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Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime.
CNET ^ | January 9, 2006 | Declan McCullagh

Posted on 01/09/2006 8:57:10 AM PST by MensRightsActivist

It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.

In other words, it's OK to flame someone on a mailing list or in a blog as long as you do it under your real name. Thank Congress for small favors, I guess.

This ridiculous prohibition, which would likely imperil much of Usenet, is buried in the so-called Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. Criminal penalties include stiff fines and two years in prison.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: annoy; annoying; bush43; darkshearesfault; internet; pests; rino; rkbascornsthislaw
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To: dead
oooooooooo... me tooo!!!

141 posted on 01/09/2006 10:00:18 AM PST by Chode (American Hedonist ©®)
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To: MensRightsActivist

Up against the keyboard. You're all under arrest.


142 posted on 01/09/2006 10:00:35 AM PST by Glenn (What I've dared, I've willed; and what I've willed, I'll do!)
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To: MensRightsActivist

I've now legally changed my name to "Nevergore" so poopy on all of you.......


143 posted on 01/09/2006 10:02:38 AM PST by nevergore (“It could be that the purpose of my life is simply to serve as a warning to others.”)
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To: VoiceOfBruck
Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Image hosted by Photobucket.com
144 posted on 01/09/2006 10:02:55 AM PST by PaulaB
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To: MensRightsActivist

Uh oh, I'm going to have the FBI on me...:)

You swine. You vulgar little maggot. You worthless bag of filth. As we say in Texas, I'll bet you couldn't pour p!ss out of a boot with instructions on the heel.

You are a canker. A sore that won't go away. I would rather kiss a lawyer than be seen with you. You're a putrescent mass, a walking vomit. You are a spineless little worm deserving nothing but the profoundest contempt. You are a jerk, a cad, a weasel. Your life is a monument to stupidity. You are a stench, a revulsion, a big suck on a sour lemon.

You are a bleating foal, a curdled staggering mutant dwarf smeared richly with the effluvia and offal accompanying your alleged birth into this world. An insensate, blinking calf, meaningful to nobody, abandoned by the puke-drooling, giggling beasts who sired you and then killed themselves in recognition of what they had done. I will never get over the embarrassment of belonging to the same species as you. You are a monster, an ogre, a malformity. I barf at the very thought of you.

You have all the appeal of a paper cut. Lepers avoid you. You are vile, worthless, less than nothing. You are a weed, a fungus, the dregs of this earth. And did I mention you smell? Try to edit your responses of unnecessary material before attempting to impress us with your insight. The evidence that you are a nincompoop will still be available to readers, but they will be able to access it more rapidly.

You snail-skulled little rabbit. Would that a hawk pick you up, drive its beak into your brain, and upon finding it rancid set you loose to fly briefly before spattering the ocean rocks with the frothy pink shame of your ignoble blood.

May you choke on the queasy, convulsing nausea of your own trite, foolish beliefs. You are weary, stale, flat and unprofitable. You are grimy, squalid, nasty and profane. You are foul and disgusting. You're a fool, an ignoramus. Monkeys look down on you. Even sheep won't have sex with you.

You are unreservedly pathetic, starved for attention, and lost in a land that reality forgot. And what meaning do you expect your delusionally self-important statements of unknowing, inexperienced opinion to have with us? What fantasy do you hold that you would believe that your tiny-fisted tantrums would have more weight than that of a leprous desert rat, spinning rabidly in a circle, waiting for the bite of the snake?

You are a waste of flesh. You have no rhythm. You are ridiculous and obnoxious. You are the moral equivalent of a leech. You are a living emptiness, a meaningless void. You are sour and senile. You are a disease, you puerile, one-handed, slack-jawed, drooling, meatslapper. On a good day you're a half-wit. You remind me of drool.

