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Bong Hits For Jesus - Supreme Court?
- Thread starter akornpatch
- Start date
G
Guest
cool
G
Guest
It's -quite- debatable whether this event was a 'school sponsored event.' Which is what Starr and his clients are hiding behind. School had been let out early to watch the passing of the Olympic Torch ceremony; the key words in that sentence being 'had been let out.'
If these bastards get any more anally retentive and repressively prohibitive, I swear that their asses will squeak when they walk. Perhaps they already do.
But you gotta' give the kid credit for coming up with a possible and creative private non-profit business name. Perhaps Jerry Lewis could pick it up, and run with it. The 'Bong-Hits for Jesus' Telethon. Hell, I might send a $5.00 check to -that- myself!!
moose eater
If these bastards get any more anally retentive and repressively prohibitive, I swear that their asses will squeak when they walk. Perhaps they already do.
But you gotta' give the kid credit for coming up with a possible and creative private non-profit business name. Perhaps Jerry Lewis could pick it up, and run with it. The 'Bong-Hits for Jesus' Telethon. Hell, I might send a $5.00 check to -that- myself!!
moose eater
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akornpatch
Member
The kid wasn't even standing on school property. If you're not on school property or at a school event, they should have no right to fuck with you. School's gonna lose this one.
J
James-Bong
Fox News!!!!!! AKA Bush News 
Fox news is the Devil!!!!
Fox news is the Devil!!!!
G
Guest
I'm not so certain just yet that they'll lose this one, Akornpatch; what's common sense to you, me, and a million other folks in the States, isn't necessarily common sense to John Roberts, Alito, or Scalia.
They're likely gonna' argue (assuming that the SCOTUS accepts the appeal) that because the school had specifically been let out -for- this event, that it is/was, in fact, a school-sponsored event.
And remember the severe leaning toward right-wing fundamentalist Christian theocratic fascism that the SCOTUS has been taking as of late. Nope, if they decide to take this case, the outcome is up for grabs in my opinion.
Just in case folks haven't noticed, things haven't been moving -toward- freedom in the U.S. lately. They've been moving in the opposite direction, tho' almost always in the hollow and rhetorical name of (faux) 'freedom.'
If the Shrubmeister continues 'protecting my freedoms' in the (bizarre) manner that he has, I'm afraid that I may not have any left at all, come election time...
moose eater
They're likely gonna' argue (assuming that the SCOTUS accepts the appeal) that because the school had specifically been let out -for- this event, that it is/was, in fact, a school-sponsored event.
And remember the severe leaning toward right-wing fundamentalist Christian theocratic fascism that the SCOTUS has been taking as of late. Nope, if they decide to take this case, the outcome is up for grabs in my opinion.
Just in case folks haven't noticed, things haven't been moving -toward- freedom in the U.S. lately. They've been moving in the opposite direction, tho' almost always in the hollow and rhetorical name of (faux) 'freedom.'
If the Shrubmeister continues 'protecting my freedoms' in the (bizarre) manner that he has, I'm afraid that I may not have any left at all, come election time...
moose eater
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SCHOOL'S FIGHT TO CENSOR POSTER ENSURES WE'LL NEVER FORGET IT
Beth Bragg
Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Wed, 30 Aug 2006
When it comes to Bong Hits 4 Jesus, here's some Advice 4 Dummies:
If the phrase poses such a threat to the health and future of any
teenager exposed to it, then stop making a federal case out of it.
If the Juneau School Board, in its infinite stubbornness, is so
worried that the message waved on a banner four years ago at a
nonschool event will lead high school kids down the path to illegal
drug use, why does it insist on giving the message such tremendous exposure?
Google "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" and you'll get 14,100 hits. Included
among them is proof positive that the message has become part of the
vernacular: It has its own Wikipedia entry.
And all Joe Frederick wanted was to catch the eye of a TV cameraman.
Frederick is the man who, back when he was a senior at Juneau-Douglas
High School, made a 10-foot banner to wave as the Olympic torch relay
passed through Juneau. A true Alaska artist, he used butcher paper
as his canvas and duct tape as his paint to craft the sign that now
waves in perpetuity: Bong Hits 4 Jesus.
The school principal, Deborah Morse, went nuts -- even though
Frederick wasn't on school property, wasn't at a school-sponsored
event, wasn't under direct supervision of school employees and wasn't
representing the school in any way imaginable.
