In Memory of the ol' First Ammendment

Free Speech? #1

The US company touting itself as the "world's largest out-of-home media" enterprise has banned a national billboard campaign that asks one simple question: "Where's the birth certificate?"

CBS Outdoor, a division of CBS Corp. that sells more outdoor advertising than any other billboard company in North America, refuses to accept purchases of space on any of its 550,000 displays
nationwide.

The billboard campaign was begun last month by Joseph Farah, editor and chief executive officer of World Net Daily, due to his frustration with media colleagues not giving attention to what he sees as critical questions about Barack Obama's constitutional eligibility to serve as president.

"Here we have one of the largest media companies in the U.S. now not only refusing to allow news coverage of a vitally important national question being asked by millions of Americans, but one that won't even permit the purchase of space to raise the question," said Farah. "What is the value of a First Amendment in a country when this kind of self-censorship is at work – self-censorship specifically geared to stifle inquiry and debate about the most powerful person in the country."

A spokesperson for CBS stated that the billboards were "misleading", but failed to say how.

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Free Speech? #2

In a separate story, it is likely that, withing days the US government is expected to deport Englishmen Stephen Whittle and Simon Sheppard (otherwise known as The Heretical 2) back to Englanistan-obogo, formally known as Great Britain, where they face up to seven years in prison for thought crimes. Mr Whittle and Mr Sheppard, didn't kill anyone, they didn't steal anything, they didn't rape or attack anyone, what they did was write stuff, an activity which can now be a serious criminal offence in the Orwellian state of Englanistan-obogo.

Following their political show trial these two convicted writers fled to the United States and claimed political Asylum, in the belief that America still believed in its First Amendment protection of free speech. Some chance!!!

As Nicholas Stix explains here not only were Whittle and Sheppard the wrong colour, but what they were saying was not the sort of free speech which is protected in Obama's America.

So what do the two stories tell us about the state of the once much revered first amendment to the US constitution? why not ask this guy!

(it seems the First Amendment has gone the same way as Article 2 Clause 5)