You are deficient in all that lends character. You have the personality of wallpaper. You are dank and filthy. You are asinine and benighted. You are the source of all unpleasantness. You spread misery and sorrow wherever you go. You smarmy lagerlout git. You bloody woofter sod. Bugger off, pillock. You grotty wanking oik artless base-court apple-john. You clouted boggish foot-licking twit. You dankish clack-dish plonker. You gormless crook-pated tosser. You churlish boil-brained clotpole ponce. You cockered bum-bailey poofter. You craven dewberry pisshead cockup pratting naff. You gob-kissing gleeking flap-mouthed coxcomb. You dread-bolted fobbing beef-witted clapper-clawed flirt-gill.

You are a fiend and a coward, and you have bad breath. You are degenerate, noxious and depraved. I feel debased just for knowing you exist. I despise everything about you, and I wish you would go away.

I cannot believe how incredibly stupid you are. I mean rock-hard stupid. Dehydrated-rock-hard stupid. Stupid, so stupid it goes way beyond the stupid we know into a whole different dimension of stupid. You are trans-stupid stupid. Meta-stupid. Stupid collapsed on itself so far that even the neutrons have collapsed. Stupid gotten so dense that no intellect can escape. Singularity stupid. Blazing hot mid-day sun on Mercury stupid. You emit more stupid in one second than our entire galaxy emits in a year. Quasar stupid. Your writing has to be a troll. Nothing in our universe can really be this stupid. Perhaps this is some primordial fragment from the original big bang of stupid. Some pure essence of a stupid so uncontaminated by anything else as to be beyond the laws of physics that we know. I'm sorry. I can't go on. This is an epiphany of stupid for me.

After this, you may not hear from me again for a while. I don't have enough strength left to deride your ignorant questions and half baked comments about unimportant trivia, or any of the rest of this drivel. Duh. The only thing worse than your logic is your manners. I have snipped away most of what you wrote, because, well... it didn't really say anything.

Your attempt at constructing a creative post was pitiful. I mean, really, stringing together a bunch of insults among a load of babbling was hardly effective... Maybe later in life, after you have learned to read, write, spell, and count, you will have more success. True, these are rudimentary skills that many of us "normal" people take for granted that everyone has an easy time of mastering. But we sometimes forget that there are "challenged" persons in this world who find these things more difficult. If I had known, that this was your case then I would have never read your post. It just wouldn't have been "right". Sort of like parking in a handicap space. I wish you the best of luck in the emotional, and social struggles that seem to be placing such a demand on you.


145 posted on 01/09/2006 10:05:41 AM PST by WinOne4TheGipper (When in Rome, yell and complain until Romans do what you want them to do. If that fails, sue.)
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To: Flightdeck

I hope there's no grandfather clause, considering some of the conversations I've had here on FR

Dude you made my day. That is so funny! I hope so too.


146 posted on 01/09/2006 10:06:56 AM PST by napscoordinator
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To: Hank Rearden

OK, I won't file charges on you if you won't file them on me. BTW, Microsoft sucks.


147 posted on 01/09/2006 10:06:57 AM PST by Richard Kimball (How bout them Longhorns?)
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To: MensRightsActivist

Oh, boy. I can't wait to "Report Abuse" now. I'll get even with all the mean Freepers who hurt my feelings.


148 posted on 01/09/2006 10:10:53 AM PST by Rocky (Air America: Robbing the poor to feed the Left)
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To: Richard Kimball
OK, I won't file charges on you if you won't file them on me. BTW, Microsoft sucks.

Well, we use real names, so we're safe from another Bush attack, for now. And Apple blows.

149 posted on 01/09/2006 10:10:57 AM PST by Hank Rearden (Never allow anyone who could only get a government job attempt to tell you how to run your life.)
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To: Publius6961

No. I'm secretly Martin Fiero, but that name was already taken. Very annoying!


150 posted on 01/09/2006 10:13:45 AM PST by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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To: SlowBoat407

Annoying messages? That covers most of my posts


151 posted on 01/09/2006 10:15:25 AM PST by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: MensRightsActivist

Related thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1554710/posts
Create an e-annoyance, go to jail


152 posted on 01/09/2006 10:15:33 AM PST by Calpernia (Breederville.com)
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To: MensRightsActivist
Scroll way down; I changed the CA 1934 the way I think the new law requires.

