No right for store owners to protect their property or choose whom they will serve?

We read:

"A Fort Wayne business that posted a sign barring Burmese immigrants from entering could face a civil rights complaint.

Ricker Oil Co. president Jay Ricker has apologized for the sign posted by an employee and says the business welcomes all customers. But director Gerald Foday of Fort Wayne’s Metropolitan Human Relations Commission says he is considering filing a complaint.

The sign attempted to bar Burmese people “for sanitary reasons.” Fort Wayne is home to about 5,000 Burmese, the largest concentration in the United States. Many chew betel nut and spit the residue, which can result in red stains.

Health department spokesman John Silcox says businesses can’t banish an entire group because of an individual’s actions. [But it was NOT just one individual's actions. It was the common behavior of a group -- JR]

Source

TX: Federal court strikes down gun rights protest restrictions at college

We read:

"Late yesterday, in a striking victory for the First Amendment on campus, a federal district court in Texas ruled that a number of restrictions on students’ speech at Tarrant County College (TCC) are unconstitutional.

In his decision, U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means found that TCC’s reliance on a policy prohibiting ‘disruptive activities’ to restrict students Clayton Smith and John Schwertz from holding an ‘empty holster’ protest violated the First Amendment.”

Source

Them thar empty holsters sure is dangerous!

Racially Charged Display Sparks Debate Over Free Speech, Hate Speech‏

We read:

"A racially-charged message posted on a Chicago garage is pitting a homeowner's right to free speech against a federal law that says people cannot attempt to intimidate people of different races looking to move to the neighborhood.

Michael Corrigan posted a display on his garage on the city's south side that read, "Say no to the ghetto. White Power. Mt. Greenwood, the next Englewood," and next to the words he hung a white noose, MyFoxChicago.com reported. It faced the home up for sale next to Corrigan's.

The city's Human Relations Commission called it racist and deplorable, and the city has asked federal authorities to investigate whether or not it is intimidation that violates the Fair Housing Act.

One civil rights lawyer thinks the message is disturbing but doesn't know if it violates any laws, especially since the First Amendment guarantees people the right to express even objectionable views.

Source

Swastika in Australian suburb spurs war of words



We read:

"A Daisy Hill man is refusing to take down a swastika flag on his property despite mounting concern from residents and Logan city officials. The 43-year-old, who describes himself as a “white nationalist’’ and opted not to be named, said he put the flag up as a display of white pride. He rejected any suggestion his decision was a support for Nazism and said he had not received any complaints from neighbours.

But Logan and District RSL president Ken Heard said the flag could generate bad memories for many people in the community and said it should be removed. “I think a lot of people, especially the older generation, would find it very offensive,’’ Mr Heard said.

Logan City councillor Darren Power (Division 10) backed the RSL president but said council had no way to force the flag’s removal. “I think this guy is sending the wrong message out and I think you will find that he’s upsetting the people he’s trying to support,’’ Cr Power said. “It’s got no place in Australia where we are trying to show the world that we’re a place of tolerance. I guess that tolerance is also allowing freedom of speech, but it can go too far.’’

The Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commission said it was not illegal to fly a swastika flag, but anyone who felt vilified could lodge a complaint.

Source

I may be wrong but I don't think this guy would get away with it in America. Some law would be twisted to harass him.

Amazing impertinence: Arizona Town Bans Home Bible Study

We read:

"The national Alliance Defense Fund says a town code that bars religious assemblies in private homes in the Arizona community of Gilbert is unconstitutional.

The Oasis of Truth church began meeting at Pastor Joe Sutherland's house in November and rotated homes several times a week for Bible study and fellowship.

A Gilbert code compliance officer hit the church with a violation notice after seeing a sign near a road advertising a Sunday service. A zoning administrator told the church that Bible studies, church leadership meetings and fellowship activities are not permitted in private homes.

The Alliance Defense Fund's Doug Napier says no neighbors complained. The Scottsdale-based group has filed an appeal with the town of Gilbert, contending its code violates the U.S. Constitution.

Source

A Bible study would have to be one of the most innocuous and harmless activities known to man. Attempting to ban one has got to be pure hate. The same town has previously tried to ban church signs. There must be something in the water there.

Hate speech alleged in car review

A rather amusing story from South Africa:

"The Muslim Judicial Council has accused The Times newspaper of hate speech after one of its journalists, in a review of a car, likened its silent engine to "a Muslim rodent in a synagogue".

Muslim Judicial Council spokeswoman Nabeweya Malick said the comparison was unnecessary and insulting to the Muslim community. Malick said the negative connotation would "damage and distort the image, integrity and respect for the Muslim community" and could "create prejudice and bigotry between SA's different races and religions".

The Times referred the Cape Argus to an apology it had published, which said that even though the phrase was "intended as jest", many readers had complained.

Source

Progress

Firstly, many thanks for the much-appreciated good wishes from readers in connection with my cataract operation.

It went "very, very well" according to the ophthalmic surgeon, so rapid healing will hopefully ensue. The private clinic I went to could not imaginably be better, I think. Private medicine in Australia is very, very good -- as good as public medicine is bad. Yet my private health insurer is covering 100% of the charges from the clinic and from the anesthetist but I have to pay something towards the fees of the surgeon.

I was in and out quite rapidly and experienced only minimal pain and discomfort. And even now that the anesthetic has worn off I am not in any pain.

I am writing this using my one good eye at the moment and managed to put something up yesterday on all my blogs -- though with reduced postings in some instances. You can't keep a good blogger down! I have had multiple surgical procedures of one sort or another since I started blogging but I don't think I have missed a day yet.

Canada: Levant says libel suit aims to ‘chill’ debate

We read:

"Free-speech blogger Ezra Levant has accused anti-hate activist Richard Warman of exploiting court processes to publicly "scandalize" him with "wholly irrelevant" allegations, and to discourage his "public service journalism" against human rights commissions.

