« It's Official: Chavez Is Ruling by Decree | Main | Free Rent and Tuition For Nathaniel Abraham, Murderer »
January 19, 2007
Dems Trying to Silence Bloggers
Posted by Dave Blount at January 19, 2007 9:55 AM
Hugo Chavez isn't the only one making a power grab in the wake of disastrous election results. A bill Senate Democrats are trying to pass off as an attempt to curb corruption is actually a curb on free speech that could put bloggers behind bars for as much as 10 years if they fail to comply with byzantine regulations.
Political bloggers who make or spend a certain amount and who encourage readers to contact elected representatives must register as lobbyists, which entails jumping through so many bureaucratic hoops that those who don't just shrug and give up could find themselves ensnared in red tape and possibly in jail.
For the first time in memory, even the ACLU has been shocked into siding with the good guys. Worries legislative counsel Marv Johnson:
You have a First Amendment right to contact your congressperson and you have a First Amendment right to tell others to do so. Now they're saying you have to report to the federal government if you're going to engage in this First Amendment-protected activity.
The bill, sponsored by top Senate Dem Harry Reid, aims to shut down grassroots activism, and will affect not only bloggers. A petition against it can be found at GrassrootsFreedom.com.
As always, the best way to avoid assaults on our basic liberties is to vote against Democrats at every opportunity. Even John McCain, the RINO whose appalling Campaign Finance Reform demonstrated arrogant contempt for the First Amendment, has promised to vote for an amendment stripping out the most oppressive parts of the bill.
On a tip from Wiggins.