SEC. 223. [47 U.S.C. 223] OBSCENE OR HARASSING TELEPHONE

CALLS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OR IN INTERSTATE OR

FOREIGN COMMUNICATIONS.

(a) Whoever--

(1) in interstate or foreign communications--

(A) by means of a telecommunications device knowingly--

(i) makes, creates, or solicits, and

(ii) initiates the transmission of,

any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or

other communication which is obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or

indecent, with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass another

person;

(B) by means of a telecommunications device knowingly--

(i) makes, creates, or solicits, and

(ii) initiates the transmission of,

any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or

other communication which is obscene or indecent, knowing that

the recipient of the communication is under 18 years of age,

regardless of whether the maker of such communication placed the

call or initiated the communication;

(C) makes a telephone call or utilizes a telecommunications

device, whether or not conversation or communication ensues,

without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse,

threaten, or harass any person at the called number or who receives

the communications;

(D) makes or causes the telephone of another repeatedly or

continuously to ring, with intent to harass any person at the called

number; or

(E) makes repeated telephone calls or repeatedly initiates

communication with a telecommunications device, during which

conversation or communication ensues, solely to harass any person

at the called number or who receives the communication; or

(2) knowingly permits any telecommunications facility under his

control to be used for any activity prohibited by paragraph (1) with the

intent that it be used for such activity,

shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more

than two years, or both.

(b)(1) Whoever knowingly--

(A) within the United States, by means of telephone, makes

(directly or by recording device) any obscene communication for

commercial purposes to any person, regardless of whether the maker of

such communication placed the call; or

(B) permits any telephone facility under such person's control to be

used for an activity prohibited by subparagraph (A),

shall be fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code, or

imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

(2) Whoever knowingly--

(A) within the United States, by means of telephone, makes

(directly or by recording device) any indecent communication for

commercial purposes which is available to any person under 18 years of

age or to any other person without that person's consent, regardless of

whether the maker of such communication placed the call; or

(B) permits any telephone facility under such person's control to be

used for an activity prohibited by subparagraph (A), shall be fined not more

than $50,000 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

(3) It is a defense to prosecution under paragraph (2) of this subsection

that the defendant restricted access to the prohibited communication to persons 18

years of age or older in accordance with subsection (c) of this section and with

such procedures as the Commission may prescribe by regulation.

(4) In addition to the penalties under paragraph (1), whoever, within the

United States, intentionally violates paragraph (1) or (2) shall be subject to a fine

of not more than $50,000 for each violation. For purposes of this paragraph, each

day of violation shall constitute a separate violation.

(5)(A) In addition to the penalties under paragraphs (1), (2), and (5),

whoever, within the United States, violates paragraph (1) or (2) shall be subject to

a civil fine of not more than $50,000 for each violation. For purposes of this

paragraph, each day of violation shall constitute a separate violation.

(B) A fine under this paragraph may be assessed either--

(i) by a court, pursuant to civil action by the Commission or any

attorney employed by the Commission who is designated by the

Commission for such purposes, or

(ii) by the Commission after appropriate administrative

proceedings.

(6) The Attorney General may bring a suit in the appropriate district court

of the United States to enjoin any act or practice which violates paragraph (1) or

(2). An injunction may be granted in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure.

(c)(1) A common carrier within the District of Columbia or within any

State, or in interstate or foreign commerce, shall not, to the extent technically

feasible, provide access to a communication specified in subsection (b) from the

telephone of any subscriber who has not previously requested in writing the carrier

to provide access to such communication if the carrier collects from subscribers an

identifiable charge for such communication that the carrier remits, in whole or in

part, to the provider of such commuication.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), no cause of action may be brought

in any court or administrative agency against any common carrier, or any of its

affiliates, including their officers, directors, employees, agents, or authorized

representatives on account of--

(A) any action which the carrier demonstrates was taken in good

faith to restrict access pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection; or

(B) any access permitted--

(i) in good faith reliance upon the lack of any representation

by a provider of communciations that communications provided by

that provider are communications specified in subsection (b), or

(ii) because a specific representation by the provider did not

allow the carrier, acting in good faith, a sufficient period to restrict

access to communications described in subsection (b).