Nor did he cause a disruption at school. School officials admitted as
much to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Lawyers for Morse and the
school board argue that Morse's confiscation of the banner and
suspension of Frederick were justified because the poster was
inconsistent with the school's mission to teach a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.
Morse suspended Frederick for 10 days, which in the world of school
suspensions ranks just below the death penalty. The last known
instance of duct-tape-fueled student insurgency -- physically abusive
hazings perpetrated by Service High football players in 1999 --
resulted in suspensions ranging from 12 to 14 days.
Frederick fought back, claiming his First Amendment right to free
speech had been violated. The 9th Circuit agreed. And now Kenneth
Starr has something besides a stained blue cocktail dress to concern
himself with.
Starr, the attorney whose investigation helped impeach President
Clinton, will argue Morse's and the school board's side of things
should the Supreme Court decide to review the case.
He's working pro bono, although the pursuit of censorship won't come
free to the citizens of Juneau, or the citizens of Alaska, for that
matter. The Alaska Association of School Boards, which is funded in
part by dues paid by member schools, decided last month to give the
Juneau School Board $15,000 to continue the fight.
But if the school district loses, it will have to pay Frederick's
attorney fees. Doug Mertz, Frederick's lawyer, figures each side has
racked up $100,000 worth of expenses so far, with another $35,000 to
come if the Supreme Court takes the case. But, he said, the
district's insurance policy should cover all but about $25,000 of the
various expenses.
Wonder how much drug-prevention education you could buy for $25,000?
Yet the president of the Juneau School Board, Phyllis Carlson, told
the Juneau Empire that the case needs to be pursued because the most
recent ruling -- which said Frederick's right to free speech had been
violated -- lacks clarity. It left the district "with no guidance as
to where and when we can enforce our policy against messages
promoting illegal drug use," she told the newspaper.
Well, here's some guidance: If a school wants to deny a kid his
constitutional rights, make sure it's for something he did at school
or at a school activity.
And make sure it's an egregious offense, not a silly caper. What do
you think awaits the poor kid who dares listen to lyrics like Bob
Dylan's "Everybody Must Get Stoned" during lunch?
From the very beginning of this, Juneau's administrators and school
board have overreached. The tentacles stretched so far as to cost
Frederick's dad his job as a risk manager for Alaska Public Entity
Insurance, the company that insured the school board back in 2002. A
jury ruled that Frank Frederick was first demoted and then fired
because of his son's lawsuit and, according to Mertz, awarded him
$180,000 in damages.
Wonder if anyone's insurance rates went up because of that?
Now the school board is on a face-saving mission bursting with irony.
By insisting that Bong Hits 4 Jesus is a message so fraught with
peril that the need to censor it trumps free speech, it has cemented
the phrase in our vocabulary.
Beth Bragg
Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Wed, 30 Aug 2006
When it comes to Bong Hits 4 Jesus, here's some Advice 4 Dummies:
If the phrase poses such a threat to the health and future of any
teenager exposed to it, then stop making a federal case out of it.
If the Juneau School Board, in its infinite stubbornness, is so
worried that the message waved on a banner four years ago at a
nonschool event will lead high school kids down the path to illegal
drug use, why does it insist on giving the message such tremendous exposure?
Google "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" and you'll get 14,100 hits. Included
among them is proof positive that the message has become part of the
vernacular: It has its own Wikipedia entry.
And all Joe Frederick wanted was to catch the eye of a TV cameraman.
Frederick is the man who, back when he was a senior at Juneau-Douglas
High School, made a 10-foot banner to wave as the Olympic torch relay
passed through Juneau. A true Alaska artist, he used butcher paper
as his canvas and duct tape as his paint to craft the sign that now
waves in perpetuity: Bong Hits 4 Jesus.
The school principal, Deborah Morse, went nuts -- even though
Frederick wasn't on school property, wasn't at a school-sponsored
event, wasn't under direct supervision of school employees and wasn't
representing the school in any way imaginable.
Nor did he cause a disruption at school. School officials admitted as
much to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Lawyers for Morse and the
school board argue that Morse's confiscation of the banner and
suspension of Frederick were justified because the poster was
inconsistent with the school's mission to teach a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.
Morse suspended Frederick for 10 days, which in the world of school
suspensions ranks just below the death penalty. The last known
instance of duct-tape-fueled student insurgency -- physically abusive
hazings perpetrated by Service High football players in 1999 --
resulted in suspensions ranging from 12 to 14 days.
