Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the talk radio host, apologized and decided to retire from her conservative radio program after using the N-word on the air 11 times in 5 minutes, while talking to a female black caller.
Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced Tuesday night that she would end her radio show following her N-word rant last week.
“My contract is up for my radio show at the end of the year and I’ve made the decision not to do radio anymore,” she told Larry King. “The reason is I want to regain my First Amendment rights. I want to be able to say what’s on my mind and in my heart and what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry, some special interest group deciding this is the time to silence a voice of dissent and attack affiliates, attack sponsors. I’m sort of done with that.”
Dr. Laura emphasized that she is “not retiring” but rather just ending her radio show.
“I’m not retiring, I’m not quitting, I feel energized actually,” she said. “Stronger and freer to say the things that I believe need to be said for people in this country.”
Sarah Palin & company spent several days in Homer filming her “Sarah Palin’s Uh-laska” show. (Eyes rolled).
On the public dock, private security patted down private citizens. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure from their government. Private security searching private citizens in a public place, doesn’t fall under that category. It’s a bit more hinky.
NEW YORK — A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a government policy that can lead to broadcasters being fined for allowing even a single curse word on live television, saying it is unconstitutionally vague and threatens speech “at the heart of the First Amendment.”
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan threw out the 2004 Federal Communications Commission policy, which said that profanity referring to sex or excrement is always indecent.
“By prohibiting all `patently offensive’ references to sex, sexual organs and excretion without giving adequate guidance as to what `patently offensive’ means, the FCC effectively chills speech, because broadcasters have no way of knowing what the FCC will find offensive,” the court wrote.
“To place any discussion of these vast topics at the broadcaster’s peril has the effect of promoting wide self-censorship of valuable material which should be completely protected under the First Amendment,” it added.
The court said the FCC might be able to craft a policy that does not violate the First Amendment.
It cited several examples of chilled speech, including a Vermont station’s refusal to air a political debate because one local politician previously had used expletives on the air and a Moosic, Pa., station’s decision to no longer provide live coverage of news events unless they affect matters of public safety or convenience.
“This chill reaches speech at the heart of the First Amendment,” the appeals court said.
In a statement, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said: “We’re reviewing the court’s decision in light of our commitment to protect children, empower parents, and uphold the First Amendment.”
Carter Phillips, a Washington lawyer who argued the case for Fox Television Stations Inc., called the decision satisfying. He said the court had “sent the FCC back to square one to start over” by not only tossing the FCC’s fleeting expletive policy but also a broader indecency policy as unconstitutionally vague
I am not so sure this is a good thing. Talk is trashy enough on TV as it is. On the other hand, what difference does it make if the show is network or cable. It seems the burden of decency is all on network TV and radio and not on the satellite and cable stations. Do our contributors think this is a good plan or not?
And yet another first amendment issue surfaces. The contributors on ‘Howlings have been discussing freedom of speech for weeks. Here is yet another example of different points of view:
Well, in her case, Helen Thomas, White House reporter for years, put her foot in her mouth.
Ok. While we might not agree with her words, there is something bothering me about the hue and cry over her remarks. For starters, she offered an opinion. She said she felt that Palestine was occupied by Israel. I never heard her utter the word ‘Jews.’ There are an awful lot of people in the world who believe that. Why is Helen Thomas, daughter of Lebanese immigrants, not allowed her opinion? Additionally, she said that those occupying needed to go home. Good grief, that is said every day towards Latinos here in this county.
Helen Thomas is almost 90 years old. She apologized. Many news agencies have said her apologies were not good enough because she didn’t really mean it. This is where the thought police come into play. There is just something about that kind of mind control that bothers me a great deal. Who are we to tell others how to think? While we can be held accountable for what comes out of our mouths, how can anyone hold us accountable for what they think we should think.
On June 4, Helen Thomas issued the following apology:
“I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.” (June 4, 2010)
To her credit, Ellen Ratner of Fox News issued the following:
Helen Thomas has apologized. What more do people want?
If I had a dollar for every American who has said something in private about a racial, ethnic, or sexual minority in this county I would be a multimillionaire many times over.
