DEEZ NUTS: ANTHONY L. FISHER NOTICES SOMETHING THAT I NOTICED TOO. New Yorker Writer Thinks ‘Speech Nuts’ Are Like ‘Gun Nuts;’ Kelefa Sanneh thinks the American devotion to free speech is overrated because there’s less of it in Europe. I’m not sure why Europe’s record on political liberty over the last century is to be emulated — except, of course, that it offers greater power to the connected classes.

Plus: “Note the use of quotation marks around the words free and speech, implying that the use of the phrase is inappropriate when used to defend the right to express unpopular ideas that lack the social merit of the writer’s preference.”

To the left, civil rights are like a subway: When you reach your stop, you get off. Meanwhile, I’ll just repeat what I said yesterday: For the New Yorker’s target audience, the equivalence of free speech advocates to “gun nuts” is clear signal of where they’re supposed to fall on the argument. But all I can say is that if the “speech nuts” do as well as the “gun nuts” have done over the past couple of decades, we’ll be in pretty good shape. And the lesson from the “gun nuts” is: Don’t compromise, don’t admit that there’s such a thing as a “reasonable restriction,” don’t back down, and keep pointing out that your opponents are liars and hypocrites. And punish the hell out of politicians who vote with the other side.