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I'm ticked at my bank, any phone menu system, auto dialers which say "Please stand by", news of how the rich get richer, George Lucas withholding on DVD, the people who own Dubya and the morons who discontinue (or change/ruin) some food as soon as I find I like it.

The best method of rebellion isn't tattoos or piercings, it's not to support them. Take your dollar-votes somewhere else. Put economic Darwinisim into action. ;-)

Vote Naked 2000

'scuse me;
When Shrub said this, he was speaking in reference to a satirical website about him. Junior is notoriously thin-skinned and really believes that sites like this one should be censored. I'll take anarchy over fascism any day.

Don't vote for George W. "The ought to be limits to freedom" Bush, either, if you're worried about censorship...

Has everyone forgotten about Dubya (as those of us who have had to suffer through his gubernatorial tenure here in Texas refer to the twit) and his attempt to shut down GWBush.com for their parody of him?

He tried to have the FEC require GWBush.com to declare themselves as a PAC because they were "influencing the election." This would put all kinds of bureaucratic red tape on the site's ability to exercise freedom of speech in the face of having to meet the legal requirements of becoming a PAC.

Hm...couldn't this apply to any political site?

"There Ought to be Limits to Freedom!" --George W Bush (at a Press conference at the Texas State House, May 21, 1999. Speaking about GWBush.com)

Now, what would keep him from trying to pull this shit while in office? Who's really going to stop him?

Furthermore, do you really think that the Philadelphia police just decided on their own to arrest protestors and make it impossible for them to make bail by the end of the convention? No, I don't think the GOP convention leaders influenced them at ALL, do you?

Even if you're not thrilled with Al, do you really think that technology will be better off under Bush?

If you do, you're just not paying any attention at all.

Don't forget www.gwbush.com. At least they got George-dubya to say "there ought to be limits to freedom."

Considering that the current Supreme Court has taken an absolutist position on free speech, especially regarding political speech, I suspect that even the peta.org decision would be overturned on appeal.

1. Internal pressure:Let's face it - DOJ officials like Joel Klein serve at the pleasure of the attorney general, who in turn serves at the pleasure of the president. Think of the types George Dubya would appoint; neoconservative corporate-welfare lovers with contempt for antitrust law and consumer rights & market efficiency (imagine Ed Meese getting another shot as AG...ugh!). I can just see George Dubya's DOJ settling for a piddling little remedy that doesn't hinder Micro$oft's monopoly power one bit.
2. Appeals:Of course, Micro$oft will appeal any unfavorable remedy all the way to the supreme court. It's already an extremely conservative body with contempt for antitrust law, and the next president will get 3 or more appointments.

And remember - Dubya's the one who gave us the campaign rallying cry - "There ought to be limits to freedom!" in response to a parody website. (The site's http://www.gwbush.com).)

G.W. Junior ("Shrub") said that in reference to gwbush.com, a satirical web site that broadly made fun of "Shrub's" vapidity, rumors about his "youthful" cocaine use, etc. "Shrub" doesn't believe that the First Amendment covers making fun of him on a web site. He feels political commentary is going too far. What an airhead.

Yours WDK - WKiernan@concentric.net

Personally I think common sense should come in to play here: an individual is usually nither the press nor a corporation, and should not have the same protections/restrictions. And the internet shouldn't be allowed to become some political advertising free-for-all, lest we all be spammed with banner ads proclaiming "Vote Gore!" or pop-up windows advising us, "Get tough on Internet Porn with CyberCop and George W. Bush!". Oh, the humanity!

I found some links to articles on this... Lycos News.. And also here. There was some discussion on Lycos' message boards. Then there is some info on one of the anti-Bush sites. He must not have succeeded. The most famous site is still up and now linked to a number of anti-bush sites.

Satire is protected speech. I don't think that asking for a contribution makes gwbush.com a political action site any more than the Times is for asking you to buy a subscription to their newspaper, which openly endorses candidates.

Nevertheless, Bush's team will make every effort to wear Exley down using every questionable--but still legal--tactic available.

That's the real terror: that all you need to do to get your way against a not-as-rich-as-you person is to sic lawyers on them to the point that they must either capitulate or become bankrupt. I think he'll soon find some soft money in the form of pro bono legal representation against Exley. Maybe Exley's payme-link should point to his legal defense fund.

--

IMHO, Congress, as individuals, are scared to death about doing anything adverse to the open 'standards' of the net. If there is one thing congress understands, it's backlash. They know about www.gwbush.com, The Drudge Report, the death of DIVX, the death of the Communications Decency Act, and other movements that have been powered, at least in part, by the net. Congress is still trying to grasp what the net is all about, and until they think they figure that out, they will most likely keep their paws off of it.

Of course, I'm probably wrong.

Trust no one... Especially if they're trying to get elected.

(offtopic, I know, but in answer to a direct question...)

Is this really someone you want to be in charge of the country? Do you really think he'll favor the rights of Internet users over law enforcement? Don't fool yourself.

Here's the details. I'm very surprised we didn't see anything about this on Slashdot.

Until recently, I knew almost nothing about George Bush Jr. I must say, the more I see, the more I think he's only popular because people don't know anything about him. Scary-- anti-choice, homophobic, pro-corporate in just about everything. If anyone knows anything good about him, please let us know.

Don't forget about third parties! There's lots more candidates than just the Republicrats.

Is this really someone you want to be in charge of the country? Do you really think he'll favor the rights of Internet users over law enforcement? Don't fool yourself.

Here's the details. I'm very surprised we didn't see anything about this on Slashdot.

Until recently, I knew almost nothing about George Bush Jr. I must say, the more I see, the more I think he's only popular because people don't know anything about him. Scary-- anti-choice, homophobic, pro-corporate in just about everything. If anyone knows anything good about him, please let us know.

Don't forget about third parties! There's lots more candidates than just the Republicrats.