Monthly Archives: May 2014

Sex and the First Amendment: Jessica Mitford on How Society Deals with Sexual Matters (1991)
Jessica Lucy Freeman-Mitford (11 September 1917 -- 22 July 1996) was an English author, journalist, civil rights activist and political campaigner, who was o...

By: The Film Archives

Continue reading here:

Sex and the First Amendment: Jessica Mitford on How Society Deals with Sexual Matters (1991) - Video

The "First Amendment Zone" nearby Bundy Ranch
This is the first thing you see when coming off the main highway.

By: Chris Callesen

See more here:

The "First Amendment Zone" nearby Bundy Ranch - Video

First Amendment
Lynn Klyde-Silverstein, a journalism professor at the University of Northern Colorado, explains the importance of Freedom of the Press.

By: Lynn Klyde

Continued here:

First Amendment - Video

Published: Monday, 5/19/2014 - Updated: 1 minute ago

BLADE STAFF

COLUMBUS The Blade won the First Amendment Award given by the Ohio Associated Press Media Editors on Sunday for the newspapers pursuit of freedom of information to obtain a police-created map of gang territory in Toledo last year.

The Blades request for a copy of the citys map that shows gang boundaries was denied, prompting a lawsuit by the newspaper and a months-long court battle.

Additionally, Blade reporter Taylor Dungjen, who spoke about the project at the awards ceremony, and photographer Amy Voigt who worked on the series Battle Lines: Gangs of Toledo, were awarded first place in the best enterprise reporting category for newspapers with a daily circulation of more than 75,000.

After the police and city administrators refused to make the citys map public, The Blade created one, using information from gang members and Toledo police sources.

The gang series, which has received awards from other news organizations, has sparked a series of community forums on the causes of racism and remedies for gangs and gang violence.

The first place investigative reporting award was given to Kris Turner for the series Deals Gone Bad, which outlined the states costly investments in failed solar-power firms.

Mr. Turner was awarded third place under best explanatory reporting for his Going to Pot story.

First place also was awarded to Tom Fisher for best illustration for his Monster Hits. Blade artist Jeff Bastings was awarded third in the same category for his Portrait of a Pointer.

Go here to read the rest:

Blade earns First Amendment award

People who cannot win arguments soon discover that a good tactic is to avoid debate by bullying potential opponents into silence. From imposing campus speech codes to protesting commencement speakers to passing laws that make it harder for others to speak out, this tactic has been deployed with great effectiveness in recent years.

Now, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, with the backing of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, is taking it to its ultimate end point. He is pushing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would amend the First Amendment to allow the government to curtail citizens' speech.

The amendment, proposed by Sen. Mark Udall and co-sponsored by Shaheen, is almost five times as long as the First Amendment, which it would cripple.

It would give both Congress and the states the "power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in-kind equivalents" and "the amount of contributions to candidates" and "the amount of funds that may be spent by, in support of, or in opposition to such candidates" under the broad justification that such restrictions are to "advance the fundamental principle of political equality for all, and to protect the integrity of the legislative and electoral processes."

Orwell could not have written it better himself. In the name of protecting the people, the government would assume for itself the power to control the people's political participation.

The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...." Udall's amendment states: "Nothing in this article shall be construed to grant Congress the power to abridge the freedom of the press." Notice the exclusion of the words "freedom of speech." That was not by accident.

Shaheen has signed on to a constitutional amendment designed to give government the power to regulate political speech by regulating the amount of money that can be raised and spent on it. If you think Congress would judiciously use this power only in public-spirited and high-minded ways, and only against the super-wealthy, you have not paid much attention to Congress.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has documented 145 instances since 1987 of college commencement speakers who have been uninvited or protested or who have withdrawn their names from consideration under pressure, The Washington Post reported this week. Nearly 100 of those came in the last five years.

Last week the state Legislature passed a bill (SB 120) that would dramatically expand state power to regulate the activity of people who organize to participate in political campaigns. The impulse to silence other Americans is increasing.

This amendment is the ultimate realization of that impulse. It is the desired end result of everyone who would rather force an opponent to shut up than engage in an open debate.

See the original post:

'Shutup,' they explained Crippling the First Amendment