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Thursday, January 21, 2010
This is GREAT news for those in this country who still appreciate free speech.

5 comments:

Chris A said...

I don't like all the aspects of McCain-Feingold, but I disagree with the decision.

The problem with U.S. federal law is that it treats corporations as persons. I doubt this is what the Framers had in mind. While the right of freedom of speech of citizens is affirmed by the Constitution, I have a hard time understanding what this has to do with freedom of speech. And since it is really only going to apply to corporations, it empowers them to speak louder than the people, which I think is bad. This is a vote for corporate entities against the will of the people.

The freedom of speech is being eroded for citizens day-by-day. Whether this is done by making it impossible to protest or by arresting protesters when they follow restrictive protesting ordinances, or through "cyber-bullying" propaganda, or through the measures Cass Sunstein plans to introduce, or some other means of control, the voice of the people is being silenced in this country.

Even if this law should have been repealed, how is it that the corporations who are not persons, even though they are given all the rights as persons, have rights that citizens are losing?

Darius said...

Hey, I'm in agreement that this isn't the only law that needs to get repealed... but it's a very big first step towards freedom of speech in this country. The big corporations weren't being stopped by this law anyway (look at the bailouts and health care bill for all of the special interest pork)... but it was stopping smaller private groups from speaking out.

Chris A said...

I honestly don't see how this is going to affect free speech at all. I see this bill as trending in the same direction as the bailouts and the health care bill.

Here is something that people don't know about the health care bill, though. Both versions have a religious exemption. I've used a religious exemption before and its pretty easy to do. Because of a precedent set by a case heard in the Supreme Court, you don't have to prove that your church holds explicit beliefs for or against the thing the exemption is used for.

If the bill does pass, I think you're going to see folks jumping on the religious exemption bandwagon. I've even thought of starting a nonprofit that people can join expressly for the purpose of opting out of government healthcare - not that they would technically have to take that extra step, but there is strength in numbers, and people would feel more secure that way. The thing is I try to stay off the government radar as much as possible.

Darius said...

Yeah, I posted on that religious exemption here: http://dariusteichroew.blogspot.com/2010/01/time-to-develop-religious-conscience.html

I think if the health care bill goes through eventually, Christians should band together and start their own insurance co-ops and opt out of the government. And do as Doug Wilson recommended and take as few exemptions as possible on your taxes... that will show the government!

Steve Martin said...

Free speech, and honest and open books as to who is paying for what.

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The Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel The Main Thing
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
Overcoming Sin and Temptation
According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible
Disciplines of a Godly Man
Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not the Problem
When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves
The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
Respectable Sins
The Kite Runner
Life Laid Bare: The Survivors in Rwanda Speak
Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak
A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I am a missional, evangelical, post/protestant, liberal/conservative, mystical/poetic, biblical, charismatic/contemplative, fundamentalist/calvinist, ... anabaptist/anglican, metho
Show Them No Mercy
The Lord of the Rings
Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass
The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception
Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming
The Chronicles of Narnia
Les Misérables


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