|
May 23, 2005
Simple questions deserve simple answers
A group called Reporters Without Borders asks Google a simple question: Following Google's announcement that it is to open an office in China, Reporters Without Borders has written to the company's two founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, asking them for a clear response to the following question : "Will you agree to censor your search engine if asked to by Beijing ?"As the letter notes, there are warning signs that Google may be ready to capitulate to censorship forces: "Until recently, Google always refused to bend to the Chinese government's will in this respect. But recent decisions have led us to fear that your commitment to respect freedom of expression is giving way to commercial logic.I hope Google, will, in accordance with its stated tradition, refuse to cooperate in any way with government censorship. But I'm cynical, and doubtful. But there's something worse than Chinese government censorship, and that's United States government censorship. It is supposed to be against the most important principle upon which this country was founded, as embodied in the First Amendment. I don't know what part of the First Amendment the FEC, or Congress, or the President don't understand, but I refuse to acknowledge that the FEC has any jurisdiction over the blogosphere, and I don't care whether they imagine they do, or whether the Supreme Court says they do. I simply defy them. I will write whatever I want, whenever I want, and I will endorse or oppose any candidate I feel like endorsing or opposing, and while I haven't sought advertising, I'd accept accept any ad I felt like accepting from any person or organization who might be willing to run one. No matter how close it might be to the election. This blog is my free speech. I'll disclose whatever I want, whenever I want. If the government wants me to disclose anything else, I'll refuse to disclose it. McCain-Feingold is unconstitutional. Period. It's been almost two years since I warned about the regulation of bloggers under McCain-Feingold, and I don't feel any differently about the issue. The bastards simply don't have jurisdiction. While I'm not opposed to the idea of arguing with them as a tactic, I don't think it is wise to do so in such a way as to implicitly agree that they have (or ever would have) jurisdiction. If I as a blogger accepted or took advantage of a regulation purporting to "exempt" me from regulation, would I not be acknowledging the validity of regulation? Would this not be akin to countenancing the licensing of speech? I'm worried that it would. And were I to countenanced the licensing of speech, I'd certainly be in no position to criticize Google. The answer to censorship is simple. It's free speech. Notwithstanding my concerns, I have written to FEC Assistant General Counsel Brad C. Deutsch. My email is titled "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" because that's the language used by the FEC. Here's the text: Mr. Brad C. DeutschMaybe I should have made the title "Notice of Proposed Rulebreaking." Anyway, I feel strongly about this, and I'd urge other bloggers to at least write. If you have a problem with their jurisdiction as I do, then tell them so. This is still a democracy, despite ominous indicators like McCain-Feingold. UPDATE: Yuck! I already see a couple of glaring errors in the email that I just sent the people who'd take away my freedom to commit writing errors in the first place! First, I misspelled the word "it" as "yt." Second, I failed to credit Glenn Reynolds as the source for the redstate.org link! But email cannot be edited or corrected. A lesson to all bloggers! (May the FEC forgive me....) posted by Eric on 05.23.05 at 03:19 PM
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://classicalvalues.com/cgi-bin/pings.cgi/2367 Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Simple questions deserve simple answers:
» Hohenwald News: Sen. John McCain Does Not Understa from Tales of Tadeusz
But a deeper and far more troubling show of his lack of understanding is his championing of the McCain-Feingold Bill for the Restriction of Free Political Speech in the Service of the Incumbents and the Mass Media (which has no such restrictions). [Read More] Tracked on May 26, 2005 12:30 PM
Comments
Since my injury I spend alot of time on the web. On another blog I found out about an advertising scheme that gives away free computers! I allready got one, didn't cost a thing. So I thought I'd pass along the info for anyone else on a tight budget. : ) Mary · May 23, 2005 06:57 PM Well, I have to do as I am told. This week the diversionary issue happens to be "free speech." Anything to avoid the real issue. Eric Scheie · May 24, 2005 07:30 AM Far better than parroting the Politically Correct Communist Party Line of the Collectivist Left. Dear Eric: You're a hero! Thank you for standing up for the First Amendment (as well as the the Second and all the rest of the Bill of Rights), for your freedom and mine, our God-given inalienable rights. I, too, will say what I please on my blog, and McCain-Feingold, or any other such law, be damned. Hmmm.... I'm trying to think. Have I violated that law, or am I likely to do so in the future? Not being particularly enamored of any politician, and Up With Beauty being about more eternal matters than mere elections, I thought not. But, I did, as I recall, state my intention to vote for Bush rather than Kerry in the last Presidential election, and I gave my reasons for doing so. That might perhaps be considered an "endorsement" of sorts, and it was right before the election. So, I may well, in the eyes of the FEC, have violated that law. They'll have to arrest me then. I also will not submit to any "hate speech" laws, since I do indeed hate Communists, Nazis, Muhammadan terrorists, and other enemies of my freedom. I will never submit to any "obscenity" laws, but will post pictures of or links to pictures of such women as I find pulchritudinous, when and as I see fit, as well as such Aphroditically-oriented and/or Sapphic-style writing as I see fit. Conservative Lesbian Individualist Theology. Sexual speech, like other religious speech, is more valuable to me than political speech. In short, I will never submit to censorship, gun control, "sodomy" laws, or any other such infringement on my God-given freedom. That is where I stand. Athanasius Contra Mundum Steven Malcolm Anderson the Lesbian-worshipping man's-man-admiring myth-based egoist · May 24, 2005 01:52 PM Steven bless you for your words of encouragement. (I don't think I'm a hero, but if I am, you are too!) Eric Scheie · May 25, 2005 02:33 PM You are right in every respect! I cannot believe it has come to this! Bob Agard · May 26, 2005 12:27 AM Well said indeed. I'll have to link this as soon as I am awake. Both the tykes chose to get up before 4 in the morning. Aargh. Eric Eric R. Ashley · May 26, 2005 04:57 AM Well, six hours later, and I'm more awake. Its linked. Eric R. Ashley · May 26, 2005 12:32 PM |
|
March 2007
WORLD-WIDE CALENDAR
Search the Site
E-mail
Classics To Go
Archives
March 2007
February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 May 2002 See more archives here Old (Blogspot) archives
Recent Entries
War For Profit
How trying to prevent genocide becomes genocide I Have Not Yet Begun To Fight Wind Boom Isaiah Washington, victim Hippie Shirts A cunning exercise in liberation linguistics? Sometimes unprincipled demagogues are better than principled activists PETA agrees -- with me! The high pitched squeal of small carbon footprints
Links
Site Credits
|
|
There you go again, parroting the right wing neocon attack machine!