Free Republic

Public officials need to take seriously their oath to uphold the Constitution. Just as important, the people of the United States, charged with electing these officials to public office, should spend time on this exercise. After giving the Constitution proper consideration, we should ponder an important question. We should give serious thought to whether public apathy or indifference to the workings of the government has played a role in allowing heretofore acknowledged 1st Amendment Rights under the Constitution to become abridged.

How do you say “You lie!” in Mandarin? By Michelle Malkin  •  November 18, 2009 09:20 AM Obama’s double-talk on political dissent by Michelle MalkinCreators Syndicate Copyright 2009President Obama traveled all the way to China to praise the free flow of information. It’s the only safe place he could do so without getting heckled. With a straight face, Obama lauded political dissent and told Chinese students that he welcomed unfettered criticism in America. Fierce opposition, he said, made him “a better leader because it forces me to hear opinions that I don’t want to hear.” How do you say “You lie!” in...

"Magic Mirror on the Wall, who is the fairest one of all?" was uttered by the wicked Queen in the 1937 Walt Disney animated movie 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.' Do you remember that poignant little snippet from the movie that became a childhood classic for generations? The nation did not necessarily embrace the evil Queen as a hero but some were on the edge of their seats wondering if the truth or the continued lie would ever come out. The question which many have speculated over was whether or not this movie's focus on the dark side of...

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama signed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law Oct. 28. It expands the 1969 hate-crimes law to include crimes against people committed because of gender, sexual orientation or disability. The president said the law would “help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray.”Religious leaders, in particular, objected to the bill’s original language because they worried that it would not protect First Amendment rights and religious freedom. Some felt that the law might restrict clergy and others’ ability to speak out on issues of morality, such...

The case of Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter vs. Mortgage Specialists Inc (MSI) has reached the New Hampshire Supreme Court. MSI has demanded Implode-O-Meter reveal the identity of one of its sources in a defamation case and Implode-O-Meter refuses. Please consider New Hampshire Suit Challenges Mortgage Blogger's Use of Anonymous Sources The New Hampshire Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit that calls into question the legal protections available to independent Web sites that cover news. The case involves mortgage lender Implode-Explode, a Las Vegas-based site launched in 2007 that publishes stories about the meltdown of the mortgage industry. The...

"You cannot have an opposition movement without opposition media." -Van Jones, former Green Jobs Czar for President Obama.Free speech and dictatorship don't mix. Just think about it. If I were a Third World dictator and wanted to keep power indefinitely and still pretend to be legitimate, could I do so if the newspapers and television stations were all speaking out against me? Heck no. Free speech is a powerful tool for democracy, as our Founding Fathers knew. That's why if I were a dictator, I might eventually take the step of shutting down the opposition newspapers and TV stations, like...

RADFEST 2004: MIDWEST SOCIAL FORUM FRIDAY, JUNE 44:00-5:15 REGISTRATION Education Center5:15-6:30 DINNER Dining Hall6:45-9:00 PLENARY PANEL Education "LATINOS/AS AND THE STRUGGLE FOR POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC ABC JUSTICE" Christine Neumann-Ortiz , Voces de la Frontera, Milwaukee Teofilo Reyes, Labor Notes, Transnationals Information Exchange, Chicago Graciela Sánchez, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, San Antonio Renée Saucedo, La Raza Centro Legal, San Francisco9:15-? Musical Entertainment Outdoor AmphitheatreThroughout "CORPORATE GLOBALIZATION VS. GLOBAL JUSTICE GUERRILLA PHOTO Conference EXHIBIT" Education Orin Langelle, Global Justice Ecology Project Building An evolving exhibit of photographs from the most recent mobilizations against corporate globalization. The exhibit includes photographs documenting...

Groups like this gang of militant homosexuals and lesbians from Michigan, have been harassing church groups and businesses who support anti gay marriage legislation, like prop 8 in California, throughout various parts of the country Picture and caption are by me, OneVike, they are not part of the original article.but they fit much better than the picture used by PS. Political issues often involve emotionally charged social outcomes and because of that it's reasonable to expect to be confronted with a certain amount of verbal insult or offense as we discuss, protest and rally for a given cause or...

