Category: First Amendment rights

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First Amendment rights insider corruption

Shocker: Criminal Web Links!

Aliens take over government! Soviets control U.S. weather! Ancient Mayan temple has Sandisk flash drive!

If you’ve ever been to a supermarket, you’ve seen these and other ludicrous mile-high headlines blaring from the newsstands.

Here’s another impossible headline that might issue from the pen of any zany, unscrupulous tabloid fabulist: BLOGGER TREATED AS CRIMINAL FOR POSTING WEB LINK TO CITY AGENCY!

Not a concoction, I’m afraid. The city of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, did indeed harass a blogger named Jennifer Reisinger for linking to the website of the city police department. No alleged libel, alleged copyright violation, or other alleged crime. Ms. Reisinger and her lawyer believe the threat was retaliation for her role in trying to recall the Sheboygan mayor, Juan Perez.

Intimidated by the unprecedented cease-and-desist order she received from the city attorney, Reisinger at first removed the link. But then, after being threatened with a criminal investigation for her dastardly providing of information, she hired a lawyer. The lawyer advised her to restore the Web link, which she did. The mayor’s office dropped its threat, but Reisinger is suing anyway.

Mayor Perez and his henchmen deserve to be stomped in court — if only to pre-empt similar stupidity and contempt for First Amendment rights by other vindictive politicians.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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Common Sense First Amendment rights general freedom too much government

Happy Birthday, Mr. Jefferson?

Can you get arrested for celebrating Jefferson’s birthday?

I’ve just received an alert from Jason Talley, the former publisher of Bureaucrash.com. Jason remains active trying to get people to think about freedom. He’s made a lot of noise . . . by being silent.

His most recent effort seemed innocuous enough: A ten-minute “silent dance,” abetted by iPods, at the Jefferson Memorial on April 13. That’s Thomas Jefferson’s birthday. The 20 or so participants celebrated in a perhaps startling way. The group performed their dance late in the day, midnight actually, so as not to interfere with the experience of other visitors.

Well, after a few minutes, security at the memorial leapt into action to expel the dancers. One was even arrested. Her sin? Asking “Why?” In a local NBC news report Jason points out that the dancers were silent, which video confirms. So there isn’t much weight to claims that they were disturbing the peace. School kids visiting the monument are rowdier. Jason says he hopes police don’t start arresting school kids.

Videos of the incident at YouTube have already been viewed by tens of thousands. A “Free the Jefferson 1″ blog and Facebook and Flicker and Twitter accounts are helping spread the word. When the charges are dropped, it’ll all stop.

Tom Jefferson once said, “Dancing is a healthy and elegant exercise.” And he didn’t even own an iPod.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

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Common Sense First Amendment rights initiative, referendum, and recall

I&R’s Great Track Record

Do citizen initiative rights give voters or give special interests “too much” power to pass bad laws?

Sure, bad initiatives sometimes pass. But as Eric Dixon points out at the Show-Me Institute blog, our intermittently esteemed representatives do not religiously avoid passing bad bills. Lawmakers enact lousy laws galore.

Dixon argues that the track record of citizen initiative is actually pretty good. “For every misguided minimum wage increase and tax hike that voters pass,” he writes, “there are dozens of initiatives that have cut taxes, slashed spending, passed term limits . . .” He also says that ballot initiatives make elected officials much more accountable than would otherwise be the case.

Exactly, Mr. Dixon.

There even seems to be a kind of multiplier effect. More good has come from California’s Proposition 13 than bad has come from all the bad initiatives passed in all the states over the past century. After all, it sparked a tax revolt nationwide.

We enjoy disproportionate benefits from initiative rights because the good things that come from them are nearly impossible to get from legislatures. Meanwhile, the bad things typically expand the power of politicians – so, politicians are inclined to enact them anyway.

Besides, it’s easier for special interests to persuade or bribe a handful of politicians than influence a majority of voters. So, to block and reverse the bad stuff, the citizen initiative sure comes in handy.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Categories
Common Sense First Amendment rights too much government

Canada’s Kangaroo Court

Hurray for the new media.

Two years ago, Ezra Levant edited a magazine that reported on the bitter controversy over cartoons featuring the prophet Muhammed. The cartoons first appeared in a Danish newspaper. Levant reprinted them.

The reprint angered a Muslim living in Canada. So he complained to Alberta’s so-called “Human Rights Commission.” This dishonestly named commission can persecute people for saying anything that might offend somebody else.

Levant appeared before the commission. Closed-door proceedings. No reporters. No lawyer. No rule against bringing a video cam, either. So he did. Go to YouTube and see his defiance for yourself. Plug the words “Ezra Levant” into the search engine. Hundreds of thousands have seen the two-minute video.

Shirlene McGovern, the so-called “human rights office” who questioned him, quit because of the backlash. Levant says that McGovern had started to make small talk and shake his hand, but he “upset her by not being complicit” in what he calls his “own prosecution.”

On camera, Levant tells McGovern she’s a thug for assailing his freedom of speech. He says, “I don’t grant you the right to sit in judgment on whether or not I’m reasonable. . . .” in how he exercises his freedom of speech.

The complaint has now been withdrawn. But Levant is still challenging the abuse in court. A truly inspiring defense of First Amendment rights.

Of course, in Canada “freedom of speech” doesn’t fall under the heading of “First Amendment rights.” We’ll be happy to let them borrow it though.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Categories
Accountability Common Sense First Amendment rights initiative, referendum, and recall insider corruption

Constitutionally Unsuited for the Job

You can’t answer every random fallacy uttered by fierce foes of facts and logic.

Can’t always ignore them either. Like, when your polemical adversary is trying to jail you for ten years. I refer to Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who indicted me and two others for abetting democracy in Oklahoma.

Before our recent arraignment, I attended a news conference at which a number of concerned citizens, legislators and leaders of taxpayer and voter groups spoke out against this politically motivated travesty. I noted that we, the Oklahoma 3, acted in good faith to follow Oklahoma’s regulation requiring petition circulators to be state residents. Even though the regulation has been challenged in court as a violation of the First Amendment.

But Mr. Edmondson told reporters, “This is not a First Amendment issue.” Then, admitting the opposite was true, he added, “If the courts determine that the state’s process violates the First Amendment, so be it.”

First, he pretends to be oblivious to the First Amendment issue. Then, he acts as if he can do whatever he pleases, Constitution or not, unless a court steps in to stop him.

As someone observed at FreePaulJacob.com, Edmondson’s cavalier disregard for the Constitution, the very highest law, doesn’t square with his own official responsibilities. It’s just not consistent with his oath of office.

He’s sworn to uphold the Oklahoma constitution and the U.S. Constitution. Not prosecute those of us who take both very seriously.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.