Just what *is* freedom of speech?

An interesting - and rather sad - story in the sports world is that 3 Atlanta djs were recently fired because they put on a skit making fun of the ex-football player Steve Gleason, who has Lou Gehrig's disease.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/22453748/atlanta-radio-station-fires-hosts-for-skit-mocking-steve-gleason

It was an awful thing - yes, I did listen to it. They've got someone playing Gleason with a kind of Stephen Hawking type computer voice, and he says stuff like "Smother me," and "I may not be here next Thursday," etc.

Totally unfunny.

And yet, on the message  boards talking about this firing, there are actually people who say they found it hilarious, or funny, or don't see what the big deal is.

A few of them are citing Family Guy (and what a disgusting show that is...for all that Rush has appeared on it!) where the show did something similar with an appearance by Stephen Hawking...

Another trope is that the posters are talking about freedom of speech.

(And it's true I don't think Imus should have been fired for his Rutgers comment, nor Rush for his comments about Susan Flood or whatever her name was... but then, the Rutgers players and Susan Flood aren't suffering from ALS, which is NOT a "life threatening disease" as the posters on this message board keep saying, it is a "Dignity-destroying" disease.

Just think of what people with this disease or condition go through...they can't move. They have to be fed, they have to be washed, they have to be dressed by other people. Quality of life, absolute zero.

And these guys were joking about it. They must have thought it was funny, for all that at least one has apologized for it now.

So, what is Freedom of Speech as guaranteed by the constitution?

Just a bit from Wikipedia:
Freedom of speech is the political right to communicate one's opinions and ideas using one's body and property to anyone who is willing to receive them. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. In practice, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonly subject to limitations, as with libel, slander, obscenity, sedition (including, for example inciting ethnic hatred), copyright violation, revelation of information that is classified or otherwise.
The right to freedom of expression is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 19 of the ICCPR states that "[e]veryone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice". Article 19 goes on to say that the exercise of these rights carries "special duties and responsibilities" and may "therefore be subject to certain restrictions" when necessary "[f]or respect of the rights or reputation of others" or "[f]or the protection of national security or of public order (order public), or of public health or morals".^[1][2]
Freedom of speech may be legally curtailed in some religious legal systems and in secular jurisdictions where it is found to cause religious offense, such as the British Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006.

17 June 2013, SoS Kerry and StaffSchedule

SECRETARY JOHN KERRY
Secretary Kerry has no public events.

DEPUTY SECRETARY BILL BURNS

10:15 a.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

12:00 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with U.S. Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau, Ambassador Stephen Young, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns attends a meeting at the White House.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY WHITE HOUSE)

UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS WENDY SHERMAN

Under Secretary Sherman joins President Obama's delegation to the G8 Summit from June 17 through 18 in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland.

ACTING UNDER SECRETARY FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ROSE GOTTEMOELLER

11:30 a.m. Acting Under Secretary Gottemoeller meets with Dr. Shaul Chorev, Head of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

1:00 p.m. Acting Under Secretary Gottemoeller hosts Acting Minister of Defense of Iraq Saadoun al-Dulaimi and Ambassador of Iraq to the U.S. Lukman Faily for lunch, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:30 p.m. Acting Under Secretary Gottemoeller attends the Missile Defense Executive Board meeting at the Pentagon.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL

Ambassador Marshall accompanies President Obama on foreign travel.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CONFLICT AND STABILIZATION OPERATIONS FREDERICK BARTON

Assistant Secretary Barton is on foreign travel to Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria. Please click here for more information.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN

12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Countryman delivers remarks on the Arms Trade Treaty at the American Society of International Law, in Washington, DC.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS KERRI-ANN JONES

Assistant Secretary Jones is in on foreign travel in Indonesia and Kazakhstan from June 16 through 26. Please click here for more information.

10:00 a.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Jones meets with the Indonesian Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hasan, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

12:30 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Jones meets with entrepreneurs and experts to discuss prospects for REDD+ in Indonesia, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

3:00 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Jones meets with the Vice Minister of Health Ali Ghufron Mukti, in Jakarta, Indonesia.
(MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POPULATION, REFUGEES AND MIGRATION ANNE CLAIRE RICHARD

11:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Richard meets with ICRC Head of Operations in North and West Africa Yasmine Praz-Dessimoz, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Richard meets with Colombian Ambassador to the U.S. Carlos Urrutia, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR UZRA ZEYA

1:30 p.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Zeya meets with ICRC Head of Operations for North and West Africa Yasmine Praz-Dessimoz, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS LUIS CDEBACA

6:00 p.m. Ambassador CdeBaca delivers remarks to students on “Civil and Human Rights in the 21st Century,” at the University of the District of Columbia Law School, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING DAVID MCKEAN

1:30 p.m. Director McKean meets with UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba, in Washington, DC.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

