Freedom Of Speech

The New York Public Libraries And Pornography: Freedom Of Speech Gone Mad!

Ronald Leave a comment

The debate over civil liberties rages on in American society and culture, but the concept of limits still intrudes itself.

The decision of the New York Public Library systems to allow patrons to log on to pornography websites on library computers in their areas subject to public access is causing a stir over the extent of freedom of speech limits.

Does a person who is over 18 years of age have the right to access pornography websites on his or her own computer? The answer clearly is YES!

Should any person have the right to access such websites on a public library computer within view and sound of other patrons? The answer clearly is NO!

Pornography is something that is a private matter and should remain that.

No one should be subjected to other people’s views or tastes on sexuality, as it is offensive to many people, and children under 18 could be easily exposed to such websites while in the library, with or without their parents being present.

It is a question of common decency and public behavior, not an issue of freedom of speech. No one is saying that there is any justification or method to eliminate all pornography websites, but it most definitely is a question of common sense and sensitivity to the rights of those who do not wish to witness such sites within their hearing or viewing.

This issue will not go away, and assuredly, the American Civil Liberties Union will fight this matter in court.

It would not be surprising if such a case reached the Supreme Court at some point, and one cannot be certain as to how the high Court would react.

But in the mind of the author, if he were on the Supreme Court, he would vote to ban such pornography in public libraries as unacceptable to the general public, and make clear that sexuality is a private matter, not to be displayed in such a venue as a public library, a place for all citizens and non citizens alike, to enlighten and educate the population and promote their advancement.

So again, no one is out to ban pornography, which would be impossible anyway, but to ban it in public libraries in sight or sound of the vast majority of people who would find it objectionable in that venue!

Orly Taitz Should Be Prosecuted For Defamation Of Character Of President Obama, AndThen Be Put Under Psychiatric Evaluation!!

Ronald 2 Comments

Orly Taitz, the originator of the “Birther” conspiracy theory regarding President Barack Obama’s location of his birth, has refused to apologize for her lies and deceit, even after the original birth certificate was displayed yesterday at the request of the President of the United States!

She was invited to speak on Lawrence O’Donnell’s LAST WORD show on MSNBC, and instead “filibustered” the subject, refusing to answer how she felt about the evidence, and instead over talking O’Donnell and stating she was bringing a lawsuit over the President’s Selective Service draft registration information required for all males at age 18!

She was totally obnoxious and insulting, and to see Lawrence O’Donnell, a real gentleman on his talk show, become furious at her sick mind and behavior, was quite an experience for the author!

This is a woman born in the old Soviet Union, allowed to migrate to this nation in 1987, having the opportunity to become a lawyer and a dentist in California, and instead of appreciating the opportunities this nation has given her, she would rather trash our President, give him no respect or dignity, and launch frivolous lawsuits, cluttering up the courts with her sick, depraved nonsense based on a hallucinatory mind and no common decency!

There is nothing else that President Obama can do about this distraction, but it is time for good Americans who are disgusted by this poisonous promotion of racism and hate to launch a civil lawsuit against Orly Taitz, with the intention of making her pay for defamation of character, for libel and slander, leading to her impoverishment financially!

And then, the woman, by stirring passions in such an outrageous, deceptive manner, should be put under psychiatric care as a detriment to civil society and common decency!

Freedom of speech does not mean one can shout fire in a crowded theater and not be held responsible civilly for one”s reckless behavior! This is not calling for criminal indictment, but rather civil indictment and conviction, and the ruling of a court that this disgraceful human being be required to have psychiatric evaluation and care!

Orly Taitz, Jerome Corsi, World Net Daily: The Big Lie Technique Of Adolf Hitler Revived!

Ronald Leave a comment

Orlty Taitz is one of the originators of the “Birther” conspiracy about Barack Obama being born outside the United States, and she has lost cases in court and been fined for her lies and deceit.

