Showing posts with label Free Speech protesters. Show all posts

Monday, May 05, 2014

Former Secretary of State Rice backs out of Rutgers commencement

May 3, 2014

According to Kristina Wong, writing for The Hill on May 3, 2014, “Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declined Rutgers University’s invitation as commencement speaker after some students staged a sit-in protest of her support for the Iraq War. Read more here: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/205115-condoleezza-rice-backs-out-of-rutgers-commencement

[…]

However, Rutgers faculty at its New Brunswick campus approved a resolution calling for Rice to be disinvited to the May 18 ceremony, according to the National Review Online, citing the Bush’s administration’s “effort to mislead the American people about the presence of weapons of mass destruction.”

Students protested with signs calling Rice a “war criminal.”

On May 3, 2014, Secretary Rice said on her Facebook page, “Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families. Rutgers' invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time.

I am honored to have served my country. I have defended America's belief in free speech and the exchange of ideas. These values are essential to the health of our democracy. But that is not what is at issue here. As a Professor for thirty years at Stanford University and as its former Provost and Chief academic officer, I understand and embrace the purpose of the commencement ceremony and I am simply unwilling to detract from it in any way.

Good luck to the graduates and congratulations to the families, friends and loved ones who will gather to honor them.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/205115-condoleezza-rice-backs-out-of-rutgers-commencement Follow @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook

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Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Free Speech Freedom Motivator

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/01/freedom-motivator.html

I may not agree with what you say but, but I respect your right to be punished for it.

This should be the motto for the writers at The Tentacle www.thetentacle.com

Hat Tip: to Matthew G. Saroff at “40 years in The Desert” who gave credit to JR at the Stellar Parthenon BBS

Labels: Free Speech, Free Speech protesters, Humor, Media The Tentacle, Motivator, Oh Snap, Snark, US Constitution 01 Amend Free Speech, Words of wisdom

[20120107 freedomdemotivator]

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Friday, March 04, 2011

Kevin Dayhoff The Tentacle: SCOTUS Westboro Decision - A Victory for Free Speech?

March 4, 2011

A Victory for Free Speech?

Kevin E. Dayhoff http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4265

By a vote of 8-1, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a long awaited decision Wednesday over the collision of free speech, common sense and decency and our right to privacy in the case of Albert Snyder v. Fred W. Phelps, Sr., and the Westboro Baptist Church.

The Supreme Court ruled against the father of Westminster native Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, whose March 10, 2006, funeral was picketed by members of the Kansas-based church. Corporal Snyder was 20 years-old when he died March 3, 2006, in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.

The irony abounds that the Westboro band of graceless sociopaths have chosen over the years to disparage and heap emotional abuse on families at the funerals of the very men and women in uniform, who have died defending the right of these creeps to exercise their right to free speech.

The controversy that initiated the test of the limits of free speech began shortly after Snyder’s death. In a paroxysmal milieu, the Snyder family is an otherwise unlikely fulcrum for all this drama... http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4265

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4265 http://tinyurl.com/4obs953

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2011/03/kevin-dayhoff-tentacle-scotus-westboro.html

Labels: Dayhoff Media The Tentacle, Dayhoff Writing Essays, Free Speech, Free Speech Protesters, Iraq War CCo Cpl Snyder Kia 2mar06, US Constitution 01 Amendment, Westboro Baptist Church

http://tinyurl.com/4obs953
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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Open Letter to Westboro Baptist Church FROM ANONYMOUS

In a warning posted by “Anonymous,” the anti-gay, fundamentalist church known as the Westboro Baptist Church, led by Rev. Fred Phelps, was put on notice to “Cease & desist your protest campaign in the year 2011, return to your homes in Kansas, & close your public Web sites” or “the damage incurred will be irreversible,” and that “neither your institution nor your congregation will ever be able to fully recover…”

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AN OPEN LETTER FROM ANONYMOUS http://anonnews.org/?p=home

February 16, 2011 http://anonnews.org/?p=press&a=item&i=449

TO THE CONGREGANTS OF WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH:

We, the collective super-consciousness known as ANONYMOUS - the Voice of Free Speech & the Advocate of the People - have long heard you issue your venomous statements of hatred, and we have witnessed your flagrant and absurd displays of inimitable bigotry and intolerant fanaticism. We have always regarded you and your ilk as an assembly of graceless sociopaths and maniacal chauvinists & religious zealots, however benign, who act out for the sake of attention & in the name of religion.