The claim is in an affidavit, obtained by the National Post, that is part of Mr. Levant's defence against a libel suit brought by Mr. Warman.

A judge is to rule later this month whether Mr. Levant can examine files gathered by Mr. Warman over his decade of activism against those who post hate messages on the Internet, which includes 16 cases at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

In an affidavit supporting his request for disclosure, Mr. Levant said Mr. Warman's "focus on my political views, and [his] express concern for the political reputation of non-parties to this lawsuit, such as Mr. Warman's former employer, the [Canadian Human Rights Commission], demonstrates my contention that his lawsuit is indeed a ‘SLAPP' suit -- Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation -- designed to ‘chill' public discussion of these issues."

Source

Muslim incitement to violence under scrutiny

We read:

"Authorities in Canada are investigating an anti-Semitic website that accused Jews of being behind several murderous terrorist attacks. The website's creator, York University student Salman Hossain, has been suspended from school and will face a disciplinary panel.

The Ontario Police's hate crimes and extremism unit is looking into Hossain's writings.

Hossain, a dual citizen of Bangladesh and Canada, created a site called “filthyjewishterrorists.com” on which he blamed terrorist attacks in the United States and Canada on “the mass murdering terrorist Jewish community.” He accused Jews of being behind terrorist attacks that were in fact perpetrated by Muslims, and said that the Jews carried out the attacks in order to make Muslims look bad.

He called to murder all Jews in Europe and North America if a terrorist attack were to take place in Canada.

"The university is moving on this issue in a serious fashion,” York University said in a statement. “We want all of our students, all of our community members, to be safe,” the school added.

Source

There is general agreement that incitement to violence does not have free speech protection

Possible hiatus

I am going into a private clinic later today to have cataract procedure on my right eye -- which I am NOT looking forward to. But it has to be done. So I have no idea how much I will be able to post over the next few days. But, like General MacArthur, I shall return.

Seinfeld sued for calling author a "wacko"

We read:

"A kid's cookbook creator is still trying to take a bite out of Jerry Seinfeld, the New York Post reported. Missy Chase Lapine, whose suit against recipe rival Jessica Seinfeld was thrown out of federal court last year, is now taking aim at her funnyman husband in state court. She says the TV star slandered her during an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, when he referred to her as "angry and hysterical" and a "wacko" stalker. In a later interview with E! News, he referred to Lapine as a "nut."

Ms Lapine's state Supreme Court suit says she's none of the above - she's simply a cookbook author who suspected Seinfeld's wife of stealing her ideas and recipes for her bestseller, Deceptively Delicious...

Ms Lapine sued both Seinfelds in federal court - Jessica for ripping off her idea and Jerry for ripping her - but a judge found Jessica hadn't stolen her book, and said the slander case should be heard in state court.

Source

If everyone who got insulted went to court over it, there would be a huge traffic jam in the courts so the outcome of this could be interesting. As far as I can see, insults are protected free speech but whether any of it constitutes libel is the interesting part.

Spain: Basque leader jailed for “glorifying terrorism”

We read:

"A Spanish court on Tuesday sentenced the leader of the banned Basque separatist party Batasuna, Arnaldo Otegi, to two years in jail after being convicted on charges of glorifying terrorism. Otegi, a former spokesman for Batasuna, the political wing of the armed separatist group ETA, was tried last month over remarks he made at a 2005 rally in the Basque region in memory of a jailed ETA member, Jose Maria Sagarduy. His lawyers had argued that he was exercising his right to free speech but the High Court ruled that he made comments at the event ‘which constitute without a doubt the crime of glorifying terrorism

Source

This is probably a correct verdict under Spanish law but it might not fly in the USA

Taxachusetts: Jail for dissing 'gays' pulled after publicity

We read:

"A measure in the Massachusetts statehouse to allow jail time for criticism of homosexuality has been pulled abruptly after a conservative group publicized the move by lawmakers.

The apparent precedent of criminalizing opinions about homosexuality had been predicted by opponents of the nation's "hate crimes" law before it was adopted as an amendment to a must-pass military bill in Congress and signed by President Obama last year. According to Mass Resistance, which monitors the state legislature, the lawmakers added to a bill addressing schools an unrelated provision providing the jail time.

The planned addition to the Massachusetts General Laws would have been: "Whoever publishes any false material whether written, printed, electronic, televised, or broadcast with intent to maliciously promote hatred of any group of persons in the commonwealth because of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, or disability shall be guilty of libel and shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both."

Mass Resistance said the move would be "very extreme." "Similar laws have been used in Canada and other countries to snuff out critical reporting on the homosexual movement and severely prosecute offenders. Note that the word 'hatred' is not defined and is thus completely subjective. And 'false material' lays the burden of proof on the accused, under the judgment of a court or tribunal. So even the threat of a long, expensive trial is enough to silence just about everyone," the group reported.

Spokesman Brian Camenker, however, reported to WND today that less than 24 hours after the issue was publicized, lawmakers removed the provision... He said lawmakers are aware this is an election year and are "walking a tightrope" between advancing the special interests to which they've committed and raising the ire of an electorate that clearly is not aligned with some of those special interests. He said he was glad for the victory but cautious because he doesn't believe the plan is going away.

Source

Leftists really hate normal people. Lucky the mid-terms were looming in the minds of these thug lawmakers.

Can't call black hoodlums "hoodlums"

We read:

"Pinellas School Board chairwoman Janet Clark is coming under fire for using the term “hoodlums” to describe a small group of chronically disruptive students in county schools. Board members Mary Brown and Linda Lerner criticized Clark at Tuesday night’s board meeting. And now Ray Tampa, president of the St. Petersburg branch of the NAACP, said Clark’s refusal to apologize has made things worse. “I was disgusted with her response,” Tampa said Wednesday.

The International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement—better known as the Uhurus—called for Clark to resign for the statement, which it viewed as racist. Clark is white. Tampa said he thought the comment was inappropriate, but not racist.

