Corporate Freedom of Speech

I was following the Supreme Court decisions this week and once again they put the time machine of American justice in reverse nine decades. In the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and ruling 5-4 stating that corporations do in fact have freedom of speech and can dump as much money as they want into any political campaign. Corporations have freedom of Speech???

And it turns out that I am in full disagreement with the nice folks over at the ACLU and the NRA on this Constitutional issue. Last time I checked, freedom of speech was an individuals right. Did I miss and addendum somewhere along the way? Do you wonder if the founding fathers of this nation were really thinking that corporations should have a stronger voice than any one individual when they came up with that silly freedom of speech thingy.

Obama continues to assail Supreme Court decision
By Michael A. Fletcher

President Obama continued to assail the Supreme Court decision striking down limits on corporate spending in political campaigns, saying Saturday that the ruling "strikes at our democracy itself."

Speaking in his weekly address, Obama said the ruling this week "handed a huge victory to the special interests and their lobbyists - and a powerful blow to our efforts to rein in corporate influence." - Washington Post

If corporations can now donate as much as they want into campaigns then they should also take up the slack in the budget deficit to support our government and national monuments. Such as…

The Washington Monument: Brought to you by that magic little blue pill OR one of those pesky birth control condom corporations.

Library of Congress: Courtesy of Rush Limbaugh, The John Birch Society, and the GOP. “We will tell you what needs to be historic and what needs to be shredded.”

Fort Knox: Sponsored by Shearson Lehman, Citi Group, and AIW. “Your investments are truly safe.”

Grand Teton National Park…. Hooters - no jingle needed.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Sponsored by Exxon/Mobil and Steak’s R Us and the makers of Caribou Steak Sauce.

Central Intelligence Agency: Sponsored in part, in full, or just a little bit by KBR but you didn’t hear that here.

FDA: Courtesy of Pharmaceutical Association of America, China, and a small test group of patients somewhere in a third world country.

The FBI: Paid for in part by a modest contribution from The Corleone Family.

And now the FEC, courtesy of the Supreme Court is going to be sponsored, paid for, and run by what corporation? I’m pretty confidant that it will be a company with pretty deep pockets but we all know that the price of freedom isn’t cheap.

In contrast to my opinion on this touchy subject, my good friend over at the Gun Toting Liberal is all for the ruling and has his twisted yet logical thoughts on the subject posted.

Feel free to add your thoughts or suggestion in the comments on what Government obligations could be funded by corporations with their new found freedom of speech and check book.

Related Post: Alan Grayson Kicks Big Business Butt

Papamoka

Congressional Ethics Police… LOL!

Don’t get me wrong, I love Mike Capuano from Mass A Two Sticks but he is living a pipe dream. He is proposing a regulatory independent agency to more or less police the Congress for ethics violations. The only problem with his plan is that Constitutionally this outside law force would have to be armed with feathers. Gives a whole new meaning to “Packing Heat” does it not?

I’m thinking little tiny down feathers in little tiny holsters on a lawman from the old west. Armed agents patrolling and roaming the halls of the Congress ready to arrest anyone that steps over the line of truth, justice and the American way. Stepping into the dark corners of the law and breaking the ethics rules just might get you a handful of feathers tossed in your face. Take that you wrong doer!

Over at the Washington Post they have this to say on it…

House May Add Outside Watchdog For Ethics

By Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 20, 2007; Page A27

A House task force yesterday recommended creating an independent Office of Congressional Ethics that would have the power to initiate reviews of lawmakers' behavior.

The new office, whose creation requires the approval of the full House, which reconvenes in mid-January, would be the first in either chamber to allow an outside body of nonmembers to examine alleged ethical misdeeds.

"It breaks the appearance of the good ol' boy network," said Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.). Capuano headed a task force that spent a year trying to craft a compromise for the new ethics office in the wake of the lobbying scandals that helped sweep Democrats into power.

But some ethics watchdogs warned that the office, if approved, would not be strong enough, particularly because it would lack subpoena power. - Washington Post

Keystone Cops mentality all over again…



Not to mention the fact that any Congressional member could at any point in time, when under fire for ethics violations, recite the Constitution and then express a raspberry with their tongue.

For those in the Congress not knowing what a raspberry is, you insert your tongue between your lips, gently press down with your lips and exhaust air from your lungs in a rapid exhale. Not through your nose People! Take two. Insert your tongue between your lips, gently press down with your lips on your tongue, and exhale rapidly through your mouth. Not through both your nose and mouth Congressman. This is going to take some practice. Most of these folks have not lived in reality for a long time so you might want to check back later. When you do come back could you bring about four hundred pair of underwear. That last try had some of the older members of the House in a most discomforting position. That’s a first isn’t it!

