Earlier today the U.S. House of Representatives defeated a bill that would have excluded blogs and other Internet communications from government regulation by the Federal Election Commission. Meaning that as of now, blogging is an activity that falls under the purview of McCain-Feingold: that wretched, EVIL piece of legislation passed in 2002 as "campaign finance reform". For that alone, President Bush is damned as a betrayer of America. He signed this stupid thing, telling us "oh but it'll SURELY get overturned by the Supreme Court, trust me!" Instead the justices upheld McCain-Feingold. And now it's hanging over the one venue of ideas that until now has remained free and clear of government regulation: the blogosphere.
As a result of this bill's defeat today in Congress, The Knight Shift - and every other blog out there - is legally bound to adhere to whatever the #&$@ the courts decree is or is not "free speech".
Well, to hell with the courts. To hell with McCain-Feingold. To hell with Congress. To hell with Bush.
I'm almost tempted to say "to hell with anyone who actually voted for these clowns" too.
This is the kind of squelching of public discussion that happened under Joe Stalin, or the Nazi regime. Maybe not muzzled by force but certainly muzzled by the very laws that we are told are there to uphold and protect our freedoms.
I'm drawing the line here. And making a public declaration...
This blog is a virtual reflection of my persona. No one - and no government - makes the determination of who I am, or what I believe in. My writings here are an expression of my soul... and my soul yields to no man.
So I'm choosing to ignore any "regulation" by the federal government as to what I can and cannot say with my blog. If I endorse a candidate, that's my business. If I condemn a candidate, that's perfectly within my rights, for whatever reason I happen to believe. If I choose to use this site to actively campaign for someone (which hasn't happened yet, but it'll probably happen someday) then I'll do so, without regard to the Federal Election Commission.
This all probably sounds pretty reactionary. Maybe even paranoid. But bank on it: you will see a crackdown on political speech on personal blogs at some point in the future. I'm choosing to say something about this now, before it gets to that point.
I'll be sure to post any "cease and desist" notices that this blog receives for flaunting McCain-Feingold, if it happens. In the meantime, back to posting the usual...
(P.S.: I'm far from the only one who feels this way. Take a looksee at the growing insurrection.)
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