Matthew Schafer
@matthewschafer.bsky.social
Adjunct law prof Fordham Law; Scholar focusing on the intellectual history of press freedom: http://shorturl.at/bhsv7; rare book collector
"their words"
November 20, 2025 at 2:29 PM
"their words"
Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Truly mind-blowing levels of hypocrisy from this admin on using government strong arming to threaten social media companies into censoring
www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/crime/3...
www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/crime/3...
November 19, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Truly mind-blowing levels of hypocrisy from this admin on using government strong arming to threaten social media companies into censoring
www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/crime/3...
www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/crime/3...
Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Watching this press conference between Trump and MBS.
Trump’s answers on Khashoggi’s murder are absolutely vile.
Trump’s answers on Khashoggi’s murder are absolutely vile.
November 18, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Watching this press conference between Trump and MBS.
Trump’s answers on Khashoggi’s murder are absolutely vile.
Trump’s answers on Khashoggi’s murder are absolutely vile.
An outrageous offense to human rights around the world.
Trump just called Mohammed bin Salman a "very good friend" and added, "we've always been on the same side of every issue."
This is the first time MBS has been on U.S. soil since Saudi agents murdered and dismembered Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump praised MBS's record on human rights.
This is the first time MBS has been on U.S. soil since Saudi agents murdered and dismembered Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump praised MBS's record on human rights.
November 18, 2025 at 6:06 PM
An outrageous offense to human rights around the world.
Reposted by Matthew Schafer
11th Cir., in an unpublished order, holds that Trump's defamation lawsuit against CNN for its coverage of his election lies is meritless.
media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/unp...
media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/unp...
November 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM
11th Cir., in an unpublished order, holds that Trump's defamation lawsuit against CNN for its coverage of his election lies is meritless.
media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/unp...
media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/unp...
Let me tell you about a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence that George Washington saved from the British.
www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMoQF8RB/
www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMoQF8RB/
The book George Washington saved from the British Army. #nationaltreasure #RareBooks #HistoryTok #antiquarian
TikTok video by The Catchword Rare Books
www.tiktok.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Let me tell you about a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence that George Washington saved from the British.
www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMoQF8RB/
www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMoQF8RB/
I'm bringing discussions about press freedom and the role of the printing press to TikTok! Take a look!
www.tiktok.com/@the.catchwo...
www.tiktok.com/@the.catchwo...
A remarkable association copy, uniting two of Revolutionary America's most celebrated patriots #rarebooks #Americanrevolution #massachusetts #antiquarian
TikTok video by The Catchword Rare Books
www.tiktok.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:59 PM
I'm bringing discussions about press freedom and the role of the printing press to TikTok! Take a look!
www.tiktok.com/@the.catchwo...
www.tiktok.com/@the.catchwo...
Reposted by Matthew Schafer
MAGA’s ongoing war on academic freedom, reflected in headlines from the last 24 hours.
November 14, 2025 at 1:17 PM
MAGA’s ongoing war on academic freedom, reflected in headlines from the last 24 hours.
Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Great First Amendment win in 9th Circuit for @davidloy.bsky.social and @facoalition.bsky.social. Holding: “self-censorship” is an “injury-in-fact” for injunctive relief, and observation of events is “inextricably intertwined” with recording and reporting.
cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op...
cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op...
cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov
September 4, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Great First Amendment win in 9th Circuit for @davidloy.bsky.social and @facoalition.bsky.social. Holding: “self-censorship” is an “injury-in-fact” for injunctive relief, and observation of events is “inextricably intertwined” with recording and reporting.
cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op...
cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op...
Bonus book! A beautiful 1797 copy of John Almon’s Biographical, Literary, & Political Anecdotes. The liberty minded printer included an early sketch of Benjamin Franklin — “founder of American Greatness”.
Almon’s press was of singular importance in introducing the British to revolutionary thought.
Almon’s press was of singular importance in introducing the British to revolutionary thought.
September 2, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Bonus book! A beautiful 1797 copy of John Almon’s Biographical, Literary, & Political Anecdotes. The liberty minded printer included an early sketch of Benjamin Franklin — “founder of American Greatness”.
Almon’s press was of singular importance in introducing the British to revolutionary thought.
Almon’s press was of singular importance in introducing the British to revolutionary thought.
I've read the just-issued 11th Circuit opinion in Dershowitz v CNN, I appreciate Judge Wilson bringing to bear a thoughtful defense of Sullivan and highlighting my scholarship as well as that of others in defense of a cornerstone of press freedom...
