Supreme Court Throws Out Law Against Lying About Getting a Military Medal
The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act health care law got all the attention yesterday (June 28th), but the high court also issued a decision in another case that’s drawn some public notice, striking down a federal law that makes it a crime to lie about receiving a military medal. The court ruled 6-3 that the Stolen Valor Act violates the constitutional freedom of speech protection, with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing for the majority, “The nation well knows that one of the costs of the First Amendment it that it protects the speech we detest as well as the speech we embrace.” The Obama administration had argued in defense of the 2006 law, contending that the government has a strong interest in protecting the integrity of awards to war heroes. In his dissent, Justice Samuel Alito, who was joined by Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, stated that the law was narrow and adopted to address an important problem. He wrote, “Congress was entitled to conclude that falsely claiming to have won the Medal of Honor is qualitatively different from even the most prestigious civilian awards and that the misappropriation of that honor warrants criminal sanction.” Legislation has already been introduced in the House to make it a crime to lie about military medals only if there’s an intent to profit.
Sandusky Set to Still Get $59K Annual Pension Despite Child Sex Abuse Conviction
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is set to still receive his Pennsylvania state pension of some $59,000 per year despite being convicted last week of 45 charges of child sex abuse. FoxNews.com reports that under the law, Sandusky would only forfeit his pension if he was sentenced for crimes such as extortion and bribery by a public employee, but not violent crimes or sex abuse. The chairman of the State Employees’ Retirement System told the Harrisburg Patriot-News that he will seek a legal review of their options in paying Sandusky’s pension, but isn’t optimistic that anything can be done to block it. Sandusky gets his pension for the rest of his life, and his wife, Dottie, gets it upon his death if he dies before her.
Ladies More Into The Internet Than Guys
Girls are apparently more addicted to the internet than boys. According to a new report from Common Sense Media of 13-17 year-olds, nearly 90 percent have used some form of social media and 75 percent currently have a personal social networking website. The study also found that girls are more plugged in than their male counterparts: 77 percent of them text daily, 33 percent have used Twitter, and 75 percent love posting photographs online, while just 60 percent of boys text that often, 22 percent have ever used Twitter, and 42 percent say they enjoy putting up pictures. What’s noteworthy is that the gender difference comes at an emotional price: About half the girls polled admitted that content posted online often makes them worry about their appearance or social status. Just a quarter of the boys said the same. (Slate.com)
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