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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Victorious Raiders parade trophy through downtown Ashland State police search for pursuit suspect near Hyatt Lake Police Reports Cheering on the champs Ashland's Safeway part of Haggen acquisition Education For a friend: AHS seniors team up to help former fellow student Ashland builds a bridge across the STEM gap Chicken pox hits Ashland Middle School AHS speech and debate team to compete in Medford Ashland: Lions Club steps up for vision tests Environment New TAP pumps bolster Ashland's options Most residents speak against gas pipeline proposed for Southern Oregon Home Help: Make your new house feel like home ‘Tis the season — for wild mushrooms Business Ashland's Safeway part of Haggen acquisition The Playwright pub will be serving again Saturday Mt. Ashland managers ponder opening this week Hats with a Past Employment in Oregon surpasses pre-recession levels Politics and elections State certifies recount showing failure of GMO-labeling measure Local rep to testify before U.S. Senate panel Tuesday Kent Bush: First Amendment doesn’t mean what you think it means Miller write-in campaign lands Ashland Parks and Rec seat State News In Portland, mindfulness classes ease stress of high school GMO label measure, losing by 809 votes, headed for recount Resent ballots, late results likely to trigger GMO recount Nation - World Obama makes Maduro’s ‘insolent Yankees’ line harder to sell Grand jury won't indict Ferguson cop in shooting Obituaries Death Notices Death Notices Bernard Eugene Krueger Death Notices Christina Lea "Mima" Jacobson Shareable Sports Latest Stories Raiders bring it home Weber's triple-double help SOU men survive OT thriller For fans who made trip, title game special Cheering on the champs NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! SOU tops Marian in NAIA football finals High school Shibley-Styer, Malcolm lead Grizzlies to comeback win over Henley Feinberg scores 17 in Grizz loss Grizzlies tripped up late in tourney loss to Ridgeview Grizzlies' comeback attempt falls short against Mazama Ashland girls win three duals in home swim meet Southern Oregon University Raiders bring it home Weber's triple-double help SOU men survive OT thriller For fans who made trip, title game special Cheering on the champs Shibley-Styer, Malcolm lead Grizzlies to comeback win over Henley Opinion Latest Stories Herb Rothschild Jr.: The Christmas spirit Our View: Good news this week The vaccination deniers Granlund cartoon: Christmas season Matthew T. Mangino: The future of the death penalty in question? Editorial Our View: Good news this week The vaccination deniers Other Views: Hunting helps the economy Our View: ACH's remarkable recovery Our View: Growing up is inevitable Letters Letters to the Editor, Dec. 17 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 16 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 11 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 8 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 5 Guest opinions Herb Rothschild Jr.: The Christmas spirit Guest Opinion: Heard the buzz about Bee City USA? Herb Rothschild Jr.: Fight Zionist suppression Guest Opinion: Life — and death — by choice Guest Opinion: The environmental tipping point Revels Latest Stories Dancing People Company celebrates the Winter Solstice 4 Things to do this weekend Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas Best Bets: Dec. 18-24 'Homesman' plays grit and despair perfectly Theater ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Putting the music into 'A Christmas Carol' Meet the real Jacob Marley Music Rating old-timers’ albums from 2014 SOU presents all-percussion concert Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Movies Movie review: This ‘Museum’ entry should be closed to the public Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 'Homesman' plays grit and despair perfectly Movie review: Exiting Middle-earth with a triumphant flourish Movie review: A captivating film about a girl gone ‘Wild’ Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Looking Up: The stars from the North Pole Suzette Martinez Standring: Christmas light reflections Health Watch: Change up your treadmill workout In Good Faith: Fallen angels Marketta Gregory: Advent calendar Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs NEWS NOW Victorious Raiders parade trophy through downtown Ashland ... State police search for pursuit suspect near Hyatt Lake ... Raiders bring it home ... Victorious Raiders parade trophy through downtown Ashland ... State police search for pursuit suspect near Hyatt Lake ... Raiders bring it home ... Kent Bush: First Amendment doesn't mean what you think it means Comment By Kent Bush, 
More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Kent Bush, 
More Content Now Posted Dec. 2, 2014 @ 7:24 am By Kent Bush, 
