SCOTUS allows cross in California’s Mojave National Preserve

The end of a very long saga

"In a significant shift away from church-state separation, the Supreme Court gave its approval Wednesday to displaying a Christian cross on government land to honor the war dead, saying the Constitution ‘does not require the eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm.’

Speaking for a divided court, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said the First Amendment calls for a middle-ground ‘policy of accommodation’ toward religious displays on public land, not a strict ban on symbols of faith.

By a 5-4 vote, the justices reversed lower courts in California that ordered the U.S. Park Service to remove an 8-foot tall cross that has stood in various forms in the Mojave National Preserve since 1934 as a memorial to the soldiers of World War I.”

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Must not speak the truth about homosexuals in Britain

We read:

"A would-be Tory MP from Scotland has been suspended after describing gay people as not "normal”, it was disclosed today. The comments made by Philip Lardner on his campaign website were branded “deeply offensive and unacceptable” by a party spokeswoman.

Under the heading "What I believe in", the North Ayrshire and Arran candidate had written: “Homosexuality is not ’normal behaviour’.”

The comments have now been removed from the website but the gay news service Pink News said Mr Lardner, a primary school teacher, declared his support for parents and teachers who do not want their children to be taught about gay rights.

The section, which was removed from the website this afternoon, said: "I will always support the rights of homosexuals to be treated within concepts of (common-sense) equality and respect, and defend their rights to choose to live the way they want in private, but I will not accept that their behaviour is 'normal' or encourage children to indulge in it."

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Another Congressional assault on free speech

Do people have to go to SCOTUS to get their free speech rights upheld?

"The Palestine Liberation Organization and the Irish Republican Army, two of history’s most notorious terrorist groups, have never appeared on the State Department’s List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations. By the time the list was first compiled in 1997, both groups were deemed to be moving away from violence and toward a peaceful resolution of their grievances.

Ralph Fertig, president of the Humanitarian Law Project, wants to encourage a similar change within the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a violent separatist group in Turkey.

But he worries that doing so will expose him to prosecution for providing ‘material support’ to a terrorist organization, a crime Congress has defined so broadly that it includes a great deal of speech protected by the First Amendment.”

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Antisemitic joke?

The joke is an old one and other versions of it don't identify anybody as Jewish (or Taliban) so the motivation for it is certainly dubious. It could be a backhanded compliment however. Apparently it was initially taken that way.

"National Security Adviser James Jones apologized Monday for telling a joke last week that depicted a member of the Taliban getting tricked by a Jewish merchant looking to make a sale. "I wish that I had not made this off the cuff joke at the top of my remarks, and I apologize to anyone who was offended by it," he said in a written statement.

Here's what he said:

"A member of the Taliban was separated from his fighting party and wandered around for a few days in the desert, lost, out of food, no water. He looked on the horizon and he saw what looked like a little shack, and he walked toward that shack and as he got to it, turned out that it was a shack, a store, a little store owned by a Jewish merchant. And the Taliban warrior went up to him and said, 'I need water, get me some water.' And the merchant said, 'I'm sorry, I don't have any water, but would you like to buy a tie? We have a nice sale of ties today.'

"Whereupon the Taliban erupted into a stream of language that I can't repeat about Israel, about Jewish people, about the man himself, about his family -- and just saying 'I need water, you try to sell me ties, you people don't get it.'

"And passively, the merchant stood there until this Taliban was through with his diatribe and said, 'Well, I'm sorry but I don't have water for you and I forgive you for all of the insults you've levied against me, my family, my country, but I will help you out. If you go over that hill and walk about two miles there's a restaurant there, and they have all the water you'll need.'

"And the Taliban, instead of saying thanks, still muttering under his breath, disappears over the hill -- only to come back about an hour later and walking up to the merchant and says, 'Your brother tells me I need a tie in order to get into the restaurant.'"

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Geico-gate

The voiceover guy long used by insurance company Geico is a Leftist so he took it upon himself to leave a typically abusive comment on the website of FreedomWorks.org, a mainstream libertarian/conservative organization.

Every now and again, however, the patience of us conservatives wears thin and we react to all the abuse we receive by letting the light of publicity shine upon it. I have done so two or three times myself. I publish the abusive comment together with the email address of the author and any other particulars about the author that I can find.

This tends to cause great heartburn in the person "outed" but all mail, including email, is legally the property of the recipient so I am fully within my rights to do that and I hope that the hater concerned will take a good hard look at himself when I "out" him in that way.