Oh screw it, they could just lift up the middle finger, close the rest of their fingers and show it to the Congressional Police. No, No, NO Congressman. You close your thumb too! Everyone knows that is how you hail a cab for a F’n ride. This is going to take a long time to educate these folks about how American’s really live. When you come back with the underwear would you bring some coffee too.

Speaking about how American’s really live, when we have corrupt leaders in our government, if they do not police themselves, the voters can fire them at the polls. For Congressional members that happens every two years, President is every four, and Senators every six years. Then again there is this whole whacky thing called freedom of the press that sometimes can shame SOME people in our government into resigning from office.

I applaud the attention that Congressman Mike Capuano has put into this but I fear that any outside influence on the Congress would be the first step in finally killing the Constitution. That is something as an American that I could never accept. Neither should you and that is why we all should vote based on our own personal ethics. Democrat, Republican or Independent political mindset, if you see a wrong then right it with your vote. It is as simple as that.

Papamoka

Feel free to borrow this post…

Cross posted at Michael Linn Jones and Bring IT ON!

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Imus and CBS go to War!

Don Imus of the former Imus in the Morning radio show is taking on the oppressors of freedom of speech over at CBS Radio and packing some heat with a top notch legal shooter from New York. This is where the road travels when it comes to the shock jock that was loved for the revenue he could bring in to CBS Radio and the definition of a contract meets the judge.

This fan of Imus supports the fight for what is right and if the man had a contract for $40 million then CBS Radio was making ten times that much off of him or would not have signed a five year deal. There are no “But, or what if’s” in a legal contract. As I have said before in this blog, Don Imus is not a fool and the lawyers he hired to review his contract when he signed it were probably smarter than the CBS Radio lawyers that drew it up.

Over at CNN Money they have this to say…

Imus won't go quietly

The talk show host has hired a top First Amendment lawyer, and an unusual clause in his contract could give him a $40 million payday, writes Fortune's Tim Arango.

By Tim Arango, Fortune writer
May 2 2007: 12:48 PM EDT

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Don Imus, the tousled and acerbic radio host whose racial remarks engendered a media storm that triggered a swift upending of his career, is not going away quietly even if the imbroglio has all but disappeared from the national conversation in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre.

For Imus, who made a career out of operating in the murky space between sophomoric humor and high-brow political talk, there is the little matter of about $40 million left on his contract with CBS Radio - whose boss Les Moonves fired the shock jock on April 12. CBS' lawyers contend Imus was fired for cause and not owed the rest of the money.

But Imus has hired one of the nation's premiere First Amendment attorneys, and the two sides are gearing up for a legal showdown that could turn on how language in his contract that encouraged the radio host to be irreverent and engage in character attacks is interpreted, according to one person who has read the contract.

The language, according to this source, was part of a five-year contract that went into effect in 2006 and that paid Imus close to $10 million a year. It stipulates that Imus be given a warning before being fired for doing what he made a career out of - making off-color jokes. The source described it as a "dog has one- bite clause." A lawsuit could be filed within a month, this person predicted.

A CBS spokesman declined comment, and Imus, through his attorney, also declined an interview. – CNN Money

Tough bastards like Don Imus simply do not fade away because Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson beat the hell out of his bosses at CBS Radio. The network hired him because he is and was always the ultimate controversial entertainer and they ran like school girls when threatened by a couple of bullies. They can run all they want but they can not hide from the fact that they were the ones that signed on the dotted line to put the mouth of Don Imus on the airwave for $40 million bucks over the next five years! The firing of Don Imus was political correctness gone wrong to the ultimate power mathematically and somehow it is okay? It isn’t okay with me.

If the people he insulted had the mercy in their hearts to forgive him when he begged and pleaded for just that then the situation was resolved. In the days of the Salem Witch trials, once you were labeled a Witch you were guilty till they burned you death. Only then was your soul cleansed. If that is America today then we as a nation have something bigger to worry about than a shock jock with idiotic off the cuff racist remarks. Then again we in the media and blogosphere burned, hanged, electrocuted and sentenced to death Don Imus already.

There are so many people out there today in the public spot light that are just out right liars to themselves and to the people and yet they can do no wrong. No matter what mistakes any of us have made it is understandable to hope and pray that your mistakes did not hurt another person. If they did, then Rehab is the easy way out for mega media stars but Imus didn’t do that. He faced his comments and apologized profusely. He did it from his heart and that was not good enough for CBS Radio or his detractors. It was good enough for me and I’m sure that Mr. Imus is comfortable with the forgiveness of the young ladies of Rutgers. As for his battle with CBS Radio…

Go for the jugular I-Man! Go for the jugular!

Papamoka

Cross posted at Bring It On!

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