Free Republic

<p>Shaun Chichester says he was just expressing his outrage when he wore a "Whaq Iraq" T-shirt to J.P. Stevens High School in Edison last spring.</p> <p>But when school officials asked him to remove the shirt, he really got mad.</p> <p>Chichester, then a sophomore, removed the shirt without incident but vowed to change the school district's dress code, saying it violated his First Amendment rights to free speech. He petitioned school authorities shortly after the March 21 incident, asking them to adopt rules "reflecting students' free speech rights."</p>

A Texas court has ruled that the use of the middle finger does not constitute a breach of peace, even when used in anger. The state's third Court of Appeals ruled recently that the signal was not an "immediate breach of the peace", as had been found in a lower court, The Houston Chronicle reported today. The case involved Robert Lee Coggin, an impatient Austin driver who tailgated another driver until he pulled into the slower lane. Coggin pulled around to pass and allegedly gestured with his "impudent finger", court documents said. The slower driver, John Pastrano, a county jailer,...

Using the hand signal rooted in ancient times and popularly known today as "shooting the bird" may be rude, but it's not necessarily disorderly conduct, a Texas appeals court has ruled. At issue for the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin was whether Robert Lee Coggin incited "an immediate breach of the peace" when he allegedly gestured at a motorist with his raised middle finger two years ago as the former Lockhart resident tailgated a slow-moving vehicle in the left lane of U.S. 183. Coggin was charged under an obscure state law that says "a person commits an offense if...

Dear Friend, Mr. Art Lemasters has just joined Grassfire's historic "Virtual Caravan" to save the Ten Commandments, and is inviting you to do the same. Click here to become part of this five-state "Save the Ten Commandments Caravan": http://www.grassfire.net/35/petition.asp?PID=4642658 Grassfire.net is taking the Ten Commandments battle from Montgomery, Alabama to Washington, D.C., and we want you to be a part of our "virtual caravan"! HELP US TAKE THE MESSAGE TO AMERICA Grassfire.net is sponsoring a five state "Save the Ten Commandments Caravan" urging the Supreme Court to reverse the lower court ruling banning the Ten Commandments from public display. This...

Less than two months ago, Prime Minister Jean Chretien was assuring Canadians that the legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada would not lead to religious persecution. Various religious bodies in Canada would be permitted to continue holding and teaching their beliefs. My how things changed have changed over the summer. According to a recent article in the Globe and Mail, Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe of the Diocese of Sault Ste Marie is now under attack by some among Canada's political and social elite. Why? Because he had the audacity to take the Prime Minister at his word and clarify Catholic teaching...

This is Chapter 4 of Willmoore Kendall's "The Conservative Affirmation in America." I hope it's interesting. ---------------------- Chapter 4: Freedom of Speech in America I am often asked whether I am “for” or “against” freedom of speech, or what I understand to be the Conservative position on freedom of speech, or whether in my view freedom of speech is “defensible,” and should be defended, “on principle.” They are not “happy” questions, because I doubt whether the freedom of speech “issue,” as Mill for example stated it in the Essay, is a genuine, non-spurious, issue. Rather, it seems to me that...