It's very gratifying seeing scholarship at work.
It's very gratifying seeing scholarship at work.
August 29, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I've read the just-issued 11th Circuit opinion in Dershowitz v CNN, I appreciate Judge Wilson bringing to bear a thoughtful defense of Sullivan and highlighting my scholarship as well as that of others in defense of a cornerstone of press freedom...
It's very gratifying seeing scholarship at work.
It's very gratifying seeing scholarship at work.
Rare Book Friday! Don't judge a book by its cover! A remarkably scarce 1803 set of Tucker's Blackstone, which redefined law and press freedom in America.
This set is especially rare because of its owner: John Breckinridge, Jefferson's Attorney General who was key to passing the Kentucky Resolutions
This set is especially rare because of its owner: John Breckinridge, Jefferson's Attorney General who was key to passing the Kentucky Resolutions
August 29, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Rare Book Friday! Don't judge a book by its cover! A remarkably scarce 1803 set of Tucker's Blackstone, which redefined law and press freedom in America.
This set is especially rare because of its owner: John Breckinridge, Jefferson's Attorney General who was key to passing the Kentucky Resolutions
This set is especially rare because of its owner: John Breckinridge, Jefferson's Attorney General who was key to passing the Kentucky Resolutions
Somehow class is back in session...
August 27, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Somehow class is back in session...
When was the First Amendment ratified? Dec. 15, 1791, of course, when Virginia became the 11th of 14 states to do so (3/4ths of states)!
Well, things weren't so clear at the Founding. In this Sept. 1791 copy of the Bill of Rights, the editor said ratification occurred by August (it did not!).
Well, things weren't so clear at the Founding. In this Sept. 1791 copy of the Bill of Rights, the editor said ratification occurred by August (it did not!).
August 27, 2025 at 1:30 PM
When was the First Amendment ratified? Dec. 15, 1791, of course, when Virginia became the 11th of 14 states to do so (3/4ths of states)!
Well, things weren't so clear at the Founding. In this Sept. 1791 copy of the Bill of Rights, the editor said ratification occurred by August (it did not!).
Well, things weren't so clear at the Founding. In this Sept. 1791 copy of the Bill of Rights, the editor said ratification occurred by August (it did not!).
There is a lovely patriotic tradition in the colonial era of very angry grand jurors using their position to assert independence from the crown by returning "ignoramus" (essentially no true bill).
History, as they say, repeats itself...
History, as they say, repeats itself...
Grand jury nullification is a very rare phenomenon. The old saw goes that a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich if a prosecutor recommends it. But the Trump DOJs have sure racked up a lot of no true bills
DOJ tried and failed three times to indict a woman for allegedly assaulting an ICE officer during an arrest of two purported gang members. So they were forced to reduce her charge to a misdemeanor.
www.courtlistener.com/recap/og-loo...
www.courtlistener.com/recap/og-loo...
August 26, 2025 at 2:11 AM
There is a lovely patriotic tradition in the colonial era of very angry grand jurors using their position to assert independence from the crown by returning "ignoramus" (essentially no true bill).
History, as they say, repeats itself...
History, as they say, repeats itself...
Reposted by Matthew Schafer
It's already the deadliest war for journalists on record and keeps getting worse. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Four journalists among 15 killed in Israeli strike on hospital in Gaza, say health officials
Deaths take to at least 192 the number of Palestinian journalists killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023
www.theguardian.com
August 25, 2025 at 11:41 AM
It's already the deadliest war for journalists on record and keeps getting worse. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Madison's report opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts. It was, 1826 edition said, a "landmark of the Constitution." Though liberty of the press had been invaded, "the Republicans did not abandon the cause of their Country" nor did they "despair."
August 22, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Madison's report opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts. It was, 1826 edition said, a "landmark of the Constitution." Though liberty of the press had been invaded, "the Republicans did not abandon the cause of their Country" nor did they "despair."
Rare book Friday! The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798.
From his stone chateau one summer day in 1826, Lafayette, the hero of the American Revolution, sat down and scribbled off a note to Madison: "Our Beloved Jefferson is No More, My dear friend." Jefferson died a month earlier on July 4
From his stone chateau one summer day in 1826, Lafayette, the hero of the American Revolution, sat down and scribbled off a note to Madison: "Our Beloved Jefferson is No More, My dear friend." Jefferson died a month earlier on July 4
August 22, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Rare book Friday! The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798.
