Your Daily Legal Idiot: Sorry, Sarah Palin again.

When will this woman just shut up and raise the average IQ of politicians everywhere?

Adversaries who have been trying to silence Dr. Laura for years seized on her recent use of the n-word on her show as she subsequently suggested that rap “artists” and other creative types like those producing HBO shows who regularly use the n-word could be questioned for doing so. Her intention in discussing the issue with a caller seeking advice was not to be hateful or bigoted. Though she did not mean to insult the caller, she did, and she apologized for it. Still, those who oppose her seized upon her mistake in using the word (though she didn’t call anyone the derogatory term) to paint her as something that she’s not. I can understand how she could feel “shackled” by those who would parse a single word out of decades of on-air commentary. I understand what she meant when she declared that she was “taking back my First Amendment rights” by turning to a new venue that will not allow others the ability to silence her by going after her stations, sponsors, and supporters.

First, who “ha[s] been trying to silence Dr. Laura for years”? As I noticed on Twitter, I was not the only person that was amazed that she still had a radio show. And who exactly is the head of this massive conspiracy to silence the One True Voice of Freedom™ (Dr. Laura)?

And as I noted the two days ago, the First Amendment (of at least our Constitution) states the following:

Congress shall make no law […] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press[.]

Again, is it Congress saying that Dr. Laura cannot be a contemptible fool that thinks it is okay to use the n-word eleven times in a matter of minutes?

And since when was it a violation of the First Amendment to threaten, or conduct, a boycott of someone or their advertisers or sponsors? Is Sarah Palin saying that conservatives violated the First Amendment rights of The Dixie Chicks? Is she saying that conservatives, especially social conservatives, violated the First Amendment rights of The Walt Disney Company? Is she saying that social conservatives, notably the American Family Association, violated the First Amendment rights of Ford Motor Company?

I just reread Animal Farm, and I am starting to think that I could draw a great comparison between what conservatives say is in the Constitution and “The Seven Commandments” and their revisions in the book. (And as a sidenote, my copy of the book has a great foreword about George Orwell that I have been meaning to post.)

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