Ninth Circuit Rules Bloggers Have First Amendment Protection in Defamation Suits

Tags

blogging, Freedom of the Press

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that bloggers and the general public have the same First Amendment protection as journalists holding that “liability for a defamatory blog post involving a matter of public concern cannot be imposed without proof of fault and actual damages”,.

…The protections of the First Amendment do not turn on whether the defendant was a trained journalist, formally affiliated with traditional news entities, engaged in conflict-of-interest disclosure, went beyond just assembling others’ writings, or tried to get both sides of a story.

As the Supreme Court has accurately warned, a First Amendment distinction between the institutional press and other speakers is unworkable: “With the advent of the Internet and the decline of print and broadcast media . . . the line between the media and others who wish to comment on political and social issues becomes far more blurred.” Citizens United, 558 U.S. at 352. In defamation cases, the public-figure status of a plaintiff and the public importance of the statement at issue—not the identity of the speaker—provide the First Amendment touchstones….

We therefore hold that the Gertz negligence requirement for private defamation actions is not limited to cases with institutional media defendants. Obsidian Finance Group LLC et al v. Crystal Cox (9th Cir. Jan. 17, 2014), pp. 11-12.

As stated by Eugene Volokh (the Volokh Conspiracy) who represented Crystal Cox against Obsidian Finance Group LLC :

… I think that’s right, not just as a matter of First Amendment principle but also as a matter of history and precedent (as I documented at length in Freedom for the Press as an Industry, or for the Press as a Technology? From the Framing to Today, 160 U. Pa. L. Rev. 459 (2012))….

http://www.volokh.com/2014/01/17/bloggers-media-first-amendment-libel-law-purposes/

Media protests Obama White House censorship of photojournalists.

Tags

Barack Obama, First Amendment Violations, Freedom of the Press, mainstream media, Propaganda, state censorship, White House

For five years, the media has permitted the Obama administration to control news, images including any videos coming out of the White House.  One can go so far as to say that the mainstream media has been complicit in state censorship by the Obama White House and now the mainstream media has finally (you think) had enough from Barack Obama’s White House ministry of propaganda.

Instead of allowing photojournalists entry into “official” events to take their own photographs, under White House policy, government-approved photographs taken by the “official” White House photographer are distributed.

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Governor Sarah Palin Keynote Speaker at Right Online 2012 06152012

Tags

Expose the Lies, Fascism, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Lamestream Media, Marxism, Media Deception, obama, Rightonline Conference 2012, sarah palin, VETTING OBAMA

AS USUAL, PALIN RULES!

WISCONSIN RECALL: Union Boss Lashes Out at the New Alternative Media

Tags

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Labor unions, Scott Walker, SEIU, union thugs

H/t MacIver Institute.  As usual Progressives are selective about freedom of speech and freedom of the press.  The rationale is that if one’s reporting stands in opposition to the Marxist agenda, then that individual must be silenced.

ANTI-SOPA/PIPA Blackout (UPDATED)

Tags

Dictatorship, Dirty Politicians, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Globalization, Government War on Individual Constitutional Rights, Govt Intervention, Govt Regulation, Govt War on Constitution, Govt's War on America, H. R. 3261, International Order, Internet, Manipulation, Marxism, New World Order, Obama doctrine, Obama's legacy, Oppression, Power Grab, Progressivism, S. 968, Senate, Serfdom, Slavery, Tyranny, USA

UPDATE 2: Some days I think that I should be getting paid for this. After all the research and test runs, WORDPRESS has made it easy for those of us who want to protest SOPA/PIPA.

If you have WORDPRESS.com, just go to SETTINGS on your DASHBOARD and click PROTEST SOPA/PIPA.

UPDATE:  Wikipedia’s English sites will join the ANTI-SOPA blackout for 24 hours.  Clearly, I am not the only one who sees the White House’s stance on SOPA as an illusion. Suggested reading:  Twitter boss slams Wikipedia’s ‘silly’ Sopa protest

This blog will be unavailable from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. January 18 (Wednesday) in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act Bill (H.R. 3261) and Protect IP Act (PIPA Senate Bill S. 968).

I apologize in advance for denying you your daily dose of my cutting perspective of the elitist Communist sobs assaulting our liberties, violating our laws, ruining our nation and economy; while attempting to demolish the will of the people to the point that we have neither the strength nor the desire to take a stand against these malevolent assaults.

While copyright infringement is somewhat of a problem and I do not support piracy or bootlegging, there are already laws on the books to deal with such matters.  SOPA/PIPA does nothing to solve the problem nor is it intended to.

Both bills are an attempt by Marxist cretins to expurgate, manipulate, scrutinize and repress the information and assorted viewpoints now available on the internet.

Congress’ claims that they have put SOPA on a shelf for now is  unacceptable and worth less than a grain of salt.

PIPA is scheduled to come up for a vote on the Senate floor January 24.  Both SOPA and PIPA must be dropped ONCE AND FOR ALL.

WORDPRESS.COM SITES:

For those with WordPress.com who would also like to take their blogs offline temporarily, there are the options as to how it can be accomplished.

Feel free to visit Lorelle on WordPress who has created a page that can be pasted into your blog.

For the past day and a half, I have been in and out of WordPress.com forum and have so far come across the following ideas, all of which I have tried and found the results satisfactory depending on your preferences:

raincoaster suggested:

“Simple solution: you can change your theme to Monotone and put up an Anti-SOPA dark banner, and POOF, blackout. No widgets either. Disable comments if you want to be hardass.”

