class="archive tag tag-first-amendment tag-418">
Posts Tagged ‘first amendment’
February 3, 2010 | 
Author You probably thought I was joking! I’m dead serious.
h/t to JammieWearingFool – you have to read this post – here’s just a snippet
Well they have taken the next illogical step, mainly proposing a constitutional amendment to repeal the First Amendment. The amendment is being cosponsored by Donna Edwards (D-MD) and John Conyers (D-MI) among others.
Jammie has the links and the rest of the story. I told you before – these progressive Democrats really hate our country and our constitution. If you live in either of those states – let both Conyers and Edwards know that if they continue to push this thing – you will exercise your right to free speech and let everyone know what they are up to – and then you’ll exercise your right to vote their asses out next time around.
If this gets any traction – we all need to make sure we get on the horn with our representatives and senators and tell them they better not mess with our most fundamental of all rights – those contained in the First Amendment. You appeal the First Amendment and it opens the doors for the government to take over EVERY aspect of our lives.
For those of you who may have forgotten – here is EVERYTHING that is in The First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
These idiots are treading in some very dangerous waters here.
UPDATE - I’ve decided to go a little further here for my challenged progressive readers. First – here is the Citizens United SCOTUS Decision (opens up a .pdf). I have read the entire 183 page decision – I suggest you do as well. Justice Steven’s Dissenting Opinion is just as long as The Affirmative Decision. Justice Thomas also has a partial dissenting opinion at the tail end. The decision does not reverse 100 years of decided law. It only reversed one section of the entire BCRA of 2002 – all other prior decisions regarding campaign finance laws is still in place. The assumption that everyone is making is that the First Amendment applies ONLY to individuals. Read it again – “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech…” Where exactly does it state that this applies only to individuals? The affirmative decision cites several cases where corporate speech has been protected – and – in all of the opinions of those cases – it was only suggested that such speech be carefully monitored – but at no time did it ever say it should be banned or abridged. The BCRA of 2002 did just that – it banned free speech.
As one reader pointed out – what Edwards and Conyers introduced is an Amendment – not a call for a complete repeal of the First Amendment – here is the wording of the introduced Amendment:
‘‘SECTION 1. The sovereign right of the people to govern being essential to a free democracy, Congress and the States may regulate the expenditure of funds for political speech by any corporation, limited liability company, or other corporate entity.
‘‘SECTION 2. Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed to abridge the freedom of the press.’’
Here are the VERY clear dangers of this Amendment:
1. It does indeed repeal the First Amendment except for the freedom of the press by omission of the remaining First Amendment language. It will be argued as such if this amendment ever gets ratified by the states. If you have ever read previous arguments and decisions coming out of the SCOTUS regarding challenges to any of the amendments – you know what I’m talking about. Omissions are just as important in law interpretation as are submissions.
2. Section 1 allows congress to pick and choose which corporations they want to ban from political speech. The use of “may” is exclusive. For this to be all inclusive of all corporations, LLCs or other corporate entities it NEEDS to say “shall.”
3. This Amendment will be struck down as well because SCOTUS just said Congress cannot pass such a law in the Citizen’s United decision.
4. The Main Stream Media is corporate owned today. At the time the First Amendment was written – it was unheard of or unthinkable that the “press” would become corporate entities. SCOTUS already protected Corporate speech. By specifically stating the corporate owned press is excluded from this amendment – it gives the corporate owned press the ability to become the conduit for those who Congress decides to exclude using section 1. The point I make here is for you liberals and progressives who aren’t thinking this through is this… I know how much you hate Fox. Here is the scenario – Citizen’s United produces a movie called “Obama” this time and gets banned again because of section 1. Now – because of section 2 – Fox news can air the Obama movie because they believe it is newsworthy and worth reporting. They can hide behind freedom of the press. Conversely, MoveOn.org creates a flyer critical of the next GOP candidate. They can’t publish it and distribute it before the election because of section 1. Well, the New York Times decides it is newsworthy and publishes it as an editorial piece. They too are protected because Section 2 excludes them and allows the publication to be protected under the freedom of the press clause.
