Reminds me of Potter Stewart's concurrence in Jacobellis, where he said "I can't define p*rnography, but I know it when I see it." Max is right though, the law is too vague to be enforceable in my opinion.
Transcript: Will Texas Ban Sexy Cheerleading? Thursday, April 21, 2005 ... O'REILLY: Well, the state education authority, right, Mr. Edwards? You're going to have the state authority making the judgment call, right? EDWARDS: Well, the state authority, of course, Bill. But listen, you're going to have students and parents at those games and those functions, and I can't describe what we are seeing physically, but I can tell you any adult that has been involved with sex, they know it when they see it. ... Yikes. The old "They know it when they see it" argument again, huh? And some unnamed state authority is responsible for enforcing this. I'm telling you...this is ripe for legal challenges.
well...since the punishment is that the school authorities "take appropriate action" i'm guessing all this has done is raise interest in Texas highschool cheerleading. Just another mean-nothing look-at-me-know measure by a politician feeding the 'hey-let's-run-this-on-the-front-page' editors of the local tabloids (which would include pretty much every paper in North America -- It did make the paper in Vancouver, Canada, and the sports radio news too -- though both neglected to use the term "assclown" (it was implied ).
well the speech isn't outlawed. hate crimes..violence done with a bent towards hurting a particular protected class (race, religion, gender) are outlawed. defamation is civil...not criminal as far as i know. so if you slander me and it causes me some level of damage, i can sue you to compensate for that. you don't have to spell it out specifically. but something like this is just way too vague to be enforced. and frankly, i don't think it will ever be enforced to begin with.
Ok, did a little research of his activity in 2005. While a black democrat, Edwards consistently takes positions that the majority of blacks and/or democrates would find controversial...to say the least. 1. Sponsored bill HB1096 to ban Rottweiler and Pit Bulls.. Both breeds of dogs are pretty popular in black communities. 2. Only Dem to cross partly lines to vote for Repub tax bill 3. Missing Democrats doom budget measure: Edwards missed a key vote that did not pass by 5 votes. Clearly disappointing for his party. So yes, he's black. But he's extremely moderate or even maybe even conservative. So after reviewing his history, I'm not surprised he proposed this cheerleader legislation. So my position still stands: The race-card will get played if/when this new law ever faces legal challeges.
no..the law is challenged if someone is arrested under the law and convicted...and then appeals. EDIT: my bad..doesn't look like that's even a possibility. looks like this just empowers/encourages school districts to address the problem...??? wow..this is more worthless than i thought.
Here, let me fix your quote for you. "They won't let my 12 year old daughter dance! I'm suing!" The first girl that gets kicked off a squad will sue. Count on it.
I think you've just misanalyzed my disposition. Actually you said you would be suprised if the bill 'had a sponsor in the African American community.' Edwards is African American. But I understand what you meant, which was that you'd be suprised if it had the support of THE African American community (on balance). Or the Supreme Court, even. And you say that without ever having seen such a routine I'd wager. There seem to be quite a few parents who disagree.
So you're really for having state government intervening in local issues because people on the local level aren't powerful enough to affect change themselves?
I have seen routines. I haven't seen routines from 11 and 12 year olds that really are about simulating sex. They may exist, and should be dealt with at the local level if they do. There is no need for government to legislate this. Parents can disagree all they want, but they may not know what they are talking about. Parents disagreed for years that children shouldn't read Mark Twain because he showed a Black as human being friends with Huck Finn, but they were wrong then. Later of course people objected to the story because it had the N word, and a character named 'Injun'. Those parents were wrong as well. I'd be willing to bet few if any of those parents had PHD's in literature or were experts on Mark Twain. They weren't qualified to make legislation regarding that book, and most of these parents aren't qualified enough to make law concerning dance routines. They can judge for their kids all they want, but they shouldn't be allowed to legislate their ignorance of dance and restrict others. I'm not talking about sexualizing anyone. I'm talking about dancing. I don't think those parents are qualified to legislate to others what is acceptable in a dance routine. They can make the decision for themselves, but to legislate it to others based on their own conclusions which were made without sufficient knowledge of the subject at hand is wrong IMHO. I have a niece who was that age a few years ago, but no daughters. If I did I would be worried about her engaging in wreckless sexual activity at a young age. I would not be worried about her dancing.
blah blah blah blah blah. FB, you just don't seem to be getting the connection. Sorry, dude. 12 year olds shouldn't be shaking their asses and humping air as part of a dance routine. As I indicated earlier, the most well known drill team in the state is lilly white. There is no NEED for this type of 'dance.' Is out of bounds for a 12 year old. If you don't acknowledge that, or you think its more important for a 12 year old to dance like a stripper, then we just disagree. When you're a parent you may feel different. Until then, shut the **** up, because this doesn't really concern you.
I never suggested that 12 year olds dance like strippers. I did say that some moves people may believe are overtly sexual aren't necessarily that way, and I don't trust people with no dance training to put into place law that will restrict legitimate expression within a dance routine. Whether there is a need for a certain type of dance or not also doesn't warrant legislation from the government. I certainly acknowledge that some dances aren't appropriate for 12 year olds. But I don't think it is the govts. place to have non-trained clueless folks deciding what is and isn't appropriate for everyone. There are regulations already there about sexually explicit content in almost every school I can imagine, and if it is exploitive then legally as well. Anytime there is anything close to censorship I am definitely concerned. To have some parents with no dance training or knowledge deciding what is ok for other kids to do, is wreckless.
