Barry Seward Presents: Civil Liberties

The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Canadian citizen who is a legal resident of Missouri , challenging that state's statutory prohibition on the carrying of concealed firearms by non-citizens. The case seeks to overturn the state's non-citizen concealed carry ban on constitutional grounds, specifically the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, and the 14 th Amendment's equal protection clause. The plaintiff is Edward F. Plastino , a Canadian citizen and Status Indian, based on his partial Chippewa heritage. He has lived primarily in this country since 1995, and in Missouri since 2006. SAF and Plastino are represented by attorneys Matthew Singer of St. Louis and David Sigale of Glen Ellyn, Ill. "This is a case similar to our successful lawsuits against the City of Omaha and Washington State , and our current action in New Mexico , challenging local gun laws that discriminate against legal resident alie...

Blair Urling Accused of Using Diploma Mill Photo Courtesy of  Recordnet.com This has been a weird week here in Spokane WA where I live. Our Mayor, David Condon, who is doing a great job in his first couple hundred of days in office has had a few setbacks recently in his search for a new Police Chief.  Last week the search team narrowed down their search to four candidates and it is now down to three because Blair Urling,  the former Police Chief of  Stockton California,  submitted a resume that stated he graduated from La Salle University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Administration of Justice in 1997 and a Master of Science in Law Enforcement Management in 2002. His resume states that he graduated Summa cum Laude. Unfortunately for Urling, the "real" La Salle University (the Catholic University in Philadelphia) doesn't offer those degrees and diploma mill experts believe it's a fake and could have been purchased for as little as a two thou...

 DOMA Cases are being reviewed Edith “Edie” Windsor, who sued the government for failing to recognize her marriage to her late spouse, Thea Spyer, asked the U.S. Supreme Court today to hear her challenge to the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA). The petition for certiorari was filed on Windsor’s behalf by her attorneys at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, the American Civil Liberties Union, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. In June, a federal district judge in New York ruled in Windsor’s favor that section three of DOMA unconstitutionally discriminates against married same-sex couples. The Justice Department and the leadership of the House of Representatives recently asked the Supreme Court to hear DOMA challenges in two other cases, including a case, like Windsor’s, that is still pending in a federal appeals court. “With Edie’s case and the two others, the high court ha...

Sunday Funnies Hello friends. Today is the fun day at Barry Seward Presents. I love sharing funny Tweets, Facebook and Google plus pics! If you have funny pics that are all ages appropriate please send them to me to post or add your jokes in the comment section! As they said in the 20's...see you in the funny papers. Twitter: Doctor Dementia ‏ @ Demented_Jokes The wife and I decided to flip a coin to see what our newborn son should be called. He's called Tails. Stewie Griffin ‏ @ FamilyGuyTweets The good thing about having a bad memory is that jokes can be funny more than once.   Sweet Innocence ‏ @ PrachiRai My mom "Send me some jokes ." me"I'm studying at the moment,I will send you one later." she replied,"That was fantastic,send me another one" Hudson Taylor ‏ @ hudsonism Tellin...

Ana Cecelia Enters Havana Bay Cuba. Photo Courtesy of Aljazeera Humanitarian Aid delivered to Cuba The Ana Cecilia, a 300 foot ship that can hold 16 containers of supply, sailed from Miami into the Cuban harbor of Havana Bay shortly after 7 AM local time yesterday and brought with it humanitarian goods from relatives in the United States. I found it interesting to learn that many kinds of humanitarian aid can be sent from those exiled including vehicle parts, generators, construction materials, food, medicine and medical supplies including orthopedic mattresses which was included on this, this maiden voyage. Shipper, International Port Corp. was granted a special permit from the US to begin trading and will try to make this a weekly service every Wednesday between the US and Cuba. The trip between Miami and Havana is only 16 hours but this particular trip seemed like a lifetime in the making. In fact, for those born after 1961 it...

For $50 police can track your whereabouts and in most cases they don't need a warrant but a simple subpoena. The problem is that by having a cell phone you also carry with you a tracking device that pings your location to the nearest cell tower a few times a minute. Most Americans  have a cell phone. Imagine if you were running for public office and you knew exactly how many times your opponent went to church, visited the wrong side of the tracks, visited a liquor store, strip club or was at home. Sure your opponent might not do anything illegal but you would have a pretty clear idea of how he/she spent there time and I am sure that your election team would find that information useful. That is the information the phone companies supply police. There are some companies online that offer to provide that information to the public as well.   “Location data for cops is like a kid in a candy store,” said Mark Rasch, former head of the Justice Department’s Computer Crime ...

Natalie Plummer was arrested and taken to jail because she warned others of speed trap ahead. Natalie Plummer say she was falsely arrested for warning drivers that Houston Police had set up a speed trap. Plummer told the Houston ABC affiliate KTRK that "I was completely abiding by the law," she said. "I was simply warning citizens of a situation ahead." After grocery shopping Plummer headed home on her bicycle when she saw the cops engaged in a speed trap. She hastily wrote SPEED TRAP on grocery bag and waved it at passing motorists. A few minutes later an officer drove up and handcuffed her. "He was telling me he was taking me to jail for obstructing justice, that was an automatic three to five years," Plummer told reporters, "I was completely abiding by the law. I was simply warning citizens of a situation ahead." Plummer spent about 12 hours in jail before she was able to post bond.  She was arrested for “walking in the roa...

