Tom Hayes: Do we have a right to truth?

The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which we often describe as the right of the "Freedom of Speech" which also prohibits interference in religion or the media is being abused in pursuit of corporate profits. Remember how the Bill of Rights starts?

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Sounds good, right? We can't know exactly what the founding fathers had in mind with the 1^st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but we do know that misinformation distorts debates and delays progress. I've come across a story that explains a lot of the shameless prevarication we've seen from the Fox network over the past 6 years or so.

In brief, back in February 2003 a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or falsifying the news in the United States.

"The court implied there was no restriction against distorting the truth. Technically, there was no violation of the news distortion because the FCC’s policy of news distortion does not have the weight of the law..."

Never, ever doubt that a commercial media outlet is driven by profit.

In Florida, the Court held that a threat by Jane Akre (part of a Fox “Investigators” team at WTVT in Tampa Bay) to report the station’s actions to the FCC did not deserve protection under Florida’s whistle blower statute, because Florida’s whistle blower law states that an employer must violate an adopted “law, rule, or regulation."

The decision reversed an earlier judgment against Fox.

We can't know what the founding fathers had in mind when they drafted the Bill of Rights but it seems unlikely that their intent was to protect the right to profit from untruths. They went so far as to include the oft-overlooked 9th Amendment:

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Of course, that raises the sticky question, "Do we have a right to the truth?" Apparently the Court in Florida feels Murdoch's right to profit from capitalism as he operates the Fox network is more fundamental - the Florida appeals court found in favor of corporate bottom lines even at the expense of accurate information. It might be worth exploring how they feel about "creative accounting." After all, they found that profit trumps truth.

Read more about this dangerous and disgraceful interpretation; if you share my indignation, spread the word.


Thomas Hayes is a political analyst, journalist, and entrepreneur who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics including economics, politics, culture, and community.

African American Students at University of Florida React to Obama Election

McCain Campaign Has Paid Staff It Calls Volunteers - Was Ashley Todd Paid?

This video by The Uptake is about Florida McCain workers they call volunteers who have been paid, even though the staff in the video said they have unpaid volunteers.  Also two McCain staffers harrass the reporter.  My question is was Ashley Todd a paid staffer and not a volunteer?

THE GREAT SCHLEP - GO TO FLORIDA AND GET YOUR GRANDPARENTS TO VOTE OBAMA

Sarah Silverman is the spokesperson behind a great program called "The Great Schlep", a cool idea that asks you and me to go to Florida and get your grandparents to vote for Barack Obama.  Here's Sarah talking about The Great Schlep:


The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.


For more information, check out the website The Great Schlep !

Larry Sinclair Arrested After Sham NPC Press Conference Today

Larry Sinclair, the Obama smear-monger who admitted to this blogger his Texas parking tickets and other clues that lead to his Texas and not Minnesota dwelling, was arrested after what details reveal to be a "stupefiying" press conference held at The National Press Club today.

According to Ben Smith at Politico, Sinclair has a 27-year criminal record of "crimes of deceit" and is wanted in Colorado on charges that were not made clear to Smith.

Sinclair gave what blogger David Weigel reported a press conference that was a set of "amused bunch of people taking in a circus act." He also reported the antics of Sinclair's lawyer Montgomery Sibley:

It got worse when Sinclair's lawyer Montgomery Sibley—whose license is currently suspended in D.C. and Florida—showed up in a kilt and told reporters that his above-average endowment made slacks tight and uncomfortable.

Ok. Ok.

Afterward, Sinclair was immediately arrested by Washinton police on the Colorado charges. Talk about glass houses.

"Club Paris" and Paris Hilton - What Happened To Club Paris?

If you do a search on Paris Hilton, one result that comes up is a reference to something called "Club Paris." What that is -- or was -- or kind of is, I guess, is a set of nightclubs, the first of which opened in Orlando in 2004 and then in Jacksonville and just around the time that city was hosting the Super Bowl.

But then both closed in 2007. Why?