Being such aggressive proponents for the Freedom of Speech & Freedom of Information as we are, we have hitherto allowed you to continue preaching your benighted gospel of hatred and your theatrical exhibitions of, not only your fascist views, but your utter lack of Christ-like attributes. You have condemned the men and women who serve, fight, and perish in the armed forces of your nation; you have prayed for and celebrated the deaths of young children, who are without fault; you have stood outside the United States National Holocaust Museum, condemning the men, women, and children who, despite their innocence, were annihilated by a tyrannical embodiment of fascism and unsubstantiated repugnance. Rather than allowing the deceased some degree of peace and respect, you instead choose to torment, harass, and assault those who grieve.

Your demonstrations and your unrelenting cascade of disparaging slurs, unfounded judgments, and prejudicial innuendos, which apparently apply to every individual numbered amongst the race of Man - except for yourselves - has frequently crossed the line which separates Freedom of Speech from deliberately utilizing the same tactics and methods of intimidation and mental & emotional abuse that have been previously exploited and employed by tyrants and dictators, fascists and terrorist organizations throughout history.

ANONYMOUS cannot abide this behavior any longer. The time for us to be idle spectators in your inhumane treatment of fellow Man has reached its apex, and we shall now be moved to action. Thus, we give you a warning: Cease & desist your protest campaign in the year 2011, return to your homes in Kansas, & close your public Web sites.

Should you ignore this warning, you will meet with the vicious retaliatory arm of ANONYMOUS: We will target your public Websites, and the propaganda & detestable doctrine that you promote will be eradicated; the damage incurred will be irreversible, and neither your institution nor your congregation will ever be able to fully recover. It is in your best interest to comply now, while the option to do so is still being offered, because we will not relent until you cease the conduction & promotion of all your bigoted operations & doctrines.

The warning has been given. What happens from here shall be determined by you.

WE ARE ANONYMOUS.

WE ARE LEGION.

WE DO NOT FORGIVE.

WE DO NOT FORGET.

EXPECT US.

Hat Tip CREDIT goes to:

CBS Tech Talk: Hackers warn Westboro Church: Stop now or else http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20033942-501465.html … In an open letter to the Westboro Baptist Church, Anonymous has put the anti-gay, fundamentalist church on notice that "the damage incurred will be irreversible," and that "neither your institution nor your congregation will ever be able to fully recover."

The Westboro Baptist Church is led by Rev. Fred Phelps. It has drawn particular attention for carrying out anti-gay protests at funerals of military servicemen with signs celebrating the deaths of the soldiers with signs like "God Hates the USA" or "Thank God for 9/11." The group operates a website with the URL godhatesfags.com.

And Digg:

http://digg.com/news/technology/hackers_warn_westboro_church_stop_now_or_else_tech_talk_cbs_news - - Hackers warn Westboro Church: Stop now or else - Tech Talk - CBS News cbsnews.com — In an open letter to the Westboro Baptist Church, a group of hacktivists acting under the banner "Anonymous" has put the anti-gay, fundamentalist church on notice that "the damage incurred will be irreversible," and that "neither your institution nor your congregation will ever be able to fully recover."

20110216 Open Letter to Westboro Baptist Church From ANONYMOUS

Westboro Baptist Church, ANONYMOUS

http://www.scribd.com/doc/49177551/Open-Letter-to-Westboro-Baptist-Church-FROM-ANONYMOUS

Open Letter to Westboro Baptist Church FROM ANONYMOUS

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Thursday, June 17, 2010

Conservatives: Beware Of The Military Funeral Case

CONSERVATIVES: BEWARE OF THE MILITARY FUNERAL CASE

By Mark J., Fitzgibbons The American Thinker

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/conservatives_beware_of_the_mi.html

The obnoxious family that calls itself the Westboro Baptist Church is an example of how it is sometimes difficult to take the long view of freedom. Patriotic, constitutional conservatives, however, should be cautioned about the WBC military funeral case now in the news. It has potential for mischief against conservative activists.

WBC has made a name for itself protesting at military funerals and is in the middle of a Supreme Court battle with the father of a slain Marine over whether WBC's public relations ploys crossed the line and constituted a legal wrong. The Fourth Circuit reversed a U.S. District Court judgment awarding the father, Albert Snyder, millions of dollars in tort damages. The Supreme Court then agreed to hear Mr. Snyder's case.

WBC has managed to offend nearly everyone. They abuse biblical verses identifying conduct God hates to state that God hates individuals. WBC has a website (godhatesfags.com), relentlessly bashes the Catholic Church, and, in highly visible protests, its pitifully few members carry signs near military funerals with messages such as "Thank God for dead soldiers," "God Hates the USA," "Pope in hell," and others designed to provoke attention and rage.

