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SCOTUS Nominee Kagan On Free Speech Issues
DesScorp submitted one of a few stories I've seen about Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, whose confirmation hearings are supposed to start today (despite being a formality, given that she has the votes pretty much locked up). "SCOTUS nominee Elena Kagan hasn't left much of a paper trail during her legal career, which may make gauging her ideas and opinions somewhat difficult. But there are some positions she has made clear statements on, among them, pornography and 'hate speech.' In a 1993 University of Chicago seminar on the subject, Kagan argued that the government wasn't doing enough about the spread of porn or hate speech. She argued that new approaches were needed to fight their spread, as well as taking a fresh look at old approaches, such as obscenity laws. Kagan included herself among 'those of us who favor some form of pornography and hate speech regulation,' and told participants that 'a great deal can be done very usefully' to crack down on such evils."
This is exactly true.
the document plainly states that Congress shall make no law (1st amendment) and that the right shall not be infringed (2nd amendment).
You'll notice that even the most pro-gun judges have not upheld the First Amendment right to bear arms in their own courtroom.
pinko?
It's either false dichotomies, or the terrorists win, you decide.
If this comment was attacking Bush a few years ago, calling him a fascist, it might very well have been modded up (it also would've been true...). If we want a truly open forum here, we really shouldn't so quickly silence those who disagree with us.
Sorry, but Bush was very clearly not a fascist as not only is he no longer President, but neither are any of his political allies. The key reason I always opposed the labeling of Bush as a fascist was that he never took any steps that would have allowed him to control who his successor would be.
Obama has taken some steps that are reminiscent of fascism (the takeover of GM and Chrysler, his interaction with BP, plus a few other things), but it is certainly too early to label him as clearly a fascist. As we approach the 2012 elections we will have opportunity to see if he attempts to set things up to avoid the established electoral process. I do not believe that he is truly a fascist because most fascist leaders are control freaks and want to approve all aspects of every action and law, and Obama has demonstrated a willingness to pass off most of the detail work to others.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Yeah that's okay.
Would you prefer I post an anti-George Duh Bush paragraph instead? It reads pretty much the same as the Obama one. Only a fool thinks there's any REAL difference. Are you such a fool? ;-)
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Since the "left" is anti-freedom and pro-big-government (like a modern form of tyranny), you are spot on. They are trying to restore Feudalism, where the nobles (congress/parliament) run every facet of the serfs' lives. Slowly-but-surely we are becoming a plantation but on a continent-wide scale.
Don't believe? Consider that I am being fined $950 for exercising my Pro-choice right to not buy hospital insurance. What's next? Fines because I bought a normal car instead of a hybrid? Fines because I exceed 200 pounds? "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
You're problem is that, like most lefties, you're over-reading the mandate. The electorate voted Democratic mostly 1.) to punish Bush and the Republicans for being total fuck-ups, 2.) because the Republicans offered a weak, incompetent presidential candidate who repeatedly shot himself in the foot, and 3.) Obama presented himself as a moderate, not as a leftist.
Now that Obama and company have gone galloping off to the left, less than 2 years after their ascension the polls are strongly favoring the Republicans again. It's pretty well agreed by all pollsters that the Democrats are going to be taking a drubbing in the mid-terms, regardless whether the pollsters have a left or right bias.
You might also note that the Republicans that are winning primaries, ie Rand Paul, Sharon Angle and Mario Cuomo, are a lot farther to the right than the Republican party has been in years.
Overwhelmingly to the left, my ass!
American Third Position
Finally, a real choice!
They are not fascists. They are not like Hitler. They are the left but the authoritarian left. The authoritarian left leads to socialism of the kind that can result in secret prisons very much like what the Soviets had under the Communist regime. Once liberty is taken away you can't get it back without a fight.
So while the Democrats give you socialism and social programs, they take away your rights while they do it. Republicans just take away your rights and don't give you shit. I guess it's better to vote for the Democrats considering the options.
My answer to that is: "A black man, with a muslim name."
Pfffft! I was disgusted enough with the Republicans I nearly voted for Obama myself, and would have, if there hadn't been a third party to vote for (I voted for the Constitution party).
And, "Third Position", I never want to let a reply to you go buy without a mention that your name and your sig are links to a neo-Nazi organization - a foul outfit of nativists and racists, who believe we should be saving America "for the white race". You have to scratch a link beneath the scrubbed main page to get to the real disgusting stuff, but it doesn't appear that there's been any effort to hide the agenda of "Third Position".
Suit yourself. But if you're going to call it "neo-nazi" then I ask that you produce the proof of that assertion. There isn't any question the party advocates for the interests of white Americans. So what? Is that by definition "neo-nazi"? What does that make organizations like La Raza, the NAACP, or AIPAC? Why is it legitimate for other ethnic groups to advocate for their interests, but whites are neo-nazis when they advocate for theirs?
I don't see anyone advocating for gas chambers. If you can produce any such thing, please do.
American Third Position
Finally, a real choice!