Posted in Congress, Constitution, Democrats, Freedom of Speech, Liberals, Politics, progressives | 
Tags: Constitution, Democrats, first amendment, Politics, progressives | 
5 Comments »
Wonderful news – someone in SCOTUS decided to grow a pair and actually defend the constitution. That bastardized legislation known as the McCain-Feingold Act that restricted freedom of political speech has been struck down as unconstitutional!
Of course – Gestapo P-BO – the idiot that he is – came out strong against the decision.
With its ruling today, the Supreme Court has given a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics. It is a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans. … We are going to talk with bipartisan congressional leaders to develop a forceful response to this decision.
Posted in Constitution, Freedom of Speech, Politics | Tags: Constitution, first amendment, Politics | 7 Comments »
Despite what P-BO and the rest of the liberal Dems have been saying – the fact remains that taxpayer funded abortions are covered under this monstrosity.
Health Care Issues: Paying for Abortions
Before I get in to some of the details – I will put it on record that I am anti-abortion – as if some of you hadn’t already figured that out. I believe that all life is sacred – and especially the unborn that don’t have a voice.
HOWEVER – it is not my responsibility to tell another individual they can’t have an abortion. My anti-abortion position comes from my religious and moral belief. To me, abortion is outright murder. Unfortunately, the SCOTUS has legalized this form of murder. But, God is the real judge. Those who have abortions and kill their unborn children will have to confront Him one day to plea their case.
Having said that – let’s move on – from the link above:
A look at key issues in the health care debate:
THE ISSUE: Would new health care legislation allow abortions to be funded with tax money?
THE POLITICS: Abortion opponents say proposed government-sponsored health insurance plans would change federal policy by paying for abortions in many cases. For years, a restriction in the law that governs Medicaid — health insurance for the poor — has barred federal funding of abortions except in cases of rape, incest and danger to the mother’s life. The proposed legislation would permit government-sponsored health plans, open to non-Medicaid patients, to cover abortions. In seeking a political compromise, a House version would require publicly sponsored plans to pay for abortions with private funds from customers’ premiums, not tax dollars. Critics call the requirement meaningless. They say public and private sources of insurance funding would essentially go into, and come out of, one big pot.
WHAT IT MEANS: Women with private insurance plans that cover abortion might be able to switch to a less-expensive public plan without losing that coverage. Anti-abortion activists would feel they’ve lost an important battle, as taxpayer funds mingle with some insurance plans that, one way or another, pay for abortions.
So – here’s the deal-i-o, this bill has no way of keeping private money from taxpayer money – as stated above – ergo – we taxpayers will be funding abortions. For the 92% of us in this country that are religious – regardless of religious belief – we have a first amendment right to our belief. I know that Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism all believe that abortion is immoral (I can’t say for the others, however, these alone represent a little more than 80% of the population – full breakdown is here). As such, it would be a violation of our first amendment rights for our taxpayer dollars to fund these abortions.
I said earlier that it is not my place to tell someone they can’t have an abortion. However, when MY tax dollars may potentially be funding those abortions – HELL YES I have a right and it is my place to tell you HELL NO you can’t have that abortion. You made the mistake – you either pay for it yourself or you have the child. I won’t pay for it.
Before you libbers jump all over me for that last statement – let’s look at the statistics – of the approximately 1.5 million abortions performed annually in the United States – only 7.2% of those are due to risk to maternal health (2.8%); risk to fetal health (3.3%), or other (includes incest and rape – 2.1%). The remaining 92.8% are mistakes and the woman is using abortion as a form of birth control:
Wants to postpone childbearing: 25.5% Wants no (more) children: 7.9% Cannot afford a baby: 21.3% Having a child will disrupt education or job: 10.8% Has relationship problem or partner does not want pregnancy: 14.1% Too young; parent(s) or other(s) object to pregnancy: 12.2%
I’m sorry – but these are not legitimate excuses for having an abortion. In every one of those cases those babies could have been put up for adoption to other families that so frightfully want children but are unable to. Abortions are selfish – and – I’m not going to pay for it. These provisions need to be stripped from any bill that even attempts to reform our health care system.
