A Pardon for Free Speech
Today is Donald Trump’s last full day in office for his current term. And as has become customary at the end of a presidential administration, the pardon printer is apparently working overtime, to crank out orders of clemency for past incidents.
This is also a time of great concern about the future of freedom of speech in this country, with those who hold various forms of power exercising unheard of authority to limit what we say. But that is not necessarily new.
We’re reminded of the time back in 2007 when KXEL’s Tim Harwood was the radio announcer for the Waterloo Bucks baseball team. During one memorable contest, the manager, pitching coach, and two players were thrown out of the game. It did not sit well with fans, or the home team announcer, who said during the radio broadcast that he questioned the league’s credibility, with respect to those umpires and the ejections.
That drew the ire of the Northwoods League, whose president personally called to levy a $500 fine against Mr. Harwood, with the threat that he’d be banned from broadcasting games if he did not refrain from making such comments in the future. Keep in mind that he was employed by the team, not the league.
So if the White House is listening, in and around packing those final boxes and taking those last photos, may I respectfully request a presidential pardon for our colleague. He has done exemplary work for his community since the incident, has apparently not been fined by any league since that time, and is an all-around great co-worker. Seems like a perfect candidate for a presidential pardon, if not a medal.
That won’t eliminate the fine, of course, or eliminate people from bringing the story up every couple of years. But it would be quite a show of support for freedom of speech, and that’s something this president can appreciate, since he’s been barred from communicating to people via social media platforms, controlled by entities with too much power.
