Robert Miraldi
(He/Him)
As seen in:
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USA Today,
Austin American-Statesman,
The Tennessean,
Des Moines Register,
NorthJersey.com,
Asbury Park Press,
The Journal News,
Delaware Online,
Burlington Free Press
and
Covers:
Freedom of speech
Author, journalism professor, syndicated freedom of speech columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Yankee fanatic.
Articles by Robert Miraldi
Trump's mongering of violence isn't protected free speech. There's a critical difference.
4-minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network The shards of insurrection are sharp in the American soil. In fact, they date back to our revolt from the British. But today they are rooted in someone’s provoking words, someone’s incitement — implicit or explicit — meant to stir the pot to boiling, foment violence and intimidate public officials. “A little rebellion now and then is a good thing,” Thomas Jefferson infamously wrote in 1787. But I’m wondering what he would say today.
Santa, can you help Congress protect our kids from social media this holiday?
4-minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network Dear Santa: I realize it’s a busy time for you, what with supervising elves and finishing toys. But I hope you can look at my letter because — and I don’t exaggerate — it concerns 46 million young people. And they all spend nearly five hours a day spinning through social media sites from Facebook to Instagram to TikTok.
Social media is a brutal new weapon in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Should we allow it? Original
The Nir Oz kibbutz in Israel is about a mile from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The 400 Jews who live there have often been the target of cross-border gunshots, but on Oct. 23, in a surprise attack, Hamas terrorists besieged the commune, killing about 100 and taking 50 hostages back across the border.
Why does government need to more closely regulate social media? We need free speech Original
Jay Bhattacharya is a 55-year-old professor of health policy at Stanford University's School of Medicine. He has four degrees, including an MD and PhD. At the height of the COVID epidemic, he criticized the Biden administration, calling for an end to economic lockdowns and school shutdowns. He concluded those solutions had limited benefit and disproportionately harmed the young and economically disadvantaged.
Why does government need to more closely regulate social media? We need free speech
4-minute read Show Caption Hide Caption It may be time to change the way you take your at home COVID test There are some tips you need to improve the accuracy of your COVID-19 results. Veuer's Lindsey Granger reports. Jay Bhattacharya is a 55-year-old professor of health policy at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. He has four degrees, including an MD and PhD.
Trump's Georgia trial could be the first televised. We deserve to see the others, too.
4-minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network Donald J. Trump will walk into a federal court room — eventually — and stand in front of a judge and a jury. His hair will be perfectly poofed. And a prosecutor will accuse him of trying to interfere with the election of apresident of the United States. And he will smugly smile or grimace or gesticulate. He will tug on his red tie. And when some of his co-conspirators turn on him, he will give them the stink eye.
Can the First Amendment bend to help teens fixated on social media? Original
5-minute read Rob Miraldi Special to USATODAY Network The 11-year-old was very excited. The first day of summer camp in July had started. At the end of the day, when I picked him up, I wondered how it went and if his school friends were there. Yes, he said, and he mentioned one of his best friends. But, he added, forlornly, all my friend wanted to do was look at his phone. All day. Even in the gym. Why, of course. We all live online, including our children.
A battle over milk and choice is a lesson in First Amendment rights Original
Marielle Williamson, now 17, grew up in Southern California with her brother, sister and parents. Her father is a psychologist, her mother a digital programmer. Like most families, they ate lots of meat and cheese and drank milk. Good for the bones, you know. But when Marielle turned nine, she began to hedge her bets on meat eating. She chose vegetables instead.
Are right wing attacks on press protections really just attacks on democracy? | Miraldi Original
Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, is good at getting in the eye of the storm. She raised a ruckus in 2011 when she identified 20 congressional districts that were in her “crosshairs,” a word identified with hunting. She meant to simply say these districts were possibly up for turnover to the Republicans, but it came across as if she was putting a gun target on candidates. When Rep.
The First Amendment is 'under profound threat.' We must protect it
I was in the ninth grade, 15 years old, feeling my oats as I got ready for high school. My social studies class, my favorite, was preparing a public show that celebrated Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I. We were to perform for the 7th, 8th and 9th grades in what was known as "assembly" day. We decided to do mostly songs, including George M. Cohan's famous "Over There." But the climactic scene was "God Bless America" with Lady Liberty waving the American flag triumphantly. Corny.
The First Amendment is 'under profound threat.' We must protect it | Miraldi
5-minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network I was in the ninth grade, 15 years old, feeling my oats as I got ready for high school. My social studies class, my favorite, was preparing a public show that celebrated Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I. We were to perform for the 7th, 8th and 9th grades in what was known as “assembly” day. We decided to do mostly songs, including George M.
