Citizens . . .

. . . United . . .


(from http://reclaimdemocracy.org/who-are-citizens-united/)
The Court majority (Justices Kennedy, Roberts, Alito, Scalia, and Thomas) argued:
1.    barring independent political spending amounts to squelching free speech protected by the First Amendment.
2.    the First Amendment protects not just a person’s right to speak, but the act of speech itself, regardless of the speaker. Therefore the First Amendment protects the speech of corporations and unions, whether we consider them people or not.
3.    although government has the authority to prevent corruption or “the appearance of corruption,” it has no place in determining whether large political expenditures are either of those things, so it may not impose spending limits on that basis.
4.    the public has the right to hear all available information, and spending limits prevent information from reaching the public.

The Court minority (Justices Stevens, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor) argued:
1.    the First Amendment protects only individual speech, not speech by associations of individuals.
2.    government may prevent corruption, and campaign spending can be corrupt when it buys influence over legislators. Therefore government may impose spending limits on corporations and unions.
3.    government may prevent the appearance of corruption, which undermines public confidence in democracy. Limits on corporate and union political spending are an expression of that authority.
4.    the public has the right to hear all available information, and when corporations spend money individuals can’t match, messages from corporations drown out messages from others, and that information fails to reach the public.

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 


OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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Lesson. . .

. . . learned.

The kid who was incarcerated over an alleged threat on Facebook is now free thanks to an anonymous donor who posted his $500,000 bail.  The threat came during an argument about a video game when he claims to have 'sarcastically' said he was going to "shoot up a kindergarten."  He was jailed in February.

School violence and free speech came head to head as a result of the incident. In response to reporters, the young man said,   "I certainly would have thought a lot more about what I said and how permanent my writing -- and everyone's writing -- is (on the Internet).  People should be very, very careful of what they say. It's being recorded all the time, if you say it on any website, anywhere. And you can get in trouble for something that's not something you should get in trouble for. I just want people to be warned."


Lesson learned.

What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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