Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Freedom of Speech in the blogosphere

This is the first in a series of posts I will be writing about a situation that is going on with a fellow blogger.  The situation is simply too long and complicated to put in a single post.  I hope you will stick around over the next few days.

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Freedom of speech. . . it's something that citizens of the good ol' USA hold dear.  Over the past 235 years many men and women have fought and died to preserve the rights of citizens to proclaim truth.  The freedom to speak or publish your own ideas and opinions is central to American culture.  It's a freedom that we don't always appreciate until we see it threatened.

One of our founding fathers, James Madison, had this to say, "I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

Today, I'm here to report to you a "gradual and silent encroachment" on this freedom by none other than...a court of law.

Yes.  A fellow blogger has been ordered by a judge to take down his anonymous blog and to make sure that it cannot be found online by search engines.

And if this blogger cannot do this impossible task, the judge may find him in contempt and throw him in jail.

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