Posted in Christian, Congress, Constitution, government, health care, P-BO, Politics, Religion, Taxes | Tags: abortion, Constitution, first amendment, health care, Politics, Religion | 23 Comments »
Okay – seriously – for you guys on the left – isn’t this just more proof for you guys that Obama is a Fascist and is following in the footsteps of Hitler, Mussolini, and FDR? Joseph Goebbels stated that when you control the media – you control the message.
Obama has now taken over ABC to push that idiotic healthcare reform plan.
ABC TURNS PROGRAMMING OVER TO OBAMA; NEWS TO BE ANCHORED FROM INSIDE WHITE HOUSE
Tue Jun 16 2009 08:45:10 ETOn the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!
Highlights on the agenda:
ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.
The network plans a primetime special -- 'Prescription for America' -- originating from the East Room, exclude opposing voices on the debate.
This absolutely is 100% proof that the media is so far in bed with government and government has taken control of the message. This shreds The First Amendment of the Freedom of the Press all to hell. But, with this administration…what else is new? This is entirely one-sided since there will be no one there to present the other side of the debate. No Republicans are allowed to be present or to speak on behalf of the opposition. Again – Mr. Obama – where is this so-called “bipartisan debate” that you promised the country?
My country is going to hell in a handbasket and no one really seems to care about it. How can we as Americans just stand by and allow the government to take over our national media like this? This is one of the first steps that Hitler and Mussolini took when the state started taking over the lives of the people of those countries. This also follows in the footsteps of Communist China, Russia, N. Korea, Iraq (Saddam Hussein), and Venezuela (Chavez). Obama is controlling the message and the press is in the bag with him. Seriously, what happened to the press being the watchdog over government as it was originally intended?
Is this what you guys on the left really voted for? Really? What makes you guys think you aren’t next? If your agenda doesn’t fit with Obama’s statist positions – you can bet your voices will be stifled as well.
Posted in A Nation at Risk, America, Civil Rights, communism, Constitution, Fascism, government, Liberals, Media Bias, Obama, Politics, President, Republicans, Socialism, US Constitution | Tags: Constitution, Fascism, first amendment, Freedom of Speech, freedom of the press, healthcare, Joseph Goebbels, mainstream media, Obama, Politics | 14 Comments »
And…so it begins!
Found this over at Young Americans for Liberty. Apparently, a Louisiana man was pulled over and detained by the local Ball, LA police department because he had a Gadsden Flag bumper sticker. So – I googled it and found more on this story:
from Free Republic – Louisiana Citizen detained for Displaying “Don’t Tread on Me” bumper sticker that leads to an article from
The American Vision – Man Detained for Displaying “Don’t Tread on Me” bumper sticker – a little more detail than the link above.
and from The World Net Daily – Suspect detained over “extremist” bumper sticker – a little more detail here. Apparently, the police officer warned him about his “subversive survivalist bumper sticker” and that it sends a “subversive message.” He was detained on the side of the road for 30 minutes while this officer ran a background check to see if he was part of an extremist group.
While I don’t generally link back to any articles from the WND since they do sometimes go over the top – this is not a story that originated with them. However, they did some follow-up and was able to add more detail than the other stories.
People – the crackdown on our freedoms is starting. Since when is one of the greatest symbols of American independence now considered to be “extremist?” While Gadsden designed the flag – Benjamin Franklin was very instrumental in getting the message out. Apparently, according to this administration – it is subversive and extremist to believe in individual liberty and freedom. I guess not wanting the government to take care of us from cradle to grave amounts to being a domestic terrorist.
