Stossel on the First Amendment Tonight

John Stossel's Fox Business program will dive into First Amendment issues with Ayaan Hirsi Ali tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern (re-airs at midnight). Stossel is also scheduled to discuss obscenity laws with filmmaker John Stagliano, who is facing up to 32 years in federal prison for distributing adult movies. Reason recently examined Stagliano's case in our "Should Obscenity Be Illegal?" video.

Stossel's Reason Archive

Comments

[PIRS]

What evidence is there for a real, historical Muhammed other than the Koran and works that came after the Koran? People have raised this issue with Jesus many times. What about Muhammed?

[Mike Laursen]

I saw what was allegedly his sword, a hair from his beard, etc. in a museum in Istanbul. Of course, they also had the VERY stick that turned into a snake for Abraham, in addition to Abraham's mixing bowl (seriously).

[Invisible Finger]

Idolators.

[PIRS]

+1

[Zeb]

I think that Mohamed is a more well documented historical figure than Jesus. He actually led armies, fathered children and left behind lots of artifacts. Since Christianity didn't really get going until some time after Jesus would have lived, there is a lot less real evidence for his existence (though I am reasonably convinced that there was someone behind the stories).

[shrike]

I fully support John 'Buttman' Stagliano.

"John" will be here any minute to tell us how the GOP should be our moral guide and Big Gov Medicare Welfare Pharma overlords in these wild days of rampant ACLU Secularism.

[Robert]

That still frame of Nick Gillespie is priceless. No caption could do it justice.

[Invisible Finger]

I thought it was "Mohammed".

[Mike Laursen]

Are comments disabled on the Muhammed winner post on purpose?

[shrike]

Put it here, mate.

Whether you are a Mohhamed-Fag or a Christ-Fag is irrelevant.

You are still swimming in the same shitty river.

[kinnath]

What a bunch of weasels. Three images. No comments allowed. Posted after hours.

I regret giving you guys money last year.

[AlmightyJB]

Oh their disabled? I was hoping maybe reasonites were refusing to comment after the censoring bullshit they pulled with the promotional piece. I didn't even try it for that reason. I guess I should have known they would just disable it. Da man always keepin us down:)

[?]

Are comments disabled on the Muhammed winner post on purpose?

It might have ended up full of jokes that worked at the Freudian intersection of the Prophet's legendary postmortem erection, the on-again off-again Islamic ban on images of any living thing, and the internet's being full of porn and enraged Muslims.

That would be gauche.

[Invisible Finger]

Nick and Matt were going for high-brow humor cloaked in bullshit piety about freedom of speech humor rather than low-brow humor and offensive speech (the kind that actually needs protecting).

[Max]

Could just make that picture of Nick Gillespie illegal? Vomit City!

[Mike Laursen]

Put it here, mate.

In that case, I'll bring up something kind of related. The "Vatican" episode from Penn & Teller's Bullshit! Season 7 seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. It's not included in the iTunes series of shows, nor in the DVD version. What gives Showtime?

[shrike]

I completely agree.

The Vatican and Christian Coalition is just as "evil" as the Taliban.

[capitol l]

Good thing us atheists have noble defenders such as you, and of course Scott Brown.

[shrike]

I am belligerent in my defense of Secularism.

Secularism is right - it is our birthright - but "John" (GOP licksore) will say otherwise.

[The Libertarian Guy]

Yeah! Everyone with religious beliefs is a danger! Off with their heads!

There, shrike, I typed it so you wouldn't have to.

[Mike Laursen]

Huh, all I did was ask what happened to the episode. There was nothing there to agree with or not agree with.

[Anon]

Rule 25 of the Internet: Relation to the original topic decreases with each post. Hope that helps...

[Tara Davis]

I like turtles!

[PIRS]

I had a turtle as a pet when I was a child. I released him in my garden and he lived there for several years. He may still be alive. I think that they live a long time.

[Sam Grove]

Is that you Ralph Wiggums?

[capitol l]

When I moved from Virginia, as a child, to Pennsylvania I brought a small turtle with me in a Big Gulp cup. It lived for 17 years, and grew to a diameter of around ten inches. We kept it in one of those back yard pond things, but in the house. His name was turty bouchka*, and he ate goldfish.

*Means 'gun' in whatever weird eastern european language my father's family spoke.

[Anita Bryant]

Only 17 years? Did it catch the AIDS?