Clark made the comment at a board workshop last week in a wide-ranging discussion about chronically disruptive students at John Hopkins Middle School and other Pinellas schools. "So much time is taken up with addressing hoodlums, with kids who don’t want to be in school,” she said. She also said, “We are talking about a small number of children.”

Before the meeting, Clark said the statement had nothing to do with race. “I made no mention of race,” she said. “There are hoodlums of all races and colors and ethnic backgrounds.”

It does not appear the origins of the word “hoodlum” have any ties to race or ethnicity. It is an adaptation of a German word that meant “ragamuffin” or “good for nothing,” said Michael Adams, an associate professor of English at Indiana University and author of the 2009 book, Slang: The People’s Poetry.

"Hoodlum, when you look it up in the dictionary, doesn’t look so bad,” Adams said. But when people in the black community hear it, “they associate it with words and meanings other than (those from) 1871 or whenever it was the word first appeared in print.”

Source

This is the result of the Left seeing racism under every bed

A blast from the past

I have decided, as an experiment, to put up the header for the original Tongue-Tied above. I think that a lot of readers here will remember it well.

Any comments for or against?

REDIRECT for "POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH"

Response times on the site hosting "POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH" have become so slow as to render the blog almost inaccessible.

I have therefore moved the blog back to its original home on blogspot. Go HERE to access all the recent postings.

I moved it off blogspot at a time when Google (the owner of blogspot) was having a severe bout of irrationality but they seem to have settled down since then so I am hoping that the move back can be permanent.

US appeals court upholds “under God” in loyalty oath

The 9th Circus is not so bad after all!

"A federal appeals court upheld the use of the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance and ‘In God We Trust’ on U.S. currency, rejecting arguments Thursday that the phrases violate the separation of church and state. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected two legal challenges by Sacramento atheist Michael Newdow, who said the references to God are unconstitutional and infringe on his religious beliefs.”

Source

UC San Diego ends unconstitutional funding freeze

We read:

"In a victory for freedom of the press on campus, the student government of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) voted last night to end an ongoing moratorium on funding for student media. The vote restores funding for student media organizations and makes no changes to the current policy governing student media. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has been working with student media to end the funding freeze.”

Source

The student media said some naughty things, apparently. But that is a tradition with student media.

Iceland: After banking bust, free-speech turn

We read:

"Seeking a new global role for Iceland following the banking bust caused by its stint as a financial superpower, the country’s lawmakers on Feb. 16 turned to a new vision: Turn the country into a haven for free speech.

Measures before Parliament are aimed at improving transparency laws and luring Internet-based media and data centers from all over the world to use Iceland as a base for investigative journalism.

One aim is to counter challenges to media freedom in other countries such as Britain, where laws heavily favor plaintiffs in libel cases. But Iceland doesn’t want the innovation to stop there.”

Source

Speech code of the month: Murray State University in Kentucky

We read:

"FIRE announces its Speech Code of the Month for March 2010: Murray State University in Kentucky. According to Murray State’s Student Life Policies, conduct violations in the university’s residence halls may be punished by ‘creative educational sanctions,’ such as ‘writ[ing] a letter of apology’ and ‘mak[ing] signs or bulletin boards.’

These sanctions amount to compelled speech that violates Murray State’s legal and moral obligations as a public institution to uphold its students’ First Amendment right to freedom of conscience.”

Source

Dan Rather: "Articulate" Obama Couldn’t Even "Sell Watermelons"

We read:

"I await the silence and the excuses from the media. Obama will tell us how Rather has always been a man of "good intentions," and always on the "right side of the issues."



Source

If a conservative broadcaster had said that, the shrieks of "racism" would be resounding from coast to coast.

For any non-American readers: Blacks are popularly believed to love fried chicken and watermelons. So any time anyone associates either food with a black it is "sterotyping" and hence "racist". Nobody mentions what has been known among psychologists since the 1930s: That stereotypes usually have a "kernel of truth". See here and here for summaries of the research. But truth is a very secondary consideration for Leftists. Projecting their own hostile impulses onto others is much more important.

College pupil's Facebook slur against teacher

I think the kid got off very lightly. Libel is a serious offense. This happened in Australia. School authorities would have come down on him like a ton of bricks if it had been in America

"A Catholic college student who falsely accused a teacher of being a gay paedophile on Facebook has escaped with just a suspension.

Philip Morison, the principal of Emmanuel College, Warrnambool, said that the junior secondary student had posted false sexual innuendo about the teacher on the social networking site. Mr Morison said about 40 other students had joined the group page, but the teacher did not want to know their names. "At first he (the teacher) was obviously upset. But we talked about it, and he understood the student was going after a teacher rather than the person.

"I asked him (the student) why he did it, and he basically thought it was just a bit of fun." Mr Morison said the student had apologised and was back at school. The site had been shut down immediately it was detected. It is believed no further action will be taken.

Source

SCOTUS to rule in military funeral protest case

We read:

"The Supreme Court will review whether anti-gay protests at funerals of American soldiers are protected by the First Amendment, taking up the appeal of a Maryland man who won and then had reversed a $10 million verdict against the small Kansas church that conducts the demonstrations.

The case will seek to balance a group's free speech rights with the rights of private individuals to be protected from unwanted demonstrations and defamatory remarks. A federal appeals court said the church's protests were "utterly distasteful" but protected because they were related to "matters of public concern."

The funeral protest case is brought by a Maryland father whose son's 2006 funeral in Westminster was picketed by members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. Westboro pastor Fred W. Phelps Sr. contends that the deaths of American soldiers are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality and has organized nearly 43,000 protests since 1991, according to the church's Web site.

Source

Deranged though Phelps is, I think his right to say what he thinks is undoubted under the 1st Amendment. And if that right is upheld by SCOTUS it will be a bright shining example of American tolerance that every American could point to with pride. Tolerating people you agree with is easy. It is the likes of Phelps who put tolerance to the test and show if there is any real tolerance in a nation. All countries in Europe would fail the test.

