Tag: freedom

Schools cannot ban ‘merely offensive’ speech on gender identity, appeals court rules

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The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a preliminary injunction Monday against an Iowa school district policy that threatens suspension and expulsion for “intentional and/or persistent refusal … to respect” a peer’s gender identity, finding it’s likely too vague to survive legal scrutiny.

“A school district cannot avoid the strictures of the First Amendment simply by defining certain speech as ‘bullying’ or ‘harassment'” as did the Linn-Mar Community School District, the three-judge panel ruled in a case that drew friend-of-the-court briefs by dozens of conservative and religious groups and 18 Republican-led states in favor of the plaintiffs.

A similar group of court watchers is asking the Boston-based 1st Circuit – which oversees Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island – to also overturn a lower court’s ruling that students do not have the right to assert the existence of the sexual binary while on school grounds.

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Portland, Maine City Council Passes Ordinance to Decriminalize Psychedelics

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The council of Maine’s most populated city voted 6–3 in favor of the resolution, which would apply to the possession of DMT, mescaline, psilocybin/psilocyn (magic mushrooms) and ibogaine.

“[The] use of psychedelic plants and fungi should be deprioritized by our criminal justice system in order to facilitate access to people who need this for a public health benefit”, said Councilor Anna Trevorrow prior to the council’s vote.

Similar to what Seattle did with marijuana back in 2003, the ordinance would make the possession of psychedelics the lowest enforcement priority, directly police to focus instead on all other potential crimes and infractions

“Portland departments, agencies, boards, commissions, officers or employees of the city should avoid using city funds or resources to assist in the investigation, criminal prosecution or the imposition of criminal penalties”, states the ordinance.

The passage of the ordinance is another example of the growing trend towards a reformation of psychedelic laws. Both Oregon and Colorado have legalized psychedelics, and the California Legislature recently passed a bill to do the same.

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There’s no ‘disinformation’ exception to the First Amendment

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Misinformation and disinformation retain the basic characteristics of speech. Unless they fall into one of very few exceptions, they are protected from censorship under the First Amendment.

Consistent with those very limited exceptions, any effort by the government to prevent the dissemination of ideas or opinions, even if they are based on untruths, is unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld an injunction that prohibits the government from pressuring social media platforms to de-escalate or remove speech that the government identifies as misinformation or disinformation.

On Thursday, Sept. 14, that injunction was put on pause by the Supreme Court until Sept. 22, to give the Court more time to consider the issue.

The injunction resulted from a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana and others accusing the federal government of strong-arming social media companies in order to amplify government-approved points of view and muffle or silence opposing views.

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Free speech makes civilizations thrive. It is the rational as well as constitutional only option. Anyone who wants to limit free speech is a POS. Covid proved this point and also proved that the worst enemies of free speech were and still are governments, Big Media and other vested interests. ABN

AAPS Statement: Mask Mandates Do Not Prevent Spread of Respiratory Viruses, They Cause Harm, and Violate the Right to Informed Consent

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As mask mandates are contrary to the fundamental medical principle of informed consent, all masking mandates currently in place must be rescinded, and no future mandates should be imposed. 

Furthermore, since mask mandates for viral illnesses provide no clear benefits, while creating potential for harm, individuals should be empowered to choose to not observe such mandates that are either currently in existence or that may be imposed in the future.

source, with evidence and the reasoning behind the above statement

Help make local meat affordable again!

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This is an unusual, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to support a US bill to reverse the decades-long “go big or go home” approach to centralizing meat production

I  generally don’t write about anything political, but this is a highly unusual issue that gets to the heart of our food system and transcends the political polarization we find all around us.

Since the 1960s, the USDA’s “go big or go home” mentality has led to the enduring centralization of our food supply.

We now have our first big chance to reverse this by allowing local farmers to use local butchers without going through exceedingly expensive USDA-stamped intermediaries.

The ask is that if you live in the US you put in a phone call to your legislators to support it. Typically they receive only ten phone calls on a bill so a call carries a lot of weight.

Here is a guest post from my friend John Moody.

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For around six decades, farmers and homesteaders across the US have faced a growing problem – the lack of accessible and affordable butchering options.   Starting in the late 60s, changes to federal regulations lead to the loss of tens of thousands of abbatoirs and butcher shops across the country. 

By the late 1990s, five or so companies controlled roughly 80%  of beef, turkey, chicken, and pork consumed in the United States.  

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Massive errors in FBI’s Active Shooting Reports from 2014-2022 regarding cases where civilians stop attacks

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Instead of 4.6%, the correct number is at least 35.7%. In 2022, it is at least 41.3%. Excluding gun-free zones, it averaged over 63.5%.

Two factors explain this discrepancy – one, misclassified shootings; and two, overlooked incidents. Regarding the former, the CPRC determined that the FBI reports had misclassified five shootings: In two incidents, the Bureau notes in its detailed write-up that citizens possessing valid firearms permits confronted the shooters and caused them to flee the scene. However, the FBI did not list these cases as being stopped by armed citizens because police later apprehended the attackers. In two other incidents, the FBI misidentified armed civilians as armed security personnel. Finally, the FBI failed to mention citizen engagement in one incident.

For example, the Bureau’s report about the Dec. 29, 2019 attack on the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas, that left two men dead does not list this as an incident of “civic engagement.” Instead, the FBI lists this attack as being stopped by a security guard. A parishioner, who had volunteered to provide security during worship, fatally shot the perpetrator. That man, Jack Wilson, told Dr. John Lott that he was not a security professional. He said that 19 to 20 members of the congregation were armed that day, and they didn’t even keep track of who was carrying a concealed weapon.