Let’s face it we all have said things — or thought things — about “other” groups of people, things that we would not want to see in print or on video. Anyone who denies it is a liar.
Helen is three months short of ninety and her brain’s filters might not work as well as a forty year old’s. Give her a break.
Ellen Ratner is Washington bureau chief for Talk Radio News Service and a Fox News contributor.
Helen Thomas has resigned. Her resignation was announced around noon. I think the greater tragedy is that a 90 year old woman can’t be allowed to retract her statements, especially a lady of her stature.
She is a very remarkable woman. I can’t image being her age and doing the job she is still doing. Many of us who grew up with Helen Thomas will miss her. The good news is, now she is a free agent, she can also speak freely. I expect she will, knowing Helen Thomas and I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that acerbic tongue.
[disclaimer: This post does not imply agreement with Helen Thomas]
Joe Biden throws one hell of a picnic and Stewart ponders some serious question on Israel and Palestine.
Much as been said whether our obsession with Helen Thomas’s remarks overshadowed the real questions about what happened on the high seas. Are we more concerned with someone’s words or a nation’s deeds?
Remember the WWI memorial the vets built in honor of their fallen buddies from WWI that was erected out the the middle of nowhere in the Mojave Desert? Some rat bastard has stolen it. The cross that was actually a memorial has been embroiled in a Supreme Court Case in one form or another for a decade.
Antibvbl.net covered the story of the Desert Cross back in October, 2009. Since then the land on which the cross was erected has been donated as private lands. Huffington Post reports:
By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service
WASHINGTON (RNS) The war memorial cross at the center of a recent Supreme Court ruling has been stolen, a spokeswoman for the Mojave National Preserve said Tuesday (May 11).
A wooden box had covered the controversial cross, which has been the subject of court cases for almost a decade. A preserve staffer noticed the box was missing on Saturday; by the time a maintenance crew showed up Monday to replace it, the cross also had disappeared, spokeswoman Linda Slater said.
On April 28, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the cross to stay up and directed a district court to further consider a congressionally approved transfer of the cross to private land.
“This is an outrage, akin to desecrating people’s graves,” said Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of Liberty Institute, which represents the caretakers of the World War I memorial and several veterans groups.
“It’s a disgraceful attack on the selfless sacrifice of our veterans. We will not rest until this memorial is reinstalled.”
The 6-foot-tall metal structure was removed Sunday night from Sunrise Rock in a lonely stretch of the Mojave National Preserve, said government officials and veterans groups that have been fighting for years to keep the cross on national park land.
The National Park Service said it is investigating the incident; no arrests had been made as of Tuesday morning.
The high court on April 28 ruled the cross did not violate the constitutional separation of church and state. The American Civil Liberties Union, which had brought the original lawsuit to have the cross removed, promised to continue the court fight.
I consider myself a fairly strong establishment clause person. I very much believe in seperation of church and state…probably as much as some of the 2nd amendment people believe in their cause. However, at what point do people just go rabidly nuts on a subject?
This cross was erected back in the 1930’s by veterans of WWI to honor their buddies who didn’t make it home. Call it a grassroots memorial, if you will. It was out in the middle of no where in the middle of the Mojave Desert. It was honoring the dead. It wasn’t pushing religion even.
Whoever took the cross is a thief– a common thief. The individual(s) is lower than a snake’s belly. This person or persons doesn’t represent a cause. The memorial ought to be left alone. There is one remain WWI vet left in America. Those brave men who fought that horrible war now belong to time and the ages. Can’t people put aside their causes just this once? The cross that represents the memorial needs to be returned immediately.
I will admit it. I would have been up all night trying to figure out why this license plate was racist. I still wouldn’t have gotten it.
VA License Plate: 14CV88
It seems that Virginia uses a computer to root out off color, racist and other types of messages that the state doesn’t want dotting its hiways and by-ways. Sometimes, however,, expressions that aren’t quite as obvious slip through.
The owner of a Ford truck bearing the license plate 14CV88 will have to find a new message after the DMV on Wednesday canceled its earlier approval of that series of letters and numbers.