There are several measures running through Congress right now that could potentially limit many of the freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution. The Fairness Doctrine is coming back – but – it’s not being called that – and the government is trying to use a backdoor approach to it. Here is one story from the LA Times and this one from Human Events and this one from Judicial Watch. If these new FCC rules get implemented – you can kiss Conservative Talk-radio good-bye. This would be a direct violation of our First Amendment rights – but – the government controls the airwaves – so – they get to regulate them using the commerce clause in the 10th Amendment. Funny how they don’t attempt to regulate the print media or TV news to ensure “balance.”
The Blair Holt Act that has been introduced by Bobby Rush in Congress would effectively strip away our 2nd Amendment rights using a backdoor approach as well and then there is this international Treaty that would effectively take all guns out of American hands. The good news about this is that Montana has just signed in a law that challenges the Federal Government and exerts its sovereignty as a state. Following closely behind them are Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, and Tennessee. We need to get all of the states involved in this one and tell the Federal Government to get the hell out of our business.
I am urging everyone to do a couple things here – 1.) call all of your state representatives and tell them you want them to introduce and pass legislation similar to that of Montana’s, 2.) call all of your Senators and Congressmen and tell them to vote against any proposals such as the one’s I’ve outlined above that would infringe upon the 2nd Amendment in any way, and 3.) Joine a 9.12 Project group in your area or some other meet-up group in your area and become active and stay on top of what is going on in D.C. If WE THE PEOPLE stay vigilant and educate ourselves – big government can’t trample on our rights.
The Federal Government is moving at the speed of light right now on this road to Socialism. It’s almost impossible to try to keep up with absolutely everything they are doing. The only way we can stop this is to join together and to talk about it, educate everyone, and keep your eyes on the ball. This administration is a master of distraction – they get you looking one way while they sneak something in the other way. While our attention is on the little stuff – they start introducing the big stuff that affects us all…and…by the time we see what has happened behind our backs – it is too late.
This isn’t a Republican versus Democrat thing or a Liberal versus Conservative thing – this is an American thing. I know our Liberal brothers and sisters out there don’t want their freedoms taken away either – but – unless some of them come to their senses – they will be right there in the same boat with us Conservatives. Big Government means everything is controlled and regulated – even for you Libs out there that say you espouse your personal liberties and Freedoms. While we Conservatives may have a different view point on some of the social issues – the fact of the matter is that what it boils down to is that we all want the same thing – Freedom from interference by our Government.
What I don’t understand – since it is an oxymoron – is why you Liberals who so want your freedom to do as you please – also want big government. That makes no sense to me. For the last 8 years all you did was complain about every single law passed under the Bush administration shouting that it is an infringement on your rights. Yet, you elect a President who has just now committed the largest power grab in the history of this country and has nationalized our financial system, our auto industry, and is looking to nationalize our press and energy sectors. Do you not see what is happening? You have elected a President that believes in Fascism and Socialism – things that you guys are supposed to be against. Things that go directly against our personal freedom to choose as individuals our own fate.
Don’t get me wrong here – if McCain had gotten in – we’d still be in the same boat – and – I would still be having the same discussions with you guys. This two-party system will be the demise of this country – and – Obama is taking us there on a rocket. If you’re interested – there is another way – The American Conservative Party. I’m still looking in to this group as well. As some of you know – I joined the Constitution Party as they were closer in line to my values than any other party thus far. However – this emerging party could be my final resting place. Take a look for yourselves. We can thank Texas Fred for bringing this new party to our attention.