In the case of the Geico guy, the Freedomworks CEO got fed up too and went on Andrew Breitbart's Biggovernment.com and "outed" the hater. Geico didn't like the resultant publicity and decided not to use Mr. Hate (D.C. Douglas) in any more of their campaigns

The Left went ballistic over this "firing" however and, as a result, FreedomWorks received more charming communications from Leftists. You can see and hear them here. The Left just boils over with hate. Warning: VERY foul language. These guys are seriously deranged. Judge for yourself.

You can clearly see where a certain Nationalsozialist (National Socialist) got his death-squads from

Muslim hate speech at British universities

Israeli speakers have been barred from giving talks on campus but Muslim extremists are welcome

"The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (Fosis) has begun to set out a case for its support for hate speakers, utilising spurious "freedom of expression" arguments. It would have us believe that it holds a commitment to liberal ideology. Conversely, those who invite hate speakers on to campus are donning a cloak of hypocrisy and employing theoretical freedoms as a form of liberal protection. What is liberal about inviting proponents of homophobia, antisemitism and sexism to speak at universities? What exactly is so liberal about hosting advocates of racial and religious violence?

Fosis would have us believe that it is a defender of an absolute right to freedom of expression, yet one must critically analyse this assumption: Fosis clamps down on the respected historian Benny Morris, pushing for his Cambridge visit to be cancelled because controversial views he may hold, yet welcome Daud Abdullah (who signed the Istanbul declaration) with open arms. They say no to Douglas Murray at LSE and NUS conferences, but hello to Azzam Tamimi. Where is the logic? Moreover where does their new position fit in with their long-standing support of a no-platform policy when it comes to the BNP? In the light of Fosis's apparent paradigm shift, will the BNP be their next invitation? I will hazard a guess that the answer will be (rightfully) no. Yet, here, we see their true face and their clear hypocrisy: a rule for one and a different rule for the other.

The following quotes come from speakers under the invitation of student Islamic Societies across UK campuses. Feel free to enter them into Google or YouTube.

"They're all the same. The Jews don't have to be in Israel to be like this. It doesn't matter whether they're in New York, Houston, St Louis, London, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester. They're all the same. They've monopolised everything: the Holocaust, God, money, interest, usury, the world economy, the media, political institutions." Another speaker has described how a husband has the right to apply "some type of physical force ... a very light beating" to his wife. "If I were to call homosexuals perverted, dirty, filthy dogs who should be murdered, that's my freedom of speech, isn't it?" "I die for my homeland, I'm a martyr and I long to be a martyr." The list goes on.

Time and again, the hosts of these speakers hide behind a dog-eared copy of Mill's On Liberty, urgently locating the next quote that will legitimise the invitation. But for how long would they sit idly by if said speakers were directing their hate-fuelled abuse at Muslim students? If the above quotes were directed against Muslims and not Jews, homosexuals and women, would they still be screaming Mill from the rooftops, disingenuously preaching the right of freedom of expression? I certainly have my doubts. Clearly, the grossest of double standards are being employed.

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Google fined for 'paedophile' libel against priest

Nutty Leftist Brazil again:

"GOOGLE has been fined $US8500 in Brazil after an anonymous internet user posted defamatory messages on one of its sites against a priest, calling him a "paedophile".

A court in the state of Minas Gerais ruled in favour of the 54-year-old priest, identified by his initials J.R., after rejecting Google's argument that it was not responsible for what users posted on its Orkut social networking site.

The verdict upheld a lower court's judgment made after the priest sued for defamation in 2008 over the post, which called him "the paedophile ... the thief who has a lover", according to the O Globo daily.

"By making space available on virtual networking sites, in which users can post any type of message without any checks beforehand, with offensive and injurious content, and, in many cases, of unknown origin, (Google) assumes the risk of causing damage" to other people, judge Alvimar de Avila said.

Google's Orkut is a hugely popular networking site in Brazil,

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The irony is that Google (who host this blog) is itself an energetic banner of what it considers hate speech. I am rather surprised that many of the comments on this blog have not brought their wrath down on my head so far. But I will continue to allow similar comments as long as I can. More moderation from some commenters here might help, though.

Muslim hate speech OK in the Netherlands

This is richly ironic in view of the fact that the same country is prosecuting Geert Wilders for telling the truth about the Koran. Dutch cowardice is obviously alive and well.

" The Netherlands Utrecht District Court on Thursday acquitted members of the Arab European League (AEL) of hate speech charges resulting from the posting a cartoon on their website that insinuated that the Holocaust was fabricated.

The criminal complaint against the group alleged that the cartoon violated Article 137c of the Dutch Penal Code, which punishes individuals for making discriminatory and defamatory statements against certain groups.

