Posted on 09/08/2014 10:05:42 AM PDT by John Semmens
Concerned that “unelected persons might defame elected officials,” the New York Board of Elections has declared that no one may criticize a sitting officeholder without first forming a “political action committee.”
Executive Director Todd Valentine asserted that “the notion that everyone is free to say whatever they want about members of the government is a misunderstanding of the concept of freedom of speech. If you’re talking about or to another private citizen you can say whatever you want. But if you want to criticize the governor, mayor, or a member of the legislature or city council you need to file with us.”
Those who engage in criticisms without gaining prior approval from the Board may be fined up to $1,000 per offense. If, for example, you pass out 50 flyers opposing the reelection of your current senator—you’d be liable for a potential fine of $50,000.
Valentine was unconcerned that the regulations might discourage some citizens from participating in public debate. “People who are serious about politics will make the effort to register as a political action committee,” he contended. “Those not willing to take this minimal step have no business getting involved. The era of unregulated rogue commentaries is ended in this state. It’s the least we can do for those who govern us.”
In related news, the University of Minnesota student newspaper apologized “for any embarrassment we may have caused Senator Franken for attempting to schedule a debate between him and his Republican challenger Mike McFadden. Senator Franken has rightly pointed out that as the state’s US Senator he should not be forced to demean himself by debating a person who is merely a private citizen. We can only hope that Senator Franken will forgive our youthful indiscretion on this sensitive matter.”
if you missed any of this week's other semi-news/semi-satire posts you can find them at...
http://azconservative.org/2014/09/06/kerry-says-isis-will-be-destroyed-within-three-years/
The sad part is that initially I thought this was straight news.
Got me - again.
Not so outlandish:
The left would love to make that true, except for Republican officeholders of course
It is becoming more and more difficult to come up with satire that isn’t almost exactly matched by some idiot uttering by a leftist.
Perhaps we should cause them to pull a “Scotland”.
It’ll be fun watching the right wing part of the country prosper whilst the progressives do their normal regression into poverty and nothingness.
I so wish I lived in New York so I could put out some flyers and challenge these petty bureaucrats and their blatantly unconstitutional power grabds.
I would sue him personally, and his little Board too, for violating my guaranteed Constitutional rights, under 18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law.
Arrogant pr**k Executive Director Todd Valentine is the one who misunderstands the 1st Amendment, because he thinks the only issue here is Freedom of Speech.
That's because like all totalitarian leftist politicians, he is too ignorant to realize that handing out flyers is not only protected as freedom of speech, but also as freedom of the press.
Modern moronic leftist Democrats like to talk about THE PRESS as some sort of elite group whose members are allowed preferential treatment under law in to report the news.
But in fact, there is no such thing as THE PRESS in that sense. In the Constitutional sense, “the press” is a simply a technological device for publishing and disseminating information.
One cannot be a “member” of the press. One can only have access to a press.
Any device which enables one to state and publicize one’s views is a “press,” whether it be moveable type, offset printing, laser printing, TV, radio, or the Internet. We all have free access to “the press,” meaning we have the right to pay any provider who wishes to sell us access to publicize our ideas, or to buy the technology to do it ourselves.
In this regard, no CBS anchor has anymore claim to special treatment for being part of “the press” than does any blogger.
“Freedom of the press” applies equally to every citizen seeking to use a technological device to record and publicize his or her opinion.
I do hope that someone deliberately challenges this law in New York.
Tar and feathers were made for bureaucrats who impose such tyrannical laws upon the people.
Almost missed the satire. I could believe this of any number of Blue states...
It will get tested
That one was too easy to spot.
Pretty tired of this “semi-news/semi-satire” garbage. That’s all it is, really. The truth with this administration is satirical enough. We don’t need bogus articles too.
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