| christian grantham | |||
| Christian Grantham was a student activist in the late 90s and later a consultant to domestic policy forums for the Clinton Administration as well as events for HRC and GLAAD. | |||
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April 14, 2005
Yet more thuggish behavior by public school administrators.
The student, whose name was withheld, was sent to the principal's office at her Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., school, where she was told to change shirts or leave campus, according to the Pacific Justice Institute, a Sacramento, Calif.-based public-interest law firm.The front of the T-shirt says "tolerance is the virtue of believing in nothing," and the back says "truth is truth – homosexuality is wrong."
['Homosexuality is wrong' spells trouble - WorldNetDaily - 04-14-05]
What has America's public schools become if learning has been limited to school administrators expressing their ignorance and disrespect for the law of the land and students expressing their beliefs on important social issues?
filed under: Free Speech
April 07, 2005
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you've likely followed the growing Free Speech thread in which it seems America's public schools are in a crisis over this cherished civil liberty.
Story after story illustrates how uneducated school Administrators are violating the United States Constitution with thuggish suppression of free speech. It's not just suppression of liberal thought. It's suppression of conservative beliefs, as well. We may not agree with either opinion on subject matters, but can we all agree that public school Administrators hiding behind claims that opinions are a disruption to eductation is intellectual hooliganism run amock?
Here is yet another case showing why the United States Constitution ought to be made a mandatory civics class in every American high school. When students are taught our basic rights, including those protecting free speech, an atmosphere of respect for difference is fostered and democracy is invigorated by young leaders.
LaStaysha Myers, 15, said she was sent home twice from Webb City High School for wearing such shirts. She is heterosexual but sported shirts with handwritten phrases including "I support the gay rights!""Schools that prevent students from expressing their opinions on gay rights or any other issue are not only failing their duties to teach students how to be good citizens," said Dick Kurtenbach, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri, "they're also violating the United States Constitution."
Controversy erupted at Webb City High last fall over the T-shirts of a young man, Brad Mathewson, that included phrases including "I'm gay and I'm proud."
He was briefly suspended and returned to school only after promising not to wear shirts with such messages. But supporters made T-shirts in his honor and the ACLU said seven had been sent home for refusing to change them.
[ACLU sues school over T-shirts - News-Leader - 04-07-05]
If Administrators have forgotten the basic rights guaranteed in the United States Constitution, including free speech, what more can we expect from the students they are supposed to be educating? You need look no further than the Republican Party's outrageous legislative assaults on the judiciary and basic civil liberties to see how far ignorance is willing to go toward soiling our Constitution and the balance of power in America. How much further do we have to let it go before we figure out where this crisis is born?
Here is a great example of a smart high school administrator.
In a protest organized by the group Gay Marriage No and the school's Conservative Club and its student president and founder, Tim Beuler, about a dozen students from the school wore anti-gay sweat shirts and waved anti-gay signs as trucks drove around town emblazoned anti-gay slogans.The gathering took place across the street from the school as protestors gave up their lunch hour to send their message to other students and people driving by. Other students from the school who support the April 13th “Day of Silence” observance weren’t quiet about letting the anti-gay protestors know they didn’t support their views.
Though things got a little tense as both sides loudly voiced their beliefs, district superintendent Michael Watenpaugh recognized the need to protect freedom of speech for all students. “It's a delicate situation.We need to preserve the rights of the students and we need to make sure that learning continues in the classroom."
[Anti-Gay Rally Stirs Controversy At High School - KRXI-TV - 04-06-05]
filed under: Free Speech
April 05, 2005
(via GayOrbit) - As Robert Shurbet's wanted poster spreads all over the Internets after Michael Rogers had his website yanked, now comes a comic strip from Chris Muir (Day-By-Day) shedding light on the Blogactive author.
10-Headed Hydra: some sites carrying the poster:
- Classic Values
- Lime Shurbet
- Gay Orbit
- Haight Speech
- Nice Doggie
- Yippe-Ki-Yay!
- The Politiker
- My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
- Six Meat Buffet
- Frizzen Sparks
"Outing" as my post shows...is an outdated term. Effective today, It's no longer used on blogACTIVE.com, except when quoted (and then I will be sure to explain to folks what a silly word it has become.)
[Michael Rogers - BlogActive - 03-28-05]
filed under: Coming Out
, Free Speech
March 29, 2005
Gay activist Michael Rogers, of Blogactive.com, continues to target critics in an ongoing saga of an online jihad within the blogosphere.
This time the target was LimeShurbet.com, a blog whose site was taken down overnight by the site's commercial service provider. According to sources, LimeShurbert had taken GayPatriot's "WANTED: GAY TERRORISTS" post and created his own "wanted poster" targeting Michael Rogers and John Aravosis (Americablog). Rogers alerted the service provider which then shut the site down.
Here is a message from LimeShurbet.com's blog author, Robert Shurbet:
I will be back, content intact one way or another. Michael Rogers has tried to silence a voice of dissent. He will fail.