The following html codes can be copied and pasted into a text widget on your sidebar.

panaghiotisadam

@windwhistle: If you want “a totally black screen with “Stop SOPA” in giant white letters”, go to Appearance > Background, set the bg color to #000, then go to Appearance > Widget, add a Text widget to the primary sidebar, and paste this in it:
<div align="center" style="position:fixed;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;right:0;background-color:#000;text-align:center;font-size:800%;font-weight:bold;padding-top:300px;"><a style="color:#fff;" href="URL" target="_blank">Stop SOPA</a></div>

Codes courtesy of windwhistle and brainwreckedtech:

<div align=”center” style=”position:fixed;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;right:0;background-color:#000;text-align:center;font-size:800%;font-weight:bold;padding-top:300px;”><a style=”color:#fff;” href=”URL” target=”_blank”>Stop SOPA</a></div>

OR

<div align=”center” style=”position:fixed;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;right:0;background-color:#000;-moz-opacity:0.8;opacity:.80;filter:alpha(opacity=80);text-align:center;font-size:800%;font-weight:bold;padding-top:300px;z-index:1;”>Stop SOPA</div>

In addition, Shaking the Tree has put together a post on how to darken your blog in protest here.

BLOGSPOT SITES**

If you are blogging through Blogspot, feel free to check out Errata Security and SOPA Blackout

**Note that I have not yet experimented with my blog on Blogspot.  Messing with these codes in my template makes me nervous, so DON’T TAKE MY WORD ON THIS.  DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK AND TREAD CAREFULLY but before you make any modifications to your template, be sure TO SAVE THE ORIGINAL TEMPLATE SO THAT YOU CAN RETRIEVE IT LATER WHEN YOU’RE READY TO BRING YOUR BLOG BACK UP ONLINE. 

Our friend and patriot over at The Dirty Lowdown wrote a post entitled, THE STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?   It is definitely worth checking out and true to form, John does not disappoint.

In the event that I may have missed something, you can check out Anti-SOPA tools for webmasters and users alike and http://www.sopastrike.com/

Last but not least, please put the heat on your ELECTED OFFICIALS and share with them your opposition to SOPA, go here.

LINKS:
http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/how-best-to-go-dark-for-sopa-protest?replies=60#post-792205
http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/january-18-join-reddit-in-a-national-blackout-day-of-protest-against-sopa/
http://thedirtylowdown.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/sopa-faq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/
http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/how-best-to-go-dark-for-sopa-protest?replies=60
http://blackroseheart.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/blackout-your-wordpress-com-blog-to-support-stop-sopa/
http://blackroseheart.wordpress.com/
http://americancensorship.org/infographic.html
http://www.dailydot.com/politics/how-to-protest-sopa-/
http://blogs.ft.com/fttechhub/2012/01/wikipedia-anti-sopa-blackout/
https://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173
 http://sopablackout.org/
https://plus.google.com/115984868678744352358/posts/Gas8vjZ5fmB

ASSAULT ON FREE SPEECH ALERT: CAIR Pressures; WordPress Caves. Takes Down Bare Naked Islam’s Website

Tags

First Amendment Violations, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Islamic Extremism, Islamic Fundamentalism, Islamic Jihadist, Islamization of America, Islamization of Europe, Muslim Brotherhood, obama, Obama Administration, Obama Appointees, Oppression, Radical Islam, Sharia Law

Via GRUMPY’S OPINIONS

“UPDATE

Market Watch has published a news release from CAIR bragging about being responsible for Bare Naked Islam’s Take Down,,  CAIR and organization the FBI considers an affiliate of  various Islamic Terrorist Organizations described BNI as a hate site. read it here

Anti-Muslim Hate Site Removed After CAIR’s Intervention

It would seem.  according to CAIR, if you have a website and you speak out about  Islamic Terrorists who are trying to kill you,  beheading, stoning women on trumped up charges, burning Christian Churches, killing Christians and other atrocities you are running a hate site…”

CONTINUE READING

As of this posting, the 411 behind the takedown of BNI continues to unfold.

Since my schedule may not permit me to keep you posted on the turn of events, for updated information on the takedown of BNI, please pay a visit to Grumpy’s Opinions.

What has Bare Naked Islam (BNI) done wrong?  Not a darn thing.

What they have done and I hope will continue to do is shine a bright light on CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood, atrocities committed by Islamic factions in the name of Shariah Law against men, women, children, Christians, and non-Muslims throughout the world many of whom are closely linked to these two organizations.

BNI has also reported on the Obama administration’s more than friendly relationship with organizations like CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood and the danger it poses to the United States and Europe.

Of course, CAIR claims that the reason BNI’s site was taken down is because of threats posted on BNI’s site.  It should be noted, however, that   CAIR, a Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood front is famous silencing voices of opposition.

A threat to free speech is a threat to us all and should not be ignored or tolerated.

This is PC gone to hell in a hand basket and nothing more than attack on free speech.

If you are as apoplectic about as I am about WordPress caving to such an extreme entity, you can contact via email WordPress Support at support@wordpress.com to inform them accordingly.

In the event you are unfamiliar with CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood, feel free to check out these articles  to familiarize yourself entitled, “CAIRful” and “FBI, Senators recommend ban on terror-related CAIR, CAIR hires Democratic Senator.”

As for WordPress,

Again, you can you can share your views regarding this attack on free speech with WordPress Support at support@wordpress.com.

Finally, a message to those of us who report on such atrocities as committed the likes of CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood while also calling out the present administration, WATCH YOUR BACK.

Image courtesy of Marooned in Marin.

“First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”  ― Martin Niemöller