Crush Liberalism

Liberalism: Why think when you can “feel”?

KY Republican legislator wants to ban anonymous Internet posting

From Kentucky:

Kentucky Representative Tim Couch filed a bill this week to make anonymous posting online illegal.

The bill would require anyone who contributes to a website to register their real name, address and e-mail address with that site.

 Their full name would be used anytime a comment is posted.

If the bill becomes law, the website operator would have to pay if someone was allowed to post anonymously on their site. The fine would be five-hundred dollars for a first offense and one-thousand dollars for each offense after that.

Representative Couch says he filed the bill in hopes of cutting down on online bullying. He says that has especially been a problem in his Eastern Kentucky district.

Action News 36 asked people what they thought about the bill.

 Some said they felt it was a violation of First Amendment rights. Others say it is a good tool toward eliminating online harassment.

Represntative Couch says enforcing this bill if it became law would be a challenge.

“Sure, my bill’s not enforceable, but at least I get to tell my constituents that I ‘did something’, now don’t I?”

Goodness knows that the p#ssies who lurk here wanting to spew their venom behind their veils of IP-based cowardice would disappear if something like this became law.  It’s clear that many people wear masks of bravado on blogs and in chat rooms, saying things online that they’d never say in person.  However, I’m going to do something I rarely do: I’m going to defend the moonbats.

OK, anonymity obviously doesn’t apply only to moonbats.  Most of us here don’t use our real or full names, and I don’t blame you.  For some of us, maybe it’s due to fear that our employers will punish us for contrary opinions from theirs.  In the case of you moonbats, you don’t have employers to worry about.  For others, maybe you’re in a line of work that deals with the general public and you cannot afford to alienate (or even remotely risk the possibility of alienation) potential customers, fans, etc.  For yet others, you don’t want to run the risk of having moonbats stalk you (trust me, my friends, that DOES happen).  And for yet others, you just want to use an online handle, period.

The point is that there are varying reasons for using anonymity online.  We can feel freer to express ourselves, and in the case of moonbats, free to express yourself in a way that illustrates your sheer stupidity and instability.  It’s not illegal to be a barking moonbat (yet).  Sure, cyberbullies and moonbats and a host of other miscreants abuse their anonymity by harassing, intimidating, annoying, etc.  However, what about the 90+% of online folks who do not do any of those things?  If Couch gets his way, the baby will be thrown out with the bath water.  I suspect that his hairbrained idea won’t become law, and even if it did, it would likely not pass constitutional muster.


March 11, 2008 - Posted by crushliberalism | big government, privacy

14 Comments »

  1. There’s computers in eastern KY?

    Comment by The Truth Hurts | March 11, 2008

  2. Well I am glad he’s concerned. Moron.

    Comment by dtodeen | March 11, 2008

  3. If he knows damn well that its unenforceable (and probably unconstitutional) WHY THE HELL is he going forward with it? Great waste of time and taxpayers money , dipshit.

    Comment by WMD_Maker | March 11, 2008

  4. “…register their real name, address and e-mail address with that site.”

    Apart from the fact this would be grossly unconstitutional and a complete affront to personal freedom, privacy and individual liberty, how on Earth could the state expect an “operator” to verify whether or not someone registers with a “real” name or address? We’d need complete government control of online usage for that.

    Oh, wait. I bet that’s what they really want.

    Comment by jsingood | March 11, 2008

  5. Times like this (OK most times) make me ashamed to be from Kentucky…and I DO use my real fist name:)

    Comment by DJ | March 11, 2008

  6. LMAO

    What a useless law from an even more useless tool.

    Comment by Henry | March 11, 2008

  7. AHHHHH, another example of being willing to give up freedom in the name of security. How wonderful–maybe if Obama is elected we can give up all of our freedoms in exchange for less security–that would be perfect–praise Allah!

    -Osama Bin Laden

    Comment by mklasing | March 11, 2008

  8. MK, I could see Osamabama liking something this heavyhanded. Then again, the Kos kooks (most of whom are anonymous) love him, so I doubt he’d do anything to tick them off.

    There’s computers in eastern KY?

    You caught that too, huh? :D

    Comment by crushliberalism | March 11, 2008

  9. There are going to be a lot of postings by some guy named “Haywood Jablomi” in Kentucky, if this law goes into effect. No, really, that’s his name… he just likes the Internet a lot!

    Comment by PabloD | March 11, 2008

  10. I’ve already seen the other side of the coin of possible prosecution for on-line “bullying” and such. I’ve seen a few people, some who are downright con artists all the way to those who are just seriously mentally unstable who try to dupe people into their wild claims on the internet and ask for money. When people show DOCUMENTED PROOF of their lies, scams, and inventions, they scream “bullying” and “stalking” and threaten lawsuits against those who try to expose them.

    One of which, I will only call Mony. (A bit of a nickname given to him.) He opened his own school to teach people how to be successful in the business of acting. The problem is, he was an utter failure himself. He claimed Oscar buzz on a movie that has never been made, and in fact, the script was so horrid, high school kids laughed at him. He tried to get people to “donate” to the making of his piece of crap film. When people started calling him on his lies, he made all sorts of threats, including calling the FBI on everyone proving his scam. That was an empty threat.

    Some college kid in Scotland set up a website, documenting his lies and idiocy, often pulling up posts and websites where Mony said things in his own words that he later tried to deny. Well, Mony’s parents are a couple of lawyers who LOOOOVE frivolous lawsuits. They sent a little letter to the Scottish College kid, and scared the bejeezus out of him. Even though he knew he could WIN a lawsuit, he couldn’t AFFORD to fight one. (Most recently, a German gentleman has picked up hosting the site, and has repeatedly dared Mony’s parents to sue him, but after about a year, they don’t want to f’ with the Germans!)

    Just one example. This type of thing would be used by scammers, frauds, and assorted ne’er-do-wells to silence those who would expose them. They would call their exposure, and the spreading of this information, “bullying” and “cyber-stalking.”

    Hell…how fast would politicians turn this to shut up bloggers who out their shenanigans? Pelosi would be up 24-7 looking on-line. “Yeah…and that ‘Crushliberalism’ guy…you know we’re gonna sue is arse for being such a cyber-bully to me!!!!!”

    Comment by ManicNole | March 11, 2008

  11. Wow, I think I would add this proposed law to the list of the most ridiculous laws ever. This is just another example of the government trying to trample on our rights. Plus, the expense of enforcing such a law would greatly outweigh any supposed benefits that might result. I really do suspect that this politician’s main motivation with this proposal was just to get some free press time.

    Comment by Madeline | March 12, 2008

  12. I add this one to the 5 cent postage fee for emails… Unenforceable, but unfortunately, all too imaginable for our elected “leadership.”

    Comment by Submariner | March 12, 2008

  13. So, this guy would put Benjamin Franklin in jail for writing the Silence Dogood letters?

    Comment by Fargin Bastiges | March 13, 2008

  14. FB, don’t be silly! Ben Franklin was around BEFORE Al Gore invented the Internet! :D

    Comment by crushliberalism | March 13, 2008


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