UPDATE 3:16PM - Robert Shurbert posted the following on Haloscan:
Show your support for GayPatriot by placing the "WANTED" banner from my sidebar on your blog.GayPatriot deserves to have his voice heard! All gay conservatives have a voice that needs to be heard too! The gay community is not a "liberals only" club any more than the Republican party is for "straights only." It is high-time gay conservatives and those that support them speak out against the terrorist tactics employed by Michael Rogers!
Don't let Michael Rogers silence a voice of opposition. He can try to silence one - he cannot silence many.
[Robert - Haloscan - 03.29.05 - 1:29 pm]
UPDATE 10:32PM - Robert Shurbet's "WANTED: GAY TERRORIST" poster featuring Michael Rogers of Blogactive.com is making the rounds by many free speech advocates. These are just a few sites that have posted the poster.
This was sent to Robert Shurbet from Hosting Matters.
Content cannot be defamation by definition unless it can be shown that the content is inherently and deliberately untrue. In your particular case, a simple google of “michael rogers gay” brought me to an article by The Independent (UK) about the very bullet points you have listed in the graphic, with quotes from him related to that subject. Further searches reveal other stories by regular journalistic outlets as well, with and without quotes. Suggesting people email him to voice their opinion of his actions is also not an actionable offense, since a look at his own site has links for email to the addresses you have listed - since he is inviting contact via email, and lists available addresses, your posting of them poses no violation of any of our policies or of any statutes. It is your opinion that his actions are as you describe them, and people are free to agree or disagree as they see fit, and post their own opinions, if they’d like to do so. In addition, there is nothing in your graphic that urges any violence against anyone - it reads, in fact, more like the sort of online boycott calls that go around from time to time. Therefore, we would take no action related to complaints by the individual about this item on your page other than to suggest he take it up with you.Regards,
Abuse Investigations
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostingmatters.com
[Hosting DOES Matter - Lime Shurbet - 03-29-05]
filed under: Free Speech
, Media
March 28, 2005
GayPatriot, the anonymous gay Republican blogger, has officially signed off. In a statement, no explanation was given. With GayPatriot's permission, I am now able to recount the real story.
On Friday, GayPatriot posted "WANTED: GAY TERRORISTS" in which he identified gay activists and bloggers John Aravosis (Americablog) and Michael Rogers (BlogActive) as terrorists.
Wanted for crimes against the gay community. Wanted for repeatedly conducting outing witch hunts against gays who do not believe in radical liberal anti-American ideals. For repeated violations of privacy of gay Americans. For conducting systematic civil liberties attacks on gay Americans.WANTED! Let's do something about these gay terrorists who have infected our community with their hatred and self-loathing bigotry of gay Americans who wish to live their lives in peace.
[WANTED: GAY TERRORISTS - GayPatriot - 03-25-05]
As many of you know, Rogers is the host and agent of a widely publicized "outing campaign" at BlogActive.com targeting closeted gay Republicans. One of the most notable results of this campaign was the dramatic retirement of a Republican Virginia Congressman, Ed Schrock. The most recent outing was that of Ken Mehlman, the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. Whatever you believe about the practice, it is difficult to ignore the political impact the campaign has had over the past year.
According to GayPatriot, who is also a client of mine, Michael Rogers called GayPatriot's place of employment on Friday immediately following the post above and spoke to GayPatriot's secretary and boss. GayPatriot had no idea Rogers would go to such measures and shared with me that both he and his secretary were very upset by the calls but that his boss was understanding.
Later on that day, Rogers personally called me and recounted much of the same account, adding that he had also called the police and is working with the authorities on the matter. Rogers expressed feeling threatened by the post and compared it to posts by anti-abortionists who posted the names of doctors performing them.
Rogers also said he asked GayPatriot to remove the post and replace it with a post about non-violence or he would launch a national boycott of GayPatriot's corporate employer and pursue any and all avenues necessary to protect himself. By the time Rogers had called, GayPatriot had already made the decision to remove the post and also remove GayPatriot from the blogosphere.
GayPatriot was silenced.
GayPatriotWest, a co-writer on the blog, will continue to bring a voice to conservative gay Republicans. While I personally have the opposite political ideology, I value healthy debate and the precious right of free speech in America. I am proud of serving a diversity of opinions online. I also understand that free speech isn't free of consequences. I am also sad to see this unfold.
As someone who has been the victim of passionate protests and death threats for public advocacy, I try not to question people's sense of concern for their safety. Rogers has every right to involve authorities in the matter and let them determine whether Rogers is in any danger. But I do question Rogers' choice to go beyond the work of authorities to ensure his safety by calling GayPatriot's place of employment.
If Rogers is genuinely concerned for his safety, any lawyer or authority investigating the matter would have advised him not to have called an alleged perpetrator's place of employment. That action alone shows the exact opposite of fear for safety. Rogers is not shy about calling offices, as the Washington Blade's Chris Crain noted the other day.
As the Blade reported last August, those on Capitol Hill in Rogers' crosshairs say they and their offices were subjected to as many as 20 phone calls a day, badgering office staff with details about closeted gays working there. Blade staffers are no strangers to these multiple, harassing phone calls. That's certainly not journalism, and it's not even activism. It's borderline stalking; and it ought to stop.