Sunday Funnies Welcome to this weeks Sunday Funnies. Here are some Tweets, Facebook Messages and Google +'s that I have read that will hopefully cheer up your Sunday. If you like this as well please Google + us, Like us or tweet the link! And please be one of the first subscribers to this blog!  Tweets Comedy Tweets ‏ @ CleverHumor You discover a bruise...The first thing you do is think "how did I get this?". The second thing you do? Poke it.  Comedy Tweets ‏ @ CleverHumor *Toddler thinks to himself* Olive oil is made of olives? Than... Baby oil is made of.. OMG! (° _ °) Justin ‏ @ shitmydadsays "No. Aliens exist, I just don't think they came millions of light years just to see earth. Be like driving 1000 miles to go to an Arby's"   Funny Jokes! ...

Supreme Court Ends Term with Immigration and Health Care Rulings   Week in Review July 7th 2012: LifeGuard Fired for Saving Life, Coach Banned for Donating too much Money This past week had a lot of interesting story lines from the Supreme Court rulings to a coach being banned because he donated too much money to his school and a lifeguard fired for saving a life. First I wanted to follow up on two of the Supreme Court Rulings.  Here is what the ACLU released: Defying many post-argument predictions, Chief Justice Roberts held that Congress had not exceeded its constitutional authority when it enacted the so-called individual mandate, requiring everyone either to purchase health insurance or make an additional payment on their federal taxes. Unfortunately, the Court’s decision does make it easier for states to reject federal dollars intended to extend Medicaid coverage. “We welcome the Court’s decision, although we are disappointed by the Medicaid ruling,”...

Lifeguard Tomas Lopez Fired for Helping to Save a Life As a former lifeguard in California I was shocked when I read that Jeff Ellis Management fired 21 year old lifeguard, Tomas Lopez, for sprinting 1,500 feet past a swim at own risk sign  to save the life of a drowning man. I was less shocked when at least 3 of his coworkers quit in a show of solidarity for Tomas and disgust for the management company that fired others who would also choose life over location.  The website for Jeff Ellis Management   states that "our clients put safety first." Really? If safety was put first than the man should be given a medal instead of a ticket to the unemployment office. I know that I am not the only person that is frustrated that Tomas saved a man turning blue only to be rewarded with a pink slip. Wow.  The company released a statement that "liability issues" is why lifeguards are instructed to call an ambulance instead of providing lifesaving help...

Scott Cate Fired at Utah's Cottonwood High School Offensive coordinator Scott Cate was fired for being too generous.  According to The Salt Lake Tribune , Granite School District in Utah passed the "Cate" rule which bans donors from coaching so the district will have more transparency in donations. Cate not only donated his time to coach but since 2000 he also donated over $ 4 million dollars that he earned from selling an international telecommunications company that he built. Cottonwood High School used those donations to improve the weight room, press box and funded a brand new "turf" field  for the student athletes and an after school tutoring program. Cate has invested in the tutoring center by paying for advanced degrees for people that would commit to working at the school for five years. Cate "was" working hard to really develop the student athlete at Cottonwood High School. Some of his students have transferred in with F ...

"Reasonable Suspicion" could make you show proof of citizenship.   In addition to my American Dialect, I speak three languages, English, Canadian and Australian and I am worried about being jailed because I might accidentally leave my ID at home when I go to the store to buy milk, bread and an American Flag for Independence Day. Last week the Supreme Court let stand the most controversial portion of Arizona's anti-immigration law that requires those detained to show proof that they can legally walk on US soil if an officer has "reasonable suspicion" that they aren't in Americas melting-pot legally.  If the accused can't show proof  that they are in the US legally they can be detained..aka arrested and thrown in a stinky, filthy jail. (OK, they might not ALL be stinky or filthy) What happened with innocent until proven guilty? Huh? What is reasonable suspicion? Is it the color of somebody's skin? Is it if they have an accent? Is it i...

 Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death! With Independence Day tomorrow I wanted to post a speech that is important to our freedom. This is what this blog will continue to protect...freedom. We will continue to follow the words of Patrick Henry Give Me Liberty or Give me Death.   Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death! March 23, 1775 By Patrick Henry No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the house. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the house is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion t...

Hello Friends, Thank you for coming back to BarrySeward.com and engaging in not just a debate on civil liberties and human rights but actively protecting the principles that are necessary to protect it. We will discuss civil liberties in its many forms, human rights, free speech, racial injustice and much more. I am looking forward to engaging in debates and shedding more light on injustices that have been glossed over.  From this point forward BarrySeward.com is your blog/website/news channel to learn, share and discuss what is important to you.  Thank you for coming back, Barry Seward