Archive for the ‘Freedom of Speech’ Category
Too Dangerous to Print: Liberal University Bias
Thomas Paine once said, “He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself.” How true these words are. One of the most fundamental reflections of liberty is the freedom to question, challenge and debate the world around us. This freedom does not exist everywhere in the United States and certainly not at the university level.
Posted in Glenn Beck: Why Was Shirley Sherrod Ousted?
Glen was one of the first commentator to support Shirley Sherrod who outed from her job at USDA without justification for a speech she gave last spring to the NAACP referring to a white farmer looking for help. Her speech was taken out of context and no one from the government or NAACP investigated the release video before coming to conclusions.
President Wants to Censor the Internet?
It is not surprising that the President made the following statement last weekend at the Hampton University Commencement. The internet media is a wealth of information and any restriction of the flow of information must be prevented:
And meanwhile, you’re coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don’t always rank that high on the truth meter. And with iPods and iPads; and Xboxes and PlayStations — none of which I know how to work — (laughter) — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. So all of this is not only putting pressure on you; it’s putting new pressure on our country and on our democracy.
It must be noted that the Washington administration has made ample use of the internet to get their information out. So, is the President implying certain information should be eliminated?
The only pressure I see caused by all the information on the internet is toward the politicians, that their actions have been noted and elections are coming up!
Toledo Blade Article Gets University Employee Fired
By Warner Todd Huston
We are certainly used to seeing the MSM causing trouble for conservatives and this one is no different at least on that level. But the interesting thing here is that the trouble a social conservative discovered was as a result of what she wrote in the MSM as opposed to what was written about her by the MSM. It seems that the opinion editorial written by Crystal Dixon for the Toledo Blade got her fired by the University of Toledo because… well, you know how universities are all about free expression and speech, right? Unfortunately for Dixon, though, hers wasn’t the proper, politically correct sort of speech that is officially approved of by the thugs at the University of Toledo.
You see, Crystal Dixon made the mistake of believing that this whole silly idea of “freedom of religion” also applied to our institutions of higher learning. She foolishly asserted in her Toledo Blade op ed that as far as her religious beliefs are concerned, homosexuality is a choice made by the individual instead of some genetic predisposition, that someone chooses to engage in homosexual activities instead of assuming that being gay is forced upon one by “nature.”
Of course, Dixon based her entire op ed on her Christian religious beliefs. It was no hate filled rant and was quite civil, even tempered, and to the point. But the gay mafia inside the University of Toledo must be awfully powerful. Or, at the very least, fear of them was enough to stifle — no, execute — Mrs. Dixon over what the president of UoT must imagine is her wretched religious extremism.
President Dr. Lloyd Jacobs dashed off a letter summarily firing Mrs. Dixon from her $134,383 a year job as associate vice president for employee resources.
A letter to Ms. Dixon informing her of her termination, stated “The public position you have taken in the Toledo Free Press is in direct contradiction to university policies and procedures as well as the core values of the strategic plan which is mission critical.”
It went on to say her position calls into question her ability to continue in her role as an administrator in charge of personnel actions and decisions and that “the result is a loss of confidence in you as an administrator.”
Don’t you DARE have any religious beliefs in an American university. Well… unless it is the church of Satan, or Islam, global warming, anti-Jewish or feminism you want to belong to. Those are perfectly fine religious opinions in the halls of our fetid universities it should be noted.
INTERNET EVANGELIST RECEIVES DEATH THREATS FROM MUSLIMS FOR POSTING TRAILER OF ANTI-MUSLIM FILM “FITNA”
St. Petersburg, FL – Mar 31, 2008 – Bill Keller, the world's leading Internet Evangelist and the founder of LivePrayer.com, has received numerous death threats from Muslims who want him dead for posting the controversial anti-Muslim movie trailer FITNA on his website. Fitna is a film by Dutch politician Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Dutch parliament. The movie offers his view on Islam and the Qur'an.
The film's title comes from the Arabic word fitna which is used to describe "disagreement and division among people", or a "test of faith in times of trial". The sixteen minute movie shows a selection of Suras from the Qur'an, interspersed with partial newspaper clippings and media clips. The movie is accompanied by music from the Peer Gynt suite by Edvard Grieg.