From his stone chateau one summer day in 1826, Lafayette, the hero of the American Revolution, sat down and scribbled off a note to Madison: "Our Beloved Jefferson is No More, My dear friend." Jefferson died a month earlier on July 4
From his stone chateau one summer day in 1826, Lafayette, the hero of the American Revolution, sat down and scribbled off a note to Madison: "Our Beloved Jefferson is No More, My dear friend." Jefferson died a month earlier on July 4
Bonus book off the shelf! Thomas Paine's 1792 Letter to the Addressers. Called the Third Part of Rights of Man, Paine wrote the letter while fleeing sedition charges.
"A man," he wrote, "derives no more excellence from calling him King than I should do by changing my name from Thomas to George."
"A man," he wrote, "derives no more excellence from calling him King than I should do by changing my name from Thomas to George."
August 19, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Bonus book off the shelf! Thomas Paine's 1792 Letter to the Addressers. Called the Third Part of Rights of Man, Paine wrote the letter while fleeing sedition charges.
"A man," he wrote, "derives no more excellence from calling him King than I should do by changing my name from Thomas to George."
"A man," he wrote, "derives no more excellence from calling him King than I should do by changing my name from Thomas to George."
As Cotton Mather taught in colonial Massachusetts, "War with None But Hell and Rome."
Something I have a hard time with when it comes to claims about the Founding Fathers and religion (like Judge Ho’s dissent) is that they had some pretty nasty views of Catholicism, which never really get talked about. The Declaration of Independence’s illiberalism just gets overlooked.
August 19, 2025 at 12:42 AM
As Cotton Mather taught in colonial Massachusetts, "War with None But Hell and Rome."
Reposted by Matthew Schafer
This quote is from one of the greatest speeches in American history. Everything in it applies today. Worth 5 minutes of your time.
MLK had just given his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech the night before, his own oratory more important than ever and still breathtaking 57 years later.
MLK had just given his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech the night before, his own oratory more important than ever and still breathtaking 57 years later.
August 16, 2025 at 10:15 PM
This quote is from one of the greatest speeches in American history. Everything in it applies today. Worth 5 minutes of your time.
MLK had just given his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech the night before, his own oratory more important than ever and still breathtaking 57 years later.
MLK had just given his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech the night before, his own oratory more important than ever and still breathtaking 57 years later.
Rare book Friday! A 1799 Journal of the Senate of the Sixth Congress.
This particular Journal memorializes the Senate's prosecution of printer William Duane who steadfastly refused to identify his source after Duane printed an article critical of the Senate.
This particular Journal memorializes the Senate's prosecution of printer William Duane who steadfastly refused to identify his source after Duane printed an article critical of the Senate.
August 15, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Rare book Friday! A 1799 Journal of the Senate of the Sixth Congress.
This particular Journal memorializes the Senate's prosecution of printer William Duane who steadfastly refused to identify his source after Duane printed an article critical of the Senate.
This particular Journal memorializes the Senate's prosecution of printer William Duane who steadfastly refused to identify his source after Duane printed an article critical of the Senate.
I missed rare book Friday last week so here's a catch up post:
A 1795 first edition of William Winterbotham's monumental History of America.
Written while Winterbotham was serving a 2-year sentence in Newgate prison for political sermons on the Gunpowder Plot and on the Revolution.
A 1795 first edition of William Winterbotham's monumental History of America.
Written while Winterbotham was serving a 2-year sentence in Newgate prison for political sermons on the Gunpowder Plot and on the Revolution.
August 12, 2025 at 1:45 AM
I missed rare book Friday last week so here's a catch up post:
A 1795 first edition of William Winterbotham's monumental History of America.
Written while Winterbotham was serving a 2-year sentence in Newgate prison for political sermons on the Gunpowder Plot and on the Revolution.
A 1795 first edition of William Winterbotham's monumental History of America.
Written while Winterbotham was serving a 2-year sentence in Newgate prison for political sermons on the Gunpowder Plot and on the Revolution.
Reposted by Matthew Schafer
Four Al Jazeera staff, including reporter Anas Al Sharif, were killed in an Israeli attack on a tent for journalists outside the main gate of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital aje.io/onll19
Anas al-Sharif among five Al Jazeera journalists killed by Israel in Gaza
Al Jazeera staff killed in targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists near al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza City.
aje.io
August 10, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Four Al Jazeera staff, including reporter Anas Al Sharif, were killed in an Israeli attack on a tent for journalists outside the main gate of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital aje.io/onll19