<p>JACKSON, Miss.-- University of Mississippi football fans who refuse to stop chanting "the South will rise again" are on the verge of losing one of their favorite fight songs, the school's chancellor said Monday.</p> <p>Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones said "From Dixie With Love" will no longer be played at games if fans continue the racially offensive chant.</p>

U.S. Sovereignty, the U.N. and You. Freedom of Speech under attack; so do something…

Well, these videos certainly are igniting the fire within me. How broken and out-of-control can our “government” get? Apparently, the elite have forgotten (or more likely, have never known) about the meaning of the First Amendment to our Constitution, where it clearly states:

This is the entire Glenn Beck show from Thursday, October 29th, 2009. In this episode entitled “Blue Curtain Unveiled”, Beck discusses attacks on the freedom of speech and Net Neutrality as information control. He also removed the “blue curtain” revealing what he called two sets of radicals: the revolutionaries who founded America and Obama’s radicals who are trying to fundamentally change the nature of our country. He added that we have a choice in believing in the individual or believing in the government. Video: Glenn Beck On October 29th, 2009

SEATTLE Conservatives here, a droll minority, say that under this city's quota system, when a conservative enters the city, one already here is required to leave. They also say that Washington is actually two states: There is what you can see from atop this city's Space Needle -- meaning, this liberal city -- and there is everything else, extending to the Oregon, Idaho and Canadian borders. On Tuesday, Washington residents will vote in a referendum that has national significance because of a controversy about disclosing the names and addresses of those who signed petitions to trigger the referendum. Disclosure threatens...

FREE SPEECH DENIED CHRISTIANS SILENCED thelastcrusade.org A British couple is on trial and could lose their business for having a debate with a Muslim about religion. In September police arrested Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang, owners of the Bounty House Hotel in Liverpool, after a woman filed a complaint about her conversation with them concerning whether Jesus is the Son of God or just a minor prophet of Islam. Christian Institute spokesman Mike Judge says the couple has lost 80 percent of their business since the incident. Much of that business came from a local hospital. "As a result of...

Silence of the Lambs - - Part 5,432 Speak of Sin; Land in Jail Welcome to Post Christian America thelstcrusade.org A Christian evangelist who was once arrested, incarcerated, and charged under Pennsylvania's hate crimes law says the federal hate crimes bill that has been signed into law by President Obama is the most dangerous laws in the history of the United States. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was signed into law yesterday, creates additional penalties for violent crimes motivated by the victim's "actual or perceived" gender, "gender identity," sexual orientation, or disability....

"But we shouldn’t be so entertained by this spectacle that we lose sight of why, at bottom, it is a disturbing one. It’s not just because, as many commentators have already observed, the president appears to be taking a page out of Nixon’s playbook. Fundamentally, it’s because the administration’s media war against Fox is but a minor display of the tremendous power the government has to stifle speech it views as illegitimate. Much of this power is the result of long-standing “campaign finance” laws. These laws impose all sorts of restrictions on political speech, and it’s no coincidence that the...

This was supposed to be a one post affair. But after a round of posts by some co-bloggers (links here at Blue Collar Muse) and some attention from Hot Air, it was obvious that someone in David Smith's office had their panties very much in a wad. Perhaps we didn't fly under the radar because I emailed Smith's office a link to my post. Hey, I'm a giver. Maybe he's got someone trolling the blogs for him. (Taxpayer money? It's a legit question.) Whatever the case, this comment began showing up on almost all of the blog posts on the...

In yet another attempt by the Obama Administration, with the silent help of congress (cowards), our freedom of speech has never been more at risk at being lost than it is right now. Why? Because while Americans were sipping back on a cold tall one, watching baseball and eating popcorn, the enemies were hard at work within our nation; diligently striving to remove the very freedoms we Americas have neglected for far too long . . .

Hey, they keep telling us we need to act more like Democrats, right? Some disturbing heavy-handed, speech squashing thuggish garbage is going on in Maricopa County in my native state of Arizona. It seems that the county Board of Supervisors is loaded with a bunch of the "screw principles and spend all the money" Republicans we've all come to know and loathe these past few election cycles. More details from Blue Collar Muse: At issue are relationships members of the County Attorney’s office have with the media, including a few bloggers. Not all the media, however, just those beating up...

<p>For all of the hype going on over the FCC's proposed rules about Network Neutrality, it really comes down to a few very short, common sense rules.</p> <p>What is "Network Neutrality"?</p> <p>In short, the rules would force Internet Service providers (ISPs) to treat all traffic equally, period. For such a complex-sounding name, it really is quite a simple concept.</p>

We all recall how well the Islamic world handled the cartoons of Muhammad. This led to protests across the Muslim world, some of which escalated into violence with police firing on the crowds (resulting in more than 100 deaths, all together), including setting fire to the Danish Embassies in Syria, Lebanon and Iran, storming European buildings, and desecrating the Danish, Dutch, Norwegian and German flags in Gaza City. While a number of Muslim leaders called for protesters to remain peaceful, other Muslim leaders across the globe, including Mahmoud al-Zahar of Hamas, issued death threats. . . . Danish Prime Minister...

