FREEDOM OF SPEECH TRAMPLED

11 April 2012 (Wednesday)

VIEW FROM TAMPA BAY Darry D1 Blue, underlined text are links.

Today, I Learned From: ( Eggs I Have Known ( Freedom of Speech Trampled ( Information is Currency ( Linda Sunshine ( Michigan Teacher Fired ( NJ Teacher to be Fired ( PA Teacher Suspended

( Razorbacks Fire Coach ( SC Teacher Suspended ( Social Media Out for UK Soldiers ( Teacher of the Year Suspended ( US Marine to be Discharged ( View from Oneonta ( When is Speech Protected?

FREEDOM OF SPEECH TRAMPLED What happened to our First Amendment? You know — the one which talks about “freedom of speech.” “Congress shall make no law respecting an

establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, & to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Lately, I’m not so sure that government leaders — at any level — have read that version of the Constitution. Teachers, especially, have been singled out to ensure that they don’t have — and share — any original thoughts. Politically correctness must be preserved at all costs — even the government has to step on the First Amendment. 1

These are reflections to be re-read when I am too old to journey and, so that in my stead, I can relive the days gone by. Permission for reproduction in whole or in part is granted to groups and organizations for internal, non-profit use provided credit is given to the author along with the copyright notice: Article reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2012 Darry D Eggleston, http://DarryD.com. Read my Journal online at http://DarryD.com/CCA. For more photos, visit http://DarryD.com/Photos

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11 APRIL 2012 (WEDNESDAY)

SOCIAL MEDIA OUT FOR UK SOLDIERS Maybe our English cousins have confused our U.S. leaders about that piece of paper that we are pledged to support and to defend. The Telegraph says United Kingdom soldiers have been told to stop using social networking Websites (like MySpace & Facebook), after military officials ruled it could lead to a security breach. Posting info on the web by blogging, joining in forum discussions or online multi-player games is now considered “public disclosure of information”. “However, the move has angered troops who regularly use networking sites to keep in touch with family & friends. An NCO in Afghanistan told The Sun: ‘The fun police have taken over. I can’t talk to my wife & kids or even play Call of Duty 5. Do they really think we’re going to give away secrets?’”

MICHIGAN TEACHER FIRED For example, a Michigan teacher fired for helping a student fundraiser. Brooke Harris, an 8th grade teacher at the Pontiac Academy for Excellence Middle School (a charter school) in Pontiac, Michigan, saw Trayvon Martin’s death (in a Florida neighborhood in February) as a moment when many of her students were politically engaged & energized. The principal of the school signed off on the kids’ proposal, but superintendent Jacqueline Cassell refused to approve the proposal, despite having supported many other “dress down” fundraisers. Brooke’s students took the disappointment in stride, but asked to present their idea to Cassell in person. Brooke asked that a few of her students be allowed to attend her meeting with Cassell.

For more photos, visit http://DarryD.com/Photos

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Outraged by the request, Cassell suspended and eventually fired Brooke. The explanation given: “She was being paid to teach, not to be an activist.” Can you see the boot prints across our Constitution?

SC TEACHER SUSPENDED A South Carolina teacher was suspended for reading ‘Ender’s Game’ to middle school students but will not face criminal charges. “The parent that reported him to the school district complained that the book was pornographic. That parent also asked the police to file criminal charges against the teacher. The Schofield school has a policy requiring teachers to “preview” any supplemental material they present in class, so school officials can check for offensive ideas or themes, & the unnamed teacher did not do that in this case. Earlier reports that the teacher was also reading pornographic material off the internet are untrue. Aiken Public Safety officials have now stated that the teacher committed no crime & will not be charged, adding that the police investigation is closed. The school district will eliminate the book from the school. Can you see the boot prints across our Constitution?

TEACHER OF YEAR SUSPENDED Jerry Buell, a history teacher & “Teacher of the Year” at Mount Dora High School in Mount Dora, FL, wrote anti-gay comments on his Facebook page when news came on of New York’s decision to allow same-sex marriage on July 25. When his Facebook friends retaliated against his comments, Buell published a second post. Chris Patton, communications officer for Lake County schools, says: “Social media is a minefield. People think they’re free to say what they want to, but in some aspects it can come back to haunt you.”

