Portland, Tennessee Blog

The Dixie Chicks bounced back just fine. They had one of the top 10 selling singles of last year, as well as one of the Top 10 selling albums as well. Of course by the local media standards, you would have thought they flopped,...but not so....they did great, won Grammies, and sold AMAZING amounts of their CD!

Free speech is worth every penny, and fear tactics by the current administration are losing their grip....

Speak your mind people...it is worth every penny!!!!

The 1st Amendment is a great topic. So much to talk about. So many questions. So much to ponder.
Take the Dixie Chicks. They had a right to voice their opinion, and they did. But the music industry, shut them down COLD! I really hated that because I like their music. Very talented young ladies had their careers dismantled because they exercised their right to free speech.
Speech isn't "free", it has a price even if it is only a small one. You just have to decide what it's worth to you.

Digman- you made the comment "yeah it would be ignorant for a teacher to call a student an idiot. that teacher would probably lose their job. rightfully so."

So do I understand that you are saying social and economic consequences are okay for certain kinds of speech so long as the government doesn't haul you off in chains? Or have I misunderstood you?

I'm thinking that I have misunderstood because that is an "about face" from your previous position of no limits/no consequence on speech.
( " . . . no matter how repugnant you you find it. let frredom or speach rule in the end.")Is it because it is a child or is there some other reason?

daniel,are you by any chance planning an editoial in the paper about this whole fiasco? it would be interesting to read. in an unrelated topic, how 'bout my gators? havent heard any news yet about them wildcats. the guy that lives behind me is a ky. head. last weekend it was like the first time ky. ever won a game. he was going nuts.

Ditto what digman said. JW-Maybe we have turned over a new leaf.

oh by the way hussien is dead in case you didnt know. our class-act military took him and his 2 bastard sons outta' commission i loved watching him be executed.look at all the people he murdered. like the war or not, we got rid of several deadly madmen.

hear ye hear ye. yeah it would be ignorant for a teacher to call a student an idiot. that teacher would probably lose their job. rightfully so. that being said, that teacher would not be thrown in jail or put in a gulag because of their free speech rights. that is what the founders meant about #1. you have the right of free speech you dont have a right to a job, you still have the right to talk. you dont have a right that says everybody has to like everthing you say.the freedom of speech was put in place only to make sure we werent hauled off in chains by the government when we spoke our minds. that is what i meant by my statement about not having consequences. they simply cant take your freedom for running your mouth. long live #1.

FreeorNot,
The comparison of voicing an opinion an issue,such as politics,religion,or just our outspoken first impression of a person in general, is so far from the subjects you listed. Especially the occasions that are putting someone in harm, or stepping into the boundaries of disrespect,or even copyright laws.Of course,all are free speech,but in the case of opinions and opinions alone,I do not feel that anyone should hinder anyone's thoughts nor shame them for having an outlook that differs from their own. As for Michelle's question, I don't believe I am keeping my child from expressing himself when I am teaching him manners and respect for others..I am bringing him up in a Christian enviroment and I am raising him the best I know how by using the Bible to guide me and as I type this, I'm sure that probably raises some more eyebrows :)

HERE YE HERE YE YES TO THE 1ST

Well then.... We should all:
Tell Husain of our weaknesses to strengthen his ability to attack
Share our nuclear secrets with the enemies
Go out in the streets and call those of race, creed, color, every name in the book
Go to a theatre and talk as loudly as we want & yell fire if we feel like it

If I knew KFC's 7 secret herbs & spices or Microsofts data on their success I should be
allowed to tell the world.
Sesame Street should be filled with vulgar and hateful comments and allowed to be aired.
Our children should be permitted to be harassed by sexual predators as long as they don't touch.
Teachers should be able to call our children dumb when they fail the test.
Our mothers are fair game in the war of words, call them anything you like.

After ALL that's Freedom of Speech Isn't It, or is IT?

by you telling us hayseeds that we need to have a real debate, is just another indication of your imperialist attitude. you pretty much stated that all of us goons dont have a thoght in our head. if this offends you just shut the site and everybodys free speech down again. i'll intelligantly debate you anytime, that is if you dont have me censored again. by the way, what are the consequences of free speach? last time i read the constitution ther werent any. sure you cant yell fire in a theatre that could get people physically injured. sharing viewpoints arent like that, no matter how repugnant you you find it. let frredom or speach rule in the end.

Daniel,

Yet again I am in total greement with your post..it is bluntly true. I could not have said it better myself.

