What are common privacy rights held by U.S. citizens?
In what ways do citizens want the press to respect their privacy?
When do the reporting interests of the media conflict with citizen privacy rights?
What is the Freedom of Information Act? Whom does it benefit and why?
By which limitations must the press refrain from reporting information?
How does a free press help to ensure an honest government?
What is the Freedom of Information Act? Whom does it benefit and why?
20090628 – The Church at State Theatre – GEDC0151 – Steve Kilbey – singing, playing bass, Peter Koppes – playing guitar, Tim Powles – drumming
Image taken on 2009-06-28 21:52:20 by Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos (ClintJCL).
Who Said It?
The following quotations don’t really need any explanation (Source: brainyquote.com). In my opinion, they are all self-evident truths, obvious in their implications and portent. Who authored them?
I’ll give you a clue: None of them are contemporary. (My comments are in parenthesis.)
“A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay for it.” (Almost 50% of American workers do not pay any income tax at all.)
“America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” (An article of faith that I believe is true.)
“Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.” (Considering the political landscape today, we seem to be rapidly falling into this trap.)
“As one digs deeper into the national character of the Americans, one sees that they have sought the value of everything in this world only in the answer to this single question: how much money will it bring in?” (Money still talks and controls the levers of power in America.)
”Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.” (Defines the nature of Capitalist vs Socialist or Communist societies.)
“I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America.” (Think “politically correct” and the unrelenting hostility of our political discourse today.)
“In America the majority raises formidable barriers around the liberty of opinion; within these barriers an author may write what he pleases, but woe to him if he goes beyond them.” (Graphically illustrated by the overwhelming presence of “political correctness” in America today.)
“In politics shared hatreds are almost always the basis of friendships.” (Have you ever noticed how political alliances are often like sharks circling prey in the water?)
“Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.” (Seems obvious to me.)
“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” (Consider the extent of “pork barrel” politics today.)
“The genius of democracies is seen not only in the great number of new words introduced but even more in the new ideas they express.” (The evolution of American English since I was in high school during the 1940s has been a constant source of both amazement and amusement to me.)
“There are two things which a democratic people will always find very difficult – to begin a war and to end it.” (Examples: WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.)
“There is hardly a political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one.” (Consider the role the courts play in America today, especially “legislating from the bench.”)
“The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.” (Another description of Capitalism vs Socialism and Communism.)
“The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colours breaking through.” (American society is still largely based on a combination of wealth and lineage dating back to the Mayflower.)
“All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it.” (An interesting observation in light of the current war being waged against America by Islamofascists, which is causing us to voluntarily restrict many of our freedoms.)
“Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort.” (Just human nature, right?)
“There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.” (No comment needed.)
The foregoing observations were all made by Alexis de Tocqueville, a Frenchman who visited America in 1831 at the age of 25 and wrote a two-volume study, “Democracy in America,” first published in 1834. His prescient observations are as valid today as they were over 170 years ago and, from the vantage point of having visited here so early in our history, it’s truly remarkable how accurate his conclusions about the contemporary American character and system of government were.
de Tocqueville’s writings are considered one of the most insightful works ever written about America. For my money, they should be required reading for everyone in politics.
© 2008 Harris R. Sherline, All Rights Reserved
NOTE: Read more of Harris Sherline’s commentaries on his blog at “opinionfest.com.”
Harris Sherline is a retired Certified Public Accountant and executive. His diverse business background includes experience as a partner in a public accounting firm, as a principal in a number of business ventures and as CEO of a hospital. His conservative commentaries appear weekly in two Santa Barbara newspapers. In addition, his op-ed articles currently appear regularly on three widely read web sites and his own weblog,
Opinionfest.com.
