Bicycling Monterey 💚🌎🌍🌏4h ago

Amen to Brandi Carlile’s statements

On “Church and State,” @ 29:14 in #NPR World Cafe video interview:
“The separation of #church and state is absolutely essential. I say that as a person of #faith and as a person who has to live in a #democracy.”

And, @ 29:32 , on including quote from Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists from 1802: “Those crossover moments are the ones that we really need to look for."

#FirstAmendment #BuildingBridges #CommonGround #Americans https://www.npr.org/2025/10/24/nx-s1-5584021/brandi-carlile-album-returning-to-myself

Show threadLed By Creepier, Scarier Fools18h ago

@GGMcBG @georgetakei It gets better at the #Pentagon

As major news outlets abandon the Pentagon press corpse, "...numerous right-wing, pro-Trump online outlets said they were among those that had agreed to the rules, including The Gateway Pundit; Human Events; LindellTV; Frontlines, an arm of Turning Point USA; and The National Pulse."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/business/media/pentagon-press-reporters.html

Ministry Of Truth: https://x.com/SeanParnellASW/status/1981048206923329719

#Press #journalists #media
#DepartmentofWar #FirstAmendment

Pentagon Announces ‘Next Generation’ Press Corps

The Defense Department said that dozens of new reporters had agreed to sign the Pentagon’s rules on reporting, which have been rejected by many major news organizations.

The New York Times
Barbara Monaco20h ago
DC resident files suit after being detained by Metropolitan Police. Ohio National Guard called police because the man was following them while playing the Imperial March from Star Wars.
#firstamendment
#freedomofspeech
#nationalguard
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/dc-man-sues-detained-national-guard-playing-imperial-march-star-wars-rcna239492
DC man sues after being detained for playing 'Darth Vader's Theme' while following National Guard around

Attorneys for Sam O'Hara said law enforcement violated his constitutional rights.

NBC News
Greg Lloyd20h ago

🧵 “Michael Perloff, an A.C.L.U. lawyer who is representing Mr. O’Hara in the case, said in a statement: “the government doesn’t get to decide if your protest is funny, and government officials can’t punish you for making them the punchline. That’s really the whole point of the First Amendment.”

#firstamendment
https://masto.ai/@Nonilex/115428897049543368

Nonilex (@Nonilex@masto.ai)

#Protester Who Played ‘#StarWars’ Song Sues After Arrest in Washington Sam O’Hara was playing the “Imperial March” theme from the movie while protesting the deployment of #NationalGuard troops in the capital when he was handcuffed by city #police officers. #law #dissent #RightToProtest #freedomOfExpression #fascism #Stormtroopers https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/us/politics/protester-who-played-star-wars-song-sues-after-arrest-in-washington.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Mastodon
Killer Rabbit 9023h ago
The Absurd Prosecution of a Man Who Posted a Charlie Kirk Meme https://theintercept.com/2025/10/23/charlie-kirk-meme-arrest-tennessee-larry-bushart/ #uspoli #memes #CharlieKirk #FreeSpeech #FirstAmendment #USConstitution #TrumpWarOnFreedom #fascism #authoritarianism
The Absurd Prosecution of a Man Who Posted a Charlie Kirk Meme

Larry Bushart Jr. posted trolling memes on a Facebook thread about a vigil for Kirk. He’s been in a Tennessee jail ever since.

The Intercept
Eric Darnley Small1d ago
Former Tennessee law enforcement officer Larry Bushart Jr., 61, was arrested after sharing memes—including one mocking the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk—on Facebook. Bushart, a retired police officer known locally for his liberal views and outspoken criticism of Donald Trump, posted over 100 memes in one day, some targeting Trump and his supporters, in the wake of Kirk’s killing. His posts—many in a local Facebook group—caught the attention of Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems, who initiated the investigation. One meme using Trump’s actual quote after a school shooting (“We have to get over it”) was cited as particularly relevant. Police visited and soon after, Bushart’s life was upended, highlighting escalating tensions during Trump’s second term. Curious about the aftermath and what this means for digital speech? Read more: https://theintercept.com/2025/10/23/charlie-kirk-meme-arrest-tennessee-larry-bushart #FreeSpeech #SocialMedia #Trump #CharlieKirk #FirstAmendment #Tennessee
The Absurd Prosecution of a Man Who Posted a Charlie Kirk Meme

Larry Bushart Jr. posted trolling memes on a Facebook thread about a vigil for Kirk. He’s been in a Tennessee jail ever since.

The Intercept
Show threadJo - pièce de résistance1d ago

We need a DoorDash boycott as strong as the one for Target.
To protect the right to be safe at our work. We should withhold our labor & money from places like that. Redirect that $ to workers legal costs. Help those willing to fight back. Women are silenced with violence incl. financial since forever.
Abuse of women is main subjugation & infrastructure of fascism. It pushes women out of careers & workforce, especially ones they excel at. #metoo

#firstAmendment
#boycott #activism #resistance

PrivacyDigest1d ago

Seven Million People Unite at Peaceful #NoKings #Protests to Defend Our #FirstAmendment #Rights

On Saturday, October 18, more than seven million people across all 50 states came together to make it clear: when we, the people, see attacks on our #democracy and #freedoms , we will not be silenced.

https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/seven-million-people-unite-at-peaceful-no-kings-protests-to-defend-our-first-amendment-rights

Seven Million People Unite at Peaceful No Kings Protests to Defend Our First Amendment Rights | ACLU

ACLU Justice Division leader Ellen Flenniken saw people across the country come together to stand up for free speech, protest peacefully, and show that our power grows when we act as one.

American Civil Liberties Union
1Party2d ago

Hypocrite much? The irony of weaponizing the 1st Amendment only when it suits you. Hate speech is a public safety issue that caused the demise of Charlie Kirk. 🛑

#FirstAmendment #Hypocrisy #FreeSpeech

Nonilex2d ago

The #UniversityOfVirginia, facing immense pressure from the White House, struck a deal with the #Trump admin on Wednesday that removed, at least temporarily, the threat of a federal *investigation*.

The #DOJ announced the deal. It was the first time a public #university had cut a far-reaching agreement with the Trump admin, which is carrying out an extraordinary campaign to shift the ideological tilt of the higher #education system.

#law #AcademicFreedom #FirstAmendment
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/us/politics/university-of-virginia-trump-agreement.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

University of Virginia Makes Deal With White House to Halt Investigations

The Justice Department had been scrutinizing one of the nation’s premier public universities over accusations of civil rights violations.

The New York Times