When asked why Liveprayer would put such a movie on their website Keller responded, "People have been lulled to sleep thinking that terror is caused by a handful of extremists. That is not the case. All Muslims read from the same book, and to obey "allah," are expected to obey what their holy book teaches. That includes death to all infidels, or those who won't covert to their false religion, and ruling the world. This film is very graphic, but people need to see and know what Islam is really about, converting the world to their false beliefs through terror and death!"
Live Leak, a British video-sharing website pulled the movie after the organization reported "serious" threats to its staff members. "Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly affect thesafety of some staff members, LiveLeak has been left with no other choice but to remove FINTA from our servers. This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else." the organization said.
The movie can be viewed at: http://liveprayer.com/fitna.cfm
About Bill Keller
The press has crowned him the Dr. Phil of Prayer and the next big thing in mass media religion. Bill Keller is the host of Live Prayer with Bill Keller, the nation¹s only live call-in faith and values-based program airing exclusively on the internet. The program deals head-on with issues ranging from divorce, homosexuality, abortion, sexual abuse, pornography, drug addiction, radical Islam, race relations, spousal abuse, false prophets and more, from a conservative, biblical worldview. Live Prayer is unscripted and unedited, giving it a fresh and totally spontaneous approach to problem solving. The program can be seen live, Monday through Friday from 10PM to 12AM EST, and 24/7 through programs archived on LivePrayer.com. Live Prayer with Bill Keller is positioned to become the world¹s most-watched internet television broadcast. For information please visit www.liveprayer.com. About Live Prayer.com In 1999, Keller launched LivePrayer.com, which has become the most successful online faith outreach in history. Since its inception, LivePrayer.com has responded personally to more than 60 million online requests for prayer. Additionally, Keller¹s Live Prayer devotional is received daily by nearly 2.5 million email subscribers, making Keller devotional one of the most read e-communications in the world. For information on where to watch Live Prayer in your area, visit www.liveprayer.com Media Contact: Bill Keller
727-420-7005
bkeller@liveprayer.com
Has the West Lost its Manhood?
By Warner Todd Huston
The west’s current battle with radical Islam has revealed the worst in both the west and the world of Islam. Obviously from Islam we have seen the intolerance, hatred, oppression and evil in its nature. But, from the west we have seen revealed the hollowness of its soul and a complete lack of self-regard as so many western nations allow the evil of Islam to attack them from within as well as from without. The west has lost its spine to stand up for its own principles, in fact has thrown away all pretext that it even has principles worth preserving.
Ben Franklin is reported to have said that for the American people the Founders had created a Republic but he added the caution "if you can keep it." By that he meant, of course, that it was up to future Americans to maintain the system grounded upon the first principles the Founders bequeathed to us. The same can be said of any society for if a society throws away or strays too far from its beginnings it becomes a materially different entity. Now sometimes it’s a good thing when a society strays from its genesis, to be sure. Leaving behind certain prejudices, rectifying the suppression of ideas or ending the oppression of minorities is the mark of a maturing, benevolent society. But, too much change can also be a bad thing. And change merely for changes sake is not a legitimate goal.
This dual reliance on conserving tradition while moving forward to liberalize society is familiar ground for the west in general and the United States in particular. The Founders clearly believed that both liberalization and conservatism could be enshrined in a modern state. After all, the whole thrust of the Founders’ ideology was that they were combining a preservation of the best of English tradition with the liberalization of government by the consent of the people and the ideals of religious liberty.
To the American Founders, these were principles well worth fighting for. Read the rest of this entry »
Ignorance Is Bliss, Or Is It?
by Nancy Salvato
If there is one thing for certain in this world, it is when Jack Nicholson plays the male protagonist in a film, his performance will be outstanding. As McMurphy, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, his impression on me is as compelling today –as it was over 30 years ago when I first watched him bring to consciousness the minds of assorted inmates staying on Nurse Ratched’s ward of the mental institution. The message I took away while watching McMurphy undermine Nurse Ratched’s authority over her unit -until she has him lobotomized, stands the test of time. Power hungry people will resort to any means necessary to maintain control. Although Nurse Ratched’s actions were extreme, her display taught me just how vulnerable people are if they are labeled mentally unstable or forfeit the responsibility of making decisions on their own behalf. Those placed in their charge are not necessarily looking out for them.