Sean Penn Wants Reporters Jailed for Calling Chavez 'Dictator'‏

As usual, no free speech allowed for critics of the Left

"First Amendment be damned . . . If Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn had his way, any journalist who called Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a dictator would quickly find himself behind bars.

Penn, appearing on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" on Friday, defended Chavez during a segment in which he detailed his work with the JP Haitian Relief Organization, which he co-founded. "Every day, this elected leader is called a dictator here, and we just accept it, and accept it" said Penn, winner of two Best Actor Academy Awards. "And this is mainstream media, who should -- truly, there should be a bar by which one goes to prison for these kinds of lies."

Judge Andrew Napolitano, Fox News' senior judicial analyst, said the same constitutional protection that applies to journalists also applies to Penn, who can say pretty much anything he wants in the "political arena" -- aside from an immediate incitement of violence. "What he is saying is protected, as wacky and weird as it is," Napolitano told FoxNews.com. "But the substance of what he's saying would be absolutely contrary to the First Amendment, which fully protects all political opinions. So if a journalist says Dick Cheney should go to jail, the journalist is privileged to say that."

"Mr. Penn is calling for a communist-like regime in which journalists who criticize the government are sent to jail because of that criticism," Napolitano added. "That is utterly un-American and hasn't happened here since the Civil War."

Napolitano, meanwhile, said Penn apparently prefers "thuggery" to democracy. "In light of his ignorance of freedom of speech, his wishing rectal cancer on his detractors, and his embracing tyrants, Mr. Penn obviously prefers thuggery to democracy," he continued.

Source

Students Throw Cotton Balls, Are Arrested for Felony Hate Crime

Where is the law that says it is a crime to throw cotton? It would makes some sense at law if they were charged with littering but anything else is making the law up as you go along

"Two students at the University of Missouri-Columbia were suspended Wednesday after their arrests in a case of cotton balls thrown across the lawn of the campus black-culture center.

Campus police on Tuesday evening arrested the students, one of whom is from the St. Louis area, on suspicion of a felony hate crime. The two were released on bond, and charges were pending.

The incident happened early Friday at the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center, near the middle of campus. Nathan Stephens, the center’s coordinator, said students were offended because of the “symbolic violence” that harkened to days of slavery on cotton plantations.

Source

Blacks must not be reminded of cotton? If the students behind it are discovered to have Leftist symathies, it will be decided that they were simply drawing attention to the hard labor that blacks were once forced to do in the cotton plantations.

Must not compare Mrs Obama to a chimp



Even though GWB got called that a zillion times by Leftists:

"Walt Baker, the CEO of the Tennessee Hospitality Association believes she resembles a chimpanzee, and he found the idea so hilarious he had to share his racism with his pals. He forwarded a “joke” racist email to 12 prominent Nashville citizens (all white males) comparing Michelle Obama to Tarzan’s chimp Cheeta:

“I was at the store yesterday, and I ran into Tarzan! I asked him how it was going and if he was into anymore movies? He told me that he could no longer make any more movies as he had severe arthritis in both shoulders and could no longer swing from vine to tree. I asked how Jane was doing, he told me she was in bad shape, in a nursing home, has Alzheimer’s and no longer recognizes anyone, how sad. I asked about Boy, and he told me that Boy had gone to the big city, got hooked up with bad women, drugs, alcohol, and the only time he heard from him was if he was in trouble or needed something. I asked about Cheeta, he beamed and said she was doing good, had married a Lawyer and now lived in the White House!!!”

As the fallout over the crude email continued and made it to the local news channel, Spyridon released a statement condemning Baker’s email, as “appalling and unacceptable” and terminated the NCVB’s “contract with Mr. Baker’s marketing agency, Mercatus Communications.”

Source

The usual double standard

College demands return of campus speech code

In good Leftist style, they just LOVE censorship

"The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has begun reviewing a request by the Los Angeles Community College District for permission to reactivate speech restrictions under which one professor called a Christian student a "fascist b----rd" for discussing a moral conviction against homosexual marriage.

After erupting angrily in class, the professor, John Matteson, then told the student to "Ask God what your grade is."

A hearing was held today before the appellate court on the college district's request to remove a preliminary injunction imposed by a lower court that prohibited enforcement of the speech code – which was found unconstitutional – while a lawsuit against the school moves forward.

According to the Alliance Defense Fund, if the policy is restored, it will allow the college to trump student free-speech rights protected by the First Amendment while the case is litigated.

The case erupted shortly after the presidential election in 2008, when Matteson censored and threatened to expel student Jonathan Lopez following a speech he gave about his Christian faith during an open-ended assignment in a public speaking class.

According to ADF, after Lopez gave the dictionary definition of marriage and recited two Bible verses, Matteson interrupted and ended Lopez's presentation mid-speech, calling him and anyone who voted yes on Proposition 8 – the California marriage amendment – a "fascist b----rd" in front of the class.

"Refusing to grade the assigned speech, the professor wrote on Lopez's speech evaluation form, 'Ask God what your grade is,' and later threatened to expel the student," ADF reported.

In the ADF lawsuit against the college district, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued an injunction, prohibiting the district from enforcing its speech code as the case moves forward. In September, the court denied LACCD's motion to reconsider the order, asserting the policy "undeniably targets the content of expression" and is "unconstitutionally overbroad by sweeping within its reach a substantial amount of protected speech."

Source

Outspoken Australian model



She goes a bit overboard but not everything she said was wrong:

"Controversial Sunbury model Cassi Van Den Dungen has called the French "frog eaters" and "snail slurpers" after a trip to Paris turned sour. The 17-year-old resorted to Facebook during the week to slam French people and prestigious model agency IMG, which was working on getting her an exclusive deal during Paris fashion week.

