"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."
Our forefathers set up an intricate set of basic rights that could be interpreted any number of ways. Certainly, current events has taught us this. However, I am amazed at the number of people that have misunderstood this basic right. I suppose it is to be expected with the number of bloggers and pundits we have going now. Here is a basic rundown of what I have seen go wrong with this particular amendment (in terms of understanding).
1) The first amendment does not guarantee the right to corporate sponsorship.
I'd otherwise call this the Glenn Beck rule. You can call the president a racist. Congress will not throw you in jail. You also may wake up the next day without any commercials on your program. Dr. Laura apparently did not learn this lesson. Suddenly, "liberals" that protest her excessive use of the N word to her sponsors are limiting her right to free speech. If we are all guaranteed sponsors I would like Apple, Taylor Made, and Cohiba to send me free samples immediately. I'll even include a paragraph each outlining why you should buy their product.
2) The first amendment does not guarantee the right to have others buy your product
To be perfectly fair, I will call this the Dixie Chicks rule. I could as easily call it the Matress Mac rule. Yes, you can spout off whatever you want. I have the right to agree or not and I have the right to shun what you're selling. I've never bought a Dixie Chicks album. It has nothing to do with what they said but more to do with my moratorioum on country music. Here's the thing though. People can then disagree with that last statement. Great country isn't it?
3) The first amendment does not protect you from your employer
I call this the John Rocker rule. For those that don't follow baseball, you might remember this guy as they Atlanta Brave that completely bagged on New York because of the "freak show" (his words not mine) that you might find on the subway train. MLB fined him and the critics really came out in force defending his right to free speech. I can say what I want at work and not get arrested. I can't guarantee I have a job tomorrow. Employers cannot fire you over religion, creed, ethnicity, gender, age, or military status, but that has nothing to do with the first amendment.
4) The first amendment does not protect your right to overtly lie
I call this the National Enquirer rule. Many years ago, SNL developed its Enquirer method of divining the truth. Two half truths equal the full truth. Big Foot may exist. Someone may have lost weight eating donuts. Therefore, Big Foot just discovered a miracle diet plan. Similarly, I'm waiting for someone to win a slander law suit against Fox News.
5) The first amendment does not guarantee your comment will be posted.
The moderators at our site are not Congress. We get to decided if any comment is abusive or does not forward the discussion in any constructive way. I don't ban comments often but will if the need arises.
So, the next time you see a blogger or hear a radio/tv personality complain about censorship you can sit back like me and laugh.
I am especially fond of the Dixie Chicks rule, and the real reason for not buying that product!
Scott - Those "crazy pills" seem to be working wonders for the blog. Don't put them down just yet, eh?
Carguy indeed hit the ball out of the park!
that's brilliant...thanks!
I love new Texas drivers licenses for just THAT reason. Advise to all, renew by mail.
I took a course in that, here's what you do....you put down, as references, companies that are no longer in business and people who are dead.
If Roger had simply claimed, MIckey Mantle, Thurman Munson, and Roger Maris can clear my name, who'd have disputed THEIR word.
Don't be apologizing to me. I agree with you 100%. I just think that Roger caught a tough break with Congress sticking their nose in where it didn't belong. But, make no mistake about it, once Pettitte torpedoed his battleship, he should have said I did it,I didn';t think it was wrong. I shouldn't have done it. I DID win 4 of those Cy Young awards legitimatly.
Roger's biggest mistake, however, was hiring Hardin. Oh, throwing his wife under the bus was probably a bad move, in retrospect.
Padding the resume is not lying, it's just showing ambition. As for Facebook, those really are pictures of me..no matter how many pounds ago that was.
And once I collect my uniform from Mr. Monster I'm gonna add that, too.
As for padding the resume...I don't need any extra motivation for that...just practice.
Clemens is a disloyal self-interested scumbag...sorry Carguy.
True, I suppose you can lie if you are not under oath and if does not damage someone else's reputation. The ruling makes legal sense even if it doesn't make common sense.
Funny you should bring this up. News story today says that a federal court has UPHELD that guy's RIGHT to claim he was a war hero and the he was awarded the "Medal of Honor" even though he wasn't and didn't.
I guess that now opens the gates for everybody to pad their resume and/or Facebook page. Lying in this country is apparently now "protected", unless, of course, you are Roger Clemens.
Bad break Rog.
heheheheh scot - isn't #5 also known as the: you're in MY house rule ?