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Bill to Treat Bloggers as Lobbyists Defeated
Lawrence Person writes "The attempt to require political bloggers to register as lobbyists previously reported by Slashdot has been stripped out of the lobbying reform bill. The vote was 55 to 43 to defeat the provision. All 48 Republicans, as well as 7 Democrats, voted against requiring bloggers to register; all 43 votes in favor of keeping the registration provision were by Democrats."
Freedom is still freedom. In this case I think freedom of the press applies.
Who wants to jail abortion protestors?
Who wants to stop churches from speaking out against lifestyles they find destructive?
Who wants to limit the freedom of pastors? Of street preachers ?
It's the "liberals". Now, granted these are a bit extreme and you may NOT agree with everything but dammit, they have a right (provided they don't blow up anything).
I didn't know Rush Limbaugh knew how to post on slashdot. Exactly why computers should be more difficult to use: keep the retards off.
No, not a Democratic rat, but a neo-GOP rat. [How many of you know about the neo-GOP marching orders not to use the proper adjectival form for the Democratic Party?] Of course it's difficult to penetrate the veil of secrecy around the neo-GOP, but all of them going one way on any real issue clearly says that directions came from on high.
Why? Well, first guess time. How many bloggers could you hire for a million bucks? Hey, a million bucks here, a million bucks there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money a la neo-GOP-style campaigning--the only asset the neo-GOP has left now that McCain has joined (and chucked his principles) and Colin Powell has basically defected (apparently wedged by his).
Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
Mod comment up please! Not everyone here is a sheep er.. I mean Democrat.
It wasn't about astroturfing. If you communicated to 500 or more members of the public, you had to register or face jail time. It was an attempt to minimize incumbent criticism and bolster a shaky Democratic party going into 2008.
"Sufferin' succotash."
Piss off.
Perhaps its because political speech is all about lies. If they weren't registered, who's to say that they couldn't actually held liable for the libel and slander they spread?
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
Well Air America went down on flames. Time magazine laid off a couple hundred people. The Today show is in the dumps. Katie Couric is losing ground. Fake Memos cost CBS. The New York Times shareholders know Punch Sulzberger is killing the paper. The liberal media landscape resonates with failure all around - but they won't change. Instead they want to silence people who oppose them - or at least demand they automatically get equal time. These are the same people trying to force homo marriage on us and supporting Al Qeada. Democrat Party is no longer the party of Roosevelt. They are scum who would see your kid get blown up if they can get their agenda.
I'm sorry, you think NBC and NPR are examples of extreme liberalism?
Your extreme conservatives call for the DEATH of gays, judges, and whoever else they do not like.
I haven't heard NPR call for the death of any leading republican figures.
Too bad, the world would be a better place without so many neo-con arse holes around.
Need help treating your acne? Come here!
You join the Republican party if you think working people should be able to become rich, successful, or find happiness.
You join the Democrat party if you think working people should stay poor wards of the State.
So the Democrats position was to shut down a majority of people that critisize them? How do you consider this ethical? Whats next out lawing talk radio because their programming flopped in that median too?
Free speech ought to remain free and absolute in the political arena.
These restrictions were simply a way to silence critics by taking away their freedom of speech. There are plenty of justifications, but they all basically amount to "it only restricts people we don't like and it will give us an advantage".
You appear to not be aware of this, but Conservative sites are largely funded by Mellon-Scaife, Koch and other sugar daddies working through "grassroots organizations". Not advertising. PajamasMedia was an attempt to follow the model created by the BlogAds used on the liberal sites, and while it has had some limited success it doesn't generate near the revenue for the sites.
Anyway, that's what this bill was about. Trying to force conservative blogs out of the closet and admit who they were getting paid by. It's too bad it failed, as that sunshine would have been quite enlightenining to people who have been hiding in the closet for so long.
Anyway, I just always thought it funny that conservative blogs rely on a communist economic model, and liberal blogs are largely funded through free market operations.