There is no greater waste of time in the Obama White House than its war against Fox News, because it doesn't just make this President look bad, it makes him look as if the other side has cut him down to size. He would be better off trying bowling again. At least this is one war Barack Obama can end easily. All he has to do is sit down with Chris Wallace or Shepard Smith - do the President's men think Smith was some arm of the Republican Party with his reporting on Hurricane Katrina? - or Major Garrett, a...

The Silence of the Lambs - - Obama Style Farewell, Free Speech - - Part 991 bythelastcrusade.org So much for free speech and 1st Amendment rights. A hate crimes bill, which was passed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday and sent to President Obama for his signature, will serve to muzzle Christian writers, preachers, and teachers who still possess the temerity to advocate Biblical values. Mr. Obama has made a pledge to the gay and lesbian community that the bill will become law before the end of October. Matt Barber, an attorney for Liberty Counsel, says that the President...

The U.S. Senate has passed the homosexual hate-crimes bill and will now send it to President Obama to sign it into law. This bill is a trojan horse to legitimize the creation of more laws that will completely obliterate the 1st amendment of the United States. Many homosexual organizations say this is a victory, however they are just being used to further infringe on Americans rights to free speech. In a 68-29 vote, senators passed 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes the hate crimes measure that adds “sexual orientation� and “gender identity,� as well as disability, to the current...

U.S. Senator John McCain has introduced legislation that would block the U.S. Federal Communications Commission from creating new net neutrality rules, on the same day that the FCC took the first step toward doing so. McCain on Thursday introduced the Internet Freedom Act, which would keep the FCC from enacting rules prohibiting broadband providers from selectively blocking or slowing Internet content and applications. Net neutrality rules would create "onerous federal regulation," McCain said in a written statement. McCain protested the FCC's proposal that wireless broadband providers be included in the net neutrality rules. The wireless industry has "exploded over the...

Late last month, the senior White House adviser David Axelrod and Roger Ailes, chairman and chief executive of Fox News, met in an empty Palm steakhouse before it opened for the day, neutral ground secured for a secret tête-à-tête. Mr. Ailes, who had reached out to Mr. Axelrod to address rising tensions between the network and the White House, told him that Fox’s reporters were fair, if tough, and should be considered separate from the Fox commentators who were skewering President Obama nightly, according to people briefed on the meeting. Mr. Axelrod said it was the view of the White...

So this administration had what passes for a brainstorm among that group: now that they’ve made it clear that they disapprove of one particular news network, why, there would be nothing stopping them from stepping up their attempts to marginalize said network. So the White House announced today that a specific White House Press Pool access - Ken Feinberg, who is one of the myriad ‘czars’ so beloved of this administration - would explicitly exclude Fox News. Despite the fact that the Press Pool is supported in part by Fox News. I can certainly hope they understand that.

http://www.youtube.com/patcondell "..Obama was elected to change not to surrender....." (paraphrase).

This just came out this evening during the Special Report with Brett Baier, The White House invited everyone BUT Foxnews to the press pool interview of the Pay Czar...They are stepping in up instead of down...here's the video from the 6:00p.m. Special Report (Video)

You see, I went to Bucknell. We're rivals, you know. So as a proud member of the Bucknell family, I've considered it my job to make occasional fun of our nemesis in Bethlehem. When I was in school, I even owned a T-shirt that said: ''Lehigh: Because not everyone can get into Bucknell.'' Sophomoric, I know. But then again, I was a sophomore. Now, I'm taking it back. I'm sorry, Lehigh. The reason is the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects our right to, among other things, freedom of speech. It's not something a private university like Bucknell or Lehigh...

HATE SPEECH IN THE MEDIA: WHO DECIDES? Another First Amendment Attack GIVING THE WAR ON FOX NEWS MORE CONTEXTHave you heard the one about "hate speech in the media" yet? You will--though one has increasingly little faith that the Dinosaur Media will report on this development. IS the War on Fox News merely one front in the rapidly-escalating War on Free Speech? The heavy hand of the Obama commissars is about to be laid upon: "hate speech in the media". Anyone want to guess what that is a code phrase for? Any guesses who will be the first to...

