Category Archives: Free Speech

Paul Ryan waded into the Chick-fil-A controversy when he told a reporter that he associates the fast food chain with "free speech."

On Thursday, a reporter from Virginia-based CNN affiliate WDBJ, upon finding out that he would only have five minutes with the Republican vice presidential candidate, decided to engage Ryan in a round of word association.

"Chick fil-A," Orlando Salinas, the WDBJ reporter, offered.

"Good chicken," Ryan said. "Free people exercising their free speech rights."

Chick-fil-A sparked controversy last month when company president Dan Cathy said that he and his company support "the biblical definition of the family unit" when asked about the issue of same-sex marriage.

Cathy's remarks were met with backlash, as many LGBT activists called on supporters of gay marriage to boycott the chicken chain. Protesters have organized "kiss-ins" at Chick-fil-A locations across the country.

Meanwhile, conservatives jumped to defend the chain's right to condemn same-sex marriage. Mike Huckabee organized a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day earlier this month, which was endorsed by a number of notable right-wing figures including Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, and Michele Bachmann.

Romney, however, has distanced himself from the controversy, declaring that the Chick-fil-A debate was not "part of my campaign." While he has avoided directly addressing his stance on the chain, his campaign may have made a quiet showing of support. Politico reported earlier this week that the Romney campaign spent $500 in "meeting expenses" at the chain last month, just days before Huckabee's appreciation day.

Also on HuffPost:

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Paul Ryan Weighs In On Chick-Fil-A's 'Free Speech Rights'

SEOUL, South Korea In a major victory for free speech activists in South Korea, a top court on Thursday ruled unconstitutional a law that required Internet users to verify their identity before posting comments on major local Web sites.

South Korea introduced the so-called real-name identification system in 2007 for nearly 150 popular Web sites with more than 100,000 visitors a day, including some newspaper sites.

The regulation was adopted amid widespread concern that Internet users were deluging Web sites with malicious and defamatory comments and false rumors; in a few cases, such statements were blamed in the suicides of celebrities.

But free-speech advocates condemned the rule, arguing that the government was using perceived abuses as a convenient excuse to discourage political criticism. They feared that people would censor themselves rather than provide their names, which would make it easier for the government to find and possibly punish them.

On Thursday, an eight-judge Constitutional Court panel unanimously ruled that the restriction violated the right to free speech.

Restriction on freedom of expression can be justified only when it is clear that it benefits public interests, the court said in its verdict. Its difficult to say that the regulation is achieving public interests.

Under President Lee Myung-bak, the governments crackdown on Internet freedom has merited rebukes not just from free speech advocates at home, but also from the United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of expression and Reporters Without Borders, which said censorship was focused, in part, on political opinions.

But the governments attempts to purge profanity and harsh criticisms of individuals on the Web has backing, especially among social conservatives who fear the Web is eating away at the social fabric, which values deference to elders and those in authority.

On Thursday, the court said there has not been a significant drop in the amount of illegal content posted on local Web sites since the laws adoption. The ruling said the law discriminated against local Web sites, causing many South Korean users to patronize overseas-based Web sites or social networking services like Facebook and Twitter.

South Korean activists have filed a series of lawsuits against what they consider illegal barriers to freedom of speech. They won another major case in 2010, when the Constitutional Court killed a law that punished spreading false rumors online.

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South Korean Court Overturns Online Name Verification Law

23-08-2012 04:02 The role of social media in the recent unrest from Mumbai to the South has been unprecedented, and the Indian government has cracked down hard - blocking nearly 300 sites. Separately, the Prime Minister's Office had asked Twitter to block six handles which misrepresent themselves as being the Prime Minister's. While communal, inflammatory posts must be stopped, given the freedom on the net can hate be entirely stopped? And how do we maintain the fine balance between blocking hate speech and free speech? Watch full show:

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Should social media be regulated? - Video

CREDIT: A Pasco father convinces the Florida Department of Education to revise its course codes so high school students can earn weighted credit for more acclerated courses.(Times file photo)

FREE SPEECH: A Hillsborough family sues the school district after their son is prohibited from distributing invitations to a church Easter party.