The First Amendment is 'under profound threat.' We must protect it | Miraldi
5-minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network I was in the ninth grade, 15 years old, feeling my oats as I got ready for high school. My social studies class, my favorite, was preparing a public show that celebrated Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I. We were to perform for the 7th, 8th and 9th grades in what was known as “assembly” day. We decided to do mostly songs, including George M.
The First Amendment is 'under profound threat.' We must protect it | Miraldi
5-minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network I was in the ninth grade, 15 years old, feeling my oats as I got ready for high school. My social studies class, my favorite, was preparing a public show that celebrated Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I. We were to perform for the 7th, 8th and 9th grades in what was known as “assembly” day. We decided to do mostly songs, including George M.
The First Amendment is 'under profound threat.' We must protect it | Miraldi
5-minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network I was in the ninth grade, 15 years old, feeling my oats as I got ready for high school. My social studies class, my favorite, was preparing a public show that celebrated Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I. We were to perform for the 7th, 8th and 9th grades in what was known as “assembly” day. We decided to do mostly songs, including George M.
The First Amendment is 'under profound threat.' We must protect it | Miraldi
5-minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network I was in the ninth grade, 15 years old, feeling my oats as I got ready for high school. My social studies class, my favorite, was preparing a public show that celebrated Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I. We were to perform for the 7th, 8th and 9th grades in what was known as “assembly” day. We decided to do mostly songs, including George M.
The First Amendment is 'under profound threat.' We must protect it | Miraldi
5-minute read | Special to the USA TODAY Network Show Caption Hide Caption White House condemns Tennessee Governor Bill Lee's ban on drag shows, trans healthcare During a White House briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre slammed Tennessee Governor's ban on drag shows and gender-affirming care. Damien Henderson, Associated Press I was in the ninth grade, 15 years old, feeling my oats as I got ready for high school.
As hate surges — in speech and acts — Americans have to learn to disagree again | Miraldi Original
5-minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network Maybe it started in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, when hundreds of white nationalists gathered to protest the removal of Civil War statues that applauded the confederacy. America was at the height of Trump-fueled chaos and the demonstrators chanted, "Jews will not replace us!" and "Russia is our friend!" The counter demonstrators fired back with police stuck between angry sides.
All I want for Christmas ... is an end to spam phone calls | Miraldi Original
4 minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network Dear Santa: I know you have a lot on your mind this time of year, and that, mostly, you’re concerned with presents for kiddies. But I need a favor, and I am not just asking for myself because about 97 million Americans — mostly older people — are in the same boat as me. Spam telephone calls coming into my house on my land line are driving me nuts! I mean really nuts. They ring late at night and early in the morning.
As Elon Musk reshapes Twitter, should government regulate social platforms? Original
5 minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network Musk, Musk. Musk. By now, we’re all sick of hearing about the mercurial billionaire who is either a genius or a clown. But this is his moment. He bought a platform with 397 million subscribers, a net worth of $42 billion and $1.8 billion in revenue. He’s ringmaster of the world’s largest public square — one of the most influential opinion makers in the world. Will he silence his enemies? Allow those Twitter sent to the gulag back in the family?
There's an absurd amount of money spent on our politics. Why can't we stop it? | Miraldi Original
5 minute read Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network David Graham Phillips was one of America’s most famous writers at the turn of the 20th Century. At the age of 39, with matinee idol looks, he was a famous muckraking journalist and a best-selling novelist — and one of New York City’s most in-demand bachelors. The tabloids today would love him. He wrote standing up from a “black pulpit” where he turned out 23 books, many of them risqué pulp-fiction with political themes.
Teens on screens: These dangers keep growing. Parents should pay close attention | Miraldi Original
Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network Selena Rodriguez — her friends called her Beena — was an 11-year-old girl from Enfield, Connecticut who loved to sing, dance and make people laugh. And she liked to make TikToks — short videos that she posted on social media. She also liked to message, constantly, with friends and even people she did not know on Instagram and Snapchat.
A 'terrifying environment?' Will abortion information be criminalized, too? | Miraldi Original
Rob Miraldi Special to the USA TODAY Network The nurse worked in a hospital on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. New York City was teeming with immigrants and poor women who did not speak English. And the nurse could not help but notice that she was seeing high rates of infant and maternal mortality, as well as deaths from botched illegal abortions. She had to do something.
Video games spur violence. How can we keep ignoring their impact on gun culture? Original
When they weren’t in their classrooms at Columbine High School in Colorado, two twelfth graders, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were “gamers.” They especially played a lot of “Doom,” an interactive video that often makes the list of most violent games in this more-than-ever ascendant $250 billion industry. "I find a similarity between people and Doom zombies,” Klebold wrote in the spring of 1999.
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