A photo of the truck hit the Web a few days ago, went viral on car and other blogs and finally came to the attention of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group for American Muslims. On Wednesday morning, the group complained to the DMV that the plate contained a white supremacist and neo-Nazi statement.
A few hours later, the DMV agreed that the plate contains a coded message: The number 88 stands for the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, doubled to signify “Heil Hitler,” said CAIR’s Ibrahim Hooper. “CV” stands for “Confederate veteran” — the plate was a special model embossed with a Confederate flag, which Virginia makes available for a $10 fee to card-carrying members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. And 14 is code for imprisoned white supremacist David Lane’s 14-word motto: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”
“If the license plate had been on a VW Beetle with nothing else on it, or a Volvo station wagon, no one would probably have noticed,” said Hooper. “But when the Confederate flag is thrown in . . . it shows the convergence of anti-government and anti-Islamic sentiments that unfortunately seem to be growing.”
The DMV would not release the identity or location of the vehicle owner, citing privacy laws. Virginia has the highest percentage of personalized plates in the nation
The giveaway that something was amiss, Hooper said, was the truck itself. An enormous photo of the burning World Trade Center towers covers the entire tailgate, with the words: “Everything I ever needed to know about Islam I learned on 9/11.”
It certainly wouldn’t have offended me. I wouldn’t have gotten it. I have a hard time decoding plates that are n’t even off color or racist. I am sort of impressed that VA has the highest percentage of personalized plates. That is sure making some money for someone. On many of the plates, the addtional fees are due each year.
A panel can convene to judge ‘expressions’ that might not be too obvious. I don’t think that would be a good job for me. How many people on this blog have personalized plates or vanity plates? I am too cheap. And why is 88 a reference to Hitler? [best Jon Stewart voice: sillll eeeee]
The House of Representatives will not grow by 1, at least not any time soon. The bill to give DC 1 vote in the house has been pulled. Republicans wanted the ban on carrying a gun in DC repealed. The Democrats refused and the bill was pulled.
So that is what it has come down to? I guess taxation without representation is alive and well. And I suppose the concept of states rights doesn’t matter in this case since DC is not a state and it can’t vote to make itself a state because it has no voting rights in Congress. Stop! My head hurts. Guns are more important than the right to vote?
Thanks to Governor Bob McDonnell for doing the right thing. He has signed the Trust Women/Respect Choice license plate into law and has maintained the funding for prevention services. $15 for each plate will go towards Planned Parenthood.
The license plate faced a three-month back and forth challenge in the General Assembly. Apparently some of our legislators confused reproductive rights with first amendment rights and tried all sorts of sneaky tricks to stop the stream of money into Planned Parenthood.
Virginia is one of only FOUR states to have a pro-choice license plate, let alone one with a funding stream supporting reproductive health care services.
Hat Tip to Governor McDonnell. Frankly, I am pleasantly surprised. This really was a free speech issue.
The governor can be emailed from the here. I have already emailed him a thank you.
Fighting Hate West Virginia Style. Westboro descending on Charleston, WV to inform the good people in the state capital that the Montcoal mining disaster happened because God hates …who even knows…oh ….they got a threatening note from West Virginia.
Westboro had mentioned deceased Morgan Harrington on their website. The VT student was murdered last fall after disappearing from a Metallica concert at UVA. Students organized and simply outnumbered qnd out performed Westboro in only the way United VT can do! Morgan’s parents were on hand to express their displeasure at having their daughter’s name dragged through the mud after her horrible fate.
BLACKSBURG, Va., (WIBW)_ Members of Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church turned up at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia on Friday morning.
They were there for a protest following the mine disaster which claimed the lives of at least 25 miners. Rescue teams continue to search for four more miners whose fate is still unknown.
The church claims the explosion was a result of a threatening memo that the church said was sent from West Virginia, the New York Times reported.
According to the Charleston Gazette, more than 300 counter-protesters were on hand for a counter demonstration against the six church members who showed up.
Nearby, larger numbers of church members fanned out across three locations in Blacksburg, Virginia nearly two years after the shootings at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people.