More Content Now Posted Dec. 2, 2014 @ 7:24 am » Social News Unfortunately for the Founding Fathers, they were all dead and gone before “The Princess Bride” hit movie theaters. Nonetheless, I think Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and their pals who penned the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that were soon attached to it would agree with Mandy Patinkin’s character Inigo Montoya. When Vizzini continually used the word “inconceivable” to describe situations, Patinkin’s character looked at him and said, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Gun toters misinterpret the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms to mean anyone can carry any gun they choose, anywhere they choose, anytime they choose. Likewise, people whose mouth runs a few seconds ahead of their brains misinterpret the First Amendment. For every stupid comment, you hear people say, “I have a First Amendment right to free speech.” That is true. You can say any despicable thing you want and not go to jail for it. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be fired from your job, lose all your friends or even be removed from office if you were elected. The First Amendment protects you from government intervention, not all consequences. Arguments about racism seem to create the most unfortunate comments and thus, the greatest number of incorrect claims of protection. One prominent example of this is an Oklahoma County Deputy Assessor’s Facebook post about the Ferguson riots last week. Larry Stein, the Oklahoma County deputy assessor, posted, “There hasn’t been this great of a racial divide in America since the 1850’s. Congrats to the thugs and animals in Ferguson.” Stein caught some heat for his comments about rioters being “thugs and animals.” What is this world coming to when a man who works in a government office in a county with a large percentage of black people can’t call black people thug and animals without everyone getting upset? Once Stein’s comment went viral, he did what all idiots who say horrible things do. He grabbed a fresh copy of the Bill of Rights and proceeded to trample all over what it really means. “I have removed my private personal thoughts, shared on a webpage, that proves some people have very thin skin and may try to bully those who speak things they don’t like to hear.  The First Amendment, the freedom of speech and religion, is for everyone,” Stein said, somehow thinking the First Amendment protects him from people becoming angry at his words. “National radio talk show hosts and many others used the same word to reference the lawless, Ferguson rioters and law breakers.  Great thinkers have written, ‘Without laws, men are just animals.’  This type of lawless behavior is terrible and the same term would apply to everyone who is lawlessly rioting and destroying personal property, it’s the lack of character, just as Dr. King warned. Lawlessness, rioting and mob rule are always wrong.  If someone was offended by the use of the term, do they support the rioters actions and oppose the First Amendment? If someone wants to deny my Free Speech rights guaranteed in the constitution, that is appalling.  When can we expect Dr. King’s dream to become a reality, judging people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin?” I don’t know where to start. Yes I do. Stein should have removed the post and gone on a nice vacation. When he got back, people would have forgotten who he was. But no, Stein had to come at us with quotes by both “great thinkers” and Martin Luther King Jr. I think it might behoove Stein to keep King’s name out of his mouth. Apparently, Stein heard parts of the “I have a dream” speech and became a racial philosopher. I did a little searching and wasn’t able to find which “great thinker” said that without laws, men are animals. Maybe he was trying to quote the pigs in “Animal Farm” who believe “some animals are more equal than others.” I don’t know. What I do know is that the First Amendment means a cop won’t be arresting Stein at his office for his words. Whether he still has an office to go to is another story. A few St. Louis Rams also used their First Amendment rights when they showed a little support for the protests of the grand jury decision not to prosecute Darren Wilson for shooting and killing Michael Brown. A handful of Rams mimicked the “hands up, don’t shoot” sign when they came onto the field Sunday. The St. Louis police weren’t impressed with that support. They said Wilson had been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting of the unarmed black teen who allegedly attacked him in his car before being shot 150 feet (or 50 yards in football terms) away from the initial altercation. “I'd remind the NFL and their players that it is not the violent thugs burning down buildings that buy their advertiser's products. It's cops and the good people of St. Louis and other NFL towns that do,” said SLPOA Business Manager Jeff Roorda said in the statement. “Somebody needs to throw a flag on this play. If it's not the NFL and the Rams, then it'll be cops and their supporters.” The NFL could fine the players for the gesture. It wouldn’t be the first gesture to draw the interest of the NFL. The Supreme Court will decide soon about what constitutes protect speech on social media and what is evidence of criminal intent. The Supreme Court has considered “true threats” to be unprotected speech for decades. But there have been many exceptions for political hyperbole and other cases. A Pennsylvania man claims he didn’t mean to threaten anyone when he quoted rap lyrics after a bad relationship breakup that said, “There is one way to love you but a thousand ways to kill you. I’m not going to rest until your body is a mess, soaked in blood and dying from the all the little cuts.” I was wondering what I should put on this year’s Christmas card. His ex-wife and the police and courts have agreed that the Facebook post was a threat. When an FBI agent asked the man about his threats, he decided he would go back on Facebook and post about that incident as well. “Little agent lady stood so close, took all the strength I had not to turn her into a ghost,” he wrote. “Pull my knife, flick my wrist and slit her throat.” The man thinks the First Amendment protects this type of speech. I do not think the First Amendment means what he thinks it means.   By Kent Bush, 
More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Kent Bush, 
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