Socks?

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Oz Referee

Now I'm neither American, nor a lawyer, but how does this fit in with the First Amendment rights to free speech?

What is "obscene" under U.S. law has plagued our courts for the last fifty years. Many people don't realize that in American society, which trumpets free speech, that there are many restrictions on speech, including restrictions on adult or sexual images and words, or "obscene" materials. Other forms of unprotected or regulated speech include: speech which creates a clear and present danger of imminent lawless action; speech which contains narrowly predefined "fighting words"; written or spoken untruths (libel, slander, fraud) which may be punished by civil suit; speech which is false or deceptive advertising; speech which threatens others; and speech with restrictions justified because the government can demonstrate a "narrowly tailored" "compelling interest". "Obscene" speech is "unprotected" speech as ruled by the Supreme Court. "Unprotected speech," means speech that does not enjoy First Amendment protection and may even be criminal to express. In 1964, Justice Potter Stewart tried to explain "hard-core" pornography, or what is obscene, by saying, "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced, but I know it when I see it"

I read in the today's newspaper that the Australian government is trying to encourage it's citizens to decrease their alcohol consumption, especially binge drinking. How's that going? We tried that from 1920 to 1933. Didn't work.