The Constitution for Dummies 3/4 ~ Fox News’ Judge Andrew Napolitano
The Constitution for Dummies 3/4 ~ Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst Andrew Napolitano Great speech by Ron Paul supporter Judge Andrew Napolitano
A Challenge to the Churches
A Challenge to the Churches
By Punkerslut
I offer a challenge to the churches… I challenge that they
release their mentality, that they must deal with matters wholly
supernatural, and that they offer knowledge with actual
relevance to the physical world. That I may go into a church
without hearing talk of how the gods see us, what we must do to
save our souls, or the thoughts which the immortals have at the
moment, to avoid hearing such manifestations of superstition, is
one of my challenges to the churches. That they may offer
guidance to people in matters of their lives and how they live,
instead of condemning and praising, instead of preachery and
oratory — I challenge that the churches serve the people in
ways that help the people. That they base their foundation in
offering moral support of the people, that they may live and
work in a way that benefits themselves and their community in
the greatest manner. To have services that conform to the needs
of the people, instead of trying to conform the people to some
divine mandate beyond the reach of any mortal; to hold the
belief that a person’s innate nature can never be their own
blame; to hold the belief that individuals must travel their own
path in life to achieve the happiness they desire — to
understand that a person is not just another two needs bent on a
pew, this is what I desire of the church.
I challenge that the churches offer sympathy and kindliness to
all people, whether they worships a different god, many gods, or
no god at all. Had I been given power to write the constitution
of the hearts of the clergy, I would have the first article
dictate that all men are their brothers, that there is no crime
that can be committed that would grant them a writ of cruelty to
the criminal, that they will close their doors to no man, deny
refuge to no soul, hold in contempt any spirit that reaches
towards the sanctuary of the inner heart, and the result of
inner peace. A man can believe in whatever he wishes, whatever
insane ideologies or obscure myths, and he may refer to my own
dedicated beliefs in the same manner: they will say it is
ridiculous to refrain from eating meat, they will claim it is an
absurdity to deny the existence of god, they will state that sex
outside of a committed relationship is outlandish. Their opinion
is their own, and they have a right to it. Whatever that opinion
is, it must be understand that this opinion is held by a person
— it is held by a conscious being, one that is not unknown to
the torments of misery, one that is not beyond the understanding
of happiness, one that knows and feels conflict and suffering,
joy and ecstacy. I have known many Christian men who have said
that if you take away the beliefs of a man, you have nothing
left! Such a creed is founded on the unconventional orthodoxy of
religion. I say this: that a person is a person, and no matter
what beliefs they have formed about the universe, that they
should form them by their own mind’s inquiry and investigation,
and that no matter what conclusions they come to, they are to be
regarded in a manner that takes into consideration that they are
still persons, capable of emotion, just as much as any person. I
would have this: that the churches accept and honor every man
and woman, regardless of their beliefs.
If a person were to sit in the pews of a church and listen to
the sermon, for every one hundred words spoken on religion and
matters of the unseen, they will hear one word on how to treat
their fellow men like their brothers. For every one thousand
times the preacher touches upon the topic of how we must respect
our father who resides in heaven, he will touch upon once the
obligation that we have to respect our brothers and sisters —
our family of humanity — who reside on this planet. There are
ten less times that a preacher will speak on behalf of those who
are mortal than those who are immortal, and one hundred fewer
times a preacher will claim our duty to the unseen than to the
living and breathing mass of creatures on this planet. I make
this challenge to the churches: that instead of being burdens on
the community, to become a benefit to their lives. Instead of
exerting their energy in such a directionless manner as to
demand prayer, do not demand anything; instead, only make pleas
with them that they are humane in all their dealings with their
fellow men, that they do not destroy the lives of those around
them, that to plant flowers of joy on this planet is the
greatest of duties. Churches, if you have one humane sentiment,
then express it with every manner you have at disposal! That is
my challenge to the churches: that they place more emphasis on
being humane than being religious.
