife pleads for privacy as Julian Assange reunited with family after landing in Australia.

 
• What to Know About Julian Assange and His Plea Deal (gift link, Glenn Thrush, NY Times, 6-25-24) The deal ends a period of confinement that lasted about a dozen years, first in the self-exile of the Ecuadorean embassy in London, then in prison.

 

• A Timeline of Julian Assange’s Legal Saga (gift link, Charlie Savage, NY Times, 6-24-24) A plea deal brought an abrupt end to an extraordinary legal saga that has raised novel issues of national security, press freedoms, politics and diplomacy.

 

• What Does Julian Assange's Indictment Under the Espionage Act Mean for Journalism? (Ofer Raban, Pacific Standard, 5-28-19) Originally published in The Conversation (5-25-19) as Assange’s new indictment: Espionage and the First Amendment What goes for Assange may also go for any person who obtains or discloses classified information—even journalists.

• The Constitutional Rubicon of an Assange Prosecution (Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, 5-9-17) 'In general, an employee who signs a non-disclosure agreement in order to gain access to classified government information may be prosecuted for leaking that information. Drawing the line between those who leak classified information and those who publish it thus makes constitutional sense in a way that drawing the line between “good” publishers and “bad” publishers does not....Allowing the FBI to determine who is allowed to publish leaked information based on the bureau’s assessment of their patriotism would cross a constitutional Rubicon. If that giant step were to become a precedent, it could very well spell the end of independent, objective national security reporting.'

• Inchoate Liability and the Espionage Act: The Statutory Framework and the Freedom of the Press (Stephen Vladeck, Harvard Law and Policy Review, 2007, via Digital Commons) Parsing of the statutory text, and why it raises a First Amendment issue in cases like Julian Assange and Wikileaks.

• Julian Assange (Wikipedia)

• Assange's arrest was designed to make sure he didn't press a mysterious panic button he said would bring dire consequences for Ecuador ( Alexandra Ma, Business Insider, 4-12-19) WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange was dramatically arrested and carried out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on Thursday. British and Ecuadorian authorities engineered the timing and nature of the raid to stop Assange from accessing a panic button he mentioned in the past, Ecuador's foreign minister said. Specifics on the button — or what it might do — are sparse, but the foreign minister said Assange had said it could bring dire consequences for Ecuador. Ecuadorian officials have accused Assange of accessing the government's security files, playing music loudly, and having no regard for personal hygiene during his stay at the embassy.

• Julian Assange: the teen hacker who became insurgent in information war (David Leigh and Luke Harding, The Guardian, 1-30-11) The colourful lives and experiences that shaped underground rebel Julian Assange on the road to WikiLeaks luminary. This story is old (from 2011).

---

• Sixteen Things Writers Should Know About Quoting From Letters (Mark Fowler, Rights of Writers, 2-2011, which discusses various scenarios)
       "Are you the sender of the letter or the recipient? 'If I send you a letter, unless I have an agreement with you to the contrary, I continue to own the copyright. As the recipient of the letter, you own the letter itself -- the paper and ink.'

      "As the recipient of the letter, you cannot publish the entirety of the letter without my consent, with limited exceptions, which he spells out).
      "If the author of a letter dies, an estate or descendant of the letter writer can grant permission to reprint a letter only if it also inherited copyright and not just the physical letter.
      "On the other hand, the philosophy of fair use in the quotation of letters and other source materials is neatly summed up in this quotation from The Chicago Manual of Style:

    "Fair use is use that is fair--simply that....The right of fair use is a valuable one to scholarship, and it should not be allowed to decay through the failure of scholars to employ it boldly."
     "Ultimately in the Wright case, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals clarified that some amount of quotation from unpublished works, such as letters and diaries, can qualify as fair use. Congress then codified this finding by amending Section 107 of the Copyright Act to add this sentence: 'The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.' "

• Don’t Burn Your Family Letters When You Declutter (Amy Johnson Crow)

• To read or not to read? How to handle a deceased family member’s personal letters (Dawn Roode, Modern Heirloom Books, 5-27-24) Discovering a stack of handwritten letters can feel like winning the family history lottery—but is it always the right thing to read (or share) them?

• Are you weighed down by the stuff of your family’s memories? (Dawn Roode, Modern Heirloom Books,5-27-24) Do you have sentimental boxes of family mementos you don’t know what to do with?

• What Is the Federal Law for Opening Mail Not Addressed to You? (The Law Dictionary) Most people know that it’s illegal to open mail that is addressed to someone else. In fact, there is a federal law that makes it a crime to do so. However, the law only applies under very specific circumstances. To help determine if it’s lawful, take a look at the reasons listed for opening mail not addressed to you.

 

• Ethics, Etiquette and Old Family Letters (Denise May Levenick, The Family Curator, 4-6-18) When it comes to genealogy and reading other people’s mail, ethics and etiquette are two sides of the same coin. Is it morally correct (ethical) to read other people’s mail? Is it socially acceptable (proper etiquette) to do so?

• How to Preserve Old Letters (Amy Johnson Crow, video, 19 minutes) Denise Levenick, the Family Curator, provides tips on preservation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Collections_of_letters

 

Miscellaneous resources about letters and postcards:
• Letters of Note
• Grandpa's Postcards (Jana Last's Family History and Genealogy blog)