http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/1stamendment/ en-us Sat, 4 Jul 2009 17:08:17 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285500/posts President Obama, strategizing yesterday with congressional leaders about health-care reform, complained that liberal advocacy groups ought to drop their attacks on Democratic lawmakers and devote their energy to promoting passage of comprehensive legislation. In a pre-holiday call with half a dozen top House and Senate Democrats, Obama expressed his concern over advertisements and online campaigns targeting moderate Democrats, whom they criticize for not being fully devoted to "true" health-care reform. "We shouldn't be focusing resources on each other," Obama opined in the call, according to three sources who participated in or listened to the conversation. "We ought to be focused... washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285500/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 17:08:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281429/posts Of all the misguided schemes put forth lately to save newspapers (micropayments! blame Google!), the one put forth by Judge Richard Posner has to be the most jaw-dropping. He suggests that linking to copyrighted material should be outlawed. No, Posner does not work for the Associated Press (which also has some strange ideas on linking). He is (normally) considered to be one of the great legal minds of our time. Posner is a United States Court of Appeals judge in Chicago and legal scholar who was once considered a potential Supreme Court nominee. He is someone who should know better.... Tech Crunch / Slashdot http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281429/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:54:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280704/posts Bucknell University, a well-regarded liberal arts institution set in a picturesque location in the rolling Pennsylvania countryside, looks entirely benign. Its campus is safe, its students intelligent. It counts among its alumni the famed author Philip Roth and Leslie Moonves, the president of CBS. It’s a college to which most parents would be proud to send their kids. But if your son or daughter is the type who might join the Bucknell University Conservatives Club (BUCC), you would be well-advised to send him or her somewhere else. Because Bucknell really, really does not want to hear what the students of... Pajamas Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280704/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:36:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279851/posts Yesterday the FBI arrested a white supremacist in New Jersey for threatening federal judges, based on his online response to the recent 7th Circuit decision that said the Second Amendment does not constrain state and local governments. Here is a description of the crime that Hal Turner, an Internet radio host, committed: "Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges deserve to be killed," Mr. Turner wrote in a blog entry on June 2. "Their blood will replenish the tree of liberty. A small price to pay to assure freedom for millions." He said the three judges,... Reason.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279851/posts#comment Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:00:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2274385/posts At least one old Farmer in North Carolina is tired of the nonsense and has gone to considerable trouble to make his voice heard. Naturally the Oligarchs-in-charge are out to stifle him as quickly and effectively as possible. When old coots are outlawed, only outlaws will be old coots. JohnJacobH RKBA Commentary http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2274385/posts#comment Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:19:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2274379/posts A Documentary Critical of the California Coastal Commission Under Attack June 17, 2009 - A filmmaker who is producing Sins of Commission, a movie critical of the California Coastal Commission’s infringement on private property rights, was served a subpoena by the commission to acquire raw footage of the film before its final release! Claiming that this intimidation is an attack on his 1st Amendment Rights, the filmmaker is going public. This legal tactic comes as no surprise to property owners who have dealt with a commission who has denied them the ability to make even the most modest improvements to... California Alliance to Protect California Property Rights http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2274379/posts#comment Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:06:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2273397/posts Newspaper story on gold and tax fraud brings out the crazies. And the Feds wants their name, SS# and credit card data. Ah Las Vegas. Home of gambling, sin and hardcore libertarian, anti-government gold bugs. The Las Vegas Review Journalrecently reported on the trial of Robert Kahre, a guy accused of setting up a scheme to pay employees in gold coins so that they may tell the IRS they were paid by the coin's nominal, face value, rather than what that gold is actually worth when converted into dollars. Not surprisingly, the story attracted many angry commenters, who hate the... The Business Insider http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2273397/posts#comment Wed, 17 Jun 2009 06:28:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2270614/posts If yesterday's Holocaust Museum slaying of security guard and national hero Stephen Tyrone Johns is not a clarion call for banning hate speech, I don't know what is. Playwright Janet Langhart Cohen appeared on CNN yesterday right after the shooting, as she wrote a play that