Posted in A Nation at Risk, America, Civil Rights, Congress, Constitution, Fascism, government, Liberals, Obama, Politics, President, Second Amendment, Socialism, Texas, US Constitution | Tags: Ball, Congress, detained, extremist, fairness doctrine, Federalism, first amendment, Gadsden Flag, government, gun laws, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, Second Amendment, sovereignty, subversive, Tennessee, Texas, Utah | 22 Comments »
I first found this story from one of my facebook friends – John Acheson – it links to a story from our good friend Anthony G. Martin who is a contributor at both the Columbia Conservative Examiner and The Liberty Sphere. This story is an outrage and should have everyone up in arms. Not only does this show how the Obama administration hates our Constitution and will do everything it can to shred it – it shows just how complicit the MSM is. Not one freakin’ word mentioned anywhere in the media this past week.
Bill quietly becomes law that bans opposition
While the Obama administration made sure that the country’s attention was sufficiently consumed by charges of ‘torture’ leveled against former Bush administration officials, a bill was quietly signed into law that forbids any opposition to it.
This bill also mandates youth volunteerism in national service, complete with indoctrination sessions in public schools that prepare students for ‘volunteerism.’ The wearing of uniforms is also mandated.
Democrats in Congress, under far-Left sponsors Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and George Miller (D-CA), voted to approve the measure known as G.I.V.E.(Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education). And Barack Obama quietly signed the bill into law on Tuesday of this week, all without fanfare.
On NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN, nary a word. In the New York Times, nothing, zilch, nada.
All of the information on this ominous piece of legislation, which is now the law of the land, can be found here, along with the complete text of the bill, which is now known as ‘The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.’
Go read the rest of that article yourself. It will just blow you away. Here is the kicker -there is language in the bill that states
…whereby those opposed to the legislation are prohibited from protesting, lobbying or organizing petitions against it.
Well you know what – Obama and his administration can go fuck themselves. I am constitutionally guaranteed the right to redress and assembly under the First Amendment. I absolutely do protest this damned bill – and – I will be sure that the next Tea Party I attend – I will indeed be protesting this bill as well. What are they gonna do? Lock me up? I’m also going to send a letter to my Congressman and Senators and let them know that I absolutely do oppose this bill. Do you think I’ll have the SS knocking at my door?
Fuck them all! How do you Liberals feel now? Obama has taken your voice away as well. This is a very dangerous precedent. If the Supreme Court allows this to stay – you can bet your ass that all future bills will contain the same language. After all – it was you Liberals that perfected the art of opposition and protest. You too should be just as outraged at this just as we Conservatives are.
UPDATE:
Our friend Anthony has this additional update:
UPDATE! I went to the Thomas website and downloaded a copy of this bill from top to bottom so I could examine it for myself. Indeed, as some of you have indicated, the provision originally presented as an amendment forbidding opposition was included in the final text as a directive for employees of organizations participating in this program, forbidding them from engaging in partisan political activity while on the job. I apologize for the error.
Although Anthony has posted this update – I went out and looked at all the amendments myself as well. According to House Amendment 49 that passed- “Amendment to prohibit organizations from attempting to influence legislation; organize or engage in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes; and assist, promote, or deter union organizing.” This is still some pretty loose language. Anthony is stating this is intended to mean that these “volunteers” and employers who use “volunteers” are not allowed to use their positions for mounting protests, etc. However, that is not the way I read it. This language is very ambiguous and I believe will most definitely be used and interpreted to mean there should be no opposition to this “organization”
Also – you REALLY need to see this Amendment that was offered and failed – Senate Amendment 705 – “To prohibit ACORN, or organizations affiliated or co-located with ACORN, from receiving assistance under this Act.” As you can see – the Obama admin is still continuing to fund this criminal organization and you can bet ACORN will be the number 1 recipient as a result of this Act.
Posted in A Nation at Risk, America, Civil Rights, Congress, Conservative, Constitution, Democrats, Freedom of Speech, government, Liberals, Obama, Politics, President, Republicans, Socialism, US Constitution | Tags: blogs, Conservative, Constitution, first amendment, Freedom of Speech, government, liberal, Obama, POTUS, President | 12 Comments »
