The First Amendment in the Computer Age

According to an opinion piece in the July 20th USA Today, students in schools are turning to blogs, Facebook and all kinds of Internet sites to voice their displeasure over Teachers, Principals...and other students.

A girl in Pembroke Pines, Fla. was suspended after complaining about "the worst teacher I've ever met." Now that she's graduated she's pursuing civil claims.
The story intrigued me so I did some digging (if only the author of the article did likewise [sigh]) The REAL story, according to a NY Times article published February 2009, states the girl DID start a Facebook page about the teacher and got a few responses. Some students even stood up for the teacher. At any rate, the page was taken down within a few days. Two Months later, the girl was called into the Principal's office and suspended for "cyberbullying."
Unfortunately, what the girl did doesn't really fall under the guidelines of cyberbullying.
StopCyberbullying.org, an organization dedicated to Internet safety, security and privacy, defines cyberbullying as: "a situation when a child, tween or teen is repeatedly 'tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted' by another child or teenager using text messaging, email, instant messaging or any other type of digital technology." (Thank you, Wikipedia!)
Of course, the Principal couldn't very well call her to the office and say, "We're suspending you for exercising your right to free speech." So, I'm thinking the Principal must have taken up to a month to figure out how he could suspend the girl and cyberbullying was the only thing he could find, even though, it appears, the teacher had no clue about the Facebook page to begin with!
Pamela Brown, assistant director for the Broward County School District who oversees expulsions says “You can express an opinion on whether someone is a good teacher, but when you start inviting people to say that they hate a teacher, that crosses the line.”
Huh?
So, it's fine to follow the herd and say good things about people but as soon as you disagree and invite others who also disagree, well, then you're crossing a line. Of course you are! Because you're inciting rebellion against the status quo, isn't that right, Ms. Brown. Can't have that, can we??
Somehow, I can picture Ms. Brown sitting in her office with a huge swastika hanging behind her.
Sieg Heil!

So, does the student from Pembroke Pines, Fla. have protection under the First Amendment? I say 'yes.' If after school she was with a group of friends talking about how terrible this teacher was and the Principal happened to overhear, yes, he could try to suspend her (and the rest of the group) but he wouldn't get very far because her speech is protected by the First Amendment. Putting it down on an Internet page makes it different? Nope. She doesn't have First Amendment rights because she wasn't legally an adult? Nope.

As an update to this story: As of Feb. 2010, a Federal Judge has ruled that the former student can go ahead with the lawsuit AND has rejected the former Principal's claim of qualified immunity. You go, Girl!!

Are there any violations of Free Speech in your area? Let me hear about it!

The Yin and Yang of the Universe

Mr. Stephen Hawking is one of the smartest, if not THE smartest, person in the world. I would imagine that when the man dies scientists will want to study his brain in detail and probably compare it to Albert Einstein's to find a comparison. Hopefully, in finding similarities, they will then even attempt to genetically create super-smart clones! Sound far-fetched?

The Universe is a big place. Let me re-phrase that; The Universe is a BIG place. I can almost guarantee that alien life exists in the Universe in some form or other. Mr. Hawking believes the same thing.

Where we differ is that Mr. Hawking believes we should become Universal hermits and shun any contact with alien civilizations. He believes that any aliens that happen to be wandering in space are Attila the Hun-like nomads who want to rape planets for their natural resources.

Now, I can see humans from Earth doing that so it is possible. Aliens wandering space could also be explorers looking for alien civilizations to learn from. Aliens wandering space could also be looking for a new home after their planet was destroyed by its sun going nova or even by nuclear war. It doesn't have to be bad. After all the negative publicity that aliens get you'd think a guy as smart as Stephen Hawking would want to put a positive spin on it to ENCOURAGE contacting aliens.

The U.S. has pretty much scuttled its space program due to money constraints. Bad move. Our natural resources aren't going to last forever. We need to expand out into space for more resources. Yes, one day our sun will go nova and the planet Earth will cease to exist. Shouldn't we encourage space travel and the development of a propulsion system to get us to a life sustaining planet BEFORE that happens?

A fair percentage of the planet believes that we are alone in the Universe. That we truly are a gift from God to have put us here. Contacting an alien civilization will unite the planet in the same belief that the Universe is so vast that there could be a myriad of aliens existing.

Yes, Mr. Hawking, there could be "bad" aliens. There could also be peaceful aliens, as well. Becoming hermits does no one any good.

My hope is that we one day contact an alien civilization. I also hope I'm alive when it happens.

Bankruptcy and Baseball

A lot of stuff has been happening since I last wrote in my little corner of the internet. Let's get to it!

Greece is bankrupt and none of the other countries are going to help her. And why should they? Greece's Socialist and corrupt system is what got them in this mess in the first place. Of course, it's the people that are suffering while the Administration is still eating lobster every night. Sure, they've got their headaches in trying to figure a way out of this mess but don't let them fool you--they're still living high on the hog.

