FREE SPEECH ALERT! United Seniors' "Seven Dirty Words"

The reference to Social Security is one of 19 words and phrases the government prohibits on mailing envelopes because of concern that recipients -- think senior citizens -- would assume the correspondence came from the real Social Security Administration .

In 2001, the agency slapped a $554,196 fine, its second-largest, on United Seniors Association for using the phrases "Social Security Alert" and "Social Security Information Enclosed" on its mailings. The group was fined $1 for each piece of correspondence with the offending words.

The alleged violation was of a 1988 law that gave the agency the authority to bar the use of certain words -- including Medicare and Medicaid -- on advertisements, solicitations, books, pamphlets and other communication that could convey, or could be reasonably interpreted as conveying, that they were "approved, endorsed, or authorized" by the government.

The group appealed to an administrative law judge and lost, lost again at a Department of Health and Human Services appeals board, and took the case to federal court. In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit , in Richmond, ruled, "The repeated references to 'Social Security,' the 'Social Security Alert' border, the phony handling instructions, and the envelopes' resemblance to special shipping methods could reasonably lead recipients to believe that the envelopes contain official information relating to their Social Security benefits that must be dealt with at the earliest moment."

The full appeals court declined late last month to review the decision, so Charles Jarvis , United Seniors' chief executive, says he wants to test the constitutional issue at the Supreme Court. "I'm hopeful that a Roberts court with a Judge Alito on it will value basic First Amendment rights in the Social Security debate," Jarvis said. Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr . is the president's latest nominee for the Supreme Court.

The case may not turn out to be as interesting and salacious as Carlin's foul-mouthed monologue, but it illustrates the tension between a federal agency's effort to regulate speech and the argument that the First Amendment allows such marketing pitches...

The law was strengthened in 1994, and last year, the terms "Death Benefit Update," "Federal Benefit Information," "Funeral Expenses," and "Final Supplemental Plans" were added to the list of banned words. The maximum penalty is $5,000 per mailing. Since 1999, the SSA has received 616 complaints and assessed $2.8 million in fines.

United Seniors bills itself as a conservative alternative to AARP in supporting issues to help retired persons. It backs personal retirement accounts, for example, rather than the current Social Security benefits system. Its chairman is Art Linkletter . Jarvis served in the Reagan and first Bush administrations and is a former executive vice president of Focus on the Family , a conservative group that promotes traditional family values...

Jarvis said he hired a bipartisan team of attorneys in his court fight because the issue transcends political boundaries.

"What have become normal political-marketing techniques, which enliven the political debate, were held unlawful, and you have a nonprofit entity getting hit with a $500,000 fine. The First Amendment issues go right to how political ideas are marketed to the average person," said Robert J. Cynkar , who was special assistant to Edwin Meese III in the Reagan administration...

Jarvis said that the envelopes showed "United Seniors" as the sender and that the postage stamp also named the group.

www.usanext.org

"What have become normal political-marketing techniques...

Aha, so they admit they're immoral crooks.

I'm all in favor of free speech, but I don't believe this qualifies. I think it's a bit like yelling "fire" in a theater.

I feel bad for Senior who are duped by the fraudulent and deceptive practices of a lot of these advertisers and scam artists. I also take it personally. Although I have not been duped by these jerks, they cost me a lot of time that I have to spend filtering through all the crap they send.

Actually, the law I would most favor is one that requires anything unsolicited (i.e., anything that's not a bill, not requested by me, etc.) to be required to print "JUNK MAIL" prominently on the outside of the envelope. Then they could put all the scare words they wanted on them and I wouldn't even have to open them.

I'm certainly no fan of junk mail, but I'm even less of a fan of the government telling people what words they can or can't put on the outside of an envelope.

No scam. No fraud. No deception. No "Senior duped." No senior or any one else even complained -- except for Barney Frank and others of his ilk!

USA is just telling people the truth in informative mailings....like so many other freedom-loving groups and individuals -- like you. This is America. It is called Free Speech!