was supposed to have been debuted at the Holocaust Museum last night. Her play is about Emmett Till, whose lynching helped launch the Civil Rights Movement, and Ann Frank, whose diary told the story of Holocaust victims in hiding in the Netherlands during World War II. She said something must be done about ridding... CBS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2270614/posts#comment Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:03:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268177/posts "Fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears. To justify suppression of free speech, there must be reasonable ground to fear that serious evil will result if free speech is practiced." -- Justice Louis Brandeis Free speech should be practiced only by those who are ready to deal with the consequences, which just might include a knock on the door by a friendly federal investigator wanting to know if you posted an anonymous comment... Las Vegas Review-Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2268177/posts#comment Tue, 9 Jun 2009 18:40:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264867/posts Santa Rosa County, FL - Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace High School stood up in protest against the ACLU and recited the Lord’s Prayer during their graduation ceremony on Saturday. Many of the students also painted crosses on their graduation caps to make a statement of faith. This event follows a lawsuit the ACLU filed against the Santa Rosa County School District, claiming some of the teachers and administration endorsed religion. Liberty Counsel represents Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and school teacher Michelle Winkler. The graduation prayer protest by the students was preceded by a lawsuit filed six... Liberty Counsol http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264867/posts#comment Thu, 4 Jun 2009 19:52:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2262505/posts Recently, a California pastor and his wife were required by San Diego County officials to obtain a permit to hold a Bible study in their home. "What?! Is this a joke?" I wondered as I heard the news for the first time. It was no joke. Rather it's a First Amendment nightmare and possibly a precedent of what's to come. Are you prepared for a future in which you might someday hear the question, "Got your permit to study the Bible?" On April 10 (Good Friday), a county code enforcement officer visited the home of David and Mary Jones after... World Net Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2262505/posts#comment Mon, 1 Jun 2009 23:30:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261429/posts A new White House policy on permissible lobbying on economic recovery and stimulus projects has taken a decidedly anti-First Amendment turn. It's a classic illustration of Big Government trying to control every aspect of a particular activity and in the process running up against civil liberty. Check out this passage from a post on the White House blog by Norm Eisen, Special Counsel to the President on Ethics and Government Reform (emphasis added): "First, we will expand the restriction on oral communications to cover all persons, not just federally registered lobbyists. For the first time, we will reach contacts not... Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261429/posts#comment Sun, 31 May 2009 01:09:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2257108/posts A federal judge has sent a Kansas man to prison for criticizing federal prosecutors, claiming that the man posed a threat of “continued criminal defamation of government counsel and witnesses.” Judicial Watch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2257108/posts#comment Sat, 23 May 2009 23:36:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2248636/posts Why is the press remaining mostly silent about the so-called "hate crimes law" that passed in the House on April 29? The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed in a 249-175 vote (17 Republicans joined with 231 Democrats). These Democrats should have been tested on their knowledge of the First Amendment, equal protection of the laws (14th Amendment), and the prohibition of double jeopardy (no American can be prosecuted twice for the same crime or offense). If they had been, they would have known that this proposal, now headed for a Senate vote, violates all these constitutional provisions.... Cato.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2248636/posts#comment Mon, 11 May 2009 17:47:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247806/posts From the notification email: "Media Research Center’s Director of Communications Seton Motley is attending and will be reporting from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age” took place today 10 a.m. until 3 p.m Friday, 7 May." "Given the fact that not one free speech-free market organization is involved in this “Diversity” meeting, Seton’s presence and “spin-free” audio updates are critical to all who are interested in protecting our Free Speech Rights." Media Research Center http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247806/posts#comment Sun, 10 May 2009 01:08:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237568/posts Javorous Darnell Tims, 20 PASCAGOULA — A woman, awakened by the sound of someone removing the screen from her bedroom window, got out of her bed at 1 a.m. Friday, walked to her son’s room and quietly woke him. “She said, ‘Snigg get up,’” the son said in an interview later Friday morning. “I got up, grabbed my gun and went to the corner there by her room,” he said, standing at the door of the apartment, on the bottom floor of the last in a row of Spanish-style buildings in the Granada Apartments on Chicot Road. It was... SUN