tagged w/ First Amendment
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For two decades, the nation's top credit rating agencies have managed to fend off a crackdown from Washington by relying on a surprising ally - the First Amendment.
Despite their key role in the most recent economic calamity, the three big bond raters--Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch--seem poised to do it again. With help from two of the most storied constitutional lawyers in the country, the raters have successfully argued that when they make a mistake -- say, awarding the top triple-A grade to a multibillion-dollar bundle of bonds that later default -- they cannot be sued or held accountable.
That's because ratings are opinions, the agencies claim, protected by the constitutional right to free speech.
A Huffington Post Investigative Fund examination of court filings, congressional testimony and Securities and Exchange Commission documents illustrates how the companies have repeatedly invoked that right to free speech to dodge government regulation and court action. The raters have never lost a courtroom battle to a disgruntled investor, not even in the Enron scandal. Enron enjoyed high grades on its bonds just four days before it filed for bankruptcy in 2001.
Critics of the rating companies argue that they are misusing the Bill of Rights to protect a flawed but highly profitable business.For two decades, the nation's top credit rating agencies have managed to fend off a... more
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"We are all are children of the same universe, and we each have a right to be here, marry who we want and to serve our nation in every capacity when needed." -Br. Martin
To all: attached herein is a sample brief which outlines an astonishing heritage and contribution that the LGBT community has given to society. We ask that you use what works, remembering that the power and force of heaven sides with all messengers of truth and justice."We are all are children of the same universe, and we each have a right to be here,... more
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Just remember, Google is a corporation, it is not your friend. It has no problem throwing you and your right to privacy under the bus. Google shut down a Gmail account and handed the user's private info over to a bank without putting up a fight. The Gmail user's offense? He received an email mistakenly addressed to his account.Just remember, Google is a corporation, it is not your friend. It has no problem... more
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Shut Up, America! The End of Free Speech shines the light on a dark mission of the Obama administration-shutting down conservative voices on the radio and at the same time eviscerating the First Amendment. Will he succeed?
Author Brad O'Leary writes that there is a core constituency that believes Americans aren't smart enough to figure it out for themselves and needs their help to form correct points of viewShut Up, America! The End of Free Speech shines the light on a dark mission of the... more
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There are forces in America that want to make it mandatory for U.S. churches to hire GAYS. Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General, is already in communication with groups that support this attack on our U.S. Constitutional right to practice our religion without government interference.
Included in the groups are the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, B'nai B'rith International, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Hadassah, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Council of Jewish Women, Na'amat USA, Rabbinical Assembly, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Women of Reform Judaism.
http://www.rense.com/general87/jewishg.htm
I do not know the status of the bill proposed May 2009 in England that would demand their churches hire gays. Check out the story here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/5357247/Law-will-force-churches-to-employ-gay-staff.html
Elder Oaks served as a justice on the Utah Supreme Court, was a professor at the University of Chicago Law School and Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School, and clerked for Chief Justice Earl Warren of the United States Supreme Court. These are comments made in a religious setting on Oct 13, 2009.
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/religious-freedom
Yogyakarta Principles: “PRINCIPLE 21. THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF THOUGHT, CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. These rights may not be invoked by the State to justify laws, policies or practices which deny equal protection of the law, or discriminate, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“The so-called Yogyakarta Principles implicitly calls for governments to invade religion and override religious doctrines or practices. This imposition contradicts the very purpose of my church which is to become morally clean, pure, and undefiled from the world.” – Reid BaerThere are forces in America that want to make it mandatory for U.S. churches to hire... more
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A federal judge has ordered the Mojave Cross, a war memorial erected by a veterans group 75 years ago, to be covered. It's boxed in plywood.
The issue is less about what the cross symbolizes and more about where it sits: In the middle of the Mojave National Preserve, which is government land.
The high court on Wednesday will consider whether the display violates the First Amendment's provision for a separation of church and state.
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A federal court ordered the cross removed earlier this decade. A judge ruled that until the dispute is settled the cross had to be covered.
In 2001 Congress got involved. Lawmakers prohibited the Park Service from spending federal dollars to remove the display. A year later, they designated the site a national memorial similar to the Washington Monument and Mount Rushmore.
More importantly, the Republican-led Congress agreed to transfer one acre of land around the cross in exchange for five private acres inside the preserve. A San Francisco, California-based appeals court turned that offer down, saying it failed to satisfy Constitutional concerns.
The land swap "would leave a little donut hole of land with a cross in the midst of a vast federal preserve" the court said.
The Supreme Court has traditionally taken a case-by-case approach to similar First Amendment cases. Among other things, it has upheld tax exemptions for churches and the mention of "God" on U.S. currency.