With all the whining we hear from liberals about how Republicans are a bunch of fascists, the Patriot Act, yadda yadda yadda, it's nice to finally see liberal Democrats reveal themselves as the real fascists. Democrats, now that they are incontrol of Congress need Big Government measures to keep tabs on the political opposition, just like any good fascist political party would.
The opinions of this go round and round. Whether paid or not,ones opinion in print is still their speech and not to be tampered with,this includes talk show hosts.Whether an audience of one or one million,it only matters to the party who doesn't want their faults exposed.DEMOCRATS.
I don't miss for a second that the vote for this was unanimously Democrat.I certainly won't have it as some glossed over factoid minutia either.The Democrats are here to relieve us of our rights over their desire to bring us to socialism,political correctness and white guilt over the U.S. being generally rich and sucessful.This is just another example of it and I won't buy any apologist bullcrap for Pro-Dem!
I will even reprint in this forum a funny yet ironicaly accurate email that I will share for the sake of those who sympathize and those who it will offend in a politically incorrect manner.
The Democrats new promise "A New Direction For America"
The stock market is at a new all-time high and America 's 401K's are back.
A new direction from there means, what?
Unemployment is at 25 year lows.
A new direction from there means, what?
Oil prices are plummeting.
A new direction from there means, what?
Taxes are at 20 year lows.
A new direction from there means, what?
Federal tax revenues are at all-time highs.
A new direction from there means, what?
The Federal deficit is down almost 50%, just as predicted over last year.
A new direction from there means. what?
Home valuations are up 200% over the past 3.5 years.
A new direction from there means, what?
Inflation is in check, hovering at 20 year lows.
A new direction from there means, what?
Not a single terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11/01.
A new direction from there means, what?
Osama bin Laden is living under a rock in a dark cave, having not surfaced
in years, if he's alive at all, while 95% of Al Queda's top dogs are either dead
or in custody, cooperating with US Intel.
A new direction from there means, what?
Several major terrorist attacks already thwarted by US and British Intel,
including the recent planned attack involving 10 Jumbo Jets being exploded in mid-air over major US cities in order to celebrate the anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks.
A new direction from there means, what?
Just as President Bush foretold us on a number of occasions, Iraq was to be made "ground zero" for the war on terrorism -- and just as President Bush said they would, terrorist cells from all over the region are arriving from the
shadows of their hiding places and flooding into Iraq in order to get their faces blown off by US Marines rather than boarding planes and heading to the United States to wage war on us here.
A new direction from there means, what?
Now let me see, do I have this right? I can expect:
The economy to go South
Illegals to go North
Taxes to go Up
Employment to go Down
Terrorism to come In
Tax breaks to go Out
Social Security to go Away
Health Care to go the same way gas prices have gone
But what the heck!
I can gain comfort by knowing that Nancy P, Hillary C, John K, Edward K, Howard D, Harry R and Obama have worked hard to create a comprehensive National Security Plan, Health Care Plan, Immigration Reform Plan, Gay Rights Plan, Same Sex Marriage Plan, Abortion On Demand Plan, Tolerance of Everyone and Everything Plan, How to Return all Troops to the U.S. in The Next Six Months Plan, A Get Tough Plan, adapted from the French Plan by the same name and a How Everyone Can Become as Wealthy as We Are Plan.
I forgot the No More Katrina Storm Plan.
Now I know why I feel good after the elections. I am going to be able to sleep so much better at nights knowing these dedicated politicians are thinking of me and my welfare.
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
The GOP (Grand Old Party, a nickname for the Republican Party) is thought of as a "conservative" party. However, the top ranks of the GOP nowadays are full of neoconservatives. So if the party of conservatives is called the GOP, then why can't the party of neoconservatives be called the neo-GOP? At least it's better than calling them neo-con artists.
This one we squeaked by on. What is with the Democrat's? Do they not get freedom or that their power or the government having control is not what is really important? Perhaps the people will learn this time that neither party is their friend or to be trusted. Maybe. If we have the memory of a grasshopper.