Category: Free Speech

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, Justice, Politics, Society

Who Is Your Co-pilot?
Or is he?
Or is he?

by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

While touring about America’s roadways, it’s not unusual to see a vanity plate or bumper sticker that says “God Is My Co-Pilot”. It’s not unusual to see someone with a dog as a co-pilot. Can a corporation be your co-pilot?

We’ll soon find out thanks to Citizens United and Jonathan Frieman of San Rafael, California.  Mr. Frieman was pulled over for driving alone in the carpool lane.  He argued to the officer that he did actually have a passenger. In the form of articles of incorporation.  Upset (and reasonably so) over the Citizens United ruling, Frieman says he had been trying for years to get pulled over, ticketed and get a chance to take his argument to court that corporations and people are not the same.  His mission was accomplished in October when he was pulled over for driving alone in an HOV lane, ticketed and slapped with a $481 minimum fine.

It’s a common sense argument based in the reality that corporations are a legal fiction and not a real person. We’ve seen this argument in play here and in other media since the controversial – many if not most might say ridiculously bad – decision of Citizens United was rendered in 2010. But will it work in traffic court?

Continue reading “Who Is Your Co-pilot?” →

Academia, Courts, Criminal law, Environment, Free Speech, International, Justice, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

“Les Miserables” and the Shape of Things to Come

Submitted by: Mike Spindell. guest blogger

200px-EbcosetteOn New Year’s Eve my wife and I saw the movie “Les Miserables”. We’d seen the musical on Broadway and had been enchanted by it. The music from it is superb and this musical fully deserves all the acclaim it has received through the years. As much as I loved the stage version of “Le Mis”, the movie took all of the greatness of the stage and added something to the mix that lifted it into subversive social commentary. That is what I’m going to write about, but first for those who are unfamiliar with either the source book, or the musical adaptation, a very brief synopsis is needed to set the scene.

The story begins after the French Revolution and the defeat of Napoleon. The Royal Dynasty has been restored to power and the freedoms of the Revolution have been lost. The protagonist of this work is Jean Valjean. He was sentenced to twenty years of hard labor because of the ramifications of his stealing a loaf of bread for his starving sister. Imprisoned he is noticed by one of his Jailers,  Javert, who notes Valjean for his almost super-human feats of strength. Valjean is paroled after serving his time and subsequently breaks parole. He is chased by Javert for the rest of the tale. The plot of the 1,900 page (in French) novel is summarized in detail at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables  Details of the play and the movie are available here: http://www.lesmis.com/.

The ingredient added to the movie, which couldn’t have been done on stage were scenes depicting the abject poverty of the common people and the poor. With the visual nature of film and what will probably be Academy Award makeup, costuming and art direction, you can see a recreation of  the life of the French lower classes in the 18th Century. These descriptions run true to the original novel which was so rich with detail. The book “Les Miserables” was intentionally revolutionary for its time as best summed up by the author Victor Hugo in the preface to the novel:

“So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation, which, in the face of civilization, artificially creates hells on earth, and complicates a destiny that is divine, with human fatality; so long as the three problems of the age—the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of women by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night—are not solved; so long as, in certain regions, social asphyxia shall be possible; in other words, and from a yet more extended point of view, so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.”

Hugo’s eloquence above and its implications for our current time is the subject that I want to discuss. Continue reading ““Les Miserables” and the Shape of Things to Come” →

Bizarre, Free Speech, Religion

Trying Times For Thomas Paine’s Soul

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Thomas PaineIt was brutally cold in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on 23 December 1776 when Thomas Paine released the first in a series of sixteen papers entitled The American Crisis. The first paper, which starts out “These are the times that try men’s souls,” inspired a despondent George Washington who ordered it read to his entire army on Christmas night. Later that night the army crossed the Delaware River and the next day won a small but psychologically important victory at the Battle of Trenton. This was the first time Washington’s forces had defeated a regular army in the field and the victory helped secure Washington’s command.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Media, Military, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Who Occupied the Occupy Movement?