Well from my peering around, it seems that Club Paris' death was due to a disagreement between a club entrepreneur named Fereidoun "Fred" Khalilian and Paris Hilton. Reportedly, Hilton was paid seven-figures for Fereidoun "Fred" Khalilian to gain the right to place her name on what was to be a string of night clubs starting in -- of all places -- Orlando. (The photo shows Paris and Fred in happier times.)



I mean, nice try there, but let's face it, Orlando's not the first city anyone associates with Paris Hilton or nightlife. I guess catching the resort / Disney World crowd was the idea, but then why not try to negotiate with the Disney people? Oh well.

The first Club Paris opened in Orlando in 2004, but I can tell from the press release (see the link before this sentence) that there would be trouble simply because even though Paris is mentioned extensively, there's no -- not one direct quote from her. There's one from her lawyer, but not her.

So it's no wonder Hilton failed to show up on time for the grand opening. For that, Paris said she was "skiing in the Swiss Alps and got caught at the airport with holiday travel." A reasonable excuse in my view, but then I'm a Paris Hilton fan. (Why? Because she has a head for business -- she's an entrepreneur and a great one at that. She's not living off family money and has done well making her own cash, yet is not recognized for that, which is a total shame.)

That behavior and subsequent episodes where Hilton did not show up to planned Club Paris events was the straw that broke the camels back for Fereidoun "Fred" Khalilian. Accord to an agreement contract, Hilton was to come to the club twice a month..

Look out Orlando , the 2005 New Year’s Eve Party to attend is the grand opening of "Club Paris," the first of a handful of clubs worldwide to be named after socialite Paris Hilton.

Seems like Paris Hilton knows something about nightclubs, so it makes sense the hotel heiress is the latest inspiration for a series of clubs that will bear her signature name.

Club Paris, named after "The Simple Life" star, plans to open on New Year’s Eve in Orlando. Local businessman Fereidoun "Fred" Khalilian hopes to open other Club Paris nightclubs locations include Las Vegas, New York City, Miami Beach, London and Paris.

Rumors leaked stated that Hilton will earn a "seven-figure" signing bonus for lending her name to the club. In return, she is contractually obligated to appear at the club at least twice a month. Hilton also helped select the interior design and is scheduled to attend the opening.

It opened and lasted for one year, then closed. Some point to the fallout between Paris and "Fred" as the reason for the closure, but I think it was more than that. The Club has a $20,000 back-rent debt and Consolidated Investment and Capital Corp., which loaned the money to Club Paris LLC to acquire the liquor licenses, is still owed $526,240.65 on a liguor license that was up for sale in February of this year.

On top of all that, Fred was arrested twice -- once for sexual assault, then for an old warrant of assault on a law enforcement official. The details aside, its clear that Fred's pissed off a number of women in that area, as more than one have complained of his boorish behavior. In fact, the anger is such that someone made a MySpace page devoted just to his sexual assault problems.

But it seems that the rape charges were indeed questionable. Khalilian was released from jail after two witnesses, a a guard and a cab driver cast doubt on a rape allegation, according to his lawyer, Mark NeJame. The Florida attorney's website reports that "Both men said the woman appeared happy and content after spending 70 minutes in the nightclub owner's home. And a text message she sent afterward to Khalilian's cell phone asked him to send her some clothing and thanked him, NeJame said.
Khalilian was required while on bail to wear a GPS tracking device, abstain from drinking alcohol, and stay out of his nightclub between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., NeJame said.

Whatever the case, it's clear someone does not like Khalilian.

Meanwhile, Paris presses on.

A year after her celebrated DUI problems, the heirress still finds herself near the top of Internet searches and was the star attraction in South Africa recently for the My Coke Fest Rock Festival. Also, her singing album, started with Scott Storch, who Paris met through Khalilian, is still available.

Paris Hilton's Club Paris - What Happened To Club Paris?