In travelling the United States, my friends and I have seen
many glorious churches and temples, but we all confess that
there is nothing so enchanting to our soul than that of the
cathedral of nature. For every dollar the church puts towards
its architectural impressiveness, I challenge that they put ten
dollars to feeding the hungry and housing the homeless, that
their deeds should impress my heart rather than their buildings
sicken my mind. Instead of purchasing another stone, that the
height of the tallest church may be increased by just one foot,
I challenge the church and all the clergy, that the money goes
to buying ten meals, that the unfortunate, neglected, and
abandoned may have food for today. Without filling their pockets
with the coin of pew-fillers, I challenge the church to reach
out to every downtrodden individual, to every oppressed mass,
and give them the necessities, so that their existence is not
without aid. I challenge the church to do this: to treat the
world as its cathedral and spread the wealth, and to abandon its
current doctrine, that the world is its cemetery, where things
unwanted are to be placed. Before the sun rises and sets again,
over a million will still be yearning for the basic needs of
life, and over a million will be refused. Instead of preaching
on the goodness of god, I demand the churches to call upon the
goodness of man, and to show respect and charity to those who
have little to live for in this life. Give them not the Bible,
but give them food. Teach not of the divine, but teach with
actions. I challenge the churches to help end poverty instead of
expanding their cathedrals and temples.
The world is emerging from a time where societies have become
industrial, where a worker is regarded no more than the cogs in
the machine he runs, where living has been reduced to the
economy of space. For thousands of years, different forms of
tyrannies have slowly been overcome, different revolutions have
occured in the hearts and minds of men, and slowly as
Humanitarian ideals spread, we have struggled to reach the
shores of our lives. I challenge the churches this: that no
injustice will be overlooked, that there should be a light for
those who must presside in the dark, that cruelty and malice are
forever to be considered a weakness and not a strength, a vice
and not a virtue. I challenge the churches to aid the workers of
the world in their struggle to liberate themselves, to give
support to Animal Rights and Human Rights activists as they work
patiently for the conclusion of Democracy and liberty, to not
ask people to reform themselves but to ask them to take part in
the reform of society, and reform themselves only insomuch that
a better society may be the result of it. That is my challenge
to the churches, no matter what nation they hail from, or what
people attend it. Unless this challenge is met and bested, I
only remain at my conclusion: that a world without churches, is
a world with one more virtue.
www.punkerslut.com
For Life, Punkerslu
Punkerslut (or Andy Carloff) has been writing essays and poetry
on social issues which have caught his attention for several
years. His website www.punkerslut.com provides a complete list
of all of these writings. His life experience includes
homelessness, squating in New Orleans and LA, dropping out of
high school, getting expelled from college for “subversive
activities,” and a myriad of other revolutionary actions.
What does “The south will rise again” mean?
This is a concern that I have because the south that fell was everything that America is not today. The United States of America is the land of equality, freedom, opportunity and justice. Equality, freedom, opportunity and justice don’t sound like the “old south” to me. And don’t get this misconstrued; I am not trying to make this a Black vs. White thing. Life just didn’t seem to be all that great for anyone in the south at that time. The north wasn’t much better. You don’t hear people calling out for the return of the old north. So what about the old south do some people really want to bring back when they say “The south will rise again”.
Latest Freedom Of Religion Auctions
Hey, check out these auctions:
[eba kw=”Freedom of Religion” num=”2″ ebcat=”all”]
Cool, arent they?
1st National Bank Securities Building
Image taken on 2009-07-13 10:27:58 by jimmywayne.
USE OF RIGHT TO INFORMATION FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
USE OF RIGHT TO INFORMATION FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
The press, being the forth estate, has to make the government accountable by publishing information about matters of public interest even if such information reveals abuses or crimes perpetrated by those in authority. From this perspective, investigative reporting is one of the most important contributions that the press makes to democracy and, resultantly, to the citizens. When we take into consideration the fact that most people do not exercise their right to the freedom of information in a direct and personal way, the significance of investigative reporting becomes all the more important.