You and I are getting along well lately. You do know its just a matter of time don't you? LOL

There were several things that prompted the start of this thread, not excluding recent events on the blog. But, if you will put aside your perception about my motives, you will possibly see that I am asking a bigger question than about what goes on here. I want people to challenge themselves and have a real debate.

So . . . do you have anything to add to the debate? Do you have a question you want answered or do you want to answer the question presented which is: Do you think the 1st Amendment provides a unrestricted right for people to say whatever . . . whenever . . . wherever?

I have found it interesting too Deanna...i think this is a great topic to talk about,by the way, Michelle :)

Hmmm...ok.......thought the blog is what prompted the topic......being able to exercise our freedom of speech without being censored or deleted if we said the "wrong thing" according to whoever is in charge here.

It's been interesting to read the past couple days -- not pleasant, but very interesting.

DeeAnna- I am trying to get people's opinions about the 1st Amendment overall. I haven't mentioned the blog even once.

Mischelle....please....a blog is a blog.....not a City Council meeting or Board of Education....LOL LOL

Please let it be a blog...ok ?

I am taking in what everyone is saying which has lead me to a few more questions:

Has a letter to the editor ever been edited or not published due to inappropriate content? What are the guidelines? I would think that there have to be rules for guidance, or is it solely personal judgement?

Should we be able to disregard the rules at the City Council meetings? They don't allow us to speak about things that aren't on the "agenda" and only allow a specified amount of time if it is. Basically the same goes for the Board of Education meetings. Are they violating our freedom of speech?

What about children? Should we abandon teaching them manners and respect because it will curb their freedom to express themselves?

Does freedom of speech trump all of our other rights? When there are conflicts of rights, which ones should prevail?

as long as i have been blogging on this website yes people have said things i didnt agree with but that doesnt give an individual the right to silence everybody, especially when that person was the one that started the topic that they got all hot and bothered about!!!!!1

right on! political correctness is whats wrong with this country and this pathetic website. political correctness is the art of saying what you want to say, only after you justify what you want to say and try to remove all liability and then you wind up saying it anyway.free speech rules!!!!!!!!!! if you got something to say, say it. anybody can label what someone else says as a personal attack and justify silencing their 1rst amendment rights and that is dangerous.i hope the website doesnt get silenced again because sombody wants to cry in their cheerios. i wonder how many points the beaver will get demolished by tonite.
perry's coming tonite. mt juliet is gonna lay the beaver to waste.

Amen. and Go Big Blue!

I think alot of the times people don't have a problem with the free speech, but they feel that alot that is said is not "politically correct" which is a joke. Call things what they are. Don't think up another name or word for something just so you don't hurt someones feelings.

go ahead daniel turn me in. if you do im gonna start crying and shut the whole website down. na nanny boo boo im gonna tell. just kiddin' dan i better shut my pie-hole before the speech police come for me. hey i hope them wildcats get a win this weekend. they're not my favorite team but as long as they're not playing tebow i usually pull for them. long live amendment number one.

Digman-your comments have offended me, I'm turning you in, I can't stand it anymore. Just kidding.
Basically, people agree with free speech as long as they are the ones that are speaking, that do not want free speech when they are the subject of it or someone else's opinion offends them. It's kinda of like prayer in school. Sure, most of the moral right wants teachers to be able to say a prayer before class or read from the Bible, but do they want the same if the teacher instructs Muslim religion or the book being read from is the Mormon Bible? Many say freedom of religion but what they really mean is freedom for their religion, like freedom of their speech, not somebody elses.

the 1rst amendment rocks!! some of you people come out and say you are all for non-censorship, but then you folow up with long winded paragraphs in which you try your best to find some loopholes and silly rules to try to further silence bloggers.let people say what they want!!that is what the blogging public demands, in case you havent heard.if the free publics comments are too much for you to bear, turn off the computer and put on an air supply album. daniel, you and i disagree on several issues; however i dont think that you are unpatriotic and bush has dissapointed me severly in the last 6 or so months. we both want troops to come home we just disagree on how that should be implemented.
i think that both of us cant stand the vols, or vandy at least we agree on something. oh yeah, beaver cleaver still sux. oops, i shouldnt have said that the speech police will are gonna come and get me!!!

I apologize Judy for my misquoting of the rules..thank you for correcting it and sharing the defined information. :)

I want to clarify one thing in Jessica's post below, she quotes "personal threats" as one of the blog rules.
In actuality it is "Personal attacks"

Further Defined are Personal Attacks, Defamation Libel & Slander as taken from wickipedia, please read carefully the last 2 paragraphs.

