Freedom of press concerns
Welcome to everyone who has found this blog via Commonwealth Conservative. This is my first big link from another website, and I hope I can prove the worth of that mention. With that (and my workload finally getting back to normal), I move into something that is quite disconcerting.
About a week ago, Michelle Malkin covered the recent corruption scandal in Canada. If you haven't heard about it, then don't feel bad. Few people have. Canada has placed a publication ban on this scandal, making it illegal to print anything about it in Canada. Fortunately, Captain Ed at Captain's Quarters has been covering it recently, and as he is not living in Canada, is not under the jurisdiction of this ban. While I still can't say I know many details about it, what is really problematic is this assault on free press and free speech.
I also can't say I know much about these freedoms in Canada, but knowing that Canada can ban coverage on any topic they feel should be a concern to everyone. I'm not always a fan of media feeding frenzies, but there appears to be a real concern here. Just imagine if Whitewater, Monica Lewinsky, or Kerry's questionable service in Vietnam had publication bans placed on them. Right now, most of the coverage is in blogs, though those written in Canada are at risk of facing legal action.
Now, how does this apply to the rest of us? Simple, blog regulation. Already, Canada has shown that they will not hesitate to restrict blogs, and recently, San Fransisco threatened the same.
Simply put, those of us who have found a way to express our opinions online could soon face taxes on our blogs, rules on what we could talk about, and nothing less than a pure infringement on our First Amendment rights. For these reason, I would encourage any of you with blogs to go to the Online Coalition. The blogs on this list are greatly varied, including anyone from Michelle Malkin to Markos Moulitsas (leftist blogger famous for The Daily Kos), so I believe there is little doubt that this is valid concern.
I would also encourage you all to keep up with the scandal in Canada. We need to show them that their infringement on a basic right will not go unchallenged.
Update 11:30 PM: After finally going through and looking over some of the Adscam scandal, I have found that the ban has been lifted. This does not excuse the government for covering it up, or getting into this problem in the first place (including possibly the former Prime Minster as well).
About a week ago, Michelle Malkin covered the recent corruption scandal in Canada. If you haven't heard about it, then don't feel bad. Few people have. Canada has placed a publication ban on this scandal, making it illegal to print anything about it in Canada. Fortunately, Captain Ed at Captain's Quarters has been covering it recently, and as he is not living in Canada, is not under the jurisdiction of this ban. While I still can't say I know many details about it, what is really problematic is this assault on free press and free speech.
I also can't say I know much about these freedoms in Canada, but knowing that Canada can ban coverage on any topic they feel should be a concern to everyone. I'm not always a fan of media feeding frenzies, but there appears to be a real concern here. Just imagine if Whitewater, Monica Lewinsky, or Kerry's questionable service in Vietnam had publication bans placed on them. Right now, most of the coverage is in blogs, though those written in Canada are at risk of facing legal action.
Now, how does this apply to the rest of us? Simple, blog regulation. Already, Canada has shown that they will not hesitate to restrict blogs, and recently, San Fransisco threatened the same.
Simply put, those of us who have found a way to express our opinions online could soon face taxes on our blogs, rules on what we could talk about, and nothing less than a pure infringement on our First Amendment rights. For these reason, I would encourage any of you with blogs to go to the Online Coalition. The blogs on this list are greatly varied, including anyone from Michelle Malkin to Markos Moulitsas (leftist blogger famous for The Daily Kos), so I believe there is little doubt that this is valid concern.
I would also encourage you all to keep up with the scandal in Canada. We need to show them that their infringement on a basic right will not go unchallenged.
Update 11:30 PM: After finally going through and looking over some of the Adscam scandal, I have found that the ban has been lifted. This does not excuse the government for covering it up, or getting into this problem in the first place (including possibly the former Prime Minster as well).
posted by CR UVa at 10:18 PM
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