HERALD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237568/posts#comment Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:27:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2236442/posts Another Planned "RALLY" for "Immigrants" is scheduled for May 1st.....Are You Ready!!!??? Local Radio http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2236442/posts#comment Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:10:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2235426/posts Obama signs huge expansion of youth brigades legislation © 2009 WorldNetDaily President Obama today signed into law the "GIVE Act," H.R. 1388, which massively expands the National Service Corporation and allocates to it billions of dollars, and one executive for the program now says it will allow for the "managing" of up to 8 or 9 million people. WND has reported on plans to create the corps since Obama told a campaign stop in Colorado Springs last year he wants a "Civilian National Security Force" as big and as well-funded as the U.S. military. The bill includes a "National Service... WorldNetDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2235426/posts#comment Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:20:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2234364/posts WEEKNIGHTS at 9 ET on BLOG TALK RADIO PROGRAM SCHEDULE Next Show: Tuesday, April 21 at 9 pm ET. *** TONIGHT... We're talking with Brad O'Leary who has written a book about the real threats to free speech. Brad has discovered a move afoot to eviscerate the First Amendment and smother the free exchange of ideas in America. Though the White House claims it doesn't support the return of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine", Obama and his thugs in Congress are quietly plotting to censor talk radio, this blogsite and others like it through a host of insidious methods.Brad was on... The Andrea Shea King Show http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2234364/posts#comment Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:59:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1955181/posts Intelligent design theory, or ID, is opening new doors of scientific research, particularly in cancer and other disease research, according to its adherents, but a new movie, "Expelled" starring Ben Stein explores how an "elitist scientific establishment" is apparently muzzling and smearing scientists who publicly discuss ID. The First Amendment is under brutal attack in the scientific community, Ben Stein, a former presidential speechwriter-turned-actor and commentator, says in the film, which opens in theaters on Feb. 12. "I always assumed scientists were free to ask any question, pursue any line of inquiry without fear or reprisal," he says. "But recently,... CNS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1955181/posts#comment Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:42:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2233141/posts Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Constitution of the United States, via Populist America et al http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2233141/posts#comment Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:54:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2232829/posts Perhaps they just don’t want to think through the details. Then again - - maybe some of them don’t have the capacity to think through the details. I’m referring to the apparent plethora of partisan, passionate, “see-no-evil” Obama minions, who become outraged should any of the rest of us ask questions about the forty-fourth President. I continually encounter the minions both as callers on talk radio, and as mailers responding to my various editorial columns. Whereas last year during the election cycle when I would dare to ask questions of the dear leader Obama, the minions’ first line of attack... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2232829/posts#comment Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:36:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228608/posts The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in "rightwing extremist activity," saying the economic recession, the election of America's first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias. A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines "rightwing extremism in the United States" as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority. "It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue,... WashTimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2228608/posts#comment Tue, 14 Apr 2009 06:49:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2226569/posts The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has not released a memory card containing audio interviews conducted by a local radio reporter four days after federal employees and security officers detained the reporter and seized his equipment. www.wtop.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2226569/posts#comment Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:56:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2224046/posts Taking aim at the way news is spread across the Internet, The Associated Press said on Monday that Web sites that used the work of news organizations must obtain permission and share revenue with them, and that it would take legal action against those that did not. A.P. executives said they were concerned about a variety of news forums around the Web, including major search engines like Google and Yahoo and aggregators like the Drudge Report that link to news articles, smaller sites that sometimes reproduce articles whole, and companies that sell packaged news feeds. They said they did not... NYT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2224046/posts#comment Tue, 7 Apr 2009 13:58:06 GMT