Jerome Corsi is a so called professor who has published books promoting lies and conspiracy theories, and is about to publish a new book perpetuating the “Birther” myth to gullible readers!

World Net Daily is a scandal oriented “RAG”, which promotes sensationalism and lies, and has done so about Bill and Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and now Barack Obama, and has a wide readership despite its accusations that have no basis!

We live in a nation that promotes freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but these characters need to be called out by the mainstream media, and exposed for the phonies and manipulators of truth that they are!

They have all adopted the “Big Lie” technique, so effectively utilized by Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany, which promoted the idea that the more one lies and deceives, the more people will believe it, so never let go, and fight against the truth, and exploit people’s prejudices and biases, all in the process of drawing attention to yourself and making profit in the process!

There should be no doubt left in mainstream media other than to expose and condemn Orly Taitz, Jerome Corsi, and World Net Daily, and all other propaganda that sets out to poison the political fabric of America and destroy any chance for unity and purpose in dealing with the many domestic and foreign policy problems this nation faces in 2011!

The Danger Of The Westboro Baptist Church Decision: Violence Is Now Likely!

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The father of the fallen Marine, who sued the Westboro Baptist Church for disruption of his son’s funeral with anti gay hate demonstrations, now must pay court fees to the Reverend Fred Phelps, a damn shame after having suffered through having to see his son’s memory distorted by the presence of police, sheriffs, swat teams, and emergency vehicles to prevent violence.

So because of a so called church that promotes just the opposite of what religion is supposed to do, the taxpayers are stuck with a tax burden, and a family has to endure what no one wants at a funeral of a loved one, a disruption of one of the worst moments of anyone’s life!

The Marine’s father warned what is obvious: There will eventually be bloodshed as relatives of a fallen soldier will go after the Reverend Fred Phelps and his relatives with guns, and innocent bystanders at a funeral could also become victims.

As the father of the Marine said, the eight Supreme Court Justices showed no common sense in their decision.

And they forgot the basis of the Schenck V. US case of 1919, that there is no such thing as total freedom of speech, if it presents a “clear and present danger” to others. To live in an idealistic world view about the First Amendment right of freedom of speech is going to provoke more bloodshed and violence, and at some point, it will be recognized that the Supreme Court did not do the responsible thing in this case!

The Westboro Baptist Church, The Supreme Court, And Free Speech

Ronald 2 Comments

What the author feared would happen has indeed occurred!

The Supreme Court of the United States has, by an 8-1 vote, decided that the hateful, anti gay Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, headed by the Reverend Fred Phelps, and consisting of about 50 people, almost all his relatives, have the right to disrupt military funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan to protest the fact that gays have rights, and that America is going to the devil because gays are allowed to exist in America!

The fact that a military funeral is a time of mourning and stress for those connected to the dead soldier apparently had no effect on the Court, except for Associate Justice Samuel Alito, who, somewhat surprisingly, was the only dissenter.

So the Westboro Baptist Church can continue its evil deeds and disrupt funerals and promote hate, and the right of privacy of funeral attenders, including the family of the deceased, does not matter!

This despicable group not only has done this dastardly deed to families of soldiers, but also were present at the funeral of the nine year old girl murdered when Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was seriously wounded in Tucson, Arizona in January. The only difference there was that a large group of sympathizers of the parents of the young girl formed a wall of resistance to these characters, and kept them much further away from the funeral procession.

This is not, in the author’s mind, freedom of speech, or freedom of religion, or freedom of assembly. To call the Westboro Baptist Church a church is a mockery of the whole concept of religion!

All decent people will deplore this decision, and be embarrassed that Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined with Chief Justice John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and even the ultimate swing vote, Anthony Kennedy, in writing this reprehensible decision!

This is not a victory for free speech, but rather a victory for hate, and insanity, and lack of respect for the dead, and lack of patriotism regarding the military, who sacrifice themselves every day in far off lands!

Surprising, but the author must commend Samuel Alito for having the courage to go against the tide, a man that the author has not highly admired. So I salute Alito for his brave stand for decency!