They also probably wouldn't be in this mess if they hadn't bought into the whole one-currency-for-everyone shtick that Europe came up with. If you dig deep enough you'll find that there was talk years ago by the United Nations of one currency for the entire WORLD!

On the one hand you can say that it might force corrupt governments to change but the reality of the situation is that they would continue on doing what they always do and, when it got as bad as Greece is now, they would just dump it on the people while they continue to sit pretty.

Well, until an irate citizen with a rifle started some changing of his own! It's a good recipe for revolution. Keep an eye on Greece!

In other news, remember Mike Newdow, the Sacramento Atheist who wanted 'under God' erased from the Pledge of Allegiance in all schools? The guy who originally WON his lawsuit and then subsequent appeals overturned the original decision? Well, a Federal Appeals Court has finally ruled that the Pledge stays as is along with 'In God We Trust' on our currency.

Mr. Newdow states, "The whole argument that 'under God' wasn't placed into the pledge for religious purposes is bogus. I hope people recognize this is not against God or people who believe in God. It's about the government not treating people equally on the basis of their lawful religious views."

My question to Mr. Newdow is, how is the Government treating you differently, as an Atheist? No one is forced to recite the Pledge in school. I just think he can use his energy in a more constructive way than bitching about our Pledge of Allegiance. No wonder his wife divorced him!

There are several things that have to happen in order for my Cleveland Indians to contend in the AL Central:
1. The pitching has to come around. Fausto Carmona has to return to his 2007 form, Jake Westbrook, coming off major elbow surgery, has to contribute innings and quality, Justin Masterson has to show to Cleveland that Boston didn't make a mistake choosing him with their 2nd round pick. The problem is that, outside of Carmona, none of the other pitchers in their rotation haven't pitched close to 200 innings in years, and most of them never have! That spells trouble down the stretch.

2. Travis Hafner has to start hitting again. For the last two years we've heard all about his tired elbow and shoulder and blah, blah, blah. Cleveland is hamstrung financially because they are paying this guy a boatload of money! If he doesn't hit this year, I say buy him out, release him and spend the money on a Free Agent who WILL hit.

3. Start hot and finish hot. The Indians are notoriously slow starters. April and May have to find them, if not in first, then just a few games out. If they can stay close and then have a 19-7 or 20-6 September, like they did a few years ago, they could find themselves in the post-season.

Many 'ifs'. I can't wait to see what happens! Go Tribe!

The Definition of Faith

You can't touch it.
You can't see it.
You can't hear it.
You can't smell it.
To have faith is to believe in something that may or may NOT exist.
Personally, I have a hard time believing that Jesus Christ was the actual and literal Son of God. I have a hard time believing that he made the lame walk and the blind see and cured the lepers.
Jesus WAS a minister and taught people to be kind to one another, even when they are not kind to you. He taught people to think about their actions and to ponder any possible consequences of said actions. He taught a radical teaching system of that time.
He was the Founder of Catholicism in a land of Jews and Muslims.
It was this same church that came up with the "story" of Jesus as the Son of God and the miracles he performed because they didn't want to elevate a normal man. They didn't want to worship a normal man much less a normal Jewish man.
Jesus of Nazareth was a real man. Jesus Christ is a fabrication of the Church.

Yet, what happens when we die?
Do our Souls (if they exist) ascend to Heaven or descend to Hell? Is there such a thing as Purgatory, Limbo or resurrection?
Personally, I find it hard to believe that we can live an average of 77 years, accomplish things, become known or not, collect all of our stuff and then just die...and that's it.
No afterlife. No resurrection as a different person to live life all over again. No God. No Devil. No Heaven. No Hell.
Just life. And death.

I suspect just about everyone finds it hard to believe. Which is why we have Faith.

Faith.

Is it justifiable? Or a lie?

I suppose we all learn the answer to that question right after we die.

Where To Draw The Line

I read an interesting little article in the paper about Blogger Hal Turner of North Bergen, New Jersey who had been arrested after commenting on Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford and state rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven and their attempts to register Catholic Churches as Lobbying groups. You'll recognize the story because I blogged about it a month or so ago. Bear with me as I post the article in question;