Mr. Snyder did not see the signs at his son's funeral until later that day, when footage was shown on television. Mr. Snyder then followed up by reviewing WBC's offensive internet rants naming his son. Understandably outraged, he filed suit against WBC alleging various torts.

Continue reading at The American Thinker

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/conservatives_beware_of_the_mi.html

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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

O'Reilly steps forward to pay fallen Marine family’s court-ordered expenses

Cable news host steps forward to pay fallen Marine family’s court-ordered expenses

The O'Reilly Factor host Bill O’Reilly stepped forward and said, “That is an outrage… I will pay Mr. Snyder’s obligation.”

March 31 2010

By Kevin Dayhoff By Kevin Dayhoff http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2010/03/oreilly-steps-forward-to-pay-fallen.html

Fox News cable news host Bill O'Reilly has said that he will pay the $16,500 legal bill for the father of fallen U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder, of Westminster who was killed instantly March 3, 2006 while on assignment in Al Qaim, Iraq.

Protesters led by Fred Phelps, of the Topeka, Kansas Westboro Baptist Church protested at Lance Cpl. Snyder’s funeral at his funeral service which was held in his home parish of St. John Catholic Church in Westminster on March 10, 2006.

According to news reports, Phelps and the church have picketed a number of military funerals around the country claiming that the deaths of U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq are punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.

In response to the protests, Lance Cpl. Snyder’s father, Albert Snyder, of York, Pa., sued Phelps, his daughters Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebecca Phelps-Davis, and the church and won an $11 million damage award for emotional distress and invasion of privacy in October 2007.

The judge subsequently reduced the amount to $5 million. However, the verdict was thrown out on appeal in the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Maryland, which last Friday ordered Snyder to pay the costs of Phelps’ appeal.

Meanwhile the Fourth Circuit’s decision has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court which agreed earlier in the month to consider whether or not the protesters’ messages, which include phrases such as ‘Thank God for dead soldiers,’ are protected by the “time, place and manner” precedent under the First Amendment which addresses the competing privacy and religious rights of the mourners.

Sean Summers and Craig Trebilcock, the York, Pennsylvania attorneys representing Snyder are doing the work for free; however the filing requirements for an appeal the U.S. Supreme Court can be expensive. A situation only exacerbated the decision last Friday that Snyder pay the court expenses involved in the Fourth Circuit’s decision, which has subsequently made national news.

Various legal experts have said in news reports that the Fourth Circuit had the discretion to hold off on making a ruling until the Supreme Court made its decision.

Meanwhile, a web site, MatthewSnyder.org, has been created by the law firm of Barley Snyder, LLC, who is representing the Snyder family for folks who would like to donate money for the Snyder family's continuing legal expenses.

In a phone interview this afternoon with this reporter, a representative of the firm said that all the money collected will go towards the expenses that will be incurred for preparing the case for the U.S. Supreme Court, “which can be pretty hefty…

“Not the attorney fees, because we are representing the family for free,” she added.

O’Reilly steps forward.

Yesterday on “The O'Reilly Factor,” O’Reilly stepped forward and said, “That is an outrage… I will pay Mr. Snyder’s obligation. I am not going to let this injustice stand…

“It is obvious that they were disturbing the peace by disrupting the funeral. They should have been arrested, but our system is so screwed up that loons are allowed to run wild. Snyder is fighting the good fight, and he is taking his case to the Supreme Court as he should. We are behind him 100 percent,” opined O’Reilly on the broadcast.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Snyder’s appeal during its October term and with a verdict will be announced in the middle of next year.

As for media reports that O’Reilly has volunteered to pay the appellate expenses ordered by the Fourth Circuit, the representative from Barley Snyder, LLC said that the phone has ringing off the hook as a result of those reports…

She added that she had also heard that (O’Reilly has said he will contribute) but cannot confirm at this point that he has indeed written a check, “Although I am sure he is good to his word.”

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20100331 sdosmked Cable news host to pay to Snyder family court exps

Labels: Free Speech, Free Speech protesters, Iraq War, Iraq War Carroll Co Reaction, Iraq War CCo Cpl Snyder KIA 2Mar06, Journalists O'Reilly-Bill, Supreme Court of the US

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Friday, May 22, 2009

It was a lovely day to protest.

It was a lovely day to protest.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Pictured are the airport protesters at the Carroll County office building in Westminster Maryland.

Seems they are also protesting Carroll County commissioners Julia Gouge and Mike Zimmer.

Dayhoff Daily Photoblog
20090521 Airport protesters

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