Posted on 09/03/2014 10:01:05 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Keep quiet. That’s the message being sent by New York State Board of Elections, which disregarded the First Amendment to enact new “emergency regulations” on political speech that could become permanent at the end of this month.
Intended to regulate spending by independent groups during campaign season, the regulations are so expansive that almost anyone, citizen or organization, hoping to have their say on any issue could find themselves in bureaucratic dire straits.
Imagine you hear a radio ad where your state representative — let’s call him Fred — claims to oppose higher taxes. But you know that Fred voted three times for higher taxes.
Outraged, you print up 500 flyers with a picture of Fred, a copy of his voting record on taxes and a brief statement about how you think your neighbors should know the truth.
You hand out these flyers at your son’s Little League game, your daughter’s soccer practice and in front of the grocery store while your husband is shopping.
While most would applaud you for performing your civic duty and educating the public about a dishonest politician, the New York State Board of Elections could now fine you at least $1,000.
Why? Because you failed to register as a political committee, complete the appropriate paperwork for filing an “independent expenditure,” list your donors and your treasurer and provide copies of your flyer to the board for its stamp of approval....
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
They wouldn’t say anything, 2DV. They’d do their talking with a musket.
They would post anonymous political stuff on the Liberty Tree, and hold quiet gatherings in the dark corners of their pubs. The traveling sort would use coded greetings, and get introduced to like-minded folk along the way, and they would deliver messages from town to town.
Clandestine stuff like that. And it worked.
This is in line with the Democrats in Congress’ plan to abolish the First Amendment.
So are New Yorkers aware of this Emergency Shut Up Law? If not, they stand to make lots of dollar. This is insane, so if you put a bumber sticker on and drove around and they did not approve would this also be fined pretty shaky emergency law. Yes I read the article and still cannot figure it out.
Someone there should flaunt disobeying this and when they’re called on it, head to court.
Well, these days someone will try their best to be indicted and then dare them to prosecute.
A guy in Sacramento has a big billboard and drives round and round the capital. guess he would be in deep dodo.
Hmm. Could it be they no longer fear the people?
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.
free speech zones were the beginning of this recent crapola.
Thanks for good words for a cogent argument. (sincerely).
I’d quote Slim Pickens from Blazing Saddles, but it might be misinterpreted...
(”You use your mouth prettier than a...)
K
New Yorkers are aware of the weather, land little else, as far as I can tell.
We can think back to Thomas Paine and “Common Sense” to answer any question as to what our Founding Fathers would do in a case like this. When I was in high school, we had to read Paine, now he isn’t remembered.
These are the same people, or at least the very next generation after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, that enacted the Alien and Sedition Laws proving in my view that you need both fidelity to the Constitution and a culture that respects the Constitution.
We are approaching points of no return on both counts.
At any rate, the Alien and Sedition Laws were not made permanent part of the American culture or our constitutional system.
For about 10 years my car club has run a charity car show. Each year we donated the entire proceeds to the selected charity. This year we were informed we couldn’t do it without complying with state regulations. (We’re talking about $800 on average.) We have to incorporate and obtain an EIN. We have to fill out and file paperwork resembling a tax return. The cost of complying was about $500, which would be an ongoing year-after-year charge. This was just so we could say we were collecting money for charity. The penalties for not complying are potentially criminal charges.
Frankly, I’m tired of the government protecting us.
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