For all you bloggers/on-line journalists, I have a question for you: have you ever asked your readers to contact a government official? I know I have, multiple times, and I have seen many others, from biggies like Michelle M and the Daily Kos, all the way down to the Microbes, ask as well. If I told you that you could be forced to file papers with the government for doing that, what would you say?
Would you tell me I'm crazy, that I'm 5 short of a six pack, bats in the belfrey?
Leading Capitol Hill watchdogs are sounding alarms by plans of the soon-to-be Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her majority of House Democrats to ram through a new law that would seriously undermine free speech – and put restrictions on conservative groups and others who encourage ordinary citizens to directly deal with Congress.
Not just Conservatives, though, since it would affect everyone in the Blogosphere. The Public Citizen/Pelosi Bill would, among others
- It makes changes to the legal definition of "grassroots lobbying" and requires any organization that encourages 500 or more members of the general public to contact their elected representatives to file a report with detailed information about their organization to the government on a quarterly basis
- Such report (above) would require, among other things, the detailing of the organization's expenditures, the issues focused on and the members of Congress and other federal officials who are targeted. A separate report must address each policy issue the group is advocating.
500. The question is, in what time span? Plus, based on what criteria? Sitemeter? Are you an organization?
William J. Olson, the co-counsel for the Free Speech Coalition, summarized his impression of how the unfairness would operate:
"The Public Citizen/Pelosi bill would allow corporations, unions and even foreign interests to spend literally hundreds of millions of dollars mobilizing their shareholders, officers, employees and members, yet hide those expenditures," Olson opined.
"On the flipside, their bill would require real citizen associations to essentially obtain Congress's consent to communicate about important policy matters that impact on them. It's not just the imbalance that is wrong; it's a frontal attack on the First Amendment and political speech," Olson concluded.
So much for Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment. Liberals have complained that Bush has been taking away their civil liberties, without proof. Here we have a liberal, who, in the first 100 days of taking back Congress, wants to limit your Rights.
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.
Pretty self explanatory, I would think.
Maybe I should create a Constitutional Rights category, since the Libs are already trying to take them away.
Linked to Rightwing Guy, Perri Nelson's Website, Outside the Beltway, Faultline USA, The HILL Chronicles, Don Surber, The Bullwinkle Blog, and Dumb Ox News, Basil's Blog. Thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
