Thursday, September 24, 2009

WHAT 1st AMENDMENT? At this moment they are NOT who we thought they were, they appear worse than the paranoid's delusion of that

The govt tells those who disagree with them on the health care issue/bill (which one? I think there are at least 5) to CEASE AND DESIST from speaking out on this issue because THEY consider the information disseminated by those dissenting "misleading and confusing".

IE "FISHY"?

WSJ:
Political intimidation has always been part of the current Congress's health-care strategy: "If you're not at the table, you're on the menu" is tattooed on every lobbyist and industry rep in Washington. But Max Baucus's latest bullying tactics are hard to believe by even these standards, as the Senate Finance Chairman has sicced federal regulators on the insurer Humana Inc. for daring to criticize one part of his health bill.

VOLOKH:

The Humana Controversy and Government Funding:

Various people defended the Department of Health & Human Services "instruct[ing]" Humana to stop distributing allegedly "misleading and confusing" political advocacy, on the grounds that Humana gets huge benefits from participating in various DHS programs. But while the government has substantial control over how government program dollars are spent by people and institutions hired to administer the programs, the government may not impose blanket limits on everything the recipients say, as a condition of participating in the program. Rather, the recipients must retain the right to speak using their own money (at least unless their speech is otherwise punishable).

Here's the relevant passage from Rust v. Sullivan:

The Secretary's regulations [restricting the use of government funds for abortion-related speech] do not force the Title X grantee to give up abortion-related speech; they merely require that the grantee keep such activities separate and distinct from Title X activities. Title X expressly distinguishes between a Title X grantee and a Title X project. The grantee, which normally is a health care organization, may receive funds from a variety of sources for a variety of purposes. The grantee receives Title X funds, however, for the specific and limited purpose of establishing and operating a Title X project. The regulations govern the scope of the Title X project's activities, and leave the grantee unfettered in its other activities. The Title X grantee can continue to perform abortions, provide abortion-related services, and engage in abortion advocacy; it simply is required to conduct those activities through programs that are separate and independent from the project that receives Title X funds.

In contrast, our "unconstitutional conditions" cases involve situations in which the government has placed a condition on the recipient of the subsidy rather that on a particular program or service, thus effectively prohibiting the recipient from engaging in the protected conduct outside the scope of the federally funded program. In FCC v. League of Women Voters of Cal., we invalidated a federal law providing that noncommercial television and radio stations that receive federal grants may not "engage in editorializing." Under that law, a recipient of federal funds was "barred absolutely from all editorializing" because it "is not able to segregate its activities according to the source of its funding" and thus "has no way of limiting the use of its federal funds to all noneditorializing activities." The effect of the law was that "a noncommercial educational station that receives only 1%" of its overall income from [federal] grants is barred absolutely from all editorializing" and "barred from using even wholly private funds to finance its editorial activity." ...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

But it say nothing about the executive branch? Is that it?

These people are a danger to the republic by reason of their self righteous self value and zealotry and that means YOU TOO Baucus ..citizens of Montana ..is THIS what you signed on for?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Constitution provides that the Executive has no power to "make law" under the separation of powers.

That would be power granted to the legislative branch.

Therefore there was no reason to include a prohibition on the Executive making law abridging fundamental rights.

Epaminondas said...

They HAVE CLAIMED already, that congress gave them the authority to REGULATE issues, BY LAW..
Thus Cass Sunstein , et al.
FCC, SEC, FDIC, FED, etc.

That is the wormhole they are going to suck us all down