Terms of Use
Posting Date: 08/01/2023
By using or visiting this website, services, and the content available through the website (collectively “Site”) you agree to be found by the following terms and conditions (“Terms of Use”) governing your browsing and use of the Site. The Site is a news, opinion, and blog service made available through a variety of resources. We support our efforts to provide informational topics to you through advertising appearing on the Site as well. Our provision of both news content and Advertising, are referred to herein collectively as the “Services.”
The Terms of Use contain a Binding Arbitration Provision for any disputes; Precludes your participation in a Class Action Participation; and Limits our Liability in certain instances. These are important! Please read carefully before using the Services. If you do not understand and accept all terms and conditions set forth in the Terms of Use, you are not authorized use the Service or access the Site.
- ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS OF USE
By accessing our Site and using the Services, you agree that such access and use will be in accordance with these Terms of Use as well as any special terms, conditions, rules, or procedures posted by a third-party content or service provider as well as all applicable laws and regulations. You also you agree to our collection, storage, and use of your personal and non-personal information as set out in our posted Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference.
- CHANGES TO TERMS OF USE
We may change the terms and conditions posted here without further notice to you. All changes to these Terms of Use will be posted on this page and take affect from the date of posting forward. You may be asked sometime in the future to agree to additional terms before you may access certain areas on the Site. Those additional terms shall incorporate these Terms of Use and shall act as an addendum to the Terms of Use. In all instances, your continued use of Services will constitute an acceptance and agreement with Terms of Use and amended special terms.
- CHANGES TO SERVICE AND CONTENT
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, at any time and from time to time, to modify or discontinue, any Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice to you. You agree that we shall not be liable to you or to any third-party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuance of the Service.
- AGE VERIFICATION; USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
You must be at least 18 years of age to access our Site and use the Services. We may request verification of your age or proof of age in connection with your use of all or a portion of the Service. In the event we have a reasonable belief that you are not age 18, we may suspend or terminate your access to the Services.
By using the Services, you agree to the Company’s information collection, storage, sharing, and use set out in the posted Privacy Policy. This includes using your email address to provide you notice of new articles, opinion pieces or blogs as well as advertising from our supporting advertisers.
Each email communication we send you will contain a link permitting you to opt-out of receiving future communications. If at any time you wish not to receive any future communications or to have your name deleted from our mailing lists, you need only click the “opt-out” link at the bottom of the email communication. If you have any difficulty opting-out, please let us know by contacting us through the Contact Page.
- USE PROHIBITED CONTENT AND CONDUCT
You agree to use the Services only as lawfully permitted by the Terms of Use and the laws of the United States. Without limiting the forgoing, you agree not to:
- Use the Services for any advertising or commercial solicitation of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, via email, without Company’s express prior written approval;
- Use the Services in any way that abuses, defames, stalks, annoys, threatens, harasses or violates the rights of privacy, publicity, intellectual property or other legal rights of a person or entity or which encourages conduct which would violate any law or give rise to civil or criminal liability or post, publish, transmit, distribute, disseminate or upload any inappropriate, infringing, defamatory, profane, indecent, obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent or illegal/unlawful material or matters, including, without limitation, information, topics, names or other material;
- Attempt to impersonate another user or any other third-party by selecting or using the name, address, email address or other identifying information belonging to another user or other person, or otherwise;
- Upload files that you know or have reason to believe may contain viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or program that may result in damage to the operation of our Service, networks, or servers or to another user’s computer;
- Post a third-party’s intellectual property without their permission or in violation of their intellectual property rights;
- Restrict, inhibit, harass, or attempt to prevent any other user from using and enjoying the Services, or that, in our sole judgment, exposes us, users or any other third-party to any liability, damages, or reputation harm;
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to other computer systems, materials, information, or any services available on or through the Service;
- Use any device, software, or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Services or any activity conducted on the Services or attempt to probe, scan, test the vulnerability of, or breach the security of any system, device, server, or network;
- Disclose or collect personal information of other users, including email addresses, without their consent;
- Violate any applicable United States laws or regulations;
- Use bots, spiders, intelligent agent software or any other software, program, application or any other device to access the Site or the Services to automate the process of obtaining, harvesting, uploading, transferring or transmitting any content to or from our systems, the Site or the Services; and
- Circumvent any access or use restrictions, data encryption or content protection related to the Services and not to data mine the Services or in any way cause harm to or burden the Services.
- USER CONTENT
The Service may permit you to submit, post and distribute text, files, images, photos, graphics, data, messages, video, audio, works of authorship or any other materials or information in connection with their use of the Services (collectively, “User Content”). Upon posting User Content may reside on our servers or on the servers of a third-party. You are solely responsible for the User Content you post or distribute on or through the Services or Site including any information that you transmit to other users and for your interactions with other users. Company does not control or endorse the User Content, messages or information submitted, posted, or distributed by users, and Company specifically disclaims any responsibility with regard thereto.
You agree not to provide User Content that:
- Infringes on, misappropriates, or otherwise violates the copyright, trademark, patent, or other intellectual property right of any person, or a person’s right to privacy or publicity;
- Is false, misleading, libelous, slanderous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, hateful, or sexually-explicit, or degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual preference, orientation or identity, disability, or other classification;
- Contains advertising or a solicitation for commercial gain; or
- Contains epithets or other language or material intended to intimidate or to incite violence; or violates any applicable local, state, national, or international law, or advocates illegal activity.
If the Services permit you to post or publish User Content, you agree that your content will be original and that you have the right to post. You grant to Company a royalty-free, non-exclusive, world-wide, irrevocable, transferable license, including the right to sublicense to third-parties without restriction, in perpetuity and license to fix, copy, reproduce, display, modify, adapt, edit, elaborate, combine with other material, transform, title, re-title, subtitle, translate, advertise, publish, sell, distribute, broadcast, utilize, create derivative works of, or otherwise violate any other party’s intellectual property (collectively, “IP Violation”).
You agree not to post about minors including any video or photography posted even if you have permission of their parents or legal guardians. You agree to indemnify, defend, and pay for all royalties, fees and any other monies owing any person by reason of any User Content submitted, posted, or distributed by you to or through the Service or the Site.
- BREACH OF TERMS OF USE
You agree that Company, in its sole discretion, may suspend or terminate your access to the Services and remove and discard any User Content within the Service or Site for any reason, including, without limitation, Company’s reasonable belief that you have violated the Terms of Use, or an applicable law. Company may also, in its sole discretion, discontinue providing the Service, the Site or any part thereof, with or without notice of any type and this includes deletion of your User Content. Company also reserves the right to bar access to User Content, Service or Site for any reason in Company’s sole discretion. You agree that Company shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your access to the Service or Site or deletion of your User Content.
- COMPANY CONTENT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OWNERSHIP
“Intellectual Property Rights” means any and all tangible and intangible and now known and hereafter existing: (a) rights associated with works of authorship, including, but not limited to, copyright and moral rights; (b) trademark, service mark, trade dress and trade name rights and similar rights; (c) trade secret rights; (d) patents, designs, algorithms and other industrial property rights; and (e) all other intellectual and industrial property and proprietary rights including, without limitation, logos, character rights, and rights to remuneration, whether arising by operation of law, contract, license or otherwise.
The Site and Services contain content, information, materials, software, and original source code owned or licensed to Company (“Company Content”) which is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other laws. Therefore, Company owns or licenses all Intellectual Property Rights in the Company Content, Site and Services. Company hereby grants you a limited, revocable, non-sublicensable non-exclusive license to display the Company Content (excluding any software code) solely for your personal use in connection with using the Services in accordance with the Terms of Use. You may copy or downloading these materials for your personal use only. Any commercial use of Company Content is a violation of these Terms of Use.
You agree that except for User Content, all Intellectual Property Rights in the Services are owned or licensed by Company and protected to the full extent permitted under the United States Copyright Act and all international copyright laws and all other applicable laws. You agree not to encumber, license, modify, publish, copy, sell, transfer, transmit, or in any way commit IP Violation, any of the Company Content, software, and Service. You agree not to copy, redistribute, publish, or otherwise commit an IP Violation for commercial gain any material which you download from the Services without the express prior written permission of Company. You further agree that you shall not acquire any ownership rights by downloading content or software from the Site or Service.
The Services may contain the User Content of other users and licensors. Except for User Content posted by you, you may not copy, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, display, sell, or otherwise utilize any Company Content, User Content or other content appearing on or through the Site or Service.
- EDITING AND BLOCKING CONTENT
You agree that Company, in its sole discretion, shall have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor your use of the Service and to edit or remove any material submitted, posted, or distributed on or through the Service or Site for any reason. You agree that we may use the information gathered during such monitoring for any purpose by Company, to the fullest extent permitted by law.
You agree that we are not required to monitor, and you do not rely on Company to monitor or edit the Service. Company Content and Service may contain content which you find offensive, indecent, or objectionable, and which may or may not be identified as containing explicit language. You hereby waive any objections you might have with respect to viewing such content. Company shall have no liability for such content to you, to any person on behalf of whom you have consented to these Terms of Use, or to any person whom you allow to access the Service, and you access the Service at your sole risk.