The teacher was suspended. For more photos, visit http://DarryD.com/Photos

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Can you see the boot prints across our Constitution?

NJ TEACHER TO BE FIRED The Paterson, New Jersey, teacher who called her first-grade students “future criminals” in a Facebook post should lose her tenured job, an administrative law judge ruled. Judge Ellen Bass said Jennifer O’Brien’s conduct would be “inexcusable” in any district, but especially in a city burdened by poverty & violence. “O’Brien has demonstrated a complete lack of sensitivity to the world in which her students live. The sentiment that a 6-year-old will not rise above the criminal element that surrounds him cuts right to the bone.”

Bass said that with sensitivity training, O’Brien — a Paterson teacher since 1998 — could return to a public school classroom, but not in Paterson, due to her damaged relationship with the community. Jennifer O’Brien posted back in March on her personal Facebook page: “I’m not a teacher — I’m a warden for future criminals.” Jennifer O’Brien lives in Elmwood Park, right across the river from Paterson. She has been teaching in the Paterson School system for 12 years, has a master’s degree and earns $60,513 a year. Conservative New Jersey wrote: “The Elementary School on North 2nd Street might as well be in a warzone. This is not the neighbor you want to be riding around in after dark. The neighborhood is home to drug dealers, prostitutes, gangs & other folks of questionable moral standing. It is not a nice place at all.”

Captain James Smith, Paterson schools executive director of security testified that in the neighborhood, police got 9,000 calls for service in the past school year, including 41 for fights with weapons, 29 for robberies, and hundreds for gang activity, drugs and other “quality-of-life issues.” But, Ms. O’Brien will be fired. Can you see the boot prints across our Constitution?


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PA TEACHER SUSPENDED Philadelphia — Honesty isn’t always the best policy — especially if you’re blogging about one of your students. That’s what a Pennsylvania teacher found, but she stands behind what she wrote in her personal blog. In one blog, she said a student “dresses like a street walker” & called a student “stupid;” one was “frightfully dim;” and one “rat-like.” She wrote “I hate your kid...seems smarter than she actually is.” Munroe says her full name was not on the blog, she didn’t identify her school or students & she created it as a diary. “I stand by what I said & I don’t regret it because it’s the truth & people need to look at what’s happening in this district..in any district,” said Munroe. She was suspended with pay after someone posted the blog on Facebook. Her lawyer says her suspension amounts to censorship, but Phoenix attorney Greg Coulter says the law isn’t cut & dry. “She’s in a gray area... she think she’s in a private Website... she thinks it’s private information, she uses it anonymously. It doesn’t appear to be matters of public concern..it doesn’t appear to be purely a private issue.”

Coulter says at issue is Munroe’s personal impressions of individuals — kids. Parents say it’s too much. NBC News reported: Phrases on the blog included “Frightfully dim,” “Rat-like,” “Am concerned your kid is going to open fire on the school,” “I hate your kid,” & “Seems smarter than she actually is.” “My students are out of control,” Munroe, who has taught 10th, 11th & 12th grades, wrote in one post. “They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners. They curse, discuss drugs, talk back, argue for grades, complain about everything, fancy themselves entitled to whatever they desire, & are just generally annoying.”


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The 30-year-old teacher says she had no interest in becoming any sort of educational icon. The blog has been taken down, but its contents can still be found easily online. Can you see the boot prints across our Constitution?

US MARINE TO BE DISCHARGED Sergeant Gary Stein, a US Marine is facing dismissal from the military for criticizing President Obama on his Facebook page. He imposed Mr. Obama’s face on mocked-up film posters, including the movie “Jackass”. Prosecutors say Sgt Stein, a 9 year veteran, repeatedly ignored warnings from superior officers, and that the postings are in breach of military regulations. He argues that he has a Constitutional right to freedom of speech. A disciplinary board recommended that he be demoted, & given an “other-than-honorable” discharge. First, he started a Facebook page, “Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots,” to encourage service members to exercise their free speech rights. Then he declared that he wouldn’t follow orders from the Commanderin-Chief, President Barack Obama. While Stein softened his statement to say he wouldn’t follow “unlawful orders,” military observers say he may have gone too far. The US military has a long-standing policy of restricting the free speech of service members, including criticism of the President, who is commanderin-chief of America’s armed forces. SGT Stein’s supporters — who include two congressmen, & the American Civil Liberties Union — argue that the Defense Department’s regulations are vague, & that commanders do not understand them. A senior officer must decide whether to accept that recommendation.


