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Time for a muzzle (Should the government curb internet speech?)
Boston Globe ^ | February 16, 2009 | Drake Bennett

Posted on 02/16/2009 4:32:58 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia

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To: glorgau; steadfastconservative
The First Amendment protects political speech. ..... steadfastconservative

What's political? ..... glorgau

See Post 20.

Examples:

PROTECTED POLITICAL SPEECH Posted on Free Republic: "I oppose gay marriage and I contributed money to Proposition 8 - - - 17 posted on Sunday, February 15, 2009 10:45:29 PM by glorgau"

NON-PROTECTED SPEECH Posted at Gay Vigilantes: "A guy with the screen-name of glorgau has posted on Free Republic that he has financially supported Proposition 8. His real name is William Brown, he lives at 5732 E. 32 Street and here are Map Quest directions to his house. Our next club meeting will be on Thursrday, February 19 at 3:00 AM. Freddie, it is your turn to bring the Vaseline to our next Club meeting."

21 posted on 02/16/2009 5:38:44 AM PST by Polybius
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

It’s obvious that our current fascist government will soon get around to prosecuting people for their views, whether they are expressed in print, on picket signs, by standing in front of abortion clinics, or on websites.


22 posted on 02/16/2009 5:39:53 AM PST by Leftism is Mentally Deranged (liberalism = serious mental deficiency)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Isn’t eric schmidt already doing this? Test this for yourself. Go to google news and type in anything that should return a substantial number of results: Say...Soros, Indymac, Schumer. You would think a member of the Banking Committee causing a run on the bank just prior to the election would be news.


23 posted on 02/16/2009 5:56:50 AM PST by AJMCQ (Who is Khalid al-Mansour? You mean Obama didn't get into Harvard on his grades?)
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To: shezza

Who gets to decide?

Why, the moral and intellectual superiors that the left appoints.

And since they ARE morally superior, it never enters a good little sheep leftist’s mind that they might misuse the power that is entrusted to them.


24 posted on 02/16/2009 5:59:16 AM PST by MrB (The 0bamanation: Marxism, Infanticide, Appeasement, Depression, Thuggery, and Censorship)
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To: steadfastconservative

Actually, the First Amendment only protects pornography.
Political speech may be regulated at will by the government.

Thus sayeth the current climate in America.


25 posted on 02/16/2009 6:00:20 AM PST by MrB (The 0bamanation: Marxism, Infanticide, Appeasement, Depression, Thuggery, and Censorship)
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To: Polybius
...speech-friendly scholars see the potential for abuse. Jeffrey Rosen, a law professor at George Washington University who has written on privacy law, points out that in countries where websites can be held liable for user-generated content the law has been used to limit political speech: In Thailand, for example, YouTube was forced to block videos critical of the king.

There is a difference between "threatening emails and phone calls," which is against the law, and outlawing political speech or opinion. These people are talking about legally enforcing the "right" not to have your feelings hurt or to be offended. Did you not follow the recent freedom-of-speech case in Canada regarding Mark Steyn? The organization suing him claimed a 99% success rate in prosecuting people who offended Muslim.

People, at least for now, have the right to offer an opinion on any subject, be it calling Susie a tramp for stealing someone else's boyfriend (e.g., the Juicy Campus gossip website mentioned in the article) or exposing the abominations of an overreaching, corrupt administration. If it's left to that corrupt administration and its minions in the legal system to decide that hurtful comments, gossip, or opposition speech are harmful to the nation ("Fairness" Doctrine), all of society will be muzzled indeed.

26 posted on 02/16/2009 6:03:15 AM PST by shezza (A government that gives you everything you want can take away everything you have.)
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To: shezza
There is a difference between "threatening emails and phone calls," which is against the law, and outlawing political speech or opinion.

See Post 21.

The case specifically mentioned in the article deals with gay activists publishing the names, addresses and map directions of people that had supported Proposition 8 against gay marriage.

