ny cons art 1 sec 3 protects ?
Texas teacher ordered to remove ‘JAIL 45’ license plate protesting Trump & he moves to challenge ny pml sec 109 in ny for cash. even trump voters love to bet santa anita at nassau otb
Monday, January 20, 2020
Sunday, April 12, 2020
| Track Code | Track Name | Entry | Scratch | 1st Post ET | 1st Post Local | Time Zone | Stakes Race(s) | Stakes Grade | T.V. Indicator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA | SANTA ANITA PARK | 72 | 48 | 3:00 PM | 12:00 PM | PDT | |||
| SUN | SUNLAND PARK | 168 | 24 | 2:30 PM | 12:30 PM | MDT | Mt. Cristo Rey H. | ||
| TAM | TAMPA BAY DOWNS | 72 | 0 | 12:35 PM | 12:35 PM |
A Texas teacher has been ordered to remove the “JAIL 45” license plate from his car amid threatening messages about his protest against President Trump, according to reports.
History teacher Jerry Balkenbush, 43, initially got permission from the Texas DMV for the plate stating his blunt views on Trump, the 45th president of the United States, he told local media in Fort Worth.
But a month later, he was told he had 30 days to remove it after it was revoked following complaints that it was derogatory, WFAA said.
“My license plate is peaceful. It does not harm anybody,” Balkenbush told the station. “If we can’t protest the government, then what direction are we headed towards?”
Calling Trump “a crook [who] needs to go to jail,” Balkenbush told the Texas Tribune, “I really feel like it was a violation of my freedom of speech against the government.”
An administrative rule in Texas allows the DMV to reject plates deemed to have derogatory language, the local reports say.
Almost 3,800 proposed plates were rejected in the state in 2018, including the likes of “DMPTRUMP,” “LOKHMUP,” “CNN FAKE” and even “WHO FRTD” and “HII UGLY,” according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“There is a fine line between expressing one’s political opinions and offensive speech officially sanctioned by the State of Texas on license plates,” Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, previously told the paper.
“The state doesn’t want to be liable for confrontations resulting from unhappy drivers who see messages offensive to them. Some motorists who see these plates would smile but others would be angry. The state has an obligation to vet these [before] any possible trouble arises.”
Balkenbush, a US Air Force veteran, said he was targeted with hate messages from trolls after his story first made local headlines.
“I did not foresee the hate coming, the nasty words and profanity towards me and towards my wife,” he told WFAA. “I feel like this is the new normal in our politics.”
However, he also got plenty of support after posting a picture of his license plate to Facebook, with Barbara Hopkins Shively writing, “You, sir, are my hero.”
Many others defended his freedom of speech even if they did not approve of the message.
“Disagree with your politics. But you should be allowed to keep the tags,” Marv Gaby Mitchell wrote, while Jim Nowell said, “Don’t like your plate but you should have the right to display it.”
The snafu has not put him off displaying his political views via his plates, however. He ordered replacements that’ll read “OBAMA,” he says.
“I was surprised it wasn’t taken,” he told the station.
Stop scratching on holidays
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Monday, January 20, 2020
Claude Solnik
Long Island Business News
2150 Smithtown Ave.
Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7348
Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Wandering Dago, Inc. v. Destito, No. 16-622 (2d Cir. 2018)
Annotate this Case
Justia Opinion Summary
WD filed suit against OGS, alleging that defendants violated its rights under the First Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause, and the New York State Constitution by denying WD's applications to participate as a food truck vendor in the Lunch Program based on its ethnic-slur branding. The Second Circuit reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment for defendant, holding that defendants' action violated WD's equal protection rights and its rights under the New York State Constitution. In this case, it was undisputed that defendants denied WD's applications solely because of its ethnic-slur branding. In Matal v. Tam, 137 S. Ct. 1744 (2017), the Supreme Court clarified that this action amounted to viewpoint discrimination and, if not government speech or otherwise protected, was prohibited by the First Amendment. The court rejected defendants' argument that their actions were unobjectionable because they were either part of OGS's government speech or permissible regulation of a government contractor's speech.
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