Freedom of Expression = Freedom to Tell Lies
Politicians lie. That's the harshest way to say it. We can replace the word lie with prevaricate, mislead, obfuscate and so on but we remain convinced that they lie. Especially during election campaigns.
The Ohio legislature decided that this wasn't acceptable. They passed a law in 1974 that made it illegal for campaigns materials to contain false statements. Another way to say lie. Now a federal court judge has struck that law down as unconstitutional. Is this an endorsement of lying in political campaigns? Of course not.
That is how some are interpreting the decision. They need to re-think this. In actuality the judge is ruling that it isn't appropriate for a government agency or entity to be determining what is and isn't true. That is not the job of elected officials or political appointees. It is the job of the public.
If we don't want dishonest politicians running things, we should educate ourselves about what they are doing, when they are doing it, and make smarter choices at the ballot box.
* * *
My mom made an interesting argument about something today. She argued that Pete Rose should be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, since Ty Cobb was given that honor. That only performance between the foul lines should be a factor in determining who gets in.
In point of fact, Pete Rose is not eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, as he agreed to be permanently placed on the ineligibility list. Players on that list cannot enter the Hall of Fame. Now Ty Cobb is not on that list. He was definitely a jerk, a racist and he had a propensity for violent confrontations. However, historians have debunked most of the fictional statements of Cobb's biographer, Al Stump regarding the most egregious acts of violence.
Ty Cobb belongs in the Hall of Fame. Pete Rose does not. While he was a great player, his choices in betting on baseball games involving the team he managed render his enshrinement in the Hall of Fame as inappropriate.
We are at a time and place in the history of sports where the conduct of a professional athlete off of the playing field is as important as their performance on that field. It isn't just that athletes are considered role models. It is about marketing and the financial success/failure of the teams they play for.
Ray Rice is accused of domestic violence. The video images of what went on inside and outside of that elevator are shocking. So if the NFL had done nothing, if the Baltimore Ravens had done nothing, there would be a serious problem. Considering the amount of "heat" the NFL and Roger Goodell are taking at this moment, just imagine what it would be like had they done nothing.
As a society we talk all about rehabilitation and second chances. Then we see just how hard it is to get a job once one is convicted of a crime. I have a friend who was an excellent bartender and bar manager. Now that friend has had two DUIs and they won't get a chance in that industry again for a long time, if ever. Do people deserve a second chance? Sure, in some things. It isn't up to us to decide if Janay Rice should be giving Ray Rice a second chance. That's her prerogative. However, her choice to stay with him has nothing to do with whether or not the NFL should let him play again.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
I don't blame some of the fans of the Denver Broncos for starting a petition to have Phil Simms taken off of CBS broadcasts of their team's games. He's hopelessly biased against the Broncos.
Robin Thicke's defense of "I was drunk and high on Vicodin" when he allegedly ripped off a song by Marvin Gaye to create his "Blurred Lines" is just ridiculous.
I'm not saying CSM Bennie Adkins doesn't deserve to receive the Medal of Honor, but I do wonder what it was that led to him receiving a Medal of Honor for the battle that had led to him being awarded a Distinguished Service Cross following his heroic actions during Vietnam. I'm guessing they put him in for the Medal of Honor originally and it was downgraded and now additional evidence has come to light.
Daniele Watts is wrong. Police have a right to ask her to produce identification when they are responding to a citizen complaint, or if they have adequate probable cause to believe a crime may be being committed. If she'd just given the cops her ID and then filed a complaint accusing racial profiling, I'd be much more supportive of her claim. Being obstinate to a simple request is just dumb.
It should also be noted that the incident involving Ms Watts is more evidence that police officers should have button cameras on their uniforms to record such encounters.
Charles Barkley says some dumb stuff for someone who is paid to speak. Maybe that's why he's paid to speak.
Looks like CA voters won't be voting to split the state into six states in November of 2016.
