first amendment. they're expressing their religious beliefs. now is the time to make justice a reality. captioning provided by the first amendment center, funded by the freedom forum. welcome to a special edition of speaking freely. i'm ken paulson, executive director of the first amendment center, with a new program in a series called whitney dialogues at the first amendment center. here to introduce our guest is a cohost for the series, director of the whitney museum of american art, maxwell anderson. thank you, ken. bill t. jones was born in florida and grew up in upstate new york. he studied classical ballet and modern dance at the state university of binghamton, where he began his relationship with choreographer arnie zane. (man) the next thing i knew was that i, like a bshee, was whirling throughout this [...] park, throughout flower beds, looking for coverage so that the bulldozer with the burning logs would not get me. i woke up. in 1974, after living in amsterdam, he cofounded the american dance asylum and in 1982 formed the bill t. jones/arnie zane dance company with his partner, arnie zane, who died in 1988. based in new yor

first amendment. they're expressing their religious beliefs. now is the time to make justice a reality for all of god's children. captioning provided by the freedom forum first amendment center welcome to speaking freely, a weekly conversation about the first amendment, the arts, and american culture. i'm ken paulson, executive director of the first amendment center. david crosby has written and performed some of the most powerful music of the past 35 years. throughout his solo career and his years with the byrds; crosby, stills, nash, and young; and now cpr, he's demonstrated that music can make a difference. now he's teamed with david bender, a founding contributing editor for george magazine, to write stand and be counted: making music, making history. welcome, gentlemen. it's a book about courageous musicians and courageous music, and at a time when i read on the front page of the new york times that record companies are routinely self-censoring themselves to enhance marketability of music, why this project, why the book, and why the television show now? well, to pick one of your words, courage. we are both very taken with human courage. our heroes have been people who h

first amendment. they're expressing their religious beliefs. now is the time to make justice a reality for all of god's children. captioning provided by the freedom forum first amendment center welcome to speaking freely, a weekly conversation about the first amendment, the arts, and american culture. i'm ken paulson, executive director of the first amendment center. holly hughes is a widely respected performance artist who is known both for her thoughtful work and as a member of the n.e.a. four. her fight for free expression took her all the way to the u.s. supreme court. she's here today to share her thoughts about that battle and about free expression in america. welcome, holly. thank you, ken. now, a membership in the n.e.a. four-- that's not exactly like joining the kiwanis club. no, it's not. it was kind of an honor-- dishonor sort of imposed on us by the national council of the arts when they took away our funding that had been recommended. it sort of sounds like a bad band, you know, that-- or we were later referred to as karen finley and the three homosexuals, which sounds like a really bad band. i've seen them play. [laughs] and yet this has been a battle. your sta

first amendment. they're expressing their religious beliefs. now is the time to make justice a reality for all of god's children. captioning provided by the freedom forum first amendment center welcome to speaking freely, a weekly conversation about the first amendment, the arts, and american culture. i'm ken paulson, executive director of the first amendment center. today, we'll discuss one of the most powerful and provocative songs of the past century. the song is strange fruit, and it's the subject of a new book by our guest, david margolick. welcome. thank you, ken. are there other books out there about a single song? i'm familiar with dave marsh's take on louie louie, but this has to be an unusual premise for a new book. i don't think there are very many. i think there's a book about amazing grace, and i'm told there's a book in the works about we shall overcome. but i think there really aren't many songs that you could write entire books about. this is one of the few. and this was not a tough sell to a publisher because they saw your piece in vanity fair. they saw the piece in vanity fair, and they thought that it could be expanded upon into a book. and it certainly wo

