First Amendment

...Local ISPs: Net Neutrality is a Fake Issue....

...The IRS intimidation definitely had a negative effect on our local group, squelching participation....

...a decision by the court’s nine justices that state employees can't be required to pay union dues could lead to some interesting outcomes in Hawaii....

...Spectrum is channel slamming ‘Ōlelo – displacing channels 49, 53, 54, and 55, including Video On Demand channels 50 and 52....

...Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin joined 22 state attorneys general today in filing a multistate lawsuit to block the Federal Communications Commission’s 'illegal'rollback of net neutrality....

...Gabbard’s consultant, Chris Cooper, is allegedly one of seven identified as being at the center of illegal Russian lobbying efforts reaching into the Trump campaign and Congress....

...Full-time internships (10 weeks at 40 hours/week) with a $4,040 pay....

...Santa is an enthusiastic devotee of the surveillance state....

...Native American student group accuses Polynesian dance group of ‘appropriating Hawaiian and Tahitian culture’....

...the Legislature's Public Access Room (PAR) is offering "Your Voice," a free, one-hour workshop at several locations on Oahu....

Krishna Consciousness is when you know the Krishnas did it....

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to weigh in on a California law that forces pro-life pregnancy care centers to provide free advertising for the abortion industry....

...“We got a few hundred subscribers, but nothing really earth shattering,” Epler says...Civil Beat has an annual budget of roughly $3 million and a staff of about 22 to 24 people....

...58% Have Political Views They’re Afraid to Share....

...The brief was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission....

...publisher Dennis Francis of OPI, owned by Canada-based Black Press Ltd., is insisting on slashing wages and benefits for the remaining journalists....

...The Obama administration winnowed the definition of religious freedom down to the narrow idea of “freedom of worship.” This was rebutted in the first line of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ memorandum....

Hawaii has enacted such a law and it is under challenge in federal district court. ...

“This is an important case because Hawaii goes even further than California did, and they are clearly singling out pregnancy centers....” 

“No one should be forced to provide free advertising for the abortion industry"

...Ironically, the Memo itself was not posted on the Governor’s news feed nor is it linked by any Hawaii.gov website....

...federal law does not allow states that receive federal funding to force pro-life healthcare professionals to act against their conscience or religious beliefs....

...“Are you or have you ever been …. ”

...the center's "planning committee will work to develop practice spaces focused on creating new narratives and new relationships while naming and honoring the ongoing pain and trauma wrought by belief in racial hierarchy, structural racism, and white privilege."....

...The recent images from Charlottesville, VA-marches by torchlight, Nazi salutes, armed militia, angry mobs engaged in violent confrontation-are scary for adults to encounter, let alone children....

...Non-profit organizations wanting to create a display on the Frank F. Fasi Civic Center grounds during the annual Honolulu City Lights exhibition must apply by September 1, 2017....

....in this chess game, those in Charlottesville are just pawns....

...Injunction suspends enforcement of law which ‘targets free speech rights’....

...Faith-based pregnancy centers file suit against Hawaii law, say it forces abortion promotion....

All five of Hawaii’s pro-life pregnancy centers will be forced to choose between advertising free abortions and defying the state’s demands starting Wednesday July 12, 2017....

“Pretty soon we will be requiring ‘cultural appropriation’ training before anyone is allowed to open a business in this town.”

Civil Beat June 5, 2016: "Not all anonymous sources are created equal. Some do benefit you, and those should be protected...."

...Honor and Respect: We Will Remember....

...atheists Mitchell Kahle and Holly Huber sued the churches under Hawaii’s False Claims Act....

...preventing “1930s-era regulations on internet providers.”....

...“The terrible people are coming out of the woodwork to tell me how awful (‘racist’ and ‘sexist’) I am for writing this post,” she laments....

...The court will be hearing the Appeal THIS FRIDAY, and you are invited to sit in....

...those in the U.S. maritime industry (or, the “Jones Act industry”) demand conformity from their fellows in support of the protectionist policies, and how difficult it’s to speak-out against them....

... SB501 Mandatory Abortion Promotion -- How They Voted ....

The bill will have it's final reading in the House on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, during the 9:00 a.m. Floor Session.  The Senate reading is also scheduled for May 2, 2017, during the 10:00 a.m. Floor Session....

... MAY 4, 2017 -- ADJOURNMENT SINE DIE ....

With only 10 of Hawaii’s 51 state representatives voting against SB 501, the measure will now go back to the state senate for a review of amendments....

Compelling licensed professionals to speak the government’s message is dangerous....

The watered down version of SB501 (Relating to Health) has been scheduled for a hearing in the conference committee tomorrow (04-21-17) at 1:00PM in conference room 016....

Rep Gene Ward today sent Attorney General Doug Chin a letter asking for a first Amendment ruling regarding the potential misuse of censorship on the House Floor on April 11, 2017....

With only 10 of Hawaii's 51 state representatives voting against SB 510....

10 House Members voted against the measure....

On March 6 Hawai’i Free Press carried an article reporting on SB501: “Hawaii lawmakers are censoring pro-lifers who were defending free speech”.  Now the Attorney General has weighed in....