UNITED STATES SAYS "OKAY!" to ATTACK ON FREE SPEECH BY THE U.N. With billions of adherents, one would think that the world's religions could take care of themselves. But the U.N. Human Rights Council sees it otherwise. Under the guise of protecting free speech, the HRC passed a resolution supporting free speech--except that part of free speech that attempts to criticize religion. From Just say no to blasphemy laws While attracting surprisingly little attention, the Obama administration supported the effort of largely Muslim nations in the U.N. Human Rights Council to recognize exceptions to free speech for any "negative...

Nine months into the Obama Administration, the White House communications strategy is coming into clear focus. Demonize, harass and ultimately aim to silence opposition, while endlessly repeating the administration line, with the full cooperation of the old media. Anita Dunn, White House Communications Director, along with Senior White Advisor David Axelrod and Chief of Staff lead the attack. Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel continues to pile on. This administration has seemingly adopted the Joseph Goebbels' (the infamous Nazi Minister of Propaganda under Adolph Hitler) strategy that history has labeled ‘the big lie.' Hitler was a master of manipulating large numbers...

This is the entire Glenn Beck show from Tuesday, October 20th, 2009. In this episode entitled “The War on Freedom of Speech”, Beck discusses the ongoing White House campaign to control news and information and net neutrality. He interviews Phil Kerpen. Video: Glenn Beck on October 20th, 2009

LISTEN TO THE REAL REVEREND JESSE ON THE INTERNET OR A RADIO STATION IN YOUR AREA......BOND Action, Inc...Educating, Motivating and Rallying Americans! The Jesse Lee Peterson Radio Show Streamed live online from 6-9 a.m. PST / 9-12 a.m. EST. Call in the same times usually. For Live Questions or Comments Call 1-888-77-JESSE(5-3773) You can email comments and questions to radio@bondaction.org For more information on getting The Jesse Lee Peterson Show picked up on a station in your local area call Ermias Alemayehu at 1-877-WE ACT77 (932-2877) Go to HERE and order a truckful of these bumper stickers as Jesse says.....

On Oct. 2, Catherine Bleish was one of a handful of speakers who revved up a crowd of 2,000 at the St. Charles (Mo.) Tea Party. Ten days later, she found herself in jail in the South St. Louis city of Maplewood.

The Fox News Channel and conservative and right-leaning libertarian talk radio hosts Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage and Lou Dobbs are being targeted for federal investigations by a coalition of religious groups for so-called anti-immigrant hate speech.The So We Might See Coalition is sponsoring what they call a media fast, asking participants to abstain from violence on television and radio from October 19th through the 26th.The coalition is leading a petition drive asking the Federal Communications Commission initiate an investigation in to "hate speech in the media."The coalition is also calling for the 1993 report entitled, The Role of...

snip Also problematic is the resolution’s attempt to make the restriction of free speech a human right. In fact, it is free speech that constitutes a human right and not its restriction. Ideologies, ideas and religions do not, and should not be afforded “human rights." They should be fair game for criticism, analysis, open debate and discussion. Religions and ideologies cannot be “defamed." Once ideologies are afforded protection from criticism, it is in direct contradiction to individual human rights.snip

For your information, Blinkotv.com and TIKILive.com both use to offer free viewing of live Fox News, and CNN, 24/7. Now its just CNN. Let them know that this is NOT fair and balanced!! Tiki TVBlinkotv

On October 1, 2009, the Obama administration in conjunction with the Egyptian government, introduced an anti-free speech measure to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council (HRC). It was adopted the next day without a vote. Earlier this year, when the United States sought a seat on the HRC, it was a controversial decision. Many who found the HRC neither credible nor useful, opposed the move. Yet, others were more optimistic that America could change the HRC from within. Perhaps the U.S. could spur debate stemming from its opposition to China, Sudan, Libya, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia on critical human rights...

TOPEKA, Kan. – A video featuring a Kansas legislator criticizing President Barack Obama's policies while wearing a hat describing opossum as "the other dark meat" was removed Thursday from YouTube, where the lawmaker had posted it last month. Republican Rep. Bill Otto said he didn't remove the video, titled "RedNeck Rap," and didn't know why it had been taken down. Google Inc., YouTube's owner, could offer no explanation. Otto said criticism of the video was unfounded. He said the hat's saying, which he repeats at the end of the short video, refers to redneck stereotypes, not Obama. The White House...