If you do a search on Paris Hilton, one result that comes up is a reference to something called "Club Paris." What that is -- or was -- or kind of is, I guess, is a set of nightclubs, the first of which opened in Orlando in 2004 and then in Jacksonville and just around the time that city was hosting the Super Bowl.

But then both closed in 2007. Why?

Well from my peering around, it seems that Club Paris' death was due to a disagreement between a club entrepreneur named Fereidoun "Fred" Khalilian and Paris Hilton. Reportedly, Hilton was paid seven-figures for Fereidoun "Fred" Khalilian to gain the right to place her name on what was to be a string of night clubs starting in -- of all places -- Orlando. (The photo shows Paris and Fred in happier times.)



I mean, nice try there, but let's face it, Orlando's not the first city anyone associates with Paris Hilton or nightlife. I guess catching the resort / Disney World crowd was the idea, but then why not try to negotiate with the Disney people? Oh well.

The first Club Paris opened in Orlando in 2004, but I can tell from the press release (see the link before this sentence) that there would be trouble simply because even though Paris is mentioned extensively, there's no -- not one direct quote from her. There's one from her lawyer, but not her.

So it's no wonder Hilton failed to show up on time for the grand opening. For that, Paris said she was "skiing in the Swiss Alps and got caught at the airport with holiday travel." A reasonable excuse in my view, but then I'm a Paris Hilton fan. (Why? Because she has a head for business -- she's an entrepreneur and a great one at that. She's not living off family money and has done well making her own cash, yet is not recognized for that, which is a total shame.)

That behavior and subsequent episodes where Hilton did not show up to planned Club Paris events was the straw that broke the camels back for Fereidoun "Fred" Khalilian. Accord to an agreement contract, Hilton was to come to the club twice a month..

Look out Orlando , the 2005 New Year’s Eve Party to attend is the grand opening of "Club Paris," the first of a handful of clubs worldwide to be named after socialite Paris Hilton.

Seems like Paris Hilton knows something about nightclubs, so it makes sense the hotel heiress is the latest inspiration for a series of clubs that will bear her signature name.

Club Paris, named after "The Simple Life" star, plans to open on New Year’s Eve in Orlando. Local businessman Fereidoun "Fred" Khalilian hopes to open other Club Paris nightclubs locations include Las Vegas, New York City, Miami Beach, London and Paris.

Rumors leaked stated that Hilton will earn a "seven-figure" signing bonus for lending her name to the club. In return, she is contractually obligated to appear at the club at least twice a month. Hilton also helped select the interior design and is scheduled to attend the opening.

It opened and lasted for one year, then closed. Some point to the fallout between Paris and "Fred" as the reason for the closure, but I think it was more than that. The Club has a $20,000 back-rent debt and Consolidated Investment and Capital Corp., which loaned the money to Club Paris LLC to acquire the liquor licenses, is still owed $526,240.65 on a liguor license that was up for sale in February of this year.

On top of all that, Fred was arrested twice -- once for sexual assault, then for an old warrant of assault on a law enforcement official. The details aside, its clear that Fred's pissed off a number of women in that area, as more than one have complained of his boorish behavior. In fact, the anger is such that someone made a MySpace page devoted just to his sexual assault problems.

But it seems that the rape charges were indeed questionable. Khalilian was released from jail after two witnesses, a a guard and a cab driver cast doubt on a rape allegation, according to his lawyer, Mark NeJame. The Florida attorney's website reports that "Both men said the woman appeared happy and content after spending 70 minutes in the nightclub owner's home. And a text message she sent afterward to Khalilian's cell phone asked him to send her some clothing and thanked him, NeJame said.
Khalilian was required while on bail to wear a GPS tracking device, abstain from drinking alcohol, and stay out of his nightclub between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., NeJame said.

Whatever the case, it's clear someone does not like Khalilian.

Meanwhile, Paris presses on.

A year after her celebrated DUI problems, the heirress still finds herself near the top of Internet searches and was the star attraction in South Africa recently for the My Coke Fest Rock Festival. Also, her singing album, started with Scott Storch, who Paris met through Khalilian, is still available.