Arizona Does Something Right: Banning Of Westboro Baptist Church Hate Demonstration At Funerals Of Tucson Victims Of Mass Shooting!

Ronald Leave a comment

Finally, Arizona has done something right, by its state legislature passing in record time today a ban on demonstrations or picketing by the hateful, sick Westboro Baptist Church at the funerals of the victims of the Tucson shootings last Saturday.

That despicable, so called religious group, which has picketed and demonstrated at the funerals of soldiers who died in Iraq or Afghanistan, because of the group’s hatred of gays, is finally being limited, as what they want to do is shameful! 🙁

So they will be allowed no closer than 300 feet, the equivalent of a football field, and additionally, there will be counter demonstrators dressed as angels who will stand in the way of these hateful crackpots, remaining silent, but blocking the vision of these sick, perverted members of what is primarily a warped group of family members of the so called Reverend Fred Phelps! 🙁

This action has already been followed in Ohio over a military funeral, although the case is now in the Supreme Court, has been argued, and we are awaiting their decision at some point later in this term of the Court.

It is hard to imagine that the Supreme Court would give license to this group by the argument of freedom of religion and assembly and speech, since they have no purpose other than to disrupt and cause emotional harm and suffering upon people who have suffered a loss of a loved one.

To think that the specific purpose of their demonstration is to condemn the Catholic faith of the nine year old child victim makes one want to mourn the loss in this group of what religion and Christianity are all about–to love thy neighbor!

If these are truly Christians, then they are a mockery of the faith!

Elizabeth Edwards’s Funeral And The Westboro Baptist Church: Time To Say NO To Hateful Demonstration At Moment Of Mourning! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

The author has written before about the hateful Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, led by the Reverend Fred Phelps, a church consisting of mostly his family of about 50 relatives, which demonstrates at military funerals of soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, promoting their hate of gay rights, and claiming America is going to hell!

There is a case in the Supreme Court right now, which will soon be decided, as to whether this is an issue of free speech, assembly and religion, or one of obscene, disgraceful behavior which interferes with the mourning of families at these military funerals of our heroes.

Now, with the death of Elizabeth Edwards, the estranged wife of former Senator John Edwards, a woman much respected, admired and loved by millions of people, the Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket her funeral in the same despicable manner that they do at military funerals. 🙁

It is time for this outrageous behavior to be banned at any point anywhere near the mourners, not only at the Edwards funeral, but ALL funerals, military or otherwise, now and in the future.

To call this freedom of speech, assembly and religion is a total distortion of the meaning of the First Amendment. Such reprehensible behavior should NOT be endorsed or supported, and hopefully, the Supreme Court will soon rule that the Westboro Baptist Church should not be allowed any closer than three miles to any funeral that they wish, with their hatred motivation, to disrupt.

It is time to take a stand against what is wrong, and ban it anywhere near the site of a funeral, and allow the mourners to have peace of mind and solitude as they mourn their loved ones.

The Suspension Of Keith Olbermann By MSNBC: Is It Appropriate? NO! :(

Ronald Leave a comment

Progressive talk show host Keith Olbermann of MSNBC has been suspended because he gave political donations to Democrats who ran for office in Arizona and Kentucky, working against the candidacies of Governor Jan Brewer and Senate candidate Rand Paul.

MSNBC felt that a talk show host should not be permitted to contribute to candidates, as it compromises them on their show.

Does this make sense? NO, as is there anyone who does not know by watching Keith Olbermann, that he is a progressive voice, and that he favors the Democratic Party?

Does being on a talk show mean that one loses his freedom of speech, which contributing to a political campaign is, according to the Supreme Court in the January 2010 Citizens United case, that has allowed unlimited contributions by corporations?

Is not MSNBC a corporation which can contribute to campaigns, as Fox News Channel has done to the Republican Party? Why is it that employees of a corporation don’t have the same right to contribute that their employer has?

Is there anyone who does not know how Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck and others feel about the Republican party?