While reading an article about one soldier killed and another injured in a training accident, I scanned the four comments the piece had generated. Three of the four were nothing more than correcting a typo in the article. Apparently people don't bother reading replies before entering their own. I will admit to being guilty of just that, on occasion. I'm going to try to do better.
Groupon needs to be consistent. Either do or don't partner with faith-based businesses. But they shouldn't be able to exclude some faith-based businesses while including others. That is discrimination.
I don't see anything wrong with Marriott suggesting to their guests that it is appropriate to tip the housekeeper on a daily basis.
After Floyd Mayweather wins a $32 million purse in the boxing ring, he and his entourage go over to the Hard Rock to celebrate. The tab was over $25,000 and the hotel/casino wound up comping the bill. So he stiffs the server, according to TMZ.com. And they just happen to have photos of her in a bikini to add to the article. Did he really stiff her? Probably. Is it news? No.
Would Adrian Parker submit himself to the same punishment he gave to his four year old? I think not.
* * *
September 15 in History:
668 – Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse, Italy.
921 – At Tetin, Saint Ludmila is murdered at the command of her daughter-in-law.
994 – Major Fatimid victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of the Orontes.
1440 – Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest known serial killers, is taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by the Bishop of Nantes.
1556 – Departing from Vlissingen, ex-Holy Roman Emperor Charles V returns to Spain.
1616 – The first non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy.
1762 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Signal Hill.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: British forces land at Kip's Bay during the New York Campaign.
1789 – The United States "Department of Foreign Affairs", established by law in July, is renamed the Department of State and given a variety of domestic duties.
1812 – The French army under Napoleon reaches the Kremlin in Moscow.
1812 – War of 1812: A second supply train sent to relieve Fort Harrison is ambushed in the Attack at the Narrows.
1816 – HMS Whiting runs aground on the Doom Bar
1820 – Constitutionalist revolution in Lisbon, Portugal.
1821 – Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica jointly declare independence from Spain.
1830 – The Liverpool to Manchester railway line opens.
1831 – The locomotive John Bull operates for the first time in New Jersey on the Camden and Amboy Railroad.
1835 – HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands. The ship lands at Chatham or San Cristobal, the easternmost of the archipelago.
1851 – Saint Joseph's University is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1862 – American Civil War: Confederate forces capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
1873 – Franco-Prussian War: The last German troops leave France upon completion of payment of indemnity.
1894 – First Sino-Japanese War: Japan defeats Qing dynasty China in the Battle of Pyongyang.
1916 – World War I: Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme.
1935 – The Nuremberg Laws deprive German Jews of citizenship.
1935 – Nazi Germany adopts a new national flag bearing the swastika.
1940 – World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air Force shoots down large numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft.
1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp is sunk by a Japanese torpedo at Guadalcanal.
1944 – Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Quebec as part of the Octagon Conference to discuss strategy.
1944 – Battle of Peleliu begins as the United States Marine Corps' 1st Marine Division and the United States Army's 81st Infantry Division hit White and Orange beaches under heavy fire from Japanese infantry and artillery.
1945 – A hurricane in southern Florida and the Bahamas destroys 366 planes and 25 blimps at NAS Richmond.
1947 – RCA releases the 12AX7 vacuum tube.
1947 – Typhoon Kathleen hit the Kanto Region in Japan killing 1,077.
1948 – The F-86 Sabre sets the world aircraft speed record at 671 miles per hour (1,080 km/h).
1950 – Korean War: United States forces land at Inchon
1952 – The United Nations cedes Eritrea to Ethiopia.
1958 – A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train runs through an open drawbridge at the Newark Bay, killing 48.
1959 – Nikita Khrushchev becomes the first Soviet leader to visit the United States.
1961 – Hurricane Carla strikes Texas with winds of 175 miles per hour.
1962 – The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban missile crisis.
1963 – 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: Four children killed at an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States
1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation.
1968 – The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship is launched, becoming the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.
