Several of you have earnestly written to the blog about the First Amendment. Your point is, I think, that Damon Bruce should not be fired even though his anti-women rant was vile. We can agree it was vile, right? But no matter how vile it was, his speech is protected by law and it’s unfair to suggest KNBR fire him and illegal for KNBR to do it.

Not so.

The First Amendment says the government cannot abridge our right to free speech. The amendment is about limiting the power of the government. And this means, in practical terms, the government cannot put you in jail for vile speech.

Got that? No one is saying Bruce should go to jail. No one says he could not say what he said. But he is responsible for what he said. And one consequence is that his employer can fire him, should have fired him. When he said what he said, he was representing KNBR. He said it on KNBR. A station has the right to fire someone for speech bordering on hate speech. At the very least speech like that makes the station look bad.

I go on TV all the time. I watch what I say. I never ever drink alcohol before I go on because even one drink could impair my judgment. I don’t want to say something vile, something stupid. If I did, the PD would have every right to be sore at me, to suspend me, even to fire me. I represent my paper — proudly represent it. I am an adult in the adult world. I know the rules.

When I am on TV, I am not concerned about going to jail. I am concerned about getting fired.