Blog #5: 8 Values of Free Expression

    The First Amendment protects dissent and disagreement among citizens and between the government and governed. It is the reason we can't be arrested for calling Donald Trump the new Hitler or for using slurs to refer to Barrack Obama, even if it is offensive and potentially harmful. This does not mean, however, that society has no social rules against these things. We can see in "cancel culture" that, while your hate speech is constitutionally protected, members of society will hold you accountable for your words and your entire career can be over in minutes.

    Recently many celebrities and online personalities have had old tweets and videos resurface, prompting #___isoverparty trends on twitter. Family YouTuber Cole LaBrant is no different, already being controversial before having tweets like the one above resurface. He has the constitutional right so post that and whatever else he wants to say. That does not mean society can't "cancel" him and and stop supporting him because they dislike his words or actions, that is their right and that is protected as well, no one can force people to support a content creator.

    The government can't step in and stop people from posting things like this or from saying them at all, but things get muddled when you consider a privately owned social media platform like Twitter. Our current president prefers to use Twitter to communicate directly with the public. Recently one of his tweets was flagged for inciting violence based on Twitter's policies and he claimed it was violating his freedom of speech and unfairly censoring him and discriminating against him.

    It is important to note that Twitter is not the government and therefore cannot violate any first amendment rights, and that all users must sign a terms and conditions agreement including the website's policies on what is and is not allowed to be posted before creating an account. Further, the tweet was not deleted by the platform but instead was marked with a flag stating it contained violent language that Twitter does not allow on their website.

    The public and private companies can "censor" language however they want, or give backlash to those saying things they don't agree with as long as that "backlash" does not include behavior that breaks another law. 

Blog #3: Protests and the First Amendment

"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, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

    These are the words of the first amendment to the United States constitution. It guarantees certain rights to be respected by lawmakers and law enforcers. Recently there have been disputes over whether or not some of these rights are being violated during police response to Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests across the country.

    Members of the press are reportedly being tear gassed along with the protesters, having recording equipment confiscated by police, and having their attempts at proving identity by showing press badges ignored and being detained anyways. There are videos of reporters being handcuffed and searched or having belongings confiscated while their badge is ignored. Below is a video of CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez being arrested during live coverage of a BLM protest in Minneapolis. After identifying himself to officers he and his crew were all put into handcuffs, CNN released the footage on YouTube along with coverage on their website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftLzQefpBvM

    Members of the press are supposed to be protected during coverage of incidents like the BLM protests, and recently, according to US News a judge in Portland has ruled that members of the press are not required to comply with dispersement orders from law enforcement. This act shows that the press are protected during protests and should not have their identities ignored or be punished with violence for reporting the truth of what happens at these protests, the good and bad. Their constitutional protection exists so that the American people have a way to see and understand what is happening in their country.

Sources:

Macaya, M., & Hayes, M. (2020, May 30). A black Latino CNN reporter was arrested. A white CNN reporter was not. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protest-updates-05-28-20/h_9023ffd063def0b1af22cb3ecdc72a06

Singh, K. (2020, August 21). Judge Exempts Journalists, Legal Observers From Portland Protest Dispersal Orders. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2020-08-21/judge-exempts-journalists-legal-observers-from-portland-protest-dispersal-orders

Blog #2: The United States Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court is spoken of in passing often, especially on the news and media. It's a shadow in the dark to most of us, other than the fuzzy image most of us have in our minds of the large ornate chairs and men and women in  judge's robes.

SCOTUS or more commonly known as Supreme Court Of The United States, is the highest court in the nation. The supreme court has the ultimate jurisdiction over all local state and federal laws within the United States. Nine judges currently sit on the bar as the highest ranking judges over the land. Established by the constitution in 1789 the supreme court resides over and rules above the more inferior federal courts. Federal courts do not however lack power. In general the local federal court's decision is accepted and if appealed may go so far as the final step which is the Supreme Court whose decision would be ultimate.

The justices who sit on the Supreme Court are nominated by the President and either confirmed or denied by the United States Senate. One Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices comprise the Court of the Land. However upon its birth there were six total justices. The Honorable John G. Robers Jr. the 17th Chief Justice was nominated in 2005 to be an associate justice, initially to succeed the retiring Sandra Day O’Connor. However Chief Justice Rehnquist passed, President Bush gave him a promotion and nominated him as Chief Justice. Justices are for life unless they retire, pass or are impeached. So far only one has ever been impeached Samuel Chase in 1804. There are no  official qualifications that must be met to sit on the Supreme Court. However so far every person who's served has been a lawyer before joining the court.

The Court when exercising its appellate jurisdiction is petitioned with thousands of cases a year however it does not hear or entertain them all. The Centioari Act of 1925 gives the Court the discretion as to which cases to review. The Supreme Court usually hears roughly 150 cases a year. Besides appellate power the best known power of the Court is its judicial review, the ability of the court to declare whether or not Legislation or Executive acts are in violation of the Constitution.

The highest court in the land, last resort court for those in  need of justice, ensures that each branch of government stays within its constitutional and legal parameters. In essence the supreme court keeps all branches of government in checks and balances as well as upholding the fundamental values we uphold as Americans; freedom of speech, freedom of religion and due process of law.

    Source used: https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/supreme-court-facts
History.com Editors. (2010, May 11). Supreme Court. Retrieved     September 17, 2020, from https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/supreme-court-facts

Blog 1: My News Sources

KCRA News

https://www.kcra.com/

I watch or listen to KCRA almost every morning when I'm home in Elk Grove because it is the local station for where I live. They provide unbiased reports on events in the surrounding counties and the only opinion segments are reviews of local businesses.

CNN

https://www.cnn.com/

I prefer CNN for both foreign and domestic political news because the website is updated very frequently and you don't have to wait hours to read about a speech that was made minutes ago. My personal political leanings also align with most of their opinion pieces, though even I will admit I'd prefer more unbiased reporting of simple facts in most articles.

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/?hl=en

Instagram is one of the best sources for pop culture news, product or service reviews, project inspiration and sometimes political opinion posts or videos. Being a social media platform, it is great for getting multiple points of view on a topic since anyone can share their feelings on almost any subject. That being said it is vital that one takes everything they see on the website with a grain of salt, anyone can post anything and it's important to take a step back and fact check any new information found.

Daily Mail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html
Daily Mail is mainly pop culture news with occasional reports on large events like natural disasters or major political events. I mostly read their stories posted on Snapchat because they are easy, mostly lighthearted, stories about celebrities and large events that keep me up to date socially during the day since I'm not active on some social media sites where others get much of this information.

Good Day Sacramento

https://gooddaysacramento.cbslocal.com/

Being from the Sacramento area I enjoy local news and lighthearted reports on stories in the area. Good Day Sacramento is a very casual version of morning news with breaks between stories for games and trivia or interactions with viewers. They feature local entrepreneurs and showcase small businesses in the area.