Hartford, CT (TRN) -- The State of Connecticut is considering a Bill forcing the Catholic Church to change itself internally and another CT agency is trying to force the Church to register as a Lobbying group!
In a direct violation of the First Amendment, Bill 1098 proposed by the co-chairmen of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, and Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, would reorganize the internal structure of local parishes to remove priests and bishops from financial oversight to replace them with boards of laypeople.
It turns out that Lawlor and McDonald are adamant advocates of same-sex marriage legislation and are apparently trying to punish the church for standing against their agenda.
When the Archbishop of Bridgeport found out about this effort, he wrote about it on his blog and shortly thereafter, Catholics began exercising their right to petition representatives for redress of this grievance.
Six weeks ago, 4,000 Catholics arrived at the State House to protest the Bill and that's when things got worse. The state of Connecticut didn't like having such a protest turnout, so they got another agency of government, the Office of State Ethics (OSE), to open an investigation of the church.
The Diocese of Bridgeport received a letter from OSE informing it that an investigation was underway to ascertain if the diocese had violated state law by failing to register as a lobbyist organization. investigate whether or not the Catholic Church must be forced to register as a lobbying group!
"Following the surprise introduction of Bill 1098," said Bishop William E. Lori in a statement, "a proposal that singled out Catholic parishes and would have forced them to reorganize contrary to church law and the First Amendment, our diocese responded in the most natural, spontaneous, and frankly, American, of ways: we alerted our membership – in person and through our website; we encouraged them to exercise their free speech by contacting their elected representatives; and we organized a rally at the State Capitol.
In a meeting with church representatives one month following the investigation letter, the ethics enforcement officer of the state OSE, Thomas K. Jones, told church representatives that the rally in Hartford and statements on the diocese website constituted a sufficient basis to file a complaint.
The complaint from Jones could lead to imposition of a $10,000 fine and even possible criminal charges against the diocese. Furthermore, to become a registered lobbyist, the diocese would have to comply with reporting requirements, submit to audits and wear badges at the Capitol.
In response, the Archdiocese filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court last week contending that Jones' actions result in a direct "chilling" effect on the church's First Amendment rights.
"(Jones') application of the state lobbying laws is pressuring the (diocese), which from time to time is compelled by its faith to take stands on legislation, to tailor its communications and scale back its religious mission to avoid being treated as a 'lobbyist,'" the lawsuit states.
In a letter sent to diocese churches over the weekend to be read at services, Bishop Lori made an even stronger argument. "This new action cannot be seen as anything other than an attempt to muzzle the church and subject our right of free speech to government review and regulation," Lori wrote. "This government action tramples on the First Amendment freedoms of speech, assembly and religion, and should shock the conscience of all citizens of the Constitution State."
He concluded the letter by calling for church members to contact state legislators this week "to discuss why state lobbying laws, which are designed to protect the integrity of the legislative process and monitor and control backroom manipulation of that process, are now being used to stifle our freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly."
According to the lawsuit, Jones contends the diocese acted as a lobbyist organization in two ways: first, by listing the actual bill number of RB 1098 and second, by spending in excess of $2,000 – an amount established by Connecticut lobbying laws – to bus Catholics to the Capitol.
Carol Carson, the executive director of OSE, has declined to make comments to the press, citing the pending litigation.

Turner's comment is as follows;

This is a direct government assault upon the Catholic Church, in absolute violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution for the United States.
It is very clear to us at the Turner Radio Network that the state of Connecticut has become tyrannical and abusive. It is actively and aggressively attempting to directly interfere with the internal governance of a church and the free exercise of religion. It is retaliating against citizens for exercising their right to petition for redress of grievances. This is tyranny and it must be put down.
While filing a lawsuit is quaint and the "decent" way to handle things, we at TRN believe that being decent to a group of tyrannical scumbags is the wrong approach. It's too soft.
Thankfully, the Founding Fathers gave us the tools necessary to resolve tyranny: The Second Amendment.
TRN advocates Catholics in Connecticut take up arms and put down this tyranny by force. To that end, THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT ON "THE HAL TURNER SHOW" we will be releasing the home addresses of the Senator and Assemblyman who introduced Bill 1098 as well as the home address of Thomas K. Jones from the OSE. After all, if they are so proud of what they're doing, they shouldn't mind if everyone knows where they live.
It is our intent to foment direct action against these individuals personally. These beastly government officials should be made an example of as a warning to others in government: Obey the Constitution or die.
If any state attorney, police department or court thinks they're going to get uppity with us about this; I suspect we have enough bullets to put them down too.The state pushed; it is about to get pushed back. Elected and other government officials sometimes need to be put in their place. They serve; they do not rule. They need to learn their place or be put there by force.

NOW, I do admit that Hal Turner's comments are harsh. Telling people to muder political figures, police officers and the like is MORALLY wrong. But was it his RIGHT under the First Amendment to say/write it?
Hartford Police Chief Michael Fallon called Turner's comments "...above and beyond the threshold of free speech."
But are they??
The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States reads, "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."
Obviously, McDonald and Lawlor are breaking the First Amendment by trying to pass a Law on a religious establishment i.e. the Catholic Church. They are also trying to prohibit the free exercise of said religion.

So, where do you draw the line on Free Speech? Where do you draw the line?

More to follow...