I believe I can say that trial lawyers are pedophiles, since the charge is prima facie absurd. I can yell it from the mountains. Trial lawyers are pedophiles. Sue me, you will be laughed out of court.

However, if I say a trial lawyer is a pedophile, I had better be able to defend myself in the ensuing libel (or slander) suit. Such a suit would allege that (a) being aware of what "pedophile" means; and (b) that it is illegal and (c) barring that the state can prove or establish that the plaintiff is a pedophile that (d) I did indeed cause material and/or emotional damage to the reputation of the plaintiff thereby (e) violating their human rights (by interfering with their reputation, ability to earn a wage and do business, not to mention the threat of imprisonment).

So is speech truly "free"? Well, no. But, I can still call someone a nigger, faggot or cunt so long as I do not cross certain lines defined by common law.

For instance, I would imagine that if someone were, say, screaming "nigger" at the top of their lungs at, say, a funeral procession of African Americans, a police officer passing by would be right in arresting the person screaming in the interest of the public peace under existing "disorderly conduct" statutes that every municipality, county and state in America has some version of. Do disorderly conduct charges hold up to scrutiny in court? Well, it depends on the circumstances. Sometimes the Baker Act is used to argue that the statue cannot be upheld (the "mental illness" defense). Sometimes just "free speech" is enough to throw out a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.

If anything, that is as close as we have to a functioning, exigent "hate speech" law in practice: disorderly conduct charges are famously used when no other grounds for arrest may be readily apparent.

But to call Glenn Greenwald a pedophile would be a cunt thing to do, would it not?

Cheers and happy Monday!

To have the first primaries in early January for a general election 11 fucking months away?

8 weeks, start to finish, publicly funded elections, weighted (run-off) primaries in all states. Paper fucking ballots.

"The fucking game is rigged." -Jimmy McNulty

Of course, but by Mr. Greenwald's own words the government should not interfere with free speech, and his free speech is all that is needed in defense. (Sorry for the censored quote, but "that" word is far too vulgar to use in argument.)

First you censor me then you disregard my entire argument! Insult to injury -- but, hey, it is your right I suppose.

You cannot just say anything to anyone in any circumstance. In that regard, there are restraints on the apparent freedoms granted in the statement "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech ...". Some, if not most, are remedied through litigation as opposed to criminal law, and due to a small number of exigent circumstances, some speech per se is punishable in criminal court.

Funny, John McCain has repeatedly gone on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart several times, even after being taken to task about his support of the Iraq War, even after being lampooned for cozying up to the religious right.

John McCain, to paraphrase Jon Stewart describing the Iraq War interview on Bill Moyers' Journal, is tough enough to take being a POW, surely he can take being grilled by the anchor of a fake news program.

Which brings us back to John King specifically, and CNN and the rest of the cable and television news glad hands media.

Please God let Huckabee win the Republican Primary!

If there is a God.

He-man Woman Hater's Club member for life!

Well, at least you aren't the moron(s) who will, inevitably, complain that "people are dying elsewhere in the world".

Let me say this --

People are dying. And in the time that it took me to write this comment, I also contributed $50 to "http://www.collateralrepairproject.org/".

If you have time to bitch about "I Like to Watch", you have time to donate money to a charity, any charity.

Put your money where your mouth is, suckers.

1 drink for every time Bush lies? Jesus H. Alcoholic Christ, I'd better run to Safeway, I only have a fifth of Blanton's.

I'll be wasted by 6:12PM PDT.

There is a lot of terrorist activity in Israel. Also, more than half of the native population is disenfranchised by what would appear to be a militaristic secular government.

I say we gather up the US Army and go in there, and, by gunpoint, force the government of Israel to allow all of its citizens to vote.

..Oh.. wait. I'm being told that won't work.