[GOP chief admits to being closeted - Washington Blade - 03-24-05]
Crain, the editor of the Window Media gay newspaper empire, is at the center of a controversy over allegedly thwarting his paper's reporting on recent outings of prominent gay Republicans.
Current and former staff members of the nation’s largest gay newspaper chain say the company’s top editor thwarted efforts to run a story reporting now-Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman was gay, RAW STORY has learned. The editor denies killing the story.These staffers assert that the part-owner and chief editor for the company’s five newspapers including The Washington Blade, Chris Crain, refused to print an article regarding the sexual orientation of the then-campaign manager for President Bush’s reelection campaign.
[Staff: Editor of Washington gay paper thwarted story outing RNC chair Mehlman; Editor asserts he was offered Schrock tapes - RawStory - 03-25-05]
GayPatriot formed specifically in response to Rogers and his website and became a venue for criticism of outing Republicans. GayPatriot is currently in counsel with attorneys over this entire matter.
filed under: Free Speech
, Media
March 16, 2005
When asked why the Bush Administration refuses full disclosure on "fake news" packages the Bush Administration feeds America's independent media, President Bush said he's instructed his Administration to forget about the appropriations law and instead honor his Administration's opinion.
QUESTION: Mr. President, earlier this year, you told us you wanted your administration to cease and desist on payments to journalists to promote your agenda. You cited the need for ethical concerns and the need for bright line between the press and the government. Your administration continue to make the use of video news releases, which is prepackaged news stories sent to television stations, fully aware that some -- or many of these stations will air them without any disclaimer that they are produced by the government. The Comptroller General of the United States, this week, said that raises ethical questions. Does it raise ethical questions about the use of government money to produce stories about the government that wind up being aired with no disclosure that they were produced by the government?THE PRESIDENT: There is a Justice Department opinion that says these -- these pieces are within the law, so long as they're based upon facts, not advocacy. And I expect our agencies to adhere to that ruling, to that Justice Department opinion. This has been a longstanding practice of the federal government to use these types of videos. The Agricultural Department, as I understand it, has been using these videos for a long period of time. The Defense Department, other departments have been doing so. It's important that they be based on the guidelines set out by the Justice Department.
Now, I also -- I think it would be helpful if local stations then disclosed to their viewers that that's -- that this was based upon a factual report, and they chose to use it. But evidently, in some cases, that's not the case. So, anyway.
[White House Press Briefing - White House - 03-16-05]
filed under: Free Speech
, Political Subterfuge
, White House Press Briefing
March 15, 2005
When the General Accounting Office (GAO) ruled the Bush Administration violated appropriations laws by not disclosing government agency roles in pre-packaged propaganda, White House lawyers told the American people the law no longer applies to what they are doing.
But Joshua B. Bolten, director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Steven G. Bradbury, principal deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, said in memos last week that the administration disagrees with the GAO's ruling. And, in any case, they wrote, the department's Office of Legal Counsel, not the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, provides binding legal interpretations for federal agencies to follow.The legal counsel's office "does not agree with GAO that the covert propaganda prohibition applies simply because an agency's role in producing and disseminating information is undisclosed or 'covert,' regardless of whether the content of the message is 'propaganda,' " Bradbury wrote. "Our view is that the prohibition does not apply where there is no advocacy of a particular viewpoint, and therefore it does not apply to the legitimate provision of information concerning the programs administered by an agency."
[Administration Rejects Ruling On PR Videos - Washington Post - 03-15-05]
Are Bush Administration policies sold in fake news packages so weak that full disclosure of the author and agencies for which they were produced would undermine the message? It's not a surprise that thwarting the law is the only way this Administration can sell its policies to the American people.
filed under: Free Speech
, Political Subterfuge
March 08, 2005
You can now watch the 28 minutes episode of "Postcards from Buster" that the Bush Administration's new Education Secretary Margaret Spellings sought to censor.
Check out what the Bush Administration found so objectionable that they demanded the episode be defunded of federal grants for its objectionable content, and take action on Family Pride's website through their "Virtual Rally on Washington".
Also check out the 30 second commercial spot by the United Church of Christ that NBC and CBS refuse to air due to its controversial message of hope and inclusion. Here is an excerpt from a post by the United Church of Christ as to why they bought an ad (to the right) with "over 50 of the top blogs."
I believe this is the next great revolution in journalism. In the tradition of this nation’s earliest pamphleteers, bloggers are sharing news and information as a mark of a truly free society, not as something that can be controlled and manipulated by multi-national corporations.So when we started to consider the next round of advertising, blogs seemed like a obvious choice. True to form, CBS and NBC again rejected our ad. While we will continue our campaign to pressure the FCC to enforce the public interest obligations of broadcasters, we are not going to let the networks stop us from getting our message to the public. It seemed only natural to embrace the blogs to get the message out since the blogs helped bring our message to light in December.
So starting today and for the next several weeks, we are running our ad on over 50 of the top blogs. I hope that our message, “No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome at the United Church of Christ” resonates on the blogs and helps get the word out to both the traditional media and the public at large.
