[ May 13, 2024 ]
Judge Amy Berman Jackson has come down on the side of the free speech totalitarians, and upheld the Geller Ban. The Washington Post doesn’t explain it in the article below, but the reason why did the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority rejected these ads was because of the Geller Ban. It’s implied in this paragraph: “But in a decision issued on Friday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson took a different stance. She said that Metro’s policies banning religious and ‘issues-oriented’ ads — borne out of a desire to prevent inflammatory ads that could incite violence — was reasonable and enforced with fairness.”
“Inflammatory ads that could incite violence.” See, the ban was put in because of the fear that Muslims would riot over my ads. Instead of confronting Islamic savagery, they restricted the freedom of speech.
This goes back to June 2015, when my organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), created a free-speech ad campaign defying the blasphemy laws under the Shariah. We put up 100 billboards around St. Louis, depicting the winning cartoon in our Muhammad cartoon contest that was fired upon by jihadis in Garland, Texas, under the headline, “SUPPORT FREE SPEECH.” The cartoon depicted Muhammad being drawn by an artist. Muhammad says, “You can’t draw me!” The artist responds: “That’s why I draw you.” It was an apt summation of the courage and refusal to be bullied that we need to have in the face of violent intimidation from Islamic jihadis.
Story continues below advertisement
The billboards featuring this Muhammad cartoon also went up in and around the northern tri-county area of Marion, Baxter and Boone counties in Arkansas. But in what could only called an end-run around the First Amendment, when we tried to run them in the Washington, D.C., subway, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) enforced the Shariah under the guise of banning all “political ads.” No other ad had compelled WMATA to take such drastic action. My ads violating Islamic blasphemy laws led to Shariah bans in New York, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco et al.
The ban itself is mutable and unclear. No contemporary medium of communication may pass the test of being merely commercial and non-political. The New York Times runs an editorial page every day – not to mention the slant of their “straight news” – and therefore, if they can advertise, so can the Village Voice, the Socialist Militant and Dabiq (ISIS’ four-color magazine), for that matter.
The WMATA threw in public safety for good measure, as if these craven quislings knew what was conducive to the public good. Color me skeptical. They said the buses would be a target for jihadis. Yet if we’ve learned anything since 9/11, it is that America is the target. The West is the target for Islamic terrorism. Abridging our freedoms so as not to offend savages is surrender and un-American. It results in more demands, more surrender, more capitulation to Shariah law (which is what WMATA did).
Running and hiding is no strategy in a war. Operation Fetal Position is a recipe for disaster.
No one cared when my ads were banned, but it was never about me. The enemedia makes it about me, monsterizes me, so that people run in horror at the bogeyman and say yes, yes, shut her up, shut her down. It’s covert totalitarianism.
The Catholic Church, of course, would not have dreamed of sticking up for my free-speech rights at the time the Geller Ban first was put into place. But it’s like the famous Martin Niemöller poem:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.
Now they have come for the Catholic Church, and who will speak up for their free-speech rights?
What most people don’t know is the Geller Ban is not unique to Washington, D.C. In fact, the Geller Ban is in effect in every major city in the United States: New York, Boston, Miami, Chicago, liberal San Francisco, Denver and more.
So who will speak up for the other organizations that want to run perfectly reasonable ads, as mine were, and run afoul of this ban?
This is what the left does to anyone who stands in the way of the Islamic agenda. It’s all in my new book, “FATWA: Hunted in America.” Get the book, buy it for friends. Educate those around you.
“Judge supports Metro’s decision to ban Christmas-themed Catholic ads,” by Martine Powers, Washington Post, December 9, 2017:
A federal judge has rejected the Archdiocese of Washington’s request to force Metro to post its Christmas advertisements, affirming that the transit agency has the right to ban posters featuring a religious-themed scene.
The issue first came up nearly two weeks ago, when the Archdiocese of Washington sought to post advertisements on Metro buses that would tout its “#FindThePerfectGift” campaign, which encourages people to attend Catholic mass or make charitable donations during the holiday season.
The ad featured several robed figures carrying shepherd’s rods, as well as two sheep, which appeared to represent a scene from the biblical story of Christmas.
Metro rejected the proposed printed banners, saying it violated their own guidelines mandating that ads on the system must “contain no explicit references to religion, religious practice, or belief.”
After lodging complaints with Metro that went ignored, the Archdiocese sued the transit agency in U.S. District Court on Nov. 27, requesting that a judge move swiftly to compel Metro to display the ads immediately. Lawyers for the Archdiocese argued that Metro’s censorship amounted to a violation of the church’s First Amendment rights.
The Archdiocese said Metro was enforcing its ban on religious advertising capriciously, because the transit agency had allowed promotional posters for the Salvation Army and for yoga studios, which both have connections to religion.
But in a decision issued on Friday, Judge Amy Berman Jackson took a different stance. She said that Metro’s policies banning religious and “issues-oriented” ads — borne out of a desire to prevent inflammatory ads that could incite violence — was reasonable and enforced with fairness.
“Given [Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s] concerns about the risks posed by issue-oriented ads, including ads promoting or opposing religion, its decision was reasonable,” Jackson wrote in her ruling. “The regulation is reasonably aligned with WMATA’s duty to provide safe, reliable transportation . . . and it does not violate the First Amendment.”…
The Truth Must be Told
Your contribution supports independent journalism
Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more.
Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible.
Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too.
Please contribute here.
or
Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.
Quick note: We cannot do this without your support. Fact. Our work is made possible by you and only you. We receive no grants, government handouts, or major funding.Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here.
Subscribe to Geller Report newsletter here— it’s free and it’s essential NOW when informed decision making and opinion is essential to America's survival. Share our posts on your social channels and with your email contacts. Fight the great fight.
Follow Pamela Geller on Gettr. I am there. click here.
Follow Pamela Geller on Trump's social media platform, Truth Social. It's open and free.
Remember, YOU make the work possible. If you can, please contribute to Geller Report.
Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spammy or unhelpful, click the - symbol under the comment to let us know. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
If you would like to join the conversation, but don't have an account, you can sign up for one right here.
If you are having problems leaving a comment, it's likely because you are using an ad blocker, something that break ads, of course, but also breaks the comments section of our site. If you are using an ad blocker, and would like to share your thoughts, please disable your ad blocker. We look forward to seeing your comments below.
18 Comments
6 years ago
Judge Berman sure sounds like a judenrat to me. Does she wear a keffiyah scarf with her black robe? God, I miss good rock ribbed Republican judges.
D
6 years ago
Christmas is make-or-break season for many American businesses.
6 years ago
The ad is an antidote to the commercialism and greed of the season. One has to look up the website to find the answer to ‘what is the perfect gift?’ Each day has an idea to make this season truly holy. The suggestion for today is to bake and deliver cookies to homeless shelters. How sad no one in Washington is going to be inspired to do this act of love today.
6 years ago
Reply to
BernadetteLepanto
“One has to look up the website to find the answer to ‘what is the perfect gift?”
Are you KIDDING ME?
6 years ago
You have to remember that the agenda of radical Islam is also the agenda of the radical left. They are allies, albeit temporary ones in a Jihad against America. They must be treated as our country’s enemies…with extreme prejudice…
6 years ago
Reply to
Drifter12
What if the difference between “radical” islum and islum is nothing more than tactics?
6 years ago
Reply to
IzlamIsTyranny
There is no radical Islam, there is no moderate Islam, there is just Islam. It is up to Muslims to bring their beliefs into the 21st century.
6 years ago
The Roman Catholic Church is riddled with Leftist leaders ‘down with the cause.’
I doubt any of them will lose any sleep over banning Merry Christmas on buses …
… actually I’m surprised the archdiocese even bothered to go to court.
Now they need to take it up to appeal – and to the Supremes.
Any activity receiving public funds has to comply with EVERY Libtard demand – surely the bus system qualifies as a public entity and must respect the first amendment.
As for the Geller Ban – Lift it. The Demokkkrats in DC need to be exposed to the uncomfortable truth in their taxpayer financed safe space.
6 years ago
Reply to
Dan Knight
This was simply window dressing for the Church. The pope panders to Islam and environmental jihadists.
6 years ago
Reply to
ninetyninepct
The “Catholic” hierarchy was angry that they couldn’t use the spirit of giving surrounding Christmas to pad their already well filled coffers. It still stinks though.
Would have been better if it was just the picture & the caption, without the email address, or something like; “Wise men still seek Him”, & those who understand the REAL meaning for CHRISTmas would get the jist of the photo anyway.
The leftist judges are obviously clueless about the First Ammendment.
6 years ago
Yes, yes, I can see how “Love your neighbor as yourself” could start World War III.
Jackasses.
6 years ago
hahahahaha, the Archdiocese which would never support Geller’s ad, gets a taste of sharia! lol This issue that an ad can be banned because it may incite violence (the heckler’s veto) is unconstitutional. Why doesn’t the judge know this principle that the heckler’s veto is invalid and cannot be used to prevent an ad?
6 years ago
Lame stream Christians or muslims, no real difference. Ban them all, they don’t value freedom of speech in others, there is no particular reason for others to value their opinion.
6 years ago
These type judges are a danger to the moral America they need to be stopped. Buck a Christian 100% disabled Vietnam veteran right wing republican lifetime member of the NRA and friend to Israel
6 years ago
Judge Jackson nee Amy Berman of Harvard and Harvard law school and an Obama appointee, recently threw out a wrongful death lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, which was filed by parents who lost their children in the Benghazi scandal.
Berman-Jackson is the go-to judge for the left:
In December 2013, Jackson ruled that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Washington, D.C. must cover birth control and abortifacients for its employees under the Affordable Care Act despite a ban on abortion or contraception in Roman Catholic doctrine.
On October 30, 2017 Jackson was assigned to preside over the criminal case that Special Counsel Robert Mueller brought against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates as part of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election. She accepted their “not guilty” pleas, granted bail, confiscated their passports, and ordered them to be held under house arrest. She also warned defense lawyers not to discuss the case outside of court.
Did anyone expect differently?
http://americanconservativeherald.com/covered-hillarys-tracks/
6 years ago
It is time to bring this issue to the Supreme Court….
6 years ago
It’s a sad day for freedom of speech. The government should never kowtow to the threat of angry mobs as a reason to ignore someone’s constitutional rights. Didn’t we used to call it a “lynching,” when cowardly sheriffs did that? Let the mob take the prisoner from the safety of jail and hang him from the nearest tree; he don’t need no stinkin’ fair trial. Ms. Geller’s ads condemning FGM, honor killings, and other brutish practices are not “inflammatory” unless you turn logic entirely on its head. Calling out injustices, as Ms. Geller does, used to be considered a noble thing to do in this country. It still is noble, even if cowardly media and officials are too blinded by “Islamophobiaphobia” to see it. (That’s a word I made up recently — meaning “fear of appearing Islamophobic.” Feel free to spread it around.)
