Four years ago…

Four years ago, something new came to the “Bear City.”

House Ad on the back page of the first issue.

Four years ago, the dream of three young men came true.

Four years ago, the first issue of the Independent Register hit countertops, wire racks and crude news boxes across Craven County.

It was the result of a college camaraderie, several months of planning and an entire weekend with almost no sleep.

It was a small paper: Eight pages-two sections with color fronts. But in this case, size didn’t matter.

The three-man staff of Corey Friedman, Eric Voliva and William R. Toler took every picture, designed every page and wrote every article, with the exception of a short article from friend and frequent house guest Danelle Wylder,  a front page story by CCC student Charlotte Bird about a visit to the college from Frank Capra, Jr. and a pro-marijuana op-ed by New Bern High School senior Amanda DaSilva.

Less tar, less nicotine, less freedom

By Corey Friedman

Sometimes, explained Sigmund Freud, a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes, it’s the First Amendment.

Craven Community College recently banned all tobacco products on campus.

Craven Community College sneaked an unconstitutional prior restraint rule in its tobacco-free campus policy this spring, and administrators appear unwilling to revise the problematic provision.

Included with the college’s ban on cigarettes, cigars and smokeless tobacco on campus property is a declaration that student publications may not publish ads for tobacco products and student groups can’t accept money or gifts from tobacco companies. While this arrangement may sound palatable to some antismoking advocates, it violates students’ First Amendment right to free speech and free association.

Student newspapers are shielded from administrative censorship by an impressive and ever-growing body of constitutional case law. Colleges may not choose which advertisements their campus papers may accept. Federal courts have struck down a Michigan community college’s ban on ads for a nude dance club in its student paper and ruled that state officials in Pennsylvania couldn’t oust ads for alcoholic beverages.

As a former CCC student and former college newspaper editor, I was appalled to learn that a public health initiative had been misused to prohibit protected speech. I wrote to Dr. Catherine Chew, the college president, and Kathy Beal, a vice president, on Aug. 26.

Government, media promoting scams

By William R. Toler

It seems there have been a number of scams in order to rip off the public in the past several months. But these scams are actually encouraged and promoted. The government even had its hand in one of them.

During the Cash for Clunkers scam, motorists were encouraged by the government and the mainstream media to turn in their older vehicles for up to $4500 cash for the purchase of a new, fuel-efficient car. There were several problems with this deal.

First off, dealerships had to pay the cash out of their own coffers, to be later reimbursed by the government after filling out convoluted paperwork. As of Sept. 11, only 40 percent had been paid back.

Second, it was just unneccesary government spending that created a false spike in the economy. I guess Congres decided to follow the old adage, “You have to spend money to make money.”

School uniforms are worthless

By William R. Toler

As anyone who reads this blog knows, I am completely against school uniform policies.

Courtesy: WRAL

Supporters of these stringent policies that turn all of our children into look-alike robots, purport that uniforms help keep order and children behave better.

Pat Whitford, the head football coach at Pamlico County High School once told me that he could see a difference in the attitudes of students with the policy in place.

While I respect Mr. Whitford and his opinion, I will have to respectfully disagree with him on that point.

Fourth Amendment victory for open carriers

By Richard C. Evey Libertarian/ Patriot A federal judge has made a ruling that could change the way that law enforcement treats “We the people.” The judge granted that the plaintiff has liability under the Fourth Amendment and that law enforcement does not have immunity. In my opinion, a major victory for liberty and freedom. The case: St. John v Alamogordo Public Safety. Matthew St. John went into a movie theater openly carrying a holstered handgun. New Mexico has no law forbidding the open carry of a handgun. The theater owner called Alamogordo Public Safety. The four law enforcement officers approached Mr. St. John and with force removed him from the theater, took his handgun and patted him down. After checking, found out that the handgun was legal and that he was not a criminal, returned his handgun and let him go back to the movie but without his handgun, which he placed in his vehicle.

No purchase limits allowed

By Corey Friedman

They’re a gas-station staple beside the beef jerky and taped officiously to the cash register — the handwritten signs announcing a $5 or $10 minimum purchase for credit card transactions.

They’re also against the rules.

Visa and MasterCard merchant agreements prohibit businesses from setting minimum or maximum purchase limits, adding a surcharge to credit card purchases or requiring cardholders to show photo ID.

“Always honor valid Visa cards in your acceptance category regardless of the dollar amount of the purchase,” states the Visa Card Acceptance and Chargeback Management Guidelines book. “Imposing minimum or maximum purchase amounts in order to accept a Visa card transaction is a violation of the Visa rules.”

Businesses post and enforce the minimum purchase policies with little resistance because few customers are aware of the terms of their contract with the credit card companies. Fewer happen to have the manuals folded in their back pockets when confronted with such a restriction.

Ruling could open Pandora’s box

By Richard C. Evey
Libertarian/Patriot

The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled last week that the state statute making it “unlawful for any person who has been convicted of a felony to purchase, own, possess, or have in his custody, care or control any firearm”  is unconstitutional.

The party in question pleaded guilty of felony possession with intent to sell and deliver the controlled substance methaqualone (drugs) in 1982. The crime was non-violent and no weapon was involved. The person served his term in prison and was a law-abiding citizen since his release from prison. The North Carolina General Assembly changed the law in 1995 and 2004, making the possession of a firearm by a felon illegal, but with no grandfather clause. The man, Barney Britt, then turned in his weapons to the local law enforcement people.

The court did state that the application of the state statute was unconstitutional “as applied to this plaintiff.”

Free speech shot down at school

By William R. Toler

A protester at a town hall meeting at a school in Reston, Va., late last month was threatened with arrest for a sign featuring the “Jokerbama” image, according to Alex Jones’ PrisonPlanet.com.

The altercation was captured on video and posted on YouTube and is at the bottom of this post.

Security officer Wesley Cheeks tells the man that he could not hold up his placard, which was similar in message to the others, because it had a picture on it. The words accompanying the picture were “Organizing for National Socialist Health Care – The Final Solution.”

Cheeks told the protester if he put the sign back up he would be charged with trespassing. When the protester questioned the charge, Cheeks old him, “If I told you once to take it down and you put it back up, I can charge you with whatever I want to charge you with.”

The protestor then said, “This used to be America,” and Cheeks responded with “It ain’t no more, OK?”

No, Mr. Cheeks…that ain’t OK.

An unidentified man standing nearby said “school grounds have very different First Amendment rights than anywhere else.”

Sad…but true.