Free Republic

The American Civil Liberties Union’s New Jersey affiliate did its historic mission proud last week — standing tall for free, if problematic, speech. The chapter last fall took up the case of Derek Fenton, a New Jersey Transit worker fired for burning pages of the Koran during a September protest against the proposed Ground Zero mosque. Fenton acted on his own time, with no suggestion whatsoever that he was connected with NJTransit. He was within his rights, in other words. The state completely caved on Friday: In a settlement, Fenton will get back his $86,110-a-year job, plus back pay and...

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday backed the controversial firing of a transit worker who burned pages of the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero.NJTransit fired assistant train coordinator Derek Fenton Monday, just two days after he ripped pages from the Koran and torched them with a lighter on the ninth anniversary of 9/11."We're supportive of the action taken by NJTransit," Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak told the Daily News.But one New Jersey state senator defended Fenton's constitutional right to free speech and criticized his firing.Fenton was not in uniform and apparently not on the clock when he...

Yesterday we learned that Derek Fenton was fired from his job for burning a Koran at Ground Zero. Despite Supreme Court cases permitting such acts as protected speech, the Constitution seems to take a back seat to Islamo-Correctness. Are the actions of Fenton a sign of increased intolerance or just a healty American defense of liberty? The National Review has an excellent article written by Clifford D. May entitled, Cry Islamophobia! And let slip the dogs of culture war. May argues that there is not an increase in American disdain for Muslims, but for Islam. One reason for this is...

<p>#pollresults-content { width: 460px; float: left; } <p>#pollresults-boxad { width: 300px; float: left; } <p> Poll Results Do you think Derek Fenton deserved to be fired? Yes - What he did was despicable 53% No - He was expressing freedom of speech 27% I don't know 20%

My friend, writer Diana West has blogged about a breaking New York Daily News story which captures (or should, even for those who remain willfully blind to the burgeoning phenomenon) how local US state institutions are obsequiously imposing Sharia norms. New Jersey Transit worker Derek Fenton was summarily fired -- an 11 year career coming to a sudden end -- for his peaceful act of First Amendment protected protest (see the video here): The protester who burned pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero has been fired from NJ Transit, sources and authorities said Tuesday. Derek...

The protester who burned pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero has been fired from NJTransit, sources and authorities said Tuesday. Derek Fenton's 11-year career at the agency came to an abrupt halt Monday after photographs of him ripping pages from the Muslim holy book and setting them ablaze appeared in newspapers.

A New Jersey man who burned pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero was fired from his job at NJ Transit, sources and authorities confirmed. Derek Fenton, an 11-year employee at NJ Transit, was fired Monday, the agency said in a statement, two days after he was photographed burning the Koran. "Mr. Fenton's public actions violated New Jersey Transit's code of ethics," NJ Transit said.

‘Burn the Quran Day’ Plan Prompts Warnings of Anger, Unrest Wednesday, August 25, 2010 By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor SNIPPET: "(CNSNews.com) – The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has joined the growing condemnation of plans by a Florida church to burn copies of the Quran on the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. A spokesman for the Jeddah-based bloc of Islamic states expressed concern Tuesday that the planned action by the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville would stir up “anger across the Muslim world and provoke unrest.” The OIC said it hoped the U.S. government would “take...

<p>The man captured on camera ripping pages out of a Koran and burning them near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan Saturday -- the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks -- was fired from his job at NJ Transit, the New Jersey transportation provider told NewsCore Tuesday.</p>