"Last month, someone posted a map showing the names, home locations, and occupations of thousands of people who gave money to support the passage of Proposition 8, the ballot initiative outlawing gay marriage in California. A number of these Proposition 8 supporters have since reported threatening e-mails and phone calls."

Why do I need your name, your address and exact directions on how to drive to your house in order to exercise my First Amendment rights regarding "political speech or opinion" over the Internet?

I don't. I only need your name, your address and exact directions on how to drive to your house in order to physically intimidate you or physically attack you.

How does the following, in any way shape or form constitute "political speech or opinion"?

Posted at Gay Vigilantes: "A guy with the screen-name of shezza has posted on Free Republic that he has financially supported Proposition 8. His real name is William Brown, he lives at 5732 E. 32 Street and here are Map Quest directions to his house. Our next club meeting will be on Thursrday, February 19 at 3:00 AM. Freddie, it is your turn to bring the Vaseline to our next Club meeting."

27 posted on 02/16/2009 6:17:40 AM PST by Polybius
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Hey Drake,

One of your colleagues in Tennessee published a list of CC permit holders and those folks think it might endanger them by targeting them for criminals. Seems like your notions cut both ways. If anything, maybe it’s print media that should be forced into a 50/50 balance. Whaddya think?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2186657/posts


28 posted on 02/16/2009 6:20:19 AM PST by WorkingClassFilth (Actually, it all started back in Mayberry. Helen Crump was a traveler and Floyd, well, you know...)
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To: nathanbedford
I see oligarchy as an intermediate step.

I think we're already there. Too many retreads from one administration to the next to argue otherwise. We've been left with the illusion of choice to preserve public order.
29 posted on 02/16/2009 7:01:28 AM PST by CowboyJay
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

You had to see this coming from these people. Censorship is good when it is against THEIR liberal indoctrination! They are everything they claim conservatives-Republicans are: racists, elitists, sexists, intolerant, and the attempted censorship is now starting. This is at the point where our military will have to turn their guns on these people because they are attempting a totalitarian state.


30 posted on 02/16/2009 7:30:32 AM PST by bushfamfan (United States of America: July 4, 1776-November 4, 2008)
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To: Thrownatbirth
In regards to this statement, what the hell ever happened to HIPAA?

I work in the electronic patient record business and we have some pretty tight mandatory FDA guidelines on this. Including the fact that we get a full anal probing called an audit every year. By an agent of the government.

31 posted on 02/16/2009 8:43:37 AM PST by ILikeBourbon
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To: Thrownatbirth
In regards to this statement, what the hell ever happened to HIPAA?

I work in the electronic patient record business and we have some pretty tight mandatory FDA guidelines on this. Including the fact that we get a full anal probing called an audit every year. By an agent of the government.

32 posted on 02/16/2009 12:56:18 PM PST by ILikeBourbon
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To: Polybius

As long as it’s not libelous, physically threatening, or an incitement to riot, there should be no restrictions.

It’s like Scott McNealy said - “You have zero privacy anyway, Get over it.”

I’d think think that for a few hundred bucks I could track down most anyone on this board. Probably a whole lot less.


33 posted on 02/16/2009 6:21:25 PM PST by glorgau
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To: 2111USMC

I’m not suggested that the government regulate the internet. I am saying that the same libel laws that apply to the print and broadcast media should also apply to the internet. People who publish in the print and broadcast media are free to say anything they want about politics, religion, etc. But they are not free to make libelous statements about private citizens without running the risk of being sued. The same thing should apply to people who post comments, pictures, articles on the internet. They should NOT be able to hide behind anonymity while trashing someone else’s reputation. Their own identities should be made public so that the people about whom they are writing can face them in court if they so choose.

This is not about limiting anyone’s free speech because free speech has NEVER included the right to libel or slander someone else.

BTW, I know someone whose life and reputation were ruined by online slander/gossip.


34 posted on 02/18/2009 5:06:23 AM PST by steadfastconservative
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