[When the Old Media said NO the Blogs said YES - United Church of Christ - 03-08-05]
filed under: Free Speech
, Media
March 08, 2005
Here's a great example of the difference between the right of free speech for elected officials and their staff and regular citizens. No matter what Allen Roskoff's personal opinions are of NY Mayor Mike Bloomberg, he should realize they are subject to increased scrutiny as a staffer to an elected official.
Newt Gingrich once answered the question of whether he'd ever run for public office again by saying such a course would run the risk of him losing the power of his voice as an ordinary citizen who answers to no one but himself. Fortunately for Gingrich, he can afford it.
A man who heckled Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a gay-inclusive St. Patrick's Day parade is a staff employee in the office of State Senate Minority Leader David Paterson.Allen Roskoff, a longtime gay rights activist who called Bloomberg a "bigot" several times Sunday at the Woodside event before the mayor's security detail confronted him, is a special assistant to Paterson, a Democrat, according to state records.
"Allen's characterization of the mayor as a bigot is not representative of our office," Michael Jones-Bey, chief of staff for Paterson, said after learning from a reporter what Roskoff had said.Roskoff, who is paid $85,000 a year as a liaison to the gay and lesbian communities, previously worked for several city and state officials in a public career that stretches to 1972.
[Mayor's heckler works for state Senate leader - Newsday - 03-08-05]
filed under: Free Speech
February 28, 2005
Here is yet another example of why the United States Constitution ought to be made a mandatory civics class in all American public high schools. As Doug Ireland suggests below, the latest example of censorship is Democratic pandering at its very worst.
This latest concept of "hate speech codes" is the dying gasp of those who have lost faith in the ability of the free marketplace of ideas to properly value "hate speech." Instead of choosing to engage our treasured right to lend voice to America's prevailing common sense, some elected officials who have lost their connection to our country's founding principles choose to engage in state-sponsored censorship.
Freedom of speech is a treasured American liberty that must be protected from radical threats. Our elected officials pledge to uphold those values. If liberals like San Francisco Democrat Tem Yee are more eager to censor opposition than they are to stand up and engage the democratic process, then they deserve to be voted out of office.
In California, the Speaker pro tempore of the State Assembly, San Francisco Democrat Tem Yee, has just introduced legislation that, if passed, would "prohibit the use of any negative appeal based on prejudice against LBGT people by candidates or campaign committees who sign the voluntary pledge provided for in the Code of Fair Campaign Practices," according to a report posted last night by 365gay.com.This is a clear attempt at censorship of political speech. As such, this proposal starkly contravenes the First Amendment guarantees of our liberties. Instead of supporting such legislation, gay people should militantly oppose it. Mr. Yee's bill is nothing more than pandering to gay people's natural outrage at the recent wave of gay-baiting in electoral campaigns, but ultimately his proposal will wind up hurting gay people. We've been the victims of censorship for far too long not to know that embarking on this course is to put oneself on a very slippery slope indeed. The minute we start to argue for censorship of speech we don't like, the opponents of full human and civil rights for same-sexers will turn the tables on us and turn up the volume on their demands that we be censored.
[BANNING ANTI-GAY HATE SPEECH IS NOT THE ANSWER - Direland - 02-28-05]
Yet more censorship in Alabama. This time the University of Alabama faculty senate leads the charge in an egregious afront to the constitutional protection and garantee of free speech. (thanks DCRob)
Last semester, the faculty senate at the University of Alabama (UA) passed an Orwellian speech code designed to restrict "any behavior that demeans or reduces an individual based on group affiliation or personal traits, or which promotes hate or discrimination."Anyone armed with an 11th grade education can see that such a speech code is unconstitutional. Indeed, many of the UA “diversity initiatives” such as the Vagina Monologues would be banned under such a code, if the university had any intention of applying the code equally. Come to think of it, booing an Auburn football player would be banned under the code, too.
[Rolling back the tide of tyranny - Mike Adams - 02-28-05]
filed under: Free Speech
February 16, 2005
The Bush Administration never fails to provide examples of a consistent attempt to censor gays and lesbians out of existence. Why are Republicans allowing sound public policy to take a back seat to this bizarre political agenda?
At issue is a conference on suicide prevention to be held Feb. 28 in Portland, Ore., and organized by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center of Newton, Mass., a SAMHSA contractor. On the program is a talk that, until recently, was titled "Suicide Prevention Among Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender Individuals."Everyone seems to agree the topic is important. Studies have found that the suicide risk among people in these groups is two to three times higher than the average risk.
So it came as a surprise to Ron Bloodworth -- a former coordinator of youth suicide prevention for Oregon and one of three specialists leading the session -- when word came down from SAMHSA project manager Brenda Bruun that they should omit the four words that described, precisely, what the session was about.
[Request to Edit Title of Talk On Gays, Suicide Stirs Ire - Washington Post - 02-16-05]
filed under: Free Speech
February 15, 2005
(via Atrios) The owners of The Tulsa World ought to be ashamed for allowing their Vice President to intimidate bloggers with an embarassing degree of ignorance. It must not be part of Tulsa World Vice President John R. Bair's responsibilities to be familiar with laws outlining exemptions for fair use of copyrighted material or links to online content. For that matter, perhaps Bair has never really heard of the "Internets" until BatesLine seemed to pose such a devasting threat to Tulsa World. Maybe after a little attention on the issue, Bair and his legal counsel will have a sudden change of heart.