The only people in news media who should be discreet about politics are those who simply report the news, but Fox News Channel and MSNBC are stations that promote an agenda, so what is good for one should be the same for the other!

MSNBC has made a mistake in suspending Olbermann, and should reverse its decision, and bring back to the airwaves one of the most insightful and principled progressives who are engaged in the fight against the Right Wing, corporate takeover of this country, which the Supreme Court has, regretfully, encouraged!

National Public Radio Wrong To Fire Juan Williams Over Fears Of Muslim Garb On Airplanes! :(

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Political commentator Juan Williams, who has long been involved in the civil rights community with his writings and work on African American history, has just been fired by National Public Radio for expressing his views about Islamic clothing.

Williams said on the Bill O’Reilly show on Fox News Channel that he is not prejudiced against the Islamic faith, but that it strikes fear in his heart when he sees people in full Islamic clothing on airplanes, as it brings back memories of September 11, 2001.

Such a statement is purely freedom of speech; it is not expressing anti Islamic hatred, as many others have done.

It is a common thought of many Americans because of the events of September 11, as it makes many Americans uncomfortable.

It is not stating that Muslims should not be free to wear such garb. It is just an opinion and expression of a fear which is quite common.

Juan Williams is a quality journalist, and firing him is unjustified! It does not make NPR look very good, as it is stifling freedom of speech!

This is not the same as Rick Sanchez being fired by CNN for his anti Semitic comments about Jews in the media, and perceived discrimination against Hispanics in the media, including himself!

If one is a journalist, and cannot express his thoughts in a non hateful way on a cable or television or radio channel without fear of losing his job, then we have really become a nation where civil liberties itself is under attack!

And since NPR has a reputation as a “liberal” or “progressive” channel, it is especially reprehensible to be seen as intolerant, and lacking an open mind to allow a diversity of opinion!

NPR has done the wrong thing, and it should reverse itself and rehire Juan Williams, and recognize what he is: a quality journalist who deserves respect for his non hateful opinions!

The Gainesville Koran Burning: Arrest Preacher Terry Jones Under “Clear And Present Danger!”

Ronald 2 Comments

It is shocking that we still have not heard a peep from any major Republican leader about Preacher Terry Jones of Gainesville, Florida, who has announced he will burn copies of the Koran this Saturday evening, September 11, despite pleas from General David Petraeus, and as seconded by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Retired General Russell Honore (who led the rescue effort in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina)!

It is even more amazing that it seems that no one is willing to assert, despite the well believed fear that the Koran burning will cause a danger to American soldiers and civilians in the war in Afghanistan as well as Muslim countries all over the world, that we simply must state it cannot be allowed, instead of begging this jerk not to do it! 🙁

There is a definite way to deal with this, and we need to see some courage and guts in our public officials, and not be concerned about protests from anyone! 🙁

That is, the local authorities in Gainesville have already made it clear that they are not going to give a permit to burn the Koran under city ordinances! The pastor Terry Jones needs to be reminded of this fact in a stern way!

Then he is to be informed that should he proceed to light a match on Saturday night, the police will be present and as soon as he makes that attempt, the fire is put out with the use of aggressive force, and the pastor is to be arrested and prosecuted under the law by the county, state and national government, utilizing the concept of “clear and present danger”, first enunciated in Schenck V. US in 1919. 🙁

Pastor Jones needs to understand that his action will NOT be tolerated under any circumstances as freedom of religion or freedom of speech! 🙁

This planned action is provocative, endangers the nation’s national security and safety, demonstrates total lack of responsibility, and is a mockery of freedom of religion and freedom of speech! No one has the right to “shout fire in a crowded theater” and call it freedom of speech, and no one has the right to invoke the concept of God and provoke bloodshed and violence when it endangers the whole nation! 🙁

We have had complaints that the government is too easy at utilizing the argument of “national security and safety”, but if this situation is not an effective reason for such assertion, then nothing is! 🙁