Generally, a personal attack is committed when a person substitutes abusive remarks for evidence when examining another person's claims or comments. It is considered a personal attack when a person starts referencing a supposed flaw or weakness in an individual's personality, beliefs, lifestyle, convictions or principles, and use it as a debate tactic or as a means of avoiding discussion of the relevance or truthfulness the person's statement.

Defamation / Libel / Slander
In law, defamation is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may harm the reputation of an individual, business, product, group, government or nation. Most jurisdictions allow legal actions, civil and/or criminal, to deter various kinds of defamation and retaliate against criticism.

The common law origins of defamation lie in the torts of slander (harmful statement in a transitory form, especially speech) and libel (harmful statement in a fixed medium, especially writing but also a picture, sign, or electronic broadcast), each of which gives a common law right of action.

"Defamation" is the general term used internationally, and is used in this article where it is not necessary to distinguish between "slander" and "libel". Libel and slander both require publication. The fundamental distinction between libel and slander lies solely in the form in which the defamatory matter is published. If the offending material is published in some fleeting form, as by spoken words or sounds, sign language, gestures and the like, then this is slander. If it is published in more durable form, for example in written words, film, compact disc (CD), DVD, blogging and the like, then it is considered libel.
---------------------------------------------
Sure you can say what ever you want, when ever you want to whom ever you want, that's your freedom of speech... as long as you are willing to risk the consequences. One of the rules of this blog is NO personal attacks. I believe they are censored, not to remove your freedom of speech, but to minimize the burden of legal responsibility.

You can still say anything you want to but there is a price. You can be sued or arrested for so much under the umbrella of harrasment that it's impossible to say what you mean. Many times, if you say what is true you are condemned by the masses and treated like scum. Jessica says she sometimes thinks the war is neccessary. While that might not be popular now, when the war first started it was the opposite. If you were against the war, you were looked at like you were unpatriotic or something.
Basically, we live in a country that likes to label people and if you're fine with not agreeing with the labels or being accepted by them, you can say whatever you want to.

You know that saying that in every problem there is a good ole country song that talks about it? I would like to share the lyrics to Toby Keith's song "Love Me If You Can"..I think that it says a lot about what the topic is here and how many of us feel when we are confronted with issues that we find disagreement in..
Sometimes I think that war is necessary.
Every night I pray for peace on Earth.
I hand out my dollars to the homeless.
But believe that every able soul should work.

My father gave me my shotgun that I'll hand down to my son, try to teach him everything it means.

(chorus)
I'm a man of my convictions. Call me wrong, call me right. But I bring my better angels to every fight. You may not like
where I'm going, but you sure know where I stand. Hate me if you want to, love me if you can.

I stand by my right to speak freely. But I worry 'bout what kids learn from TV. And before all of debatin' turns to angry
words and hate, sometimes we should just agree to disagree. And I believe that Jesus looks down here and sees us, and if you
ask him he would say

(chorus)
I'm a man of my convictions. Call me wrong, call me right. But I bring my better angels to every fight. You may not like
where I'm going, but you sure know where I stand. Hate me if you want to, love me if you can.

I think that the rules of this blog are key here Michelle..it states no foul language and no violence, no personal threats,other wise, like it or not, anyone can say anything they want about whoever they want and whenever they want, and if it is strictly up to that person to decide if they wish to share their opinion, no one can hold them back, nor can they change that person's views,and trying to censor someone's perspective on the sole reason that more disagree than agree is absurd to me...I find that people are reluctant to hear truth in difficult situations..no one wants to hear pointed out mistakes,regardless of when they are brought up or from whoever says it. As far as the consequences, what do believe is fair consequences for an opinion? Banning them from the blog? Calling them names? To me, that seems so childish, its like being in elementary school and when you say something that your friend doesn't like, they exclaim "You're not my friend anymore! You can't play with me!" I think that if someone disagrees with one of my comments on a topic, I would like to hear their view, not hear why they hate my view,and what a horrible person they think I am, and how stupid I am, ect. Those replies are pointless and have no purpose but to be rude and I think that's uncalled for...If I know something to be a fact, what harm is there in stating it? Everyone else knows its a fact, they just don't want to say in fear of stepping on someone's toes...I, personally,am a toe stepper :) Its just my personality...I look at a bad situation and think "Okay,maybe something could have changed this,what can be done so this doesn't happen again?" I wish that more people felt comfortable enough to express their opinions without fear of such harsh critics on this blog. After all,folks, it is simply a blog..there is really no need to get all "in your face" angry about someone else's post..it is just a blog :-)