"I'm coming home tomorrow, all these people are f----- in the head, the agency is trying to run me, not the other way round," Van Den Dungen wrote.

She and boyfriend Brad Saul returned home this week, after gaining no modelling work.

The couple also attacked French Asians on the social networking site. "Ohhhh and the Frasians (French Asians) are idiots," Van Den Dungen wrote. Saul replied: "And they can't drive."

Van Den Dungen yesterday admitted she had made a mistake and apologised. "I was having a really bad day and I shouldn't have taken that out on Facebook, I regret that," she told the Sunday Herald Sun.

Source

That the French eat frog's legs and snails has always seemed distasteful to Anglo-Saxons and derogatory comments about Chinese drivers are also widespread. China does have a phenomenal rate of traffic accidents.

Man-ban in the British parliament

We read:

"Parliament has banished the word 'chairman' from its proceedings for being too sexist. MPs voted by 206 to 90 to replace it with the gender neutral 'chair' as part of sweeping reforms in the Commons. The move was endorsed by Commons Leader Harriet Harman, who has spearheaded a feminist agenda at Westminster.

But Tory MP Nadine Dorries condemned the move as 'ridiculous'. She said: 'What a complete nonsense. MPs should be getting on with the more substantive reforms in the Commons rather than dealing with this politically correct frippery.'

Source

Since sex differences play such a large part in out lives, refusing to acknowledge them seems hostile to reality, to me. But Leftists never have been very comfortable with reality.

Prayers incorrect in Tennessee?

We read:

"The Cheatham County School Board agreed Monday to settle a lawsuit with the ACLU, which had claimed the school district promoted religion. The board voted 5-1 to accept the settlement agreement.

Greg Horton, who cast the only no vote, said the settlement goes too far in requiring the surrendering of rights that are not his or anyone else’s to surrender or should have to surrender. He also believes that the settlement was what the ACLU demanded.

In part, the settlement says school officials shall not ‘promote, advance, endorse, participate in or cause prayers during or in conjunction with school events for any school within the school district.’”

Source

Jailed over a big ad

We read:

"Kayvan Setareh must be a terrible man; he was tossed into a Los Angeles jail last week. Held on $1 million bail. Did Setareh kill or kidnap someone? No. He put up a large movie ad on his building without a permit. Setareh finally got out of jail Monday; by agreeing to take down the eight-story ad, called a supergraphic, a judge lowered his bail to $100,000. This is the latest episode in the exploits of LA’s aesthetics police, sworn to protect the delicate sensitivities of Tinseltown.”

Source

Some unhappy with bikini ad for Perky Cups coffee



We read:

"Officials said a bikini and the First Amendment provide enough coverage for a model advertising a suburban Denver coffee shop called Perky Cups. Aurora City Council member Molly Markert called the picture on the 10-by-20-foot banner "degrading to women," but she says it's legal. Markert said she had city employees measure the banner, and it conforms with city size restrictions.

Robert Rogers, a city attorney, said the content is protected by the First Amendment.

Perky Cups owner Jason Bernal said people have come into the shop to complain, but one stayed to buy a burrito and coffee. He said the sign has been great for business but he's not sure how long he'll leave it because of the complaints.

Source

I think that the people who complained should get a life

New trial possible in online 'threat' case

We read:

"A construction worker charged with threatening to strangle Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley could get a new trial, after a special appeals court ruled last week that a Baltimore County trial judge failed to instruct the jury on the difference between threats and political speech. Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler must now decide whether to appeal to Maryland's highest court or send the case back to Baltimore County to be retried.

Walter C. Abbott Jr. of Parkville, Md., was convicted in October 2008 of making a criminal threat and sentenced to six months in jail, a $500 fine and two years' unsupervised probation. The jail time was suspended.

The case arose in March 2008 after Mr. Abbott sent a message via the governor's Web site, which solicited constituent feedback. Claiming he was angry that his business was hurt by the governor's immigration and labor policies, Mr. Abbott wrote: "If I ever get close enough to you, I will wrap my hands around your throat and strangle the life from you."

After rejecting a plea offer of probation before judgment, Mr. Abbott was convicted by a Baltimore County jury - but without the jury receiving a critical instruction from Judge Dana M. Levitz. "I find it disgusting, I find it outrageous," Judge Levitz said at trial, refusing a request by Mr. Abbott's lawyer that he instruct the jury on the difference between a threat and free speech. "It doesn't make any difference that you say 'because I disagree with his politics.' The law doesn't permit that."

The appeals court disagreed. "The [judge] never informed the jury that only a true threat falls within the statute, and that political vitriol may fall outside its ambit," the three-judge panel wrote. "The [judge] should have instructed the jury as to the requirement of a true threat, which is distinguished from constitutionally protected free speech."

Source

Australian rocker tells it like it is

We read:

"Rock'n'roll bad boy Gary "Angry" Anderson believes life experience has taught him "Aussies use their fists" when they fight and that "weapons were introduced by other cultures".

The former Rose Tattoo frontman's comments before a Parliamentary inquiry yesterday have experts describing his views as "pure fantasy" and ignoring "the realities of life".

Anderson, 63, was adamant he's not racist and said politically correct bureaucrats were getting in the way of progress when it comes to preventing youth violence. "The racial thing, the cultural thing needs to be addressed because it's not going to go away," he told a Federal Parliamentary Committee into the impact of violence on youth.

"You never kick a bloke when he's down . . . you don't gang up on a bloke. These things are Australian and we shouldn't shy away from being Australian." The father of four said he had taught his sons these principles, adding that "other cultures" - Lebanese, Indochinese and Pacific Islanders - had introduced weapons.

"We have to acknowledge that they have a different view about how they deal with each other," he said.

Source

At age 66 I am old enough to remember how things were in Australia when the population was almost entirely of European origin and my recollection tallies exactly with how Anderson describes it.