Dear Mr. Bates: I am writing on behalf of World Publishing Company, publisher of the Tulsa World. We have recently learned that your website, www.Batesline.com, has reproduced (in whole or in part) articles and/or editorials from the Tulsa World newspaper or has inappropriately linked your website to Tulsa World content.The Tulsa World copyrights its entire newspaper and specifically each of the articles and/or editorials at issue. The reproduction of any articles and/or editorials (in whole or in part) on your website or linking your website to Tulsa World content is without the permission of the Tulsa World and constitutes an intentional infringement of the Tulsa World's copyright and other rights to the exclusive use and distribution of the copyrighted materials.
Therefore, we hereby demand that you immediately remove any Tulsa World material from your website, to include unauthorized links to our website, and cease and desist from any further use or dissemination of our copyrighted content. If you desire to use (in whole or in part) any of the content of our newspaper, you must first obtain written permission before that use. If you fail to comply with his demand, the Tulsa World will take whatever legal action is necessary to assure compliance, Additionally, we will pursue all other legal remedies, including seeking damages that may have resulted as a result of this infringement.
We look forward to your immediate response and cooperation in this matter. Please acknowledge your compliance by signing below and returning to me.
Sincerely,
John R. Bair
Vice-President [sic]
Tulsa World
[Whirled threatens BatesLine - BatesLine - 02-15-05]
also read: Newspapers Are At It Again - Wizbang
filed under: Free Speech
February 14, 2005
Residents of Placerville, CA have deemed their town a "hate-free and discrimination-free city." But what gives them the right to deem anti-gay signs and messages around the city as "hate-speech," and how do they intend to enforce such a zone?
Last week, the sparring moved from sidewalk demonstrations and freeway banners to Town Hall as Placerville City Council members issued a proclamation declaring theirs a "hate-free and discrimination-free city." The message will be reinforced publicly today during a 2 p.m. rally on the steps of the El Dorado County Courthouse on Placerville's Main Street.In the discussion that followed Tuesday night's proclamation, gays and lesbians as well as those opposing gay marriage described themselves as victims in a clash of basic rights: freedom of speech versus life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
[Anti-gay message stirs ire in town - Sacremento Bee - 02-13-05]
The free marketplace of ideas has a way of properly valuing people's messages only when the channels of communication are flooded with society's general common sense. That requires people with common sense exercise their own right to free speech and either 1) support the message or 2) counter the message. Lapsing into apathy or resorting to censorship during society's battle of ideas is the very fuel ignorance needs to subvert the free marketplace of ideas.
filed under: Free Speech
February 09, 2005
It's O.K. for Romeo and Juliet to sexualize our children with a shared onstage kiss, but when two males do the same, some within neighboring Loudoun County, Virginia break out the 2005 Republican Fire Oaths.
Now, thanks to a high-decibel dust-up over freedom of expression and values, student writer-director Sabrina Audrey Jess's one-act play, "Offsides," has a dramatically expanded audience.Del. Richard H. Black (R-Loudoun) e-mailed his supporters claiming that, in the play, "two male students engaged in a homosexual kiss onstage" and that public schools were "being used to promote a homosexual lifestyle." His son-in-law, Loudoun County Supervisor Mick Staton Jr. (R-Sugarland Run), followed up with a missive of his own, warning of the play's disturbing "indoctrination." On Sunday, activists blanketed Loudoun churches with fliers decrying the production.
The school district had received about 150 e-mails about the play by yesterday afternoon, Loudoun schools spokesman Wayde Byard said.
[Gay-Themed High School Play Sparks Va. Protests - Washington Post - 02-09-05]
Here's to student writer-director Sabrina Audrey Jess for standing up to divisive forces in Virginia whose only tools in their fight against freedom and liberty are censorship and hate.
filed under: Free Speech
, Republican Fire Oaths
, Virginia Is For Lovers
February 07, 2005
It's a true sign of intellectual weakness and insecurity when the majority resorts to censorship rather than engaging free speech to articulate a better argument. I may not agree with religious views that piously deem others as less deserving, but people ought to have the right to openly express their spiritual ignorance and immaturity. It's not the village idiot's fault that more intelligent people have succumbed to apathy and lost the will to defend common sense. Such society is ripe for fascism.
Controversial anti-hate speech legislation moved closer to becoming law in Britain on Monday, and religious and civil groups from across the political spectrum remain bitterly divided over its potential effects.Despite claims by the Labor government that proposals to outlaw speech inciting religious hatred will simply close existing legal loopholes, opponents from secular and religious groups claim that it will have a chilling effect on free speech.
The legislation would outlaw "words, behavior or material [that] are... likely to be heard or seen by any person in whom they are... likely to stir up racial or religious hatred."
[UK Edges Closer to Outlawing Religious 'Hate Speech' - CNSnews - 02-07-05]
filed under: Free Speech
February 01, 2005
Here is yet more reason for why the United States Consitution should be made a mandatory course in public high school education.
The original amendment to the Constitution is the cornerstone of the way of life in the United States, promising citizens the freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly.Yet, when told of the exact text of the First Amendment, more than one in three high school students said it goes "too far" in the rights it guarantees. Only half of the students said newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories.
