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A school district near Allentown, Pennsylvania says the best way to end hate speech is to ban hateful words.
The Saucon Valley School District is considering a policy that would ban five words if they are used in a hateful way, according to local news reports.
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One of the words that could be banned is a derogatory word for a woman — the other is a racial slur typically used in rap music.
The other words on their proposed list include retarded, terrorist and gay.
Superintendent Craig Butler said Wednesday. The policy was reviewed but not voted on at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
“What we’re looking at specifically is that these words not be used in a malicious, hurtful manner,” Supt. Craig Butler told Mcall.com. “We’re trying to reinforce with our young adults that we would expect them to speak respectfully.”
Students using the word in a hateful or menancing way would be sent to an intervention program to be re-educated. Repeat offenders could be sent to in-school suspension or suspended.
I suppose the first question would be who gets to decide when the words are used in a hateful way.
For example, let’s say another radical jihadist decides to run over a bunch of pedestrians in the name of the religion of peace. Would it be hateful to call the jihadist a terrorist?
The Constitution clearly protects speech — even hateful speech. And I’m afraid the Saucon Valley School District is on a slippery slope to a Constitutional showdown.
THE THIRD HOUR OF THE TODD STARNES SHOW
UPDATES:
2:05pm – Guest: Caleb Parke, writer for Foxnews.com
A. Brown University is implementing a change to its graduate school application that will allow applicants to “self-identify” as persons of color. Multiple efforts by The College Fix to clarify the details of this change were ignored by campus officials.
B. A new opinion piece in a Texas State University student newspaper tells white students “Your DNA is an Abomination.” “When I think of all the white people I have ever encountered – whether they’ve been professors, peers, lovers, friend, police officers, et cetera – there is perhaps only a dozen I would consider ‘decent,’” student author Rudy Martinez writes in the University Star.
C. A Florida university is teaching a “White Racism” class designed to show “the U.S. has been and remains a white supremacist society,” the course’s professor told Fox News
2:30pm- Spooky? Did you know that those exquisite White House Christmas decorations First Lady Melania Trump proudly unveiled yesterday are “spooky,” “spine-chilling,” and “nightmarish” — like scenes from Mordor, Narnia, or The Shining? It took most of the day yesterday, but by nightfall, the Trump-hating media was able to settle on an unfavorable narrative with which to belittle the newly unveiled decor.
THE SECOND HOUR OF THE TODD STARNES SHOW
UPDATES:
1:05pm- Can He Do it! Republicans are trying to get their plan to overhaul the US tax system through the US Senate this week, but with 52 members in the chamber, GOP leaders can afford to lose only two votes. As the bill heads to the Senate floor, a small group of Republicans have yet to show their full support for the bill, and Republicans are scrambling behind the scenes to reach just the right agreement that would get to 50 votes. Leadership made progress Wednesday afternoon when Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, one of only two Republicans who had expressed outright opposition to the bill, came around after negotiations involving the pass-through business rate.
Too Much? Stoking the same anti-Islam sentiments he fanned on the campaign trail, President Donald Trump on Wednesday retweeted a string of inflammatory videos from a fringe British political group purporting to show violence being committed by Muslims. The tweets drew a sharp condemnation from British Prime Minister Theresa May’s office, which said it was “wrong for the president to have done this.” May spokesman James Slack said the far-right Britain First group seeks to divide through its use of “hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions.” Brushing off the criticism in an evening tweet, Trump said May instead of focusing on him should “focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom.”
Question: Should Trump ease up on the tweeting? Do you like Trump tweeting? 888-788-9910
1:20pm- Guest: Harry Hurley, radio host of Hurley In The Morning for WPG in Atlantic City, NJ.
1:50pm- Researchers have found an imbalance in the brain chemistry of young people addicted to smartphones and the internet, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Are you addicted to your cell/ipad?
THE FIRST HOUR OF THE TODD STARNES SHOW
UPDATES:
12:05pm- Too Late To Apologize? Matt Lauer issued a statement in the wake of his firing from the “Today” show, which was announced on Wednesday following a “detailed complaint” of sexual misconduct against the news anchor. More women have since spoken out about Lauer’s alleged inappropriate behavior. In a statement read by his former “Today” co-hosts, Lauer said, “There are no words to express my sorrow and regret for the pain I have caused others by words and actions. To the people I have hurt I am truly sorry. “As I am writing this I realize the depth of the damage and disappointment I have left behind at home and at NBC. Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed. I regret that my shame is now shared by the people I cherish dearly.” Lauer added, “repairing the damage” caused by his alleged actions “will take a lot of time and soul searching and I’m committed to beginning that effort. It is now my full time job,” he added. “The last two days have forced me to take a very hard look at my own troubling flaws. It’s been humbling. I am blessed to be surrounded by the people I love. I thank them for their patience and grace.”
12:20pm- Shhhhh! Last week the Washington Post reported that Congress’s Office of Compliance paid out $17 million for 264 settlements with federal employees over 20 years for various violations, including sexual harassment. Congress has no human resources department. Instead, congressional employees have 180 days to report a sexual harassment incident to the Office of Compliance, which then leads to a lengthy process that involves counseling and mediation, and requires the signing of a confidentiality agreement before a complaint can go forward. After this an employee can choose to take the matter to federal district court, but another avenue is available: an administrative hearing, after which a negotiation and settlement may follow.
12:30pm– Our next guest says, that any member of Congress who used taxpayer dollars to fund sexual harassment-related settlements needs to “refund that money.” Guest: Rep. Marsha Blackburn ( R-TN)
12:50pm- Kicker Topic: Indiana’s Reitz High School football coach Andy Hape is under fire for praying with his players on the field. The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) called the prayer a “serious and flagrant violation of the First Amendment” and is urging the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. (EVSC) to investigate the coach.