Inherent in writing and exposing one’s own ideas about terrorism (or the war against radical Islamism), the border threat, or political correctness, is the likelihood of being branded a right wing nut. Being labeled as such isn’t personally offensive (I’ve begun to grow my Alligator Skin) but there is the danger that being branded as such could chip away at my credibility, which is the whole idea behind such mudslinging. This is why it’s so important to be able to back up an argument with facts. This is extremely difficult in the face of a movement doing everything it can to shut down ideas which run counter to their own.
For example, let’s look at the Fairness Doctrine. In an editorial titled the Unfairness Doctrine, the editors of the National Review Online point out that even though Fairness Doctrine was not passed into law this time around, other forms of legislation could equally serve to stifle free speech. The liberal think tank "Center for American Progress," founded and run by former Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta, has proposed there be new national and local limits on the number of radio stations one company can own, a de facto quota system to ensure that more women and minorities own radio stations, and that the government should require commercial owners who fail to abide by enforceable public interest obligations to pay a fee to support public broadcasting.
Lift Up Thy Voice as the First Admendment Nears Death
PHILADELPHIA – Repent America (RA) is urgently calling Christians not to exercise their "right to remain silent" as the federal "hate crimes" bill proposal, H.R. 1592, heads for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, May 3, 2007.
"H.R. 1592 is an unnecessary, unconstitutional, and un-American bill, which, with the aid of homosexual-friendly prosecutors, will be used to criminalize Christians for their thoughts, beliefs, and speech," stated Repent America director Michael Marcavage. "The silence of the American church, together with the unrelenting rage of the ungodly, will soon result in the widespread incarceration of true believers," said Marcavage.
In October of 2004, eleven Christians with RA were arrested while ministering and preaching the Word of God and the Gospel message on the public streets and sidewalks of Philadelphia during a taxpayer-funded celebration of homosexuality. After spending 21 hours in jail, the District Attorney’s office charged the eleven under Pennsylvania’s hate crimes law, along with a host of other felony and misdemeanor charges. These charges were later dismissed, but if convicted, the Christians would have faced up to 47 years in prison and $90,000 in fines each.
Man Loses Job For Calling Mexicans ‘Mexicans’!
When do words that properly identify a generalized group of people become offensive enough to lose one's job?
Pipe welder Bill Hendeley Jr. said he was fired from his job Wednesday for using the word "Mexican" in describing a person from Mexico at a group safety meeting.
Hendeley said he has worked for Fagen Inc., an engineering and construction company based in Granite Falls, Minn., off and on for the past 10 years. The company is building an addition to the Big River Resources ethanol production plant in West Burlington.
Hendeley, who recently moved to Burlington, said he has never been fired, has never even been reprimanded for making inappropriate comments, and co–workers describe him as a model employee.
At a group safety meeting Wednesday, however, Hendeley singled out supervisors and a Hispanic worker for smoking in inappropriate places. Smoking is only allowed in a designated area across the road from the plant.
"I guess if you're a supervisor or a Mexican, you can smoke anywhere you like," Hendeley reportedly told an Hispanic safety supervisor.
Several days earlier, a Caucasian worker was suspended by a Hispanic supervisor for smoking in the parking lot of the plant, said Jeff Kokemiller, a Fagen employee.
Following the suspension, Hendeley and his co–workers said they observed supervisors and a Hispanic woman smoking in trailers near the plant.
Hendeley said he simply was pointing out discrepancies in policy enforcement.
Source: The Hawkeye
New Muslim Outrage Materializes
by Sher Zieve
As we in the Western world have come to expect, many Muslims and Islamic organizations claim "outrage" at almost anything and everything they can find. They rioted, burned buildings and vehicles over cartoons that parodied their prophet Muhammad. Then Muslims rioted, burned buildings and vehicles and even murdered a nun when Pope Benedict XVI quoted a 14th century Emperor who was critical of Islam. Like the Left, apparently, they have little to do—except riot or protest and attempt to silence all of those who have the unmitigated gall to disagree with their tenets of belief. Political correctness has completely taken over the secularists of the West, which has become feckless, jaded and pathetic. Now, all that terrorists and their supporters have to do is complain that they are "being discriminated against" (and threaten to call someone—somewhere—a "racist") and the West caves easily and willingly to all of their demands. Nowhere is this surrender more evident than in the case of Muslims’ latest indignation.