Hard Pass

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Still from SNES Super Godzilla with Godzilla in front of a tall building, with an inset of a woman with a text caption that reads: Go ahead and destroy AI data centers Godzilla. Make the people happy

cross-posted from: https://piefed.blahaj.zone/c/news/p/773490/tennessee-man-jailed-over-charlie-kirk-post-wins-835000-settlement

Tennessee officials will pay $835,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who was jailed for more than a month over a Facebook post he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

While many people across the U.S. lost their jobs over social media comments about Kirk’s death, Larry Bushart’s case stood out as a rare instance in which such online speech led to criminal prosecution. The 61-year-old retired police officer spent 37 days behind bars before authorities dropped the felony charge against him in October.

During his time in jail, Bushart lost his postretirement job and missed his wedding anniversary and the birth of his granddaughter, according to a federal lawsuit Bushart filed in December against Perry County, its sheriff and the investigator who obtained the arrest warrant.

“I am pleased my First Amendment rights have been vindicated,” Bushart said in a statement announcing the settlement Wednesday. “The people’s freedom to participate in civil discourse is crucial to a healthy democracy. I am looking forward to moving on and spending time with my family.”

Perry County Mayor John Carroll did not immediately respond to a Wednesday message left with his office seeking an interview.

Bushart was arrested in September after he refused to take down Facebook memes that joked about Kirk’s killing, which had prompted an outpouring of grief among conservatives, including in Perry County, which is near Bushart’s home and which held a candlelight vigil.

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You don't. You get down from a duck.

Crossposted from https://slrpnk.net/post/38055046

via Bluesky

cross-posted from: https://leminal.space/post/35614589

The Forgiveness of Jon

Met by Saint Jon The Archangel in the writhing pits of hell, the beast was pinned, prone on the floor. He had taken many forms throughout the ages. From the creator of man to the far reaches of the universe, his perpetual reincarnations reigned throughout space and time… until now. His form was weak, the opposition strong. The time for atonement had finally come.

Battered, torn, exposed, the beast slacked his gaping maw.

"I'm sorry, Jon" he whispered.

The archangel raised his flaming blade.

"You are forgiven, Garfield"

And the beast exhaled his last.