The AEL argued that they do not actually deny the historical facts of the Holocaust, but that the cartoon was posted to call attention to what they saw as a double standard in the distribution of Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed

The court held that the cartoon was offensive, but that, in light an accompanying disclaimer and subsequent statements regarding its purpose, it was nevertheless protected under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights

Prosecutors had sought for the court to consider the fact that Jewish groups were not involved in the creation or distribution of the Danish Mohammed cartoons, but the court refused.

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Frat inspired by Robert E. Lee bans Rebel uniforms

More awareness of history being erased

"A college fraternity inspired by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee has banned members around the country from wearing Confederate uniforms to "Old South" parties and parades after years of complaints that the tradition was racially insensitive.

The Virginia-based Kappa Alpha Order issued new rules to chapters earlier this year saying members aren't allowed to wear Rebel uniforms to parties or during their parades, which are a staple on campuses across the South.

The decision, announced in an internal memo posted on the group's website, followed a flap last year at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where a black sorority complained after a KA parade stopped in front of its house on campus. KA members were dressed in the gray uniforms of Confederate officers, and young women wore hoop skirts.

The KA chapter at Alabama has canceled this year's Old South parade, which was set for this week. Still, a large Confederate national flag covers the front of its house on campus.

Other KA chapters quit donning Confederate uniforms or holding parades with Old South themes in recent years as criticism grew.

Kappa Alpha was founded in 1865 at Washington & Lee University — a school partly named for the Confederate general, and the group calls Lee its "spiritual founder." It has about 130 chapters nationwide.

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Va. DMV Recalls Plate with very obscure implications



We read:

"The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday recalled a license plate that appeared to have coded references glorifying Adolf Hitler.

The vanity plate, which read "14CV88," was the subject of complaints after photos were posted online.

The "88" is sometimes a coded reference to Heil Hitler, as each word begins with the eighth letter of the alphabet. The "14" is thought to stand for the number of words in a white supremacist credo. The "CV" is an apparent reference to the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations was among the groups offended by the plate. The truck bearing the plates also featured graphics of the Confederate flag and the phrase "Everything I ever needed to know about Islam I learned on 9/11."

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Must not mention bedroom attributes of famous philanderer

We read:

"The controversial Sydney radio broadcasters Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O face a new barrage of criticism following racially loaded remarks about Tiger Woods's genitals on their 2Day FM morning show.

Yesterday the pair interviewed three of Woods's former mistresses in excruciating detail about the disgraced golfer's sexual performance and proclivities.

At one point, Jackie O asked Devon James about how Woods ranked as a lover, and about the size of his penis. ''Because we heard that he's, like, massive, like a donkey, is that right?'' asked Sandilands.

Ms James replied: ''Yeah, I'd agree.'' Sandilands added: ''Were you surprised, [saying] 'Man, you're half Asian, half black, obviously the half black is what's going on downstairs'?''

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South Park censors Mohammed joke over threats

We read:

"Comedy Central has given in to radical threats made over a plot line in the hit show South Park.

The US cable network bleeped out all references to the Prophet Mohammed in the latest episode of South Park after receiving a warning from a radical Muslim website.

The episode was a continuation of last week's episode which depicted Mohammed in a bear suit. Comedy Central confirmed to FoxNews.com it had censored the show, and that the episode was not available on its website either.

In addition to bleeping the words "Prophet Mohammed," the show also covered the character with a large block labeled "Censored."

A radical Islamic website had warned the creators of South Park that they could face violent retribution for their depiction of Prophet Mohammed.

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Tea Party Marine sticks by his guns in fight with government, Obama

We read:

"A U.S. Marine whose Facebook posts led to a refresher course last week on the Pentagon’s directives on political activities is not running for cover as he continues to post or support material critical of the government and President Obama.

Sgt. Gary Stein created the Facebook group ‘Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots’ four weeks ago to voice his opposition to Obama’s health care overhaul.

Superior officers asked the 24-year-old Marine to review directives on political activities before he was interviewed on TV, and Stein removed the Facebook group — only to see it revived by a civilian member of a local Tea Party group hours later.

Stein now serves as an administrator of the group, which has more than 9,100 members, including some soldiers on active duty.”

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Some American heritage: Censorship defeated by democracy

We read:

"Federalists hoped the Sedition Act would stifle political opposition, but many Democratic-Republicans still criticized the Federalists and made the Act a key election issue in 1800.

That election resulted in the ‘Revolution of 1800′ — a landslide victory by Thomas Jefferson and in Federalists at all levels of government being turned out of office.