Company assumes no responsibility for monitoring the Site for inappropriate content or conduct. Company assumes no responsibility for the content, no obligation to modify or remove any inappropriate content and no responsibility for the conduct of the user submitting any User Content.
- COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT CLAIMS
If you believe that materials hosted by the Site infringe your copyright, you or your agent may submit a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) notice by providing Company with the following information in writing:
- A physical or electronic signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive copyright that is allegedly infringed;
- A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
- A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the site;
- Your name, address, telephone number, and email address and all other information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you;
- A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
- A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Any notification that fails to comply with requirements of the DMCA shall not be considered sufficient notice and shall not be deemed to confer upon Company actual knowledge of facts or circumstances from which infringing material or acts are evident.
If you believe in good faith that a notice of copyright infringement has been wrongly filed against you, the DMCA permits you to send to Company a counter-notice. All notices and counter notices must meet the then current statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA.
If you believe that your User Content was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner’s agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use the content in your User Content, you may send a counter-notice containing the following information to the contact address for Company set forth below:
- Your physical or electronic signature;
- Identification of the user content that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the user content appeared before it was removed or disabled;
- A statement that you have a good faith belief that the content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the user content; and
Counter-notice of claims of copyright infringement can be sent to the address and email on our Contact Page. If a counter-notice is received, you agree that we may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that it may replace the removed content or cease disabling it in ten (10) business days. Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the content provider, member or user, the removed content may be replaced, or access to it restored, in ten to fourteen (10 to 14) business days or more after receipt of the counter-notice, at our sole discretion. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all the requirements of this section, your DMCA notice may not be valid.
- THIRD-PARTY SERVICES AND LINKS
Our Service permits you to use a link to third-party websites and their services (collectively, “Third-party Services”). Company does not control, operate, or maintain such third-parties, their websites, services, or their information practices and you agree that Company will not be liable to you in any way for your use of the link, third-party products, services or information collection practices. These third-parties have their own terms of use and other policies. If any such terms or policies conflict with these Terms of Use, you must comply with our Terms of Use while on our Site.
You agree that Company is not responsible for the availability of these third-party sites, the content, including, without limitation, solicitations thereon or products or services made available thereby. Such links do not constitute an endorsement by us of those other websites or online services, the content displayed therein, or the persons associated therewith. You acknowledge that some third-party sites may contain materials or communications which are unedited, untrue, and illegal in some jurisdictions and may be offensive. You agree to access third-party sites at your own risk. You agree that we shall not be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused or alleged to have been caused in any way whatsoever related to any such third-party site and you hereby irrevocably waive any and all claims related thereto against Company, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, representatives, agents, attorneys, directors, officers, managers, shareholders, third-party content providers or licensors.
- INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Company and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees, representatives, agents, directors, officers, managers, shareholders, third-party content providers and licensors (“Indemnified Parties“) from and against all demands, liabilities, judgments, fines, interest, penalties, damages, losses, costs, claims or expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and fees of other professional advisers) arising out of: (a) your use of the Services (including, without limitation, your User Content and your use of any Company Content); (b) your online conduct; (c) your violation, breach or alleged breach of these Terms of Use; (d) your failure to comply with any applicable laws or regulations; (e) your negligence, willful misconduct, or violations of the intellectual property or other rights of any person; or (f) any of your dealings or transactions with other persons resulting from use of the Services.
- LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT NEITHER COMPANY NOR ITS PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, AGENTS, ATTORNEYS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MANAGERS, SHAREHOLDERS, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF COMPANY OR SUCH THIRD-PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) RESULTING FROM ANY MATTER ARISING FROM, RELATING TO OR CONNECTED WITH THE TERMS OF USE OR SERVICES.
- DISCLAIMERS; WAIVERS OF LIABILITY
YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER COMPANY NOR ITS PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, AGENTS, ATTORNEYS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MANAGERS, SHAREHOLDERS, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS WARRANT THAT: (A) THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR FREE; (B) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR EXPECTATIONS; (C) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; OR (D) ANY ERRORS IN THE SOFTWARE OR SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED.
ANY MATERIAL OR SOFTWARE DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.
NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM COMPANY OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE AGREEMENT.
COMPANY DISTRIBUTES CONTENT SUPPLIED BY THIRD-PARTIES AND MAY PROVIDE LINKS TO EXTERNAL THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES AND PAGES. ALL COMMUNICATION EXPRESSED OR MADE AVAILABLE BY THIRD-PARTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, BY OTHER USERS, IS SOLELY MADE BY THE RESPECTIVE AUTHOR(S) OR DISTRIBUTOR(S) AND NEITHER COMPANY NOR ITS PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, AGENTS, ATTORNEYS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MANAGERS, SHAREHOLDERS, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR USEFULNESS THEREOF, OR ITS MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE; NOR DO THEY MAKE ANY GUARANTEE, ENDORSEMENT OR WARRANTY WITH RESPECT THERETO. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT IS YOUR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY TO SEEK THE ADVICE OF PROFESSIONALS, AS APPROPRIATE, REGARDING THE EVALUATION OF ANY COMMUNICATION AND AGREE TO USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT AND EXERCISE CAUTION WITH RESPECT TO ALL COMMUNICATION AND TRANSACTIONS.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE DISCLAIMERS OF LIABILITY CONTAINED HEREIN APPLY TO ANY AND ALL DAMAGES OR INJURY WHATSOEVER CAUSED BY OR RELATED TO USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICES OR SITE UNDER ANY CAUSE OR ACTION WHATSOEVER OF ANY JURISDICTION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ACTIONS FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY, BREACH OF CONTRACT OR TORT AND THAT NEITHER COMPANY NOR ITS PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, AGENTS, ATTORNEYS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MANAGERS, SHAREHOLDERS, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICES OR SITE. YOU FURTHER SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT NEITHER COMPANY NOR ITS PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, AGENTS, ATTORNEYS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MANAGERS, SHAREHOLDERS, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS ARE LIABLE, AND YOU AGREE NOT TO SEEK TO HOLD COMPANY OR ITS PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, AGENTS, ATTORNEYS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MANAGERS, SHAREHOLDERS, THIRD-PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS LIABLE, FOR THE CONDUCT OF THIRD-PARTIES, INCLUDING OTHER USERS OF THE SERVICES AND OPERATORS OF EXTERNAL SITES, AND THAT THE RISK OF THE SERVICES, SITE AND EXTERNAL SITES AND INJURY FROM THE FOREGOING RESTS ENTIRELY WITH YOU.
- GOVERNING LAW
The Terms of Use and all aspects of the Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the United States and the State of Texas governing contracts entered into and to be fully performed in Texas (i.e., without regard to conflict of law’s provisions) regardless of your location. By using the Services, you waive any claims that may arise under international treaties, the laws of other states, countries, territories, or jurisdictions.
- BINDING ARBITRATION
Any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to this Website, Terms of Use, Privacy Policy or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation, or validity thereof, including the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate, shall be determined by binding arbitration in a mutually agreed upon location before one arbitrator. The arbitration shall be administered by American Arbitration Association pursuant to its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures. Judgment on the Award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. This clause shall not preclude parties from seeking provisional remedies in aid of arbitration from a court of appropriate jurisdiction. Both parties agree to waive all rights to a jury or judicial trial. Each party to pay their respective costs of arbitration
- NO CLASS ACTION PRATICIPATION
YOU HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT YOU MAY HAVE TO JOIN CLAIMS WITH THOSE OF OTHERS IN THE FORM OF A CLASS ACTION OR SIMILAR PROCEDURAL DEVICE. ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF, RELATING TO, OR CONNECTED WITH THESE TERMS MUST BE ASSERTED INDIVIDUALLY. YOU FURTHER RELINQUISH YOU RIGHT TO ACT AS CLASS REPRESENTATIVE IN ANY CLASS ACTION WHEREIN COMPANY IS A PARTICIPANT.
- GENERAL PROVISIONS
The Terms of Use are effective until terminated by either party. Users may terminate the Terms of Use by discontinuing their access the Site or Services. The privileges granted to you under the Terms of Use will terminate immediately and automatically without notice from us if, in its sole discretion, you fail to comply with any term or provision of the Terms of Use. Upon such termination: (a) all licenses granted by us to you hereunder will terminate and you will no longer have permission to access the Site or Services; and (b) the following rights and provisions shall survive in perpetuity: (i) all licenses granted hereunder by you to us; (ii) all provisions of these Terms of Use which by their nature are intended to extend beyond termination of this Agreement shall continue in perpetuity.
The Terms of Use contains the entire understanding of you and us and supersedes all prior understandings of the parties hereto relating to the subject matter hereof and cannot be changed or modified by you except by a writing signed by an authorized signatory for Company.
If any provision of the Terms of Use is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the Terms of Use will be deemed curtailed to the extent necessary to make it legal and enforceable and will remain, as modified, in full force and effect.
No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default.
The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not be given any legal import.
- ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
When you visit our Site or send email to us, you are communicating with us electronically. You consent to receive communications from us electronically. Although we may choose to communicate with you by regular mail, we may also choose to communicate with you by email or by posting notices. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.