"These results are not only disturbing; they are dangerous," said Hodding Carter III, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which sponsored the $1 million study. "Ignorance about the basics of this free society is a danger to our nation's future."
[First Amendment No Big Deal, Students Say - Las Vegas Sun - 01-31-05]
filed under: Free Speech
January 26, 2005
If you thought Alabama Rep. Gerald Allen's (R-Cottondale) attempt to censor books, art and film in public schools depicting homosexuals by defunding them and then burning or burying those that already exist was an aberration, now the Bush Administration has brought censorship to a national level.
In a disturbing request, new Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has demanded that PBS return money from the federal Ready-to-Learn program that was spent on a cartoon depicting lesbian bunny rabbits. PBS has now cancelled airing the episode.
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said the "Sugartime!" episode does not fulfill the intent Congress had in mind. By law, she said, any funded shows must give top attention to "research-based educational objectives, content, and materials.""Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in the episode," Spellings wrote in a letter sent yesterday to Pat Mitchell, president and chief executive officer of PBS.
"Congress' and the Department's purpose in funding this programming certainly was not to introduce this kind of subject matter to children, particularly through the powerful and intimate medium of television."
[Education secretary blasts PBS for cartoon with gay characters - Boston Globe - 01-26-05]
However, nothing in PBS's description of "Postcards From Buster" runs counter to the grant's requirements. The cartoon exposes children to the multicultural fabric of America beyond their hometowns.
Buster takes along his video camera to send home video postcards to Arthur and his friends and family. POSTCARDS FROM BUSTER mixes animation with live-action shooting to present Buster's point of view, what he sees and who he meets through the lens of his video camera, and to show a vivid, multicultural portrait of America and the world.
[Post Cards From Buster - PBS]
It's clear the Republican Party's evangelical base doesn't view gays as part of America's diverse multiculturalism. It is becoming more and more clear the Bush Administration will go to any lengths, however unconstitutional, to carry out the will of their radical voting base.
Here are a couple of Nazi Fire Oaths to help celebrate this glorious occasion upon which our great leader has set forth to purify American culture from the plague of homosexuality!
2. Against decadence and moral decay
For discipline and decency in family and state
Heinrich Mann, Ernst Glaeser, and Erich Kästner4. Against soul-shredding overvaluation of sexual activity
For the nobility of the human soul
Freudian School, magazine Imago
[Nazi Fire Oaths - to be read by Germans while burning undesirable books and art]
filed under: Free Speech
, Moral Majority
January 25, 2005
I don't agree with the tactics of the concerned citizens of Charlotte, but what other choice do they have? I do agree that "gay pride" parades across the country have gotten out of control. Free speech doesn't grant lesbians the right to roam public streets topless or men the right to bear all but a thong and roller skates. It also doesn't allow bookstores to openly distribute pornography on sidewalks.
If these annual events are no longer a place where families with children can participate, the events should either find private venues or be shut down. It's a shame our own community isn't taking a lead and demanding "pride" organizers live up to community standards of deceny.
About 100 opponents of a Marshall Park gay-pride festival urged the Charlotte City Council to clamp down on public displays supporting homosexuality."That is a low community standard," said David Benham of Concord. "And we have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to this."
The speakers, who took all of the slots available at the council's public forum, complained about explicit photos and skits at last May's event. Quoting the Bible and invoking Jesus Christ, they told the council that it was sponsoring immorality and sin.
Many of the same speakers came to the council last fall with similar objections. In memos, city officials said that the festival's organizers were protected by the First Amendment.
[Many complain about gay-pride festival - Charlotte Observer - 01-25-05]
filed under: Free Speech
January 03, 2005
Pete Woods, the vice president of marketing for the Telluride Ski Resort, has a quandary in the Colorado town of 3,000. What is he to do with a resident and conservative talk show host warning families about gays descending on his resort for Gay Ski Week? His answer: send the guy an email telling him to shut up.
Heirich says promoters of the homosexual event, including the Telluride Ski Resort, have demanded he remove his warning to families on his website, claiming it is discriminatory.The resort also asked him to remove links to its site from Heirich's site.
"Telluride Ski Resort does not discriminate against any skiers or visitors to Telluride," the resort's marketing vice president, Pete Woods, told Heirich in an e-mail. "Obviously your website does not reflect that same message.
"Please remove any and all links to the www.tellurideskiresort.com website on the skimall.net site immediately."
[Tempers flaming hot over 'Gay Ski Week' - WorldNetDaily - 01-03-05]
The Telluride City Guide "warning" reads in part:
Although this week should be fun for those not offended by alternative lifestyles; with scheduled events including: The Pleasure Hunt, The Blue Ball Dance, Drag Races and more, we are strongly suggesting that families concerned with exposing their children to the homosexual lifestyle and homosexual behavior schedule their vacations another time.