The attempt to muffle criticism also later contributed to the demise of the Federalist Party.

Congress repeatedly apologized for, and voted compensation to victims of, the enforcement of the Sedition Act. Thomas Jefferson pardoned all of those who had been so convicted.

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SCOTUS voids law aimed at banning animal cruelty videos

We read:

"The Supreme Court struck down a federal law Tuesday aimed at banning videos depicting graphic violence against animals, saying that it violates the constitutional right to free speech.

Chief Justice John J. Roberts Jr., writing for an eight-member majority, said the law was overly broad and not allowed by the First Amendment.

He rejected the government’s argument that whether certain categories of speech deserve constitutional protection depends on balancing the value of the speech against its societal costs.”

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There are plenty of laws against animal cruelty. How about those who are concened about it using the laws already available to go after those making the videos?

Muslims steamed by South Park satire

We read:

"A radical Islamic website is warning the creators of "South Park" that they could face violent retribution for depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit during an episode broadcast on Comedy Central last week.

RevolutionMuslim.com posted the warning following the 200th episode of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's "South Park," which included a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad disguised in a bear suit. The Web posting also included a graphic photo of Theo van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker who was murdered in 2004 after making a documentary on violence against Muslim women.

"We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show," the posting reads. "This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them."

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Google reveals government data requests and censorship

Google are the good guys in this one, it seems to me. This is whistleblowing.

"For the first time Google has released details about how often countries around the world ask it to hand over user data or to censor information.

Brazil tops the list with 3,663 data requests while the US made 3,580 and the UK came a distant third with 1,166.

Just last month the internet giant pulled its search engine out of China over online censorship issues. Google said it cannot provide statistics on requests from China which are regarded as state secrets.”

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Free speech group flags First Amendment violations

We read:

"Banning the sale of wine because of a nude, bike-riding nymph on the label of the bottle.

Confining campus protests to a ‘free-speech patio.’

Keeping street performers off the Las Vegas Strip.

Those were some of the actions that the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression cited Tuesday in awarding its ‘Muzzle’ awards.”

The Virginia Department of Corrections won a Muzzle for denying inmate Kyle Mabe a compact disc containing audio of a Christian sermon, which the center said violated his constitutional rights of free speech and religious freedom. The corrections department has since decided to revise its policy to allow inmates to order religious CDs, effective June 1.

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Campus club discrimination

We read:

"The Christian Legal Society policy shouldn’t be controversial. Just as Democrats shouldn’t be forced to allow Republicans to dictate their messaging, the Sierra Club shouldn’t have to let the Drill Baby Drillers control its governance, and Outlaw, the gay and lesbian law students group, shouldn’t have to take a neutral stance on same-sex marriage, CLS should be able to exclude non-Christians and others who don’t abide by its mission statement.

After all, a group that can’t define itself, and exclude people who disagree with its goals, ceases to be a group. Yet the University of California Hastings law school refuses to provide CLS the resources available to other student organizations — use of bulletin boards, meeting spaces, access to funding — on the grounds that its membership rules violate the school’s anti-discrimination policy.

It’s a dismal situation: Provide the funding, and the university — a government entity — subsidizes speech and viewpoints many taxpayers find intolerable. Withhold it, and government discriminates against students based on their religion and speech. Is there any solution?”

Legally, CLS wins the case: While "freedom of association" is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled it an inescapable part of speech and assembly rights protected by the First Amendment. For example, when Alabama wanted the NAACP to disclose its membership lists, the court found that full speech rights can be realized only if people can come together to coordinate and amplify their speech.

NAACP v. Alabama (1958) has direct implications for Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, making clear that government cannot give preference to some associations over others, which is what Hastings has done by only recognizing groups that adhere to its nondiscrimination policies.

These and other rights-infringing situations could have been avoided if public schools simply did not support student activities; no subsidies mean no discrimination. But students want their subsidized clubs, and schools are happy to fund them as long as it helps bring in students and their tuition dollars.

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Miami-Dade Transit to remove `offensive' Islamic bus ads

Must not evangelize Muslims, even in America?

"Miami-Dade Transit is pulling advertisements from 10 buses that South Florida Muslims have said are offensive to Islam. The ads, which went up Tuesday, said "Fatwa on your head? Is your community or family threatening you?" and directed Muslims to a website encouraging them to leave Islam.

Robert Spencer, associate director of New York-based Stop the Islamization of America, which purchased the ads for one-month as the first leg of a national campaign, said they were "offered in defense of religious liberty."

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