Frederick fought back, claiming his First Amendment right to free
speech had been violated. The 9th Circuit agreed. And now Kenneth
Starr has something besides a stained blue cocktail dress to concern
himself with.
Starr, the attorney whose investigation helped impeach President
Clinton, will argue Morse's and the school board's side of things
should the Supreme Court decide to review the case.
He's working pro bono, although the pursuit of censorship won't come
free to the citizens of Juneau, or the citizens of Alaska, for that
matter. The Alaska Association of School Boards, which is funded in
part by dues paid by member schools, decided last month to give the
Juneau School Board $15,000 to continue the fight.
But if the school district loses, it will have to pay Frederick's
attorney fees. Doug Mertz, Frederick's lawyer, figures each side has
racked up $100,000 worth of expenses so far, with another $35,000 to
come if the Supreme Court takes the case. But, he said, the
district's insurance policy should cover all but about $25,000 of the
various expenses.
Wonder how much drug-prevention education you could buy for $25,000?
Yet the president of the Juneau School Board, Phyllis Carlson, told
the Juneau Empire that the case needs to be pursued because the most
recent ruling -- which said Frederick's right to free speech had been
violated -- lacks clarity. It left the district "with no guidance as
to where and when we can enforce our policy against messages
promoting illegal drug use," she told the newspaper.
Well, here's some guidance: If a school wants to deny a kid his
constitutional rights, make sure it's for something he did at school
or at a school activity.
And make sure it's an egregious offense, not a silly caper. What do
you think awaits the poor kid who dares listen to lyrics like Bob
Dylan's "Everybody Must Get Stoned" during lunch?
From the very beginning of this, Juneau's administrators and school
board have overreached. The tentacles stretched so far as to cost
Frederick's dad his job as a risk manager for Alaska Public Entity
Insurance, the company that insured the school board back in 2002. A
jury ruled that Frank Frederick was first demoted and then fired
because of his son's lawsuit and, according to Mertz, awarded him
$180,000 in damages.
Wonder if anyone's insurance rates went up because of that?
Now the school board is on a face-saving mission bursting with irony.
By insisting that Bong Hits 4 Jesus is a message so fraught with
peril that the need to censor it trumps free speech, it has cemented
the phrase in our vocabulary.
G
Guest
According to an e-mail that I received yesterday, a very loose, and certainly non-scientific, public opinion poll on MSNBC had better than 78% of those responding saying that they believed that the kid's banner was 'protected free speech under the First Amendment.' Unfortunately, I'm not sure that the views of Shrub, Scalia, Roberts, or Alito, fall into that 78% category.
And though $250,000.00 might buy some serious drug education, if delivered in the same context and content it has been in the past, I suspect that it might do some considerable damage to our kids' decisions about whether or not to use various drugs.
Personally, I'd be in favor of a banner that reads 'Do a tab of sidney for the Shrubmeister.'
moose eater
And though $250,000.00 might buy some serious drug education, if delivered in the same context and content it has been in the past, I suspect that it might do some considerable damage to our kids' decisions about whether or not to use various drugs.
Personally, I'd be in favor of a banner that reads 'Do a tab of sidney for the Shrubmeister.'
moose eater
Last edited:
J
James-Bong
moose eater said:
Unfortunately, the constitution doesn't mean shit to the pigs running this country nowadays...... sad state of affairs
G
Guest
GW Bush: "Don't keep throwing the constitution in my face. It's just a goddamned piece of paper!!"
moose eater
moose eater
G
Guest
My kids go to school here in Alaska ( ), and the rules make one think of minimum security jails; -NO- item that even remotely seems to glorify or condone -any- drug or alcohol use is tolerated.
One primary standard upheld by the courts has included 'anything that disrupts the class room.' This is very much open to interpretation. A kid returning from a great vacation stands a chance of 'disrupting the class!!'
My kids don't attend in S.E./Juneau, and potentially have an action happening against a specific 'other' school district currently, but even dress code is way laughable.
moose eater
), and the rules make one think of minimum security jails; -NO- item that even remotely seems to glorify or condone -any- drug or alcohol use is tolerated.One primary standard upheld by the courts has included 'anything that disrupts the class room.' This is very much open to interpretation. A kid returning from a great vacation stands a chance of 'disrupting the class!!'
My kids don't attend in S.E./Juneau, and potentially have an action happening against a specific 'other' school district currently, but even dress code is way laughable.
moose eater
Last edited:
