Category Archives: First Amendment

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.

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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.

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'Shutup,' they explained Crippling the First Amendment

Reid Seeks To Change First Amendment To Stop Koch Brothers
Wants Congress to have control over who can contribute to campaigns and how much can be spent http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/15/after-reid-refuses-amendments-senate-republicans-k/...

By: TheAlexJonesChannel

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Reid Seeks To Change First Amendment To Stop Koch Brothers - Video

Huckabee Opening Statement - First Amendment Religion - Benghazi Select CMTE
Huckabee Opening Statement - First Amendment Religion - Benghazi Select CMTE =========================================== **Please Click Below to SUBSCRIBE for More "Mass Tea Party"...

By: Mass Tea Party

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Huckabee Opening Statement - First Amendment & Religion - Benghazi Select CMTE - Video

The First Amendment in Journalism

By: Naida Blando

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The First Amendment in Journalism - Video

"Free Speech in the 21st Century" with Professor Leslie Kendrick
University of Virginia law professor Leslie Kendrick reviews recent First Amendment cases, particularly those involving the free speech of businesses, at an alumni luncheon on May 9, 2014....

By: University of Virginia School of Law

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"Free Speech in the 21st Century" with Professor Leslie Kendrick - Video

Democrats seeks to change the First Amendment #39;s free speech protections
Support the truth http://www.truthfed.com ----------------------------...

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Democrats seeks to change the First Amendment's free speech protections - Video

Tennessee Boy Recites First Amendment Rights After Being Told to Put Away His Bible
Nio de 9 aos recita la Primera Enmienda de Derechos cuando le dijeron: "Guarda tu Biblia"

By: Jose Lozada Rodriguez

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Tennessee Boy Recites First Amendment Rights After Being Told to Put Away His Bible - Video

David Allen Legal Tuesday: Flashing Automobile Lights and the First Amendment
Michael Elli drove his vehicle through a speed trap. He warned an oncoming vehicle of the speed trap by flashing his lights. The Missouri town in which this occurred had an ordinance which...

By: David Allen

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David Allen Legal Tuesday: Flashing Automobile Lights and the First Amendment - Video

David Koch (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

Congressional Democrats escalated their fight against the Koch Brothers and other megadonors to political campaigns on Thursday, calling anew for a constitutional amendment to reverse recent Supreme Court campaign-finance decisions and setting a date for a hearing.

Majority Leader Harry Reid announced plans Thursday to hold floor votes on legislation that would grant Congress the authority to regulate and limit the raising and spending of money for federal political campaigns.

The idea was blasted immediately by Republicans, underlining how unlikely it is that the proposal could succeed. The amendment idea was first introduced by Sen. TomUdall of New Mexico. After Reids announcement, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont announced there would be a hearing on the legislation on June 3.

The announcements follows the courts recent McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission decision, which declared aggregate limits on campaign contributions in elections to be unconstitutional in violation of the First Amendment. Coupled with the Citizens United decisionof 2010, Leahy and Reid said Congress must respond.

The Court has repeatedly used the First Amendment not to protect the voices of all Americans, but as an instrument to amplify the voices of billionaires and corporations, Leahy said in a statement Thursday. Those voices are not the only ones who the Founding Fathers intended the First Amendment to protect. They meant for the First Amendment to protect the voices of all Americans.

The constitutional amendment seems more of a partisan show than a realistic proposal. A hearing on the idea last month revealed how deep the partisan divide has become since the days when a Republican senator, John McCain of Arizona, teamed up with a Democrat, former Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, to propose broad campaign finance reforms.

The reaction to the amendment idea in a recent Senate Rules Committee hearing revealed the depth of the partisan divide.In a statement released Thursday, Senates Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the Democrats' proposal an all-out assault on the right to free speech, a right which undergirds all others in our democracy.Its also a clear sign of just how desperate elected Washington Democrats have become in their quest to hold onto power.

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Dems threaten Kochs with a constitutional amendment