NCAA Officials Cave to Homosexual Activists



We read:

"Celebrate Family. Celebrate Life. Unless, that is, you’re involved with the National Collegiate Athletic Association. According to the American Family Association, officials with the NCAA pulled a Focus on the Family advertisement containing that message from the organization’s web site recently after homosexual activists complained.

This Focus on the Family ad, believe it or not, has been yanked off the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) website for one simple reason: Focus on the Family supports natural marriage, believing that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.

The NCAA, who apparently believes only in selective diversity – “Christians need not apply” – has censored this ad after homosexual activists complained.

Look at the message again. By scrubbing this ad, is the NCAA saying we want our sons to grow up knowing how to do the wrong thing? With the number of NCAA athletes who get in trouble with the law every week, you’d think the NCAA would enthusiastically support a message which urges fathers to be great role models for their sons and athletes-to-be.

Source

More manufactured "racist" incidents

White racists at work? Most unlikely. It will be just kids fooling around or Leftists deliberately stirring the pot.

"A firestorm over racially and ethnically charged incidents at several University of California campuses spread Tuesday as UC San Diego announced a KKK-style hood was found on campus and students in Los Angeles and Irvine demonstrated against intolerance.

At UC Irvine, about 250 people gathered for a "student solidarity speakout" to condemn the recent spate of racist incidents at UC San Diego that targeted black students and another incident last month at UC Davis, which targeted a Jewish student with a swastika carved on her door, said Marya Bangee, an event organizer.

The protests came on the same day UC San Diego announced the discovery of a white pillowcase fashioned into a KKK-style hood _ the third racist incident around the campus in as many weeks _ and a day after UC Santa Cruz officials found an image of a noose scribbled on the inside of a bathroom door.

Officials found the hood, which bore a hand-drawn circle and cross, on a statue of children's book author Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, outside the main campus library late Monday. A rose had been inserted between the statue's fingers.

Source

My best guess that there is a "spate" of these incidents because some kids are amused at the hysterical reaction they provoke. They are "copycat" provocations, in other words.

I thought so

The latest noose incident was the work of a "minority" student. As soon as I saw the report of this "hate crime" I very nearly put up a note of it identifying it as unlikely to be the work of "white racists". But I decided to wait and see instead. There have been so many fake "hate crimes" in the past that fakery is the first thing one must suspect in such incidents:

"The UC San Diego student reportedly responsible for hanging a noose last week in a campus library issued a public, but anonymous, apology Monday and said she had no racist motivation.

The noose's discovery set off protests at a school that is already tense from recent racially charged episodes and triggered condemnations from UC leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In a letter published Monday on the front page of the UC San Diego student newspaper, the Guardian, the student wrote that the incident was "a mindless act and stupid mistake" and was not meant to recall the lynching of blacks.

"As a minority student who sympathizes with the students that have been affected by the recent issues on campus, I am distraught to know that I have unintentionally added to their pain," the student wrote. She was suspended Friday and remains under investigation for a possible hate crime.

Source

Amusing that even the Governator was sucked in. Leftists would have revelled in it, of course.

Bible incorrect

We read:

"School administrators in Texas face a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of three students, accusing the school district of refusing to allow children to carry or read the Bible.

The lawsuit, filed in Houston, alleges that a teacher pulled two sisters from class after discovering that they were carrying Bibles and threatened to have them picked up by child-welfare authorities.

Another teacher told a pupil he was not allowed to read the Bible during free reading time and forced him to put it away, the lawsuit alleges. The boy also was required to remove a Ten Commandments book cover from another book, the lawsuit states.

"My daughters called me, were hysterical, and said, 'Mama, they took our Bibles and called them garbage and threw them in the garbage and then threatened to call Child Protective Services,' " said Deborah Bedenbender, 37, a Willis homemaker.

Source

More details here

Police probe ‘racist’ T-shirts at Scottish shop



We read:

"An Aberdeen shop boss today told how he was left stunned when police turned up – to investigate his “racist” T-shirts. Slanj of Scotland, in Aberdeen’s George Street, has been selling tops backing anyone to win the football World Cup but England.

But the Aberdeen shop’s assistant manager Jamie Wilkinson today said he was shocked when officers launched an investigation over claims the T-shirts could incite violence during the World Cup.

Today Jamie, 23, insisted the T-shirts’ slogan, “ABE Anyone But England – South Africa 2010”, was nothing more than “harmless football banter”. He said: “It has nothing to do with hating the English, it is just about winding them up – and it seems to be working.”

Mr Wilkinson was told another T-shirt at the Aberdeen shop with the slogan “Algeria, USA and Slovenia Supporters’ Club” – a reference to the teams England will face in the first round of the World Cup – had also prompted claims of racism. But no action was taken and the Aberdeen shop will continue to sell the T-shirts.

Source

French state railway sparks racism fury with warning on Romanians

We read:

"The French state railway network has been accused of racism after asking passengers to report Romanians to security staff following a spate of thefts. A safety information notice posted in SNCF trains in southwest France warned of “problems with Romanians” and said that “numerous thefts of luggage have been noticed”.

In terms reminiscent of the Italian Government’s onslaught against alleged Romanian criminals, the message told passengers to be “doubly vigilant” and added that “all acts by Romanians must be reported”.

The signs were denounced by the writer Mouloud Akkouche, who at first thought that they were a bad joke by a local prankster. He said he was stunned to discover that they were the work of the SNCF’s passengers safety unit.

The revelation brought a furious reaction from Romanians living in France. Roumanophilie, a Franco-Romanian internet site, said that French railways were “turning to anti-Romanian racism”.

As the controversy threatened to sour relations between Paris and Bucharest, the SNCF issued an apology, blaming the “unfortunate expression” on an individual guard and saying that the signs had been taken down as soon as executives in Paris had been alerted.

The sign relit a debate that has never gone away in France over the wisdom of allowing Romania to enter the European Union — seen as an error by a substantial slice of French public opinion.