1972 – A Scandinavian Airlines System domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm is hijacked and flown to Malmö-Bulltofta Airport.
1974 – Air Vietnam Flight 706 is hijacked, then crashes while attempting to land with 75 on board.
1975 – The French department of "Corse" (the entire island of Corsica) is divided into two: Haute-Corse (Upper Corsica) and Corse-du-Sud (Southern Corsica)
1978 – Muhammad Ali outpointed Leon Spinks in a rematch to become the first boxer to win the world heavyweight title three times at the Superdome in New Orleans.
1981 – The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
1981 – The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, D.C.
1981 – Vanuatu becomes a member of the United Nations.
1983 – Israeli premier Menachem Begin resigns.
1987 – United States Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze sign a treaty to establish centers to reduce the risk of nuclear war.
1990 – France announces it will send 4,000 troops to the Persian Gulf.
1993 – Liechtenstein Prince Hans-Adam II disbands Parliament
1998 – With the landmark merger of WorldCom and MCI Communications completed the day prior, the new MCI WorldCom opens its doors for business.
2004 – National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman announces lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.
2008 – Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.
Famous Folk Born on September 15th:
Saicho
James Fenimore Cooper
Porfirio Diaz
William Howard Taft
Horatio Parker
Ettore Bugatti
Robert Benchley
Agatha Christie
Roy Acuff
Fay Wray
John N. Mitchell
Creighton Abrams (two-time recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam and Army Chief of Staff)
Nipsey Russell
Jackie Cooper
Bobby Short
Norm Crosby
Robert Lucas, Jr.
Merlin Olsen
Ron Shelton
Tommy Lee Jones
Oliver Stone
Pete Carroll
Wendie Jo Sperber
Dan Marino
Dina Lohan
Danny Nucci (here's hoping he doesn't die ignominiously in his next film like he did in many others)
Marisa Ramirez
Heidi Montag
The Ohio legislature decided that this wasn't acceptable. They passed a law in 1974 that made it illegal for campaigns materials to contain false statements. Another way to say lie. Now a federal court judge has struck that law down as unconstitutional. Is this an endorsement of lying in political campaigns? Of course not.
That is how some are interpreting the decision. They need to re-think this. In actuality the judge is ruling that it isn't appropriate for a government agency or entity to be determining what is and isn't true. That is not the job of elected officials or political appointees. It is the job of the public.
If we don't want dishonest politicians running things, we should educate ourselves about what they are doing, when they are doing it, and make smarter choices at the ballot box.
* * *
My mom made an interesting argument about something today. She argued that Pete Rose should be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, since Ty Cobb was given that honor. That only performance between the foul lines should be a factor in determining who gets in.
In point of fact, Pete Rose is not eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, as he agreed to be permanently placed on the ineligibility list. Players on that list cannot enter the Hall of Fame. Now Ty Cobb is not on that list. He was definitely a jerk, a racist and he had a propensity for violent confrontations. However, historians have debunked most of the fictional statements of Cobb's biographer, Al Stump regarding the most egregious acts of violence.
Ty Cobb belongs in the Hall of Fame. Pete Rose does not. While he was a great player, his choices in betting on baseball games involving the team he managed render his enshrinement in the Hall of Fame as inappropriate.
We are at a time and place in the history of sports where the conduct of a professional athlete off of the playing field is as important as their performance on that field. It isn't just that athletes are considered role models. It is about marketing and the financial success/failure of the teams they play for.
Ray Rice is accused of domestic violence. The video images of what went on inside and outside of that elevator are shocking. So if the NFL had done nothing, if the Baltimore Ravens had done nothing, there would be a serious problem. Considering the amount of "heat" the NFL and Roger Goodell are taking at this moment, just imagine what it would be like had they done nothing.