captioning provided by the first amendment center, funded by the freedom forum. captioning by captionmax www.captionmax.com (female announcer) for more information about speaking freely, visit our website at: >> the san francisco cons tri of flowers in golden gate park is now showing a new exhibit that changes the way we see the plants around us. amy stewart's best-selling book, "wicked plants" is the inspiration behind the new exhibit that takes us to the dark side of the plant world. >> i am amy stewart. i am the arthur of "wicked plants," the weeds that killed lincoln's mother and other botanical atrocities. with the screens fly trap, that is kind of where everybody went initially, you mean like that? i kind of thought, well, all it does is eat up bugs. that is not very wicked. so what? by wicked, what i mean is that they are poisonous, dangerous, deadly or immoral or maybe illegal or offensive or awful in some way. i am in the profession of going around and interviewing botanists, horticulturalists and plant scientists. they all seem to have some little plant

first amendment. they're expressing their religious beliefs. now is the time to make justice a reality for all of god's children. captioning provided by the first amendment center, funded by the freedom forum. our guests today are the creators of south park, matt stone and trey parker, and larry divney, the president and ceo of the show's home: comedy central. it's great to have you here. i--we're sitting here at the u.s. comedy arts festival, and i've got this program in my hand. and here we go. "freedom in the arts, honoring norman lear, gary trudeau, oliver stone, matt stone, and trey parker." was that pretty much your intent, become a living legend in free expression here? yeah, i think-- this is pretty heavy company here. do you like that picture of us? yeah, when matt and i were, like, 20, i said, "matt, how can we be honored someday for anything?" and we figured, "let's do a cartoon and go that route." so it's-- "how can i be in the same room with oliver stone-- and not at the playboy mansion?" [laughter] where would i be? norman lear was here earlier and talked about how much he enjoyed your show. and he sits down with a nephew, i guess, and he says the

. >> paul: with the first amendment front and center, the supreme court straching down state law justices say trample the rights of in arizona. struck down a california law prohibiting the sale of violent video games to children and in a 5-4 decision the courts continued, it's dismantling of campaign finance restrictions, declaring unconstitutional a provision of an arizona law that provides additional funds to publicly finance candidates who are outspent by their privacy financed opponents. colin, first of all, an overview of the supreme court term. was it in your view, a good successful term? >> i think it was and i think one of the things that we still have to continue to remember here is that this court really is very much a kennedy court. >> paul: justice anthony kennedy. >> justice anthony kennedy in the majority in the vast, vast majority of cases here, i think it was over 90% of cases and whenever there was a 5-4 split he was almost in the majority as well and i think that's something that's really affecting things. now, as you mentioned the first amendment really loomed large in

center built in tennessee. he thinks the first amendment doesn't apply to muslims. >> they're using the church part of our firstndment to infuse their mosque in that community, and the people in the community do not like it. they object to the fact that islam is both a religion and a set of laws, shira law. the people in the community know best. >> if any community wants to ban a mosque -- >> yes, they have the right to do that. >> herman cain, he seems to be confused about our constitutional rights. the first amendment gives us the right to freely practice any religion we choose. it does not give bigots the right to ban religions they disagree with. cain is flat out wrong with people in the community he claims do not like the mosque. only 25% of the people in tennessee object to it. almost 75% think muslims deserve the same rights as any other american. islam isn't the only religion herman cain is exploiting for political gain. today cain today the washington times mitt romney will lose the election because of ms. mormon beliefs. >> the reason he'll have a difficult time winning the south is because when he ra

first amendment. >> stephen: it's none of your business what the rest of it says. (laughter) less refreshing are the killjoys over the center for responsive politics and their director sheila krumholz. miss krumholz thank you so much for talking with me today. >> pie pleasure. >> stephen: do you see a problem with money in our current political system. >> it's not that money is good or bad. it's that money is power. and so if it's left unchecked, its its left unscrutinized it has greater power to skew policy away from the public interest. >> it sounds like you think that hidden money taints politics. >> i think hidden money definitely taints politics. >> how do you hope to address the taint. >> by encouraging disclosure of cricks going to the often shadowy groups. >> stephen: so you want to shine a light on that. >> yes. >> stephen: okay. i expose my taint to sean and's proved of what he saw. >> i'm going to list some things that i'm thinking of spending my superpac money on. >> okay. >> stephen: and you tell me if it's legal. >> okay. >> stephen: private jet. >> yes. >> stephen: private jet ski. >> sure. >> stephen: okay.

