We The People v Fox ‘News’ Corporation

Filosofa's Word

During the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, the New York Times published an ad for contributing donations to defend Martin Luther King, Jr., on perjury charges. The ad contained several minor factual inaccuracies.

The city Public Safety Commissioner, L.B. Sullivan, felt that the criticism of his subordinates reflected on him, even though he was not mentioned in the ad. Sullivan sent a written request to the Times to publicly retract the information, as required for a public figure to seek punitive damages in a libel action under Alabama law.

When the Times refused and claimed that they were puzzled by the request, Sullivan filed a libel action against the Times and a group of African American ministers mentioned in the ad. A jury in state court awarded him $500,000 in damages. The state supreme court affirmed, and the Times appealed.

When the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, the…

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DeSantis Ally: Beware of Tap Water: It Might Turn You Gay

Diane Ravitch's blog

Last year, the Florida legislature, acting on Governor DeSantis’ behalf, dissolved the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special arrangement created by the legislature in 1967 that allowed the Disney Corporation to take responsibility for all public services. It was punishment for Disney speaking out against DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. Disney was acting at the behest of its employees. The dissolution of the special district meant that the counties where Disney World is located would be saddled with $1 billion or more of new taxes to pay for services and bond debts. That was politically unacceptable.

The legislature fixed the problem by leaving the special district intact, but putting it under the control of a new five member commission, called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. DeSantis is empowered to appoint all five members. Surprised? He chose loyalists for the board, people who share his views. Most are either…

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Why is Portland, Jamaica, in such a mess?

Petchary's Blog

I hope the eastern side of Portland will eventually recover.

Six years ago, I wrote an articleabout the “slow decay” in the parish of Portland, on the eastern end of the island. The eastern side of the parish is regularly described as green, lush, peaceful, off the beaten track, etc. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, it was our “go to” escape from Kingston on weekends. We would drive home tired, sunburned, and happy. Sometimes, we would stay for a night or two (and often with a visiting family member).

Portland was a “special” place to us, in many ways. It’s hard to put one’s finger on it, but anyone who visited there can feel its allure. The vines hanging from tall trees along the roadside; the magnificent potholes, forcing one to slow down and admire the views; the curve of San San Bay, where we spent many hours…

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JNHT working towards reopening Blue Lagoon in shortest possible time

Petchary's Blog

In my last post, I wrote about the protests at Blue Lagoon in Portland today; the dust-laden chaos that prevails over the area due to road works; and most importantly, about the lack of information on the Blue Lagoon’s fate, since its closure last August. As it was declared a National Monument in 2018, this beautiful place, which is surrounded by privately owned land, has become the responsibility of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT). It is now guarded by private security guards (not, as the Mayor attested in a radio interview yesterday, paid for by the Portland Municipal Corporation).

The headquarters of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), a government agency, on Duke Street in downtown Kingston. (My photo)

Here is the JNHT’s press release, responding to the protests and the long press release that I shared in full in my previous post… Somehow, I think the JNHT…

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Alaska Drops Policy Banning Discrimination Against LGBTQ Individuals — ProPublica

On the advice of the state’s attorney general, Alaska’s civil rights agency quietly deleted language promising equal protections for LGBTQ Alaskans against most categories of discrimination, and it began refusing to investigate complaints.
— Read on www.propublica.org/article/alaska-drops-lgbtq-discrimination-ban

Y un día, al despertar…

Santiago Galicia Rojon Serrallonga

SANTIAGO GALICIA ROJON SERRALLONGA

Derechos reservados conforme a la ley/ Copyright

Y una mañana, al despertar, nos daremos cuenta de que la noche quedó atrás y que sus sombras, a veces aterradoras y, en ocasiones, tan envolventes, solo eran eso, oscuridad temporal, instantes pasajeros y opacos, momentos ausentes de luz. Y un día, al amanecer, descubriremos que la noche es la otra parte del día luminoso y que, por lo mismo, forma parte de la vida. Y alguna vez, a cierta hora, veremos con mayor claridad que hasta los días más soleados presentan sombras y que, al contrario, durante las noches de intensa oscuridad suelen aparecer luceros. Y otro instante, sin duda, aprenderemos que ante el paso de las auroras y de los ocasos, la vida transita indiferente y se va. Y en algún momento de la existencia, comprenderemos que somos viejos y que nuestros sueños, aspiraciones, anhelos, ilusiones y…

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State Will Roll Back Mask Requirements In California Hospitals, Nursing Homes In April | LAist (Me: Following a dumb, unsafe decision with another one is even dumber just to satisfy people who want to pretend there is no longer a risk that vulnerable people will die if masks are dropped in hospitals and nursing homes :()

Citing the evolution of the pandemic and the expiration of the state’s emergency health order, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted this week to end the county’s COVID emergency health order on March 31, 2023. The federal public health emergency will end May 11, 2023. Source: State Will Roll Back Mask Requirements In California Hospitals, Nursing Homes In April | LAist