Pay attention to what's happening in this case: the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals just essentially ruled that it's fully legal to jail journalists for reporting leaked information, or any information they obtain from government officials without going through "proper channels."
Just in: Priscilla Villarreal, the controversial journalist known as La Gordiloca, says she'll appeal her case to the Supreme Court after a ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which could threaten journalists across three states.
Today in Labor History January 19, 1920: Crystal Eastman, Roger Nash Baldwin, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (from the IWW) and others founded the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Their original focus was freedom of speech, primarily anti-war speech, and supporting conscientious objectors. In 1923, they defended author Upton Sinclair after he was arrested for trying to read the First Amendment during an IWW rally. In 1925, they persuaded John T. Scopes to defy Tennessee's anti-evolution law in The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. Clarence Darrow, an ACLU member, headed Scopes' legal team. The ACLU lost the case and Scopes was fined $100. In 1926, they defended H. L. Mencken, who deliberately broke Boston law by distributing copies of his banned American Mercury magazine and won their first major acquittal. However, they kicked Elizabeth Gurley Flynn off their board in 1940 because of her Communist affiliations. And they refused defend Paul Robeson and other leftists in the 1950s.
@maccuinneagain I’m not sure I agree with Baron. I do know that refraining from legitimate action because bad actors will respond with illegitimate actions is not the way to go. Besides, judges are supposed to act quickly to dispose of garbage libel suits because of the harm they do to the #FirstAmendment
A bit of good news, since these social media and internet censorship laws are just fancy homophobia.
At some point, you'd think GOP voters would insist upon some standard of legislative competence, but instead they get this:
"'The Act provides an eleven-factor list that the Attorney General or a court may use to determine if a website is indeed covered, which includes malleable and broad-ranging considerations like '[d]esign elements' and '[l]anguage.' All of the listed considerations are undefined,' [Judge] Marbley wrote."
If Freedom of Religion amd Freedom of Speech means a tax exempt fascist terrorist sect wants to enslave and silence women, time to repeal the First Amendment
The #Tennessee#bigots are back, and this time they want to eliminate rainbow flags, because reasons!
"While speech in #publicSchools may be subject to more restrictions than other arenas, the #SupremeCourt has repeatedly held that #FirstAmendment protections extend to ‘teachers and students'... Policies banning the #RainbowFlag or any political material in schools are not viewpoint neutral, as the removal is premised on the message the Rainbow Flag conveys."
Judge Stephen Lochner "said the ban on books is 'incredibly broad' and has resulted in the removal of history volumes, classics, award-winning novels and 'even books designed to help students avoid being victimized by sexual assault.'”
#ShennaBellows was executive director of #Maine ACLU, which makes her rejection of Trump’s #FirstAmendment arguments significant. His arguments are weak, but Bellows gives sophisticated reasons for her position. She notes that even if Trump’s #Jan6 speech was protected by the 1st A, the 1st A does not override qualification requirements for holding the office of President. Separately, she also decides that incitement to insurrection is not protected speech. 3/ #LawFedi