One of the top stories in the news is Whoopi Goldberg losing her position as a spokesperson for SlimFast following a set of jokes about President Bush that were apparently very vulgar. Many people are very outraged and screaming that Ms. Goldberg should not be punished for speaking her opinion.
When will people learn that the First Amendment protection of Freedom of Speech is a protection against reprisal from the GOVERNMENT when one speaks out against the GOVERNMENT. Ms. Goldberg has not been dragged off to jail for her comments. She has not had the IRS beating at her door to do an audit because of her comments. She has not been hauled before a judge and charged with treason for her comments. These are the proctections that our First Amendment provides.
Also, in the First Amendment is the Freedom of Association. We are free to be involved with whoever we wish. This also means we are free to disengage from those associations at anytime. This is all that has happened here. A PRIVATE company chose to longer associate itself with a person that it thought was damaging to its reputation. No ones freedoms were violated. No ones rights were trampled.
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