French newspapers regularly report alleged criminal acts by Romanian gangs. They said last month that eight Romanian children aged between 12 and 17 had been arrested for allegedly stealing a total of €20,000 (£18,000) from people withdrawing money from cash dispensers in the Paris region.

Source

The "Romanians" are in fact gypsies ("Roma"), who traditionally live by petty crime

Feminists squash Pam Anderson advertisement

We read:

"A commercial featuring Pamela Anderson in a gold bikini rubbing against another scantily clad woman while being sprayed with a white liquid has "crossed the line" in bad taste and been banned from Australian television.

But the company responsible for the ad, Crazy Domains, a business that registers internet domain names, is fighting the decision. A spokesman for the Perth company said the ad was no worse than some music video clips.

The Advertising Standards Bureau upheld a complaint about the ad, after receiving more than 40 submissions, stating it went too far in objectifying women. "It's meant to be a cheeky, over-the-top depiction but in the bureau's view it did cross the line," bureau chief executive Fiona Jolly said.

The 30-second ad, aired on free-to-air and pay television, prompted scathing remarks from viewers.

They included: "It is all about sex, got nothing to with domains, unless it's to start a porn site", and "This is overtly sexist and exploitative. It belittles women in the workforce and portrays them as sexual property".

Source

Video here

Britain outlaws open Wi-Fi!

We read:

"The U.K. government will not exempt universities, libraries, and small businesses providing open Wi-Fi services from its Digital Economy Bill copyright crackdown, according to official advice released earlier this week.

This would leave many organizations open to the same penalties for copyright infringement as individual subscribers, potentially including disconnection from the Internet, leading legal experts to say it will become impossible for small businesses and the like to offer Wi-Fi access.

Lilian Edwards, professor of Internet law at Sheffield University, told ZDNet UK on Thursday that the scenario described by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in an explanatory document would effectively "outlaw open Wi-Fi for small businesses" and would leave libraries and universities in an uncertain position.

Source

What harm are you doing sitting in a coffee place and surfing the net? Can anybody tell me? This is classic over-regulation from Leftist nuts.

UC San Diego threatens to punish students for protected speech

More trouble from imitating blacks:

"The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and its student government have violated the First Amendment by freezing funds for 33 student media organizations, dissolving the student-run television station, and threatening to punish students involved in a controversy over a party invitation for an event called the "Compton Cookout."

Student government president Utsav Gupta has explained that his repressive actions were due to "fracturing of the student body on an issue" and "hateful speech." Further, under pressure from state legislators who seek to punish protected speech, UCSD has launched "aggressive investigations" into the party invitation. After many students came to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help, FIRE has written two letters to UCSD defending the First Amendment both on and off campus.

"UCSD is detracting from its message of moral outrage by committing so many violations of the First Amendment," said FIRE Vice President Robert Shibley. "UCSD now must undo the damage to free speech and resist the pressure to punish protected expression."

The invitation for the February 15 party, which first appeared on social networking site Facebook, celebrated racial stereotypes, asked female partygoers to dress as "ghetto chicks," and invited partygoers to "experience the various elements of life in the ghetto." The party reportedly was a DVD release party organized by "Jiggaboo Jones," an African-American "shock jock"-style performer whose persona relies on deliberately provocative and offensive expression. Members of UCSD fraternities reportedly were involved in organizing the event.

Last week, several members of the California State Legislature called for the investigation and punishment of those students involved. Among the elected officials urging punishment for protected speech were Speaker-elect John A. Pérez, Speaker Karen Bass, and most of all Assemblymember Isadore Hall, III, who "want[s] names" and suspensions or expulsions. UCSD did not rule out punishment and has announced "aggressive investigations" into possible disciplinary violations.

FIRE's letter today to UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox points out that the investigation of protected speech is likely a violation of the First Amendment rights of those investigated and urges the school to announce that it will never investigate protected speech...

Source

A Rare First Amendment Victory for a Public School Teacher Complaining About Restrictions on In-School Speech

Christian posters cannot be discriminated against:

"Generally a public school has broad authority over what teachers say in class. When they’re teaching, or counseling students, they are seen as speaking on behalf of the school, and the school has broad power to control its own speech. And schoolteachers generally have no constitutional right to put up materials of their own on the walls, since those are the school’s walls, for the school to dispose of as the administration pleases.

But Johnson v. Poway Unified School Dist., decided yesterday by the federal district court for the Southern District of California, is a rare exception: The judge concluded that the school district had created a designated public forum for teacher speech, by allowing teachers to put up pretty much any posters they please in their classrooms....

Therefore, the school district couldn’t constitutionally exclude from this forum Bradley Johnson’s 7′ x 2′ banners, “striped in red, white, and blue and set[ting] forth famous national phrases” — on one, “In God We Trust,” “One Nation Under God,” “God Bless America,” and “God Shed His Grace On Thee,’” and on the other, “All Men Are Created Equal, They Are Endowed By Their CREATOR.” The court concluded that such exclusion — especially in light of the school’s allowing the Imagine lyrics, the Tibetan prayer flags with images of the Buddha, and Gandhi’s “Hindu messages” (the court’s label) — was impermissible viewpoint discrimination, as well as impermissible religious preference. Moreover, the court said, allowing Johnson’s message wouldn’t violate the Establishment Clause, because “Any perceived endorsement of a single religion is dispelled by the fact that other teachers are also permitted to display other religious messages and anti-religious messages on classroom walls.”

Source

A list of the many other permitted posters at the link given. I originally covered the matter on June 17, 2007. It would appear that the mention of God was what set the Leftist school board off on their outburst of bigotry. The school could possibly appeal the matter to the 9th Circus now but the teacher and his supporters are prepared to go to SCOTUS if need be

"Damp rag" incorrect??

One of Britain's most outspoken conservative politicians criticized:

"Nigel Farage compounded a vitriolic attack on the EU’s new President yesterday by refusing a request by a “sweet and rather pretty” Belgian MEP that he apologise for his criticism of her country and its most senior statesman.