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of this subsection, a provider of

communications services to which subscribers are denied access pursuant to

paragraph (1) of this subsection may bring an action for a declaratory judgment or

similar action in a court. Any such action shall be limited to the question of

whether the communications which the provider seeks to provide fall within the

category of communications to which the carrier will provide access only to

subscribers who have previously requested such access.

(d) Whoever--

(1) in interstate or foreign communications knowingly--

(A) uses an interactive computer service to send to a

specific person or persons under 18 years of age, or

(B) uses any interactive computer service to display in a

manner available to a person under 18 years of age,

any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other

communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently

offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or

excretory activities or organs, regardless of whether the user of such

service placed the call or initiated the communication; or

(2) knowingly permits any telecommunications facility under such

person's control to be used for an activity prohibited by paragraph (1) with

the intent that it be used for such activity,

shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more

than two years, or both.

(e) In addition to any other defenses available by law:

(1) No person shall be held to have violated subsection (a) or (d)

solely for providing access or connection to or from a facility, system, or

network not under that person's control, including transmission,

downloading, intermediate storage, access software, or other related

capabilities that are incidental to providing such access or connection that

does not include the creation of the content of the communication.

(2) The defenses provided by paragraph (1) of this subsection shall

not be applicable to a person who is a conspirator with an entity actively

involved in the creation or knowing distribution of communications that

violate this section, or who knowingly advertises the availability of such

communications.

(3) The defenses provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall

not be applicable to a person who provides access or connection to a

facility, system, or network engaged in the violation of this section that is

owned or controlled by such person.

(4) No employer shall be held liable under this section for the

actions of an employee or agent unless the employee's or agent's conduct is

within the scope of his or her employment or agency and the employer (A)

having knowledge of such conduct, authorizes or ratifies such conduct, or

(B) recklessly disregards such conduct.

(5) It is a defense to a prosecution under subsection (a)(1)(B) or

(d), or under subsection (a)(2) with respect to the use of a facility for an

activity under subsection (a)(1)(B) that a person--

(A) has taken, in good faith, reasonable, effective, and

appropriate actions under the circumstances to restrict or prevent

access by minors to a communication specified in such subsections,

which may involve any appropriate measures to restrict minors

from such communications, including any method which is feasible

under available technology; or

(B) has restricted access to such communication by

requiring use of a verified credit card, debit account, adult access

code, or adult personal identification number.

(6) The Commission may describe measures which are reasonable,

effective, and appropriate to restrict access to prohibited communications

under subsection (d). Nothing in this section authorizes the Commission to

enforce, or is intended to provide the Commission with the authority to

approve, sanction, or permit, the use of such measures. The Commission

shall have no enforcement authority over the failure to utilize such

measures. The Commission shall not endorse specific products relating to

such measures. The use of such measures shall be admitted as evidence of

good faith efforts for purposes of paragraph (5) in any action arising under

subsection (d). Nothing in this section shall be construed to treat interactive

computer services as common carriers or telecommunications carriers.

(f)(1) No cause of action may be brought in any court or administrative

agency against any person on account of any activity that is not in violation of any

law punishable by criminal or civil penalty, and that the person has taken in good

faith to implement a defense authorized under this section or otherwise to restrict

or prevent the transmission of, or access to, a communication specified in this

section.

