Flutterby™! : Constitution.. A suggestion? 2005-03-27 14:59:29.166456+00

Constitution.. A suggestion?

2005-03-27 14:59:29.166456+00 by meuon 4 comments

Apparently free speech is only for the state controlled media, (what happened to real investigative journalism?) and now the amazing source of interpersonal communications and expression known as the "blog" or personal website is now under fire. I'm not an alarmist normally, and RedState.org is not what I would call objective, but the idea that now our political commentary on blogs could be regulated makes me think of Bush as Hitler.

The Constitution is still online: http://www.archives.gov/nation...s/bill_of_rights_transcript.html and still says:

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It's still an amazing document, and worth a re-reading every once in a while. The leaders of this country should read it at least monthly.

If you go back and read up on the last few weeks of the whole controversy, whether you go by way of Redstate.org or DKos.com, you will see that much of the impetus toward these restrictive rules are coming from Clinton's Democratic appointees to the Federal Election Comm. Bush and the Republicans have nothing to do with it, and a number of pro-Bush bloggers like Instapundit and PowerLine have joined with Atrios and Kos to oppose restrictions. Please leave the Bushitler garbage to Indymedia.

First Amendment rights have been slowly eroding in the US. I first noticed it when college campus groups, for the first time that I could recall, were being told they could not bring in pro-Palestinian speakers, where many of the universities were being threatened with cuts in donations or grants, if they allowed such speakers to appear. Then mideast studies departments began to be threatened because, again, some groups felt the content was not balanced, forcing many of these departments to close (read ex-Congressman Paul Findley's They Dare to Speak Out - Chapter 8 - for a case study). Next thing you know some sites are being identified as "hate sites." The common ingredient seemed to be any statement that could be perceived as being anti-Semitic. Odd, in the spirit of free speech, it seems people can openly inform people how to make a bomb or lure a child away from a parent but you can not question our mideast policies or our unconditional support for Israel. Don't think for a second that little Mr. Bush has any idea of the machinations behind such activity. It is much bigger than little Mr. Bush.

Petronius, You found things I did not..(you dug deeper and are more aware of such connections) and while it's true that Bush himself has little to do with it, the general trend of his administration and staff does more than a little leaning to the religious right and to the erosion of personal privacy and freedoms. My 'Bushitler' stands if nothing else but to express that I still have the freedom to express my political opinion, idiotic that it may be, with the only editor/censor in this case being Dan, as Flutterby is his and I am a guest on this system.