Media Bias: Not long after pro football welcomed a convicted felon back on the playing field, Rush Limbaugh is dropped for his opinions from a group seeking to buy an NFL franchise. Won't someone throw a flag? When even Keith Olbermann says back off, you know the politically correct critics of the conservative icon and megaradio talk host's proposed part ownership of the St. Louis Rams are guilty of piling on. The prospect of the leading conservative voice in America participating in the purchase of a football team sent the liberal elites into cardiac arrest and into a frenzied campaign...

Minuteman Project Founder Jim Gilchrist News Release     For Immediate Release October 15, 2009  Media contact: Tim Bueler (530) 401-3285   Anti-Free Speech Fanatics at Harvard Threaten Disruption and Violence       Cambridge , Ma.-Harvard University seems to be resigned to suffer the same embarrassing fate as Columbia University in 2006 as they scamper to rescind their previous invitation to Jim Gilchrist, founder and president of the Minuteman Project, to participate in its immigration symposium scheduled for this Saturday, October 17 in Cambridge , Ma.         Despite appearing at last February’s symposium at the Harvard Law School on immigration law...

This argument by author David Waters sidesteps two key points. Unlike race, color, or national origin, homosexuality is specifically and harshly condemned within theology, scripture, and religious teaching. So the likelihood of a “hate crime” against a homosexual being linked in some way to a sermon is far more than any other variety of “hate crime.” More pressing than that, however, is the fact the entire concept of “hate crime” is a criminalization of thought, making this and existing hate crime laws unconstitutional. The freedoms of speech, religion, and press, preserved in the First Amendment, may rightly be considered together...

I am a United States citizen on trial in Canada for exposing a situation at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario that threatened the lives and welfare of Canadians and Americans alike. My book “The Dunces of Doomsday,” published in the U.S. by Cumberland House, revealed potential terrorist threats from al-Qaeda affiliates at McMaster. The university is suing me for libel, demanding $4 million in punitive and aggregated damages.

Byron York blows the whistle on Democratic legislation, about to be enacted by Congress, which purports to partially repeal the First Amendment: The [hate] crime bill -- which would broaden the protected classes for hate crimes to include sexual orientation and "gender identity," which the bill defines as a victim's "actual or perceived gender-related characteristics" -- passed the House earlier this year as a stand-alone measure. But it's never had the votes to succeed by itself in the Senate. So over the summer Democrats, with the power of their 60-vote majority, attached it to the defense [appropriations] bill.

Byron York blows the whistle on Democratic legislation, about to be enacted by Congress, which purports to partially repeal the First Amendment: "The [hate] crime bill -- which would broaden the protected classes for hate crimes to include sexual orientation and "gender identity," which the bill defines as a victim's "actual or perceived gender-related characteristics" -- passed the House earlier this year as a stand-alone measure. But it's never had the votes to succeed by itself in the Senate. So over the summer Democrats, with the power of their 60-vote majority, attached it to the defense [appropriations] bill." "Republicans argued...

I did a bunch of Internet work on Thursday evening and Friday last week, then went out of town. When I returned on Sunday I could smell a man's cologne in my kitchen and could tell someone had been in my home while I was gone. Nothing was stolen or missing, but I checked with my neighbor who is a retired cop from NY City to see if he noticed any activity at my house. As a matter of fact, his dogs were barking Sunday night and he looked in my driveway to see if my son's truck was there....

The bill was finished. When it was returned to the House last week for final passage, there was just one vote; lawmakers could either vote for the whole package or against it. They could vote to fund the troops, which would also mean voting for the hate crimes bill, or they could vote against the hate crimes provision, which would also mean voting against funding the troops. At decision time, 131 of the Republicans most opposed to the hate crimes measure voted against the whole bill. Their vote "against the troops" will no doubt be used against them in next...

Robert McChesney, former editor of Monthly Review, a leading Marxist publication, has dangerously close ties to the Obama administration, Glenn Beck said on his TV show last week. McChesney created the “media reform” organization Free Press, and served on the board of Norman Solomon's Institute for Public Accuracy. He remains on the board of Monthly Review, which has a half-century history of supporting Communist movements and regimes. Echoing President Obama's media diversity czar Mark Lloyd, McChesney supports Venezuela's Marxist strongman Hugo Chavez and that country's crackdown on the media. He even argued that owners of an opposition TV station that...