I just can’t be a member of the Republican Party. With McCain, the party has confirmed that they don’t want freedom or liberty in any way, shape, or form. I, too, might have to start calling myself a recovering Republican.
Popularity: 22% [?]
In America, we have a slight bit of freedom of speech. Sure, we’re not as bad as many countries, where you get jailed for saying things, but we certainly don’t have unfettered freedom of speech. A few courts do support our freedom of speech, but many do not. What I’m wondering about today, is whether you think we should have freedom of anonymous speech.
It’s one thing to be able to stand up on the corner and protest someone or something. I’m thinking of standing outside my local McDonalds by myself to protest their open support of radical homosexuals. But anyone who drives by would be able to see who I was — and I could therefore be held liable if my actions were illegal.
However, in TN, a local police department is suing some bloggers, trying to obtain information about people who are blogging anonymously. Do you think we should have the right to say anything and hide our identities?
What if these bloggers are breaking laws, and it won’t be known that the laws are being broken unless their identity is revealed? For example, troops serving in the armed forces don’t have the freedom to criticize their leaders. If they do so, that’s a crime. If people are allowed to be utterly anonymous, the simple fact that they are being anonymous allows them to commit a crime.
In this particular case, I’m not sure if the police are just mad, or if they’re trying to find someone who is committing a crime. I don’t see any problem with anonymous blogging because in general (and yes, I realize this tends to make me look bad) those who do not reveal their identities tend to be less reliable than those who do. And in a court of law, one (should have) has the right to face their accusers.
If the police are just looking to find out who the people are, and no one is alleged to have broken any laws, then the police are out of line, in my opinion. However, if there is the potential of laws having been broken — like anonymous bloggers posting secret information that compromises police cases — then I think you should not be able to hide behind an anonymous posting.
Popularity: 25% [?]
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