[Joette]

Comments turned off on the Muhammed post? Really? I'm sure I'll wake up in the morning and find that Reason is now owned by Viacom. It's the only logical explanation.

[Jeremy Kareken]

I love how, in the video freeze frame, the Jacket looks like he's saying "reaaally big tits."

[James Tiberius Kirk]

"Release (gratuitous arm movements)........the Kareken!"

[Tara Davis]

I was thinking more along the lines of, "just when I thought I was out... THEY PULL ME BACK IN!!!"

[Attorney]

Something's wrong with the Muhammed thread. Did the Musselmen hack the site?

[Fist of Etiquette]

My liveblogging started too late for me to mention that John threatened to take his studio audience to go after Glenn Beck. It must be sweeps.

[Fist of Etiquette]

It seems the only people who truly cherish 1st Amendment rights are those who lived without them.

[Fist of Etiquette]

And Ayaan should had the feminists' number.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ugh. should=sure

[Fist of Etiquette]

Canada's HRC isn't any better than ours.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Canada adds the right of freedom from being offended. That's an extra right that Americans don't have. Who can argue with that?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sometimes, Ezra, we deal with offensive ideas by shutting down comments.

Attica! Attica!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Is Ayaan giving Ezra the stink-eye?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ohhh! Audience member brings up Somalian libertarianism! Ka-boom.

[Fist of Etiquette]

(That's right, I said "Somalian".)

[Fist of Etiquette]

Ayaan is schooling the audience stoner on the difference between a right and a privilege.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I don't like John standing that close to the Bill of Rights with a permanent marker.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Stagliano and the Judge. Good guests tonight.

[Fist of Etiquette]

WHAT IS THE MILK IN MILK NYMPHOS??? I need the complete information to make a decision, John.

[Nipplemancer]

You'll just have to watch the film. I gave it 2 1/2 stars.

[heller]

They pour bottled milk over the nymphomaniacs, apparently.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I'll pass then. I have to watch my cholesterol.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Not very convincing devil's advocacy tonight, John.

Porn = rape? Weak.

[Fist of Etiquette]

This just in: the Judge wants to outlaw kitchen knives and automobiles!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Guy in the back row doesn't get what the Judge is saying.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Hmmm, I'm hearing a lot of good things about this Stossel guy and his free speech stance. He's got my vote.

[PIRS]

"Ohhh! Audience member brings up Somalian libertarianism! Ka-boom."

Is that the right to be a wine-taster?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Quiet, you!

Turn on Fox Business and liveblog with me. I'm dying up here.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Jessica is living in some fantasyland where bureaucracy is separated from regulation.

[PIRS]

I once hated nested comments. But now I am starting to see their value. They seem stuck at the moment however.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Flag-burning? "I don't want to because I'm allowed to."

You just blew my mind.

[PIRS]

"Turn on Fox Business and liveblog with me. I'm dying up here."

I cannot at the moment sorry to say. I am attending work. I am DVRing it at the moment however. I will see it tomorrow.

Why are the nested comments not working?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Where is this comment in relation to your comment?

If your "reply to this" feature isn't working, it's probably a problem with your browser. Restart your browser and try again.

[PIRS]

OK, I restarted it and they are working now. Thank you.

[Fist of Etiquette]

For maximum enjoyment, remember to read my comments while you're watching your illegal recording of the show.

[PIRS]

🙂

[Fist of Etiquette]

Bullet is a word.

[PIRS]

It must be my browser.

[Douglas Gray]

Ernst Zundel was given five years in prison for denying the Holocaust. He was declared a "security risk" for somehow "inciting hatred against a particular group" while in Canada. (He did slightly overstay his visa)
Germany is much, much worse than we are. The amazing thing is how much trouble they went to, getting this guy.

[Douglas Gray]

We are much better than Germany. Ernst Zundel was given five years in prison for Holocaust denial, after being "determined a security risk" for "inciting hatred against a particular group" while in Canada.

[affenkopf]

All true, Germany's holocaust denial laws are horrible. But some of our newspapers and TV stations showed the Mohammed cartoons, so we might be censoring assholes but at least our media has some balls left.

Also: This reason cartoons are a giant letdown. These things are even less offensive than the Danish ones.
When violent assholes wnat to kill people for speech you don't make clever, subtle, inoffensive cartoons about Ren? Magritte, you make the most offensive and crass cartoons you can think off to tell these people to go fuck themselves.