DCPolitics

Government Looks To Muzzle Free Speech

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION TARGETS POLITICAL SPEECH ON THE INTERNET By FITSNEWS || Political communication on the internet – including the article you are currently reading – could come under the purview of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) if the panel’s left-leaning members get their way. Late Friday, FEC vice chairwoman Ann…

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION TARGETS POLITICAL SPEECH ON THE INTERNET

By FITSNEWS || Political communication on the internet – including the article you are currently reading – could come under the purview of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) if the panel’s left-leaning members get their way.

Late Friday, FEC vice chairwoman Ann M. Ravel said her agency would begin the process of seeking new regulations against online political content – a.k.a. free speech.  Specifically, she referred to a planned “reexamination of the commission’s approach to the internet and other emerging technologies,” a reexamination she feels is “long over due.”

Since 2006, political speech on the internet – well, beyond paid ads – has been immune from FEC regulation.

Ravel’s gambit could change that, though …

“Since its inception this effort to protect individual bloggers and online commentators has been stretched to cover slickly-produced ads aired solely on the Internet but paid for by the same organizations and the same large contributors as the actual ads aired on TV,” she said.

Interesting …

This website has always adopted the position that money – while typically a corrosive influence on the political process – nonetheless represented speech.  In fact this spring we weighed in thusly when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in manner consistent with that belief …

Obviously money – especially the sort of “bundled” special interest cash that will benefit directly (and substantially) from this ruling – is a corrosive force in politics. It perpetuates all sorts of corruption at the expense of taxpayers, and is one of the primary reasons why our middle class is evaporating.

But at the end of the day money is speech … and the court is correct in concluding that limitations against it represent an unconstitutional infringement of the free exercise of speech.

Sadly, the real enemy here is an electorate that’s dumb enough to keep swallowing the lies politicians spoon feed them on a daily basis – and an establishment media that refuses to hold the politicians accountable for their lies.

Until we have a Fourth Estate willing to call these special interest whores out for what they are … we shouldn’t be surprised if people keep electing them.

Ditto …

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22 comments

Dave Chappelle October 27, 2014 at 8:58 am

Please bring back Disqus. This may be my last comment here if it doesn’t come back. This interface sucks!

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Sad October 27, 2014 at 9:26 am

The irony involved with the bitching about Disqus by some here with the pleas to now bring it back is not lost on me.

It will be interesting to see what Will does, if he ever gives us a scoop on why he changed it, and if there’s any room for improvement under the new commenting system.

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Smirks October 27, 2014 at 9:05 am

“Money is speech! Freedom of speech!”

Money isn’t speech. Speech can’t be transferred between bank accounts. Speech has no value in bribing a politician. Speech cannot be saved or spent. Speech is something a poor person can and should be able to exercise just as much as a rich person. Speech can be done for free.

If money is speech, and the people who have the most “speech” should be allowed to spend it, even if one admits that this fucks up the political process entirely, then I guess some animals are more equal than others.

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The Colonel October 27, 2014 at 9:10 am

Yeah Smirks, some animals are more equal. Cheetah to bunny rabbit, elephant to turtle.

Your desire for all to have “an equal say” while admirable, is unattainable.

At best they can all have an equal vote.

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guest October 27, 2014 at 9:17 am

Spoken like the true socialist Will defined you as.

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idcydm October 27, 2014 at 9:35 am

Where was all this outrage before the Koch Brothers, it appears the right is catching up with the left.

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Sad October 27, 2014 at 9:08 am

Perhaps the new commenting format is also muzzling free speech.

:)

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BigT October 27, 2014 at 9:15 am

Don’t worry FITS, they won’t touch you, The State, MSNBC or Media Matters. You are in lockstep w/ the Gestapo, saying exactly what they want you to say.

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Jess Sayn October 27, 2014 at 9:39 am

FITS now has exactly the same commenting system as Jeff Sewell’s SC HOTLINE.

Not exactly a move forward.

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Philip Branton October 27, 2014 at 9:43 am

Hmm……..we wonder how much Disqus charges per month ….?

{…Boomerang 101, 404, 901…..Patton had a vision of “carts” that told him the war was over for the Germans………hmm, we wonder if the lack of Disqus is a “cart” signal on the battlefield..?

…}

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Nölff October 27, 2014 at 9:51 am

Disqus really slows down website. Especially on mobile browsers.

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Sad October 27, 2014 at 9:56 am

Yep, no question Disqus is a pile of shit….but it looks like he’s just swapping turds right now.

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CorruptionInColumbia October 27, 2014 at 10:05 am

Ah! Looks like they have fixed the problem!

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idcydm October 27, 2014 at 10:06 am

All previous comments seem to be gone.

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euwe max October 27, 2014 at 11:00 am

Dovetails right into the topic, doesn’t it?

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CorruptionInColumbia October 27, 2014 at 10:05 am

Well, not quite…

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funnydog October 27, 2014 at 10:11 am

Freedom of speech, assembly and religion, are essential to democracy. As these freedoms go, so does our country.

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John October 27, 2014 at 10:47 am

Nice girl in the photo. Can I get her number? She’s my type of woman: silent.

Reply
shifty henry October 27, 2014 at 12:15 pm

You may want to re-think that. The photo could have been taken while she was sitting on a Walmart toilet

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John October 27, 2014 at 12:23 pm

Good point.

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FastEddy23 October 27, 2014 at 12:06 pm

Mmmmmm … Obviously yet another federal agency that needs castrating and fund cutting.

“Mr. candidate: What part of the Constitution do you want to change?”

Reply
9" October 27, 2014 at 12:59 pm

Fits has a great blog because he allows free speech,while that Brad guy assumes an air of superiority and ‘civility’.BW has made plenty of homophobic(hate that word) ,veiled comments,which have made me despise him,especially when he tries so hard to pretend he doesn’t like gay people.

Reply

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