It’s now clear it was Gov. Ron DeSantis who ordered Florida TV stations to stop airing ads for an abortion-rights initiative. The cease-and-desist letter to TV stations was signed by the state health department’s top lawyer, who has since resigned and now says he was coerced to sign the [...]
Posts Tagged ‘First Amendment’
A brief history of free speech in America
Free speech as we know it occurred late in American history, is fragile, and could go away. For most of American history, unpopular political views could (and did) get dissidents, organizers, publishers, and even artists thrown in prison. The notion of a “free trade in ideas,” which spra[...]
February 25th, 2019 - 2:44 pm § in Uncategorized
Can Facebook censor users?
The Supreme Court is signaling the First Amendment doesn’t apply to private companies like Facebook and Twitter. This should come as no surprise to anyone who can read. It says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;[...]
SUNDAY REVELATIONS: Atheists Sue President Trump Over His ‘Religious Liberty’ Executive Order
SEE YOU IN COURT! The government would favor religious nonprofits over nonreligious ones, a lawsuit by the Freedom From Religion Foundation claims — just look at Trump’s campaign rhetoric. The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit Thursday in federal court against Trump and the Internal Re[...]
December 27th, 2015 - 12:39 pm § in Misc.
Freedom of the Press
Las Vegas newspaper vows to defy conservative billionaire owner Sheldon Adelson “You can be assured that if the Adelsons attempt to skew coverage, by ordering some stories covered and others killed or watered down, the Review-Journal’s editors and reporters will fight it,” a Sunday[...]
November 10th, 2015 - 4:54 pm § in Schools & Colleges
Missouri’s boorish students
The photographer in this video is working for ESPN, covering protests at the University of Missouri in Columbia. He’s on public property, where he has a right to be, exercising First Amendment rights. He can photograph the protesters for the same reason citizens have a right to videotape polic[...]
April 8th, 2015 - 10:31 pm § in America
WARNING: Police Are Violating Your Rights to Take Pictures
ALL PHOTOGRAPERS SHOULD KNOW THEIR RIGHTS! The only reason we know about the police murder of Walter Scott is the courage of a bystander who videoed the events on a cell phone. That man had the courage and wisdom to give the video not only to the police but to the press. Those rights are prot[...]
Bloggers Have Freedom of The Press
Bloggers have First Amendment protections Why can’t lawyers respect the intent of the law? For example, bloggers get intimidating letters and email from lawyers threatening law suits over what seems to be normal exercise of free speech … an exercise amplified by the internet but s[...]