As a society we talk all about rehabilitation and second chances. Then we see just how hard it is to get a job once one is convicted of a crime. I have a friend who was an excellent bartender and bar manager. Now that friend has had two DUIs and they won't get a chance in that industry again for a long time, if ever. Do people deserve a second chance? Sure, in some things. It isn't up to us to decide if Janay Rice should be giving Ray Rice a second chance. That's her prerogative. However, her choice to stay with him has nothing to do with whether or not the NFL should let him play again.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
I don't blame some of the fans of the Denver Broncos for starting a petition to have Phil Simms taken off of CBS broadcasts of their team's games. He's hopelessly biased against the Broncos.
Robin Thicke's defense of "I was drunk and high on Vicodin" when he allegedly ripped off a song by Marvin Gaye to create his "Blurred Lines" is just ridiculous.
I'm not saying CSM Bennie Adkins doesn't deserve to receive the Medal of Honor, but I do wonder what it was that led to him receiving a Medal of Honor for the battle that had led to him being awarded a Distinguished Service Cross following his heroic actions during Vietnam. I'm guessing they put him in for the Medal of Honor originally and it was downgraded and now additional evidence has come to light.
Daniele Watts is wrong. Police have a right to ask her to produce identification when they are responding to a citizen complaint, or if they have adequate probable cause to believe a crime may be being committed. If she'd just given the cops her ID and then filed a complaint accusing racial profiling, I'd be much more supportive of her claim. Being obstinate to a simple request is just dumb.
It should also be noted that the incident involving Ms Watts is more evidence that police officers should have button cameras on their uniforms to record such encounters.
Charles Barkley says some dumb stuff for someone who is paid to speak. Maybe that's why he's paid to speak.
Looks like CA voters won't be voting to split the state into six states in November of 2016.
While reading an article about one soldier killed and another injured in a training accident, I scanned the four comments the piece had generated. Three of the four were nothing more than correcting a typo in the article. Apparently people don't bother reading replies before entering their own. I will admit to being guilty of just that, on occasion. I'm going to try to do better.
Groupon needs to be consistent. Either do or don't partner with faith-based businesses. But they shouldn't be able to exclude some faith-based businesses while including others. That is discrimination.
I don't see anything wrong with Marriott suggesting to their guests that it is appropriate to tip the housekeeper on a daily basis.
After Floyd Mayweather wins a $32 million purse in the boxing ring, he and his entourage go over to the Hard Rock to celebrate. The tab was over $25,000 and the hotel/casino wound up comping the bill. So he stiffs the server, according to TMZ.com. And they just happen to have photos of her in a bikini to add to the article. Did he really stiff her? Probably. Is it news? No.
Would Adrian Parker submit himself to the same punishment he gave to his four year old? I think not.
* * *
September 15 in History:
668 – Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse, Italy.
921 – At Tetin, Saint Ludmila is murdered at the command of her daughter-in-law.
994 – Major Fatimid victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of the Orontes.
1440 – Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest known serial killers, is taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by the Bishop of Nantes.
1556 – Departing from Vlissingen, ex-Holy Roman Emperor Charles V returns to Spain.
1616 – The first non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe is opened in Frascati, Italy.
1762 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Signal Hill.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: British forces land at Kip's Bay during the New York Campaign.
1789 – The United States "Department of Foreign Affairs", established by law in July, is renamed the Department of State and given a variety of domestic duties.
1812 – The French army under Napoleon reaches the Kremlin in Moscow.
1812 – War of 1812: A second supply train sent to relieve Fort Harrison is ambushed in the Attack at the Narrows.
1816 – HMS Whiting runs aground on the Doom Bar
1820 – Constitutionalist revolution in Lisbon, Portugal.
1821 – Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica jointly declare independence from Spain.
1830 – The Liverpool to Manchester railway line opens.
1831 – The locomotive John Bull operates for the first time in New Jersey on the Camden and Amboy Railroad.
1835 – HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin aboard, reaches the Galápagos Islands. The ship lands at Chatham or San Cristobal, the easternmost of the archipelago.
