Barry Seward Presents: Civil Liberties

Political Fly
Hello, fellow political nerds and those interested in preserving civil rights. We have created a new,  political website called Political Fly We urge you to visit and look at an area that will focus on civil liberties. The area consists of 15 categories and we believe it will provide an unbiased look at many of the most important political issues right now. Political Fly is still growing so please be patient, it takes a lot of time to add content.

We have sections in government, political theory, and international relations. In the government section, you can look up your federal representative's contact information, learn about the presidents, watch political commercials and much more. In the political theory section, you are able to read a free downloadable book from a political theorist like Thomas Hobbes or Plate and read papers written about political theory. In the international relations section, you can read up on papers concerning America's place in the …

In a victory for the people of Georgia, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the state can no longer charge individuals hundreds of dollars to see the laws that govern them. To get there, the court relied on a central tenet of American democracy: The government works on behalf of the public. Quoting the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit wrote, “The concept of popular sovereignty is deeply rooted in our politics, our law, and our history. The seminal statement of America’s political creed boldly proclaims that ‘[g]overnments ... deriv[e] their just powers from the consent of the governed.’” For decades, Georgia ignored this reality. Rather than make the text of the law freely available, the state pay-walled access to the statutes, court opinions, and annotations that make up its official law. In 2013, a nonprofit called Public.Resource.Org paid for a copy of the state’s official code and posted it online for free. The state respond…

New York City—In response to today’s announcement that President Trump plans to send eight hundred or more troops to the southern border as a caravan of refugees and migrants approaches, Human Rights First’s President and CEO Mike Breen released the following statement:  The approach of a caravan of migrants that includes refugees fleeing persecution and violence is not a crisis. But President Trump is yet again spreading hatred and fear, hoping to score political points by making Americans fear refugees. The president’s decision to deploy the military when civilian border enforcement personnel are able to do the job is a cynical tactic designed to fabricate a sense of emergency as elections approach. The president should not be using the military to further a partisan agenda.   The United States is more than capable of carefully processing a few hundred men, women, and children, and determining who among them have asylum claims that should allow them to live in safety and freedom in…

ATLANTA — A judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking election officials in Georgia from throwing out absentee ballots or applications for a supposed signature mismatch without giving the voter an opportunity to contest the determination and confirm their identity.
The ruling stems from an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against Secretary of State Brian Kemp and county registrars. At issue is a state law that allows election officials — who have no handwriting-analysis expertise — to reject an absentee ballot if they think there is a signature mismatch in the voter’s paperwork, without giving prior notice to the voter or an opportunity to contest that determination.

Sophia Lakin, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, had this reaction to today’s ruling:

“This ruling protects the people of Georgia from those who seek to undermine their right to vote. It’s a huge victory, especially with the midterms just days away.” The ruling is at: https://www.aclu.o…

ATLANTA — The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Georgia filed a lawsuit today against Secretary of State Brian Kemp and all county registrars demanding they provide due process for Georgia voters whose absentee ballots or applications are being rejected due to an alleged mismatch of signatures.

The case was filed on behalf of the Georgia Muslim Voter Project. At issue is a state law that allows election officials — who have no handwriting-analysis expertise — to reject an absentee ballot if they think there is a signature mismatch in the voter’s paperwork, without giving prior notice to the voter or an opportunity to contest that determination.

The ACLU is seeking a temporary restraining order requiring election officials to provide absentee voters the opportunity to confirm their identity or otherwise resolve the alleged discrepancy.

The lawsuit notes that a voter’s signature could vary for a “variety of reasons, both intentional and unintentional. Unintentional factors includ…

SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson released the following statement on today's Federal Communications Commission vote to repeal net neutrality.

"Yesterday I sent a letter to the FCC asking them to delay their vote gutting net neutrality. Unfortunately, they did not.

"Today, I am announcing my intention to file a legal challenge to the FCC’s decision to roll back net neutrality, along with attorneys general across the country.

"We are 5-0 against the Trump Administration because they often fail to follow the law when taking executive action. There is a strong legal argument that with this action, the federal government violated the Administrative Procedure Act — again.

"We will be filing a petition for review in the coming days.

"Allowing internet service providers to discriminate based on content undermines a free and open internet. Today’s action will seriously harm consumers, innovation and small businesses.

"I was proud to stand…

December 14, 2017 Press Release for ACLU
PHOENIX –Maricopa County Attorney William Montgomery has decided not to challenge the most recent ruling upholding Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act, as the deadline of December 11 to seek review by the United States Supreme Court has passed. In 2016, the Arizona Court of Appeals found in favor of a Sun City medical marijuana dispensary, ruling that federal law prohibiting marijuana does not void Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act and that the county and state should therefore allow the dispensary to continue operating. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arizona represented the White Mountain Health Center on this issue of federal preemption.

Emma Andersson, the ACLU’s lead attorney on White Mountain Medical Center v. Maricopa County and staff attorney with the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project, had this response:
“From the beginning, Maricopa County Attorney William Montgomery was clear about his intentions with this case…

December 14, 2017 ACLU Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission voted today to implement Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to end net neutrality.
Net neutrality prevents internet service providers from prioritizing data for businesses and other organizations that they favor or that pay more. The rules keep the internet open, free, and unrestricted, preventing ISPs from becoming gatekeepers that can control and manipulate what people access on the internet.

Jay Stanley, American Civil Liberties Union senior policy analyst, said:
“Since the end of the dial-up era, the FCC has enforced network neutrality principles and helped create the internet as we know it. Today’s misguided FCC action represents a radical departure that risks erosion of the biggest free speech platform the world has ever known.

“Today’s loss means that telecommunications companies will start intruding more on how people use the internet. Internet service providers will become much more ag…

Are some Southern Baptists in Mississippi living back in the 1800's?  Apparently so.

Charles and Te'Andrea Wilson are now happily married no thanks to some of the congregants of the First Baptist Church in Crystal Springs, Mississippi.

The couple, attendees of the First Baptist Church for over a year, were told just two days before they were to be married that members of the church had persuaded Pastor Stan Weatherford to not marry them in the church that they attended.

Although not official members they were planning to join after the wedding in part because Te'Andrea Wilson's uncle is an employee of the church, and her father is a member.

What possible reason would a church turn away these soon to be members just days before they were to celebrate one of the happiest days of their lives? Was it because they were not compatible. No. Was it because they could not afford to rent the space? Absolutely not. I'll tell you why they were turned down, it was because they…

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 14th 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 aliens," said SAF foun…

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 thousand dollars for both a bachelors and advanced degree.

In 1996 the FBI raided the fake LaSall…

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 has before it str…

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 Telling Amish jokes on the Internet is about as fair as playing dodgeball with a baby.
Lynfred Winery ‏@lynfredwinery It's no longer 'box wine'. T…

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 has been a lifetime.

International Port Corp. spoke…

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 Unit.  “It…

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 roadway where t…

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! ‏@FunnyJokeBook Our phones fall, we panic. Our friends fall, we laugh. 
Facebook




 Both Pictures can be found at Fun Pictures on Facebook


This picture crac…

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,” Shapiro said. “Health…

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 to somebody who doesn…

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 grades that are…