3:30 p.m. Director McKean meets with Ambassador of Greece to the U.S. Christos Panagopoulos, at the Department of State.
(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)

17 June 2013, Pres and VP Daily Schedules

3:30 am The President arrives Belfast, Northern Ireland
Local Event Time: 8:40 AM
Aldergrove International Airport, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Travel Pool Coverage

4:30 am The President delivers remarks
Local Event Time: 9:30 AM
Belfast, Belfast Waterfront, Northern Ireland
Open Press

 8:20 am
 The President Belfast Waterfront, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Local Event Time: 1:20 PM
County Fermanagh
Travel Pool Coverage

 9:15 am
The President meets with EU Leaders on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
Local Event Time: 2:15 PM
G-8 Summit Site, Lough Erne, Northern Ireland
Pool Spray at the Top 9:30 am

The President delivers a statement to the media
Local Event Time: 2:30 PM
G8 Summit Site, Lough Erne, Northern Ireland
Travel Pool Coverage

11:20 am
The President is greeted by Prime Minister Cameron as a part of the official leader arrivals
Local Event Time: 4:20 PM
G-8 Summit Site, Lough Erne, Northern Ireland
Travel Pool Coverage

11:45 am
 The President attends the first plenary session
Local Event Time: 4:45 PM
G-8 Summit Site, Lough Erne, Northern Ireland
Closed Press

1:30 pm 
The President holds a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia
Local Event Time: 6:30 PM
G-8 Summit Site, Lough Erne, Northern Ireland
Pool Spray at the Bottom

3:30 pm
The President attends a leaders-only working dinner
Local Event Time: 8:30 PM
G-8 Summit Site, Lough Erne, Northern Ireland
Closed Press

  No public schedule for the VP

I'll get back to my regular schedule on Monday

I have been very remiss in posting in this blog, and i apologize for it. Will get back up to speed on Monday!

There's so much going on, so many scandals, so much to discuss.

Stay tuned!

OT: On Page SEO, by MR Vullhorst

I've got a website for women in aviation that hasn't been doing so well. I never thought to do anything about it until a couple of weeks ago when there was all that froo fer ra about Google's Penguin 2.0. That brought Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to my mind, and I decided I'd look into it and decide if I should try SEO on my site (http://youflygirl.com, by the way!).

On page always comes before off-page SEO, apparently. If your website isn't set up right, it doesn't matter how much off page links you create, search engines won't rank you very high.

The book is laid out in a chronological manner, which I liked, and I started seeing my mistakes immediately. Better than that, they were easy fixes, since I'd created the site myself and could therefor go in and change the code.

(Oh, how I wish I'd done it on a content management system years ago...but what can you do?)

Anyway, this book just covers on page SEO... the author makes it clear that off page SEO is so complex that it needs more than a single book to do it justice.

But this is a start for me...that and adding more content. Adding new content on a regular basis is a must.

So if you've got a website that isn't doing too good for you, check out this book. (There's a second ebook in the back, which explains about SEO and the importance of off page optimization, too.)

And if you're looking for the best SEO training course, Vullhorst is offering one called TheGoogleCode.com.

Once I get my site all fixed up...the skies the limit!

Eric Holder

Is Holder in trouble?

RUSH: This is from the Weekly Standard, Daniel Halper. You know, I read stuff like this, and ask, "Do they really think that we are this stupid?" The answer is yes. "President Barack Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, is 'beginning to feel a creeping sense of personal remorse.' The feelings of 'remorse' began for Holder after he read an article in the Washington Post about how the Justice Department, which he heads, investigated Fox News reporter James Rosen.

"At least, this is the story unnamed aides are telling the Daily Beast," which is an Obama sycophant publication. Get this: "'[F]or Attorney General Eric Holder, the gravity of the situation didn’t fully sink in until Monday morning when he read the Post’s front-page story, sitting at his kitchen table. Quoting from the affidavit, the story detailed how agents had tracked Rosen’s movements in and out of the State Department, perused his private emails, and traced the timing of his calls to the State Department security adviser suspected of leaking to him.

"Then the story, quoting the stark, clinical language of the affidavit, described Rosen as 'at the very least ... an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator' in the crime,' reports the Daily Beast. 'Holder knew that Justice would be besieged by the twin leak probes; but, according to aides, he was also beginning to feel a creeping sense of personal remorse.'" So this has been going on since 2010. The Justice Department has been looking at James Rosen and basically tagged him as a coconspirator in a crime.

But it wasn't until yesterday morning when Holder woke up on Memorial Day, and read his copy of the Washington Post, that he saw what was really going on for the first time and began to feel sorry. So then Holder probably put the paper down and shouted to his wife, "Hey, Honey! You won't believe this. Come look at this," and showed her the story about what's been going on in his Justice Department. He said, "Honey, you know, I'm really having a creeping sense of remorse over this."
How stupid do they think that we are?

Got to be pretty stupid.