Facts of the Case (From Findlaw.com)
During World War I, Schenck mailed circulars to draftees. The circulars suggested that the draft was a monstrous wrong motivated by the capitalist system. The circulars urged "Do not submit to intimidation" but advised only peaceful action such as petitioning to repeal the Conscription Act. Schenck was charged with conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act by attempting to cause insubordination in the military and to obstruct recruitment.
Actually the by facts of the case this was indeed free protected speech. Why? Because the first amendment is precisely about political speech; this is why John Adams gets a bad rap, the Alien and Sedition Acts were blatant violations of the Constitution, particularly the Sedition Act which made the First Amendment of no effect where it touched the politics of wars the Congress had decided to pursue. (i.e. it was exactly the same as this WWI case.)
Furthermore, despite being a socialist that published the tracts there is, aside from the urge for noncompliance, nothing remotely criminal therein. But if compliance itself was immoral, as the case he was making said, then compliance thereunto would also be immoral. (Consider the case of raw milk here in the US, people are making the claim that they can co-op a cow [basically buy shares of it] and then drink the milk the cow produces as [part] owner without regard to government regulation; the government asserts that this is incorrect and that it has the right and power to force compliance. The non-compliant party is making no violent gestures, but the government is threatening property, freedom, and even life in its assertions.)
To further add insult to this case, the item that [arguably] justified the US entry into the war was the sinking of the RMS Lusitania -- the sinking of which is rather justified [it was carrying war-supplies] and the German embassy attempted to place warning ads into US newspapers. So what we get is actually a scenario that is rather like Fast & Furious in its underhandedness.
German embassy officials attempted to place full-page ads in 50 U.S. newspapers reading:-- From this site.“Notice! Travelers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies … travelers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great Britain … do so at their own risk.”Due to actions taken by the U.S. State Department, 49 of those 50 newspapers never ran the ad.“The German government took out large ads in all the New York papers warning potential passengers that the ship was carrying munitions and telling them not to cross the Atlantic on it … Yet the sinking of the Lusitania was used by clever propagandists to portray the Germans as inhuman slaughterers of innocents. Submarine warfare was manufactured into a cause célèbre to push us into war."Midday May 7th, off the coast of Ireland, the Lusitania was ordered to reduce speed, and “Juno,” its British military escort vessel, was ordered to withdraw.
Gary Allen, “None Dare Call it Conspiracy”
The "crowded theater" excuse is just that, an excuse to validate contra-constitutional laws. By making this stupid "public safety" exception we now have precedent to quell any sort of speech so long as we can tie it to "public safety," just as is happening with Islam/anti-Islamic sentiment. Indeed, how far off is it before the arguments for raw milk themselves aren't protected speech because raw milk is a danger to public safety; or sentiments against the War on Drugs, or sentiments on government corruption? (The correct ruling, of course, for falsely shouting "fire in a crowded theater" is to hold that the shouter is liable for all injury-expenses in civil court, and liable for manslaughter/murder charges in the case of deaths.)
I get pissed off at all the inconsistencies in law, especially the ones used to justify either a) further encroachment onto constitutionally guaranteed rights, or b) an objective injustice.
Thank you for the education. I’m never surprised when I’m shown how long the erosion of our rights has actually been taking place. It’s these lousy precedents that keep getting built upon that’s killing us!.
That is, in fact, it.
The closest thing I see to the “shouting fire in a theater” rule would be desecrating an American flag in the presents of veterans. But I guess because veterans expressed their outrage through civil and legal means, they weren’t taken seriously.
Now if veterans had gone into ‘rage-boy’ mode and stomped some flag desecraters to death, maybe the Supreme Court would have considered desecration of the flag a 1st Amendment violation.
Obama and Hillary Clinton also said crap like “this film is offensive to a great religions” or some crap like that. Obama even arrested this film maker for making a movie. for that alone Obama should be impeached. that Is the act of a dictator and is tyranny. He has freedom to make a film about anything and not to have Obama’s brown shirts bring him in for questioning, and the media exposing his identity so Muslims can murder him.
Firs of all this film just says the truth about Muhammad and Islam that he was a pervert as he married a 6 year old girl and that Islam is lies. 2nd of all even if this was to slander evil Islam the film maker has freedom of speech to make a film about damn thing he wants to.
A government is so large and has so much power and guns etc compared to an individual .And stupid democrats want to increase government power and to take away our freedoms and freedom of speech which is essential to free society that is productive. Without freedom of speech you don't have freedom you don't have truth.
Islam is an evil cult of lies and should be exposed. this film maker deserves an award for his bravery but instead all liberals and Obama prosecute him and Obama even arrested this man for making a film and this is hidden by the media. democrats are trained monkeys not even human. no human could trust government to run healthcare better than the free market, no human could believe that making a film is a crime and that government has a right to tell us what to say. democrats think that making a film is the crime but don't condemn the cult of Islam and Muslims who are the ones who committed these terrorist acts against U.S. embassies and Americans . I can't believe how liberals/democrats think. I really believe there is no way to compromise with these cretins.
Obama and Hillary Clinton also said crap like “this film is offensive to a great religion of Islam” or some crap like that. Obama even arrested this film maker for making a movie. for that alone Obama should be impeached. that Is the act of a dictator and is tyranny. He has freedom to make a film about anything and not to have Obama’s brown shirts bring him in for questioning, and the media exposing his identity so Muslims can murder him.
First of all this film just says the truth about Muhammad and Islam that he was a pervert as he married a 6 year old girl and that Islam is lies. 2nd of all even if this was to slander evil Islam the film maker has freedom of speech to make a film about ANY damn thing he wants to.
A government is so large and has so much power and guns etc compared to an individual .And stupid democrats want to increase government power and to take away our freedoms and freedom of speech which is essential to free society that is productive. Without freedom of speech you don't have freedom you don't have truth. you don't have prosperity. democrats believe that government should be all powerful , with cameras watching our every move so that they can approve what sodas we drink , what we say , what we do and how we work etc. . They want us to be slaves of government. And now with technology they can control our every move more so than ever before in history. Sure stalin was a dictator, but could he control every move that some peasant living in a remote farm did? no . but democrats now have the tech to do it and that are salivating at that possibility , with tech they can make all of us slaves as never could be done in history. I hate democrats.
Islam is an evil cult of lies and should be exposed. this film maker deserves an award for his bravery but instead all liberals and Obama prosecute him and Obama even arrested this man for making a film and this is hidden by the media. democrats are trained monkeys not even human. no human could trust government to run healthcare better than the free market, no human could believe that making a film is a crime and that government has a right to tell us what to say. democrats think that making a film is the crime but don't condemn the cult of Islam and Muslims who are the ones who committed these terrorist acts against U.S. embassies and Americans . I can't believe how liberals/democrats think. I really believe there is no way to compromise with these cretins.
Too often people fail to notice this juxtaposition, criticizing someone for "rocking the boat", failing to note the incongruous lengths to which the government will go to stop that rocking.
Latest prime example: TSA is doing random checks of drinks bought inside the secured area. Most people would express dismay at someone resisting such a check: "why not allow the check? do you have something to hide?" Instead they should be outraged at insistence of the check: "TSA is willing to go so far as to arrest, even shoot, someone just for not consenting to a bought-in-the-secured-area coffee check? WTF?"