And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.

A revolution to overthrow a (for once) legitimately elected gov’t.? That’ll change the “dynamic of freedom” alright!

That’s one hell of a district she’s got gerrymandered for herself.

There has always been a “time, place and manner” aspect to the First Amendment. The Philadelphia Constitutional Conventions nearly collapsed when Independence Hall was taken over by angry Revolutionary War vets who refused to let the delegates do business. After the Governor of Pennsylvania refused to evict them the Conventions moved to New York…and wrote in the clauses that created Washington D.C. with Federal properties under CONGRESSIONAL Control.

The problem is that Limbaugh can go on the air at 2 PM and talk about PM Gordon Blair contracting “anal poisoning” from “slobbering all over Ogama’s backside”…with impunity. Limbaugh is in absolute control over what he broadcasts…holds a FCC Broadcast License for which he swore to follow the FCC regulation. He doesn’t even warn the audience he’s going to make such offensive references to “sexual and excretory activities”.

Yet some small Pacifica or College station that plays a warning and airs something like a play or music with a salty reference AFTER 10 PM [e.g. KCSB playing the Pork Dukes song “Makin’ Bacon”] has their license threatened (in fact, the whole UC system of radio stations were threatened by the FCC since taking away the licensee rights of the Regents would have shut down all 6 of the UC Radio Stations).

Apparently those with money, wealth and power have different 1st Amendment rights than the rest of us.

I agree with most of your statement, but I don’t think the first amendment applies to the public airwaves as an absolute. On the street corner, sure, but using broadcast time like this is irresponsible.

That said, I hope I am properly summarizing the attitude here that we don’t want to silence Beck, Limbaugh, et al., in fact honorable dissent is necessary for a democracy to work. And it may be that, hidden somewhere in their manipulations, there are legitimate issues, but at this point, they would appear to be confused at best. (and self-serving sociopaths at worst)

I am not even asking for simple civil discourse. All I want is honesty and recourse against intentional lies. I think the biggest frustration for the last 10 years has been that there has been NO accountability for dreadful actions, and we, as a society, have suffered greatly – emotionally, financially, morally and politically.

Give us back the public airwaves. Call a lie what it is. Make the liars responsible. When discourse becomes civil, the chasm between the parties will be narrowed.

We fell in love on-line

He was already married when he became “smitten” with her inebriated stream of conciousness webcasts as she stumbled about her home. He sent her missives of love…as his marriage with a real flesh-and-blood wife decayed.

I suppose that its fortunate for Outhouse that he wasn’t a she impersonating a member of the opposite gender! You never know about those “tubes”

That said, I have no problem penalizing people when their words have damaging consequences. There is no justification for lying, for spreading fear-inducing speculation, even if it doesn’t rise to the current standard for defamation or incitement to riot. Saying “Obama is coming for your guns” has clearly become, for some people, an incitement to violent action, and these assholes who spread this bullshit need to be taught that they will be held liable for their part in fomenting an environment of fear and hatred.

“No prior restraint” does not mean that they can’t be held responsible for their own lack of restraint.

But they don’t realize that Jefferson was talking about King George.

“In a country whose constitution is derived from the will of the people directly expressed by their free suffrages, where the principal executive functionaries and those of the legislature are renewed by them at short periods, where under the character of jurors they exercise in person the greatest portion of the judiciary powers, where the laws are consequently so formed and administered as to bear with equal weight and favor on all, restraining no man in the pursuits of honest industry and securing to every one the property which that acquires, it would not be supposed that any safeguards could be needed against insurrection or enterprise on the public peace or authority. The laws, however, aware that these should not be trusted to moral restraints only, have wisely provided punishments for these crimes when committed.”
–Thomas Jefferson: 6th Annual Message, 1806. ME 3:418

And hear is what Jefferson would say about those in the media, and those that support them through advertising, who are fomenting such rebellions.

“The paradox with me is how any friend to the union of our country can, in conscience, contribute a cent to the maintenance of anyone who perverts the sanctity of his desk to the open inculcation of rebellion, civil war, dissolution of government, and the miseries of anarchy.”

–Thomas Jefferson to William Plumer, 1815. ME 14:235