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This is not a question of First Amendment rights. This is a question of loyalty. A soldier takes a solemn oath to protect and to defend the Constitution of the United States. Article II, Section 2, of the US Constitution specifically states: “The President shall be commander in chief of the Army & Navy of the United States, & of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States....”

If you lose respect for your leadership, you lose the will to fight. “War is an extension of politics,” but warriors are paid and are expected to fight. In the U.S. military, we fight for a nation. We don’t pick our wars, we just fight and do our best to win. If we disagree with the direction of the national leadership, we exercise our right to vote.


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WHEN IS SPEECH PROTECTED? It matters little whether I agree or disagree with what the people wrote — although I thoroughly disagree with two of them. What matters is that social networks (like Facebook, MySpace, & Twitter) are not going to go away nor should the rights of those who use them be abused, misused, or pursued with the intent of prosecution for opinions and not acts. What matters most is that public employees — like private citizens — must have guaranteed rights, one of which is freedom of speech. The purpose of government is to serve, to protect, and to promote the welfare of its people, not spy on its workers.

“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear — which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world.” President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945)


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EGGS I’VE KNOWN Linda Sunshine —

“A true friend is someone who thinks You are a good egg Even though they know You are slightly cracked.”

RAZORBACKS FIRE COACH VIEW FROM ONEONTA, Dave Lee [ Website ] In spite of what a lot of “fans” think, there are things more important than football & winning. The game has rules for a reason & that, to me, includes rules of conduct & honesty. When I hear a sportscaster say, “If you want to be a good offensive lineman in the NFL you have to learn how to hold without getting caught,” I

realize we have strayed from sensible limits of honesty & fair play. I have heard others say, on national television, “It’s not against the rules unless you get caught.” That is not the way I was taught to play the game. Here is a comment about the University of Arkansas decision to fire Bobby Petrino: “Bobby Petrino says he’s sorry, & Arkansas agrees by firing him. “Long-time SEC observers, present company included, figured that AD Jeff Long & company would find a way to punish Petrino for his mistakes without risking the damage to the program’s bottom line that firing him could cause. “Instead, Long & his bosses took the road less traveled. They decided that there are some things more important than football, even in the SEC.”

That is one reason I like & respect the game of Golf: Players will call a penalty on themselves even when no one else knew about the infraction. For more photos, visit http://DarryD.com/Photos

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One recent example cost a player the championship in a Major tournament. “Brian Davis couldn’t deny what he saw & knew he was honor-bound to tell the world. “Davis ticked a loose reed during his backswing Sunday on the first playoff hole, calling a two-stroke penalty on himself that gave Jim Furyk a victory at the Verizon Heritage Golf Tournament. “Something inconceivable in most other sports, where competitors take pride in getting every edge they can.”

And, now, the University of Arkansas has done the right thing. Hooray for them! For those who got here late, Petrino was fired for an “inappropriate relationship with an female Arkansas volleyball player.” USA Today reports: “With Petrino’s teams going 21-5 over the last two seasons, reaction among some Arkansas faithful is certain to be bitter. But that resentment may be tempered by the disclosure that the married Petrino, 51, quickly hired 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell on March 28 over 158 other candidates, & that he also gave her a gift of $20,000. “Dorrell was a passenger on Petrino’s motorcycle when it veered off a rural Arkansas road & left the coach with four broken ribs & a cracked vertebrae on April 1. Petrino didn’t disclose that info to school officials until 4 days later, nor was he immediately forthcoming about the details of what he admitted was an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with the former Arkansas volleyball player, who reportedly is engaged.”


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