Virginia Supreme Court puts school boards on notice: preferred pronoun mandates won’t fare well
Big win for @ADFLegal & @JasonMiyaresVA, bad sign for @VASchoolBoards
Virginians enjoy stronger conscience rights than under U.S. Constitutionhttps://t.co/pHhBVE14rN
— Greg Piper (@gregpiper) December 15, 2023
In a split 143-page decision, the justices overturned a lower court decision dismissing Peter Vlaming’s case, which has drawn national attention because it pitted the hotly contested issues of transgender rights and religious freedom against each other. In its 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court remanded the case to a lower court for trial.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), the conservative Christian group that is representing Vlaming, called the ruling a “sweeping victory” for free speech and religious rights, and Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares (R) said “it dramatically expands the protection of religious liberty.”
God forbid anyone enjoy a light-hearted laugh as they trudge along on the daily treadmill of life. When you're driving down the highway in late October, say, why should you enjoy a chuckle at a sign reminding you to “Make mummy happy, buckle up," when you can instead be bleakly chided, “UNBUCKLED SEAT BELTS FINE + POINTS.”
Here comes the government to fix more problems we didn't know we had. Policy wonks have been busy updating the rules, and now funny variable message signs (VMS) such as these must go from the wayside:
Highways can be overful of distractions - signs, billboards and so forth. We already have people barely watching the road while they text, navigate their complicated dashboard screens and - actually watching movies or videos while driving.Feds Are Cracking Down on Humor
The self-righteous, "saving the world" joy suck attitude gets even worse when leftists get into government. The federal bureaucracy can drain the sunshine out of anyone's psyche, and it begins to affect even non-leftists in government after a while. The malaise so afflicts them that they begin looking for ways to mandate their misery.
Athena wrote a story yesterday about the latest bout of federal morosity:
I've long admired lighthearted VMS messaging. Many times, whilst stuck in Los Angeles traffic, a clever message on a freeway sign may have been the one thing that saved me from a road rage incident. OK, that's a stretch, but better a bad joke on a sign than a finger-wagging.
Given my rather unflattering view of bureaucrats at any level, I was always surprised to find that there were some with a sense of humor. I wonder if they'll all be fired now.
Athena's post is filled with examples of these highway humor breaks. Looking at them, you would be hard-pressed to find fault with the messages or how they're conveyed, which means you wouldn't be fit for government work.
I can't believe any such research was conducted to prove this - because it's easier to believe the Earth is flat.
So we should ignore ALL messages on the VMS boards to avoid being distracted. Got it. I think those speed limit signs are taking my eyes off traffic too so no more looking at them. It will make for interesting testimony in court - "The government told me not to be distracted by looking at signs so I didn't see the speed limit go from 65 MPH to 35 MPH."Highways can be overful of distractions - signs, billboards and so forth. We already have people barely watching the road while they text, navigate their complicated dashboard screens and - actually watching movies or videos while driving.
Now we're supposed to believe - that with everything else vying for our attention - freeway signs THAT ARE HUMOROUS are distracting, but ones that are NOT humorous, are not.
I can't believe any such research was conducted to prove this - because it's easier to believe the Earth is flat.
Now, here's where the bad(ish) news comes in. The court granted certiorari in conjunction with granting the government's request for a stay, meaning that the injunction is placed on hold pending the court's deciding the case on the merits, presumably in June of 2024.[...]
Some good news to report on this frenetic Friday: The United States Supreme Court has granted certiorari in the landmark free speech case of Missouri v. Biden, meaning the high court has agreed to hear the case.[...]
So what does this mean? It means that the case will be heard by the Supreme Court, but the injunction prohibiting the government from coordinating with social media platforms to censor certain speech is on hold until it renders its decision.
You've obviously have seen what our taxpayers dollars have been spent on. Surely they wouldn't have shorted someone from conducting such a study!!Highways can be overful of distractions - signs, billboards and so forth. We already have people barely watching the road while they text, navigate their complicated dashboard screens and - actually watching movies or videos while driving.
Now we're supposed to believe - that with everything else vying for our attention - freeway signs THAT ARE HUMOROUS are distracting, but ones that are NOT humorous, are not.
I can't believe any such research was conducted to prove this - because it's easier to believe the Earth is flat.
You've obviously have seen what our taxpayers dollars have been spent on.
That is the part that - surprises me. One is, government usually doesn't mind SPENDING a little here and there for stupid ass things. As much as we bellyache about waste on thes boondoggles - Golden Fleece awards - foreign aid or even the NASA program - they pale in comparison to a 5% reduction in our entitlements would yield - and a BIG difference compared to the INTEREST we are now paying.Surely they wouldn't have shorted someone from conducting such a study!!
The very purpose of the Bill of Rights is to put constraints on the government.
There's been a streak of social media posts where progressives believe that rights are derived from the government and bristle at the thought that they come from GOD - a concept that they fundamentally deny but exploit when the need suits them.Yeah Progressives do not think like this
Lately the Constitution has been dismissed pretty often.There's been a streak of social media posts where progressives believe that rights are derived from the government and bristle at the thought that they come from GOD - a concept that they fundamentally deny but exploit when the need suits them.
You don't have to believe in God to grasp the idea - humans are BORN with the right to be free. Unless you believe that right and wrong are determined solely by humans and law and government, this should be a simple basic understanding - whether you believe in God or not.
That we have a SCOTUS judge who believes that circumstances may permit the abridgement of rights is shocking to me - because if they can believe and worse, rule on that - your rights can be abridged not just in emergencies -but on a whim.
We put these things in a Constitution SO THAT THEY CAN'T BE DISMISSED easily.
That we have a SCOTUS judge who believes that circumstances may permit the abridgement of rights is shocking to me - because if they can believe and worse, rule on that - your rights can be abridged not just in emergencies -but on a whim.