At the same time, it has banned government-sponsored school prayer and imposed limits on public aid to parochial schools.
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This time, the Obama administration will argue in favor of keeping the cross and allowing the land transfer.
The implications of the case could extend beyond the Mojave Cross. Individual gravestones are not at issue, but war memorials have long featured religious imagery.
"There are 5 million veterans that we represent ... would be quite shocked and horrified to know that those memorials and the symbols chosen by vets 75 years or 100 years ago would suddenly have to be torn down by a bulldozer," said Hiram Sasser, attorney for the Liberty Legal Institute.A federal judge has ordered the Mojave Cross, a war memorial erected by a veterans... more
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UK, September 17, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- Could anyone imagine as a result of your own actions you are killing your own troops and your own population? This is now the case in Israel.
Many weapons used by the IDF in Gaza contained uranium components and upon impact set off huge volumes of aerosol particles that then drifted back over the border into Israel with devastating results.
It has been some time since the Israelis bombed Lebanon and the Gaza Strip and in both cases the weapons used left behind a trial of misery for all those that lived downwind. We can now start to see the results of those actions and I must say the term "What goes around comes around" rings true in the ears of the residents of Israel. Some interesting health statements have been released that prove when you play with dirty weapons it can all come back to you. It would now appear that we have a situation whereby Israelis are killing Israelis.
In May this year we saw the following headline appear in the Haaretz:
"Quality of Israeli sperm down 40% in past decade" The quality of Israeli sperm has declined alarmingly in the last decade, according to recent research conducted at Jerusalem's Hadassah University Hospital, Mount Scopus. The cause for the decline is not known, but it's believed by some researchers to be connected to the exposure of children and pregnant women to hormones and other contaminants in food and water.
This month started to see some more statistics appear out of Israel which again indicates that contamination by DU may well be the cause. The next headline was even more alarming: "More women diagnosed with cancer in Israel than in Europe" Israel's health ranking is dropping compared to those of developed European nations, the Israel Medical Association said yesterday. Israel lags behind the European average in disease prevention.
The report gave a clear message that something in the environment may be causing these dramatic increases. The comparison gave the number of new female cancer patients as follows: 290 per 100,000 compared to an average of 179 in Europe. The report went of the say that for men the average was much the same but again was showing a steady rise since 2005.
When you think you have heard the last of the bad news you are then confronted with another shocking headline from the IMA: Hodgkin's lymphoma is a distinct primary solid tumour of the immune system that shows wide variation in incidence among different geographic regions and among various races. It was previously suggested that susceptible people living in certain parts of Israel had a higher risk of HL because of exposure to unidentified environmental factors in these regions. Compared with other parts of Israel, these regions were characterized by a higher proportion of Israeli-born Jews.
A total of 4812 Jewish cases of HL were reported to the Israel Cancer Registry during the study period 1960-2005. There has been a persistent increase in the age-standardized incidence rate of HL, all subtypes pooled, in Israeli-born Jews in both men and women. The age distribution pattern in both genders was bimodal in all periods. The highest incidence was observed in the 20-24 year age group: for women (9.13 per 100,000 per year) during the period 1988-1996, and for men (6.60 per 100,000 per year) during the period 1997-2005.UK, September 17, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- Could anyone imagine as a result of your own... more
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A student has been suspended from school in America for coming to class dressed as a pirate. But the disciplinary action has provoked controversy – because the student says that the ban violates his rights, as the pirate costume is part of his religion.
Bryan Killian says that he follows the Pastafarian religion, and that as a crucial part of his faith, he must wear ‘full pirate regalia’ as prescribed in the holy texts of Pastafarianism.
The school, however, say that his pirate garb was disruptive.
Pastafarians follow the Flying Spaghetti Monster (pictured), and believe that the world was created by the touch of his noodly appendage. Furthermore, they acknowledge pirates as being ‘absolute divine beings’, and stress that the worldwide decline in the number of pirates has directly led to global warming.A student has been suspended from school in America for coming to class dressed as a... more
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Should video games be protected under the first amendment?
If so. How protected should they be?
Should they be able to use your identity without permission?
These are the questions whose "answers" we are now learning via the legendary Jim Brown in a recent federal ruling on his lawsuit against Electronic Arts, publisher of the wildly popular Madden NFL football franchise.
[AP via Kotaku.com]
"On Wednesday, a federal district court in Los Angeles dismissed Brown's claim against Electronic Arts for the use of his image in its Madden NFL series. Judge Florence Marie-Cooper essentially found that video games are "expressive works, akin to an expressive painting that depicts celebrity athletes of past and present in a realistic sporting environment." Such works are protected by the First Amendment.