220px-Day_60_Occupy_Wall_Street_November_15_2011_Shankbone_43Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

If you are like me, you remember the violent response by the FBI, DHS and local police forces to the many “Occupy” movement protests last Fall.  In those protests, the police used incredible force and firepower to break up peaceful protests and make a mockery of the First Amendment.  The police responses always seemed to be coordinated from city to city and there were allegations that the FBI and other governmental agencies were aiding the local authorities in stamping down the First Amendment rights of the Occupy protestors.  Now, a treasure trove of documents was released pursuant to a Freedom of Information request by a group called The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund.  Those documents expose a level of governmental intrusion into the privacy of protestors and governmental and private bank partnerships designed to crack down on legal protestors. Continue reading “Who Occupied the Occupy Movement?” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media

Saudi Editor Faces Death Penalty For Apostasy Due To Writings About Religion

125px-Flag_of_Saudi_Arabia.svgA Saudi court has ordered the editor of a Saudi Arabian website to be tried for apostasy, and possibly executed, due to his criticism of the role of religion in the Saudi Kingdom. Raif Badawi, the founder of the Free Saudi Liberals website, was arrested in June and originally charged with insulting Islam. The court has now upgraded the charge to apostasy.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Society

Newspaper Closed After Editor Asks Putin An Embarrassing Question

225px-Vladimir_Putin_official_portraitLife under Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to return to the old Soviet standards this month after a Chechen newspaper was closed following an embarrassing comment by the editor-in-chief in the presence of the Russia strongman. Worse yet, people actually laughed when Belkis Dudayeva, the editor-in-chief of Kadyrov’s Path, asked a question that began with “Thank God that Chechnya has now become a region of peace and prosperity…”

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Justice, Politics, Religion, Society

The Latest Tea Party Darling

Tim_Scott,_official_portrait,_112th_Congress_crop

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)- Guest Blogger

Lost in the headlines about the Fiscal Cliff and the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, was the gubernatorial appointment to the United States Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jim DeMint.  Sen. DeMint was arguably the Tea Party’s Senator and his impending departure from the Senate to accept the position to head up the Heritage Foundation would have left a gaping hole in the Tea Party’s influence in the Senate.  There is nothing to worry about because South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley named Tea Party Congressman Tim Scott to replace DeMint in the Senate.  Rep. Scott was just elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and has already made a big name for himself in the Tea Party world by suggesting that President Obama should be impeached if Obama attempted to go around the House of Representatives during the last debt ceiling fiasco! Continue reading “The Latest Tea Party Darling” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

National Petition Drive Seeks To Strip Westboro Church Of Tax Exempt Status

180px-westboro_baptist_church_in_new_york_by_david_shankboneIt takes a lot to get most of us to give a Tinker’s damn for the homophobic extremists at the Westboro Baptist Church. However, the people may be close of doing just that. Citizens are passing around petitions to have the church declared a hate group and strip it of its tax exempt status. This type of political movement targeting an unpopular vote raises all types of alarms for civil libertarians. Declaring certain groups as “hate groups” by popular demand smacks of majoritarian dominance. It also reaffirms the concerns, which I have written about previously, that hate laws are increasingly being used to stifle free speech. It is equally troubling to find the petition on the White House website.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion

Report: Atheists and Religious Critics Persecuted Around The World

stoningWe have been following the increased attacks by political (here and here) and religious figures (here and here) against atheists and agnostics in recent years. A new report is out from the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) detailing this trend globally.