first amendment to contract no. cs - 159 between the san francisco municipal transportation agency and the transbay joint powers authority for transbay transit center program services pursuant to charter section 9.118 in an amount not to exceed $3,280,677. supervisor chu: thank you. for this item, we have joy hoolihan from the mta. >> good afternoon, president, supervisors. for this amendment, basically, we are asking for an additional $997,000 for services over the course of the next five years. extending the contract for an additional 11.5 months over the regional contract amount. basically, it is for traffic calming, bus services, to keep the buses on schedule and on time, and we have already provided the services for the beginning of august of last year. we anticipate the amount of $189,000. if you have any other questions, please let me know. supervisor chu: thank you. i do have some questions, but i will reserve them until after the budget analysts report. >> the amount referenced is and the number that sfmta was provided in services and then would be reimbursed by the joint powers authority. we recommend you recommend the resolution to fund

center on university avenue in east palo alto. >>> caltrain is putting a brake on plans to install 70 cameras. first amendmentoncerns have caused the delay. the board says they may abandon the plan if video footage of deaths would be public record. according to reports, it is still not entirely certain whether suicide footage could be released to the public. this year ten people have died on the tracks. 11 people died last year. >>> california's unemployment insurance fund is broke and the state's independent analyst says fixing it will not be popular. the recession and high unemployment have hit the fund very hard. it has been insolvent for two years. >> that would be a plan that would get us back on track long-term and not just to pay off the loan but to also put us on the track where we are building a reserve so that this problem doesn't happen in the future. >> the report says the state should double employer contributions, reduce unemployment benefits and tighten eligibility for benefits that would not go into effect until 2014 when hopefully the business climate in the state might have improved. >>> it

centers first. for that reason, i object to the gentleman's amendment and yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. >> i request a recorded vote. commarmente the gentleman from california requests a rodded vote. pursuant to clause 6, rule 18s further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california will be postponed. clerk will read. the clerk: page 29, line 1, title 17, innovative technology loan guarantee program $160 million. advanced technology vehicles, $6 million. the chair: does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. broun: i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment number 48 printed in the congressional record offered by mr. broun of georgia. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. broun: my amendment eliminates funding for the loan program, transferring $6 million to the spending reduction account. mr. ch

a case by now she has changed her mind for pro now the center came out with a booklet and 2010 a pocket guide that makes us for the first amendmentof common-law come into play when reseal parts of the record. but no speech could doubt -- would not be complete with a legal citation but the 1677 concession in agreements of west new jersey which was a formative document for the state provided all public towards any person may freely come into and attend the accord so that justice may not be done on a secret corner were in a covert manner. and my father taught me rethink the founding fathers got right. thank you very much. [applause] >> >> the final panelists' comes to us from the university maryland or she is a distinguished professor and as a scholar she would is written in areas of civil-rights come of voting rights judicial diversity and decision-making at she is also a national recognize litigator and frequently appears on television and radio to discuss the court system please welcome professor ifill. >> i want to thank judge king for the invitation to be a part of the panel i do not want to thank him for being last i have been

amendment is to ensure that the national park service prioritize is construction of law enforcement centers on national park lands on the southern border in coordination with the department of homeland security. first of all, there is some feeling national parks ought not have basically prison sites on them because what happens when people are rounded up by the border patrol, they are taken to these law enforcement centers and detained and then they're moved to another place. but they would be temporarily detained at these law enforcement centers and there is some feeling that national parks are not an appropriate location for that purpose. but the very wording of the amendment doesn't really do that. it increases money and decreases the same amount of money. if it did it, it would be an earmark. and of course, we don't do earmarks in this bill. so as i say, i don't rise in opposition because i'm not sure what the amendment does, but i do think it's helpful to be informed as to what it doesn't do. and i yield back. mr. carter: it's my understanding that this joint agreement, as we saw the acceleration of park rangers -- and you are right, i don't think anywhere on the southern border people don't w