The Supreme Court has long recognized a citizen’s access to government information as a fundamental right under Article 19, but it has only been with the passage of the RTI Act in 2005 that Indians have had a way to exercise that right and force transparency and fairness onto a notoriously corrupt bureaucracy. Evaluation of public authorities and governance is impossible without factual, current/updated and primary information.
Bureaucrats earlier used the weapon of the Officials Secret Act, which played over the right of speech and expression. Therefore, the rights of the citizens remained confined. Similarly, the judiciary has the Contempt of Court provisions and the legislature have the parliamentary privileges. It was impossible for the journalist to go into the depth of any matter properly under these constraints. By using the RTI Act, journalists can overcome the traditional reverence of government officials and instead regard them as ‘public servants’ accountable to the taxpayers for how they spend government money.
Aruna Roy, a major driving force behind the implementation of the RTI Act, believes that right to information is more revolutionary than taking up a gun and fighting. According to her, five years after it became a law, the RTI Act has created unprecedented dialectics between the individuals and government officials, and has created a climate in which honest and enabled people can step out and say something in the public domain.
The Press Council stated that the Right to Information Act is very vital for the media. It stated that “At present, one of the stumbling blocks in the path of investigative, analytical and popular journalism is the difficulty in getting access to the official information. Few journalists are able to break the iron curtain of the official non-cooperation. The Right to Information Act will encourage journalists and society at large to be more questioning about the state of affairs and promote accountability. No longer will scribes have to depend on conjecture, rumour, leaks and sources other than knowledgeable sources. Through this legislation, transparency in public, professional, social and personal sphere can be achieved.”
The embezzlement in the Jharkhand Assembly Guesthouse is a very good example of how RTI can help in investigative journalism. As per the rules, the amount so obtained from the rent of the guesthouse has to be deposited in the treasury. Rs.300 was charged for a day’s stay in the guesthouse, even though the rule stated that only Rs.100 is to be charged. Moreover the receipts provided for the Rs.300 were false. Thus a huge amount of guesthouse rent was embezzled as a very small amount of guesthouse rent was deposited in the treasury.
In spite of the loot of public money, it was not possible to publish it as news because of the lack of the evidence. Moreover, parliamentary privileges forced the newspaper not to publish such news without any documental evidence. For making this information public, it was necessary to know the amount deposited in the treasury as guesthouse rent. Despite several inquiries, the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha did not provide this information. Several visits were made to the treasury office, but they stated that this is a confidential matter and cannot be disclosed.
Fortunately, with the help of the RTI Act, this information was sought from Vidhan Sabha. Initially they tried to avoid providing the information, but after several attempts, information was procured and the truth was revealed. It was clear that the amount deposited from 2002 to October 2005 in the treasury was minimal. In almost twenty-one months, only Rs. 32,800 was deposited in the treasury, that also when they had 30 rooms in the guesthouse. The low collection in twenty-one months at the rate of Rs.300 per day clearly stated the entire fact. Further, the collection of two types of rent from the guesthouse was also revealed. Thus, without the use of the RTI Act, it was impossible to publish a word on this serious issue.
Some other interesting examples of use of RTI for investigative journalism are:
One of the major achievements of Right to Information Act was when the Delhi Government was forced to withdraw its decision of privatizing the Delhi Jal Board. In 1998, the privatization of the Delhi Jal Board was started with the help of the World Bank. Parivartan (an NGO using and spreading awareness about RTI) scrutinized the documents, which indicated a frightening truth that in order to provide the tender to the multinational company Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) the World Bank had forced the Delhi Jal Board and the Delhi government to agree on disgraceful terms. Other concerning facts also came out. The cost of the water would have risen by six times if this plan has been implemented. The water would have been provided to only those areas were people would voluntarily agree to lay down the pipelines at their own expense.