Continue reading “Report: Atheists and Religious Critics Persecuted Around The World” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Media, Military, Politics, Supreme Court

NDAA Double Cross

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)- Guest Blogger

When United States District Judge Katherine Forrest blocked the implementation of Section 1021 of the infamous National Defense Authorization Act in May of this year, I thought that legal civilians of all stripes were saved from being at risk of imprisonment without trial or due process. However, an appeals court stayed Judge Forrest’s injunction and the appellate court has allowed the indefinite detention provision to be reinstated during the appeal time frame.  Business Insider

Naomi Wolf of the Guardian explains why a group of journalists sued to block the implementation of Section 1021 in the first place. “As I reported here, last spring a group of journalists and activists including Chris Hedges, Noam Chomsky and Tangerine Bolen, led by counsel Bruce Afran and others, sued President Obama to halt the implementation of Section 1021 in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would have allowed for the indefinite detention of Americans without charge or trial. The vague definition of who could be detained included individuals who were seen to provide “substantial support” to al-Qaida’s “associated forces” – wording that provided no protection for journalists interviewing, for example, detainees in Guantánamo, or activists and advocates working with prisoners on their cases.”  Readersupportednews  Continue reading “NDAA Double Cross” →

Academia, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, Justice, Media, Military, Politics, Religion, Society, Supreme Court

West Point and Religion

Submitted by: Mike Spindell

061410-FlagA young man named Blake Page resigned from West Point this week with five months left to go until graduation. This will no doubt be a life changing event for him and could potentially have drastic consequences. His reason for resigning was his belief that there was a pervasive influence of religious proselytizing at this famed military academy. He and other non-religious cadets are retaliated against for their beliefs and for their refusal to go along with a program that makes Christian Faith the standard for success and for receiving privileges.

He wrote an article for the Huffington Post which I will discuss and link to below. First though I want to add my own thoughts on this because I think this young man is credible and because his charges regarding West Point are not the first complaint of intolerance towards non-religious cadets at a U.S. Armed forces Academy. The U.S. Air force Academy is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is said that this community of 416,000 people can be considered the nexus of Evangelical Christianity in the United States, if not the world.

“Although houses of worship of almost every major world religion can be found in the city, Colorado Springs has in particular attracted a large influx of Evangelical Christians and Christian organizations in recent years. At one time Colorado Springs was counted to be the national headquarters for 81 different religious organizations, earning the city the tongue-in-cheek nickname “the Evangelical Vatican“[57] and “The Christian Mecca”.

Religious groups with regional or international headquarters in Colorado Springs include: the Association of Christian Schools International, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Compassion International, Every Home for Christ, Focus on the Family, HCJB, the International Bible Society, The Navigators, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs, WAY-FM Media Group, Andrew Wommack Ministries, and Young Life.”

In addition to the Air Force Academy there is Fort Carson and two air force bases located in the City. Twenty percent of this County’s employees work for these facilities. Besides this large military presence: “Colorado Springs is home to the United States Olympic Training Center and the headquarters of the United States Olympic Committee. In addition, a number [15] of United States national federations for individual Olympic sports have their headquarters in Colorado Springs” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Springs,_Colorado#Religious_institutions

Call me paranoid perhaps, but I think that it is no coincidence that this small city, but sixty miles from Denver, at the base of Pikes Peak, has drawn such a large influx of Evangelical Christians and their national organizations. I think it is potentially an ominous sign and I’ll explain my thoughts and feelings. Continue reading “West Point and Religion” →

Academia, Animals, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Environment, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Military, Politics, Religion, Science, Society, Supreme Court, Testimony, Torts

14,000,000

One hour ago, our blog passed the 14,000,000 viewer. The fact that we only recently passed the 13,000,000 viewer mark reflects the impressive growth of this blog. Congratulations everyone. Now if we could only get .000001 of those viewers to vote for us on the ABA blog competition we could crush the competition! If you (are any distant relative, incompetent ward, or pet) has not voted, you can vote here and cast your vote today!

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Academia, Columns, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court, Torts

Supreme Failure: Chicago’s Anita Alvarez and the Campaign To Criminalize Citizen Monitoring of Police

mosaic_anita143x176Below is my column today in the Sunday Chicago Tribune on the recent denial of review by the Supreme Court in the Illinois eavesdropping case that we discussed earlier.

Continue reading “Supreme Failure: Chicago’s Anita Alvarez and the Campaign To Criminalize Citizen Monitoring of Police” →