***Supreme Court Eliminates 1st Amendment Rights: America Died Today***

Stardate: 0312.10

[The Wizard]

In a move that will eliminate the 1st amendment protections of free speach was just announced.....

America, established by the the Founding Fathers in 1776, has ended.

[Looking for Diogenes]

This court needs to be impeached.

This court didn't pass and sign the law. Congress and the President did. Maybe you should start there.

[Sam Cree]

"This is not a conservative/liberal issue."

Well, it's not if you think conservatives and liberals hold similar positions on conserving our liberties, freedoms and the Constitution. IMO, that's not a very credible position to take, though.

"A majority on this court think the Constitution is largely irrelevant"

Seems that way.

[Sam Cree]

"He can argue that he signed the legislation expecting that a rational Supreme Court would toss out the objectionable parts, but that a group of predominantly liberal-left justices voted to take away Americans' free speech rights."

Not expecting him to do that. It would be an admission of serious miscalculation on his part.

I'll be interested if GW has any comment at all on this.

[ladyinred]

Yes, I support President Bush. I am not happy however, that this supreme court seems to go against the constitution at every turn.

[antiRepublicrat]

I don't see how we could make an amendment any clearer than the one we already have.

I agree with his point. It used to be that the government realized it needed an amendment in order to do things the Constitution didn't give it power to do. For example, long ago they needed an amdendment to prohibit alcohol, yet now they do the same thing with drugs through regular laws.

Now this idea of circumventing the Constitution is entrenched. Formerly the idea was used for the government to gain powers not given it by the Constitution (as above), but in the last few decades they've gotten bold enough to attack basic constitutional rights.

[holdmuhbeer]

and what law would that be?

[zook]

"BS
It was a campaign promise he made to veto it

And if he signed it expecting it to be declared uncostitutional then he is a fraud"

You're upset. Think, man. Bush is operating in the arena of real politics, not some libertarian debate society. If he's a fraud, then we're all frauds. I'm not and he's not. It's sad he's "shaken your faith in the system" (or something like that). But trashing him now is an exercise in political self destruction.

[Prime Choice]

In a move that will eliminate the 1st amendment protections of free speach was just announced.....

America, established by the the Founding Fathers in 1776, has ended.

Geez, pal...where you been when the Second, Fourth, Fifth and Ninth Amendments were annihilated? And you're only upset about the First Amendment?

Yeah, well don't expect me to get too worked up. All these people whining that the First Amendment is dead are still able to say, write and print whatever they want. If their concerns were even remotely real, they wouldn't even be able to voice these concerns.

Meanwhile, those of us who have been voicing similar concerns on the abrogation of the Second Amendment run the VERY REAL risk of prison time if we exercise our Constitutionally-guaranteed Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

I am so sick of all these people who are ONLY NOW discovering that our rights are under attack. Where the hell were you people 40 years ago??

[holdmuhbeer]

would somebody explain to me how cfr restricts free speech?

[nickcarraway]

President Bush shouldn't have signbed the law, but he wasn't the one who pushed it through. In fact, he campaigned against it. Without McCain, this ``law'' would not exist.

[UCANSEE2]

Do you think it is OK to prohibit negative campaign ads 60 days prior to an election?

I believe this change in interpretation by the USSC should not be accepted by the American Public.

Instead, what we should do is ENFORCE laws already on the books, and ask a little common sense from NETWORK stations and owners.

If the campaign commercial is 'dirty', refuse to air it.

If the campaign commercial contains libel and slander, then SUE the Tv station, the creators of the AD, and the politician it supports.

This is why we constantly have so many problems here in the US.

We have laws that work, we just don't enforce them. Instead we are told we must have new laws, or new interpretations. This change in the interpretation will do no good. What element will decide which AD is 'dirty'? What constitutes 'dirty'?

Since the principals that design, air, and pay for the ADS will be in control of who decides (since they will have it under their control because it is part of federal law), NOTHING CHANGES.

[Captain Kirk]

The "court" didn't sign this legislation into law. The president did. Should he be "impeached" too?

[zook]

"Not expecting him to do that. It would be an admission of serious miscalculation on his part."

Sometimes such an admission can pay off. It's a miscalculation that millions of Americans also made.

[Captain Kirk]

John McCain didn't sign this bill into law. Let's not pass the buck.

[Always Right]

People, money isn't speech, speech is speech.

If you can regulate the money needed to make speech, you have regulated speech. You can't have speech without money.

[Always Right]

It is only enforceable on the major media and large special interest groups. Grass roots organizers are free to speak their mind as always.

It is enforceable against any size group, profit or non-profit.

[nickcarraway]

Obviously every member of Congress who voted for this, and President Bush did the wrong thing. No one should deny that. But the U.S. public never supported this legislation, and it was only done through McCain's will and the media. President Bush campaigned against this law, and he shouldn't have signed it, when it passed, no matter what the political repurcussions were.

[uncbob]

Think, man. Bush is operating in the arena of real politics, not some libertarian debate society. I

Well that REAL POLITIK just screwed the BILL OF RIGHTS

And just what arena was he operating in when he PROMOISED TO VETO IT