[Telluride City Guide - 01-03-05]
I don't agree with the warnings posted to families on the Telluride City Guide, maintained by Heirich, but he has every right to link to the resort's website and exercise his right to free speech. Mr. Woods couldn't have done a better job marketing the very message he wishes would go away than firing off an ill-advised and ignorant email.
filed under: Free Speech
December 30, 2004
Leave it to Canada to seek prosecution for a Canadian website selling $20 certificates garanteeing passage to Heaven. The site sells cheaper tickets for pets, but excludes gays.
The "heaven's registry" website - its domain name registered to a "Petr Kouba" at an Edmonton address and phone number - offers buyers an "official heaven's certificate that 100% guarantees the owner a space in heaven."But no gays are allowed to purchase the certificate that costs $19.99 or $14.99 for "cherished pets," the site stipulates. "Anyone else we can guarantee."
[Just $20 opens gates to heaven - Edmunton Sun - 12-30-04]
Canada's ridiculous hate speech laws know no bounds. Peter Kouba's website is hardly as serious and embarassing as the Catholic Church's history of selling access to Heaven via "indulgences."
An indulgence sold by authority of the Pope by Johann Tetzel in 1517. The text reads: "By the authority of all the saints, and in mercy towards you, I absolve you from all sins and misdeeds and remit all punishments for ten days."
[Catholic Indulgence - Wikipedia]
filed under: Free Speech
December 23, 2004
This morning on CSPAN, Constitutional Attorney Bruce Fein argued for laws making hate speech a felony crime in the United States. The position is one recently enacted in France.
The conservative majority in the Senate upper house approved a bill previously passed in the National Assembly to establish an authority to help victims of bias.Under the new law, anyone found provoking hatred or violence of a person on the basis of sex or sexual orientation would risk one year in jail and a fine of 45,000 euro ($60,000).
[France bans sexist speech - Reuters - 12-22-04]
Canada has similar laws that assault free speech hoping to rid society North of the border of criminal expressions of hate. While I might oppose hateful messages, it is wrong to censor speech. Such laws dumb down society and presume that a majority of people in the free marketplace of ideas are incapable of placing the proper value on the message.
Nothing puts messages of hate in their proper place and context like the free marketplace of ideas. Without people choosing to exercise their right to free speech with hateful banter, how would reason find its way into the majority opinion? Such debates and discussions would simply yield recourse to the government rather than allow society to be an active player in a democracy of ideas and values.
Limiting free speech is tyranny, no matter what common good is being claimed for such limits, and amount to nothing more than thought policing. When the government presumes to care for the intellectual capacity of society by limiting speech, it’s a matter of time before those governments become the tools of political tyranny for the extreme left and right.
filed under: Free Speech
December 21, 2004
Leave it to the GLBT/Pride Twin Cities to trivialize discrimination by filing a frivolous complaint with the Minneapolis Commission on Civil Rights against the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
It is the media's right to deny any advertising it wants. What GLBT/Pride Twin Cities is saying is that placing an ad showing two men kissing is far more important than the support and sponsorship from the very newspaper that is denying this ad.
This is a classic example of how groups that put on these pride parades across the country have been consumed by the most radical elements of our community. Unfortunately, pride parades have come to prominently feature the gay community's worst values complete with nudity, brigades of leather clad sex-fetishes on parade, x-rated materials, and free anal lubricant all over Main Street, USA in the name of "pride." It is a shame that the one time of the year the public is invited to peek into the gay community that they are bombarded with bad examples.
GLBT/Pride Twin Cities contends that the paper improperly refused to run an advertisement for the June event that showed two men kissing.The group said in a statement that it had been unable to resolve the issue with the newspaper's management and that it had "no choice but to file a discrimination complaint ... to force the business and policymakers at the Star Tribune to account for its actions."
"We stand by our decision not to run the ad as submitted, and we disagree with GLBT on the appropriateness of the ad," Star Tribune spokesman Ben Taylor said. "We are disappointed that GLBT would take this action after we have partnered with them, sponsored their events and supported their core principles for many years."
[Gay pride group lodges complaint against newspaper - Star Tribune - 12-21-04]
filed under: Free Speech
December 18, 2004
Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge William Austin Meehan has ordered 4 people to stand trial on three felony charges of criminal conspiracy, ethnic intimidation, and riot as well as five misdemeanor charges in connection with a group of 11 Christians who disrupted Philadelphia's Outfest.
Should Christian's who oppose the "gay lifestyle" be able to disrupt public gay pride events? As shocking as this may sound, I believe Christians have every right to enter the public square and excercise their freedom of speech. No one should be able to seize public property and deny others the right to access that property and also excercise their civil rights. No other right allows the term "asshole" to be a self-inflicted title more than unadulterated freedom of speech in the public square.
If gays and lesbians find themselves beseiged by Christians at gay pride events on public streets, maybe they should consider holding the events in private venues. Afterall, isn't this what we are asking city officials to consider when the Boy Scouts seek to use public property?
"First, symbols of Christianity are removed from the public square, now, Christians are facing years in prison because they preached the gospel in the public square. Stalin would be proud," Fahling said.The federal appeals court in Philadelphia denied emergency relief despite video footage Fahling calls "undisputed evidence" that shows the Christians cooperating with police and continually being harassed by the Pink Angels, a group of homosexuals organized to impede the Christian group.
