If you can't beat 'em ...deny their first amendment rights

Ky. lawmaker wants editorial writers, cartoonists

declared lobbyists, banned from chambers

FRANKFORT, Ky. --A lawmaker ridiculed in editorials and cartoons last year for his positions on environmental legislation is pushing a bill that would curtail the presence of the journalists he blames the most.

Rep. Jim Gooch, a Democrat who is chairman of the state House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, was the subject of critical editorials and cartoons when he attempted to quash a coal mine safety bill and claimed global warming was a hoax. One editorial cartoon showed Gooch in a hot tub with King Coal...

Gooch is upset by stuff like this from Joel Pett:

C-J adds a porcine salute: Woo Pig Sooie !!!

...and PolWatchers.

Herald-Leader responds to yesterday's Supreme Court rulings

Not-so-free speech
Rulings favor special interests, not citizens

It's noteworthy that President Bush's Supreme Court is picking and choosing which free speech to protect.

Chief Justice John Roberts and the majority rose to the defense of the kind of speech that's fueled by millions of special-interest dollars. But they slapped down a high school student who was suspended for hoisting a cryptically goofy "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" sign at a non-school event.

A court that truly puts the First Amendment first would have honored precedent and ruled that the Constitution gives students the right to free expression. Instead, the court perceived a dangerous pro-drug message in the parody banner.

The court also abandoned precedent to clear the way for unlimited amounts of special-interest money to pour into the final weeks of political campaigns under the guise of so-called issue ads. Often bankrolled by corporations and unions, these ads clearly malign one candidate without specifically advocating voting for a particular opponent.

Roberts said: "Where the First Amendment is implicated, the tie goes to the speaker, not the censor."

He should have added except when the speaker is an average person with no bankroll to back up his words.

Cartoon by Joel Pett.