Students of the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM) used the RTI to establish that the public paid Rs 11.2 lakh to send Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa on eight ‘official’ temple visits during the first six months of his tenure. Charging the CM’s office with being ‘most uncooperative’ with the requests, students said that they were shunted between different officials for 72 times by 18 officers to gather the requisite information.
In Madhya Pradesh, in the five districts of the state, a program to educate and provide vocational training to the child labour is running under the financial assistance of International Labour Organisation. This three-year project was started in the year 2004. A budget of thirty-two lakh rupees was alone provided to Katni district. The Right to Information Act was used by a journalist, Mohan Nagwani, for the information related to the distribution of the primary health kit, the number of kits sold, the rate at which it was purchased, what equipments are there and what is their numbers etc. After seventeen days he got the information. It was stated that forty kits were purchased at the rate of Rs. 35,000 each. Now, Nagwani found that the medical kit cost Rs. 970 only. After this fact, the misappropriation in this project was also revealed.
Important Sections/Provisions of the RTI Act
Section 4 of the law requires the majority of public bodies to proactively publish information such as the name of employees, job titles, salaries, their net worth and agency expenditures. They must also catalogue all files going back 25 years, listing a description of what they contain and how they are classified.
Section 5 deals with the designation of Public Information Officers for the Central and State bodies.
Under Section 6, the public has the right to request additional information by contacting the agency’s Public Information Officer (PIO), who in turn is bound to release the information within 30 days (as per Section 7). If the information relates to the life and liberty of the requester, it has to be furnished within 48 hours. There is no special form required to seek the information, and a request can be handed to the PIO on ordinary stationery.
Section 8 deals with information that is exempted from the purview of this Act.
Under Section 20, if the official balks, or the information is deemed exempted, a requester can either file an appeal with the state’s Information Commission or lodge a complaint, which if upheld can result in a fine of Rs. 250 a day, for up to 100 days. The fine provides a strong incentive for reluctant public officials to turn over the documents, rather than risk a black mark on their records or pay out of their own pockets.
The cost of application (Rs. 10) and for receiving the information is given in Section 3 and 4 of the RTI Rules, 2005.
How RTI can be advantageous to journalists
Earlier, journalists were denied a single word, but today they can have the complete file. Instead of predictions, media can write by studying the documents seriously. Earlier this was impossible. Therefore, a basic difference can be seen between the journalism before and after the arrival of Right to Information Act.
If an application is filed under the RTI and only partial information or even no information is received, then the information hidden can provide leads or justify the suspicions of the investigating journalist. The information, which is kept hidden, speaks in itself what kind of information is kept hidden, revealing the fact that something is wrong.
Since journalists can procure reliable information by using RTI, they don’t have to rely solely on their personal contacts. The biggest drawback of this process is that the reporter is forced to become the puppet of these officials or ‘personal contacts’. This will make news more impartial and objective. It is also possible to obtain the routine news through personal relations whereas through right to information, facts for the exclusive news can be procured.
The right to information has given birth to new and a very powerful source of information. This is not only easy to use but also reliable.
Due to the lack of primary and complete facts, the correspondent writes limbed, exaggerated, false and preconceived news. This is done in complete innocence. The right to information is providing this opportunity to procure all the facts and to analyze and evaluate them.
In this new era of Right to Information, the readers/viewers require all kinds of primary information. They can identify the truth on the basis of their analysis and commonsense. The possibility of transparency, which have been obtained through right to information, to make it a reality the media, will have to assemble them with honesty. If the journalist does not take this responsibility of new journalism, then this will be done through the strength of the new democracy.
Therefore the journalist and the media persons should recognize the power of right to information and should start to utilize it with full effect. This will certainly change and improve the horizon of journalism.
The author is a final year law student of Campus Law Centre, Delhi University.
JFK Religion Speech
JFK defends Church-State separation, religious freedom, and his electability regardless of his religious tradition “An act against one church is treated as act against all!” “Not what kind of church I believe in, for that should be important only to me, but what kind of America I believe in!”