PAY UP: A Hernando County high school principal angers some parents with his efforts to collect unpaid student fees and debts.

NEVERENDING STORY: It seems like the Pinellas school district has been searching for a superintendent for years, columnist John Romano writes. Even so, the best option appears to be to restart its current search, the Times editorializes.

TOSSED: A state administrative law judge finds that the State Board of Education failed to properly write rules on teacher evaluations, the Florida Times-Union reports.

SUMMERTIMEBLUES:Florida students struggle without summer school, NPR reports.

RESTRAINT: The Palm Beach school district takes steps to reduce its use of restraint and seclusion of special needs students, the Palm Beach Post reports.

HIGH TECH: Okaloosa schools aim to improve their use of technology in the classroom, the Northwest Florida Daily News reports. (Story package)

BEHIND: Florida ACT scores improve but still sit near the bottom of the nation, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Excerpt from:
Florida education news: High school credit, free speech, summer school and more

NEWTON, NC County property can now be used to express free speech.

Catawba County Board of Commissioners on Monday night unanimously approved an amended ordinance that allows free speech on county property but it also sets conditions.

County Attorney Debra Bechtel told commissioners that when a group came to the county in May wanting to express their freedom of speech, county officials first said no because its ordinance required a 14-day notice. The 14-day notice requirement had been in place since the mid -1990s.

After reconsidering the request, county officials changed their minds and allowed the group to use the Justice Center grounds to protest an anti-gay rights sermon that Providence Road Baptist Church Pastor Charles L. Worley gave on Mothers Day.

But county staff started reviewing the policy and reworked the ordinance to allow county property to be used for free speech expression.

On Monday, Commissioner Barbara Beatty asked Bechtel if the county can require groups to get insurance coverage before using county property for free speech events.

Bechtel said she reviewed numerous court cases and the US Supreme Court ruled that requiring insurance puts a chilling effect on free speech.

The ordinance does require:

In other business, commissioners:

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Catawba County Board of Commissioners approves speech ordinance

WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Lawyers for both the ACLU and the Mayor of Westfield will meet Monday at the U.S. District Court in Springfield.

In March, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Mayor Daniel Knapik, claiming that he violated free speech.

It all stems from an incident that allegedly happened just hours before last year's November election.

The ACLU says Mayor Daniel Knapik placed a call to the DPW, ordering workers to remove campaign signs for Councilor David Flaherty.

The signs were reportedly taken from a private residence on East Silver Street.

According to Councilor Flaherty's lawyers, the two men have a, "contentious" relationship.

Bill Newman, the Director of the western Mass. ACLU says if the allegation is true, it would be a violation of the first amendment.

It's a story the city of Westfield has been following very closely, especially since April, when it was voted on that taxpayer dollars would be used to pay the legal bill for the lawsuit.

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Westfield free speech lawsuit in court

17-08-2012 10:20 The Avatar Course, often simply called Avatar, is a series of LGAT self-development courses founded in 1986 by Harry Palmer and run by his privately held company, Star's Edge, Inc., which trains and licenses Avatar Masters (teachers) to deliver the Avatar Course worldwide. Free Speech TV's Michael Tipton sat down to discuss three Avatar teaches at the Lohas Forum 2012. He gets a quick treatment and understanding of "compassion".

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LOHAS 2012_Avatar Course Interview - Video

17-08-2012 15:25 Free Speech TV's Michael Tipton caught up with Carrina Waneka the Business Outreach Associate, Colorado Carbon Fund. This discussion was recorded at the 2012 Lohas Forum in Boulder, Colorado.

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LOHAS 2012_Colorado Carbon Fund Interview - Video

17-08-2012 09:05 Free Speech TV's, Michael Tipton interviews 2012 Lohas Forum exhibitors who were set up at Rembrandt Yard Gallery in Boulder, Colorado.

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LOHAS 2012_Rembrandt Yard Exhibitor_011 - Video

17-08-2012 09:23 Free Speech TV's, Michael Tipton interviews 2012 Lohas Forum exhibitors who were set up at Rembrandt Yard Gallery in Boulder, Colorado.

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LOHAS 2012_Rembrandt Yard Exhibitor_012 - Video