Blogs have proven to be a serious threat to the Empire’s status quo. So much so that the Empire is striking back with yet another naked power grab. The Beltway Bandits want to limit your political speech on the Internet, even on your own website! Read the dispatch below and pass it on to your friends and associates on the Internet.

D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h

|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|

Please forward to friends who value free speech on
the Internet.

Last week, FEC Commissioner Brad Smith fired the shot
heard round the Internet. He said political activity
on the Internet is likely to be regulated. Smith
opposes this notion because he believes it’s
unconstitutional. He was engaging in whistle-blowing.

His opponents are accusing him of “misleading” or
being an “alarmist.” But this is not a hoax.

A federal judge has specifically ordered the Federal
Election Commission to regulate political activity on
the Internet. These new regulations must comply with
other regulations on political activity established
by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA).

This means YOU could be subject to regulation. You
might trigger these regulations by…

* Forwarding a campaign press release using
email.
* Printing a campaign press release on your
website.
* Posting a campaign ad on your blog.
* Linking to a candidate’s website from your home
page.

But websites and email lists tied to established
corporate media institutions are exempt from these
regulations. The New York Times’ website is free from
regulation, but your website and email communications
will not be.

All of this is a consequence of BCRA, a law that
protects incumbent office holders from criticism, and
privileges the established corporate news media with
full speech and press rights that you no longer
enjoy.

Please go to www.DownsizeDC.org right now, click on
the link under the headline “Save Our Blogs,” read a
short explanation of how this has all come about, and
then use the easy Electronic Lobbyist System to send
a message to Congress asking them to repeal BCRA and
restore your freedom of the press.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org

|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|

D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of
http://www.DownsizeDC.org

Fight the power! Don’t let Da Man keep you down! Let’s take Ameedica back!

To conveniently email this dispatch, click the cute little envelope below.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 9th, 2005 at 9:02 pm and is filed under Gubmint. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Or, you can jump to the homepage.