freedom of speech, an idea whose time has passed?

so the other side of the story is that Rep.
sorry McG but I still consider freedom of speech a greater issue than a congressman growing irked about an issue he doesn't like. I may grow irked about libertarians calling for strict constitutional adherence but I dont try to silence them. btw is there some statement in the bill of rights limiting freedom of speech when it irks someone?

This is pathetic -- and it most assuredly is, in my opinion, an infringement on free speech.

It'll undoubtedly be tested -- and my guess is, it will lose.

It's a dumb move but IMO it is not an infringement on the legal definition of free speech.

I note that the government sucessfuly censors the computers in public libraries and I think there is enough precedent that this can pass legal muster.

Hopefully it will be struck down due to an outcry, even if it's legally sound.

Your mistaken. It's a threat, not a ban. DC Metro is free to have whatever advertising they want. The government can also be free to fund as it wishes. No one is saying the ads can't go up, just that there is a price for doing so.

McG!!!!!

Indeed!!

Censorship by any other name...

A strange comparison.
Donald Trump wouldn't allow competitor ad on his property.

Is the Transit Sytem of any state the property of the Fed?

This is not a direct prohibition of free speech. It is an indirect approach to discourage speech via economic sanctions. At the end of the day it amounts to Govt. intrusion of Free Speech. There are other examples of this with any agency that deals with abortion but that is another topic. Rights are being subverted in subtle ways. I hope that this nefarious law is challenged.

Re: A strange comparison.


Does Pistoff have a ghostwriter? I agree with him... [checks to see if the devil is ice skating.]

AMEN!!~!!!

Censorship by any other name is STILL censorship.

Using Federal funds as a bludgeon to beat the local transit system into compliance with the Federal governments wishes is as wrong as wrong can be.

Using the authority of your position to force someone into compliance with your wishes is COERCION.

Main Entry: co·erce
Pronunciation: kO-'&rs
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): co·erced; co·erc·ing
Etymology: Latin coercEre, from co- + arcEre to shut up, enclose -- more at ARK
Date: 15th century
1 : to restrain or dominate by force <religion in the past has tried to coerce the irreligious -- W. R. Inge>
2 : to compel to an act or choice
3 : to bring about by force or threat <coerce the compliance of the rest of the community -- Scott Buchanan>


Amendment I[/u]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Way ta go, Fedral.

There are some things the left, the right, and the unaffiliated have to champion -- and this is one of them.

Fer sure.

Just think about what's going to happen when and if GWB is re-elected and can do whatever the hell he pleases because he know he can't run again and his only precedent will be to set things up for Bush Inc. for years to come........

You know Bin Laden, Hitler, Hussein didn't get up one day and start slaughtering and incinerating people...it was a process.....emboldened by time and a series of small victories and coups against personal freedoms until it came to the atrocities we see and abhor today.....better think about it.....

I think about it very, very, very often!

Pagan origins of Christmas
Beware! This is what happens when freedom of speech is denied. What happened to December 25 as the birthday of Mithra, the pagan sun god?
--- BBB

Winter Festivals - The Origins of Christmas

The winter festival of Christmas on the 25th December is the celebration of the birth of Christ. But what was so significant about the 25th of December to assign the birth of Christ to it? The answer lies in our religious history.

Most winter festivals occur around the time of the winter solstice, when our days are shorter and our nights longer. And they're celebrated in all sorts of cultures, including pre-historic societies and the ancient Egyptian civilisation.

Communities rely on warm and favourable weather to grow crops and increase their chances of successful hunting and gathering. So when winter brought darker and colder days, people became anxious and uncertain.

Before Christianity was adopted by the Roman Empire around the 4th century AD, paganism was widely practised and was in fact the official religion. From December 17th-24th pagans observed Saturnalia with feasting and merrymaking. The festivities culminated on December 25th, when the re-birth of the sun god was celebrated.

Their beliefs stemmed from the fear that mankind could not survive the shorter, colder days and that the end of the world was imminent. When the days gradually became longer, following December 21st, the pagans thought that this was their sun god triumphing over the evil darkness. This became the most important day of the year for the pagan religion. It marked the movement to a warmer season, when hunting and farming would be made easier.

In the fourth century, Christianity was placed on an equal footing with paganism in the Roman Empire following Emperor Constantine's conversion. However, the early Christian leaders found that pagan customs were so well established, people were unwilling to give them up. They tried to abolish the pagan winter festival of the sun, but ended up adopting it into the Christian calendar. They did this in order to make Christianity more appealing to the pagans and slowly changed its meaning to fit in with Christian beliefs. As a result, December 25th is now celebrated as the day of Christ's birth.