The Philadelphia city prosecutor in the case, Charles Ehrlich, attacked the Christians as "hateful" and referred to preaching the Bible as "fighting words." The judge agreed.
"The Philadelphia case represents another example of discrimination toward Christians," said Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association national headquarters. "The past month has poured forth cases of Christian persecution seen in the higher education institution, public school systems, and the judicial court system."
[Prayer and Scripture Reading During Gay Celebration Could Cost Christians 47 Years in Prison - LifeSiteNews - 12-17-04]
At the center of the charges is Repent America Director Michael Marcavage, who you might remember reading about here when he disrupted a Lansdowne Borough Council meeting in October. Shortly after engaging openly gay Councilman Kevin Lee, Marcavage launched into a sermon of Bible passages about homosexuality from a podium set up for public comment.
filed under: Free Speech
, Moral Majority
December 14, 2004
The next time Rush Limbaugh blathers on about indeceny in American entertainment, remind him about his 2nd hour discussion about dicks on yesterday's show. I think I liked Rush better doped up on pain pills.
LIMBAUGH: "Miss Plastic Surgery. (chuckle) And – I’d – I’d – I – I don’t – I don’t know what the winner – I – and, oh, I didn’t print out both pages, so I don’t know what the – I don’t know what the winner gets. Probably a certificate to go to San Francisco to have an add-a-dick-to-me operation."
[Rush Limbaugh - 12-13-04]
also read: Atrios
filed under: Free Speech
December 03, 2004
Is this getting a little ridiculous, or what? First CBS rejected a United Church of Christ ad promoting tolerance. Now CBS has rejected an ad featuring a Phil the syphilis sore. He's cute. He's plush. He's an STD, and according to the CDC gay men love Phil the syphilis sore.
What's more ridiculous is that Michael Weinstein, president of the Aids Healthcare Foundation, is appealing to the FCC claiming censorship and dubbed CBS "Censorship Breeds Syphilis." HRC also recently claimed CBS violated constitutionally protected "freedom of religion" for banning the United Church of Christ ad.
Everyone knows CBS has the right to accept or reject whatever ads they want to, but don't underestimate the power of rejection. If these ads were run without a problem, their message would never have had the impact they do now.
The decision has been criticised by the charity that created the ads, the Aids Healthcare Foundation, which is threatening to approach US broadcast regulator the Federal Communications Commission to rule on the decision.The ad shows two men going home together from a nightclub, followed by Phil the Sore. The next morning, one man leaves and the other says "Let's do it again sometime". Phil the Sore then starts calling in all the members of his family, who are symptoms of syphilis, such as brain damage, blindness and rash. The campaign was created by San-Francisco based agency Better World Advertising, and also features print and outdoor advertising.
[CBS accused of censorship after rejecting syphilis ad - Brand Republic - 12-03-04]
filed under: Free Speech
, Media
December 01, 2004
As if the state's 2004 election battle to defend segregation wasn't embarrassing enough, now Republican lawmakers in Alabama are moving to burn books with homosexual content. The moral majority is stirring.
A bill by Rep. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, would prohibit the use of public funds for "the purchase of textbooks or library materials that recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle." Allen said he filed the bill to protect children from the "homosexual agenda." "Our culture, how we know it today, is under attack from every angle," Allen said in a press conference Tuesday.Allen said that if his bill passes, novels with gay protagonists and college textbooks that suggest homosexuality is natural would have to be removed from library shelves and destroyed.
"I guess we dig a big hole and dump them in and bury them," he said.
[Gay book ban goal of state lawmaker - Birmingham News - 12-01-04]
Book burying, the Republican kissing-cousin of Nazis book burning, aims to cleanse culture of homosexuality.
If the bill became law, public school textbooks could not present homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle, college theater groups would not be able to perform plays like the Tennessee Williams classic "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" where homosexuality is a theme, and public school libraries could not display books that include lesbianism such as Alice Walker's "The Color Purple."
[Bill would bar use of state funds for promotion of homosexuality - Decatur Daily - 12-01-04]
filed under: Free Speech
, Moral Majority
November 29, 2004
South Carolina state Rep. John Graham Altman (R-Charleston) is tired of leftist propaganda promoting the gay lifestyle on a local public television station. The way Altman sees it, if SCETV can afford to produce pro-gay propaganda, then it can afford another massive budget cut. The only problem is Altman doesn't have his facts straight.
America, take comfort. It's not censorship when you're protecting kids from leftist pro-gay propaganda trying to turn our country into Sodom and Gomorrah.
"I thought it was just social, leftist propaganda that they had no business airing," said state Rep. John Graham Altman, R-Charleston. "They were actively promoting homosexuality as an OK thing to do."SCETV president Maurice Bresnahan says his agency isn’t promoting an agenda by showing "We are your Neighbors" as part of its twice-monthly Southern Lens series of stories about life in the South.
"An analogy would be a librarian buying books for the bookshelf. 'We are your Neighbors' was just one 26-minute show out of 8,700 hours of programming. We are just presenting a point of view. This is just one book on a shelf of thousands of books," Bresnahan said.
[SCETV targeted after airing documentary - State - 11-29-04]
filed under: Free Speech
, Moral Majority