The former leader of the UK Independence Party came under widespread criticism for calling Herman Van Rompuy a “damp rag” and dismissing the EU President’s native Belgium as a non-country in a tirade in the European Parliament.

He has been summoned to see the European Parliament President, Jerzy Buzek, about his outburst on Tuesday and is reportedly considering wearing shorts and a schoolboy cap as if for a dressing-down from the headmaster. Asked whether he was trying to get himself banned, Mr Farage told The Times: “You make your own mind up, mate.”

The BBC was drawn into the row after it played the clip of Mr Farage’s attack repeatedly and was accused of using it to drum up viewing figures for Question Time, on which the UKIP MEP was due to appear last night.

Mr Van Rompuy said that he would not respond to the attack but the Belgian press was outraged and the Prime Minister, Yves Leterme, wrote a letter of complaint to Mr Buzek. Like others of Mr Farage’s proudest moments, it was placed on YouTube and has become an internet hit.

Véronique De Keyser, a Belgian Socialist MEP, demanded a formal apology for Mr Farage’s claim that Belgium was a non-country. Mr Farage said: “She is very sweet and rather pretty but I cannot apologise for the fact that Belgium is a completely artificial construction and a mistake.”

Source

My favourite speech by Mr. Farage is here (Video).

The French-speaking and Dutch-speaking halves of Belgium are governed almost independently -- which is what Farage was referring to.

Defamatory internet commenter hunted down and sued

Australia:

"Legal counsel Martin Bennett has a short message for those who allow themselves to attack reputations over the internet, imagining they are safe under the cloak of anonymity. "You can be hunted down and found," he said yesterday.

Mr Bennett has done just that for a Perth client, winning $30,000 in damages and costs, an apology, and undertakings from a Colac man that he won't post any more defamatory comments.

The hunt for the man's true identity proved the stuff of private detective novels updated into the age of blogs. The action against Graeme Gladman began after highly uncomplimentary comments appeared last November under pseudonyms on the HotCopper website, a stockmarket forum. The postings related to technology security company Datamotion Asia Pacific Ltd and its Perth-based chairman and managing director, Ronald Moir. One posting appeared under the pseudonym of "witch".

Datamotion and Mr Moir hired Mr Bennett to launch defamation proceedings. But first Mr Bennett had to track down "witch". He asked HotCopper to reveal the identity of the person registered under that pseudonym, plus two others under different pseudonyms, but HotCopper refused. Mr Bennett then took court action, forcing HotCopper to turn over its files. "Unfortunately, the registered membership name appeared to be false," he said. "It turned out to be attached to an escort service in Geelong."

But Mr Bennett was not prepared to concede the trail was cold. He told The Age he did not wish to reveal the details of his next detective steps, but the upshot was a defamation action against Mr Gladman alleging that, as a result of his postings, Datamotion and Mr Moir had been "brought into hatred, contempt and ridicule and thereby suffered damage".

It was resolved last week, with Mr Gladman agreeing to pay damages totalling $20,000, taxed legal costs of $10,000, and to provide apologies and undertakings not to publish further defamatory postings. Mr Bennett has launched two more cases. Both are pending before the WA Supreme Court.

Source

A warning that all commenters would do well to heed. Unless you are posting from an internet coffee-lounge or the like, you can probably be traced by anyone who really wants to.

Google Italy ruling 'threat to internet freedom'

We read:

"Three Google executives were convicted on Wednesday of violating privacy laws by allowing disturbing footage of a disabled Italian boy being bullied to be posted on the internet. The ruling was the first of its kind in history and was condemned by critics as "the biggest threat to internet freedom we have seen".

America's ambassador to Italy, David Throne, condemned the decision, sayingthat freedom of the internet was vital for democracy. "This founding principle of internet freedom is vital for democracies which recognise freedom of expression and is safeguarded by all who take this value to heart. ”In January Secretary of State Hilary Clinton expressed clearly that freedom of the internet is a human right that is to be protected in free societies.

”In all countries it is important to keep a careful eye out for abuse, nevertheless offensive material should not become as excuse to violate this fundamental right.”

The trial centred on footage posted on Google Videos, of an autistic teenager and who was being bullied by four other boys, at a Turin school. The footage was posted in September 2006 and became the most viewed where it remained for two months before finally being removed....

The three executives found guilty by judge Oscar Magi were David Carl Drummond, former Google Italy and now senior vice president, George De Los Reyes, a retired financial executive and privacy director Peter Fleischer. The three were found guilty of violating privacy laws and given six month suspended sentences, while they were cleared of defamation. A fourth executive Arvind Desikan, an executive with Google video Europe was cleared....

The events in the footage took place shortly before Google bought YouTube in 2006 and all four men denied wrong doing. Lawyers for California based Google had argued they were not responsible for material uploaded onto the web and the sheer volume of material which would have to be previewed before being posted made it impossible to do so.

However Marco Pancini, a spokesman for Google Italy, said: "This verdict is an attack on the fundamental principles of liberty on which internet freedom is built. "We will be appealing against this verdict because the people in question had nothing to do with the uploading of the footage, they did not film it and they did not view it.

Source

MI: Ole Miss to replace mascot



We read:

"Ole Miss students voted Tuesday to find a replacement for the Colonel Reb mascot. Nearly 75 percent of participating students (2,510 of 3,366 votes) voted in favor of beginning a student-led initiative to create a new representative for the Ole Miss Rebels, according to the Daily Mississippian.

Colonel Reb was cast off as the on-field mascot in 2003 as the school continued its move away from Old South symbolism. Since then, the teams have been without an on-field mascot.

The vote on Tuesday determined whether the process would begin to find a successor to Colonel Reb, an old Southern gent with a cane and floppy hat. Some of his diehard fans had been campaigning against the move.

Source

There's something wrong with a Southern gent??