Rather's revenge... albeit too late for his career!

[alexpgp]

From the Democracy Project:

"[Bradley Smith, a Federal Elections Commissioner,] says that a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly may pave the way for significant federal regulation of the Internet, including blogs. [...] The possibilities that Smith lays out are chilling and, if enacted, could spell the end of blogging as we know it. Indeed, it could turn much of what is published on the Net into a samizdat-style activity.

Sound alarmist? Read on. It all stems, of course, from McCain-Feingold, the absurd and (pace the Supreme Court) unconstitutional curtailment of political speech in violation of the First Amendment. Both Senators, and the Democratic members of the Commission, favor regulating political speech on the Internet, lest bloggers and electronic publications enjoy an advantage over print publications. This is a huge power grab by elements of the federal bureaucracy who are threatened by New Media, and a first step by those forces to shut down political speech they don't like.

Of course, anyone with half a brain should see this coming. Laws such as McCain-Feingold, which was passed to the paens of Congresscritters waxing poetic about accountablilty and the evils of issue advocacy, are intended to do one thing and one thing only: put a cap on discussions of the pros and cons of candidates for public office.

Cheers...