(2) No State or local government may impose any liability for commercial

activities or actions by commercial entities, nonprofit libraries, or institutions of

higher education in connection with an activity or action described in subsection

(a)(2) or (d) that is inconsistent with the treatment of those activities or actions

under this section: Provided, however, That nothing herein shall preclude any State

or local government from enacting and enforcing complementary oversight,

liability, and regulatory systems, procedures, and requirements, so long as such

systems, procedures, and requirements govern only intrastate services and do not

result in the imposition of inconsistent rights, duties or obligations on the provision

of interstate services. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude any State or local

government from governing conduct not covered by this section.

(g) Nothing in subsection (a), (d), (e), or (f) or in the defenses to

prosecution under subsection (a) or (d) shall be construed to affect or limit the

application or enforcement of any other Federal law.


(h) For purposes of this section--

(1) The use of the term ''telecommunications device'' in this section-

(A) shall not impose new obligations on broadcasting

station licensees and cable operators covered by obscenity and

indecency provisions elsewhere in this Act; and

(B) does not include an interactive computer service.; and

(C) in the case of subparagraph (C) of subsection (a)(1), includes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet (as such term is defined in section 1104 of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (47 U.S.C. 151 note)).

(2) The term ''interactive computer service'' has the meaning

provided in section 230(e)(2).

(3) The term ''access software'' means software (including client or

server software) or enabling tools that do not create or provide the content

of the communication but that allow a user to do any one or more of the

following:

(A) filter, screen, allow, or disallow content;

(B) pick, choose, analyze, or digest content; or

(C) transmit, receive, display, forward, cache, search,

subset, organize, reorganize, or translate content.

(4) The term ''institution of higher education'' has the meaning

provided in section 1201 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

1141).

(5) The term ''library'' means a library eligible for participation in

State-based plans for funds under title III of the Library Services and

Construction Act (20 U.S.C. 355e et seq.).

153 posted on 01/09/2006 10:16:50 AM PST by DBrow
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To: MensRightsActivist
I think I will reregister under my legal name, because annoying the piss outta some people is the whole reason for the internet.

So9

154 posted on 01/09/2006 10:17:51 AM PST by Servant of the 9 (Trust Me)
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To: MensRightsActivist
To grease the rails for this idea, Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, and the section's other sponsors slipped it into an unrelated, must-pass bill to fund the Department of Justice. The plan: to make it politically infeasible for politicians to oppose the measure.

Specter. It figures. We ought to tie a bell on that sneaky bastard.

155 posted on 01/09/2006 10:18:50 AM PST by lowbridge (All that is needed for evil to triumph is for "RINOS" to do something)
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To: ANGGAPO

"The bill is sponsored yo the Democrats no doubt."

And signed by Bush, the sometimes conservative.


156 posted on 01/09/2006 10:19:56 AM PST by webstersII
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To: Cboldt

President Bush was FINALLY going to use the VETO on this bill, but when he went to sign his name, it had gone dry. Damn, better luck next time......


157 posted on 01/09/2006 10:20:58 AM PST by napscoordinator
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To: paul51
Annoying messages? That covers most of my posts

If my posts aren't annoying someone, I'm just not trying hard enough. lol.
158 posted on 01/09/2006 10:21:33 AM PST by TomGuy
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To: The Lumster
To grease the rails for this idea, Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, and the section's other sponsors slipped it into an unrelated, must-pass bill to fund the Department of Justice. The plan: to make it politically infeasible for politicians to oppose the measure. It seems politicians of all stripes hate free speech

Well folks no body can blame this or for that matter any other sorry piece of law written since 1995 solely on the DEMs that dog don't hunt anymore. The GOP holds both houses. The remedy to this is simple. A prohibition on attaching rider bills to any unrelated legislation. In other words make the sorry scum in both parties using this type of back door tyranny pass all laws or most laws one bill at a time. This should be the case for all legislation. Granted fewer bills would get passed but I fail to see a down side to that either.

159 posted on 01/09/2006 10:22:39 AM PST by cva66snipe
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To: DBrow

I doubt the law uses the word "annoy." Just doesn't sound very legal. Harass, maybe.


160 posted on 01/09/2006 10:22:45 AM PST by Restorer
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