This would cover the use of Jim Brown's likeness - that of a living person, remember - in a commercial work. Lawyers for Sam Keller, the NCAA footballer who sued over the use of his likeness in EA Sports' NCAA football franchise, say that this ruling has no bearing on their suit. Indeed, it's at the federal district level and may be appealed. But a judge interpreting the First Amendment to protect video games in this way is certainly noteworthy."
Should a company be able to make money off your likeness without asking you?
Should this be considered "protected" under the first amendment?
Do all our identity are belong to them?
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If so. How protected... more
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Corporations are on the verge of capturing the largest swath of power since they were ruled legal persons. Do we care?Corporations are on the verge of capturing the largest swath of power since they were... more
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Ahhh….but what’s in a name? It’s all about pronunciation. Read about the horrors of a woman named Gina and the hell she experiences at the DMV loudspeaker when a woman can’t get he name right. You thought the check-out girl asking over the loud-speaker about tampons was bad…read this doozy!Ahhh….but what’s in a name? It’s all about pronunciation. Read about the... more
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3 months ago
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Gotta love that new title Mr. Lloyd has acquired
Associate General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer
A Senior Fellow at the George Soros’ Center for American Progress, Mark Lloyd’s antipathy towards non-leftist participation in the public square is well known. He has written two anti-free speech hit pieces on “conservative talk radio” … a CAP “analysis” “The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio” which never examines talk radio in the larger sphere as being the only alternative to Leftist dominated broadcast television (news and entertainment), newspapers, university and college campuses … and “Forget the Fairness Doctrine”, a whiney little piece where Lloyd tries to bare his teeth against people who oppose his conclusions in the first piece and defends his Trojan Horse plan to achieve his own STFU policy towards conservative talk radio with so-called “local diversity” objectives.
No, nothing to worry about here with Lloyd at the FCC.Gotta love that new title Mr. Lloyd has acquired
Associate General Counsel and... more
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Minyanville is possibly the most positive and collaborative financial community on the web. This is how real money is made ...Minyanville is possibly the most positive and collaborative financial community on the... more
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Frank Lay, Pace High School principal, and Robert Freeman, the school's athletic director, will appear on criminal contempt charges for offering public prayer in a public school. The administrators face up to 6 months in jail and a $5,000 fine for offering a mealtime prayer.
Lay and Freeman go on trial today at a federal district court in Pensacola for breaching the conditions of a lawsuit settlement reached last year with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). By violating the court order, the two are in danger of being found in contempt of court.Frank Lay, Pace High School principal, and Robert Freeman, the school's athletic... more
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Many authors, journalists, and publicists have asserted causes for the financial crisis and stock market crash of 2008. However, none have done as comprehensive a job as Barry Ritholtz in his Mount Everest view of how it all went down: Bailout Nation.
Bailout Nation avoids all the disingenuous blame-shifting onto specific political parties or individuals. Instead, the surprisingly easy-to-read overview has the balls to publish the entire laundry list of culprits and variables. If you are interested in Truth rather than fancy academic erudition or rhetorical smoke and mirrors, Bailout Nation will fill your brain with the equivalent of a nutritious gourmet meal.Many authors, journalists, and publicists have asserted causes for the financial... more
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SF MUNI doesn't have a video or photography policy posted, but this kid takes advantage of the lack of information a little too far.SF MUNI doesn't have a video or photography policy posted, but this kid takes... more
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Not shouting people down is more than common courtesy, it's a recognition that along with the First Amendment right is a responsibility to practice it so it doesn't impinge on someone else's right to exercise it too.Not shouting people down is more than common courtesy, it's a recognition that along... more
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Given the blurry line between journalism and entertainment, Wall St. Cheat Sheet has decided to launch a First Amendment Award Series for Outstanding Journalism. The inaugural winner for Best Blog is Zero Hedge.
We believe media is continuing a major paradigm shift wherein old-school media outlets will continue to lose market and mind share to those who simply do the best reporting and offer the most valuable information. We believe that cynical investors will gravitate away from cheerleading and entertainment because no matter how financially illiterate they are, Pavlov’s Dog tells us investors will ultimately learn to not respond to the bell if the bowl is empty or filled with poison.Given the blurry line between journalism and entertainment, Wall St. Cheat Sheet has... more
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The Republican backed lobbyists have been stealing our voice for years, it is now time to develop affective measures against these atrocities. They are trying the same tactics they used to get George W. Bush "reelected".The Republican backed lobbyists have been stealing our voice for years, it is now time... more
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