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FIRST AMENDMENT? WHAT FIRST AMENDMENT?

Texas AG Ken Paxton Argues Black Student Should Have Been Forced to Stand for Pledge of Allegiance

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has moved to intervene in a federal court case where an African-American girl was suspended for protesting the Pledge of Allegiance.

India Landry and her mother won a lawsuit against Cyprus-Fairbanks Independent School District after she was expelled for refusing to stand while the pledge was being recited in class.

In a motion filed on Tuesday, Paxton argued that the school district should have prevailed in the case because the girl’s mother did not send an official form to opt-out of saying the pledge.

“As the United States Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized, parents have a fundamental interest in guiding the education and upbringing of their children,” Paxton wrote. “That interest rightfully includes determining whether their children should participate in the time-honored tradition of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag.”

Paxton said that he was attempting to intervene in the case in order to protect the right of parents who want to force their children to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

“A State may act to protect that interest, and the Texas Legislature did so by giving the choice of whether an individual student will recite the Pledge to the student’s parent or guardian,” he argued. “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held that doing so is a legitimate way to protect parents’ interest in determining how their children will be educated on civic values and does not violate the students’ First Amendment rights.”

BuzzFeed’s Dominic Holden pointed out that there was at least one district court ruling in Florida that favored the student in a similar case.

Image by Just some dust via Flickr and a CC license

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FIRST AMENDMENT? WHAT FIRST AMENDMENT?

Justice Clarence Thomas Believes Media Criticism of Decisions ‘Jeopardizes Any Faith’ in the Supreme Court

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3 years ago

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September 16, 2021

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Justice Clarence Thomas complained about the harsh criticism the Supreme Court has received since allowing a controversial anti-abortion law to go into effect in Texas.

Thomas delivered the 2021 Tocqueville Lecture at the University of Notre Dame on Thursday, where he complained about media criticism, The Washington Post reported.

“I think the media makes it sound as though you are just always going right to your personal preference. So if they think you are anti-abortion or something personally, they think that’s the way you always will come out. They think you’re for this or for that. They think you become like a politician,” Thomas said.

“That’s a problem. You’re going to jeopardize any faith in the legal institutions,” he said.

A second Post report on the speech noted Thomas’ remarks on the ongoing mistrust of the court.

“The court was thought to be the least dangerous branch and we may have become the most dangerous,” Thomas said. “And I think that’s problematic.”

The newspaper noted the lecture was interrupted by protesters who yelled, “I still believe Anita Hill.”

 

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FIRST AMENDMENT? WHAT FIRST AMENDMENT?

Four Cops ‘Drag’ Man From McCarthy Press Conference for Asking Question About Jan. 6 Committee

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3 years ago

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August 5, 2021

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Four law enforcement officers reportedly removed a man from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) press conference on Thursday when he tried to ask a question about the Jan. 6 committee.

“I tried to ask @GOPLeader McCarthy a question after he decried Cuban police pickup up people in the streets,” Grant Stern explained in a tweet. “Why does he oppose the bipartisan #January6thCommission?”

“A Congressional staffer had four cops pick me up and drag me from the room,” he explained.

Stern’s bio indicates that he is an editor for the OccupyDemocrats organization.

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FIRST AMENDMENT? WHAT FIRST AMENDMENT?

GOP Launches Witch Hunt Demanding Investigation Into Highly-Respected University Professor’s Tweets

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3 years ago

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July 9, 2021

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Republicans in Virginia are demanding that University of Virginia President James E. Ryan open an investigation into tweets by Center for Politics founder Dr. Larry Sabato.

“A reasonable taxpaying citizen can readily conclude that Dr. Sabato is demonstrating the rankest form of bitter partisanship,” Virginia GOP Chair Rich Anderson wrote in a letter printed on Republican Party of Virginia letterhead.

“In order to have faith in our institutions, it is essential that Virginians hold accountable those public employees and officials who violate institutional values, codes of conduct, and other guidelines of professional behavior.”

A spokesperson for the university said Sabato has done nothing wrong.

“There is nothing in our Code of Conduct that limits University employees from engaging in expression that is protected under the First Amendment,” the spokesman said.

Anderson complained about eight tweets by Sabato. The first noted Donald Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns.

The second tweet concerned Trump’s fact-free approach to presidential debates.

The third tweet was in the context of Trump hoping to bring back executions by firing squad while facing accusations of extreme tax fraud. It was in the comments of a Daily Beast story.

The fourth tweet questioned Trump’s sanity after he released a 46-minute video pushing his “Big Lie” of voter fraud.

The fifth tweet praised a return to normalcy “after 4 years of the bizarre and disturbing.”

The sixth tweet returned to the question of Trump’s mental health in the context of the delusional conspiracy theory that he will be “reinstated” as president in August in violation of the Constitution.

The seventh tweet concerned Glenn Youngkin, who is worth hundreds of millions after working as the co-CEO of the private-equity firm The Carlyle Group. Youngkin is now running for governor of Virginia.

The final tweet the GOP believes should result in an investigation concerned Trump’s choice of music at his campaign-style rallies.

 

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