They too were met by counter protesters, including the father of Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student who disappeared last October. Harrington said he couldn’t believe the Westboro Church was including Morgan’s memory in their protests.
What, if anything can be done to stop these vile people? They are using the very laws that make us tolerant Americans against us. Hopefully the Supreme Court case will castrate their efforts. I would contribute to any plan to legally put these disgusting wretches in their places. I think jail time sounds real good.
And when you thought they couldn’t go any lower, check out the parting shot. This sign was from the Sago mine disaster in 2006. However, they arrived at Montcoal, WV today with similar tactics. The poor people of Montcoal are trying to mourn their dead and recover their lost. They just don’t need this crap.
Westboro Baptists (sic), the cretins who go to the funerals of our dead troops and protest American not killing gays or something akin to that perhaps serve a purpose. They are a group who are universally hated and despised by both the right, left and middle. They are right up there with 9-11 in that they are a great unifier.
Weren’t those people removed from setting up camp on DMV property or was that just wish fulfillment in my dreams?
Mr. Howler had to go to DMV the other day. He has put it off and put it off because going there is akin to refined torture for him. He prefers a root canal without anesthesia. He came home spitting mad. He had had a close encounter with Larouche-ites. And I had to listen to him, for hours, grousing.
They were by the front door of DMV so you could not get in without interacting with them. They approached him because he was wearing team attire, typical lead-in to establish conversation. They had their usual pictures of Obama with a Hitler mustache and other ant-Obama paraphernalia attacking the president of the United States. They were on a tear about ‘change,’ health care, and anything else they could associate Obama.
Mr. Howler told them to have a nice day to dismiss them and their response was that it would be when THEY got Obama out of office and gave him a knowing look.
People shouldn’t have to go through that in order to do business with the Division of Motor Vehicles, regardless of what state they live in. Who let these clowns back on DNV property? Weren’t they legally prevented from being there, sort of like the [Moonies] Hare Krishna were finally thrown out of airports?
When was the Larouche cult allowed back on DMV property? Were they banned or were they just on break? Is their leader still in jail or is he a free man? I would like to be able to conduct state business without dealing with thugs and cult members. Who knows the scoop on the Lyndon Larouchers?
And no, I won’t apologize for calling them thugs and clowns. They have blighted state property for too many years. They have become poster children for those descriptors.
OXFORD, MS – The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today against a Mississippi High School that has canceled prom rather than let a lesbian high school student attend the prom with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo to the event. In papers filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, the ACLU asks the court to reinstate the prom for all students at the school and charges Itawamba County School District officials are violating Constance McMillen’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression.
“All I wanted was the same chance to enjoy my prom night like any other student. But my school would rather hurt all the students than treat everyone fairly,” said McMillen, an 18-year-old senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi. “This isn’t just about me and my rights anymore – now I’m fighting for the right of all the students at my school to have our prom.”
How about let’s just alter this scene just a little bit. How about if the girl didn’t say she was a lesbian and 2 girls just showed up at the door to go to prom, like unromantic friends. Would they be denied admission? What is wrong with schools?
There was a suggestion made that a private group should sponsor a private prom for ”people like this.’ Now just what is that supposed to mean? I read in the paper that Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church did sponsor a special prom for gay and lesbian students last spring. Good for them. That church is a real standard bearer for helping those who are under-represented. I hope they will do that every year, despite the fact that local bloggers (many who claim to be good Christians) had a field day and made extremely disparaging remarks about the church and the kids. It’s easy to point fingers. Its harder to step up to the plate and provide for those amongst us who might not have an advocate.
Most of the time I think the ACLU is a pain in the ass. I think we are supposed to think that. However, this is one time I am glad they are out there, defending those who might not otherwise have a line of defense. Schools need realize that gay and lesbian students are not all closeted like they were a generation ago, not should they be.
If the school wants to ensure that people’s sensibilities are not offended, it needs to address the behavior of everyone coming to the dance. It needs to set standards of conduct and stick to its guns. It should demand the same lines of decency from the heterosexual students as it is obviously going to do with the homosexual students. They can all do their dirty dancing after the prom.
