I'd like to get some interviews canned and written up before our redesign goes online later this summer.

My list of who to hit up, though, is short. (It is, in fact, limited to people I have a crush on. But that's another thread.)

So here's your chance.

Name a celebrity (even if minor, or local) whose free-speech opinions you'd like to read.

Throw me a bone, dogs.

Whoopi Goldberg
Bill Mahr
Dixie Chicks
Roseanne
Norman Lear

(pretty much everyone who's gotten into trouble for their words)

get lenny bruce

You should interview network censors too, about their work, and publishers about why some stories don't see the light of day.

oh, and Linda Ronstadt--she got in trouble for stuff she said at a Vegas concert recently.

Paris Hilton
Kate Moss
Cameron Diaz.

because the opinions of celebrities are worthwhile and important.

Actually you could get Lenny Bruce, in a sense, by quoting from interviews, etc. This could be interesting for other historical figures (Oscar Wilde, Max Ernst, etc.) where you can find excerpts from letters or writings addressing the question.

Here's a link that may be helpful in a general way.

how about people famous for their incorrect views? i'd be interested to hear how, say, the bell curve authors feel about the way they were received. or white supremacists, particularly from parts of europe where such things are sometimes illegal.

maybe the idea is to make free speech warm + fuzzy though. in which i case i guess you should stick with popular people - trouble is that, in my experience, "the public" then starts thinking free speech is only ok if you're "nice".

but then i suspect you know more about this than me. hope the redesign goes well.

Howard Stern

yup--Stern definitely. And Opie and Anthony (is that their names? the radio djs who had people simulate sex in St. Patrick's)

thanks, taz, for removing the hint of sting (don't use sting)

trying to be constructive before heading off into the meatworld while i'd rather live the life of the mind:
i have no ideas what you mean by celebs
i have no idea who you are trying to court and why
if you are trying to rouse momentary attention or keep a consistent user base

a collection of personal stories by anonymous people driven to action may help inspire individuals. An icon for whatever reason or subset may substantiate reason for action in those already inclined.

oh, the variables.
*loathing my launch into the masses and or the mugginess, in the meatworld*

Someone said last year that the US was like a puppy that hadn't been housebroken yet, and he took a lot of flak for saying it. I think it may have been Johnny Depp?

i use to say the US was like a thirteen year old boy in terms of national age. seems it's hit puberty following the leadership of dry drunks.
*enjoys driving like a teenage boy occassionally*

Me, I'd like to see something from Jeremy Glick.