1851 – Saint Joseph's University is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1862 – American Civil War: Confederate forces capture Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
1873 – Franco-Prussian War: The last German troops leave France upon completion of payment of indemnity.
1894 – First Sino-Japanese War: Japan defeats Qing dynasty China in the Battle of Pyongyang.
1916 – World War I: Tanks are used for the first time in battle, at the Battle of the Somme.
1935 – The Nuremberg Laws deprive German Jews of citizenship.
1935 – Nazi Germany adopts a new national flag bearing the swastika.
1940 – World War II: The climax of the Battle of Britain, when the Royal Air Force shoots down large numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft.
1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Wasp is sunk by a Japanese torpedo at Guadalcanal.
1944 – Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Quebec as part of the Octagon Conference to discuss strategy.
1944 – Battle of Peleliu begins as the United States Marine Corps' 1st Marine Division and the United States Army's 81st Infantry Division hit White and Orange beaches under heavy fire from Japanese infantry and artillery.
1945 – A hurricane in southern Florida and the Bahamas destroys 366 planes and 25 blimps at NAS Richmond.
1947 – RCA releases the 12AX7 vacuum tube.
1947 – Typhoon Kathleen hit the Kanto Region in Japan killing 1,077.
1948 – The F-86 Sabre sets the world aircraft speed record at 671 miles per hour (1,080 km/h).
1950 – Korean War: United States forces land at Inchon
1952 – The United Nations cedes Eritrea to Ethiopia.
1958 – A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train runs through an open drawbridge at the Newark Bay, killing 48.
1959 – Nikita Khrushchev becomes the first Soviet leader to visit the United States.
1961 – Hurricane Carla strikes Texas with winds of 175 miles per hour.
1962 – The Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban missile crisis.
1963 – 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: Four children killed at an African-American church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States
1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation.
1968 – The Soviet Zond 5 spaceship is launched, becoming the first spacecraft to fly around the Moon and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.
1972 – A Scandinavian Airlines System domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm is hijacked and flown to Malmö-Bulltofta Airport.
1974 – Air Vietnam Flight 706 is hijacked, then crashes while attempting to land with 75 on board.
1975 – The French department of "Corse" (the entire island of Corsica) is divided into two: Haute-Corse (Upper Corsica) and Corse-du-Sud (Southern Corsica)
1978 – Muhammad Ali outpointed Leon Spinks in a rematch to become the first boxer to win the world heavyweight title three times at the Superdome in New Orleans.
1981 – The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
1981 – The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, D.C.
1981 – Vanuatu becomes a member of the United Nations.
1983 – Israeli premier Menachem Begin resigns.
1987 – United States Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze sign a treaty to establish centers to reduce the risk of nuclear war.
1990 – France announces it will send 4,000 troops to the Persian Gulf.
1993 – Liechtenstein Prince Hans-Adam II disbands Parliament
1998 – With the landmark merger of WorldCom and MCI Communications completed the day prior, the new MCI WorldCom opens its doors for business.
2004 – National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman announces lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.
2008 – Lehman Brothers files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.
Famous Folk Born on September 15th:
Saicho
James Fenimore Cooper
Porfirio Diaz
William Howard Taft
Horatio Parker
Ettore Bugatti
Robert Benchley
Agatha Christie
Roy Acuff
Fay Wray
John N. Mitchell
Creighton Abrams (two-time recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam and Army Chief of Staff)
Nipsey Russell
Jackie Cooper
Bobby Short
Norm Crosby
Robert Lucas, Jr.
Merlin Olsen
Ron Shelton
Tommy Lee Jones
Oliver Stone
Pete Carroll
Wendie Jo Sperber
Dan Marino
Dina Lohan
Danny Nucci (here's hoping he doesn't die ignominiously in his next film like he did in many others)
Marisa Ramirez
Heidi Montag
posted by me at 5:55 PM
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