As for the second factor — overlooked cases — the FBI, more significantly, missed 35 incidents identified by CPRC where what would likely have been a mass public shooting was thwarted by armed civilians. There were another 103 active shooting incidents that they missed.

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Accepting COVID Dictates Has Consequences – New Mexico Democrat Governor Now Uses Same ‘Public Health Emergency’ To Ban Firearms

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This, THIS RIGHT THE F**K HERE, is exactly what you, me, and everyone with a logical brain was talking about back in 2020 and 2021 when the various state governors were using “Public Health Emergency” declarations to rule by unilateral fiat and remove constitutional and legislatively enacted rights.

THIS STORY, happening right now in Alburquerque, is a direct and specific outcome of NOT PUSHING BACK in ’20/’21 and allowing governors to take control without legislative approvals.  The governor has just declared gun possession unlawful, under the auspices of a Public Health Emergency.”

Folks, they are testing the waters, and there needs to be an immediate lawsuit and injunction.

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The internet is the most revolutionary development of our age, and the fight to protect it from near total control by insidious actors like the ADL may turn out to be one of the most important fights of the century

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It’s hard to overstate the importance of Elon Musk’s battle with the ADL.

The rollout of free social media was the most revolutionary development in information dissemination since the printing press.

When the regime realised just how revolutionary it was, they got to work spending years fighting for control through lobbying and financial manipulation. While much of this pressure is informal, through networks and backchannels, the ADL is the institutional, public face of this political racketeering network.

By 2020, their control of the major social media platforms was almost entirely secure. By forcing Facebook to change their terms of service according to his liking after a crushing advertiser boycott, Jonathan Greenblatt demonstrated that he had assumed the role of the final arbiter of speech on the internet.

Last year, it looked like there was little hope for a way out of this situation, until
@elonmusk
‘s surprise purchase of Twitter. The subsequent boycott headed by the ADL showed that even the richest man in the world can be scuppered by the malign influence of this group.

It seemed the only way to reverse the financial damage done by Greenblatt and his co-conspirators would be to gradually return control to the ADL, but now, riding a wave of popular support from X users, Elon has decided to draw a line in the sand and fight back.

The internet was the most revolutionary development of our age, and the fight to protect it from near total control by insidious actors like the ADL may turn out to be one of the most important fights of the century. Let’s all send Elon our prayers, and hope he can be the first to deal a fatal blow to the ADL. Godspeed Elon.

source for text & image

People Should be Talking About the ADL’s Support for Extremist Racialist Policies in Israel

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Finally, the world is talking about the Jewish/Israeli lobbying group, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). This is a very good thing.

Regardless of my feelings on Elon Musk, I’m thankful he’s promoting this awareness campaign.

After Elon tweeted against the ADL, the group has been trending.

However, most of the discussion we’re seeing is around the idea that this is a “left-wing” advocacy group. This is untrue.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the ADL, supports really hardcore right-wing policies in Israel.

Because the ADL is not a “left-wing” group. It is more accurate to call it a “Democrat” group, but it’s most accurate to call it a “Jewish” group. They support Jewish interests, and in America, Jewish interests primarily involve silencing freedom of speech as well as promoting mass immigration and child trannies.

The ADL says they want a racially pure Jewish state in Palestine.

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Worcester’s diocese announces restrictive LGBTQ+ policy in Catholic schools

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A new policy at Catholic schools in Worcester, Massachusetts, will prohibit LGBTQ+ students from expressing themselves.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester’s new policy goes into effect at the start of the new school year.

The policy requires students “to conduct themselves at school in a manner consistent with their biological sex.” Students also “may not advocate, celebrate, or express same-sex attraction in such a way as to cause confusion or distraction in the context of Catholic school classes, activities, or events.”

Bishop Robert McManus approved the policy, called “Catholic Education and the Human Person,” in late June, but it was not announced until this week. It affects students at 21 schools.

“They issued a policy from the diocese to all of the schools to be able to have some consistency,” said Raymond Delisle, chancellor and director of communications for the diocese.

The policy cites canon law of the Catholic Church and points made by Pope Francis.

“It’s not citing specific feelings or issues by an individual bishop or an individual person, but really citing and basing it all on what the church has been teaching all along,” Delisle said.

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Newest NATO Country Escalates Prosecution Of Christians For Quoting The Bible

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In an appeals court Thursday, Helsinki’s top prosecutor said publicly quoting the Bible and publishing a booklet about Christian sexual ethics violates Finland’s “hate speech” law. The appeal escalates this U.S. ally’s prosecution of dissidents from leftist politics, a marker of repressive regimes.

The prosecutor has charged Member of Parliament Paivi Rasanen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola for writing and publishing, respectively, a booklet supporting natural marriage.

“This [case] is a God-given wake up call for Christians and others worried about the direction our society is going,” Pohjola said in a post-court press conference Friday morning U.S. time. He noted convicting a religious leader for publishing theological documents would in effect criminalize Christianity in Finland and encourage similar oppression worldwide. 

Rasanen is also criminally charged with posting a Bible verse to X (formerly Twitter) and stating Christian theology in a radio interview. The prosecutor wants all recordings of the radio interview taken down and the booklet to be unavailable online, and fines levied against both Christians.

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Good example of why hate speech laws are a disaster for free speech. Hate itself is not illegal. The idea of making an emotion illegal is absurd. When a state defines some kinds of hate as being illegal and some kinds of speech as hate speech, you get the Finnish nonsense above. You can be sure that anyone who supports hate speech laws is either stupid or a totalitarian. ABN

O’Keefe does NJ School Board!

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This one is hilarious. O’Keefe has a strong sense of humor and it shows masterfully in this video. Less hype than some of his work with more content and excellent cuts. Very enjoyable and important reportage. Filing this one under ‘art’. ABN